Beautiful Mistake Book 3
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Mel Ryle
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228K
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30
Top of the World
SEASON 3
Produced by: Adam Sharp
Written by: Hannah Robinson & Ashley Schlueter
Sound by: Fionn McNeill
â ď¸Possible Spoilers for Lovely Liaison Season 1â ď¸
We encourage you to also check out that billionaire bad boy series!
â¨Enjoy!â¨
KYLA
Click.
Click.
Click.
My nude Marc Jacobs heels echoed smartly through the Grand Hotelâs lobby.
I was back.
Back in my favorite shoes.
Back full-time at my job as Marketing Director, a position Iâd achieved after years of hard work and dedication.
Thatâs not to say there hadnât been a few changes in the six months Iâd been away.
The concierge desk, where my best friend Coleen used to work, was now occupied by a tall, curly-haired woman named Laura.
Instead of my usual designer purse, a bulky diaper bag was slung over my shoulder.
But the biggest change was the one currently winding a pudgy fist into my hair and giving it a hard yank.
âOw! Charlie, let go of Mommyâs hair, please,â I said to my daughter, who was currently strapped to my front in a baby carrier.
Charlie gurgled with delight at her latest trick and pulled harder.
âCharlene Eleanor, are you being feisty today?â I teased, pausing to unwind my hair from her surprisingly strong grip.
She laughedâa bright sound that never failed to go straight to my heart.
Her eyes were beginning to lose the standard dark blue common to newborns, and I just knew they were going to be the exact same azure shade as her fatherâs.
This little girl had grown in my belly for nine long months, entering the world only after sixteen excruciating hours of labor.
And damn if she didnât look exactly like her dad.
Not that thatâs a bad thing, I thought, picturing Jensenâs sandy-brown hair, chiseled cheekbones, and heart-melting smile.
âHere, destroy this instead,â I said, reaching into the diaper bag for her favorite toy: a chewed-up parrot with one eye missing.
With a squeal, Charlie released my hair and stuffed the poor birdâs head into her mouth.
Sorry Mr. Feathersâit was you or me.
âOhhh you brought the baby!â a high voice rang through the lobby.
With a strained smile, I looked up from my baby to see Naomi Wildman, the hotelâs desk manager, coming toward me.
âHi Charlie!â Naomi said, leaning in close to beam at my daughter, who was entirely focused on gnawing Mr. Feathersâ beak off.
âGood morning, Naomi.â
She finally tore her eyes away from the baby to look at me. âI canât believe you let her put that disgusting thing in her mouth.â
âWe wash it twice a week,â I smiled down at the dilapidated parrot. âAnd Charlie loves it.â
âI only let my Henry play with toys made from organic, naturally-sourced materials.â
âHow nice for him,â I replied, struggling not to sound sarcastic.
In the years weâd worked together at the Grand Hotel, Naomi Wildman hadnât spoken more than two words to me.
Until I had a baby.
Now she cornered me whenever I came into the hotel. As it turned out, she had a son a few months older than Charlie.
Naomi said she wanted us to be âmom friendsââwhich she seemed to think meant asking questions designed to make me feel like I was doing something wrong.
âIs she sitting up by herself yet?â Naomi asked.
âNot quite, but sheâs nearly there.â
âDid I tell you Henry could sit up unassisted at only five and a half months?â
âHow wonderful.â My eyes darted across the lobby, searching for an escape.
It appeared in the form of my secretary, Rhea, who came through the door holding a tray of coffees.
âActually, Naomi, I have to go catch up with Rhea real quick. Have a great day.â
I was already five feet away before she could respond.
âRhea!â I called.
âKyla! Welcome back,â she said, giving me a one-armed hug.
âI havenât really been gone.â
âFifteen hours a week? For you thatâs practically unemployed,â Rhea laughed as we walked up the stairs to the executive offices.
When Charlie had been around three months old, Iâd started popping into the office now and then to check on things.
Eventually, Jensen and I agreed it would be better for me to work part-time for a few weeks.
But now I was restedâsort ofâready to go, and beyond thrilled to be back full-time.
Heading inside my office, I set down the heavy diaper bag.
Charlie cooed, waving the soggy parrot in her hand.
My beautiful, charming, slobbery daughter.
Youâve changed my life in so many ways, and all for the better.
Now itâs time to get back to work.
âHey Kyla, I brought you a coffee if you want one!â Rhea called.
âYes, please!â
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I grabbed it, smiling when I saw the screen.
Jensen
Welcome back to work, Mrs. Hawksley
Kyla
Why thank you, Mr. Hawksley
Kyla
Itâs good to be back.
Jensen
Yes. We have many important things to discuss.
Jensen
I think we might need to schedule a closed-door meeting
Jensen
For later this afternoon, when a certain someone is taking her nap
Kyla
Whatever you say. Youâre the boss.
Kyla
đ
Jensen
đ
Jensen
Good luck today hun
Jensen
Not that you need it.
Jensen
See you this afternoon
Kyla
Love you. And Charlie sends love too.
Kyla
And drool. Lots of drool.
Rhea brought me a coffee, and I leaned back in my leather office chair. The best thing about not being pregnant was that I could have caffeine again.
Right now, I felt ready to conquer anything they could throw at me.
I was on top of the world.
***
âWhere are we on the OâReilly account?â I asked my team, who were seated around the conference table.
