Hi Sixers! Sorry for the wait again, University Midterm season is a bit of a whirlwind.
Quick note, I made an error. In the last chapter, Dylan Black said this:
"Yeah! She went to our college in New York for her last three years. Transfer student." He smiled
But he should have said this:
"Yeah! She went to our college in New York for her senior year. Transfer student." He smiled
Because the math of it all goes like this:
Chad and Taylor are 26 years old right now
They broke up 6 years prior (when they were 20 years old)
Taylor moved to New York after they split, in her junior year of college (age 20) where she met Dylan.
There! All fixed! ^^ 3 Enjoy the chapter!
Chad looked up as the door to the drawing room opened. There was his star, Shaylah Turner. She was breathing a little hard, her blonde hair slightly disheveled. He supposed she must have been running up to the room to meet him, because it seemed to be floating back down to it's regular position (kissing right beneath her shoulder blade). Still, her efforts didn't explain why she was late to their own wedding planning appointment in the first place. Granted, it was a private couple session. However, she still should have been there on time. It was this fact, that had Chad looking at her with a quirked eyebrow.
When Shaylah caught her breath, big blue eyes looked at him. "Honey, I am so sorry." She breathed.
"Mm." Chad nodded, looking down at a paper he was reading over before looking up at her again. "For...what exactly?"
Shaylah frowned and crossed her arms. "Don't do that."
"Don't do what, Shay?" Chad sighed, giving her a tired look. "Be upset that you're an hour late? Be a smartass because I was by myself waiting for you?"
"Baby, I'm sorry. Okay?" Shaylah took a seat in the rolling chair beside him. "I overslept, and when I woke up to check my phone I saw that there was an issue at the hotel. I had to run over and sort it out." Shaylah was a hotel manager for a hotel chain that went by the name of 'The Viridian'. Her father, Julius Timothy Turner, was the CEO of The Viridian. He gave her a management position in one of the Albuquerque locations.
While on the subject of the Lovebirds' occupations, Chad worked for a talk show on Sportscenter called 'Eye on the Ball' with Troy (and a few other people). They gave up on
actually playing professional basketball when they realized that they would receive more predictability with the upcoming show (also, they would make sure they were seen on television). Sure, there were a few other (more popular) faces, but they still ended up on billboards next to them and made money.
"I understand the urgency." Chad replied. "However, instead of 'something came up at the hotel', you typed 'Running late, love you'. I love you too, but that leaves room for me to think that you simply overslept."
"I had to run out." Shaylah frowned.
"I get that. However, can you actually type that next time? You could have called in the car...there were so many other options." Chad gave her a small smile as an olive branch.
"I said I was sorry-!" She insisted before he kissed her softly. When he pulled away, she was smiling.
"There's my smile." Chad mumbled with a smile of his own, handing her a paper. "We have a mini checklist for the wedding. This is everything we chose to do on drawing room days. We already started the binder, but we need to pick color scheme." He cleared his throat softly. "Taylor is going to take care of most of it. We just need to give her most of the details."
"I'm so thankful for that." Shay sighed, placing her head on his shoulder softly. "Things get so busy...I'm surprised we can make the appointments at all."
He laid his head on top of hers, lightly kissing her hair. "Same."
"Baby?" She mumbled.
"Yeah?"
She gently slid out the 'pile' to smile at him softly. "I really am sorry. I should have told you what was going on."
He smiled back, stroking her cheek. "It's fine, really."
She giggled.. "Yay~. Oh, we have dinner with my parents tomorrow."
"Mm, what time?" He asked.
"7 PM. Depending on what time we finish, Daddy said that we can move it to 8 at the latest. He has to wake up for a meeting the next day."
"Sounds like a plan. Also, we have to be back here at 9 AM for a meeting." Chad reminded her. Shaylah looked into his eyes, looking serious but kind. "I'll be there. On time. I promise."
He smiled. "Perfect. I'll pick you up at 8? We can grab breakfast?"
She smiled back at him. "I'd like that." she pulled the binder over to them. "So...you like blue and I'm thinking yellow or gold."
"Ugh, those are West High's colors." Chad scrunched up his face playfully. She laughed and playfully pushed him.
"You, are too much." Shaylah laughed. "Well, I like the pastel shades regardless. What if we threw…" she flipped through a magazine to a purple and white scheme she had previously tabbed. "Lilac in with it? I'm sure if we Google that we'll find some cute combinations."
"Already on it." He mumbled, looking at his phone. She smiled warmly. He was so cute. "Actually…" Chad began, looking up again and showing her a picture. "I like it."
She blinked in surprise. "Yeah….I really like it too actually." she said.
He chuckled. "Then...let's actually pick it?"
"Why not." Shaylah shrugged and happily marked it down.
