Page 15 of Trading Up
As soon as the orders started coming in, I surprised her with a whole setup for her to make videos for social media to promote her business. We set it up and did an ‘intro video’ for any followers she was bound to gain. We also videoed the before and after transformation of the shop, the giant boards coming in for larger parties, and our little shopping trip. She told me I was spoiling her, doing too much, and I just smiled.
“You, beautiful Sarah, are mine to spoil, though.” I saw her flinch, and I smirked, happy that I made her react to me. I know I was spoiling her, but I didn’t care. She was my Queen. My woman. My life.
I helped her set everything up. I helped her make her first couple of videos from the footage we’d taken over the last few weeks, and we made her social media pages for ‘The Board Babe’. We got her a second phone number for work purposes so she could advertise a number for people to call with questions and bookings.
Jenson sent us to a colleague to help her get the business aspects and LLC set up. Pops found a guy to do the website, and I helped her with pricing for each different charcuterie option. I may or may not have also told all of the employees at both restaurants about the business when they asked how I was doing. A few of them asked if she was looking for extra help, and I promised to pass along their information for any of the bigger gigs she booked. I knew she’d need help with the table length boards, getting them in and out of Pops' house, but I also knewPops and I would be there to help. When she asked, I told her she would probably need to hire at least three people to look over things, replenish appetizers when they were getting low, and help get the boards in and out of her truck. I wanted her to be able to socialize and market a little while she was there. And I wanted to show her off to the neighborhood.
Walking into Silver Spoon, we did our morning meeting before we got ready for opening at eleven. Things had been going smoothly at both restaurants, with minimal drama, and they pretty much ran themselves, but today was important. I had two VIPs coming in this week, at Silver Spoon and Farm to Table, though I needed to be there to cook for those VIPs. They would only eat there if I were the one doing the cooking. Both of my Head chefs and Sous chefs at each restaurant were very competent, but I still needed to pop in at least once a day.
Today was one of the long days. The mayor, his wife, his in-laws, brother, and parents were all coming in and staying in the private dining area. I had to be on top of my game tonight. This was a favor, one that the mayor had asked me to do him personally. When it was this big, I couldn’t say no. Mainly because I wanted to use the old mansion he owned as a BNB. It was the place that Sarah had said for years she wanted to get married. Even if that had changed, the fact that the mayor would owe me a favor was worth it. This also gave me the opportunity to see if they’re hosting any parties anytime soon. I can bring Sarah in as The Board Babe with appetizers if they are.
Looking through my supplies, I saw that I had everything to make their favorites, and took the ingredients, moving them to the special basket, meaning no one touched those because a VIP was coming in and was most likely going to order that. I was ready for whatever walked through the doors tonight.
I was ready to put my queen and me on top in this town.
F O U R T E E N: Will
Will’s POV
The last almost four years working with and getting to know and being with Paloma have been amazing. At first, she was a breath of fresh air. She was there when I was exhausted, being a father, and in the late nights of the terrible twos and potty training. Then, when Sarah didn’t bounce back after giving birth to Carter, she was there for me to lean on. I tried to be there for Sarah, but she was so snippy and always nitpicking everything. Nothing I did was good enough. She also had her best friend here all the damn time. Paloma was always so understanding, and she never pushed for more.
“I know you’re a married man. I could never encroach on another woman’s territory,” she would say, and she didn’t. She was respectful, professional. She was there, and I spent more time with her than I would with Sarah because I spent so many hours at work, and would listen as I poured my problems out to her. When I would vent to her, it was usually because I was pushed to that point. She would always offer ideas to try to fix things or help Sarah in some way, but anything I tried, Sarah would just snap at me or look at me like I’d lost my ever-loving mind. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know how to reach my wife.
Sarah hated the spa day idea. She didn’t think that my keeping him for her to go to the gym was a fucking good idea. She would get mad when I would wake her up or set alarms on her phone so she could still do all the normal household things. I couldclearlydo nothing right in her eyes. I offered to get a nanny or a maid to come in and clean, but she snapped that she could handle it. She would nag me all the time about not helpingenough, but then she’d take over when I couldn’t do it, or I’d ask her for help. She’d just take over and do it herself.
I tried. And I kept things friendly with Paloma. We didn’t flirt. We didn’t text more than I would with the guys. But she was just a friend. Slowly, as I shared more about myself and my life, she would tell me about her childhood, growing up with her mom and her dad. How her mom was a mistress, but it wasn’t what she wanted for herself. She told me how she and her mother had a relationship with her father and his other mistress. She told me the reason her mother took her father back was because he promised her transparency, love, and support. It was different, but if it worked for them, great. I was just happy that she had a loving family. I would have considered her a good friend, but there was still that line I knew I wouldn’t cross.
