Oh Stupid Heart (10 page)

She opened her mouth
in mock outrage. “Are you here as my boss? Because I’ve got to warn you, I’m in
no mood for work.”

He sprang onto the
bed, straddling her. “No? What are you in the mood for? Ah, yes. Sleeping. You
wanted to go home and sleep.”

His accurate recall
made her grimace.

He settled in over
her, wrapping her like a cocoon and sobered. “Was it because I wasn’t at the
airport to pick you up?”

She avoided his gaze
by playing with the buttons on his silk shirt. “No. I was having doubts about
us making love.”

He rolled off her and
lay a foot away, watching her with concern. “What’s changed?”

She reached out and
intertwined his fingers with hers. “I got scared. My feelings for you are so
intense, and we’re so different.”

He shuffled closer. “I
agree with the first but not the second comment. You understand me better than
anyone, which you couldn’t do if we were fundamentally different.”

Logically, she agreed
with his statement, but her logic must be blind, because no way could she and
Trent be fundamentally similar people. “You’re like a different species. How
can we be the same?”

He shrugged. “I’ve
never fit in with my kind. But, I didn’t understand common people either. I was
completely alone.” Pure joy beamed from his gaze. “Until a cute little girl
showed up and interviewed for a job. I fell head over heels.”

She scowled,
questioning his memory. “Trent, you threatened to fire me every day during the
first six months! You didn’t like, much less love me.”

“I didn’t mean what I
said. I just channeled my dead father because no one had yet taught me there
are other ways to motivate an employee. But you’re right about one thing. I
didn’t believe in love back then. The Cocos of the world had left me jaded.”

She stroked his
cheek. If all his species’ females were like the Prada viper, he had every
right to distrust any claim of love.

He captured her hand
and pressed it to his lips. “You are the first person who didn’t want to alter
me. Instead, you soothed away my anger and allowed the other parts of me to
come out and show themselves.”

She nodded. Contrary
to all the people, including Mars, who claimed they knew Trent, she seemed to
be the only one who could see his sweetness. They only saw the angry petulant
child his parents had raised.

His eyes became
watery. “I don’t blame you for being scared. I’ve been terrified that I’d screw
up what we have and lose you. I kept telling myself to hold off until I got my
business in order so it could survive without you.”

His words doused her
warm fuzzy feelings like cold water on a fire.

“But the truth is if
I lose you, I won’t give a damn about the business. You are the one good thing
in my life, and everybody keeps telling me I can’t leave the stratosphere in
which I was born, that I’m not allowed to marry the only person who loves me
for who I am. Their opinions wouldn’t matter to me in the least, except when
they fail to persuade me, they’ll come after you.” He met her eyes. “Maybe they
already have.”

She didn’t answer,
because she wasn’t sure if Ian qualified as part of “they”.

“I was at the airport
waiting for you tonight. Only Madeline Landsworth decided upon an
intervention.”

Crap, now she had
someone else she had to worry about? “Who’s Madeline?”

“My mother’s best
friend. Since my mother’s death, the horrible woman has made me her second son.
She’s like the wicked godmother of society.”

“And she doesn’t
approve of me?”

“She doesn’t know
anything about you. Coco is her only source.”

Carrie grimaced at
the thought. Coco would paint her as a giant, tiny gold-digger.

He caressed her
check. “I didn’t mention Madeline to make you worry. Our conversation opened my
eyes to other possibilities. If my people get too obnoxious, we have an out.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Somewhere along the
way, she mentioned her real son, and I asked how he was doing. Pete and I had
something in common growing up. We both hated our parents and were miserable as
hell.”

Carrie couldn’t stand
the distance between them and wiggled closer. Needing no further encouragement,
Trent pulled her tight against him.

“I asked her how Pete
was doing, and she said ‘who’? She couldn’t recognize her son by the name he
called himself. She informed me she hadn’t spoken to Peter in years. He had
completely disappeared and probably lay rotting in a jail somewhere, hopefully
under an assumed name.”

“Okay, I’m not liking
your replacement mom.” Carrie couldn’t believe a mother would wish her son into
jail under an assumed name so she wouldn’t risk embarrassment, but this
horrible woman evidently did.

“I’ve never been fond
of her, but I’ve always been polite, until tonight. I told her she’d been a
horrible mother to Pete, and I had no wish to be her second son. I told her to
stay out of my business and leave me alone, because the next time she
interfered, I would not be half as polite as I’d been tonight.”

