Jaded (The Butterfly Memoirs) (33 page)

Business picked up so well I quit working for the big time retailer and decided to open a storefront location in a local mall. What better location to offer fashion consultant services than in one of the main places people shopped?

My goal was to offer my services to everyone, no matter what their financial status. With an easily accessible location, anyone could find us, including the women I assisted with the
Dress for Success
program.

The space I rented was big enough for four consultants. Staff interviews began next week and I’d open for business in two weeks. The beauty of the whole set up is as owner, my hours would be flexible. I would handle opening, closing, and let the other consultants handle the work during the day. My time would be split between there and special appointments through the Inn. I couldn’t think of a better way to continue to work and still have time to be home to be a mom.

I stopped at a Chinese restaurant and ordered dinner. Zack’s favorite dish was Kung Pao Chicken. For myself, I ordered Shrimp Egg Fu Yung with the intention of eating every last bit of it, and extra egg rolls. I was that hungry.

When I opened the door to the condo, Zack was sitting on the sofa, his leg propped up while he channel surfed.

“Hey, beautiful, how did it go?”

I carried my packages in and set them on the kitchen counter. “Great! The lease is signed and I have the key. I am so excited, Zack. You have no idea.”

My husband pushed off the sofa and walked over to the kitchen slowly. His foot was healing on schedule. According to his rehab attendant, he was now able to walk on his own with minimal assistance. He no longer wore a cast, but he did wear a splint.

“How did you know I was hungry?” When he reached me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed the side of my throat before sliding his hand to my belly.

“Wifely intuition,” I teased, and reached over to pop a fried crab Rangoon in his mouth. “How was your day?”

He rubbed the growing baby bump. “Perfect now that both of you are home again.”

I laughed. Zack was fascinated by my ever-changing body since the day we made up. We still had a long way to go before I gave birth; five months to be exact.

He let go and hobbled over to sit at the island while I reached for plates in the cabinet.

“The rehab nurse said I was making great progress. A few more weeks, and I’ll be able to take off this splint and start working the muscle out.” A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

“Hmm, wonder what kind of exercise you plan to do.”

“Believe me, I’ve got plans. Thanks,” he said as I handed him a plate, then spooned his food onto the dish. “How was your doctor’s appointment? I hate I wasn’t able to go with you.” He eyed the food I took out of the take home bag. “Hey, you’ve got Shrimp Egg Fu Young.” He reached over with his fork.

I slapped at his hand. “I’m not sharing.”

“Hey, since when?”

“Since now. I need all the nutrients I can get.”

His eyes narrowed. “You and my seed can’t eat all of that. You know they give you enough to last three meals. Give it up.”

“Well, it’s different when I’m eating for more than one.” I smiled.

“I know, you plus baby equals two, which means there’s more than enough. Do the math.” He reached over again. This time I snatched the container out of his reach.

“Not according to my doctor.”

“What are you talking about?”

I set the Egg Fu Young container on the counter away from Zack’s reach and walked over to the kitchen table to retrieve my purse. Wary eyes followed me as I walked over to the PS3 in the living room, slid in a disk, and changed the play settings.

“What are you up to?” he asked.

“Come here, I have to show you something.” I sat on the sofa and patted the spot next to me. I picked up the remote and waited for him to join me. “Remember how I said I felt like I was getting really fat too soon? Well, the doctor thought so too.”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” Fear crept into his voice and I instantly felt guilty.

“Yes, we’re fine and I’m sorry, I said that wrong.” Zack put his hand on my belly protectively. “My doctor ran tests and everything was fine. So, she decided to do an ultra sound…”

Zack looked at the dark screen; I hadn’t pushed play yet. “Is this…”

I nodded and smiled.

His eyes lit up. “Push play already!”

I did. Within seconds, the screen came to life with the image of our baby.

“That’s incredible…” Zack reached for my hand, his voice nearly a whisper while his eyes grew wide to take it all in.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” I felt my eyes tear up.

