Half an hour later, Deidra, Camille, Tasha, and the kids were gone, leaving Lecie alone in the house for the very first time, save the butler, the cook, and a brand new fake husband.
On Monday, Nick spent the entire morning going around to his creditors and paying off his debts. The bank was his last stop, and the manager hadn’t been as impressed as Hang Ten’s suppliers when Nick offered certified checks—so there was no fear of bouncing checks—to settle his debts.
The bank manager simply shot Nick a cold stare, saying, “I don’t know what you did to get this money…”
“Nothing illegal. I promise you that.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” He blew out a sigh and sat down at his desk. “We here at Golden West can sympathize with your situation,” he said, but there was a bite in his tone. Nick didn’t figure he felt any sympathy at all. “I’m glad that things worked out in your favor.”
“So you’ll reinstate my line of credit?” Nick asked.
“Yes.” He nodded. “But with restrictions.”
“Restrictions?”
“Well, for the first thirty days we’re going to put a cap on the amount you’ll be able to access.”
While Nick understood the bank’s caution, he couldn’t understand their reasoning. What good was a line of credit if you couldn’t use it? “Let’s cut to the chase,” he said, growing tired of the maze they were having him run through. “What’s the bottom line?”
“Five thousand dollars.”
Five grand? Are you kidding me? That wouldn’t help Nick with the community center at all. “So I don’t suppose the bank would be interested in funding a loan for a piece of property?” Nick all but laughed, already knowing the answer before he asked the question.
Nick walked into Hang Ten, greeted the staff with long overdue smiles as he made his way to his office. Finally, thanks to Lecie, he was feeling upbeat and confident that everything was going to be okay.
Oh, sure, it could’ve gone better at the bank, but in thirty days they would release his full line of credit to him, and they’d told him they’d talk about the community center at that time. It’d be cutting it close, but if they gave him a loan then, he could still make that forty-five day deadline.
Before sitting down at his desk, he went back to the door and opened it, glancing at the waitress Diane as she passed by. “Could you bring me a pitcher of ice water, please?” he asked.
She nodded. “Sure thing, Nick.”
He closed the door and went back to his desk. There was something to be said for being able to sit down and not have to worry about whether or not this would be the last time he’d sit here as the owner of Hang Ten.
Again, thanks to Lecie. He should do something for her since she’d been down in the dumps the last couple of days, ever since Deidra, Camille, and Tasha had left.
He grabbed the phone and hit number one on the speed dial. Ginny used to have that spot. But he’d given it to Lecie last week. The only list Ginny rated on these days was his shit list.
Nick smiled when her smooth, sweet voice greeted him with a nice “hello.”
“Hi, it’s me, Nick.” He felt as awkward as a teenage geek who had a crush on the head cheerleader.
“Well, hello there. How’s your day going?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he said as Diane came in with the pitcher of water and a chilled glass. He motioned to his desk. “Hang on a sec, love,” he said for Diane’s benefit. He didn’t mind people thinking he and Lecie were in love. It helped to kill the sting of everyone’s pitying looks after Ginny had left him hanging.
Diane poured him a glass before setting it and the pitcher on the desk, then nodded and backed away.
When she closed the door, Nick said, “Sorry. One of the waitresses came in.”
“I completely understand.”
“Say…do you want to have dinner with me tonight?” He sipped on the water. “I don’t mean at the house. Out somewhere. Somewhere where people can see us.”
“Sounds fun. I’d love to.”
Lecie spent the entire afternoon getting ready for her date with Nick. She knew it wasn’t a real date, but even so she was looking forward to it.
Rummaging through her closet, she’d pull a dress out on its hanger, hold it up against her to ponder it for a moment, then put it back on the rack and moved on to the next.
I wonder what Nick’s favorite color is? She pulled out a blue Reiss bandage dress she’d gotten in London last fall. Every time she wore it she got compliments because it “brought out her eyes”. Sure, it wasn’t a Versace or Dior, but it was fresh and hip, like her, or at least the way she wanted to be.
She took the dress and went to the nearest mirror, in the bathroom, and held it up against her. She did like the dress, and so did everyone else, especially men—well, at least the ones who weren’t related to her.
She draped the hanger on the hook beside the door of the master suite’s massive closet. She checked her nails and decided the manicure she’d gotten last week still looked good.
Lecie’s heart pounded at the thought of going on an actual date with Nick. But it wasn’t a real date. He simply had the forethought to keep up appearances to keep this charade going. She’d do well to remember that.
Maybe she’d go soak in a hot bath. That’d produce the same effect as a cold shower. Right?
Half an hour later, Lecie pushed herself to get out of the bathtub for fear that she’d shrivel up like a prune. After relaxing in her bathrobe for a while, she checked her watch, surprised that it was already 4:45. That didn’t give her much time. Nick had said he’d be at the house by five-thirty and their dinner reservation was for six.
She scrambled around the vanity in her dressing room, dusted a little powder on her face, and a little blush after that. Lecie thanked God every day for the near-flawless skin he’d seen fit to grace her with. It made it easy to use very little makeup and still look presentable.
Just about the time she slipped into her dress, she heard the echo of footsteps out in the hallway.
“Lecie…?” Nick’s voice filtered in.
“In here,” she called out from her room, conveniently located right across the hall from his. Or inconveniently, dependent upon how you saw it. Usually, especially at night, she found it an inconvenience. It was too easy to dream about running across the hall to throw herself at him. But today, she found it a convenience. She crept toward the door, which she’d left cracked open on purpose, peeked out and said, “I’m almost ready.”