The Contingency Plan (The Lonely Heart Series) (5 page)

“And I you,” Dr. Campbell said charmed.  “This is my husband Robert Campbell…”

The rest of the introductions were lost on Cha
r
lene.  Unable to help herself, she took in all of Sullivan now aged like a fine wine and felt overwhelmed again.  At thirty-eight
his brown locks carried streaks of distinguished gray on the sides but his tanned face was etched with perfect features that were more pr
o
nounced now than she remembered even in her most vivid dreams of him before. 

Sullivan walked over to Charlene, giving her a s
e
ductive grin as he stuck a hand out to Alex.

“Sullivan Orrin,” he said, standing right beside Charlene’s chair.

Feeling silently challenged, Alex stood reaching all of his six feet, four inches of height.  “Alexander Mendoza,” he said, feeling the pull of his fiancée attention between him and her former lover as he shook Sullivan’s soft hand.

“Yes, the luckiest man in New York,” Sullivan co
n
tinued.  “I’ve heard great things about you through the grape vine.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hard work during 9/11, and I’m very sorry for your losses.”

“My fellow firemen are still missed,” Alex said with a frown creasing his angelic features.

There was a pause as Sullivan gathered his thoughts.  “My congratulations on your engagement to Charlie,” he said, finally turning to Charlene.  “Sorry that I haven’t had the opportunity to call and wish you both well.” 

“It’s fine. I’m sure that you’re a very busy man in D.C.,” Charlene said with a nervous chuckle, realizing that the table’s attention had all turned to the trio.

“Well, I plan to be here for about a week.  I was hoping that maybe tomorrow we could have lunch,” Sullivan said with a cunning smile.  “I would like for Dane to hear what Sophie’s Choice has done for this community and others like it.  I believe that he might be a very beneficial friend to the organization. He’s currently in the market to find a non-profit that falls in line with his
personal interests
.”  Sullivan looked over at Dane and raised a brow. 

Dane chimed in quickly. “Yes.  I flew all the way in from L.A. just for the event, but I have a hundred questions.  Sully tells me that you’re the woman to inform me, Charlene.”

Charlie felt the quiet urging of her bosses even with her back to them.  After a quick glance at her fiancé, she suddenly felt sick to the stomach. 
Leave it to Sully to put her in a terrible bind.
  Tilting her head, she ran her hand down her champagne flute and then smiled.  “Tomorrow sounds great.  I believe I read somewhere that you like oysters.”  She looked over at Dane and pulled her composure together. This was business after all. No point in crumbling for her ex’s benefit.  Besides, it could very well have nothing to do with her.

“You read correct.  I love oysters.  I grew up on them,” Dane said, lifting up on his tip toes at the thought of what an aphrodisiac they were. 

“I know the perfect place,” Charlene said, swa
l
lowing down her pride.  “I’ll have Frank set it up.”

“Sounds fun.  Tomorrow then at noon,” Sully said, stepping away.  “Well, if you’d excuse me.  We don’t want to miss the rest of the program.”

“Enjoy!” Dr. Campbell said, oblivious to the unde
r
tones of the conversation.  Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared.  As long as Sullivan Orrin dangled Dane Withersby like a carrot on a stick, she’d be happy to oblige him near anything.

Watching the two men walk away, Alex sat back down beside Charlene and rubbed a hand down her back. “You okay?” he asked, concerned.

“Fine,” she reassured him with a pasted on smile.

“Excellent job,” Mr. Campbell said, proudly.  “What did we tell you?  You were made for this.”

Normally, his enthusiasm would not have been lost on Charlene, but she knew Sullivan too well to be comfortable.  He had something up his sleeve. 

