31. Mia
Mia
Week Twenty-five: Baby name ideas/rejections
Lydia? Adam isn’t completely sold, but wasn’t a hard no either.
Ophelia. Adam vetoed.
Scarlett.
Eloise.
Charlotte… Adam’s choice, but I’m not sure if I’m feeling it.
Sophia.
“Okay, Mia, everything’s looking great on our end,” the lead of my financial team says as she shuts her laptop across from me in my office. “Your brain never ceases to amaze me. And that’s saying a lot considering I worked with your father first.”
I shrug with a smirk. “Like father, like daughter, Wren.”
“No, smart father, smarter daughter, if you ask me.”
When she says my dad’s smart, I know what standard she has for that word, and to put me above that has my head arguably just as big as my stomach is starting to get.
Wren’s only a few years older than me, but she was by far one of the best financial advisors my dad had on his board.
When I started making my own investments and knew Winedown was in grasp, I knew I needed her on my team.
Little girl flutters a few kicks, or maybe elbows. Are you proud of me, too? I’d probably verbally ask if I was alone, but I don’t want to risk getting my compliment retracted. I can’t ever really tell what will impress Wren. Sometimes it’s the smallest detail and other times it’s big hitters only.
“Okay, to recap, you have a set budget to put back into Winedown for marketing expenses and community donations. We’re adjusting your monthly deductions to your IRA and allocating a sum to go into a college fund for the baby girl.
We’ll adjust a few of your higher-risk investments and do something with a more solid guarantee.
I’ll monitor the others as we proceed. You’re still on track to have enough money in the budget to hire someone part-time to help while you’re on maternity leave.
Currently, I have the numbers working out for them to start when you’re thirty-eight weeks if you like, but if you feel you want to leave earlier, I believe you can. Just let me know.”
“Wonderful, thank you. Right now, that is still the plan. Honestly, I’ve felt so good that I’m not even sure I’ll need it fully with how smoothly things have been going.”
Wren may still have a small smile on her face, but the rest of her features show how much she really disagrees with me. “While I love your dedication, you have the means to have some help. Let’s not deviate from a plan that is working and one I believe to be beneficial.”
“And what if I offered it to you?” I tilt my head with the proposition. A snarky smile spread wide across my face. “Can’t say I trust this position to just anyone.”
Much to my surprise, Wren doesn’t immediately shut it down.
“If it means you might actually take a break, we can talk about it. You haven’t slowed down at all, Mia. Hell, I think you’ve been working harder lately.” Wren slides her laptop into her bag. “Which I should mention this too—we did get an offer on Winedown.”
“Wh-what? As in, to buy it from me?”
“Yes, I didn’t immediately bring it to you because the number was an easy no, but they came back with another offer for a portion of the business.
I personally still think the answer should be no, but all things considered—I felt I should let you make the call.
It’s a financial group so while I don’t think they’d have what it takes to keep this place running on their own, I imagine they could handle the spreadsheets and budgeting. ”
My stomach turns in knots. I don’t like that at all. “If they’re a financial group, why Winedown? Seems like an odd investment to me. Even as the person who loves this place the most.”
Wren weighs her head back and forth. “They didn’t give any reasoning for the offer, just the details.
Now, if I were to take a stab at it, I’d say it could be the success you’re having.
Winedown has repeatedly been reported in the top five restaurants in all of Massachusetts in countless news outlets.
You have an insane social media presence with how much it’s talked about.
Not that I think this is the reason as I typically hate tying a woman’s success to a man, but your husband is a professional athlete who’s gone viral with that gender/last name/home run situation—On top of that, he and his teammates are regulars who talk of this place often. ”
“I’ll accept the tie-in to the Blues considering Adam knows how hard I work…and the addition of the sweet video of him during that game. You’re going to get me to watch that postgame interview again where he talks about how happy he is with me and our baby.”
“With all the respect, I’d watch that video every morning. Better yet, roll over in bed and have him recite it.”
I chuckle. “That’s not a bad idea. But back to this offer…I have to meet Adam at the new house before he leaves for Kansas City.”
“Look, in my professional opinion, it’s a no, but—”
“Oh, it was always going to be a no.” I start throwing all my stuff into my bag. “Winedown is mine. I do many partnership ventures, but this place won’t be one of them. You’re good to politely pass as they come.”