“She? It’s a girl?” Zack’s attention stayed on the screen.

“Yes, Zack, that is your daughter.”

His mouth fell open. I smiled and let the image continue to play for another minute. Then it changed as the technician angled the imaging equipment around my belly. A slight blur filled the screen before reforming again. This time the image appeared slightly different.

Confusion crossed Zack’s face. “What happened?”

“The technician had to change positions in order to pick up the other fetus.” I focused on his face; it stayed blank for moment.

“The other fetus?” His attention left the screen and came to me.

“We’re having twins. That is your son.”

Zack sat back on the sofa in complete shock. “We’re having...we’re…”

I laughed and leaned over to kiss his open mouth. “Yes, baby, twins! A boy and a girl!”

Zack’s burst of laugher filled the room. He lifted me onto his lap, rained kisses over my face, and rubbed my stomach. “I can’t believe this!”

“I guess our work paid off!”

When his excitement slowed calmed, I kissed him and ran a hand over his head. “I was thinking…I promised your mother something and I want to make sure it’s okay with you.”

He studied me. “What?”

“I promised her if we ever had a daughter, we’d name her Belinda. She thought the name was too old for a young lady, but I figured we could use it as her middle name. I’d also like to do the same for our son…name him after your father, unless you’d rather have a junior.”

Zack closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. “That is a promise worth keeping.” He kissed me long and slow. “You are going to be a wonderful mother.”

“You are going to be an amazing father.”

And we were going to have an amazing life. I could feel it. Once again, I sent up a prayer to thank Belinda Givens for encouraging me to let love back in my life.

Butterfly Memoirs book 3

Lonely Heart

Prologue

“Kaity, are you sure this is what you want?”

A final scan of the room showed nothing was left behind. “Yes, Ebony, I’m positive. Luke’s made it clear; he doesn’t want this baby, which means he doesn’t want me.”

After months of failed attempts to convince my boyfriend of nearly two years that keeping our family together was best, I’d had enough. The moment he learned about the pregnancy, he suggested abortion. After arguing, he conceded to try and work things out. Everything went fine for a while, but the more I asked him to participate in the doctor’s appointments and for ideas about setting up the baby’s room, the more standoffish he became.

His decision to avoid the sonogram, then ignore my calls and text messages was enough.

I had three months until my baby’s arrival.

My baby…Who’d have thought I’d become a single mom?

A few short months ago, my life was perfect. I worked my dream job, and had a man who loved me.

There were a lot of things about Luke I didn’t know.

I made some bad decisions in my life. It was too late to change them now.

For the next three months my focus would be providing my baby with a happy home. And regardless of what Luke thought, he would still have a responsibility in providing for his child.

“That’s everythin’. Let’s get out of here before he gets home.”

Chapter 1

“And that’s a wrap!”

Thunderous applause caused my unborn child to jump in my womb. I covered my ears and smiled.

“Hey, Kat, will you be at the cast party tonight?” Keith, the Key Grip guy, yelled through the din.

“Kaitlyn, I need you in my office. Now.” My boss spun on her heels and walked away.

I grimaced and shrugged at Keith.

Alexandria Fleming was the Head of Wardrobe of
Just How She Likes It
, one of televisions hottest. For the past two years I’d been her right hand girl. Anything she needed, I did. Dependable, ready to work late, and always on time, were the qualities she valued most about me.

My heart raced. Alexandria rarely smiled at work because she took her job seriously, but I would think of all days she’d at least smile a little. The final episode of its third season had just finished taping, and the show was scheduled for a fourth. Her contract to extend her job had been signed weeks ago.

Mine on the other hand, hadn’t been offered.

My stomach dropped as realization hit: I was being fired. Somehow after two years of a near perfect track record, I’d screwed up. With all of my personal drama manifesting in the last few weeks, I could barely hide the stress. Leaving Luke, my boyfriend of the past two years, while carrying his child, took an emotional toll. I thought I hid it…until Alexandria started asking questions.

