Chapter Seventy Five
Bernie sighed as she closed the door behind her. The night had most definitely not gone as planned.
She was wearing her new slacks, a pair that hugged her curves, and a snug, low cut ruby red blouse, with an extra button undone. Cat eye makeup, red lipstick-the goal had been seduction. Dinner had gone well, their third date. Brian had picked her up and taken her to a posh little restaurant, where the conversation had flowed, a couple glasses of wine, hand touching, lots of leaning in.
In addition to being gorgeous, Brian was incredibly smart. He was warm and funny, and easy to talk to. His eyes never strayed from her; he was never distracted by other women or the people around them. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had been so attentive. The age difference didn’t bother her, and it didn’t seem to bother him. It was only fifteen years or so; she knew he and Jim were around the same age.
Her heart rate was elevated, and she had been turned on through most of dinner, staring into those deep brown eyes of his.
And when he finally brought her home, she had invited him in for coffee. The sheets on the bed were fresh, she had condoms ready.
Standing in the kitchen, while the coffee was brewing, they had been laughing about something, she didn’t know what now. Bernie had stepped up to him, as he slipped his arms around her waist, and they both moved in for the kiss.
And the instant their lips touched, her desire withered. He was a nice kisser, but to her dismay, and clearly his, there was no spark. No flame. No burning passion. Just a nice kiss.
When he pulled away, it was on his face; he had realized it too. They stared into each other’s eyes.
“That didn’t go as planned,” he murmured.
Bernie nodded, puzzled. They clearly had wanted each other just moments before. He wasn’t any less attractive.
“Awkward,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “Very.”
So they had ended up talking some more over their coffee, and when he finally left, she knew she they had a solid friendship. But there wouldn’t be any romance.
With a heavy sigh, she went to remove her makeup.
***
Jim glanced at the clock. Byron had just texted him that Hallie had missed yet another appointment. At their court date, her lawyer had argued that she was desperate to see her children and struggling with an outpatient rehab program, and begged the judge to not suspend her visitation. But of the six appointments since, she had missed three.
Val would come home in tears, Byron would be sullen for two days, and Regan wouldn’t eat. Jim had talked to his lawyer about taking Hallie back to court again. In three weeks, she hadn’t been able to get her act together enough to visit her children. And Byron had bitterly told him while she wasn’t drunk on the other three visits, she was clearly unable to focus or follow their conversation. Jim suspected she may have been jonesing for the alcohol.
On Brian’s recommendation, the children were all visiting a colleague of his, Dr. Wilman. Each child had private sessions with her weekly, and then one all together with Jim so they could talk as a family. The first couple sessions, Byron had refused to say anything, slouching in his chair and glaring at the wall. Jim hoped his oldest was talking to Dr. Wilman in the private sessions.
Byron’s grades were tanking, and there had been a second incident at school that Jim was called about.
Veronica Howell had hung up on Jim when he called to talk to her about what she was saying in front of her son. He had already decided he was going to have show up and talk to her in person. That was going to be pleasant, he was sure.
Val was struggling with her mother’s rejection, but to Jim’s immense relief, the other women in the family had stepped in. The ‘big girls’, Natala, Aralyn, Tiffany and Mabon visited her regularly, Daisy made a point of asking her questions about the teen line, and Honey and Bernie regularly came by to visit with the kids.
Little Regan seemed the least affected, but Jim wasn’t sure if the boy was internalizing or didn’t fully realize what was happening. As Dr. Wilman couldn’t discuss his children with him, he had to read between the lines when she suggested activities for them.
Langley kept the house running smoothly, thankfully. There were plenty of nights when Jim still had to work late, or from his home office. Langley made sure the kids were picked up from school when he couldn’t be there, dinner was ready, homework was done and everyone was in bed on time. Langley was also approved by the court to be the chaperone during Hallie’s visits, but Hallie’s lawyer insisted someone from child services also be present. Jim didn’t attend: It was best that he not. His presence disturbed Hallie and he really did want her to spend the time with the kids. He wanted his kids to be happy.
With a heavy sigh, he dialed Ben Riker.
“What do you need, Frayne?” Ben demanded.
“Hallie’s missed another appointment,” Jim answered.
Jim could hear Ben’s sigh. “She wasn’t feeling well this morning.”
“Being hungover is no excuse to skip a session with her children,” he snapped. “The kids are devastated.”
“I’m really sorry about that, Jim,” Ben said quietly and honestly. “I know the kids are the ones suffering here and that’s regrettable. But I’m not Hallie’s keeper.”
“She’s living with you,” Jim growled. “You’re the closest thing to a responsible adult in her life.”
“I’ll try to get her to the next one,” Ben said shortly.
“Please do,” Jim responded, and hung up the phone.
Definitely time to go back to court, he thought. The representative from DFCS had enough information now to recommend Hallie lose her visitation privileges until she could prove she wanted to see her children. Namely, she needed to check into a rehab, because the outpatient thing clearly wasn’t working for her.
***
Bernie finalized the catering contract before emailing it. Jim had signed off on everything, so today she’d get the contracts out to all of the vendors. The benefit was just a couple weeks away now and she would be glad when it was done. Honey Duke had been a big help. With her philanthropy foundation, she had put together many benefits throughout the year, and had been able to quickly recommend caterers, musicians and decorators.
Honey was actually the official hostess of the benefit. Jim’s wife never attended, so Honey had taken over the hostess position years ago, greeting various patrons, shaking hands, charming the old farts into opening up their wallets, and making them feel young. Jim’s mother and father also attended, and worked the benefactors as well.
The thought made Bernie cringe. She hated parties, especially formal ones. Spending the night in heels and a fancy dress did not appeal to her at all-it was her idea of torture. Happily, she just needed to supervise the setup, and then Honey would take over and Bernie had the night off. She had a hot date with the gym planned for that night.
