While Shannon could only stare, CeCe had no trouble going to the beautiful monstronsity and checking it out with open delight. “This…is one helluva a ride,” she said in breathy wonder. “Oh! And the keys are in the ignition. Should we take it for a spin?” she asked Shannon.
“No.” Shannon shook her head adamantly, almost afraid of scratching or dinging it in anyway. She had no idea where it came from — well, she had a good idea — but wherever it came from, it was going back. She couldn’t afford such a luxury and besides, it didn’t look carseat friendly. “I wonder if the receipt is in the glove box.”
At that CeCe whirled around on Shannon, frowning. “What are you talking about? You can’t take the car back. It’s probably paid for and it’s a helluva lot better than that broken down piece of crap you insist on driving everyday.”
“It’s very pretty,” she acknowledged, wincing a little at the idea of parting with it but she continued, “But I have a toddler. Look at that backseat. It’s more of an afterthought. There’s no way I’ll get Aubrey’s carseat into that thing without ruining my back.” And the upholstery.
“Carseat? That gorgeous car is not meant for sticky toddler fingers or carseats of any sort,” CeCe snorted. “That car is meant for cruising in style to the best clubs. That car is easily $75,000.”
Shannon gulped, feeling faint. “And that’s exactly why it’s not staying with me. I’d be robbed blind in my own neighborhood if I showed up in something that ridiculous. What was he thinking?” she muttered, mostly to herself but CeCe caught it and laughed.
“Who cares? Whatever he did, he’s forgiven. If he showed up with a ride this sweet for me I’d be willing to forgive him, too.”
Shannon frowned. “Forgive who?”
“Nolan.”
“You know Nolan?” Shannon asked, completely confused. “How do you know Nolan?”
“I wouldn’t say I know him, per se, but I know him well enough in a certain way, if you catch my drift.”
Suddenly Shannon felt ill. “And why would you need to forgive him?”
“We met at the club the other night and we spent some time together but then he straight up rejected me. Not cool. He totally led me on. But,” she said, trailing her fingers along the import’s sleek lines. “I’d forgive him in a heartbeat if this were mine.”
“So you and Nolan hooked up?” she asked, her voice somewhat strangled.
“Sort of. If you count oral as hooking up.”
Nolan’s tongue had been in her intern’s crotch. Yep, Shannon definitely felt ready to hurl. So much for all that naïve hope that Nolan had changed. She’d let him sleep in her bed last night. She rubbed her forehead as a vicious headache threatened to crack her head in two. How could he have failed to mention that he’d been hooking up with other people while he was in town? Why would he? He was Nolan Buchanan and he could do whatever he wanted, right? Her rage percolated beneath her breastbone and she stomped away from the car and back to her office while CeCe followed.
“A word to the wise, CeCe, anything that comes from Nolan Buchanan is bound to come with strings attached,” she warned her intern, still seething that Nolan had messed around — eww, stuck his tongue in another woman’s crotch — while professing his earnest desire to be a better person. What a crock of shit. And she’d fell for it.
Of all the dumb, naïve, stupid girl moves to make. She should’ve stuck with her original plan and just slammed the door in his face every time he darkened her doorstep with his smarmy face. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed her attorney. “Time to escalate. No more playing nice,” she said when the attorney came on the line. “I want to file for sole custody.”
“Playing nice didn’t work?” the attorney surmised with a sigh. “All right. I’ll put the paperwork together. In the meantime, no more talking to him until we see him in court.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she growled.
As far as she was concerned Nolan Buchanan was just a sperm donor — and nothing more.
“What do you mean it was returned?” Nolan demanded, as openly perplexed as the car manager on the other line. “It was paid for in full”
“I know, which is why I called,” the manager said, clearly uncomfortable. “We had the car delivered just as you asked-“
“With the big bow and everything?”
“With the big bow and everything,” he agreed. “But no sooner had it been delivered, about a half hour later she called the dealership and demanded that we take it back. I tried to explain that it was hers but she plain refused to accept it. We’ve never had anything like this happen before and we weren’t sure of what to do. We figured since you paid for the car…you might want to come and get it because your lady friend will not accept it.”
Son-of-a-bitch, he thought to himself, confused and becoming angry. What was wrong with her? “Hold onto it for a few days until I can talk some sense into her,” he said darkly.
“No problem, Mr. Buchanan. We’d be happy to hold onto the car for you.”
The man was probably shaking in his boots at the idea of all that commission going down the drain if Nolan returned the car and got his money back. Nolan sighed and hung up. He was going to have to get to the bottom of this right now.
Nolan zoomed over to Shannon’s apartment and bounded up the stairs to knock hard on the door.
“If that’s Nolan Buchanan, go away. My lawyer has advised me not to speak to you until we go to court.”
Court? “What are you talking about?” he asked, pounding on the door. “Open up and talk to me like an adult.”
“Don’t you chastise me as if I’m the one acting like a child when you’re the one who—never mind! Go away! I have nothing more to say to you.”
“Like hell you do,” he shouted, kicking the door for good measure. “Shannon, I swear if you don’t open this door I’ll kick it down.”
“Do it and I’ll call the cops.”
“Fine! Call the cops. In the meantime, I’m going to stand right here until you open the door and your neighbors are going to get an earful of our personal business.”
He didn’t know why he wasn’t simply leaving to wait until she calmed down from whatever snit she was in but he was pissed as hell that she’d refused his gift and doubly pissed that he had no idea why. “You have an awfully strange way of showing your gratitude,” he said, banging on the door one last time. “A thank you is the usual way of showing someone appreciation for a nice gift.”