"Awesome, we picked something to do today and tell the planner tomorrow." Chad held out his hand and Shaylah high fived it.
"We are crushing this."
"Damn right we are."
-Hmhmhm-
The next morning, Gabriella was downstairs with her husband, hanging up a new photo in the check-in area. It was important to show the most recent weddings. Summer was the best one for the week.
"Zeke has such a cheesy smile in this one." Gabi pointed out fondly.
"Yeah. You totally could have showed him up." Troy flirted. Gabi stared at him for a moment before lightly hitting his bottom with the manilla folder she held.
"Get out of my sight you goofus." She laughed, turning around to sit in the office chair. She jumped when she saw an absolutely charming man in front of her. He looked strangely familiar.
"Hi, sorry I didn't want to interrupt." Dylan smiled. "Gabriella right? I'm not sure if you remember me but-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this just hit me." She warned, pointing at him. "You're...Dev- no! Dylan, right? You dated Taylor senior year of college. NYU."
"Yes!" Dylan laughed. "Great memory!"
At the realization that an old lover of her BFF was on the premises, Gabriella brightened up instantly. "Hi Dylan! What brings you here? Getting married?" she quickly scanned his left hand. Nope. "Wait, you're holding flowers." she suddenly realized before her eyes started to widen. Hope surged through her veins. "Are those for someone?"
"Um...yes." He looked at the arrangement somewhat bashfully, "I was hoping I could give these to Taylor."
Oh her stars. Gabriella was having a party on the inside.
"Dylan! Yes…" She began to plot like The Grinch. Oh how she hoped she didn't look like said character. "Follow me. Right this way." She waved him over. "Troy, can you call Amelia?" Flashing a quick grin he nodded and pressed a button on the front desk phone. Gabriella nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. Come on, Dylan!"
-TSC-
Meanwhile, in the parking lot, Taylor sighed and stepped out of her car. She could do this. Just another day. A day with...a really crappy start. She was beginning to get used to Chad and Shaylah's newfound presence in her life, so at least it wasn't 100% that. She'd been up late working on another wedding, and facetiming her sister. Her sister, Jordan, was in New York working on her doctorate. They rarely had time to chat anymore with their conflicting schedules. Then, to top it all off, her garbage disposal broke just about an hour before she had to leave, causing her kitchen sink to leak. She laid down a few towels, placed a bucket beneath the broken pipe, and rushed out. Should she have been more responsible? Yes. Was she? No. Did she regret it? Absolutely not.
…
Well, she did slightly regret it. She was running on 3 hours of sleep, which was much less than she was used to. Taylor sighed and shut her car door, closing her eyes for a moment.
"Taylor, good morning!" A voice, Shaylah's, caused her to look up. She was walking over, hand in hand with Chad. "How are you?"
"A little tired, I have to admit." Taylor gave a weak smile. "Which isn't great, because today we have to discuss budget, and that can be a bit stressful. I should have slept longer…"
"Well, if it helps, we can show you what we did yesterday?" Chad offered.
"Yeah, sure." Taylor said quickly, turning to walk into the building. Where did that come from? Hadn't they agreed to a truce? Did that not include the abolishment of her cold behavior? Perhaps not.
Shaylah looked at Taylor as she clocked into the system beside the elevator and stairs. "You seem really tired...did you get to eat? Sometimes when I rush out I don't get to eat. Luckily Chaddy bought me something today. I have leftover pancakes, if you're hungry?"
She smiled weakly. "I'm fine, thank you Shaylah. That's very kind." the elevator arrived.
-GD-
"She's not in quite yet, but she should be here soon. It's almost time for her day to start." Gabriella smiled as she unlocked the door to Taylor's office. "There should be a vase on of the counters over by the back wall. If you want, you can set it up as a surprise for when she comes in." Gabriella smiled.
"Alright then." Dylan smiled. "Thanks."
"Of course! If you need me, I'll be down the hall grabbing a cup of coffee." She chirped. Oooh boy, Taylor was going to get a surprise.
-TSC-
"I'm sure we can sort all of those details out once we get to my office." Taylor tried to stay chirpy. For a short ride up to the 6th floor, Shaylah had asked a lot of questions. Taylor should have been, but wasn't quite ready, for those yet. What a day- and it was only 9 AM! Yay.
They turned the corner to Taylor's hall and saw a peculiar sight.
"...Why is my door open?" Taylor asked, quickly walking over to examine it. She then saw Dylan Black, walking over to her desk with the really nice vase she had kept in her office. He jumped and looked surprised at her arrival.
"Um, who are you and-" Chad began.
"Dylan?" Taylor said at the same time, blinking.
Surprised he nearly knocked over the vase he so carefully placed, after scrambling for a moment he looked towards the door in surprise. "Taylor, good morning!" Dylan stammered slightly.
