AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But...what will people say?”
“I don’t give a damn and never have. Is that all, Mom?”
“No.” She hesitates for only a few seconds before she asks, “And what do her parents do?”
I almost laugh at how predictable the question is. If Mom were a character on TV, there would constantly be complaints that she was an unrealistic caricature.
“No clue," I answer. "Never thought to ask. And whatever happened to 'I’m not a snob, Maddox, I don’t care who she is or where she comes from’?”
“Oh, stop that. I’m not saying you shouldn’t date the girl, but it’s normal for every parent to want the best for their child.”
“And the best is if her parents own an oil company or are part of British royalty, correct?”
"I see you're determined to think the worst of me."
"I love you anyway, Mom. I gotta go. Bye."
Chapter Fifteen
Ava
Afewdayslater,I blink and blink again to make sure I'm not seeing things.
And then once I confirm I'm not, I slap my hand over my mouth. A hysterical sound nearly escapes me as excitement bubbles within me. But I don’t want to release a sound yet. I don’t want to believe it. I’m scared to believe it, in case it still somehow turns out to be not real.
It's a Monday morning and I just got a very simple text. It says,I'm free next weekend.Brief, not really enthusiastic, and probably typed off by an assistant as a low priority in between breaks. But it's beautiful all the same because of what it means.
It means I have another chance at wooing the Nixons and possibly making a sale that will change my career.
The adrenaline rush is so strong that I have to get up and pace. A few people look up from their desks but they don’t say anything. Even if they did, I wouldn’t care. For once, I’m not concerned by their snide comments and whispers. If I make this sale, it will officially be the biggest of my career. It would mean that I can play with the big dogs and I’m capable of handling more VIP clients. It would mean that I could finally carve out a very comfortable life for my daughter. For Mimi. The beginning of something new.
I don’t want to hope yet, and I tell myself I’m getting ahead of myself. Every time I prematurely get my hopes up, something inevitably happens to knock it back to the ground again, and today will probably be no different. But maybe it will be different because this time I won’t mess up. I will prepare for every disaster scenario that could happen and I won't let myself rest until I finally achieve the results.
I want, I think, I can.
It’s Chloe’s mantra, one she taught me to repeat whenever self-doubt begins to crop up. It’s something I did at first only to please her, but I find that it does help in moments like this.I want, I think, I can. But now I have more things on my plate. The fact that I won my client back is only the beginning. I text back to set up a lunch meeting next weekend so I have time to search for what they're looking for and begin scouting the best matches in our portfolio. But first I need to talk to Maddox. I need to see what we can offer them, and I can’t deny a part of me is proud to share the good news with him.
I instantly head to his office, an extra bounce in my step. I tell myself my racing heartbeat is from how fast I’m walking, and from the adrenaline of the text, and not because I’ll be talking to Maddox again. Definitely not because I’m remembering him and that make-out session outside my daughter’s hospital. Nope, not at all.
“Is he in?” I ask Natasha and she glances up from her phone, her lips twisting in scorn. I still haven’t won her over, but in her defense, I haven’t been trying very hard.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asks.
I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Do we have to play this game every time I come here?” I’ve been to Maddox’s office a few times in the past week to run ideas by him, and without fail, Natasha asks me to make an appointment. I tell her that Maddox said agents don't need to do that and then we go back and forth for the next few more minutes until she finally caves or Maddox tells her to send me in anyway.
She frowns deeply at me, probably not expecting the comment. So far, I’ve been playing her game, trying to be as polite as possible so that she eventually stops being such a bitch to me. But it’s not working and I’m tired of swallowing the bullshit.
“Look, we both know you’re going to let me in there," I say taking a page from Maddox's books. "You can do it now or after I call him, so it’s your choice really."
Heated anger fills her expression and then I smile sweetly before continuing on my way. Maybe I'm a bit of a bitch too because that felt kind of good.
Maddox looks up from his computer when I walk in. I don’t know if I imagine the way his face softens as he leans back in his chair. “You look excited.”
“Yup.” I can hardly contain my giddiness and I’m so damn close to dancing on the spot. “Guess what?”
He raises an eyebrow. “What?”
“I got him,” I say, no longer able to hold onto the news. “I got Nixon back!”