Carrie kissed him on
his lips. Ian was wrong. He’d said Trent would never go against the matrons,
and he’d gone head to head with the queen. “I’m so proud of you.”

His eyes glistened. “I
called around until I found someone who knew a bit about Pete. And the whole
time they told me about him, speaking in a tone of horror and disgust, I bit my
tongue and wrote down the pertinent details needed to find him.”

“Did you?”

Trent frowned. “Tomorrow,
when we finally get out of bed, I want you to help me track him down. According
to Gary, he’s living in a small apartment on the East side with his ‘white
trash’ wife and three or four kids. He makes a living writing novels under his
new name of Jon Javits and his wife, Patty, is a choreographer for Broadway
musicals. Also, his mother is fully aware he lives in the city because Gary told
her four years ago.”

“Jon Javits? I love
his SkyRyder series!”

“Great. When you
track him down for me, you can tell him. I’m pretty sure all authors like to
hear people love their books.”

Carrie chuckled and
nodded in agreement. She liked his plan a great deal. Jon could show him how to
be normal, which meant she and Trent could be happy. They could marry, and even
have unspoiled children. They had more options, not just the outcomes listed by
others.

She rolled him to his
back. “Stay there.”

The moment she climbed
off the bed, he sat up. “Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back. Just
lie down and rest.”

She hurried into the
other room and collected a large assortment of scarves. When she turned to rush
back, knowing he wouldn’t ‘stay’ for long, she slammed into his hard body.

“I told you to remain
in bed.”

“What are you up to?”

She put her cloths of
capture behind her back. “Nothing.”

He arched an eyebrow
and removed his shirt. “Okay, this once I’ll do as you say, but I’m telling you
now, once you’ve had your play fun, you have to untie me so I can make love to
you properly. This will be our first time, and I wish to make a good
impression.”

She dropped her tools
for bondage. “You’re right. We can play tie-up later.”

“Getting Pete’s
number is going to take a miracle,” Trent warned Carrie as she reviewed the
information he’d gathered about Pete.

“We have his address
and name, so let me try the easy way.”

“What’s that?”

“411.”

He shook his head.
“They can’t give out a person’s number.”

“They can if you
don’t pay them to keep it private.”

“What type of idiot
wouldn’t pay?”

Her furrowed brow and
glare alerted him to an unthinkable possibility. “Carrie, do you let complete
strangers call you on the phone?”

“They could, but
honestly the only calls I get are people asking me to donate for their cause or
to clean my chimney.”

“Why don’t you have a
private number?” The thought of perverts calling her in the middle of the night
wanting to “clean her chimney” set off every alarm in his head.

“It’s an extra cost
which I don’t need. All the telemarketers use automated phone banks which
result in a long pause after I say hello. If I don’t have any money or if I’m
busy, I can hang up before I’m passed to a live person. Seriously, the only
real person who calls is you.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m
pretty sure I’d give you my digits even if I paid to have them removed from the
directory.”

“I want you to get a
private number. I’ll pay for it. I don’t like the idea of strange men asking
you for phone sex. And why are chimney people calling? You don’t even have a
fireplace!”

She pressed her face
against his chest. By the shake of her shoulders, she either laughed or cried.
Since he hadn’t said anything close to amusing, he feared the worse. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just want to protect you from strangers and
people who sweep non-existent chimneys.”

She stepped back and
grinned at him. “My furnace has a chimney, which does require occasional
cleaning. Now let me call 411 and see if I can get Pete’s number.”

“It’s not going to
work.” Trent huffed. “Everyone but you has a private number.”

Carrie dialed and asked
for Jon Javits then provided his address. Trent expected her smile to disappear
as the operator refused to disclose any information. Instead, Carrie typed on
her iPad and thanked the operator.

She held up her
tablet with ten digits.

He shook his head.
While Carrie evidently didn’t know better, due to her middle-class upbringing,
Pete had no excuse for such foolishness.

“Well, call him.” The
happy anticipation in Carrie’s voice worried him. What if Pete hated him? Or
lumped him in with all the other assholes he’d grown up with? She’d be so
disappointed.

Still, he had to try.
Having another couple to lead them through the rough waters ahead would really
help. Like an experienced guide on a canoe trip warning them to avoid the
rapids on the right. He’d never gone canoeing, but if he did, he’d definitely
want a guide. He took in a deep breath and dialed.

“This is Jon and
Patty Javits. We aren’t home right now. Please leave your name and number and
we’ll get back to you.”

