His energy was contagious and I felt empowered at that moment.
“Oh, then you must call me Drew,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay with all the changes and how the contract stands?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Great. I will explain all the amendments and changes to the group who look to be nervously waiting in the hallway. They will either agree or disagree. If they agree they will make the changes and then all you need to do is sign your life away.” He winked at me. “If they disagree, you can walk away and find new representation both legally or financially or you can sit down again and try and renegotiate the terms.”
“I didn’t realize this was such a negotiation.”
“Everything is open for negotiation,” he commented.
I saw Stella fidgeting in the hallway. She wasn’t known for her patience. Drew saw me glance at Stella and he motioned for her to come in.
“And?” she said as soon as she entered the room.
“The verdict is that Jill has agreed to most of the terms set out by the firm. There are some amendments and changes that you will need to review. If you accept the changes, it seems that you will have a new client, Ms. Jill Greenfield.” He grabbed my hand and held it up as if I had just won a boxing match. I let out a giggle and Stella smiled.
“My associates and I will review the changes but I think we are open to anything Ms. Jill Greenfield has suggested.” She sounded so professional. She took the changes out to David and Scott and the three of them filed into another conference room across the hallway leaving Drew and me alone.
Drew and I chatted about our families and different backgrounds. He grew up an army brat, living in a new location every other year, experiencing different parts of the country and globe. His parents were still happily married and retired on Long Island. His older sister was widowed and living in New Hampshire with her teenage daughter, and his younger sister was studying to be a doctor at Wake Forest, of all places. He knew the basics of my present story but I talked about my childhood and my friendship with Stella. It turned out Drew and Stella had met at a conference several years ago and even went on a couple dates, but when things didn’t work out, they stayed in touch and Stella often called upon him for consulting work.
“Jill,” Stella called from the doorway as she and David and Scott filed back into the room.
“Yes?”
“My associates and I have looked over your changes and we accept all the changes. We will have a new contract drafted before you leave for you to sign if you are still interested.”
All three of them looked very tentatively at me. I looked back at them and at Drew, who smiled and nodded in my direction. I felt relieved the day was over.
“I agree,” I said, nodding my head. Not knowing if it was appropriate or not, I walked over to Stella and gave her a big hug. “You could have warned me,” I whispered in her ear.
“You would have never come,” she whispered back and maybe she was right.
I shook hands with David and Scott, who both assured me I was making the right decision and they looked forward to working further with me. Then they left the room.
“Let’s drink!” Stella said as soon as they were gone. I let out a laugh. Leave it to Stella.
“Ladies,” Drew said, nodding his head in our direction as he left the room.
“Wait, Drew,” Stella called. He popped his head back in the office. “Drinks at Flannigan’s at eight?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” He winked in our direction and was gone.
“That was exhausting,” I said when everyone had left.
“Are you okay?” It was the first time Stella my friend had appeared since we got off the elevator.
“How about I tell you at dinner—your treat—exactly how I feel about being ambushed by this meeting and the information,” I said, grabbing her arm.
“You’re the mulit-multi-millionaire. You should be treating,” she teased back.
I stopped abruptly in my tracks.
“Get it all out of your system before we get on the elevator. You are never to refer to me as that again or mention this whole thing,” I said with a serious face.
“You got it, but seriously, you’re paying for the hotel this weekend. I can’t afford it on my paycheck.”
“Sure. Why not?” I said and we both started giggling as we got on the elevator.
CHAPTER 28
W
e headed over to the Waldorf to change and freshen up before dinner. While Stella was in the shower, I called Lanie and told her all about my day. She had no idea that Stella had arranged such a day but was glad that a third-party consultant was present to make sure my best interests were at play. She asked about how I was handling the whole situation and understood when I said it was overwhelming. We then talked about how her work was going and how she was managing to catch up after being sporadically out of the office over the previous several months. She also said that Mary Elizabeth had been given some time off and would be able to join us at the beach. We finally talked about the beach house before ending the call.
“How’s Lanie?” Stella asked, emerging from the bathroom.