âOverall, they spent two hundred thousand last quarter on our joint marketing effort,â Sarah Barnes said. She was the lead marketing assistant, responsible for the hotelâs top accounts.
My brow furrowed. âTwo hundred thousand? Didnât they spend more than half a million last year?â
Everyone looked uncomfortable.
âIt seems that Sean OâReilly recently sealed a contract with Nathan Holmes. Which might explain the sharp decrease in revenue,â Sarah replied.
âThe Olympia account has also been halved, thanks to Holmes,â someone chimed in.
Nathan Holmes was the CEO of Holmes Luxury Hotels, our main competitor. He had been making more and more trouble for Hawksley Enterprises over the last few months.
I sighed, my eyes flicking to Charlie, who was sound asleep nestled against my chest.
Wake up soon, please. I need to feed you.
I hadnât had a chance to pump before the meeting, and my breasts were painfully full.
âWell, letâs not focus on what we donât have,â I said. âInstead, letâs try to come up with some new marketing strategies that will bring in new streams of revenue.â
âActually, I think Sarah had an idea the other day regarding that,â Richard Morales said.
Richard, my social media analyst, was a shy young man who I had enjoyed working with before Charlie was born. I was glad to see him still doing well on the team.
I was equally glad to see that his former counterpart, Bruce Parker, was nowhere to be seen.
Heâd transferred to the sales department not long after my maternity leave began.
His mysterious jump might have been due to the fact that I suspected him of attempting to sabotage the Ambassadorâs Ball last summer.
Sarah looked embarrassed by the attention.
âI think we need to focus on sustainability and other eco-friendly approaches,â she said. âPeople are a lot more worried about their carbon footprints these days.â
âI think thatâs a great idea,â Richard added, making goo-goo eyes at Sarah.
Heâd had a crush on Sarah for months, though he had yet to make a move.
Rhea glared daggers at both of them.
Ah, the intricacies of office romance.
Trying to stay focused, I nodded at my team. âSustainability is huge right now. The recent issue with the Greenway Center is proof of that.â
The Greenway Center, the location for Hawksley Enterprisesâ new corporate offices, was currently under construction, courtesy of Jensenâs brother, Julian Hawksley.
And thanks to his new girlfriend, Zoey Curtis, who had fought tooth and nail for a community-centered approach to the headquarters.
With a little help from me, of course. But that was another story entirely.
An eco-friendly campaign could be a great way to show off the Grand Hotel as more than just a getaway for the super-rich.
My mind began brimming with ideas.
âWe need to begin doing some market researchâfinding out what our customers are looking for when it comes to environmentally-conscious hotels.â
âActually, with all due respect, Mrs. Hawksley, Sarah was outlining some of her ideas the other day, and I think sheâs really onto something,â Richard said.
âOh! Of course,â I said, stumbling a little. âSarah, what have you got?â
Sarah beamed at Richard and started explaining her plans.
Rhea was gripping her pen so tightly I thought it meant snap in half.
Charlie began to wail. My swollen breasts began aching even harder.
Should I justâŚfeed her here in front of everyone?
The gung-ho feminist part of me wanted to, just to prove that I could.
But the idea of exposing my engorged nipples for everyone to see was not a pleasant thought.
âWill you guys excuse me?â I asked, gently rubbing Charlieâs head.
âOf course. We can take it from here, Mrs. Hawksley,â Richard said.
I took Charlie into my office and peeled down the side of my nursing bra to give her access to what she wanted.
Ouch! Her first tooth was just starting to come in, and it rubbed jaggedly against my chafed flesh.
My phone buzzed, and I nearly dropped it on the floor as I swiped it open.
Jensen
Bad news hun
Jensen
Dad wants to conference with Julian and I this afternoon
Jensen
Our closed-door meeting will have to wait
Kyla
đĽ
Kyla
But I understand.
Kyla
Tell James hi from Charlie and I!
I dropped my phone onto the desk, my earlier buoyant mood gone.
Back in the conference room, my team was preparing our new strategy.
Iâd done well in choosing them. Everyone worked hard; they were great at their jobs.
Maybe too great. They donât even need me there.
All of a sudden, my glorious return didnât seem quite so thrilling.
***
There was a December chill in the air as I walked with Charlie through the park.
My feet ached, and I longed to kick off my heels and relax on the couch with Jensen.
Only a few more blocks, sheâs almost asleep.
When she was a newborn, my colicky daughter had refused to sleep unless someone was carrying her.
Jensen and I spent hour after exhausted hour pacing up and down the hall of our penthouse.
Eventually, one evening, I had gotten tired of the apartment and taken Charlie to the nearby park.
Maybe it was the fresh air on her skin, but it worked like a charm: she was asleep in fifteen minutes.
Daily walks were now our routine, and today I was thankful for the quiet stroll.
It was a great way to shake off the stress of my first day back at work.
Not that it had been a bad day, necessarily. But it was...different.
Like the first time Iâd returned home after leaving for college. In my narrow childhood bed, I hadnât slept a wink.
The thing that had been such a big part of my life simply no longer fit.
Itâs just first-day jitters. Iâll ease back into it.
Lost in my thoughts, I didnât notice the deep crack in the sidewalk.
The heel of my shoe slipped into the crevice and broke off with a dull snap.
My heart leapt, my arms pinwheeling.
But it was too late. I lost my balance.
With Charlie on my chest, I began to fall toward the hard concrete.
