“Yes, Haley.” He frowned. It was such a personal thing that he revealed, he only hoped she would understand that, recognize the trust, and realize that he could be trusted in return. “She was pretty messed up, physically, mentally, emotionally…as you might imagine. With Sam’s love, she has been recovering ever since.” He sighed. He was happy for Sam, but damn he wanted to find love, too.
“So, how does this relate to you, your absence from a couple of months of parties?” She wore a confused look.
“Oh, that.” He laughed. “The guy who raped her, tried to run her over. I got in the way. That’s all.” He shrugged.
“That’s all,” she repeated in disbelief. “There’s always more to every story with you, isn’t there?”
For some reason, he couldn’t resist. He leaned over and kissed the very tip of her nose. “Doll, I’d love to share everything with you.” He looked into her eyes. They were narrowed. “Some other time maybe.”
Without further explanation, he left the room.
There was a tension in the air, over dinner. Adam knew when Sam suddenly stood that he had decided to end that and change the mood entirely. He wore a determined look on his face. He looked around and said, “Will you excuse me for just a moment, please.” Then he nodded and walked away.
They all looked at each other in confusion. The sound of his steps grew more distant until finally they heard the front door open and close behind him.
Haley looked at Adam. “You don’t think he’s leaving, do you? I mean, I have this history of running when the going gets tough, but he never has.” She looked utterly bewildered.
“Nah. I wouldn’t worry about it. I hear Sam’s more of a sardine player.” He winked at her only to be rewarded with a blush.
The door opened once more and the sound of footsteps headed their direction had Haley settling back into her chair once more. Adam gave her a reassuring look. Soon, Sam had joined them once more. And he had mock up boards, a stand, and a big mysterious box.
“Give me just a moment,” he said. “I know that it’s a holiday and we’re supposed to be relaxing, but this has been bothering me. I’ve been thinking about this so much and we hardly ever all get together any more. I just felt like this was the right time. I wanted everyone to help me out with this. We’re Team Haley, all in her corner, rooting her on.”
He took a deep breath as he finished setting up what looked to be a presentation. “Here,” he said, passing Haley the bag.
She peeked in. “Bagels?” She laughed.
“We always have bagels at a time like this. Sorry there’s no tea.” He smiled.
Opening the big box, he pulled out a couple of different items. There was a can of sardines, a yellow tae kwon do belt, a Tiffany’s box, and a bottle of champagne. Everyone at the table inhaled.
“Pick one,” he said. “I can’t decide where to start the pitch.”
“I don’t know…” Haley said. Her voice was shaky.
“Fine. I’ll pick,” Sam said with a smile. “Here.” He tossed her the Tiffany’s box. She looked at him questioningly.
“It’s empty,” she said without even opening it.
“Of course. It’s purely for demonstration purposes. You know how these pitches work.” He clapped his hands together and took a moment to push up the sleeves on his navy blue cable knit sweater.
“About one hundred and fifty years ago, a company was formed. Originally, it had a long name and a great product that wasn’t selling as well as the owners had hoped. And so they came to our great great great…” He paused for a moment as he tried to count the number of greats needed. “Well, you get the idea. The businessman came to our distant relative and asked if he had any idea for how to improve sales. That man made some suggestions that made Tiffany & Co. what it is today. And in doing so, he built two companies. That’s how our family run advertising agency was started…innovation, taking a chance. We use that same innovation in our daily life, but I was horrible at taking chances. I played it safe. It showed. My work suffered for it.” He smiled at Ellen.
“Yes, I had a super efficient assistant, but sometimes that isn’t enough. Sometimes what seems like the worst thing in the world at the time