Big & Beautiful 11: Curvaceous & Captivating

I put off calling Mr. Norwood as long as possible. I absolutely had to confirm with him before I sent everything off to the printer. Even though he was in, I still owed it to him to let him know Wyatt had approved his sponsorship.

With a deep breath, I lifted the phone and dialed. His email included a phone number that was different than the website, but I still used the phone number I found online.

“Timeless Timber Toys,” a chipper voice said. “How may I direct your call?”

“Mr. Norwood please.”

“One moment.”

A second later the phone rang in my ear. A female voice picked up. “Mr. Norwood’s personal assistant. How may I help you?”

I swallowed my irritation and accepted the blessing handed to me. I could leave a message with Harley and never have to speak to Mr. Norwood.

“Hello Harley. This is Olivia Humphrey. We met—”

“Hold please,” she said, interrupting me.

A second later I heard, “Ms. Humphrey. How nice to hear from you.”

Jeez. Just the man’s voice sent shivers up my spine, as though his voice was a finger tracing my skin.

I needed to get a grip.

“I apologize for bothering you, Mr. Norwood—”

“You’re not bothering me. I instructed Harley to put you through immediately when you called back. Although you could have used my personal number. That was why I included it in the email I sent you.”

Was that a hint of a smirk I heard in his voice? Putting me in my place, no doubt. Yeah, dude, I got it. Your assistant is hot and I’m not. I promise not to drool over you again. At least not when you can see it.

“Yes, well, I figured calling the main number was easier. Anyway, I’ve spoken to Mayor Ramsey and we are happy to take you on as a sponsor. Thank you for your generous donation. If you are still interested in the sponsorship, I will send everything to the printer with Timeless Timber Toys mentioned as the sponsor.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

“Okay, then thanks!”

“Ms. Humphrey?” he said, interrupting my opportunity to say goodbye quickly.

“Yes, Mr. Norwood?”

“Am I to assume you will be my main point of contact over the next few weeks?”

I sighed. “Yes, I will be the one in touch with you.”

“What will you need from me?”

I shoved my personal irritation aside and focused on the job at hand. “At this point, not much. I will let you know when I have your meeting set up at the children’s center, and we will have space for you to set up a tent at the event if you choose to do so. We can work out all the details over the next few weeks.”

“You are going to the children’s center with me, aren’t you?” he asked pointedly.

Why? Why would he want me there?

“I wasn’t planning to. I figured you would take Harley.”

I knew I practically growled her name and instantly regretted it.

“Did my assistant do something to upset you, Ms. Humphrey?”

“No, of course not,” I said quickly.

“Then your issue is with me.” It was a statement, not a question. As though he knew something was wrong and was simply trying to understand what. “Would you share what it is I did to upset you so much?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Norwood. I’ll be in touch next week. I need to call the printer and finish up a few things before I leave for the weekend. Thank you for your sponsorship.”

I hung up before he could say anything else, then immediately picked up the phone to call the printer. I saw the light flash, telling me I had a phone call coming in. It was a restricted number that I was sure was Mr. Norwood again.

I ignored the ring and relayed all the information I had to the printer. When I hung up, I sent them the document so they could print the banners and fliers for us. It felt old school to be doing so much in print, but for a local event, it made sense. We were looking to attract the locals, not tourists or people from nearby towns. The power company agreed to stuff all their bills with one of our fliers telling the residents about the event, and within the next few weeks we were going to have a huge banner on Town Hall and one more strung across Winter Way in the center of town.

The whole town would know what we were planning soon.

At five o’clock, I shut down my computer and got ready to leave. The phone rang again when I was gathering my stuff, but a quick glance showed another call from a restricted number. I’d deal with Mr. Norwood next week.

I grabbed the kids and went home. Friday nights were our fun nights. We popped popcorn, ordered a pizza, and watched a movie. Sometimes we’d play a game, but after a week of work and school, we were all ready to relax and enjoy some downtime.

