The Gift of Love (21 page)

“And yet you did.”

“Accidently. It was a casual conversation with someone who was willing to grab at anything to stop a business from coming into the neighborhood. I didn’t mean for it to go so far. And once I realized what Mrs. Pennington was doing, I tried to stop her, but the process had already been set in motion and she wasn’t willing to give up.”

“What else?”

“What do you mean, what else? I kept two big things from Isabella, and now she’s furious. Isn’t that enough?”

“Yes, but I want to make sure I have the whole story before I talk to her again. I’ll call her when I know she’s finished with the appointment to check in with her, if you swear that’s all you’ve kept from her ... from us.”

“Thank you. Yes, that’s all.”

“I wish we were on Skype so I could see your face. I think I hear sincerity in your voice, but I’d like to see it on your face. Maybe I can get at it this way: How do you feel about her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Damn it, Taylor, I mean do you love her?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that was said without hesitation or qualification. Have you told her?”

“No, I wanted to tell her about Allison and Mrs. Pennington first.”

“Which brings up the question of why you didn’t.”

“I was afraid she’d hate me if she knew about it before she had a chance to get to know me. I thought if I waited until we knew each other better, she’d be more willing to understand. But it backfired. She heard it from Allison and Mrs. P before I had a chance to tell her.”

“Not the choice I would have made were I in your shoes, but at least you thought about it.” She paused for a moment. “Okay, I’ll help you. What do you want me to do?”

“Make sure Isabella’s okay.” How many times was he going to have to say it?

“Yes, I know. But what else? What can I do to help
you
?”

“Why would you want to help me?”

“It’s what I do, Taylor.”

“It’s nice of you, but I think I’m beyond help. She’s so angry she’ll never speak to me again.”

“You could be right, but let me think about it and get back to you. It may not be too late.”

• • •

Bella saw the name on the caller ID and knew it was safe to pick up. “Summer. You were next on my list to call. Hold on a minute while I turn down the radio.” She muted the advice program she always listened to and returned to the phone call. “I have some news for you.”

“From your appointments this week?”

“Yup. Interesting stuff.” She filled her boss in on the progress of the testimonial interviews she’d had, including the surprise from Allison Lindberg, then hit her with the information she got from Mrs. Pennington. Summer took it better than she expected.

“It sucks about Taylor. You must have been devastated.”

“Yeah, well, I’m over it. Easy come, easy go.”

“I know ... you know ... that’s not true.”

“It has to be this time. I can’t trust him.”

“At least you solved the puzzle of what happened. And got Mrs. Pennington settled down.”

She was happy to get the conversation off the subject of Taylor Jordan. “I think I even got her to agree to show up at the open house.”

“Which reminds me, how about we schedule the date for the official opening right now? I was thinking, Saturday the thirteenth of July looks like a good day for a celebration, don’t you think?”

Since she hadn’t been sure what she would be doing on her birthday, Bella was only too happy to have a focus for the day. “Sounds good to me. What did you have in mind? Other than getting someone relevant to cut the ribbon and serving something special to our guests.”

“How about a birthday cake? Is that special enough?”

“You remembered. What’s wrong with me? Of course you did. It’s nice of you to want to celebrate my birthday, but I thought this was to mark the grand opening of your new office.”

“
Our
new office. The other thing I’d like to celebrate is the appointment of you as the program director of our Seattle office.”

“Oh, my God. I hoped you’d ask. I would so love to stay here and manage this branch. You couldn’t have picked a better day to offer me the job. Thank you.”

“You earned it, girlfriend. So, get yourself some new business cards. A nameplate for your desk, if you’d like. And your first official job as the new director is to put together a proposal for what we need for the party with a budget I—
we
—can afford. E-mail it to me in the next couple days. I’ll e-mail you a proposed contract with salary and benefits for you to consider, and we’ll talk.”

“Thank you so, so much. You are the best boss in the world!”

