Lisa
My phone rang just as we merged onto the interstate. I looked at the Caller ID and frowned. Then I tapped answer and held it up to my ear.
"Hello Irene." I said into the receiver.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you." she snapped and I refrained from sighing. It wasn't her fault. It was just her nature. She'd always been this way.
"So I've noticed. But I've been a tad busy lately. So, what's going on?"
"The hospital called to say that they hadn't received payment on the latest bill. They're sending it to a collections agency, Lisa. That account is under my name. If it goes to collections, it will affect my credit score and Ben and I are trying to buy a house. We cannot afford..."
"The last bill I paid was for December, Irene."
"There was one for February. I sent it to you weeks ago."
Finally, I did sigh, while scrubbing a hand over my face and frowning.
"I got a new assistant in February. She doesn't know about our arrangement. Can you forward it to me again? I'll make sure she knows to forward all communications from you to me personally."
"Okay, Lisa."
It was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment.
"Is my sister there?" Irene asked then, her voice turning softer than I'd ever heard it. I paused, while hesitating.
"Yes." I answered finally.
The answering pause was so long that I checked to see if she'd hung up. She hadn't.
"Take care of her, Lisa." Irene finished, sounding exhausted, and then the line went dead and I lowered my phone back to my lap with a sigh. That had gone better than I had expected it would but nothing was ever easy with Irene.
Once I got to my office, I gave my assistant the new instructions regarding dealing with emails from Irene and then headed into my office to attempt to focus on work for the morning. I was able to be quite productive, actually, only being interrupted once or twice by Nate or our accountant, Rosé, both of whom had legitimate, urgent business matters to discuss. Around one in the afternoon, when I was packing anything I might need into my suitcase to head out for the day, Danny knocked on my door.
"Leaving already?" he asked, while gesturing at my packing as he entered my office uninvited.
"Taking the rest of the day off." I told him. "Won't be in tomorrow either."
"Ah, right. The big anniversary surprise." he said and my gaze snapped up to him. "Nate told me. So, what are the plans? Where are you taking her?"
"If I told you that, Danny, I'm afraid you could find me." I told him, half joking as I passed by him on my way out of the office, clapping him on the back as I went.
"Teddy called." Danny continued, following me to the elevator. "The board is concerned about the third quarter projections."
"The board is always concerned about the projections. And the budget, and the financial statement, and the taxes, and everything else. It can wait until I'm back and, if it can't, ask Rosé."
I stepped into the elevator. Thankfully, Danny did not join me.
"Will you have cell service where you're going?" he called out just as the doors began to close.
"No." I replied and was finally, mercifully, alone in the elevator at last.
But then my phone started ringing the moment I was in the lobby. I glanced down and saw Danny's name and cursed so vibrantly that the receptionist looked up in shock. I waved apologetically to her and answered the phone.
"I hope you were kidding about not having any cell service." Danny said. "What if there are fires that pop up that need putting out?"
"Then put them out." I growled into the receiver. "I didn't give you an office to be another decorative piece of artwork around here. Do your job."
I hung up, while fuming, letting out one more curse for good measure as I strode toward Kevin who was waiting right in front of my building as planned. Seeing my fury, he asked if everything was alright. I assured him it was and instructed him to continue as planned. Then I climbed into the backseat and answered as many emails as I could on the way back home. I tried my best to tamper my frustration before we arrived but I was still seething when we pulled into the driveway.
Then she emerged, dressed in an airy white blouse and jean shorts so short that it wasn't even fair, and suddenly my anger dissipated in an instant and I forgot all about Danny the Asshole. She had a fully packed duffel bag slung over her shoulder and was lugging it to the limo herself, waving off Prija and Kevin as they tried to help. I couldn't help but smile as I stepped out of the car and walked forward. She didn't wave me off when I took the bag, just stood in front of the trunk as I packed it away, with hands on her hips and a glare in her eyes.
"Where, exactly, are we going?" she snapped, clearly irritated. "Prija wouldn't tell me a thing but insisted that I pack a bag and Nan kept coming in every ten minutes to see if we were ready and to remind us that we were leaving at one thirty. What, precisely, have you planned, Manoban?"
I shut the trunk and turned to her, eyeing her up and down, the planted feet, with the hands on her shoulders. I'd forgotten how adorable she was when she was angry.
"Well, someone told my employees that I always treat my wife to an anniversary surprise every year." I reminded her with a raised brow. She frowned, remembering who that someone was. "I don't want to disappoint. Hop in, thī̀rạk, we're late."
After only a moment more of hesitation, she obeyed, allowing me to open her door so that she could climb inside. I tried in vain to look away from her ass in those tiny jean shorts as she slid into the backseat but it was like my brain short wired if I tried to look at anything else. Kevin noticed. He gave me a knowing grin over the roof of the car but I just shook my head and climbed inside beside her.
She drilled me with questions all the way to the marina. I'd forgotten how much she hated surprises, always needing to know what was going on and what to expect. I'd also forgotten how much I loved surprising her anyway. And it was worth it, surviving the brutal interrogation, when we arrived in front of my shining yacht and her jaw dropped to the deck below.
"Is this... yours?" she asked, with her mouth opening and closing in shock like a fish out of water. I bent and took her bag from the deck, hefting it over my shoulder as I grabbed the other with my other hand.
"It is." I answered. "Do you like it?"
"I... I don't... it's..."
"Big?" I asked, while raising a brow. She grinned and swat me playfully on the shoulder. I just jerked my head in the direction of the boat and walked off. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."