At the beep, Trent
spoke. “Jon, It’s Trent Lancaster. I don’t know if you remember me, but we used
to be friends. At least in my memory we were. Anyway, I’ve decided to disown my
‘people’, whom I’ve never liked, for a fabulous young woman and I—”

“Trent?” a familiar
voice replied.

“Pete?”

“Jon, but yeah, it’s
me. So you want to live in the real world do you?”

“I’ve been skirting
the edges for years, running a company, falling in love with my EA, but
recently ‘my people’ have become overly involved with my life. Last night, I
got waylaid by your mother and when she made one comment too many, I told her
to stay out of my business. I didn’t have much hope of her doing so until I
discovered you manage to live here in the city with a wife you love and kids. I
need your advice. I don’t want to screw this up. Carrie’s the best thing that’s
ever happened to me.” He ran his hand through his hair. “And once I become a
normal person, maybe we could be friends again.”

Jon laughed. “I’d
like that. You’d be my one friend with whom I can talk out my still-raging
childhood angers. Frankly, Patty’s tired of hearing about them. They seem
pretty lame to her, but you’ll understand.”

“Yeah.”

Carrie held up a
scribbled note:
Invite them out for fishing and hiking.

“Any chance you’d
like to come to New Jersey for some fishing and hiking?”

After a pause, Pete
asked, “You fish and hike?”

“Not yet, but Carrie
does, and she seems to think it’s fun.”

“Hold on, let me
see.”

He came back on a
moment later. “We’d love to. Should we pack a bag?”

“Definitely. Let me pass
you over so Carrie can tell you which train to take.”

She gave them the
train line and time, hung up, and ran into Trent’s arms. “We have friends!”

He nodded, feeling
both relieved and a little scared at how easily he’d obtained them.

She pressed her cheek
to his chest. “This is a very good sign.”

***

Since Trent had sent
Sam home last night, Carrie used her car to pick up their new friends at the
station.

She liked Patty at
first sight. The tall, pretty blond gave the impression of a young girl in her
early twenties, but according to Trent she had to be closer to thirty. The age
discrepancy could be due to her youthful clothes. Patty wore frayed blue jean
shorts, a baggy stretched t-shirt, and flip flops.

Carrie approved of
everything but her footwear. “Did you bring tennis shoes?”

“Hiking boots.”

“Whew!” Carrie
laughed and pointed to her feet. “Those weren’t going to work.”

Patty wiggled her
toes at Carrie.

Trent and Jon stood
and stared at one another. Jon finally broke the ice by giving him a man hug.

Once home, Carrie led
Patty up to her second bedroom. The young woman turned around twice, as her
mouth fell open. “Jon, get up here and see where we’re sleeping.”

She glanced at
Carrie. “This really is the guest room right?”

Carrie nodded. “Is
something wrong?”

Jon hurried up the
stairs with Trent following.

“Get a look at the
size of their
extra
room.”

Jon passed Carrie and
followed his wife. Trent stayed with Carrie and wrapped his arms around her.

“Is my guest room too
small?” she whispered.

“Holy shit! We could
put all four kids in here.” Jon faced Carrie. “Any chance you want to sell your
house?”

“No.”

“Maybe,” Trent said.

Jon grinned. “If you
do, we are definitely interested.”

Patty nodded
excitedly. “What’s the cost of a train ticket from here?”

Carrie huffed. What
part of ‘no’ did they not understand? “Four hundred and twenty dollars for a
monthly. They just raised the rates again.” Hopefully that would kill the dream
of buying her house, because it wasn’t happening.

“Wow!” Jon looked at
his wife. “We’d still need to buy a subway monthly, as well.”

Patty sighed and sat
on the bed. “A girl can dream, can’t she?”

***

Later, as they hiked
Wildcat Ridge and the guys had fallen behind, Patty explained her
disappointment. “Our apartment is the size of your top floor and with four
kids, it’s not working anymore.”

“Have you looked for
a bigger place?” Other than
her
house.

Patty nodded. “Yes,
but we can’t afford it. Besides, I don’t want our kids growing up in Brooklyn.
I want them to live someplace like this. Unfortunately, my job requires me to
be in the city, but if I buy both a commuter ticket and a subway pass, most of
my paycheck will be gone. Choreographers aren’t paid well and it’s uncertain
work. You’re only as good as your last show. Screw up once and you’re history.”

“Wow, that’s got to
be stressful.”