The phone was ringing and a quick glance told Bernie it was Val’s school. She answered quickly. Jim was in an important meeting, and must have forwarded calls to her. It was the nurse from Val’s school.
“Well, I was wondering if someone could come and pick Val up,” she said, after Bernie identified herself.
“Is she sick?” Bernie asked.
“Well, it seems she’s started her menstrual cycle, and I think this is her first. She’s cramping pretty badly and we’re not allowed to dispense anything, but I think she could use her mother or a grandmother, maybe.”
“Hmm, the mother can’t happen,” Bernie mused. “Tell her to hang tight, someone will come for her. Let me see who in the family is available.”
She couldn’t leave, especially while Jim was in his meeting. And he had meetings all day. Of course he’d cancel them in a heartbeat for his little girl, but they were important. Langley of course could pick her up, but the nurse had been right, this called for a woman’s touch.
Glancing at her list of family members to call in order, she immediately spotted the solution and dialed a number.
“Helen?” Bernie asked.
“Yes, is this Bernie?”
“It is. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“Not at all, is something wrong?”
“Well, it seems Val has started her period at school, and isn’t feeling well. The nurse asked for someone to come and get her, but I can’t leave right now, and neither can Jim. And this is you know, a woman thing,” Bernie said.
“I understand. Let me collect my purse and I’ll go get her and take her home. Would you call Langley and let him know?”
“Sure thing. Thanks, Helen. I know Jim will appreciate it.”
“It’s not a problem at all. She’s the last of the granddaughters to go through this, so I’m happy to be there for her.”
***
“Thanks, Moms,” Val said. “Are they always like this?”
Helen tucked the blankets around her. Val had been looking rather green and miserable when she arrived at the school. Helen had bustled her into the car, dosed her with Midol and brought her home, where Langley happily stepped aside so she could tend to her granddaughter.
“The first year will probably be the roughest, sweetheart. You’ll get used to it, and as you get older and stop growing, they’ll probably get easier. Some women have incredibly difficult periods, others don’t. You’re fairly athletic though, so I don’t think yours will be too bad.”
Helen didn’t want to tell her that Hallie had complained for years of awful periods, with horrendous cramping and nausea. No need to scare or upset the girl. “And today’s medicines are so advanced, they help with everything. Your generation has it pretty easy, comparatively,” Helen smiled at her as she smoothed the girl’s dark hair.
“Ugh,” Val groaned. “This is awful.”
“You just lay there, sweetheart, let me make you some hot cocoa.”
***
Jim frowned when he saw Hallie’s cell number appear as an incoming call. She wasn’t supposed to call him, nor him her. The lawyers handled all communication; it was better that way for everyone.
Was she drunk? Hurt? He debated answering, but finally picked up.
“Hallie?” he asked, cautiously.
“You son of a bitch!” she screamed in his ear.
Jim held the phone away from his ear.
“How dare you!” she shrieked. “How dare you take my children!”
Jim sighed. He should have expected this. The court order suspending her visitation until she completed a 30 day rehab program would have been delivered this afternoon.
“Hallie, I’m not going to have this conversation with you,” he said. “You shouldn’t have called me.”
“I hate you!” she screamed. “You are the devil! You can’t take my children!”
“Hallie, I didn’t take your children.” He caught himself before he got drawn into a conversation that could be used against him. He was fairly certain she was quite drunk.
“You did! You’ve made the courts keep them from me! How much did you pay that judge?!”
“Hallie, I’m hanging up now,” he said firmly. “Have your lawyer call mine if you need something. Until then, go to rehab. Your children miss you.”
He ended the call and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.
“Jim?”
His eyes flew open as Bernie walked in. He couldn’t help but notice the gentle sway of her hips as she walked towards him. She was wearing slacks today, and they fit well. Her blouse was light pink and well fitted, flattering her curvy body.
Focus, he thought. He remembered his dream from last night, starring her. Jim had woken up embarrassed. He hadn’t had dreams like that since he was a teenager. When he wasn’t busy, his thoughts turned to her. By accident, he had overheard her chew someone out over the phone, and hearing the authority in her voice, and seeing her commanding posture had turned him on. He hadn’t been aware he liked authoritative women until that moment.
But that was nothing compared to last week, when he had walked by the gymnasium, and seen her working out. None of the boys were around; they were in class, so she took advantage of the quiet. He had stared for several minutes, watching her lift and stretch, and when he realized how aroused he was, had hurried to his office in embarrassment. Thankfully, she hadn’t seen him.
She was very distracting, there was no denying it. But damn if she wasn’t incredibly efficient at her job.
“The caterer needs to make a change to the menu, so I wanted to get your approval. Something about substituting camembert for brie? I know they’re similar but I’m not totally sure of the differences.”
Jim chuckled. “I’m not either. But I’m sure it’s fine. Call Honey if you want; I’m sure she knows. Soft, white cheeses all seem the same to me.”
“Okay,” she smiled at him and left, and Jim found his eyes glued to her backside.
He couldn’t help but wonder about her. What all did she do in her free time? He knew she was into fitness, and entomology. There had been the beginnings of a romance with Brian, but Brian had told him that fizzled quickly. They were better off as friends, Brian had admitted. But Brian had the utmost respect for her, which intrigued Jim even more. He really wanted to get to know her, but he wouldn’t cross the employee-employer line. Not again.
Meet the cast in full & see the family tree!
***
Author’s Notes
- A huge yeee-haa to Ronda, my lovely editor who helps keep me on track, and always come through for me, even when she's in holiday UPS insanity.
- Word Count, 2,317
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