With a new apartment and baby on the way, I couldn’t afford to lose my job. My mind raced. If I got fired, I would have to file for unemployment. Who’d hire a woman who’s three months away from going on maternity leave?

Alexandria held the door of her office open as I walked in and settled on the edge of the seat across from her cluttered desk. My baby kicked hard; I put my hand on my belly to massage the spot. It was probably a result of my sudden emotional change. I’d noticed over the last few weeks anytime I got upset or excited about something, my baby would react by kicking. I’d promised myself to stop stressing. Stress mixed with my high blood pressure problem wasn’t a good thing.

Thankfully, the show was going on hiatus for the next few weeks. The break would allow me the down time needed until I gave birth. My doctor had already threatened me with forced bed rest if I didn’t take time off from work.

Time off from work was a luxury I could not afford right now.

I heard the door close behind me. Without a word, Alexandria settled in her chair and rummaged through the stack of files on her desk; her grim expression never changed.

“You’re aware I’ve been working on evaluations for the past few weeks.” Her gaze drifted to my stomach. “Will you be returning once you have the baby?”

“Yes, I love my job and have no intentions of quittin’. The idea of workin’ in Hollywood motivated me to leave Texas and move to L.A.”

There was no response. After a moment, she set two files she’d retrieved on the desk in front of her. “Fashion Design and Theater Production Degree from U.C.L.A. If my memory serves me correct, you graduated with honors.”

Speechless, I nodded.

“Kaitlyn, if I left the show, do you think you could handle my job?”

My eyes widened. Could this be a trick question? After two years of working on the set, I knew it like the back of my hand. For the past year I’d been working directly under her. For the last six months, I’d handled the mini projects assigned to me with an assistant to help.

I swallowed hard. My hand absently rested on my belly. “If I needed to fill in while they searched for a replacement—”

 “It’s a yes or no question, Kaitlyn. Could you replace me?” Her expression was stern, her eyes focused.

“Yes.”

One of her eyebrows arched. “You don’t sound confident.”

I cleared my throat. “Yes.”

She clasped her fingers together before nodding as if she agreed with my reply. “You’re the first assistant who’s taken the initiative to do more than what’s asked. I appreciate that about you.”

“Thank you.”

“This,” she indicated the files with a wave of her hand, “is your
Matrix
moment. I have two packets with your name on them. One holds a contract for another year of working as Assistant Costume Director on this show. With the ratings being what they are, it’s possible there are two or three more years in the works. There’s even been talk of a spin off. The other holds a contract for a brand new show. The pilot and first few episodes will start filming in five months. As of now, there’s no idea of how it will be received or how long it will last. The cast is made up of fresh new faces, and the studio needs a young, but experienced person for the Head Costume Designer position. When the studio asked for my recommendations, your name is the only one I gave.”

I blinked.

“Did you hear what I said?”

Unable to respond verbally, I nodded.

Alexandria laughed, stood, and walked over to shake my hand. “Welcome to the big leagues. It’s time to make life changing decisions about your career.”

“Did you say one of them was for a Head Costume Designer job?”

“Yes it is. The show is based on the concept of
Friends
, only hipper, sassier, and set what what’s relevant now. You have a week to decide. Take both packets home, study the contracts carefully before you and decide. Remember, it’s not just about you anymore.”

****

“Come on, Betsy, you can handle it,” I cooed and rubbed the dashboard of my car. The engine idled rough while we sat at the traffic light.

My attention focused on the auto shop sitting across the street, praying there was a public restroom. The minute the light changed, I bore down on the gas and jumped in front of a car in the next lane. “Sorry!” I wiggled my fingers in my rearview at the offended driver who responded by leaning on his horn. At this point I didn’t care. My car was on the verge of breaking down and I seriously had to pee.