***

Charlie could barely concentrate on fixing her tea that night after the gala.  Standing in her Tuscan-style kitchen, looking out of the windows at the Manhattan skyline as the snow covered the city, she dazed off thinking about her long, lost lover.  She hated the effect that Sully still had on her after all those years.  The butterflies.  The skipped heart beats.  The elevated blood pressure.  She loathed him for it, and she was sure that at the same time he enjoyed it immensely.  Plus, she thought that she had gotten far away from him.  She hadn’t taken his brother’s help, hadn’t used his name to climb the latter, hadn’t used him as crutch to close her heart.  Yet, as far as she had run away from him, he had still found her. 

“How long are you going to hold that cup up to your mouth before you drink some?” Alex asked, walking quietly into the kitchen.

The sound of her fiancé’s voice made Charlie jump.  She turned, startled and smiled at him.  “My mind won’t stop running back to the event,” she answered truthfully.  “I hope the speech was powerful enough, you know.”  She lied.

There was a long pause. 

Alex watched her face carefully before he conti
n
ued.  Taking the tea out of her hand, he walked over to the microwave and popped it in.  “I would have thought that your mind would have been more on the meeting you have tomorrow with your ex and his money.”

“By money, you mean Dane?” she asked, trying to keep her tone even. 

“Him too,” Alex smirked. 

Charlie lifted a brow.  “Does it bother you that I’m meeting him?  I assure you it’s only for business.”  Even as the words left her mouth, she knew that she was lying. But telling him that would be like shooting herself in her own foot. 

“Maybe if I hadn’t met the guy, it would not have bothered me, but after meeting him…” Alex rolled his eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to finish that statement and sound like the guy was punking him out. 

Charlie hung on to his every word.  Alex was an alpha and if he felt upstaged, she knew it was her job to reaffirm her position in this. 

Alex continued when he knew that he had baited her.  Left eye twitching, he continued in a more soothing voice, “But I can see why you guys broke up.”

A frown laced her brow. “Wh…why would you say that?”  She folded her arms. 

Alex shrugged.  “Well, he’s blue blood.  He’s not the type of guy who marries anything less than his own kind. He’s the page-6 type whose family a
n
nounces his wedding engagement on CNN.  I’m sure he has a family crest and papers that follow his lineage like 30 generations or some shit.”

“And what am I?” she asked with a grimace. 

Her twisted bottom lip made him choose his words more carefully.

“You’re an amazing woman who pulled herself up by her own bootstraps,” he said, giving her her props before he ended up on the couch tonight. 

Charlie softened just a little, but countered an
y
way.  “I can’t believe that you are making such a republican statement.”

He raised his palms in defense.  “Just hear me out.  You’re awesome, but you’re not one of the first fam
i
lies to arrive on Pilgrim Rock.  And Sully’s family was.”  There was an unmistakable smirk on his face now. 

“They were settlers, but I don’t think that they a
r
rived on Pilgrim Rock,” she corrected. 
Suddenly, Malcolm X was on the brain.
 

“You know what I mean. I mean, hey, I’m Puerto Rican and proud of it, baby, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t know how these things work.  He’s destined to marry a Rockefeller or a Kennedy.  And you know that I’m right.  He may like to play in the mainstream, but he’s definitely a
two-percenter
.”

“Like the gang?” she asked.

“No.  Like the two percent of America that holds the country’s wealth, smart ass.”

For some reason, Alex’s statement angered Cha
r
lene.  He didn’t know Sully or his family at all.  They were far from elitist.  Still, she couldn’t argue that point. 
Not right now.
  For all she knew, Alex was testing her to see if there were still some feelings there.  Walking over to the microwave beside him, she opened the door and pulled out her mug.

“Even if Sully wanted me,
and I seriously doubt that
, all I want in this world is you,” she said, rising up her tip toes to kiss his lips.  “So this conversation is pointless regardless of if he should marry a Kennedy or a crack head.”

“Is that right?” he asked with a seductive growl.  His brown eyes pierced through her as he licked his lips.  He knew it wasn’t right to goat Charlie, but he just wanted to see for himself if she had truly crossed that threshold
bagless
or not.  She was about to be his wife.  He had to know that she belonged to him and him only.  Divorce rates were unbelievable in New York and he didn’t want to add to the count.  But she had passed his test…with flying colors.  “You know how much I love you, right?”

