The Contingency Plan (The Lonely Heart Series) (11 page)

Charlie knew that she should say no.  He had to stop sneaking out of his room at night and learn not to be so afraid of the dark.  But she could use the comp
a
ny herself.  “Yeah, sure you can, man.”  She pulled him up on her lap and kissed his chocolate curls.  “How was your day?”

“Good.  I was the line leader,” he said, looking at the television.  “Can we watch Nick Jr?”

“No.  You’re supposed to be going to sleep, r
e
member?”  Fluffing the pillows beside her, she snu
g
gled him down beside her and put the throw over his body.  “Now, isn’t that better?”

“Yep,” he answered, putting his hands by his face. 

She looked at him for a minute, admiring how sweet and innocent he looked, marveling at how much he favored his father and then turned back to the television.  When she was certain that Hunter had gone to sleep, she went back to the recorded show. 

Curling up beside her son, she watched the inte
r
view again.  “He did it,” she said speechless.  “He made our family.”

117

The Contingency Plan

Chapter 7

Raising her hand to hail a cab, Charlie tried de
s
perately to get away from Sully, but he was there before she knew it, arms around her waist, pulling her into him, into his warm, rock-hard body and his sexy smell.  He clenched her tight, refusing to let go.  Giving in to the words he whispered into her ear, she finally put her hand down and turned to Sully.  His eyes were intense with passion.  Leaning down, he put his hands around her face and bent to her mouth.  Their connection was instantaneous, electric and overwhelming.

She crumpled below him, but he caught her and pulled her closer.  Her arms wrapped around him, and suddenly she felt like she was floating.  And maybe she was, the scenery changed and suddenly she was in his hotel room on his bed, naked and hungry for him.

He pulled off his shirt first and the ripples of mu
s
cle that cascaded down his long torso tightened as he unbuckled his belt and then pulled down his pants.  Slinking into bed, he ran a hand up her thigh and then grazed over the mound.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this, Charlie,” Sully said, kissing her mouth. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“For what?” she asked, opening her legs wider.

Sully slipped inside of her, ever so gently and smiled. “To make the babies.”

She was about to answer when the blaring sound of the alarm clock woke her from her dream.  Blinking hard, she rolled over in bed and realized that she was on the verge of an orgasm.  It was strangely emba
r
rassing. She hadn’t had a wet dream since high school. 

Early morning came quick and early for Charlie.  The impatience of Wednesday would not wait one second longer, and it beckoned her to rise from her slumber and meet the obligations of her life.  Only this morning was unlike any other than she had ever experienced. 

There was a hidden excitement inside of her that boiled in her very pit.  Maybe it was the fact that she held some incredible secret, or maybe it was because she reveled in the change of tempo in her life, but all she could do was replay the images of Charlize and Benjamin. 

Rolling over alone in her bed, she was met by the bright sun on her face and the nagging sound of the alarm clock.  But where she normally would hit the alarm begrudgingly, she popped up.  There was so much to do today, so much to find out, starting with where was Sully Orrin.

It wasn’t until she went into the bathroom and threw water on her face that she realized that the other side of her bed was empty.  Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she counted in her head.  It was Wednesday.  That meant that Alex was off for two more days.  So where was he? 

Grabbing a hand towel, she wiped her face and walked back into the bedroom, then quietly, towel still in-hand, walked down the hall, down the stairs and into the den. 

Lying on the sofa sound asleep was her disgruntled husband.  It was hard to explain but somehow her heart lifted.  If he hadn’t been there, if he hadn’t come home, then it would have been a first.  And as angry as he was when he left, he might not have come back.

She walked over to the sofa and bent to his ear.  His face was turned into the sofa with the covers over his shoulder. 

“Wake up,” she whispered.  “And go get in the bed.”

Alex stirred slowly. “I’m fine here,” he said, clea
r
ing his throat.  “What time is it?”

“Six thirty,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry about last night.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said, refusing to turn over.  “Hey, can you just let me lie here for a little while. I’m beat. I stayed over at the firehouse too long drinking beers with the guys.”  Moving away from her touch, he pushed his head further down into the pillow.

