Three Wishes(82)
Author: Kristen Ashley

She asked him if he wanted to wear a morning suit then didn’t wait for his answer and decided that was too stuffy for a Registry Office.

She asked him if he wanted speeches then decided there must be speeches.

In the bedroom, after he’d closed their door, she turned into his arms.

“Just leave it to me. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll call in Laura and Maxie and we’ll have it sorted in no time.” She pressed her index finger in his chest. “You just need to be responsible for the honeymoon. Can you do that?”

His arms tightened and he smiled into her shining face.

“I think I can manage that.”

She tipped her face up to him and smiled.

* * * * *

Three days later, Nate was in his new Bristol office in a meeting, two of his transplanted staff seated in the chairs in front of him awaiting instructions, when the buzzer went on the phone.

When he was in a meeting, the buzzer never went on his phone.

Ever.

Nate wasn’t a cruel boss but he was a demanding one. He expected his staff to work hard and smart, to be ambitious but not greedy nor backstabbing and to be forthcoming with good ideas and constructive criticism. He rewarded them for these things. The more of them they demonstrated, the better they demonstrated them, the larger the reward.

If they failed to demonstrate them, they were gone.

He was not friendly with his staff. He didn’t take them out for drinks. He didn’t buy them Christmas presents although he did give them generous Christmas bonuses. He didn’t share his personal life with a single soul in the office or out of it, for that matter. He did not encourage this behaviour amongst his managers and their employees either. He expected work to be work, he expected success, he expected absolute professionalism and he led by example.

He was not a doting father to a corporate family.

He was the respected, removed commander of a very tightly run corporate army that, day-after-day, achieved remarkable results.

It was his edict that he was never to be disturbed during a meeting unless it was urgent. An edict like all of his edicts that was always strictly obeyed.

Therefore, when the phone sounded, both of his staff jumped in surprise.

Nate hit a button on the phone. “Yes?”

“Ms. Jacobs for you,” His secretary, Jennifer said over the intercom, adhering to his command that any time Lily called, any time, she was to be put straight through.

Nate didn’t spare his two employees a glance (if he had, he would have seen their eyes widen in surprise), he just picked up the phone.

Lily had called him once to complain about her living room furniture being carted away.

Tash, on the other hand, called him every day when she got home from school to tell him every minuscule piece of news that she felt might be of import which was practically every second of her day. Nate looked forward to his daughter’s calls. Natasha was talkative but clever, incredibly clever. She had at her command a great number of words, and she used them well and often, far better than people three times her age. It was clear Tash was advanced and Nate was already looking into special schools for her something, he thought vaguely, he really should discuss with Lily.

Nate had learned quickly that Tash’s calls were to come on a regular schedule and he had Jennifer clear his diary for that hour, without exception.

But Lily had only called once. There was no more furniture to be hauled away and most of the work was being completed that week. He had no idea why Lily would call and he was concerned it was not good news.

“Lily,” he greeted her.

“Hi! You busy?” she responded brightly, her light hearted tone taking him by surprise.

Nate was busy. Nate was always busy.

“No,” he replied.

There was a pause. Then she asked, “What’re you doing?” And she spoke as if she was calling just to chat, as if she did this every day.

He sat back in his chair, taken aback by this latest development that was the New Lily and finding himself wondering at her intentions.

His glance slid past his two employees who were pretending (poorly) not to listen in to their normally cold and indifferent boss’s unprecedented conversation with the unknown “Ms. Jacobs”, a woman for whom he would interrupt a meeting without even the briefest hesitation.

He ignored them.

“Working,” Nate answered.

She let out a carefree laugh then remarked, “Of course.”

“Lily, is there something –”

She interrupted him. “Tash is going to be on school holidays soon and I think we should plan a family trip.”

Nate froze at her unexpected words.

He’d had family holidays with Victor and Laura but as Victor worked constantly, they’d been few and far between. During those holidays Jeff had taken every opportunity to torment Nate in his own special way while Danielle had taken her own opportunities to torment Nate in entirely different ways.

Nate did not have fond memories of family holidays.

Then again, Nate had very few fond memories and most of them centred around two weeks eight years ago and his most recent three.

Not knowing any of this, Lily continued. “I’m thinking Disneyland Paris. Tash has been wanting to go there forever and I’ve never –” She stopped abruptly and then quickly went on, trying to cover her reference to what she and Natasha had done without over the years, a reference she knew would put Nate on edge. “Anyway, we’ll all go for a few days and then Fazire can take Tash to the park and perhaps you and I can go into Paris for a day, or a couple of days, just the two of us. I’ve never been to Paris.”

Nate was silent at this suggestion of a stereotypical family holiday with the inclusion of an intimate couple’s getaway. Lily was also silent.

Lily’s silence was expectant. Nate’s was stunned.

And pleased.

She finally broke it. “Well, what do you think?”

“I’ll have Jennifer set it up,” Nate replied.

“Yippee!” she shouted so loudly that he had to take the phone away from his ear and he couldn’t stop a small grin from forming on his lips as he heard her unconcealed glee.

Nate was also relatively certain his two employees heard her cheer especially since they glanced at each other with knowing looks and they definitely saw his heretofore unseen grin.

“I have to go,” Nate told her, his grin gone and he was sending a cold look to both his staff which immediately wiped any speculation off their faces.

“Oh, okay.” Her voice sounded disappointed and at that, Nate felt that strange, relaxed feeling in his chest again. “When will you be home tonight?”