CHAPTER TWO
Thatcher
I pretended to be listening to the meeting even though I was really looking out the window and wishing I was already on my way home to Carrie.
“And so,” Bryce continued, “we just need more input from you, Thatch, before we make this new campaign official.”
I sat up straighter and cleared my throat.
“Right,” I said looking around the table.
The only people in attendance were my siblings, my mother, and a few high-ranking staff.
“Before Dad died, our campaigns were focused primarily in the Southeast and were…” I tried to think of a good way to say boring.
“Well, they were bland. But in recent years many financial companies have transitioned to using celebrities, mainly actors and athletes, to advertise their brand. With that in mind, please look at one of the new commercials for Caldwell Financial. It’s rough, with only an AI figurehead in the place of whichever celebrity we cast in the role, but it will give you an idea of what we’re going for. ”
I sat back and let our tech people handle the rest.
I nervously watched people’s faces, looking for any signs of disapproval.
I didn’t see any, which was a relief. Dad had run the company in the same direction for years without any problems. To take things down a different road so soon after his passing might feel risky to some of our board members.
So far, though, they seemed fine with it judging from the looks on their faces.
After the meeting, my mother, my sisters Olive and Celia, and my brother Bryce and I sat around discussing how things had gone.
Mom and Olive didn’t usually come to the Caldwell Financial building, but they both held seats on the board.
We were just finishing our conversation when my mother dropped a major bombshell on me.
“So,” I said, getting ready to stand, “we just have to finalize the names of some celebrities to approach with an offer, and we can move forward.”
“I have some ideas,” Bryce said, while Olive yawned and Celia stood up.
“I’m out of here,” Celia said. “I should have left fifteen minutes ago. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”
She walked out without waiting for anyone to say goodbye. That was Celia, though. She was blunt, straightforward, and opinionated.
“I also have some ideas,” I said. “I’m leaning more to an athlete for this first campaign…”
“I hired someone already,” Mom said while studying her manicure carefully.
Bryce and I exchanged an alarmed look. Olive sat up and paid attention for the first time in the entire meeting.
“Who?” I asked.
“Madison Welles.”
I couldn’t breathe for a moment, much less talk.
“Madison?” Bryce asked, confused. “Honestly, Mom, she’s not that much of a celebrity.”
Mom shrugged. “She’s a model. People in the fashion world know her. And she’s looking to break into acting. This might be just the thing she needs.” She leaned in and whispered, “And you know how she was affected by that awful scandal with her parents a few years ago.”
That ‘awful scandal’ was just her parents losing their money due to overspending and poor management.
They’d had to sell everything and move out of Atlanta.
I didn’t know where they’d ended up, and I didn’t care.
They were never great with Madison, and I’d never thought they were particularly nice people.
“What do you think, boys?” Mom asked, staring at me with a smug smile on her face.
I still couldn’t form words, so even though Bryce was making a face at me, I just sat there like an idiot.
It forced him to take over. “I don’t know that we’re looking to help Madison during this campaign. We’re trying to change the perception of Caldwell Financial.”
“Mads could do that,” Olive said. “She’s young, gorgeous, sort of famous, refined, glamorous. She’s just the type of spokesperson we’re looking for.”
“I don’t… think that’s going to work,” I finally got out.
“Why not?” Mom arched an eyebrow at me. “Still have too many leftover feelings to work closely with her?”
“Of course not,” I scoffed, but she’d hit the nail on the head. Just the thought of seeing Madison again was overwhelming. I couldn’t imagine having to work with her.
Olive gave me a mean little grin. “I thought you were so secure in your marriage. Was that not the truth?”
I stared at her coldly. “I’m completely secure in my marriage. I have no problems working with her. I just don’t think she’s the type of spokesperson we’re looking for.”
“Well, like I said, it’s too late. I hired her,” Mom stood up and gave me a knowing smile. “She signed a contract. She’ll be at work in the morning.”
She left, and Olive followed her out while Bryce and I stared after them.
We sat there in silence for a long moment. Finally, Bryce asked, “Is this going to be a problem?”
I held my head in my hands. “Maybe.”
***
“Thatcher?” Lisa’s voice came through our phone intercom system.
My executive assistant was old enough to be my grandmother and had literally known me since I was in diapers.
She was like a part of the family. She’d tried to call me Mr. Caldwell after my dad died and she became my assistant.
It felt wrong. I’d told her to just call me Thatcher, and she’d only agreed if I called her Lisa.
That felt strange and slightly disrespectful, but I was forcing myself to get used to it.
“Yes, Lisa?”
“Everyone is waiting on you in the grand ballroom.”
I pressed the button to respond. “Okay, thank you.” I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. Today was the day all the people working on the ad campaign were coming in for us to discuss logistics.
Including Madison Welles.
I would be fine. I had to be. I was a grown man with a wife I loved. Seeing Madison wouldn’t be a big deal.
Would it?
I leaned back in my chair and thought of the last time I’d seen her.
