“I think I will. It’d be interesting to see what all goes into creating one,” I said. Yes. He gave me the reason to show up. This is working perfectly.
With that, Marshall left and I made a quick call to Sophia, making sure her end of coordinating all those people was going along well.
I went back to work and before I knew it 2:00 arrived. It was time for some fun. I’d changed into some other clothes at the office that I’d brought that morning. At 2:05 the guard buzzed up, saying that everyone was on their way.
When the limousine pulled up I got into it to find Mandi, Sophia, Andre, Sergio, and Sylvain’s smiling faces. They looked as excited as me. Marshall wasn’t an easy man to fool and if we pulled this off it would truly be a noteworthy accomplishment.
I walked out onto the set and Marshall waved me over and smiled. I saw the stage hand that had been helping me in the corner and nodded to him. He went right into action. I walked through the door and was followed by everyone else, who all shouted out, “Surprise!” at the same time.
Marshall’s face showed that he clearly was surprised. Everyone on the set, along with us, began to sing Happy Birthday to him and he looked a bit embarrassed by the attention. It was definitely an emotional response that I’d never seen in him before. I couldn’t quite place it.
Within minutes, everyone had the champagne, appetizers, and a large cake was wheeled out, making it a full out surprise party on the set. I noticed Marshall seemed awkward though, as if he didn’t like being exposed to people at the studio. I looked at it differently though, believing it would be great for them to see what a special guy he was and how much those closest to him cared about him.
Marshall stayed close to me during his party and I could tell that he’d liked my dress choice, although that hadn’t been my original intent with it. I was really just thinking of a fun party dress. He whispered, “I cannot help but enjoy sitting next to such a beautiful woman on my birthday.”
“Thanks Marshall. I really want today to be special for you.”
“Is anyone else coming?”
“In a bit, there’ll be some other people dropping by to say hello. Not too many though, as I knew that you really can’t relax when too many people are around. This is your birthday. I want you to enjoy it.”
“Will you be staying for the entire party, Becca?”
“Why don’t you just ask me what you seem so curious to know?”
“You’re being stubborn. Fine, I will ask. Are you still going out with Tyler tonight? If you are, I’d suggest you wear something a little less…appealing.”
“Like a turtle neck sweater?” I replied, laughing.
“Yes, that would be brilliant,” Marshall said.
“I cancelled that date to coordinate your party.”
“Suddenly this party doesn’t seem so awkward then. I can put up with the surprise thing, which I truly was by the way, in order to keep you safe from the shark that I’ve brought to this studio.”
“How heroic,” I said. I looked over by the entrance then and saw a few people that we’d invited. They were also BBBBCers and other acquaintances of Marshall’s that I didn’t know formally. He went over to greet them and as soon as he slid out, Sylvain slid in.
Sylvain hadn’t been around a lot in Vegas so I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk with him at all. He sat down and started talking casually, apparently remembering me.
“If I recall, you were drinking martinis that night in Vegas,” Sylvain said.
“Yes.”
“Shall I get you one?”
“I’ll stick to champagne. The martinis were very tasty, but they went right to my head.”
“Yes, I recall,” Sylvain said. He made me feel a bit embarrassed, knowing that he must have been one of the people that witnessed Marshall and my hand fest on the dance floor. I figured that I’d better play coy back and quickly too.
“That was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Incredible, but no need to repeat.”
Sylvain seemed to accept my statement and immediately turned to more friendly conversation. We were talking about clubs and what it took, actually discussing business and I got the feeling that there may be a need for a business relationship there. I’d have to keep that in mind when I was done with all of Marshall’s projects.
Every once in awhile Marshall would come up to me and whisper something in my ear, making me laugh. He was acting like a protective older brother, ensuring that nothing that I didn’t want to happen was going on with Sylvain, reminding me that he was another man who appreciated women for a night at a time rather than for any length of time. I whispered in his ear, “I’m beginning to think all men are that way.”
“Stop,” he whispered back. Then before he could do anything else or sit down someone would be coming up to him and distracting him.
Sophia and Mandi came up and the three of us went to stand outside and talk in privacy a bit. It felt great to be by them again and everything seemed like it had a few years back for a brief moment. Or at least the topic was the same—men.
“I trust everything is going good with Marshall,” Mandi said. She looked so happy and I could see that being in love suited her perfectly. She was lucky.
“It’s going as good as it can be for friends,” I said.
“Friends? Come on,” Sophia said. “He is all over you and can’t take his eyes off you. I’ve never seen him be so attentive to a woman the way he is to you. It’s definitely more than friendship.”
“Not according to him,” I replied. “He stated it pretty directly and Marshall’s not really the type of guy to mix words.”
“In this case, you’re wrong,” Sophia continued.
“I have to agree,” Mandi added. “He is definitely drawn to you and everyone can see it.”
“Sometimes I think he is, but then he distances himself. It’s way more than I want to deal with; especially after Brandon.”
“Brandon was a fool. Marshall isn’t. He’s just confused,” Sophia said.
“I think Sophia’s correct. Sergio did the same thing to me and once he came to terms with everything in his mind things changed in an instant. Now it’s effortless,” Mandi said.
“Well, I won’t hold my breath waiting for that,” I said, laughing. Deep down I was hoping Mandi was right. I knew that’s what I wanted, but I wasn’t about to let it show since Marshall wasn’t on the same page as me when it came to our emotional connection.