Totlandia: The Onesies, Book 1 (Fall) (15 page)

Upon hearing her long, anguished sigh, Jen pointed at the Saks Fifth Avenue across the street. “Designer sale. Just sayin’.”

“Really? Thank God for small miracles! Okay, call the chairman and tell him I’ve got it covered.” She was out the door in a flash.

4:01 p.m.

Ally gave great anecdote.

Like the one about the time the cargo container from China was filled with sex slaves as opposed to open-toed sandals.

And how long it took to discover that Foot Fetish’s very first app was linked to an S&M site instead of their online store.

And how, as a single mom, she’d given birth to her daughter on the same day she closed the acquisition by BI.

And in the Bottega Veneta cocktail dress she’d found at the sale, all of these incidents flowed trippingly off her tongue because she knew she was the sexiest woman in the room.

In all honesty, she was the only woman in a room filled with guys who actually looked up every now and then from their computers in order to laugh out loud with her.

It was during the Q&A that she saw him: Brady Pierce.

At first, she hadn’t recognized him. Maybe that was because the last time she’d seen him, he’d had a baby on his shoulders.

Without the toddler, he was even better looking than she’d remembered.

I can see what Jade sees in him, she thought.

Obviously he’d already placed her, because his eyes never left her face.

That know-it-all grin never left his face, either.

Then, the possible reason for his smile hit Ally like a ton of bricks:
 
Oh, hell. He now knows I’m still involved with the company. He can use that to get me ousted from the club.

As if reading her mind, he raised his hand. The moderator pointed to him, warning the crowd that it would be the last question of the session. “Ms. Thornton, has it been difficult running a multi-billion dollar company
 
and
 
being a full-time parent?”

She wondered if her face were as red as her new dress. At least she had the smarts to pause before answering, “I’m working on an app for that.”

That got the biggest laugh of all.

Ally was the only one in the room who wasn’t laughing.

***

“I know what you’re thinking,” Brady said when he finally caught up to her.

It was easy for him to do, considering his legs were very long, and her heels were too tall.

She stopped short. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“You’re wondering if I’m going to out you to the club. Am I right?”

“Of course. Six families. Four slots. Do the math.”

God, you’re so beautiful, Brady thought. Even when you’re vulnerable.
 
Especially now, when you’re back is against the wall, and you’re trying so hard to be strong…

“How about a drink? We can walk over to the St. Regis. It’s got a great bar.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not.” He looked her in the eye. “We all have our dirty little secrets.”

“Oh yeah? What’s yours?”

He shrugged. “You’ll have to get me drunk to find out.”

That brought a smile to her face. “Sure. If you’re spilling your guts, then I’m buying.”

Even in heels, she kept pace with him all the way to the St. Regis.

She must have needed that drink as badly as he did.

11:41 p.m.

He was surprised by how easy he found it to divulge his own bizarre machinations regarding the Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club.

He told her how he’d met Jade at a strip club, and it was lust at first sight; how, when Jade had told him she was pregnant, his heart had sunk, but he knew he’d stand by his kid, no matter what; how, when Oliver was only five months old, Jade had put her so-called career ahead of their son’s health, and their baby’s raging fever had landed Oliver in the hospital; and how, because of the club’s rules forbidding dads’ participation other than at their adult parties, he’d bitten the bullet and had invited Jade back into his life.

That’s what happens when you let a pretty woman buy you a triple Johnny Walker Blue, he reasoned.

“She loves Ollie,” Ally insisted. “It shows in everything she does for him.”

Brady grimaced at the nickname. “It’s
 
Oliver
. Yeah, yeah, I know she calls him that all the time. Someday I’ll break her of the habit. And yes, I know she loves him. But…well, I never loved her.”

Ally grinned as she patted his arm. “Love is like sand, isn’t it? Shifting with time, but always there in some form. We never know what the future holds, do we?”

More of you, I hope.
 
Right then and there, he could have kissed her.

Instead, he picked up the tab and walked her to her car.

“Mum’s the word,” he promised.

“Ladies! Ladies! Gather ’round, please.” Bettina’s lilting declaration was more of a command than a pleasantry.

The mothers from the various groups within the club quit chattering and did as they were told.

“As we all know, Halloween is just around the corner, which means the PHM&T’s annual Halloween party is as well.”

The squeals and claps were to be expected, despite the fact that the members had been prepping for the event for weeks.

Unlike the probationary Onesies, who, until now, hadn’t realized how big a deal it was.

“The rules are
 
strict
.” The emphasis on that last word came with a laser-like gaze at the newbie Onesies, so they could gauge the importance the event would have on their survival in the club. “First, all costumes are handmade, by each child’s mother. Be original, people! The mundane is abhorred, whereas the eclectic is celebrated! Second, all children must participate in the parade in order to be eligible for our wonderful prizes, which were chosen by one of our probationary Onesies, Jade Pierce…” Bettina’s hand swept out toward Jade in a gesture of gracious inclusion, “…along with
 
moi
. So, yes, you
 
will
 
love them.”

Again, not a mere statement, but a command.

The applause that accompanied her departure proved this.

Jillian slumped down on the bench. Between single parenting and almost two weeks of waiting tables, she was downright exhausted. Now she had to make the girls’ costumes by hand, too? What she knew about sewing wasn’t much more than how to thread a needle to sew on a button. Maybe she could put the girls in large white paper bags lined with a row of black buttons down the center, and they could come as snowmen.

