Page 5 of Free to Dream
“My morning is free, Phillip. I didn’t have to look at our schedule, or lack thereof, for tomorrow morning to tell you that.”
“Can you put down an appointment with a potential new client for 8:45? His name is Caleb Lockwood. Later, you’ll be meeting with his brother.”
“Lockwood. Why does that name sound so familiar?” I muse out loud.
Phil’s deep voice has a snarky edge. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because their name is on the side of almost every shipping container you see. At least that’s what one of the brothers does. And both are in the society pages. You know, the Greenwich Lockwoods.”
I let out a low whistle. No wonder Phil is nervous. The Lockwood family isn’t just a name, it’sthename in Connecticut society. If they are looking for our assistance with any event—big or small—this would be a huge account.
My stomach starts churning slightly.
“Of course. How much time should I block?”
“I would reserve until lunch. I’ll try to explain more in the morning.” He pauses. “I have to go, but you’re the face of this company, Cass. There’s no one we trust to do this more than you.”
On those parting words, and without saying goodbye (typical Phil), he hangs up the phone. I remain standing beside my bed, absorbing the bomb he’d just dropped. The Lockwoods. They would want and receive VIP treatment, of course. Was the kitchen stocked? I shoot a quick message to our cleaning service to ensure it was restocked last Friday. One ping later and I have confirmation.
After programming the appointment in my calendar with a reminder set for 7:30 tomorrow morning, I put my phone down.
The Lockwoods. I wonder what type of event they’re throwing. A fundraiser? A garden party? With a family of their stature, the possibilities are endless. My mind starts wandering into varying scenarios, cost estimates, and vendors. I yawn sleepily.
Nothing to do now but finish putting away these bins and mentally run through one of a hundred checklists and contingencies.
And try not to think about how agitated Phil seemed so I can get some sleep tonight.
2
Caleb
My brother is damned lucky I love him as much as I do. Otherwise, I might toss his newly engaged ass off the rooftop deck where we’re sitting.
The cool snap of fall came quickly, so the deck opposite ours is empty. It’s like these people who live year after year in this climate don’t appreciate the fact that this will be one of the last times they’ll have to use their magnificent spaces before winter comes, bringing snow and frigid temperatures.
The streets of Tribeca are alive below us, but we’re high enough up that the noise and bustling crowd doesn’t feel like it’s closing in. I still want to pitch my baby brother over the safety rail, but I have to give him credit. This condo he scored for us in the historic Powell Building is amazing. City living wasn’t what I’d expected when I came home from years overseas. But Ryan made the argument with both of us working in New York, putting in insane hours, it made sense to have a place to crash while we were here. At least we’d be able to catch more than just a few hours of sleep a night.
It’s been more home here than the mausoleum we had grown up in. I’m going to miss it here. When he gets married in a few months, I’ll be moving out.
It was easy to make the decision to move to New York once I knew Ryan didn’t intend on making the family home he inherited his home base. I had no real emotional ties to the place since my father died before I joined the Army, and Ryan moved out shortly thereafter. Lord knows, my mother is as frigid as the glacier that sank the Titanic. How Ryan could bear to let her live there is a whole different matter.
I halfheartedly scowl into a face that’s almost an angelic, younger version of my own. Christ, did I ever look that innocent? Maybe back in the early days of college, which is about how old Ryan looks this morning in his T-shirt and lounge pants. With our matching dark hair and eyes, our family resemblance is striking.
A woman I once slept with said she’d planned to seduce Ry into her bed because at least he had a heart. As I rolled out of her bed and pulled my pants back on, I told her she was welcome to give it a try, but that my brother didn’t go for my seconds. He never had. I smirk at the memory.
The irony there is that two weeks ago, Ryan ecstatically got engaged to Jared.
Picking up the coffee in front of me, I take a large drink. “So, let me get this straight. Because of media problems in the past with large events, you want me to go to the office, on a Sunday no less, to do a background check on a wedding planning firm you and Jared are thinking of dropping a shit ton of money on for your wedding? You do realize that’s five minutes of my time and way below what I actually do, right?”
Ry smiles at me. “I didn’t think it would be such a big deal. I actually figured you could do it from here.”
Normally, he’d be right. But the investigations my firm runs and the systems we access are either cleared at levels I can’t discuss or not always legally obtained. I refuse, for both legal and security reasons, to use our home computers for work. “It’s in the shop.” I wait for his laughter because he knows I feel helpless without my laptop.
“Why do you have to have it today?” I argue as I stretch out my legs to get comfortable. I had planned to go to the gym to work out. When I was in the Army, following traditions that could be traced back to the Revolutionary War, I worked out daily. I’d tried to maintain the habit, but I manage instead with four hard workouts a week.
“Because I’m meeting with one of the owners over dinner tonight.” He reclines in his chair, doing some relaxing of his own. He knows I would do anything for him, including this.
“Way to wait until the last minute, brother,” I grumble, kissing my long workout goodbye.
Sitting up, I start to stand when Ry motions me back down. “Relax. This shouldn’t take you all afternoon. I wanted to talk with you about the wedding anyway.”