“This much,” she said, putting her thumb and i
n
dex finger an inch a part with a crooked smile.

“No,” he whispered, pinching her side.  “This much,” he said, opening his arms for her to come into his embrace.  “And it only grows each and every day.  I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page.”

Her words sated his alpha intentions.  Wrapping her arms around him, careful not to spill the hot tea, she pushed her body up against his.  “I do believe that I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”

“You are.”  Taking the coffee cup out of her hand, he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the room.  “Time to stop thinking about work,” he grun
t
ed, feeling his body come alive at just the sight of her.

65

The Contingency Plan

Chapter 3

Charlene had never put so much thought into tr
y
ing to look carefree in her life.  She had thought about wearing a suit, thought about caring on with title that she would soon hold, but today was Saturday and she was meeting people who would see straight through any façade. 

Looking at herself in the full-length mirror of her white-on-white Victorian themed bathroom, she turned to the side and looked at her butt in her new jeans.  It still looked perky…
thank God
. But what about the rest of her? 

She stood to the front and put her hands under her breasts.  Perky enough…hopefully. 

Turning on her lamp, she pushed up further against the countertop and looked at her face.  Did she look as young as she did seven years ago?  Sully didn’t, but he looked even better as an older man, aging like Sean Connery. 

Pulling at the sides of her eyes, she blinked and wiped the extra liner from the slits.  Everything had to be perfect, not just to impress Dane but also to impress Sully. 

For some reason, Charlene wanted him to know what he had missed out on.  She wanted him to grovel and possibly beg, just so she could send him back to D.C. hating himself and counting seven years ago as the biggest mistake of his life. 

It was a tall order. 

She would admit that, but it was one that she was hoping to fill anyway. 

The catch, however, was that good old Sully never regretted anything. He always thought his decision through, played out scenarios, contemplated before he acted.  That is what made him the man at the DLC. Sully was pragmatic and strategic. Only just this once, she needed him to regret her. 

Why?  She wasn’t sure yet.

Maybe it was because she never got closure or maybe it was because she had spent last night thinking about Alex’s statement.  “Sully was a blue blood.”  She had never seen him that way before, but what if Sully did regard himself in such a way?  What if he never had any intention of ever staying with her?  What if he never truly cared about her?   The questions multiplied by the hour, and with each question came more dead air – no answers, no closure. 

All she knew is that for the first time in forever, she remembered what it was like to really feel, and that disturbed her.  She had learned to be a reasonable woman with her heart instead of throwing it about like she had a spare.  She had learned that men thought women were expendable, and so the best thing to be was guarded.  But the one thing she had not learned to do was get over Sully.

Checking her watch, she brushed through her long ponytail one last time  and sprayed perfume.  Gra
b
bing her purse and shades off of the sofa nearest the door, she took a deep breath and emerged into the world.

***

Sitting in the back of Clément’s Oyster House in a large, dark empty booth only illuminated by the dim tiffany lamp above him with a khaki-colored Ralph Lauren Polo baseball cap pulled down over his choc
o
late curls and his eyes glued to the menu, Sully took a sip of his dirty martini and debated on what to order. Oysters were Dane’s favorite, but he preferred a big juicy medium-well steak to seafood.   

Pulling his I-phone closer to him, he checked the time covertly, then continued like he wasn’t nervous, wasn’t anxious, wasn’t…waiting to see Charlie again, even though his heart was beating like a drum in his chest. 

Last night, she had looked even more amazing than he could have ever imagined.  Her skin glowed.  Her eyes beamed.  Her presence encapsulated him, utterly and completely. 

It had driven him crazy to see her cuddled up to her fiancé.  Even he wasn’t prepared for his reaction – a heady mix of jealousy and want had overtaken him, and he was forced last night to leave before he said something about it. 