Noting the look on her face, Ally gave her a gentle hug. “Oh, come on, it won’t be that difficult to whip something up.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lorna murmured. Her face mirrored Jillian’s worry. In anticipation of the event, she’d already spent a fortune on a miniature Sherlock Holmes outfit she’d found in a costume catalog. Knowing Bettina the way she did, she presumed the word “eclectic” meant the costumes had to be something no one else would have thought of—in other words, no ghosts, witches, Hulks or Iron Man costumes.

“I’ve got an idea.” Ally turned to face them all. “Why not work on them together? There’s no rule that says we can’t. In fact, we can do it at my house. I’m into crafts, so if you have an idea of what you’d like to make, let me know. I’ll see what kind of cloth and felt and feathers and buttons I’ve got in my stash. Everyone can come by after the meet-up next Monday.”

“I’m in!” Lorna and Jillian said at the same time, then laughed together.

“Me, too,” Jade said. For once, she felt close to the others—and not just because Brady would be pleased with her.

“I’ll pass,” Chakra declared with a sniff. “I’m sure whatever you’ve been holding in your basement is synthetic, not to mention covered in mold spores.”

Ally shook her head to keep from lashing out. Her fabric stash came from the pristine design studio at Foot Fetish, not that the other women needed to know that.

“I’ve already ordered some bolts of organic cotton from India,” Chakra said. “And I’ll be making my own glue. That way it’s non-toxic. And edible, in fact.”

“Ah! So that explains it…” Ally muttered under her breath.

The others turned away to keep from laughing out loud. Thank goodness the slight went right over Chakra’s head.

Or maybe not.

“Gotta run!” Chakra growled. “Sally and I are diagramming the children’s harvest of the PHM&T’s communal garden. She can’t do anything without me.”

“We’ve noticed,” Kelly said in mock innocence.

“Well, missy, there is something else that’s been noticed—by the applications committee: your late attendance to meet-ups.”

Seeing, Chakra’s smirk, Kelly turned white.

As Chakra sauntered over to Sally’s bench, Kelly muttered, “Well, she’s certainly making herself indispensible to the committee. I guess that’s one way to play the game.”

The same thought had crossed everyone’s mind at that exact moment:
 
How far do I have to go to win a slot?

Kelly leaned over to Lorna and whispered, “What will you make for Dante’s costume?”

Lorna shook her head. “To tell you the truth, I’ve got no idea.”

“Me neither! But I’ve got one great idea, why don’t we dress the boys alike? It would be
 
so
 
cute!”

Lorna didn’t know how to tell Kelly that this was the last thing she’d want to do, but then she thought better of it. Other than gushing over Jade, Bettina hadn’t been playing favorites.

Still, there was a reason Kelly was sitting there on the bench with the rest of them, so there must be a good reason why Bettina saw it fitting to have her old high school BFF around, despite her chronic tardiness.

Okay sure, why not dress the boys alike? Lorna wondered. It’ll be a good bonding experience for both Dante and for me. Besides, it’s like they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I’m guessing Kelly is the former with Bettina as opposed to the latter. One thing
 
is for sure: if it turns out I’m wrong, she can’t make Bettina hate me more than she already does.

“Sorry to bother you, Ally.” The dread in Jen’s voice released a trickle of sweat down Ally’s back. “But Ellis is wondering if you’ll be joining us for the strategy session that was scheduled for eleven o’clock today.”

Confused, Ally stared down at her new cell phone. Maybe the reception was bad. “What? But it’s Monday. My contract explicitly states that all meetings requiring my attendance will be held on either Tuesdays or Thursdays! He knows that.”

Jen had called right as Ally was cleaning the remains of Zoe’s breakfast from her high chair tray. She sighed as she perused the wall next to the chair, where Zoe had just smeared oatmeal in an attempt at mural art.

“DOCK!” the little girl stated proudly, despite the stain’s six legs and two heads.

Ally forced her mouth into a smile. “Jen, put Ellis on the phone—
now.
”

At least the on-hold music was somewhat apropos: Billy Joel, growling
 
My Life
.

“Ally! Top of the morning to you!” Ellis’s fake attempt at cheeriness almost made Ally gag.

“Cut it out, Ellis. It will be anything but that if you dare break the contract and schedule meetings requiring my attendance on days which aren’t covered by it.”

“There are some decisions that need immediate attention! You know, Ally, not all of us have the luxury of being on the ‘mommy track.’”

“Well, then maybe ‘all of us’ need to get a better attorney. Mine is wonderful. In fact, if he got wind of what you’ve just tried here, he’d be on the phone to Bracknell’s chairman to remind them of the penalty for breaking the contract.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. Ally imagined he was weighing the odds of winning at this psycho attempt at corporate cocksmanship against those of losing his job for costing Bracknell International a pretty penny.

“Tomorrow then? See if you can squeeze it into your schedule.” She had her answer.

Before she could hear the click that told her he’d hung up on her, she threw her new cell phone onto the couch.

Zoe ran to retrieve it. Excited that she’d beat her mother to it, she tossed it into the sink—

Where it plopped into the soapy dishwater.

Ally buried her head in her hands. Maybe living without a cell phone wasn’t such a bad idea.

At least until Zoe was four or so.

Wow, her aim is incredible! I wonder how old she has to be for softball league?

12:22 p.m.