19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“Aviva, Mitch Sanderson is in town,” Rich called from the door to my office.

“Did he need to meet with me for any reason?”

“Well, yeah. He invited us both to dinner tonight to thank us for all the work we put into his campaign. The marketing we did boosted their sales through the roof and took the company viral on social media, so he wanted to thank us both for all the time we put into everything.”

“Okay, when is it?”

“Tonight, 7:30 at Tillerman’s.”

“Is he coming alone?”

“No,” Rich stumbled. “I think he’s bringing his wife along.”

“Okay, I will be there at 7:30.”

“I can drive you,” he insisted.

“No, thanks. I’d rather drive myself.”

“Should you be driving at all.” He tipped his head toward my burgeoning belly. At 33-weeks, I had popped in a big way and there was no hiding the fact that I’d be bringing another human into the world soon.

“My doctor has not suggested that I do otherwise. I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Okay, well, I guess we’ll see you tonight.”

I nodded and waited for Rich to leave before I pulled out my phone.

Avi:Need you to be my plus one for a work dinner thing tonight. Rich will be there.

Brax:You can’t get out of it.

Avi:Unfortunately, no.

Brax:I will be there and remain professional, let’s hope he does as well.

Avi:I have bail money, just in case.

Brax:Smart woman. Send me the details and I’ll see you later, sweetheart.

Braxton met me outside of the office just before seven so that we could drive to Tillerman’s together. It was an upscale restaurant, but we were both fine in our business attire. My pregnant body certainly wasn’t fitting in any of my old formalwear. “This was very last minute.”

“The invitation was extended by Rich, who conveniently offered to drive me over there.”

“That doesn’t sound suspect at all,” Brax commented.

“Now you know why I asked you to be my plus one. I made it a point to ask Rich if Mr. Sanderson was bringing his wife along. When he said he thought so, it made sense that we could bring our significant others as well.”

“I always said you were a smart lady, Aviva.”

It did not surprise either of us when we arrived at Tillerman’s and were promptly seated at a table where Rich was the only other occupant. “Aviva, when I told you about the dinner, it wasn’t an invitation to bring whomever you wanted with you.”

“Why not?” I asked as Braxton pulled my chair out for me. “You said that Mr. Sanderson was bringing his wife, I thought that meant we were all able to bring a date.”

Rich’s cheeks took on a noticeable red tone. “Mitch sent a message that they were running a little behind, but should be here soon.”

When the waitress stopped by our table, I quickly ordered an iced water. Once she was gone, I glanced longingly at the food on the tables nearest ours. “I hope he’s not too long; I’m starving and haven’t had anything since lunch.”

“Here,” Brax pulled an energy bar out of his pocket and offered it up to me.

“Oh my God! You are a lifesaver!” I ripped into the bar and closed my eyes, humming my pleasure as the first bite went down.

“You go around with energy bars filling out your pockets often?” Rich asked in a snide tone that made it all too obvious he was accusing Brax of needing the extra padding in his pants.

“I carry them whenever I’m out with Aviva because her blood sugar tends to drop if she’s gone too long without eating. I figured, since you told her at the last minute about a dinner that wasn’t happening until 7:30, that she wouldn’t have eaten anything in a while.”

Rich didn’t bother responding and instead watched me as I polished off the last of the bar Brax had given me. “Thank you. That was my favorite one, too.” His genuine smile in response warmed my heart.

“I know. You didn’t like the apple pie one, but you choose blueberry every time it’s a flavor option.”

“Aren’t you an attentive asshole?” Rich asked just as a woman behind him said, “Isn’t that sweet, Mitch? Aviva’s man pays such close attention to her needs that he even realized she was craving a specific fruit.”

Rich flushed red with embarrassment again as he stood to welcome Mr. Sanderson and his wife.

“Sorry we’re late,” Mitch apologized as he helped his wife, who he introduced as Brenda, into her seat.

“Sorry I had to nibble on something before you got here.”

“Nonsense. We didn’t realize you were with child, or we would have made this dinner an earlier one.”

“It’s okay. Mr. Sanderson, Brenda, this is my boyfriend, Braxton Halford.”

“Are you excited to be a dad?” Brenda asked him.

“Beyond,” Brax insisted quickly as Rich once again fumed from his seat. I waited to see if he would correct them, but quickly realized why that wasn’t the case.

“Where is the lovely Mel tonight, Rich?”

“She’s home with the kids,” he stated, as if he knew that to be true. The man couldn’t help himself as he sat there and lied about how well she was doing and gave a rundown on the kids that he had to be making up because none of it was true.

“How did they do with the move out here?” Mr. Sanderson asked as he eyed me skeptically once more.

“I think they’re adjusting well,” Rich stated.