Charlie stood up.  “Sure,” she said, feeling shut out.  “I’ll go and wake the kids.”

“Do you want me to take them to school?” he asked, knowing that she would say no.

“You just said that you stayed out all night drin
k
ing beers with the boys.  Why would I want you behind a wheel?”  Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes in frustration. “I’ll do it.”

Hearing her footsteps walk away, Alex let out a large sigh.  He had barely made it in the house before he heard Charlie’s alarm go off upstairs.  Diving on the couch and covering up down in the den was his only choice.  If she had reached over for his coat on the arm chair, she would have felt it
was
still cold from the weather outside and known that he had just come in.  Counting his lucky stars, he closed his eyes and tried to push the thought of Lola and what had ha
p
pened last night out of his mind.

***

Sophie’s Choice was raring and ready to go by 8:30 a.m. when Charlie arrived.  Carrying her bags with all of her notes and laptop inside, a large lunch bag of food and a notebook, she entered through the glass doors of the office with a smile on her face. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Mendoza,” the receptionist said before she answered another call. “Sophie’s Choice, please hold.”

“Morning, Erika,” Charlie said, breezing past.  “Is Frank here yet?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Erika answered.  “I’m sorry for the hold, sir.  How may I help you?”

Charlie walked down the long corridor to the large corner office and went inside.  Before she could get her bags on the table in the far corner, her assistant Frank came through the doors with a notepad in hand.  “Morning, lady.”  His familiarity was due only to the long, personal relationship they had had for over a decade.

“Hey Frank.  Close the door, please.”  She quickly ran behind her desk and turned on her computer.

“What’s up?” he asked, closing and locking the door behind him.  He walked over to the chair in front of her desk and took a seat, crossing his legs and sitting back with a certain calm that suddenly irritated Charlie. 

“I need a personal favor that will take priority over everything else you have to do today,” she said, pulling up the story about her daughter online. 

“Let me guess. You want me to go down to Prada and pick up that purse you wanted from the Fall line?  Good because while I’m over there, I can flirt with James.”  Straightening his bowtie, he gave a suggestive grin.

“No.”  Planting her hands on the table, she looked directly into his eyes. “I need you to track down Dane Withersby and not one of his assistants. I need him.”

“Oh God, you aren’t pregnant by him, are you?” Frank asked frowning.

Charlie shook her head. “Frank, I’m being serious.”

“So am I.  He’s got more kids than a Mormon.”

“This is one of the most important things that I’ll ever ask you to do, and I need you to be discreet about it,” she said, articulating each word. 

Frank became more serious. “Charlie, is everything alright?” he asked, using her nickname as he did after hours.

“No.  Far from it.  Do this for me, Frank.  And do it
now
.”

***

Home sweet home.  Sully pulled up to his house from their long trip to Washington, D.C. and felt himself exhale for the first time in days.  From one interview to another they had gone all in the name of Charlie’s creation, and while he was very proud of her, he knew that they all needed a break. 

The kids had fallen asleep on the drive from the airport to the house.  He looked back at them and tried to figure out which one to pick up first.  Hitting the garage door opener, he pulled slowly into the garage and turned the car off.  Seeing that Benny was lightly snoring, he opted to pick up Charlie first and take her into the house. 

As soon as he closed his door and went to the back of his BMW SUV to open her door, her eyes popped open.  “Dad, are we here?” she asked, sitting up.

Benny sat up too.  They both looked around and stretched.

“Want me to pick you up and carry you to your room?” Sully asked, reaching for her. 

“I’m not a baby,” she protested, stepping out.  “I can walk.”

Sully shrugged his shoulders.  “You’re only ten.”

“Exactly,” she said, grabbing her backpack. “That’s double digits.”

“You can pick me up, Dad,” Benny said, getting out of the car.

Sully had to laugh.  “As big as you are getting, I should be asking you to carry me.”

Opening the back of the SUV, they unloaded their bags and headed up the stairs to the house.  As they entered, they were greeted by Charlie’s cat, a calico, who anxiously awaited them.