“Stressed but doing well.”
“I asked her to join us for a couple days and she said she couldn’t get away.”
“I believe it,” I said, walking over to the bed and flopping onto it. “These beds are fantastic, by the way.” I sat up and looked at Stella with a wide grin.
“I know.” She walked over and grabbed a pillow and threw it at me.
“How many times have you stayed here?” I asked.
“A few times, always in great company.” She smiled.
“Skank,” I said.
“You’re too serious, Jill. You need to lighten up.” She paused. “Speaking of lightening up, tell me about this Ross guy.” She sat down cross-legged on the bed and faced me.
“Worse transition ever!” I exclaimed. “What’s there to tell? He works for his uncle’s construction company. He plays the guitar. Even went to NYU for music. His mom died from cancer and now he lives on his uncle’s sofa.” I covered the basics, with Stella less was more.
“Boring,” Stella said. “What does he look like? Do you like him?”
“I told you this already. He’s tall, maybe a little taller than six feet. He has blonde shaggy hair, tan, muscular … he looks like a surfer. I enjoy his company. He’s a great musician and he’s easy to talk to … but I don’t know … he’s young. I don’t know if he even likes me that way,” I paused. “What am I saying…‘likes me that way’. I feel like I’m in high school again and dating … ugh. I never thought I would have to worry about dating again. All that awkwardness at the beginning, trying to figure out the other person and then if it doesn’t work, you have to start over … Anyway, it’s too soon to start thinking about dating. I just lost my husband.”
I buried my head in the pillow. Stella tugged at my shirt, making me sit back up.
“You lost Jay almost 10 months ago. There isn’t a magical time when you’re supposed to put yourself out there, but I think it’s time. Jay wouldn’t want you sitting around alone, mourning him. You are still young. You have your whole life ahead of you. So whether it be this Ross guy or someone else, someone is going to come along and sweep you off your feet and you need to be open to it.”
“If I don’t mourn him for as long as I can, who will?”
Stella looked at me and sighed.“It’s not about mourning his life; it’s about celebrating it, remembering him in the little things you do as you move forward. You have to find a balance.” She stood up and walked back to the bathroom calling over her shoulder, “This talk is too serious. We are going out and having fun tonight!”
Stella always attracted attention whenever we went out and that night was no exception. She wore a tight red dress with tall, nude, platform pumps. Knowing I didn’t own anything that would meet her standards, she had taken the liberty of bringing me several outfits from her own closet. I wore a sleek black dress with equally ridiculous pumps. Stella straightened my naturally wavy hair and attempted to do my makeup. I thought I looked like a streetwalker when she was done, and I took the time to redo it while she pouted in the other room. We went to dinner at a trendy restaurant called Blue. After seeing Stella, the wait staff moved us to a better, more private booth in the back and gave us a bottle of complementary champagne. By the end of the dinner, two different waiters had slipped her their numbers.
We grabbed a cab and headed across town to Flannigan’s for drinks. We made our way to the bar where Stella ordered us each a martini. When the bartender got back with our drinks, he informed us that the nice gentleman at the end of the bar had picked up the tab. I rolled my eyes and we both started giggling. After several minutes, Stella was looking around the bar.
“Looking for someone?” I asked.
“Yes, Drew. He was supposed to meet us here.” She sounded annoyed.
“Are you trying to start something back up with him?” I asked, confused. Last I knew, Stella was enjoying her current arrangement with Roger.
“Not starting something up with me but with
you
.” She emphasized the last word.
“What about Ross?” I asked. I didn’t even know if there was anything with Ross.
“You said you weren’t sure where that was going and a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. I saw how into you he was today.”
“Who, Ross?” I asked, not following her conversation.
“No. Drew. Speaking of which—” She waved her hand and called out, “Hey Drew over here.”
Drew made his way through a sea of people and joined us at the bar.
“Ladies.” He nodded and tried to get the bartender’s attention.