I closed my eyes trying to shut out the painful memories.
She had come home to our apartment, we’d made love, and afterwards she’d told me she was leaving me.
It was horrible. I’d felt like my heart was literally being torn in two.
I didn’t even believe her at first. But slowly, as she explained the details of why she was leaving, I’d begun to realize she’d meant what she said.
I knew that she’d been offered a modeling contract by a company that wanted her to go to Paris for several months.
We’d talked about it briefly, but I’d thought it wasn’t a big deal.
I’d wanted her to keep trying to get signed by someone else, namely a company that didn’t require her to live in a foreign country for months on end.
But then she’d left me. It was humiliating.
Her bags had already been packed. She’d already had a ticket and even had an apartment ready and waiting for her.
I’d begged her not to go. I’d pleaded with her not to end our engagement, telling her I’d wait forever.
I wasn’t even mad about having to reschedule the wedding even though it was a mere three weeks away.
We’d paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to book the best venue, best caterer, best wedding planner…
everything she’d wanted. And it had all been for nothing.
She’d taken off her ring, placed it in my hand, and walked out the door without looking back. And she’d never contacted me again. Not once.
I’d called, texted, emailed… I’d done everything to try to stay in touch with her.
Every now and then I’d see her picture in some ad, but her career hadn’t really taken off like she’d wanted it to.
In fact, my family was being generous when they said she was mildly famous.
She wasn’t. The only reason we recognized her in ads was because we knew her.
But her lack of success didn’t matter. She still hadn’t come back to me.
This would be the first time I’d seen her in person since she’d walked out of our apartment.
I sighed and stood up, gathered some documents from my desk, and left my office. There was no use dwelling on the past. I just hoped I’d be able to keep it together while she worked for Caldwell Financial.
“Fair warning,” Lisa said when she saw me. “Your mother is at the meeting.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“I have no idea. But Bryce told me to let you know.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” There would be only one reason Mom came today. That would be to see Madison Welles. Mom had always hated Carrie and didn’t hide it very well. I’d always known that part of that was because she’d adored Madison.
Great. I didn’t need my mother to come in and complicate this first meeting with Madison.
Things were complicated enough without her.
After I’d come in and gotten situated, it became clear Madison wasn’t at the meeting. I was so relieved. Maybe I’d never even have to see her during the campaign. I’d probably been worried for nothing. I sat back and relaxed, letting Bryce handle things.
Since Bryce was our marketing director, he would technically be in charge of the ad campaign. He’d wanted me and Celia involved, though, since it was the first campaign that would take Caldwell Financial in a more modern direction.
The director set up some of her equipment to show us her vision for the ad campaigns, and we talked with everyone involved about the timing and logistics.
She wanted to actually use the building for many of the shoots, and we assured her she could have the space when she needed it.
We made it clear that Bryce would be the point person for everything. I just had final approval.
As the meeting dragged on, everyone else around the table looked bored. Especially my mother.
“This sounds great,” I finally said, trying to get the director to finish up. “We’ll plan on the production starting next week.” I started to stand up, when a door opened.
Madison Welles walked in.
I’d thought I’d prepared myself for seeing her again. I was wrong. She walked through the door and smiled at me in that sophisticated, reserved way she had. It was so different from my friendly, open wife who laughed like no one was watching or judging her.
Everyone loved Carrie. I loved Carrie. But seeing Madison? It didn’t just bring back memories of the past.
It wrecked me.
I couldn’t breathe. My heart was pounding way too fast. I felt like I was hot and cold all at once. I could only hope my reaction wasn’t obvious to anyone else. But as I locked eyes with Madison, I knew she could see right through me.
She knew what she did to me, and her smile changed into something more self-satisfied, like she’d won something or proven something. Maybe she had. Could one look at her really negate the five years of marriage I’d had with Carrie? Was that possible?
Maybe it was. One look, and I was transported back in time. I was a teenager again, shaking as I kissed her for the first time. Dying a little inside if she was upset with me. Feeling a pleasure so intense I thought I’d surely die as I thrust inside her for the first time.
She was my first everything. And she was supposed to have been my last.
“Thatch?” Bryce asked, looking concerned. “You okay?”
“Fine. I’m fine.” My voice sounded rough. I picked up my glass to take a drink of water. My hand shook. My eyes shot to Madison’s again. She was watching me, taking in every detail with a smug smile. One sight of her, and I was shaken to my core.
This was bad. This was very, very bad.
Later, after I’d spent the rest of the day hiding in my office, I sat across from Carrie at our dinner table.
“How was work today?”
I looked at her. Now was my chance to tell her everything. To confess that I’d been keeping a secret from her for years. To admit that I’d had a fiancée before. That we’d dated since the ninth grade. That I’d lived with her for years. That I’d been three weeks from marrying her before she left me.
And that she was the new face of Caldwell Financial. I’d potentially see her for months when I was at work.
Instead, I looked at her and gave her the best smile I could muster. “Work was fine.”