“Hello, Mr. Bubbles,” she said, dropping down to give him a big squeeze.  He purred into her, allowing her to pick him and rub her face against his fur.

“Why does she get a cat, and I can’t have that pot belly pig I asked for?” Benny asked, walking past his sister with his bags.

“Because it’s a pot belly pig, Benny,” Sully tried to explain for the thousandth time.

“Charlie always gets what she wants.  Charlie gets the interviews, the attention, the cat…” Benny shook his head.  “What do I ever get?”

Sully stopped in his tracks.  Realizing that all this attention about Charlie’s design had caused some hardship for his son, he suddenly felt guilty.  He should have seen this coming, should have had a plan in place to make sure that Benny wasn’t left feeling inadequate. 

“I tell you what,” he said, walking over to his son with his hands fisted down into his jean pockets.  “If you just compromise with me on this, I’m sure that we could find some kind of pet for you.” He rubbed the top of his son’s head and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Anything I want?” Benny asked, cheeks rosy and eyes wide.

Sully smacked his lips.  “Within reason.”  He knew his son well and the last thing he wanted was the boy to ask for something even more unreasonable like a pet shark.

“Within your reason or mine?” Benny asked
.
 

It was a very mature question, so Sully tried to ask as if he was really bargaining with him. “Within mine, of course, considering I have to pay for him.”

Benny nodded. “Fine. I’ll go upstairs and check the internet for reasonable pets,” he said sarcastically. 

Sully couldn’t tell if his son was being a smart ass or simply trying to be a big boy, so he stepped back and smiled.  “That’s all I asked,” he said, watching Charlie head out of the room with her cat.

“I’m tired.  Going to bed, you guys,” she said, a
n
noyed by their negotiations.

“How about we all turn in,” Sully said, rubbing his eyes. “It’s been a long week and you guys have to be in school early tomorrow.”

Benny wasn’t happy about the prospect, but he could see that his father’s thread was wearing thin. 

“Night, Dad,” he said, pulling his luggage behind him.

“Good night, you guys,” Sully said, turning around.  He looked around the kitchen and gave a good sigh.   Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he searched through is contacts and called Robert, a good friend of his from the Norfolk Daily News.

The call went straight to voicemail.

Walking over to the sink to fix a glass of water, Sully scratched his head. “Hey Bob, it’s Sully Orrin.  I wanted to know if you would be interested in doing a story on my son, Benjamin.  It seems every outlet in the universe wants a story on Charlie, but they seem to be putting Benny in her shadow. If you
ever
liked me, consider Benny, please.  He’s a star quarterback on his football team and a hell of a debater.  Give me a call back when you get this message. I’ll owe you big time.”

Hanging up the phone, he twisted his lip up and looked out the window just above this sink at the back yard and the breathtaking view of the ocean. 

Trouble was brewing, he could feel it.  Everything that he had worked so hard for was teetering on edge.  The entire weekend, all the reporters could ask was about Charlie’s home life and who her mother was.  Of course, his loving daughter handled the situation beautifully, but the reporters pressed for more.  It was only a matter of time before they started to dig and when they did dig, there would be media gold for them and chaos for the Orrin family.

Before he could finish his glass of water, his cell phone rang. It was Robert.  Sully answered it gratefu
l
ly.

“Sorry to bother you so late,” Sully explained.

Robert cut him off. “I got your message.  What we are really interested in is a story about Charlie.  She’s the creator of the new design, right?”

Sully sighed. “Yeah, but my son is starting to feel inadequate, Robert.  You’ve got kids. You know how this goes.  I don’t want him to…”

Robert cut him off. “You’re a great father, Sully. The best.  In fact, I wish my dad had been half as concerned about me as you are about Benny, but my editor will never go for a story on a regular kid playing football and joining the debate team.  They want Charlie.”

Sully wasn’t happy.  Turning around and leaning on the counter, he cleared his throat.  “I don’t want another story on Charlie. I want a story
on my son
.”