The Carol Wyatt Collection Read online

  Charlie eyes followed Todd’s movements as he took out a manila folder from his leather briefcase and opened it up, taking out a few documents and an envelope.

  “So, you’re not aware of your father’s wishes?” Todd asked as he glanced up from the document that he was holding.

  “No… I just thought since I’m his only child and I’ve worked with him here for years that I’d take over as CEO… I know he has a cabin in upstate New York and his apartment in the city of course…”

  “Charlie… It’s more complicated than that,” Todd said seriously as he put on a pair of reading glasses that he had tucked into the front pocket of his suit jacket.

  “What do you mean?”

  Charlie’s mind started to wander. Could her father have had other children that she didn’t know about? A wife somewhere?

  She dismissed those thoughts as quick as they had formed. Her father spent all of this time working. There was no way that there were any surprises like that.

  “Well, you’ve inherited those two properties that you just mentioned, along with a lump sum…”

  “Okay,” Charlie said, trying to be patient. “What about the company? Can I just sign off on that part and get it out of the way?”

  Todd cleared his throat. “That’s the tricky part… Are you married?”

  “Am I what? What sort of a question is that?”

  “Please…”

  “No. I’m not married. What does that have to do with anything?” Charlie asked, an edge creeping into her voice.

  “Well, then you have a bit of a problem.”

  “Todd, speak English… I don’t get what being married has to do with my father’s will.”

  Charlie stared at him like he’d completely lost his mind.

  “Your father left me very clear instructions. You are not to become the CEO of this company until you’re married.”

  “What? Is this a joke? You know my Dad liked to think he was funny.”

  “No. I’m serious,” Todd said as he took off his glasses and leaned back in the chair. “Until that stipulation is met, Jules Winters is to be the CEO.”

  “Can I see that?” Charlie asked, her hand outstretched, waiting for him to hand over the document.

  Charlie’s blue eyes quickly scanned over the document, not believing that this could be legitimate, but it was exactly as Todd said it was. She needed to be married to take over the company.

  “This is the only stipulation?” Charlie asked as she looked up to meet Todd’s eyes. “Nothing about my age or sales numbers? Just that I’m married? I don’t get it.”

  “Yes. That’s correct,” he said as he picked up the envelope that was sitting on the desk beside his arm. “Your father left you this letter. Maybe he explained his reasoning in there? I don’t know.”

  “Okay… Thanks.” Charlie held the letter in her hand for a few seconds before setting it aside. “Right, let’s get whatever else needs to be signed out of the way.”

  ****

  That afternoon, Charlie did something she rarely did and that was leave the office before 4 p.m.

  Jules sent her home and it was probably for the best. Charlie knew that she wasn’t thinking straight.

  She hadn’t been able to bring herself to open her father’s letter and it had been distracting her all day since Todd had left.

  Now she was sitting on her sofa, with a tumbler of her favorite whiskey, staring at the envelope again, telling herself it was finally time to open it.

  She gently peeled back the seal, noticing for the first time how old the envelope felt. As she slid out the folded pieces of paper, a musky smell invaded her nostrils.

  Her eyes instantly fell on the date that was scrawled across the top of the letter: October 2nd, 2000. That was Charlie’s eighteenth birthday.

  Charlie’s hands shook slightly as she held the letter that her father had written almost sixteen years ago. She could almost hear her father’s voice as she read his words:

  Dear Charlie,

  I’m so proud of the woman that you’re becoming. As I sit here and try to put my thoughts to paper, I don’t really know where the last eighteen years have gone.

  It seems like only a few moments ago that you came with me to your first open house. I think you were ten or eleven years old.

  I just wish your mother was in your life. I know she would be just as proud of you as I am.

  I never hid the fact that it was my fault that our marriage didn’t work out and why you’ve only occasionally seen her in the last few years.

  There’s more to life than business and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes that I have.

  I hope that you will have a family of your own and that I’ve gotten the opportunity to walk you down the aisle before you have to read this but if not…

  I want you to have a life, outside of work. I know that you want to be just like me and take this company into the future, growing it year on year, but if you’re not careful it will consume your life.

  I want you to have it all Charlie. I don’t want you to limit yourself to just a successful career and that’s why I’ve spoken to Todd about my will.

  There’s a clause that means that you won’t be able to become the CEO until you’re married, and I know that it probably seems a little bit extreme, but I don’t think you would listen to me if it was any other way. We’re too much alike.