It was like the first time that they had met seven years ago.  He still remembered what he had felt like when she walked in with his brother to the headqua
r
ters in Miami. 

But he wouldn’t get too ahead of himself with all of that today.  First, he had to pitch her on the entire crazy concept of his new and biggest idea to date. 

His heart made a thud when he heard high heels clicking his way.  Finally looking up when he was certain that he would not gawk, he eyed Charlie.

She sported a very sexy ensemble: a dark pair of skinny jeans that fit her thick hips and wide calves perfectly, a soft white lace shirt and nude chemise underneath that showed just a hint of supple cleavage, taupe red-backed heels and a white Coach purse with a heavy leather coat thrown over her arm. 

She hid her eyes with a pair of Aviator shades, but he swore it only brought more attention to her glossy, pouty full lips.

Damn, this is going to be a long day
, he thought to himself as he pushed himself from the booth and stood up.

“Hey you,” he said, reaching for her.

Hugging him was like sin for Charlie, but she did it despite herself.  She reached her hands around him and lightly squeezed his rock-hard back, feeling the crease down the middle.  His cologne, Gucci Guilty, damned near sent her into a frenzy.

“Where’s Dane?” she asked, looking around.  “Running late I hope.”

“About Dane…he needs a rain check,” Sully said, motioning for the booth. “Please, have a seat.”

Charlie exhaled with a bit of an unintended whine.  “Sully, if Dane isn’t here…”  Alex’s face popped in her head.  He would be furious if he knew that they were meeting alone, especially after their conversation last night. 

Sully shook his head as if he would not hear of what she was about to say.  “Dane and I are very close.  I assure you every word that you say to me regarding Sophie’s Choice will be relayed to him verbatim.”

“Verbatim?” she repeated, head tilting. 

He cracked a smile, revealing perfect, pearly white teeth. “You do realize that I do this for a living, right?” His charm broke the ice. 

Charlie gave in slightly. “Okay.  Just as long as this meeting is on the up-and-up, then I can stay.”

Sully lifted his hands.  “Completely on the up-and-up. I promise.”

Charlie narrowed her eyes on him.  “Sully, your fingers are crossed.”

Sully looked over at his right hand and chuckled. She knew him better than he remembered.  “Okay, let me rephrase. 
Most
of this meeting is on the up and up. However, I will confess that I do have some private things to discuss with you that are not pertaining to Sophie’s Choice. But hey, it’s me.  It’s Sully.  Don’t I get a private moment?” His shoulders hunched up sho
w
ing his amazingly toned trap muscles. 

“Okay. I’ll give you that,
but only that
,” she said, hoping that it had to do with a bit of groveling. Her eyes widened behind her shades at the thought.  Taking her shades off, she revealed her sultry brown eyes at just the moment she was sure that he’d be most captivated. 

She wasn’t disappointed.

Sully’s smile dropped for a moment. 

“
Heeelloooo
,” he said with finality as if he knew what was happening between them.

Charlie could barely speak.  “Hello,” she whi
s
pered.
Get a hold of yourself
, she reminded herself quietly. 
You’re not supposed to be falling for him.  He’s supposed to be falling for you, you klutz
. 

Sully cleared his throat.  “So, let’s get the business out of the way first.”  Clasping his large, manicured hands together, he lifted his brow. “Dane’s impressed with your organization.”

“Really?” Her business mind took over. 

“Very.  He is impressed with the mission of S
o
phie’s Choice and impressed with the leadership,
especially you
.  He wants to donate a substantial initial gift that will help single mothers return to or go for the first time to college in the New York City area.”

Charlie nodded. “How much are we talking?”

Sully didn’t blink.  “One million dollars.”

Exhaling loudly with a clever grin, Charlie sat up in her seat.  “How do you say
no
to that?”

“You don’t.”

Charlie wiggled a little in her seat.  “Well, what’s the catch?”