“Save the praise until you see what I’m offering you.” She paused before adding, “Is there anything else you need to talk about?”

“No, nothing I can think of.” Nothing she
wanted
to think of.

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Summer’s voice softened. “Bella, after all you found out about Taylor and the whole mess with Allison and Mrs. Pennington, you’re okay, aren’t you? You know you can always talk to me about anything, don’t you?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’ll survive.”

• • •

“Taylor? Summer Olsen. I just talked to Bella. She told me about Allison and Mrs. Pennington so now I’m officially in the loop. She’s okay, determined not to be sad about what she found out, but okay.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your checking in on her.”

“Which brings me to my next question—do you want to get her back?”

“Of course I do, but I have a snowball’s chance in hell of accomplishing that.”

“Maybe not. I got an idea when I was talking to her. It’ll require you stepping outside your comfort zone, but if you’re willing to do it ...”

“I’ll do anything. Tell me.”

“Okay, then, here’s my idea ...”

The next few weeks went by more quickly than Bella would have imagined, given the empty place in her life where Taylor used to be. In a short time, he’d come to be so important to her, and now she missed him terribly. Thankfully, she had a packed schedule to fill up her days so she didn’t have to think about him every waking hour. Only the ones when she was alone in her apartment.

So she spent as much time as she could in the new BU/MU office. It wasn’t hard to do. The remodelers were finished, but the place had to be cleaned and polished, furnished, stocked, and set up for business. There were snags, of course, which she almost welcomed because they gave her purpose and took time to sort out. The wrong couch was delivered. One of the pieces of wall art was damaged in transit. The printer made a mistake on her business cards.

Then there was the fun part—arranging the open house. The invitations alone for the event officially kicking off their new office took her days to hand address, to give the personal touch Summer liked.

Summer came to town the week before the open house and helped, which was not only a relief but gave Bella welcome company. By two days before the party, they were completely organized and mostly handling press interviews and last-minute details with the caterer.

On the Thursday before the big event, Summer left Bella to hold down the fort while she had coffee with a reporter from a business publication who was interested in what BU/MU did. She was using the time alone to set up a filing system on the computer for the counselors, social workers, and lawyers they’d already lined up as consultants. As usual, her favorite radio advice guru, Dr. Sea-Tac, was on in the background as she worked.

Her concentration was broken by what she thought was a familiar voice. She listened more carefully. She was right. Taylor was talking on the radio. She turned up the volume and was horrified. He was talking about her.

“So,” Dr. Sea-Tac said in a sympathetic tone belying her harsh words, “from what you’ve described, ‘screwed up’ barely begins to cover what you’ve done with the woman you say you love.”

“I already know that part. What I don’t know is how I’m going to get her back.”

“You sure you shouldn’t move on to another relationship? From what you said at the top of the show, you met her after another relationship had ended. Maybe it’s time ...”

“No, it’s not time. She’s the one. You have to help me. Please. I’m desperate.”

“I can hear it in your voice. You really mean it, don’t you?”

“I absolutely do. I’ll do anything. I’m already doing something I never thought I’d do by calling into a radio advice program. I mean it when I say I’ll do whatever it takes.”

The show host snorted. “I guess you do mean it although I’m not sure I want to have my program described as a desperate last hope. Maybe my listeners have some ideas. Listeners, what do you think? This guy, Teej is his name, got thrown under the bus by his girlfriend because he seriously messed up a work project his lady was managing and kept a very big secret about his former relationship from her. But he wants her back. My lines are open to hear your opinions. We’ll hear them as soon as we get back from this commercial break.”

Taylor Jordan called into an advice show?
If she hadn’t heard it with her own ears, she would never have believed it. She wasn’t sure if hearing that he loved her on the radio was the most romantic way to find out or the most insulting. She was sure saying those words on the air was something way out of Taylor’s comfort zone.
How did he know I’d be listening?
He must have paid attention to what she listened to when he’d been in her office.

