Totlandia: Spring Read online

  If Brady were lucky, he’d find Ally’s car parked on one of the side streets and he could intercept her there, away from prying eyes. Unfortunately, her car was parked right in front of the library. Damn, he thought. Still, he had to chance it.

  True to form, Ally was the first of the Onesies moms out the door. She stopped short when she saw him leaning up against her car, then she practically ran to him.

  In another time, place or universe, she’d be jumping into his arms. But he knew the here and now made that impossible.

  And whatever she said to him, now that they were face to face, might mean he’d never feel the joy of her lips pressed against his ever again.

  He had to know, one way or another. It was why he had sought her out.

  “Showing up here was not one of your brightest ideas, Brady,” Ally muttered, as she unbuckled Zoe from her stroller. Seeing him, Zoe cooed and bounced, making it difficult for Ally to hold onto her while she scrounged for her keys in the baby bag perched on her shoulder.

  “Here, let me help.” He reached for Zoe, who practically leaped into his arms. Surprised but pleased, he turned red and tried to laugh it off.

  He wished Ally would laugh with him.

  She wasn’t even smiling. “You’re right. I should have called you before now. I owe you that. Please forgive me.”

  “I’m not here to make you feel guilty.” He kept a smile on his face, despite the fact that his heart was being ripped from his chest. “I’m also not here to pressure you in any way.”

  “I know you wouldn’t do that, Brady.” She reached out to touch his arm, but stopped short. Glancing at the library’s floor-to-ceiling windows, she murmured, “That terrible car accident the other day rattled me. It’s incredible the way our lives can turn on a dime.”

  Seeing he was about to protest, she added, “Yes, I know. But taking risks or a leap of faith, can pay off, too. Believe me, Brady, my whole life is a perfect example of that. It’s why I broke off and started my own company. It’s also why I had Zoe on my own. And it’s why I took the risk of selling my company to a conglomerate that I feel can expand it, with or without me. Each decision was a risk. But it was also the best move I could make at the time.” Sadness glistened in her eyes. “I love you, and I believe you when you say you love me too. But the timing is off for the risk you present. We both know that. We have our children to consider.”

  He nodded. The lump in his throat made it too hard for him to speak.

  “Good. Thank you for understanding, and for not making this any harder than it already is.” Her eyes shifted toward the library. “And just in time. Jade just walked out. She sees us, and she’s headed this way. By the way, Bracknell Industries would like you to sit on the board. If she asks, you can say it’s what we talked about. And if you want to accept, the next meeting is on Tuesday, February 5th at six o’clock. We do dinner in the corporate dining room—”

  “What…Bracknell? Wow!” He shook his head confused. One minute she’s breaking up with me, the next, she’s presenting me with a prestigious corporate board seat.

  My consolation prize, I guess.

  “Yeah sure, count me in.” If only because it presented him with a legitimate reason to see her.

  He mimicked Ally’s bland grin as he waved at Jade. But his smile wavered when he saw who was walking over with her—Kimberley Savitch.

  Jade is hanging with Madame Ovary? When the hell did that happen?

  “In fact, let me fill her in on it,” Ally murmured under her breath. “That way, she won’t feel threatened. Of course, Kimberley can’t know about it. Do you think you can keep her busy for a few minutes?”

  He tried to keep the smile on his face. “I’m sure I can find something to say to her.”

  ***

  “What’s wrong, lover boy? Aren’t you happy to see me?” The way Kimberley tenderly rocked her two-year-old son who was resting happily in her arms, you’d think she was Mother Teresa.

  Brady knew better.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He tried to keep his voice jovial so that he didn’t scare her little brat, or Oliver for that matter.

  “Just making a new friend. I presume you have no objection.”

  “In fact, I do.” He leaned in and hissed, “Stay away from me, and stay away from my family.”

  “If I do, I’ll have to explain to Jade why I can’t come out and play. Frankly, I don’t think she’ll like the answer.”

  “Whatever you say to Jade won’t matter. She knows I’ve…that I’ve slipped up on occasion.”