“There is no catch. He wants to meet later next week to make it official.”

“Sure.  We can come to him, or we’d love to have him back here in New York.”

“Sounds good.  I’ll let him know.”

Charlie paused. “Wait. It’s never this simple.  In this economy, one hundred thousand dollars is hard to come by and your friend wants to give away one million?”

“I get that, but it is what he wants to do.”  Sully could feel the change of energy from across the table.  Charlie wasn’t buying it. 

“How’s his company doing?”  she probed, taking a sip of water.  Her eyes were glued to him and his fingers. 

“Doing great
actually
.”  Sully looked down and took a sip of his own water. 

“How are his private affairs?  I mean, are they in order?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Now that you mention it, there is some news that is going to break pretty soon in the media.”  He exhaled the “got me” sigh. 

“Like what?” Charlie asked.

Sully swallowed hard, bobbing his Adam’s apple as he did.  “Like…like a few kids that he has fathered who have not been properly supported in the past.  But I assure you that he didn’t know about them. His gatekeepers are responsible for the communication break-down.  They didn’t believe the girls and their stories.”

“How many kids?”

“Four.”

“Wow, Sully.  This is damage control,” she said outraged.  Suddenly, his gift sounded and smelled like a bribe. 

“Dane is prepared to face this head on and to show his commitment to fixing the problem; he is not only going to take care of the women, but also he wants to make this gift to your organization.”  He tried to remind her of the bigger picture, but she was all tunnel vision at the moment. 

“Why give to us instead of the Women’s Found
a
tion?” She pulled out a notebook from her purse. 

“You’re actually turning away money?” Sully asked with a huff.

“No.” Charlie pursed her lips together and thought long and hard for a moment.  Tapping her finger on the table, she finally rolled her eyes.  “What’s the catch, Sully?  Outside of the gift and the situation, he must want something in return.  What is it?”

“Maybe he wants you to come out with your pu
b
lic relations team real hard on this during the same time that the stories about his four baby mommas hit.”

“And by hard, you mean what?”

“News releases, air time and a few print media pieces.  I have it on good authority that the organiz
a
tion is going to announce you as the new prez next week.  You’ll be all over the papers.  One of the youngest major non-profit leaders in the city.  The media will eat it up if you’re tied to Dane’s story.  You could single handedly turn this around by pubbing the one-million dollar gift and using it as a call to action for others.  Plus, he’d be in your debt forever, and he’s a good guy to have in your corner.  He knows ever
y
one.  Can you imagine having him call and ask for money on behalf of you and your organization?  Who would say no to him? He’s New York’s golden boy. He’s like one of the freaking Yankees.”

Charlie sucked her teeth. “I can’t say yes to this without talking to my board.  They need to be aware of the fact that this gift comes with a serious, dark-ass shadow.  They may not want it considering the bad press that might be attached to it.  Bad press with the gift means bad press attached to Sophie’s Choice, and we’ve worked too hard for that to happen.   If it were any other guy, it might not be a big deal, but Dane has branded himself as the face of the new billionaire.  Everyone loves him because he pulled himself out of poverty and turned himself into what he is.  I have saints who give one million without any bad press.”

Sully knew where she was going with this.  Raising his hand, he picked up his phone and stood up from the table. “Give me a minute.”

As she watched him walk away, she sank down into the booth. 
Was she really possibly turning down one million dollars?  Was she freaking crazy? 
Still with what Dane was attaching to the gift, she had to push for more.   

Sully returned quickly and slid back into the booth.  “Two million dollars
today
.  We want you to break the news as soon as we give you the nod.  Now, we know your public relations team is on point and the news will break about the women here first because all four women are here in New York.”

“Oh shit,” Charlie said, scratching her head.  “How old are they?”

“One Cuban, one African-American, one Italian and one screaming Irish redhead.  All of them are around 25. Two of them got pregnant on the same night, nearly
at the same time
.”