Intertwined episode 19

🤝INTERTWINED🤝

💑EP NINETEEN💑

 

I went to Travis’s office on Monday. Since Karl wouldn’t bein, I volunteered to help him out in case he neededassistance. But when I got there, I was the one surprised.There was an easel at one corner of his office, and thecoffee table had a box of Godiva chocolates and a bouquetof roses on top of it.

“Is it always like this?” I asked him, looking at the lovelyroses.

He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around mywa-ist. “I have a special visitor today. I thought she’d like toindulge in a box of sweets.”

I laughed and turned around so I could face him. “Andthe easel is for?”

He smiled and wrapped his arms around my wa-ist again.

“So you can paint or draw and leave me alone to my work.”

“I can paint at home—why did you agree that I comehere if you weren’t going to need me anyway?”

He shrugged. “I just want you to be here.” He huggedme to him. “I hope it isn’t too much to ask.”

I smiled. “No, compared to the favors I ask of you, this isnothing!”

Travis made some phone calls and did some work on hiscomputer. He looked at me once in a while and he smiled orwinked at me when he caught my eye.

I drew a picture of Travis in black and white. I painted hisserious face: boyish, dangerous, handsome as hell. I staredat the painting when I finished it. His eyes weremesmerizing, and I felt warm knowing that familiar face. Myknight. My angel.

“I look nothing like that!” he said, coming up behind me.He wound his arms around my wa-ist and pulled me to him.

“Or course you do!” I protested.

“My hair is all wrong,” he said.

I laughed. “I had to change that a little bit. I like yourhair better when it’s disheveled.”

“My employees will not take me seriously if I come towork looking like I can’t afford to buy a comb,” he saidlaughing.

I turned around to face him. And playfully, I ruffled hishair.

“Don’t!” he protested, but it was too late.

I was laughing. He closed his eyes in defeat. Then heleaned forward and gave me a quick smack on the l-ips.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he whispered.

“I’m holding my breath!” I laughed.

He pulled me to him and gave me a hug. I hugged himback. I didn’t know the wonderful feeling seeping throughme right now. It was familiar and yet it was strange. It wascomforting, and yet it was terrifying. It was exciting, and atthe same time, it was disturbing.

I closed my eyes. We’d gotten more affectionate witheach other. And it was just right. He was, after all, myfiancé. The only thing that set us apart from normalbetrothed couples was that the reason we became engagedwas a condition preset and agreed upon fourteen years

prior. But other than that, nothing was fake, everything wasreal, everything was official. And that gave Travis all theright to k-ss and hug me. He didn’t need to ask.A knock on the door interrupted us.

Travis rolled his eyes. “Come in!” he called.

A woman in her fifties came in. “Mr. Cross, your father ison line one.”

Travis’s face hærdened. “Tell him I am currently busy.” Iraised a brow at him and gave him one hærd look. He sighed and turned to the woman. “Thank you, Mrs. Denver. I’ll takethe call.”

“You’re…you’re welcome, sir,” she said. She had smiledat me before she left. I smiled back graciously and then Iturned toward my painting, leaving Travis be to speak to hisfather.

He was silent, and I could only guess that he was tuningout their conversation.

Then finally, he said, “Are you done?” He took a deepbreath again and then he said, “Goodbye.” He hung up.

He leaned back in his seat and squeezed the skinbetween his eyes, and I could see that he was trying hisbest to control his emotions. Travis’s father was the oneperson who could instantly throw him on a warpath.Then I realized that I probably was the one person in thisworld who could calm him down just as fast as his fathercould anger him.

I put down my pencil and took off my gloves. I went tostand beside him, touching his shoulder gently. He lookedup and then he pulled me to him and made me sit on hislap. He gave me one tight hug and I hugged him back.When I pulled away from him, he looked like he had hisemotions under control. He took a deep breath. He smiled atme and then he said, “Let’s get married, love.”

***

I told Travis we could just go to Vegas and marry quickly. Heraised a brow at me as if I had somehow offended him. Hedidn’t say anything, but the look he gave me was enough tomake me run to his computer and start searching for thebest wedding coordinators in town.

I scheduled a meeting with three of the people I thoughtwere the best in the business.

“When’s your meeting?” Travis had asked before wewent to bed that night.

“I’ve got one at eleven. Then another at one in the

afternoon. The last one will be at three.”

“The limo will take you around,” he said.

“Is that really necessary, Travis?” I asked.

“For my peace of mind, it is.”

The next day, I was waiting for a lady named Leona atArt Café. I ordered a cappuccino. She was fifteen minuteslate already. I opened my notebook and made a note of this.Running fifteen minutes late. No text. No calls.When she finally arrived, she was with another girl, who Icould only guess was her assistant. Leona had dark hair and

gray eyes. She was wearing a tight Chanel suit.When she sat on the chair in front of me, she extendedher hand to me.

“Leona Watson,” she said in an elegant voice.