Not until Sarah came to me and said she was pregnant with Maverick, did I feel a shift in dynamics. She and I hadn’t had sex in weeks, hadn’t been together in any way more than what felt like roommates in even longer, and I was shocked to say the least because she was supposed to be on birth control. From the very beginning, it was a hard pregnancy. She was sick, in pain, and complaining constantly. Nothing I did was ever good enough, and she was just pushing me away, further and further.
One night, it was close to the deadline of a huge project, and I was getting ready to leave, when Paloma slipped on the ice. I reached my hand out to catch her, and I don’t know how, but somehow we ended up lying on top of each other. She landed on me, laying right on top of me, while I smacked my head off the ground. She rubbed my head, cooing and fussing over me, and it hit me.
I hadn’t been cared for or fussed over for months. Maybe longer.
She was looking me over, checking on me, straddling me, when I felt all of the blood draining south. I watched as worry took over her face. Her eyes were so big and glassy, and she felt bad that she’d slipped and fallen, making me try to catch her so she didn’t get hurt. We lay there on the cold ground for a few moments, our faces inches away from each other, when something shifted yet again. We both brought our faces toward each other. Before I knew what was happening, we were kissing. We were lost in each other. I felt alive for the first time in so long. That night was the hottest night of my life. Things had gone from zero or one hundred really fast. Somehow, I managed to get us up off the ice and back inside the office. We were stripped, naked, and fucking before I knew what was going on. That night, I ravaged her at least three times before making my way home.
Home to the perpetual grouchy woman and the two screaming kids who never listened.
That night was what started our affair. We kept things as quiet as we could for as long as we could. When our relationship started getting more serious, we made a private social media account. That was how we communicated with each other, how we planned our meetings and rendezvous outside of working hours.
When people eventually naturally started finding out, close friends, a few family members, we directed them to the private joint social media we created after one day at work, explaining that we were in love, but it wasn’t the right time for me to leave Sarah with the boys being so young. Some were appalled at first, but when I explained how neglected I was at home, how much Sarah ignored me in favor of the children at home, how we were going to tell her, but we needed time, they started to understand. And when they saw Paloma and me together, seeing the love in our eyes? It was obvious to everyone how perfect we were for each other. Things were still hot andheavy, even two years after our first night together. I couldn’t get enough of her.
I loved Paloma with everything I had in me. I couldn’t wait for us to welcome our little girl in a few short months. She was already a spoiled little princess, just like her mommy. The only thing bringing a rain cloud into my life was the divorce; I couldn’t wait to be done with it. I wanted to marry her as soon as I could, get her off the market, even though she had said time and time again that she was happy as my mistress; such a dirty word wasn’t for her.
I hadn’t been expecting Sarah to serve me papers, and didn’t know how she’d found out, but the singing telegram at work was too much. It was downright humiliating. I still didn’t know how she had found out about all of the money I’d hidden, but I wasn’t willing to let it go. Not when she just sat at home on her ass for the last seven years. I couldn’t let that depressed, old woman, with her worn-out body, take all of my money. My father and I had built up Anderson Construction,not her. She didn’t do anything but stay at home, mope, and take care of those rambunctious boys of hers.
“Don’t worry, honey,” my beautiful Paloma whispered to me as she played with my hair, my head resting in her lap. Her belly was showing enough now that you could tell she was pregnant. She was still small for how far along she was. She was the only one who understood me. She always understood me, never pressured me for more. She was there when I needed her. I called Davis, my lawyer, and told him to stall however he could.
I needed to find a way to hide my money better.
F I F T E E N: 1.7 Million Dollars
Sarah’s POV
The last few months seemed to fly by! Somehow, it was already time for school to start, PTA meetings with every kind of Karen, and sports. Then Maverick was off to his last year of pre-K, and Carter was on his way to first grade. The Board Babe had grown and was now a viral sensation in this town and the next, thanks to the help of Row’s family. All my social media was going crazy with notifications every day.
Business was booming, and we had already talked about doing a ‘fundraiser’ that was a bake sale, and they would also be taking donations for a basket sale. I threw in six free charcuterie classes that I was starting on the first of October, along with a free standard-sized charcuterie board for an event or party.
The Board Babe shop had started opening for a few hours three days a week for walk-ins, pick-ups, and to poll customers without them knowing that they were being polled. I was trying to see if people were interested in classes, and a surprising number of people said yes. I was also curious what else they’d be interested in. They wanted to learn the pepperoni roses and what paired well with what. I was more than happy to do that on a Saturday. I could offer three classes that day, and the boys would stay upstairs while I was teaching the classes.