“Jammies on guys,” I called up the stairs after the kids stashed their backpacks in the cubbies in the laundry room. I went back to the laundry room and unzipped their bags. I went through folders and remembered that I’d never sent an email to Mrs. Carr. Lunchboxes were unpacked and Mrs. Carr had an email by the time the kids came downstairs.

“Kevin,” I said handing him the remote to Netflix. “Find a movie we can watch while I get changed. I’ll order the pizza in a few minutes.”

I walked away to the sound of them arguing over whether we were going to watch something about princesses or something with fast cars. I rolled my eyes. It wouldn’t be long before Kevin wanted to watch something with hot girls in it.

Puberty could wait a few more years as far as I was concerned.

I scrubbed my make-up off and changed out of my work clothes, considering shredding the green top I’d worn. I knew I’d never look at it again without comparing myself to Mr. Norwood’s personal assistant and all her perfectness. I groaned at myself and threw it in the hamper. I didn’t need to compare my size sixteen to her size zero, if that. I’d never be a zero, and most days, I was perfectly okay with that.

The truth was, I’d started to get lonely. I still didn’t trust men, but I couldn’t deny that I was lonely for adult company. Not even sex necessarily, although you’d never know by my reaction to Mr. Norwood. I just missed having someone to come home to. Someone to help out once in a while. Someone to talk to when the kids were in bed.

I shook the thought off and grabbed my oldest, rattiest pair of sweats. They were nearly see-through after years of wash and wear, but they were soft and no one ever saw me in them anyway. I slipped off my bra, grabbed a dark t-shirt, and headed back to the kitchen.

“You guys find a movie yet?” I called, putting a bag of buttered popcorn into the microwave.

“Yeah,” called Kevin and Becca together.

Good. That meant they agreed.

I called in a pizza order for delivery and gave them my credit card over the phone because, as usual, I didn’t have any cash. Popcorn went into a bowl, and I made it to the couch just as the movie started.

We sat and ate our popcorn, laughing at the antics of the kids in the Disney Channel movie they’d agreed on. It was entertaining, even for me. So much so that I made the kids pause the TV when the pizza guy rang the doorbell.

I opened the door with a grin and immediately slammed it shut.

Not. The. Pizza. Guy.

“Ms. Humphrey. Please let me in.”

What the fudge-nuts?

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to apologize.”

“For?”

“Will you please let me in, Ms. Humphrey?”

I huffed and smoothed a hand over my hair, then opened the door. Dear God, the man was even hotter than he’d been that morning. Black jeans, black t-shirt, and black sneakers. His shirt could have been painted on.

Was it wrong that it didn’t bother me a bit when he wore tight clothes, but I was annoyed when his assistant did?

“Why are you here, Mr. Norwood?”

His eyes scanned my body, pausing at my chest. I crossed my arms, hiding my nipples trying to poke through my way too thin t-shirt. The pizza guy never paid me any attention. I was far too old for him, but Mr. Norwood? I was a lot younger than he was.

And he was looking.

“What do you say we do away with the formalities and you call me Ethan.”

He looked at me expectantly and I nodded. “Okay, Ethan. Call me Olivia. Now, why are you here?”

He held up a bag. “Peace offering. I brought dinner.”

“Why?” I blurted.

He shrugged. “I knew I upset you and felt badly for it.”

Behind me, the sound clicked back on, telling me my kids were not willing to wait any longer for me to come back inside with dinner.

“Is someone here?”

I raised an eyebrow, knowing my answer would definitely send him running. “My kids.”

As expected, his shoulders sunk slightly and he stepped back half a step. “I apologize. You aren’t wearing a ring so I assumed you were single.”

“I’m divorced,” I blurted before my brain could remind me that was the outlet I’d been looking for.

A slow, sexy grin slid into place and he stepped closer. “So you are single.”

“Yes. No. I mean, I guess.”

“Which is it, Olivia?”

I sighed. “Yes, I’m single. But it’s not like I’m available. I have two kids, and my ex isn’t in the picture.”

He stepped closer. “I own a toy company, Olivia. I like kids.”

Before I could say anything, Becca pushed between us. “Who are you?”