I didn’t miss the curious stares she was giving me. It waslike she was measuring me up. I knew that she was one ofthe best in the industry, and she was also one of the mostexpensive. I was very curious to know why.

“Brianne Montgomery.”

“Are you related to the Montgomerys who lived onSixth?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I’m…new in town, actually.”

“Hmmm…” she nodded. “Where do you want to getmarried?”

“I am from South Carolina. My relatives are mostly there.My fiancé also grew up there. Maybe, if he agrees, that’sgoing to be the venue.”

“We charge double for out-of-town arrangements,” shesaid frankly. “Do you mind if I ask you what your budget is?”

“I’m…not sure, actually. My fiancé will be…will be takingcare of the expenses.” I hadn’t checked with Travis to findout how much he was willing to pay for the wedding. I reallydidn’t want it to be grand. A simple one with our relativesthere would be just fine.

“Well, I think it’s important that you know the budgetfirst. Then we can decide what type of wedding you canafford,” she said, her expression haughty now. Even herassistant was looking at me with a bored expression on herface.

“Actually, I have no idea. I was hoping to hire a weddingcoordinator who could give me an estimate,” I said honestly.

“Okay, in that case, I’ll give you my standard rates,” shesaid. She held out her hand, and her assistant immediatelyhanded her a paper. She gave it to me.

I scanned through the figures. She charged per hour,and if my math was correct, her wh0le fee was enough topay for a small wedding itself.

“What do you do for a living, if I may ask?” she said witha smile, which I was sure was fake anyway.

“I…paint,” I replied.

“That’s nice! Do I know any of your work?”

I giggled humorlessly. “Not unless you were one of myart professors.”

“O-kay.” She seemed eager to end the meeting.

I was distracted when I saw my limo pull out of theparking slot and then slowly drive away.

“Hey!” I whispered to myself.

Leona was looking at the limo, too. Then she turned backto me. Clearly, she didn’t think it was mine.Damn! I should have dressed in an outfit that scre-medChanel, too!

I was dressed in a pair of skintight denim capri p-ntsand a lavender off-the-shoulder blouse. My hair was just tiedin a pony. I hadn’t worn any jewelry, except for myengagement ring, the stone of which was turned inwardtowards my palm. I wasn’t really the type to show myself offthrough jewelry and expensive clothes. But lately, it had

seemed quite important.Well, I was not really rich. I made average income at mymother’s gallery. I didn’t have a luxurious lifestyle. And ever since I’d gotten engaged to Travis, he provided for all my

basic needs. I didn’t have to pay for the roof over my heador the food I ate. Over the years, he’d lavished me withexpensive jewelry. I actually had tons of gold and diamondbangles, earrings, and necklaces in my safety deposit box inConnecticut. They had all come from Travis. By the time Ihad graduated from college, I no longer felt the need to buyjewelry for myself anymore. I felt I already had so muchbling compared to any other woman my age.

I turned back to Leona. She smiled at me. “So, wouldyou like to give this a bit of time? I can give you an exactquote later, although I doubt it will be much lower thanthat.”

I was distracted again when I saw a beautiful red Bentleypull into the parking space vacated by the limo.

“I handle mostly A-list clients,” Leona continued. “I’msorry, but I can’t give you a rate lower than that.”

I stared back at her. She had really gotten on my nervesthis time. She wasn’t only belittling me with the way shelooked at me: she was doing it with her words now. “I wasn’tasking for a lower rate, was I?” I asked in a cold, irritatedtone.

She smiled. “Of course not. I just want to be honest fromthe beginning. We don’t want us to waste each other’s time.And I usually charge ninety percent in advance. I’m quitestrict, and I’m also picky with my clients. What does yourfiancé do?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” I asked as I watchedTravis get out of his car.

Leona followed my gaze. I heard her gasp. She probablyrecognized Travis. If she didn’t, the license plate that saidTJCROSS probably told her who my fiancé was.

“But that’s…” She blinked back at me. “You’re marryingTravis Cross?”

I smiled. Finally, I’d gotten her open-mouthed. “Yes,” Ireplied haughtily. “So, perhaps, Miss Watson, you will try to make a better presentation of your services? Or perhaps trymaking a bit of effort to treat me the same way you treatyour other clients? I’m interviewing two other weddingcoordinators in a couple of hours. Perhaps you would care tomake a better impression?”

Leona looked embarrassed. Travis was just in time tocatch at least the last three sentences I’d said andimmediately figured out the situation.

He smiled at me and then he leaned down to give me ak-ss on the l-ips. “I’m sorry I’m late, love. What did I miss?”

I stared back at him. “You didn’t say you were coming!” Isaid to him. “Did you send the limo away?”

He nodded. “I’ll be your driver for the rest of the day,Mademoiselle.” He looked back at the two ladies sitting infront of us. Immediately, his expression turned from boyishto cold. He raised a brow. “I take it you are one of thecoordinators my future wife is looking to hire?”