Summer returned from her coffee with the reporter as Dr. Sea-Tac came back on the air. Normally, Bella would have turned the radio off as soon as her boss appeared, but she couldn’t this time. She wanted to hear what the audience had to say.

And so did Summer as soon as she heard the host explain what the problem was. “Teej? Is Taylor the caller?” Summer asked. “And he’s asking for ways to win you back?”

“Apparently. We are about to hear what the audience has to say.”

“I’m more interested in what you have to say but I’ll shut up until this segment is over.”

They both listened as audience members made suggestions ranging from the mundane—flowers and candy—to the over the top and potentially criminal—kidnapping her and taking her up on a hot air balloon ride and keeping her there until she agreed to take him back. Taylor responded to every suggestion, thanked everyone for their help, and pledged to keep working at getting the woman he loved back.

The unanimous opinion of everyone who called in was he deserved to get her back. The callers admired his forthrightness, his honesty, his willingness to take responsibility for his mistakes, and his desperate plea for help.

When the host switched to another caller with a problem, Summer said, “I have to agree with the audience. He sure sounded to me like he meant it.”

Some part of Bella agreed. She knew she was weakening, but she mentally shook it off and said, “Maybe. Maybe not. Sounding all honest and forthright now is fine. But if he’d shown how honest he was a few weeks ago, he’d have never found himself calling on strangers to discuss his problems.”

Summer didn’t argue with her.

But that evening, as she ate dinner alone in her apartment, Bella wished she had recorded the radio broadcast so she could hear his voice again. Especially the part where he said how much he loved her.

• • •

Bella and Summer both got to the BU/MU office hours before the open house was to begin. They fussed with the furniture one more time and rearranged the table with the brochures and fact sheets on their services. Fanned out the paper napkins on the table of treats first one way, then another. The stacks of cups got their close attention as did the playlist on Bella’s iPod, which would provide background music.

A birthday cake and plates and forks for the birthday celebration were on a table in the kitchen. A large red ribbon was tacked across the door to what had been the dining room of the house, where the snacks and treats were. Summer had invited a city councilor and a representative of the Neighborhood Business Association to do the honors with the ribbon cutting. The snacks and cake would be served afterward along with a surprise. Summer was being very mysterious about what the surprise was.

As soon as the doors opened at one, people streamed into the building. The living room, with its pale blue upholstered furniture and restful seascapes became so crowded Bella was concerned they were violating fire codes. Many of the consulting counselors and attorneys they would be working with were there, as were curious neighbors, some of the former clients she had been contacting, and a good representation of the business community she’d met through the Chamber of Commerce. Promptly at one thirty, Summer took her new program director by the hand and walked to the red ribbon.

When she had the crowd’s attention, she said, “As most of you know, I’m Summer Olsen, the founder of Break Up or Make Up. The woman on my right is Isabella Rodriquez who has been the project manager while we got this enterprise underway and who will now direct the operation here in Seattle. The ribbon we’re cutting today officially opens our new office. But before City Councilwoman Jones and George Foster representing the Neighborhood Business Association cut the ribbon, I’d like to recognize someone in the audience. Mrs. Pennington, will you raise your hand, please? We didn’t start out on cordial terms, but we’ve come to understand each other better and to share our concerns about the health of this neighborhood so we welcome your presence here today.”

She picked up a pair of scissors and handed them to the two dignitaries. “Now, let’s get this puppy open.” The duo efficiently cut the ribbon to the cheers of the crowd.

“Before we celebrate another event—the birthday of my new program director—I’d like to make this an official Break Up or Make Up opening by having the first BU/MU letter delivered to someone in the audience today. If you’ll please let my messenger get through so he can get the letter to me, we’ll conclude the official part of our ceremony.”

A young man wearing jeans and the distinctive BU/MU T-shirt appeared as people moved away to let him pass. When he reached Summer, he handed her a legal size envelope. She thanked him, and he disappeared back into the crowd.