  I trust that you won’t marry the first man you see just to take over the company. I want you to take my wish seriously.

  I hope that this was all an unnecessary precaution and that I’ve lived to a nice, old age and that you’ve been happily married for years and given me beautiful grandchildren to dote on.

  But I know that life doesn’t always work out the way you imagine it will and that’s why I’m writing this letter.

  I was never good with words. I’m trying to be better, but I know that I don’t say it enough:

  I love you, Charlie. You’re the best daughter a man could ask for. You’ve made me incredibly proud already. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going to get up to in the next eighteen years of your life.

  Anyway, I know that if you’re reading this, I must be a goner, but I don’t want you to dwell on that.

  If you’re anything like me, you’re already thinking ahead to how to run our company or you’re thinking about who you’ll be getting married to.

  Either way, I wish you the best of luck and I know that you’ll find a way to make it work. You always have.

  Love always,

  Dad

  Charlie blinked and the tears that had threatened to fall finally trickled down her face.

  Part of her was moved by what he had written and the fact that he wrote it so long ago but the other part of her couldn’t believe that he had done this to her.

  Marriage was the last thing on her mind and to a man! At least that had made her laugh out loud.

  At least she could legally get married. If gay marriage wasn’t an option, she didn’t know what she’d do.

  Maybe it wouldn’t have been easier. She could have just married her best friend Kevin.

  She left the letter aside and realized how little she had spoken to her father over the years about personal things. He had no idea that she was gay, and she never really felt compelled to tell him.

  That was just the way their relationship worked. She didn’t have anything to compare it to. It wasn’t like she knew her mother at all.

  She’d been lucky with her friendships though, especially Kevin. He had always been there for her since she first met him six years ago.

  Kevin… Wait until I tell him about all this. He’ll probably get a good laugh out of it until I remind him that he has to be my wingman in the hunt for my future wife.

  My future wife…

  Charlie felt slightly nauseous even thinking about it, but she knew that if she didn’t tackle this problem, she’d have an even bigger one. As much as she cared about Jules, she could
n’t sit back and let him have control of the company.

  This is what her life was supposed to look like: CEO of one of New York City’s most successful real estate companies. Now she just had to add happily married to her resume.

  Charlie had to give her father some credit though. Despite their mainly business relationship, he did know her. He knew that she would have ignored his dying wish if there wasn’t something bigger attached to it.

  She just wondered what he would think of her, if and when she got married. He had probably imagined her marrying a tall, dark, and handsome man.

  She liked to think that he would have been okay with it.

  Charlie glanced down at her silver watch. It was just after six o’clock and she could feel her stomach rumbling.

  She’d order some Chinese food and call Kevin. Anytime she went out it was always at Kevin’s insistence, so she didn’t feel bad about asking him to go out with her on short notice, not that he ever needed any encouragement.

  Chapter 5

  Erica stood in front of her closet, wondering what she was going to wear.

  “Where are we going tonight?” Erica called out, knowing that their other roommate Taylor was out, and she could shout across the apartment to Jenny without bothering anyone.

  A few seconds later, Jenny appeared in her doorway, wearing her sweatpants and a t shirt, her hair still wet.

  “Somewhere different?”

  “Have you exhausted the population at The Red Dragon already?”

  “It certainly feels that way,” Jenny said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded across her chest.

  Sometimes Erica wished she could be more like Jenny. She didn’t think she could be a complete player, but she’d like to at least be a little less picky.

  “So where else can we go?” Erica asked.

  “There’s a place in Tribeca. I think it’s mostly guys, but I saw some familiar faces there last week on Instagram.”

  “Okay, let’s go there. What’s the dress code like?”

  “Uh, sophisticated. Definitely.”

  “Really?” Erica asked, her eyebrows shooting up. “What are you going to wear?”

  “I can do sophisticated,” Jenny said, hitting her lightly on the arm, pretending to be offended.

  “Sure,” Erica said sarcastically. “Give me thirty minutes and I’ll be ready.”

  They both got ready and Erica settled on a black sleeveless dress with a v neck that showed off her cleavage. She pushed her wavy black hair over her shoulders so that she could put on her gold earrings that shimmered in the light as they dangled about two inches below her ears.

  She slipped on a pair of black heels, grabbed her black sling bag, and took one last look in the mirror before going to see if Jenny was ready.

  She knocked firmly on Jenny’s door so that she could hear her over the music that she had playing.