  “Oh? So you two have some sort of ‘understanding?’ Well, that should make things easier for us, wouldn’t you say?” She winked at him. “In fact, if you want to soften the blow, invite her to join us, if you like. I’ve never tried a threesome, but Jade strikes me as the adventurous type.”

  The anger in his eyes must have scared her because Kimberley suddenly teared up. “Don’t you get it, Brady? I’d do anything to be with you. I’ll even—I’ll even hang with your skanky wife.”

  Had she not called Jade a skank, he might have actually felt sorry for her.

  Instead, he wanted to bury her alive.

  The best way to do so was to call her bluff. “Hey, Jade,” he called out. “When you’ve got a moment, Kimberley has a question for you.”

  Without even turning to her, he murmured, “Go for it, Kimberley. Tell her about us. See what she does with the information. Oh, by the way, tomorrow night, we’re having dinner with Bettina Cross. What do you think Jade will say to her about it? My bet is that it’s a tastier tidbit than anything they’ll have on the menu.”

  Jade waved back. She wasn’t smiling. Still, he felt some relief when Jade crossed her heart and shook Ally’s hand before coming over to them.

  The blood drained from Kimberley’s face. But by the time Jade was at their side, her color had returned, and she was all smiles again.

  “What’s up?” Jade asked as she gave Brady a knowing wink, and entwined her arm in his.

  “I was wondering…” Kimberley glanced up at Brady.

  What she saw was a face he’d perfected in a million boardroom confrontations: perfect calm.

  “I was wondering if instead of coffee, how about we have lunch together? We have so much to go over.” Kimberley’s voice shook just enough for Brady to know he had won this round.

  Jade looked up at Brady. “Honey, do you mind? It’s club business. You know how badly I want to win this Top Mom thingy!”

  “Not at all,” Brady said cheerfully. “In fact, while you girls grab a bite, why don’t I look after these two bruisers, right here in the park?” He ruffled the tufts on top of their sons’ heads. “And lunch is on me, okay?”

  It was a small price to pay for Kimberley’s silence.

  Chapter 7

  Saturday, 18 January

  For the sake of his sanity, Brady hoped the men’s room at Ozumo had only one head, and a lock on the door, too.

  No such luck. When he excused himself, Art jumped up, too.

  Art shrugged as he fell into step with Brady. “Lots of premium sake and a tiny bladder is a bad combo.”

  So are you and my money, Brady thought.

  The sooner he could let Art know he had no intention of investing with him, the better.

  Even before the dinner, he’d done his homework on Art Cross, and the reconnaissance coming back was not good. If Art was able to wangle a savvy investor or two, they left him pretty quickly once they realized he didn’t know his ass from his elbow when it came to picking winners and losers. If he wasn’t suffering from hold-a-phobia, he was shorting all the wrong stocks.

  “He uses so many different credit lines, he would make Madoff dizzy,” one of Brady’s sources whispered. “In fact, word has it that he’s practically bankrupted his wife’s estate.”

  No way, no how was Brady going to let Art anywhere near his portfolio.

  Throughout the meal, Brady kept the topic on spo
rts, segueing from the Warriors’ offensive game to the 49ers’ luck at securing a top playoff seed with home-field advantage. If there was a lull in the conversation, he plugged it with a question about Lily’s ballet aspirations. After that, he could count on Bettina’s pride to fill the gap.

  Frankly, he was somewhat annoyed that Jade had hardly said a word. On the way over, he had filled her in on Art’s reputation and asked her to do her bit to steer the conversation to safer topics.

  “This dinner date was your idea,” he reminded her. “I realize it’s to Oliver’s benefit that we stay on their good side, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to piss away my hard-earned money with Bettina’s deadbeat husband. You’ll have to come up with a better way to impress her.”

  Now he knew why his ex-wife had held her tongue, metaphorically speaking.

  Art waited until he was midstream, then started his hard sell. “So listen, Brady, I know for the little ladies’ sakes we’ve been perfect gentleman and kept the subject of investing off the table, but I’ve got a couple of market plays that I think will be right up your alley.”