She nodded. “The
whole thing is. When Jon escaped his mother and their demented lifestyle, he was
dirt poor, with no practical skills whatsoever. He got a job as a dishwasher at
some guy’s restaurant. The jerk was supposedly his friend, but he just wanted a
chance to demean and embarrass Jon into giving me up.” She picked up a rock and
threw it into the woods. “I was pregnant with our first son and scared to death
I’d lose his daddy before the kid even popped out.”

If Patty was trying
to hit a tree, they all managed to escape her aim, which only made Carrie like
her more. “I’ve met the jerk. He had me hiding out in the bathroom, convinced
Trent and I weren’t going to work out. A woman came in and talked me down. She
was evidently middle-class at one time, although she looked coifed and high
society when I met her. She rallied me to ignore the asshole and hang on to
Trent because she’d never seen him so in love before.”

“Yeah, it was the
same with us. Until Seabass arrived. He was the tipping point. Now we’re always
fighting, usually about money. Both our jobs are uncertain. Jon gives lectures
on becoming an author and hawks his old books to the students, and I teach
dance for beginners and choreograph for promising dancers when I’m not doing a
show.”

Carrie frowned on the
first part of her statement. “Jon doesn’t write novels anymore? His stories are
wonderful. I’ve read everything he’s written.”

“You should tell him.
His agent dropped him last month because he hadn’t written anything in a year.
We’ve both been working 24/7 just to pay the bills.”

“I know the feeling.”

“Yeah, but you’re
probably remembering your college years. I mean look at you — You bought a
freaking house by yourself.”

Carrie smiled with
pride. She had done well.

“Unless Trent got it
for you.”

“No! It’s mine.”
Outrage bubbled up at Patty’s suggestion Trent was her sugar daddy. “I started
putting money away the second I got my job. Trent would threaten to fire me
every day, so I lived as cheaply as I could in a one room apartment in Hoboken
until I taught him to stop threatening me. Then, I used all the money I’d
hoarded to put a deposit down, got a mortgage, and now pay most of my paycheck
to the bank every month.”

“What do you do?”

“Well, I was Trent’s
EA.” Patty’s blank expression indicated she had no idea what that was. “It
stands for executive assistant. Basically, it means I’m Trent’s right-hand man—well,
woman. It’s like being the CEO without the pay or credit.”

“Hey,” Trent spoke
from behind her, making her almost trip on a rock. He swiftly caught her and wrapped
his arm around her. “I give you credit. I’ll admit the pay has been a bit shaky
recently, but somewhere in your mail should be a check for your Taiwan
expenses.”

She shook her head. She’d
searched for it first thing this morning.

“I’m going to kill
somebody,” he growled. He glanced at Jon. “Any chance you want to be an accountant?”

Carrie placed her
hand on his chest. “Your finance manager will want to choose his staff.”

“No, Coco said he
didn’t want the job either.”

Carrie thumped
Trent’s chest in frustration. “That’s it. Your change specialist is taking over
the transition come Monday and if Coco quits, so be it. I will find another
qualified HR person who is more committed to getting the job done than seducing
my boss.”

Jon choked. “You
didn’t hire Coco Tyson, did you?”

“
I
didn’t hire
her. The guy we engaged did. Still, I’ve been impressed with the people she’s
brought in to interview for the jobs.”

Carrie gripped his
shirt. “Yes, but none of them are accepting our offers. They are more than
likely overqualified. However, I am now trained and more than capable of
solving our problem. I just need your complete support in doing it.”

Trent leaned down and
kissed her nose. “You have it.”

Carrie breathed in,
feeling a great deal of satisfaction. She turned to Jon. “You’re not qualified
for accounting, but you are an excellent writer, and we could use your skills.
While the job I have in mind would be beneath your talent, it does pay a
hundred thousand a year.”

Patty gripped his
arm. “He’ll take it.”

Jon glared at his
wife before refocusing on Carrie. “What is it?”

Trent tilted his head
and arched his eyebrows, clearly wishing to know the same,

“It is a position
we’ve never had, but do need, once we get a better sales team.”

Trent raised his brow.
“If you are thinking we need a professional writer to create our brochures and
pamphlets I agree, both on the position and the potential candidate.” He grinned
at Jon. “We’ll pay for you to be trained on the advertising portion of the job.
So don’t let that scare you off.”

Jon’s smile remained a
bit tight. “Let me talk it over with Patty in private and I’ll let you know.”