Читать книгу Best Laid Plans - Brenda Jackson - Страница 17
ОглавлениеIVY MENTALLY AWAKENED from the ringing of her phone. Without opening her eyes, she reached for her cell phone on her nightstand. There was no doubt in her mind it was past the time she usually got out of bed, but when you were your own boss and worked from home, you had the luxury of sleeping late. Especially after putting in additional hours to finish a project from hell earlier than expected. And she planned to sleep the rest of the day since she didn’t get into bed until daybreak.
“Hello,” she said in a groggy voice.
“Congratulations!” a bubbly feminine voice said. “You’ve won a week for two on Tiki Island.”
Ivy slowly opened one eye. They had to be kidding. She never won anything. Pulling herself up in bed, she pushed back the hair from her face. “I won?” she asked, hoping she was speaking with a live person and not a recording.
“Yes. You’ve won a week for two in a beautiful beach cottage.”
“For two?”
“Yes, so you can include your husband, boyfriend or significant other,” the bubbly woman said.
Ivy frowned. She had none of those, but she did have a best friend. It would be a great girls’ trip if Tessa was available to go with her. More questions began flooding her mind, like how had she been selected? She didn’t recall entering any type of contest. “How did I win?”
“Your name was selected from a list of customers who frequent Altamonte Dry Cleaners.”
Ivy nodded, thinking that explained things. Since she hated ironing, she would drop her things by the cleaners every Thursday. “Is there a time frame that I have to take the week?”
“You can take it as soon as you like, but it must be taken within the next thirty days.”
Thirty days? That wasn’t much time, Ivy thought, rubbing a hand down her face. She would love to get away now before beginning her next project for Wonderbelly, a cyberware company in Boston. It would be nice to go somewhere and relax for seven days. If Tessa wasn’t available on such short notice, then she could take her grandmother with her. But then she doubted she would get much rest if she did. Even after their little talk a few days ago, Nana was still tossing Nolan Madaris’s name out whenever she got the chance. Take yesterday for instance. Nana had asked if she’d heard from him. Why would she hear from Nolan Madaris? Obviously, her grandmother refused to accept that the plan she and Ms. Laverne had concocted had backfired.
She truly hoped Tessa could go with her, but she would go alone if she had to. “Can I claim my prize and go to Tiki Island starting this week?”
“Yes. We can deliver the winning voucher to you or you can pick it up at our office.”
“Where is your office?”
The woman quoted an address that was less than ten miles from where Ivy lived. “I’ll stop by.”
“All right. Everything you need to know will be in the paperwork you’ll receive with the winning voucher. Again, congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
Ivy couldn’t help smiling when she hung up the phone. Seven days on Tiki Island was a dream come true. She’d heard rental property there was pretty expensive and couldn’t wait to tell Tessa. She hoped her best friend would be able to join her.
She had reclaimed her comfortable position in bed when the phone rang again. Thinking it was the bubbly woman calling her back for some reason, she shifted in bed, grabbed her phone and said, “Is there something you forgot to tell me?”
There was a pause as if the person was surprised by her question. And then a masculine voice she remembered all too well said, “Yes. I’m sorry for how I treated you when we were together.”
Ivy drew in a sharp breath not believing Damien Fargo had the audacity to call after all this time. “Too late for an apology now, Damien,” she said and hung up.
* * *
“HELLO, NOLAN. I saw I missed a call from you.”
“You missed several, Victoria,” he said, frowning. “Where are you?”
“New Orleans. I flew here for a job interview and I’ve been busy preparing. What’s up?”
Nolan’s frown deepened. “New Orleans? You’re thinking about moving to New Orleans?”
“If I get the job.”
“Why? There’re plenty of job opportunities here in Houston.”
“Yes, but in New Orleans I won’t have to worry about being treated differently because my last name is Madaris.”
Nolan didn’t say anything, not sure he liked the idea of his sister taking a job in another town. Another state.
“And before you say anything, Nolan Madaris, remember you moved to Chicago after college.”
“That’s different.”
His sister chuckled. “Always is when it comes to the guys in the family. I always get treated differently because I’m a female.”
Her words reminded him why he’d called. “Well, there is one person who intends to treat you as an equal.”
“Who?”
“Mama Laverne. I went to see her yesterday and she informed me that after she marries me off, instead of moving on to Corbin, Adam, Emerson or Chance, that you’re next.”
“Me?”
“Yes, but don’t worry about it. I plan to call a family meeting to deal with her meddling.”
“Hold up, Nolan, call one on your behalf if you’re so inclined, but not mine. I have no problem with our great-grandmother finding a husband for me. It frees up my time in doing so because I know Mama Laverne is going to vet him to the nth degree.”
Nolan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want a husband?”
“Not really, but if Mama Laverne says I’m next, then I’m not going to buck the idea. Hey, she has an astounding track record.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Maybe for you it’s not but for me it is, so if she wants to find a husband for me, let her at it. I have no problem with it. I welcome her doing so. And if I were you, I wouldn’t buck her either. Lee tried and look what happened. We all thought Lee would best her at her own game and we were wrong. Besides, Lee is madly in love with Carly. They are a perfect match. Remember that.”
Nolan didn’t need to remember anything. He’d just returned from Paris, where he’d spent time with the happy couple. It was obvious to everyone Lee adored his wife, but like he’d told Victoria, that wasn’t the point. If she wanted Mama Laverne to control and manipulate her life, then that was her business. However, he had no intentions of letting her control and manipulate his. As far as he was concerned Victoria had been duly warned.
A short while later Nolan ended the call with his sister, knowing he needed to get away more so than ever. Although there was no need to call a family meeting for his sister’s sake, he still needed answers as to how to handle his great-grandmother. Unlike his sister, he wasn’t satisfied to let Mama Laverne make decisions on his life. Earlier, he’d got a call from his property manager to say his house on Tiki Island was ready for his arrival. Marlene had cleared his calendar, which wasn’t hard to do since he’d originally planned to remain in Paris for an additional week anyway.
He was about to head out and grab lunch when his phone rang. He recognized the ringtone. He smiled as he picked up the phone. “Hi, Gramma Bessie.”
“Hi, Nolan, how are you doing?”
“Fine. What about you?”
“I’m doing fine as well. However, I need a favor.”
“Anything for you, Gramma Bessie.”
“Can you take me to visit your great-aunt Caroline? All I need is to get dropped off there. Your granddaddy will pick me up on Sunday evening.” Caroline was his grandmother’s sister who lived in Andrews.
“Sure. When?”
“Friday. We can leave that morning.”
That’s was the opposite direction from Tiki Island. If he dropped his grandmother off at his great-aunt Caroline’s, that meant he wouldn’t get to the island until late that evening. He sighed. “No problem. I’ll take you.” This was family after all.
* * *
DAMIEN FARGO LEANED back in his chair and snapped the pencil he’d been holding in half. Ivy intended to be difficult, which meant he had to come up with another plan.
“I hope you don’t anticipate any problems.”
He glanced at the man sitting across from his desk. For a moment, he’d forgotten about his presence. His mind had been reeling with the fact that Ivy Chapman had hung up on him. He’d figured she would still be upset. Most women would. But hadn’t he begun the conversation with an apology?
He thought it best to give the man his undivided attention and answer his question. “No, I don’t anticipate any problems. She might be a little mad with me now, but I know how to work her. She’ll be putty in my hands again in no time.”
The man nodded slowly. “See that she is.”