“We just came back from vacation at Juniper Lake with them a few weeks ago and the kids had a blast,” Braxton added.

“Oh, you all went together?” Mitch seemed taken aback by that and it let me know that he was already aware of the circumstances of my pregnancy even if he didn’t want to point it out in front of his wife.

“Braxton is Mel’s life-long best friend and she’s like a sister to me. We loved hanging out at the lake with her and the kids.”

“And Rich, of course,” Brenda tacked on.

I shook my head. “He was only there briefly for one day. The rest of the time it was just the five of us. My mother was there for most of the week with her nurse as well.”

Rich looked ready to stab me with his fork but fuck him. He might prefer to lie about literally everything, but I would not do it to make him feel comfortable.

“Oh, well, why weren’t you there with your family, Rich?” Brenda asked. I waited patiently as Rich tried to scramble for a new lie.

“Mel and I are separated,” he finally admitted.

“Oh, too bad, dear.” Brenda insisted as she patted him on the arm. “I had heard something, but when you were talking about the family, I thought maybe you had remedied that situation.” She tutted and then turned to look him in the eye. “Your mother is beside herself about the whole affair.” Brenda’s eyes came back to me then.

Oh yeah, they knew.

“I wish I had been so clued in about Rich’s life when we started working on your campaign,” I hinted. Rich had the audacity to kick me in the shin. He did it lightly, but it was a warning to keep my mouth shut and we both knew it.

“You hadn’t met Mel and the kids then?”

I shook my head. “I had no clue they existed until Rich transferred to my office permanently. It was a shock for all of us, to say the least.”

“I just bet it was,” Brenda stated as she hid her amusement behind the glass of wine she picked up.

“We spoke to James about what an amazing job you both did on the campaign,” Mr. Sanderson said by way of changing the subject. “He assured me that you would be taking over any future endeavors.” That was directed at me and caused Rich to bristle even further.

“We worked on it together.”

“I am well aware of what you worked on Richard.” Mr. Sanderson stated in a cool manner that made it clear he did not take kindly to being interrupted. The man turned his attention back toward me. “I believe it was your influence that elevated my company beyond just being a small-time hobby shop for men. You made it a place where women felt welcome, too.” He sighed as his eyes tracked to his wife. “Brenda told me over the years that I was missing out, but I honestly didn’t think there were that many women out there who are outdoor enthusiasts.”

“I believe there are far more than you can fathom. Most of what stops women from truly diving into the outdoor life is that they have too much going on at home and no one was catering to their needs when they did plan excursions. Between your added line for women and the additions we discussed that catered to families of all shapes and sizes, I think you pulled your company out of a niche market and made it more mainstream. Those company choices were what expanded your reach.”

“Humble to the last, Ms. Acker?” Mr. Sanderson teased. I shrugged my shoulders as I took a sip of my water.

“You gave me the platform to springboard off of. Rich was instrumental in helping with the family side of things. I suppose I now know how he was so knowledgeable about what would pique the interest of families who were searching for outdoor gear for their next adventure.”

Brenda was unable to hold back her chuckling at my backhanded compliment to the lying bastard we were unfortunate enough to have to share a meal with. Braxton’s hand landed firmly on my thigh and gave a quick squeeze to let me know he appreciated that little dig, too.

Our food was delivered shortly after that and thankfully conversation took a back seat to any other business talk or cleverly skirting the scandal that we were immersed in. Once everyone was finished, Mr. Sanderson took a moment to catch the eye of everyone at the table. “We look forward to working with you more in the future, Aviva. Best of luck with the pregnancy. We don’t want to hold you up, as I imagine you need all the rest you can get right now.”

“That is the absolute truth,” I agreed. Brax and I both stood and shook Mr. Sanderson’s hand as well as Brenda’s. Rich continued to sit, sulk, and be rude. The man was doing himself no favors.

“Rich, if you’d stick around a minute, I have some personal news to share with you,” Mr. Sanderson said when Rich finally hauled his ass out of his chair.

As we were leaving, we both heard Mr. Sanderson tell Rich how disappointed his parents were in the choices he had been making. Before we could overhear anything else, Braxton escorted me out the door and down to his car. “Well, that was interesting.”

“I’ll say. It felt like a fishing expedition for Rich’s family more than the congratulatory business dinner it was supposed to be.”

“It looks like they didn’t fault you, which was a good thing, because I wouldn’t have been able to keep my mouth shut if they made any remarks against you.”

“My hero,” I cooed at Brax as he leaned over and gave me a kiss before pulling out into the evening traffic. “Let’s go get your car and get you home where you can rest.”

“Amelia is with my mom tonight. We can go to your place,” I suggested.

“That sounds perfect, sweetheart.”