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“You were the one who felt bad about her not feeling safe enough to make you mad. Maybe you need to give her a little something more to make her feel safe to figure she can love you and her world stays intact.”
“I fucking told her I love her. I t
ell her all the damned time. I’ve completely changed my life for her. How can she not feel safe with me?”
“Hell, man, maybe you should just ask her.”
After our game, Marshall heads in to work and I shower out. I’m too wound up to go home. I walk to my office, instead. If I’m going to be out of the country soon, I should let them know. When I go up, I notice the changes, people are happy. There are a hell of a lot more smiling faces than when Terry was in charge.
There had, of course, been some backlash among my programmers. A few had been pissed because they felt it should be them or Mi’schelle was too young or didn’t have what it took. I’d lost two programmers, to hell with them. I told Mi’schelle to replace them and move on.
Through the chat messages, I’d seen there was some catty backlash served up to Mi’schelle directly. She’d handled it like a pro. I was even more impressed at the way she handled it herself without running to me to play interference. I’m happy with her.
I also like the way she’d picked up the ball and run with it when my own creating had dropped, as I spent more time with Anne and away from the computer. Right now, Mi’schelle was working on an interesting program I’m looking forward to seeing once it’s complete.
I knock on Mi’schelle’s open door. When she looks up she has the dazed look that tells me I’m interrupting some intense coding. “Want me to swing by on my way out?”
“No, boss, I’m good now. I’ll get back into it. How you doing? You are looking good, all tanned and smiling. You just get back from some time on the beach or something?”
I laugh, “No, actually, I just got out of the condo. I am going to be going out of the country, though, in a few days. I’ll be gone for probably a month. In case something comes up, I wanted you to know.”
“I heard you bought a jet. People damned near lost their minds to hear about you buying a G7. It’s a good thing you’re coming through letting people see you. Some people are thinking you might sell up, with your productivity down and whatnot.”
“I had no idea word traveled as fast as it appears to. I’m just making time for the woman in my life, like she deserves. While we’re talking about my productivity, I want you to know I appreciate you stepping up.
“I like where you are going with this latest project. Keep it up, it won’t go unrewarded. You’ve been doing a good job. I’m not worried in the slightest there is anything you can’t handle while I’m gone.”
She looks stunned, then smiles “Thank you for saying that. I want to make you proud. I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“You won’t. I’m going to go check in with Glenda.”
Glenda takes my news in stride. Me out of the country isn’t much different than me in Chicago for her.
As much as I try to put it off, I know I need to go home. Marshall’s words won’t leave me, though. I know it’s time to talk to Anne about my parents. What he said hit home, the way I dug into Anne’s past without coming clean about my own wasn’t fair. The reason why I didn’t believe in love, had never wanted to fall in love, yet knew now I was. How, despite all the shit I’d seen, I was going to do everything I could to make what we had work.
When I get home though, I find Anne in the bath she loves so much. Her eyes light up when she sees me. I’m a coward because when she invites me to join her, I do, telling myself it can wait another day.
The next day I get the call the jet is ready early, it’s a nice surprise. I pick up the phone to make the call to the de Russie. It goes pretty much how I thought it would, May is a busy time in Rome, for the people smart enough not to go in the middle of summer. The heat in the summer was brutal in Italy. They regret to inform me they don’t have a single room available in the next month.
I come back with I only want one single room, the Nijinsky suite, and I want it for at least six nights. When he apologizes again I give a dollar amount I’m willing to pay to make it happen. Whether it was to the hotel or the person who had booked the suite was up to them. I give him my credit card number and tell him to give me a call when it was done.
I make a call to the Four Season in Florence and get pretty much the same story. With a shrug, I tell them I want the Royal Suite and make them the same offer and let them know I’ll be waiting.
I’m on the computer, trying to decide on the next location, when the de Russie calls me back. There was a booking for eight nights the guest was willing to give up at a cost per night of ten thousand, plus the fifteen thousand of the suite all in euro. I shrug and tell him I accept, to book the room. It wasn’t for another two days though. Everything evens out since the plane was still ready almost a whole week earlier than the date I was given.
The Four Seasons calls back before I hang up with the de Russie. It’s a new person, they tell me to give them the dates I would like and they’ll confirm it. I do. I have an email confirmation seconds later.
When I call the Gritti Palace, I let them know I want the Terrazza Redentore Suite for two weeks. They laugh and hang up. I call back and give them my name first, then tell them I want the Terrazza Redentore Suite for two weeks. I make them the same offer I made the other hotels and tell them to call me back when they have an answer I want to hear.
Alice brings in my snack while I’m waiting for a call back. “In a few days I’m going to be taking Anne on vacation. We won’t be back for a month. Take a vacation yourself, go see your grandkids and piss your daughter off.”
Her face lights up. “Oh, please don’t get married without me. I don’t want to miss it.”
“I bought a jet, Alice, maybe you’ll get to see the inside of it. I don’t know. We might come home with nothing more than a good tan. Don’t tell Anne. I want it to be a surprise.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic, things have a way of working out.”
While I talk to her, I bring up my bank account and make an extra transfer into Alice’s account for her vacation. If I’m going on vacation, I want to make sure she enjoys herself. But also remembers me fondly enough to come back when it’s over. “I hope so, Alice. I really do.”