Leona nodded nervously.

Travis leaned back in his seat and took my hand in his.He intertwined our fingers. He stared at Leona haughtily.

“The budget for this wedding, as you may have guessed bynow, is unlimited. I want my fiancée to have the bestwedding money can buy.” He looked at Leona’s calling cardin front of me. Then he stared back at her. “Impress me!” hesaid in a cold, commanding voice, which made Leona bucklein her seat.

She fiddled with her hands nervously. And then she said,

“I’m…Leona…this is Jennifer…” She referred to herassistant.

“I’m not interested in your names. I’m interested in whatyou can do for us,” Travis said in cold and bored voice.

“Sure, Mr. Cross,” Leona said.

If it were any other person, I would have given Travis aglare. But in this instance, I thought Leona deserved thistreatment.She must have spoken for a wh0le fifteen minutes,giving us a rundown of their previous work, references, andcontacts. Travis just sat in this seat, but I knew he wasn’tlistening. He’d decided not to hire Leona. He just wanted herto make an effort to treat me like any other client.

When Leona was finished with her monologue, Travisdidn’t say anything. He just sat there, looking at mynotebook. He took my hand in his and brought it to his l-ips.Then he noticed that the stone of my engagement ring wasturned inward. He pushed it with his finger so it was facingthe proper way.

I didn’t miss the silent gasp from Leona when she sawmy ring. It was impressive, I knew. But I had been afraid itwas attracting street muggers.

“Do you…do you have any other questions, Mr. Cross?”Leona asked uncertainly.

Travis looked at her for a moment. Then he turned tome. “Are you interested in anything else? You, my love, willhave to make the decision on this. I’ll go with whatever youdecide. But personally, I prefer you chose somebody with abetter work attitude.”

I shook my head. “No.” I turned back to Leona. “Thankyou for your time.”Leona looked terribly embarrassed.

Travis put a stack of cash on the table for our bill. “Nochange,” he told the waiter, who nodded gratefully. Travismust have given a tip twice the amount of the actual bill.

Then he took Leona’s card. “I’ll keep this. I’ll have myassistant give feedback to your boss. I’m sure he or she willbe happy to hear about your excellent interpersonal skills,”he said sarcastically.

Leona stood up from her seat. “Mr. Cross, please,” shepleased. “I’m truly sorry. I should have treated MissMontgomery better. I am at fault. But I have a kid in school.And I need this job—”

“You should always put that in your mind before youmeet people,” Travis cut her off.

“I know. But I beg you…” Leona was close to tears now.After all, making people cry was probably one of Travis’seasiest skills. “My boss would fire me if somebody like youcomplained to him.”

Travis raised a brow. “Don’t worry, I will remember tocompliment your hair.” And he turned his back on her.

Leona looked at me pleadingly. I reached out for Travis’shand and gave it a squeeze.

“Travis…” I whispered. “No blood, no foul,” I said to him.“Let’s leave Miss Watson alone. I’m sure she just had an offday. She won’t get our account…let that be punishmentenough for her.”

Travis stared at me for a moment. Then his expressionsoftened. He leaned forward and gave me a gentle k-ss onthe l-ips. “Because you asked,” he said. He tossed Leona’scalling card back on the table. “I won’t be needing yourcontact details ever.”

Then he pulled me toward him and we headed for hiscar. Travis opened the passenger door for me and I got in. Iglanced back at Leona again. She was staring at me. Thenshe gave me an apologetic smile and gathered her things.

“Were you really going to complain about her?” I askedTravis when he got in the driver’s seat.

“Yes,” he replied. “And that was the least grave thing Ihad on my mind.”

I sighed. I reached out and squeezed his hand. “I guess Idon’t make an impressive fiancée.”

He raised a brow. “On the contrary—you are. A womanwho can draw men’s attention without makeup and canprovoke another woman’s jealousy without wearingexpensive jewelry or clothes…don’t you think you’reImpressive enough? Why do you think I want to get married

so soon?” he teased.

I giggled, and then I asked, “Speaking of that, why doyou wanna get married so soon?”

“Didn’t you want to get married before you turnedthirty? Wasn’t that part of what you asked me?”

“Yes. But the so-called ‘curse’ won’t hit me before I turnthirty-one. I still have time. Why did you want it earlier?”

He sighed and reached for my hand. “Because my fatheris making a beast out of me. I want us to get married beforethat happens. You deserve a better groom than that,” hesaid in a frustrated tone. He stared at me for a while. “Andthe sooner I start a new family…the less remorse or hatred Iwill feel toward my old one.”

“But, Travis…” I started to remind him that we wouldonly stay married until either of us found the love thatwould last us a lifetime.

“I know,” he cut me off, knowing what I was going to say.

“But you’re going to be my wife for at least two years,remember?” he asked. “Until then, you are my family.You’ve always been, anyway. Maybe we’re just making thatofficial.”

I smiled at him. “Yes,” I said. “I think so, too.”