Ethan looked taken aback for a second then crouched down in front of Becca. “My name is Ethan. I work with your mom.”

Becca shook her head. “No you don’t. I know Mr. Wyatt. He’s Mommy’s boss, and that’s the only person she works with.”

I stifled my snicker and lifted an eyebrow at Ethan. He might be able to charm me, but Becca took a bit more work.

“You’re right. I don’t work with her every day. I’m a sponsor for an event she is working on. We met this morning. And I brought dinner to say thank you.”

Becca screwed up her lips and shook her head. “We always have pizza on Friday night. What did you bring?”

Ethan held up the bag. “Well, I didn’t know about the pizza rule so I brought sushi.”

“Yuck. I don’t like sushi.”

“You’ve never had sushi,” I argued with my sassy six-year-old. “You might love it.”

Ethan flashed me a look of fear that confirmed what I assumed. He didn’t bring enough food for four people. I just smirked.

“Uh, sure. Maybe I can order a pizza, too. Just in case.”

I grinned and nodded behind him where the pizza guy pulled into the driveway. “Already taken care of.”

We all waited for the pizza guy to approach. Ethan tried to pay, but we both argued that it was already taken care of. I signed and carried the pizza inside, with Becca and Ethan following me.

I wondered what he thought of our house. It was tiny, but it was home. We passed through the living room, where Kevin was watching the movie and oblivious to us, into the kitchen. It was a simple L-shaped layout with an island. Beyond that was the dining area and off that was my room. But Ethan would never find out about that.

I set the pizza on the island and slid it over so Ethan could add his sushi. He set a bottle of wine down with a thud, drawing my eyes. He flashed me a sheepish look of apology.

I felt… off. What was he doing in my house? How had he found my house? And why was I still not wearing a bra?

“Um, excuse me for a minute,” I stammered before rushing out of the kitchen, past the table, and into my room. I closed the door softly, clicked the lock, and rushed into my walk-in closet. I stripped off my t-shirt, catching my glasses in the process, and put my bra back on. I shimmied out of my comfy sweats and found a pair that weren’t quite so see-through. In the new clothes, I wasn’t prepared to face him, but I was slightly better.

Becca was chatting happily with Ethan, telling him about her school, when I walked back into the kitchen. Kevin padded in at the same time and startled when he saw Ethan.

“Who are you?”

Becca answered before Ethan or I could. “He’s Ethan. He’s working with Mommy, and he brought us sushi.”

“I don’t like sushi.”

“You’ve never had it,” I said at the same time Ethan answered, “Pizza is here, too.”

Kevin bypassed the sushi and grabbed a slice of pizza. He took a bite as he walked out of the room, with a plate and napkin, thankfully. A few seconds later, the sound blared from the TV again.

“Hey!” Becca yelled. “I wanted to see that!”

She disappeared after her brother, leaving Ethan and I alone in the kitchen.

To avoid looking at him, or talking to him, I grabbed a plate and added a piece of sushi then paused. “There isn’t any peanut oil or peanuts of any sort in this, is there?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Becca’s allergic to peanuts.”

Ethan pulled a phone out of his pocket and keyed in something. He put it to his ear and in seconds was talking.

“Hey, it’s Ethan. Do you use peanuts in anything? Peanut oil?” He paused. “Okay, thanks.”

He hung up and looked at me. “They use tree nuts in their salad but they tempura the sushi in vegetable oil. It’s safe.”

I nodded, grateful he’d been willing to confirm, not just guess. Without a phone call, I wouldn’t have let her eat it. Somehow he got that.

“Thank you.”

Ethan nodded like it was no big deal, making me wonder even more about the man in my kitchen.

“Mom!” Becca cried from the other room, breaking the spell that momentarily fell between Ethan and me. “I’m hungry!”

I rolled my eyes and carried her plate into the living room. When I came back, he was leaning against the island watching me.

“Do you always let them eat in the living room?”

Really? He was judging me?

“No, I don’t. But on Friday nights we watch a movie and eat in front of the TV. This is my house. If you have an issue with the way I’m raising my kids, feel free to get out.”