Wren nods, that proud grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I’ll let them know.”
“I still find it really odd that the offer came in the first place, though. If they counter again…I don’t know…maybe question them a bit? Or hell, just keep declining. I don’t want them thinking I’m curious and misconstrue that as hidden interest.”
“I agree. If anything jumps out at me or legal, we’ll bring it up. But otherwise, I’ll take the lead on passing on those offers.”
“Perfect.” I throw my bag over my shoulder. I know this meeting was very needed, but I have to admit I would’ve loved to have it any other day. “Care if I walk out with you?”
“Come on, girl, while we make our way out you can tell me what exact words to the prayer you used for that husband of yours.”
My head tilts back with a laugh. “It will require you to have a dysfunctional condom.”
Wren hums as we head out of my office. “So, do I hire a witch for that or…what?”
“I believe mine was lucky girl syndrome, but a witch might work. I definitely wouldn’t recommend karma…that bitch never gets the whole message.”
“I know that’s right,” Wren grumbles as she follows me out the back alley door. “I’ll update you later.”
“About the finances or the husband?”
“Both, preferably, but most likely just your finances.” Wren laughs.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll talk to you later.” I toss a hand up for a wave as she heads in one direction and I go the other. I feel a little bad that I rushed through that meeting, but Wren seemed fine. And I greedily want to be in my new home with Adam as much as I can.
After weeks of talking to our family’s lawyers, mostly my aunt’s lawyers—I get that, with no wedding and her not even knowing I was dating anyone, it would seem suspicious.
I didn’t appreciate it coming from a legal standpoint instead of talking to me or my mom first, but we were finally able to start moving in today.
Which, as excited as I am for it, I really hate that now Adam has to leave for another two weeks, and we haven’t even been able to spend one night in the house.
I park on the street behind Tripp’s car. We have professional movers, but the group didn’t exactly care too much.
I walk in with quite the pep in my step, but get cut off immediately by our movers carrying my mattress up the grand wooden staircase. “Ope, so sorry.”
“No problem, ma’am.” One of the workers nods. “I already informed your husband, but you have a wobbly panel about midway up these stairs.”
I let out a breath. “Great, thank you. Anything else you notice, just let us know.”
On our initial walk-through, we noticed a few things that needed to be touched up and some small interior updates. There’s nothing major, so I’m not too worried about it. I’ll just call some people to fix them while Adam’s gone.
And speaking of Adam…where is he? I walk through the living room, then loop through the dining area, then the kitchen before heading up the stairs. “Adam?”
One of the movers comes around the corner at the top of the stairs. “He’s in the master bathroom fixing your sink.”
Fixing my sink? “Um, okay, thank you.”
At the top of the stairs, I can hear the guys on one end of the house, and as much as I’m curious what they’re doing, I’m going to need to see Adam first.
And boy, was that the right decision.
Adam’s lying on the bathroom floor, his head under the sink, his shirt pulled up slightly so there’re a couple of inches of his stomach showing, and a tool bag at his side. I’m entirely too hormonal for this view.
I shut the bathroom door as quietly as possible before walking over and straddling him. “What are you doing?”
Adam tilts his head to me with that sweet smile of his. “I’m trying to fix the faucet…what are you doing? You know there are people everywhere in this house.”
“I shut the door.” I shuffle my weight back and forth on my knees to get a little more comfortable and I can already feel him starting to get hard underneath me.
“Mia,” he growls. “I’m almost done.”
“Great, I’ll watch just like this.”
“Honey…”
“We’re married, and I’m very clearly having your baby, so I think it’ll be okay if someone walks in.”
He sighs, knowing good and well there’s no real argument that will work with me.
“You know I was planning on calling people to fix all this stuff.”
“Well, I definitely can’t have you calling people now if this is how you’d check on their work.” Adam laughs. “I can fix most of this before I leave.”
“You know, sometimes I don’t understand how I got pregnant—with us being safe and all that, but then I watch you stretch for games, you do something romantic, and now this…I mean, there’s really no mystery to it.”
Adam huffs another laugh. I can’t tell what in the world he’s doing, but in one fluid motion he lifts his hips, scooting us back so he can sit up from under the cabinet. I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “That was a fun ride.”
“I’ll take you on another one once everyone’s out of our house.”