  “Jen, you ready?”

  “Yes!”

  “Dressed up and punctual,” Erica teased her as they left their apartment. “Who are you?”

  Jenny normally wore skinny jeans with one of her many pairs of Converse. Tonight, she was wearing black skinny jeans and a red v neck top with a black blazer. She even wore more dramatic makeup, her red lipstick and dark eyeshadow made Jenny almost unrecognizable.

  “I clean up alright when I want to,” Jenny said as they hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of the club. It was only a few blocks away, but it was a breezy night and they were both wearing heels that they weren’t that used to wearing.

  Ten minutes later, they were making their way into the bar, casually taking in the expensive looking décor.

  “I see what you mean,” Erica said as they waited for the bartender to see them. “Very fancy.”

  They normally went to quiet gay bars that were more like pubs and when they did go clubbing, their usual spot was much more low key than this.

  The four gigantic crystal chandeliers that were spread out across the large space caught Erica’s attention until Jenny gently elbowed her in the side.

  “You might want to revise your drink order,” Jenny said.

  “What do you mean? I always just get beer.”

  “Yeah but my advice for this place is to go hard with the alcohol if you don’t want to spend a ton of money tonight.”

  “Ah… I see… Okay, forget the beer. I’ll go for a whiskey and coke.”

  “Good choice,” Jenny said with a smile. “I think I’ll have the same.”

  Chapter 6

  As soon as Charlie had invited Kevin over for some Chinese and a few drinks she was already regretting it.

  He was going to think that she was completely crazy for diving into this head first, but she had to at least try and get back out there. She wasn’t going to meet her future wife sitting at home.

  When Kevin arrived, and their food was delivered shortly after, Charlie relaxed and finally told him about her father’s will.

  Kevin didn’t exactly laugh at her. He just had the same reaction that she did; that this whole thing must be a joke.

  Charlie even showed him the letter that her father had left for her and Kevin just pulled her into his muscular arms and told her to go get ready, that they were heading out.

  He’d said that he knew of the perfect place. It was one of his usual haunts and even though their clientele were mostly men, he assured her that there were always a handful of women there every night.

  Now they were sitting at the bar with their drinks and Charlie surveyed the crowd, looking for the few women that Kevin had been sure would be here.

  She brought her glass of bourbon to her lips and saw three women out on the dancefloor, but she was pretty sure that they were there with friends.

  “I don’t think tonight’s going to be the night I meet my future wife but we’re still going to have a good time,” Charlie said with a smile as she clinked her glass of Kevin’s bottle of beer.

  “Well, finding her on your first night out looking would have been a big ask.”

  “I know… It’s good to be back out there though. Maybe my Dad was right… I can’t remember the last time I went on a real date…”

  “This is going to be good for you, Charlie.”

  She nodded and took another look around but didn’t see anyone else that caught her eye.

  “Are we staying here?” she asked.

  “Yes. This is the best way to meet people,” he said, his eyes moving down the bar to all the people that were sitting on the other stools. “Plus, the bar couldn’t get any closer.”

  “Okay,” Charlie said with a shrug as she took another drink.

  She rarely felt self-conscious. At work, she exuded confidence in every way. She dressed well, she spoke clearly and with authority, and she knew her business inside and out.

  But as she was getting ready tonight, she realized she didn’t really have any going out clothes. Her closet had always been stocked with professional work clothes or fitness gear. There was no in-between.

  Tonight, she wore charcoal pants with a white scoop neck top. She had a matching gray blazer, but she thought it made her look too professional.

  This was the best thing she could find on short notice. She’d have to go shopping next week if she was going to be a regular on a Friday night now.

  But it wasn’t just her clothes that were making her feel self-conscious. It was the fact that she knew that she would be rusty, that she might make a fool of herself when she did approach a woman.

  “Thanks for coming out with me tonight,” Charlie said honestly. “I don’t think I could have done this on my own.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Kevin said with a warm smile. “That’s what friends are for. Anytime you want to go out, just give me a call.”

  “The next thing I need to worry about is finding my game again… I’m going to be so rusty.”

  Charlie’s heart was already racing at the thought of approaching any of the women that were here tonight.
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  “You just need to get yourself back out there,” Kevin said as he brought his bottle of beer to his lips.

  “Well, there’s maybe six, seven women to choose from and I think those three are straight so…”

  “Which means that you’re going to stand out.”