Chapter 1
Madison
Present day…
Truck honks and I wave to the driver, trying to find the gateway remote. I find it safely hidden under a pile of fabric I was just sorting through. Gate clicks and starts sliding as I wave to the driver indicating where he should park.
My beauty is here. The old french dresser which I’m planning to restore. Guys unload and carry it in the garage. My car is outside under the awning for the time being. There will be lots of dust when I start sanding it down. This little beauty will be a shabby chic gem, after I’m done with it.
As a good host I offer cold drinks to the delivery guys. It is almost evening so they decline because poor guys probably want to go home and this delivery made them come here into the wilderness. After they leave I’m left enveloped in the soft silence of a hot summer evening. Perfect moment for a swim in the pool before I make myself something to eat.
“Tomorrow morning…” I say to the dresser as I gently brush my hand against the smooth surface of the painted wood. I opened all the drawers and assessed the condition of the piece to check if I needed something from the hardware store or not. The seller didn’t lie, it is in good condition, no insect infestation, no major damage.
I hear a video call ringing from the office.
What the hell, I said I’m taking a few days off.
The sound stops just as I enter my office. Before I manage to get to my laptop and check who it was, my phone starts ringing. Something is up.
Dylan's face and name beam across the screen and I answer it.
“Hey you, what is going on?”
“Hi Maddie, can you please come to Seattle?” he asks. His voice is brimming with amusement. Is he joking or is this real?
“I can, but do you care to tell me why?” I ask him.
“Let’s do video…” he answers and cuts the line.
I stay confused for a moment not really knowing how to classify this call. It is so out of Dylan's character.
In a few seconds my laptop is chiming again and this time I answer it. Dylan is positively beaming, Stanford is right behind him holding a glass of what looks like champagne.
“What are we celebrating?” I ask as celebratory emotions spill through the screen to me.
“We have two things….” Dylan starts when Stanford puts down the glass and just pushes him aside while he crams his face in front of the camera.
“We’re having a baby!!!!!!” he screams.
I freeze in shock while my brain processes the information only to jump a moment later as somebody poked me with a needle. I start jumping up and down and screaming alongside Stanford. Dylan remained seated in his chair laughing and incredulously waving his head at the two of us. He is definitely the more composed part of that couple.
Thirty seconds later I was panting like I ran a marathon. That is my share of activity for today. As the emotions subside, I plop into my chair.
“Congratulations guy’s. I know how much this means to you.” I tell them.
“It is not official yet, the surrogate just called to say that the home test is positive. We are going to the doctor tomorrow.” Stanford explains.
“We wanted you to be the first to know. Be prepared to be a crazy aunt,” Dylan chimes in.
Those two have the best relationship I have ever seen. Stanford is the more flamboyant colorful one while Dyilan is all rational and serious. But between them you can feel the connection and mutual support.
“I’ll leave you now to talk business,” Stanford blows me a kiss and disappears from the view.
I take a deep breath to ground myself after the baby news. It is difficult to put on the thinking hat after something this big is announced.
For the past three months we have been working on raising our first round of cash. The seed investment for launching the company came from Dylan and me.
The books I wrote two years ago sold like crazy and it got me to a few prestigious number one positions. From there I signed a few contracts, published some more books and had the good fortune to repeat the success. I met Dylan while attending a conference organized by my publisher. After a few drinks an idea about an App was born. A dating platform for persons interested in threesoms. Started as a joke, but as we began developing the idea it showed potential. So much so that we decided to hire a developer and launch a company. Year and a half later, we are heavily in beta testing with great results, now is the critical moment when we have to start scaling the company if it is going to succeed.
For that we need money. Three million dollars to be more precise. Books are selling well but I definitely don’t have that kind of money to invest, Dylan either. That meant we had to engage venture capital and Angel investors. Gazillion mails, video calls, meetings and business plan presentations later we got offers from a VS and two angel investors. With the combined offer we would raise 2.1 million dollars. A huge amount, but not what we planned.
This was the reason why I took a few days off, I need to think and to reorganize the entire operation in a different way.
“What about business?” I ask Dylan.
“We just got one more offer” he informs me.
“What?!”
“Yes, but he wants to meet you.”
“He?”
“Yes, the VC.”
“The offer?”
“600K with the same conditions as the others,” Dylan continued.
Now that significantly changes the scale in our favour.
“I’ll get on a flight tomorrow. When is the meeting?” I tell him while I check for available tickets.
“The meeting is the day after tomorrow….Friday at ten,” he states.
“Ok, I’ll fly in tomorrow so that we can prepare and celebrate the baby, and I can return on Friday after the meeting.”
“You can stay the weekend!!! I have this cute colleague, we can organize a drink or something...” I hear Stanford jelling from the background.
I laugh. Not only is Piper trying to hook me up, now Stanford is as well. No time for a guy in my life at this point.
“I live in Coloradooooo, you and your friend are in Seattleeee. How is that going to work?” I jell back.
Stanfords bold head appears from the side of the screen.
“You know, we have remote and sparsely populated inland regions in Washington as well. We’re quite famous for that.” he mocks me.
Why am I to blame if I like living in nature, away from the city bustle.
“I already know what I would build in those forests of yours.” I taunt him back.
We both smirk.
“See you tomorrow,” I say, send him an air kiss and end the call.
Few minutes later, tickets were purchased and my hotel was booked. The guys always want me to stay with them. I do sometimes but for the most part I like my space, especially after I found a great boutique hotel just near the coworking space we use.
As far as my days off are concerned - I’ll take them when we close this round of investment.
I go upstairs still keen on having a swim in my small pool. After making sure that the gate is locked I take off my clothes and throw myself naked in the pool. The water is perfectly tepid, just as I like it. I float in it looking at the changing color of the sky, levitating weightless until the sky goes completely dark and my stomach reminds me that I planned on eating something.
Mood for cooking has passed me. Ample stash of cheese in the fridge always comes to the rescue. I make a plate of different cheeses, olives, bread and a glass of red wine and I take it to my favourite place to sit and contemplate. The railing of my terrace, the point where the railing meets the house wall and is facing towards Holden's house is made from concrete. That makes it wide enough for a person to sit there.
Complete silence of the entire house hits me all of the sudden. I didn't even notice it until now. Usually there is music playing or at least radio babelling in the background. I set down the glass and the plate and go back inside to turn on some music. Blues feels nice tonight. Getting back back to the terrace I grab a fluffy pillow from the terrace sofa and put it on the railing, take the wine glass, plop my ass on the cushion, legs on the railing and lean against the wall, looking into the night.
It is not a complete darkness, because a faint light is coming off Holden's cottage. My trusted companion this week. Piper said that Drake’s friend will be using it. It is nice to know that there is somebody near.
A ping registers in the back of my mind. My mobile is somewhere in the house and I feel too lazy to go and get it. After contemplating between getting it and ignoring it for a few moments I put down the glass again, take a piece of cheese and pop it in my mouth as I go get the darned thing.
It’s Piper - Small barbeque with few friends on Friday, you have to join.
I write back - I’m going to Seattle for a meeting on Friday. I’m not sure I’ll make it.
It takes only a few moments for a return message to come - Doesn’t matter, after you land, you will come directly to us. We will feed you and here you can chill after the meeting. Also I might have a gorgeous guy to be your date. Don’t disappoint him. Message ends with a broken heart emoji.
I’m less and less thrilled about everybody trying to hook me up, but how can I ignore a broken heart emoji.
I return - Ok, I’ll do my best not to break his heart.