"Wait. You know this guy?" Chad looked at Taylor, pointing to the intruder.
"Yeah, yeah I saw him at another client's wedding yesterd- Dyl, what are you doing here?" She asked him.
"Um...well, I felt slightly guilty that I forgot to tell you goodbye properly yesterday. So I wanted to give you these as a surprise." he held up the lovely floral arrangement he had planned to place into one of her spare vases. "I had a note too." he held it up bashfully. Taylor could feel her heart melting. She hadn't received such a thoughtful gesture in...well...quite some time.
"Dylan this…" She looked with newfound joy and energy, her previous sluggish and tired exterior disappearing. "This is amazing! I love them!" She rushed over to look closer at the arrangement of roses and pink lilies, her eyes lighting up as she brought them close to her adorable face. "Thank you so much!" she hugged him. He looked surprised at first but then hugged back. Chad's shoulder's tensed, a slight sense of annoyance slid down his back as he watched Dylan's arms wrap around Taylor.
"So, who is this exactly?" Chad asked, with more irritation than he had intended to show.
The two stopped their hug to fix their eyes on him. Taylor's cheeks flushed slightly red from embarrassment and she let go of Dylan. However, she didn't leave from beside him.
"Oh! I'm Dylan, I'm taking over the law firm a few blocks from here. Greenway Law?" He held out his hand to shake. Chad didn't shake it back, his arms were crossed. However, Shaylah did shortly after he put it out so it was a lot less awkward.
"Hm, cool- and how do you know Taylor, exactly?" Chad moved on to what he actually wanted to know. Taylor frowned at his behavior.
"Oh, she's an old friend from college. We actually dated for a short period of time in our senior year." He replied with a soft smile at Taylor.
Now Chad did not know this. He did not know this at all. "Oh really?" He smiled, looking at Taylor. "I never knew that." Something about his gaze wasn't positive to her. It kind of weirded her out.
"They were close friends in high school." Shaylah told Dylan with a laugh. "This must be the brother bear behavior I've been waiting to see!" Now it was Taylor's turn to look at Chad with a smile only he could truly interpret.
"Ah, I see!" Dylan laughed as well. "Well, I promise you, I mean no harm to her. I just wanted to ask Taylor if she would...like to go out for dinner sometime." He said the last sentence/question, while looking to Taylor.
Wow. Who knew Taylor McKessie could blush twice in less than an hour? "Um...s-sure! What were you thinking of getting?"
"Well, I'm not familiar with the area, but I did hear they have an excellent diner nearby." Dylan said.
"Albuquerque's Best, right?" Taylor tilted her head.
"Yeah, that's it!" Dylan snapped his fingers.
"Yeah I used to work there in high school!" She gave him a fun fact.
"Wait a second." Shaylah looked at Taylor. "The one in the mall? We just went there for breakfast!"
"Mhm!" Taylor smiled. "I recognized the sticker on your to-go box." Chad smiled to himself weakly. Truth be told, Taylor had made for an adorable waitress back in high school.
"So we'll go there then!" Dylan smiled. "Are you available on Thursday?"
"Sure! I get off at 7?" Taylor replied, opening his note. "Can I have your num- oh! You put it in the card!"
"Yeah! So...call me?" Dylan asked, adjusting the collar on his shirt.
"Um, Taylor. I think we've forgotten something?" Chad didn't mean to look upset, but Taylor caught his somewhat tired glare. Ah yes, their appointment.
"Um...y-yeah!" Taylor said quickly. "I'm sorry, I have to take them...I'll text you after work so you can plug me in." she smiled.
"Of course! I have to go into the office now anyway. I get off at 7, I'll look out for your text. Bye!" Dylan waved, taking his leave.
"Bye!" Taylor sang as her office door closed. She admired her perfect floral arrangement with a happy sigh. Her clients took their usual seats, as did she.
As for Chad? He was thanking the stars that the cringeworthy display he just witnessed was over.
"So…" Shaylah began with a smile. "Old fling?"
Oh great. Taylor was blushing again. Maybe it wasn't over after all.
"Yeah…" Taylor' face flushed adorably. "It wasn't a huge thing…"
"Hm...doesn't seem like that to me." Shay smirked. Her eyes screamed 'Bow chicka wow wow'
Chad's eyes screamed: 'Mur mur mur murder'
"We dated for a few months." Taylor mumbled. The fact that she just...wouldn't stop smiling about it made Chad burn. Why? She had every right. Perhaps it was just….
Perhaps it was just the fact that she had someone after him. Yes, of course she would have. They broke up.
But why? Why so soon? They broke up, a month or two before she officially moved back to her hometown. Where did Dylan even come from? That two bit second rate idiotic buffoon with a law degree, and an inherited firm, and handsome features-
Who was Dylan?