  Brady shook his head. “Save it, Art. I have one hard and fast rule—I don’t invest with friends.”

  Art frowned. “Oh no? What about your investment in Matt’s start-up?”

  Brady shrugged. He had him there. “When he approached me about it, it was merely a business proposition. His business plan is solid, and it had nothing to do with how close our wives have become in the meantime.”

  “Seriously? Quit pulling my pudd. Oops, sorry! Poor choice of words, considering where we’re standing—” Art’s smile curdled into a vicious snarl. “And considering your wife’s former profession.”

  Brady’s stare was cold. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Didn’t Jade tell you? She and I go way back. Don’t tell me you thought your pole was the only one she was rubbing up against in that back room at the Condor Club. Look at it this way. You won’t just be investing with a friend, but a friend with benefits.”

  That was it for Brady. He turned toward Art and aimed for his crotch.

  Bull’s-eye.

  “What the hell?” Art leaped back, but it was too late. He was soaked.

  He was still sputtering as Brady zipped up and went to the sink to wash his hands.

  But as Brady headed for the door, Art yelled out after him, “You know, Bettina isn’t wise to Jade’s past. Not yet, anyway. I’m guessing it’ll make great dinner conversation. Not just tonight, but later this week, with all the ladies in the club.”

  Brady stopped. He didn’t turn around when he muttered, “A million. No more. And I want a verified prospectus of the past week’s earnings sent by courier every Monday.” He turned his head just far enough to catch Art’s eye in the mirror. “If I hear that you’ve spoken to Jade—if you dare to even look at her—the deal is off.”

  Art shrugged. “Sure, whatever. She’s not my type anyway.”

  Art yelped as Brady rammed him up against the wall. But Brady’s fist stopped just short of Art’s nose.

  Brady left Art with his knee propped up on the sink, drying his pants with the restroom hand dryer.

  Back at the table, both men were smart enough to keep up the sports banter, and to smile and laugh when their wives said anything clever.

  Brady picked up the tab on the dinner, which ran just under a thousand dollars. The only reason he left a generous tip was because their server was his favorite, Anna, and he wasn’t about to take out his anger at Art and Jade on her.

  He knew his silence on the drive home was making Jade anxious, but he couldn’t care less. She finally got up the nerve to ask, “How…how did you think it went?”

  “I gave him a million to play with, and that’s the end of it.”

  She exhaled and smiled.

  “All this means is your past with the Condor Club is safe. For now, anyway. And as long as Bettina doesn’t get wind of it and kick you out, you can keep taking Oliver to the meet-ups, and you can hang with your friends all you want.” He looked over at her, catching her face in the passing streetlights as her smile faded with every word he spoke. “But as far as you and I are concerned, we’re no more than two people sharing a house and a child. I no longer want you in my bed, Jade. If this arrangement doesn’t work for you, you’re free to leave—no harm, no foul.”

  When they pulled into the garage, he didn’t walk over to her side of the car and open her door. Instead, he walked up the steps and into the house.

  He didn’t know when or if she finally left the car for one of the home’s many guest rooms because it was long after he paid the sitter and had gone to bed.

  At least he couldn’t hear her crying three stories below.

  Chapter 8

  Monday, 4 February

  “Okay now, be honest with me, Caleb. Which is your favorite? It’s the cranberry pear, isn’t it? You gobbled it up the quickest, so that has to be it.”

  Jillian pointed to the pie farthest to the right side of her kitchen counter, a necessary maneuver since both Addison and Amelia were into climbing on furniture and into pie. During Caleb Martin’s taste test, she’d made sure they were occupied on the kitchen rug with her plastic cookie cutters and a few errant mixing bowls. Their TwinSpeak was more than gibberish now. Real words were lining up into real sentences. Jillian was so proud of them.

  Still, her favorite baby phrase was “ah-poo pie.”

  Caleb chewed and swallowed quickly, but before he could answer her, she nudged another pie forward. “Hold on! If I remember correctly, you had two big wedges of the coconut chocolate walnut.”

