Page 204 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I shook my head. I had thought about it, but it also made me nervous. I certainly didn’t want to bring him to my family’s gathering and I wasn’t sure about going to his, either. I knew he wasn’t ready to introduce me to Austin. I didn’t blame him; I actually respected him for caring so much about Austin.
“I think it’s too soon,” I told her. She nodded.
“Christmas is a big deal,” Mandy said. “It would probably be really nerve-wracking meeting someone’s family on Christmas Day.”
“Exactly,” I said. I was glad that she understood where I was coming from.
“It’s really fine,” I said. “I’ll be happy on the couch watching movies.”
“If you say so,” Nikki said. I wanted to drop the subject. It was hard explaining my stance to people who had normal families to celebrate with.
“We better get back to work,” I said, looking at my watch. Although we were having a great time, Nikki and I had a lot of work back at the office. Mandy frowned, but thanked us for joining her for lunch.
“We’ll have to do this more often,” Nikki suggested. Mandy and I agreed. We all walked outside and waited for cabs. Mandy grabbed the first one, heading home. As the second one approached, my phone began to ring. It was probably someone from the office, wondering where I was. The cab slowed down, and Nikki opened the door as I reached into my purse.
I looked at my phone and it was a number that I did not know. Usually I ignore those calls, but I thought it might be someone related to my article.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hey, baby,” the voice came over the line. My heart skipped a beat and my stomach turned. Although I hadn’t heard his voice in over a year, I instantly knew who it was. Brad.
“Brad?” I asked, although I already knew the answer. Why was he calling me?
“So, you didn’t forget about me,” he laughed. “How are you?”
Nikki motioned for me to get into the cab, but I couldn’t move. I stood still, unsure of what to do or say.
“Hello?” Brad asked.
“Hang on,” I told Brad, covering my phone’s microphone. I whispered to Nikki to go ahead.
“It’s about my article,” I lied. She shook her head but told the driver to leave. She shut the door and drove off.
“Hello,” I said, returning to the phone call.
“I missed you,” Brad said. “I fucked up, Tiffany. I need you back.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. After months of dreaming about this very moment, it was coming true.
“Why are you calling now?” I asked. “Where’s Jessica?”
“Jessica doesn’t matter,” Brad said. “I’m calling because I realized I messed up. We had a good thing going on. I just need to see you in person, Tiffany. Can you meet me tonight at Vito’s?”
Vito’s was my favorite restaurant. Brad and I went there a lot. I hadn’t been able to go there since our breakup, despite being a sucker for their menu.
“Tonight?” I asked. My head was spinning. Brad wanted to see me tonight. He was done with Jessica. He wanted me back.
“Please,” he begged. “I saw your picture on your company’s website. You look amazing, Tiffany. I saw how you were promoted. I can’t believe that you were promoted so quickly. They said it was the fastest promotion in the history of your company. I read the article about you leading the women’s empowerment classes. You really have your shit together. It made me realize how much I need you in my life.”
“You read about me?” I asked. I was shocked. I knew the company had put an article up about my promotion and my classes, but I hadn’t even read it yet.
“Yes,” Brad replied. “I can’t believe how much you’ve changed. You sound so confident and in control of your life. You’re actually doing something with your life now. You’re a writer and you are helping people.”
“I am,” I said. Despite him leaving me broken and with nowhere to go, I had made something of myself, and I had done it on my own. He had left me, but I had risen from the ashes and became better than I ever was before.
“The funny thing is, I am opening a gym right down the street from your office. It would be perfect. You could tell all those women to come work out at my gym. We could build an empire together, babe.”
“Didn’t you already try that with Jessica?” I asked. He must have thought I was stupid. He sighed.