"What's his shoe size?" Shaylah asked huskily with a teasing smile.
"That's enough, Shaylah. Please." Chad mumbled. "We have things to plan."
"Size 12." Taylor managed to whisper with a playful smile.
After hearing her question being answered, Shaylah was immediately roped back into the conversation. Chad's previous request was forgotten.
"So are the rumors true? What they say about big feet?"
"Shaylah!"
Taylor got so red, "We-we never really-"
"The budget?" Chad tried again.
"Never?!" Shaylah exclaimed
"W-well I mean we did other things…" Taylor whispered
"Did he help plan our wedding? Because if not, can we focus on that please?" Chad grunted pushing the wedding binder between the two gossiping women.
Both women looked taken aback, Shaylah more so than Taylor, who simply blushed even more. Shaylah looked at her fiance with slight surprise before looking at the wedding planner in front of her.
"Right." Shaylah said with an airy chirp. There was tension laced in her voice. "So sorry...I suppose we should get started then. It's the professional thing to do."
"Yes, yes. My apologies, we've held off long enough." Taylor said in the same tone. "So, what did you two work out yesterday?"
"Page 1?" Shaylah pointed. "We agreed on a color scheme of pastel blue, yellow and lilac."
"Cute." Taylor approved with a nod. "So now we know what color the decorations will be," Nods from the couple, "so let's talk budget. What kind of wedding are you going for?"
"Simple" Chad said.
"Extravagant." Shaylah said at the same time.
Their planner blinked. "Um….that's quite the contrast. Have you guys discussed this before?"
The couple was looking at each other in surprise, but not in a positive way.
"No…" Shay began slowly. "But...I thought that with the theme and my voiced wishes that Chad would have caught that."
"I thought we discussed early on that I want something intimate." Chad replied.
"The act of a wedding itself is intimate! If this is about saving money for the future, or for starting a family or whatever-" Shaylah began.
"It's not just that, it's the fact that I don't want some big flashy circus show!" Chad snapped.
She glared at him. "What if I do?" Tense.
Taylor cleared her throat, "Well...both of you seem to be very firm in your choices. Is this solid or...can something be worked out?" They were just arguing with each other. Great. Taylor sighed, her eyes shifting to Dylan's flowers again. It made her feel a little better and she spoke again, "Ms. Turner, I know this fairytale ending theme is important to you. However, Chad has communicated that he wants an intimate event. A small event to where his main focus will be you and him. Where your bond is all he can think about and he can promise to love you forever without distraction…" Chad looked at her, his attention on her words. "Also, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to-"
"I'm sorry." Shaylah smiled, her lips in a thin line. "Is this your wedding?" Oh no. "I don't think so. I'm not really appreciating that you're only taking his wishes into consideration."
'Actually, I was just about to address yours.' Taylor thought.
"That's not what I pay you for. You're planning our wedding. Not his. Unless you'd like to marry him?" She said sarcastically, causing Chad's head to flip in her direction. Taylor backed up in shock. Shaylah's mood was now in full swing.
And it had silenced everything in the room. Now there was a thick...cold cloud of tension.
"Ms. Turner, of course not." Taylor said softly. "You both have valid points. I'm suggesting you should work together to find a happy medium-"
"We will."
"And I'm sorry for upsetting you. That's not my intent."
"Thank you."
Then an alarm on Taylor's phone went off. "I'm sorry that was supposed to signify the end of your appointment...would you like for me to extend it?"
Shaylah grabbed her purse and stood. "I think we're good. I have to check on something at work and I don't think my mood can get any worse. Have a nice day." She sighed and walked out.
Chad sighed and stood up, shifting his weight to one leg. "...You okay?"
Taylor was busy playing with the flowers her old crush had kindly brought her. She looked up with big brown eyes that seemed to be surprised he was still standing there. "Mhm." She hummed, observing the flowers again. "You can go."
Why did he feel so annoyed? She seemed to be oblivious to everything! Shaylah had just snapped at her, for crying out loud! Why did she not seem to care at all? "When's the next appointment?" He muttered, pulling out his phone and opening the calendar app.
"Oh! Right." Taylor whispered her realization, looking at her own calendar. "Um...how does Thursday sound? My last appointment slot is 6 PM."
"Sounds good." Chad scheduled it and invited Shaylah to the event.
"Great." She smiled softly. "Alright, have a nice day. Again, I'm sorry about-"
"Don't worry about it. You're fine." Chad muttered. "Enjoy your day." He walked out. "And your flowers." Chad grumbled, once out of earshot.
And Taylor would. She absolutely would. Because even though things weren't going as well, she could still have some good come out of her day. Heck, the flowers were there to prove it right?
There we go my darlings! Thank you for reading and please don't forget to review and tell me what you think!