“Let me.” Stella leaned over the counter and waved down the bar and immediately got the bartenders attention. She ordered another round of martini’s and a beer for Drew. We grabbed a pub top and chatted about the day and the weather. In the middle of our conversation, Stella’s phone rang and she excused herself.
“Looks like we find ourselves alone again,” Drew said.
“Looks like it.” For some reason I didn’t find myself as comfortable with Drew at this moment as I had earlier in the conference room.
“How long are you in town for?” Drew asked.
“Just a couple days. I just moved into a new house and they are finishing some work on it so I want to get back and make sure everything is well.” In truth, I felt anxious about being away from the house in Oak Island.
“Is that the beach house?”
“You remember?” I was slightly impressed.
“I remember more about you than the house.”
“Do you, now?” I said, shifting uncomfortably.
He tried to say something else but Stella came back, and she was fuming.
“Problem?” I asked.
“Oh you know. That was Roger’s wife on the phone. She wanted to call and let me know that she was the only women he needed in his life and I should stay away.” She was shouting now.
“Who does she think she is?” she asked, almost spitting her words.
“Well, she is his wife,” I said.
“Ouch!” Drew said. He finished his beer and flagged down a waitress, indicating we were going need a round of shots and a new order of drinks, quickly. She nodded and headed off toward the bar.
“She is so nosy, going through his phone and finding all these messages. Oh, and Roger, he didn’t have the balls to call me himself.” Stella fumed as her phone rang again. She looked down and mouthed “Roger” as she answered it and stepped off away again.
“Stella loves her drama,” Drew commented.
“She feeds on it,” I agreed.
“That’s what ultimately broke us up, you know.”
“Drama?”
“Yes, her constant need to be in the middle of everything and everyone. She can’t ever just leave anything alone.”
“She is not perfect, but she means well, usually.”
Stella headed back to our table.
“Things better?” Drew asked, as the waitress returned with our drinks.
“Roger called to apologize for his wife’s drunken tirade. He said it won’t happen again and I told him he was right. It was never going to happen again because I’m done.” She shrugged.
“But a minute ago …” I stammered.
“A minute ago the wife was calling me and that pissed me off, but Roger called to tell me he had told his wife that he didn’t love her anymore and he was leaving her,” Stella said.
“For you?” I squeaked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t let him get that far. I told him things were moving too fast and I didn’t think that it was working anymore … and then I hung up.”
“To Stella,” Drew said, holding up a shot, shaking his head.
“To Stella.”
“Forget me. To Jill and her future,” Stella added, taking the shot and following it up with her drink.
We stayed and drank at the bar until closing time. When I went to close out our tab, I was informed that every drink we had had that night had been covered by someone else in the bar. It seemed the drunker Stella got, the friendlier she got with half the bar. Drew insisted on helping me get Stella safely back to our hotel as she was barely able to stand on her own at this point. I reluctantly agreed as he hailed a cab.
“Thank you so much, Drew,” I said as he gently laid Stella down on the bed in our suite. She had passed out in the cab, and Drew carried her up to our room.
“No problem,” he said as we moved toward the door.
“She can be a little overwhelming.”
“She’s Stella. I hope she finds someone who can harness her in one day.”
“Me too.”
“Listen, Jill, it wasn’t the evening I had hoped for, to be honest. But if you are ever in town again let me know. I would like to take you out to dinner, maybe get to know you better.” He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. I just nodded, afraid to speak and say the wrong thing.
“Well, Stella’s got my number. Goodnight, Jill.”
After he left, I leaned against the door, not believing what was going on. First Ross, now Drew. What was going on? My mind was spinning with too many thoughts to be able to go to bed at that moment. I changed into my pj’s and grabbed my phone, sending several texts to Lanie, explaining what had happened at the bar. I knew she was already asleep, but she would get them in the morning. I thought about Drew and how handsome he was, but ultimately he made me a little uncomfortable. It just didn’t feel right. After checking on Stella one more time, I crawled into bed, staring at the ceiling. My thoughts drifted to Ross. I wondered if he was on the beach tonight, playing guitar with his friends, and in an unguarded moment I decided to text him.