  He nodded, then held up a cautionary finger as he gulped down his coffee.

  That didn’t stop her from declaring, “But wait! No fair answering until you try this one, too!” Her eyes opened wide as she grabbed a pie from the far corner of the counter and nudged it his way. “It’s called an ‘Apple Jack.’ It’s got Granny Smiths drenched in Jack Daniels, topped with a sea salt caramel sauce.”

  He groaned, but stuck his fork in it anyway.

  Jillian pursed her lips in anticipation of his answer.

  She had to wait until he was satisfied with four more forkfuls. Finally, he moaned blissfully and patted his stomach. “Jillian, doll, you’re killing me here! I’ll be the fattest forest ranger in the Presidio.”

  She plopped down on his lap and nuzzled his neck. “You’re such a tease! Just look at these six-pack abs.” In a blink of an eye, her fingers unbuttoned his shirt. She stopped to admire his hairy chest. “Don’t ever take off your shirt in the woods, or every female hiker will go crazy.”

  “Trust me, they’d run in the opposite direction. They’ll think I’m a grizzly.” He laughed. “Or worse! Sasquatch!”

  Jillian shrugged. “Scott was as hairless as a Chihuahua. I guess he spent his lunches getting manscaped.”

  Caleb grinned. “You make him sound like such a pussy.”

  His remark stopped her cold. Her smile faded.

  Seeing it disappear, his did, too. “You’re also still in love with him, aren’t you?”

  Jillian pretended she didn’t hear him. “What do you think—was the crust on the Apple Jack flaky enough? If it wasn’t—”

  “I thought so.” Caleb shoved his plate away. “Guess it’s time to waddle off into the sunset.”

  “No! Wait!” She reached for his arm. “Caleb, we were married for ten years. We had two children together. I thought I’d be spending the rest of my life with him. And now…”

  “And now you’re not.” He shrugged. “He’s got some other woman in his life. And you’ve got me, remember?”

  She nodded. “Yes. He’s got her, and I…I have you.” The first tear fell before she could turn her head, or wipe it away.

  He stepped back from her. “And I’m the one who loves you. I have since the moment I saw you running down the street, screaming after the girls’ runaway stroller.”

  She almost choked a
s her sobs turned to giggles, but just for a moment as he continued, “But Jillian, I’m not him. And I’ll never be anything like him, either. Considering how he treats you, don’t you think that’s a good thing?”

  She should have screamed “Yes” at the top of her lungs.

  She wanted to, really she did, but there was still too much of Scott there in the house. In her memories.

  As if reading her mind, Caleb picked up his coat and walked out the front door.

  She started to run after him, to call him back, but the crash behind her stopped her dead in her tracks.

  One of the girls had yanked the tablecloth. The pies and plates had fallen to the floor. Both girls now sported pie-tin hats. Whatever filling and crust they weren’t wearing was making its way into their mouths as they scooped up the goodies with their plump little fingers.

  Jillian plopped down on the floor to cry. Instead, she laughed.

  Chapter 9

  Tuesday, 5 February

  “Well, well, well,” Ellis muttered to Ally. “Your Mr. Pierce handled himself admirably. He’s been a big hit with Mr. Bracknell.”

  Ally turned toward the conference room’s window, where Brady stood with Laurence Bracknell, admiring the incomparable bay and city views afforded them from the highest floor in the renowned Transamerica Pyramid Center.

  During the meeting, she too had been impressed. It was a side of Brady she’d never seen before. After she’d given him a formal introduction, Brady turned on the charm. He was modest about his accomplishments, thoughtful in the questions he asked, and tactful in the answers he gave when asked to comment on the issues facing the board.

  Brady earned me big brownie points, Ally thought. Just in time, too, considering it’s been almost a month since I gave Ellis my proposal. “By the way, Ellis, how did Mr. Bracknell respond to my prospectus on the pie shop?”

  Ellis hesitated, then shrugged. “Sorry, old girl. You’ll get an answer by May. By then we’ll have better cash flow and we may be looking for something different to do with it.”