by Flite, Nora
Someone knocked on my door. I jumped so high in my chair that my butt lifted off the padding. Fumbling for my phone, I failed to catch it, and grimaced as it hit the floor and skid a few feet, stopping near my door. I looked up as it opened, and a face I didn't expect to see—never wanted to see—smiled at me. “Maya?”
“Ben?” I asked, hoping, like a child, that he wasn't real. Maybe I was imagining my awful ex-boyfriend standing in front of me, in my office, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a yellow button-down that showed off how fit he still was. Maybe fitter. How infuriating.
“Same ol' me,” he chuckled. “Can I come in?” He didn't wait for my answer, he entered and shut the door behind him. “You look good.”
I rose to my feet, smoothing my ash-gray pants, trying to make myself look taller than I was. Ben had always made me feel minuscule. And not in the good, protective way, like Conner had. “Why the hell are you here?”
His angled eyebrows rose up to his hairline. “I thought you'd be happier.”
“I don't use the word happy when I think about you, Ben.”
“My mistake,” he said, his voice cold. “I came by to do you a favor.” Reaching into his back pocket, he slid out something rectangular and stiff. “I think this belongs to you.”
“My driver's license!” I took a step forward, my shoe kicking something hard, sending it bouncing closer to Ben. Both of us looked down at my phone's glowing screen. He crouched low, picking it up before I could grab it myself.
“Huh,” he mused, holding it up, squinting. My body turned to ice as he spent far too long examining it. Then, with a sharp smirk, he held it and the ID out to me so I could take them. “You're not the type to lose things. Be more careful, Maya.”
“Yeah. I will.” Clutching the items close, I considered Ben warily. “Thanks for returning my ID. Where did you find it?”
“Downtown. I was surprised when I picked it up. I've never known you to spend any time in that area of the city.”
“You don't know me the way you think you do.”
His smile was sickening. “Clearly. That's why we split.” He glanced around my office, brushing his fingers over his smooth jaw. He'd probably shaved right before coming here. He always had to be so damn perfect. “I don't like this tension between us. Want to get a bite and chat? Say, dinner, or lunch, if you're free right now?”
“No,” I snapped. “I appreciate you returning my ID, but we're not buddies. You should leave.”
The way he curled his hands at his sides made me panic. The last time I'd witnessed his anger, it had been directed at me. He'd scolded me, screamed at me, made sure everyone in his apartment heard what the argument was about.
Disgusting degenerate.
Dirty little tramp.
That was how he'd labeled me. That was how I'd thought of myself afterwards. He'd cut me deep, made me believe I was broken, flawed, and unlovable. I was lucky I had a good friend like Aubrey. She had no idea why Ben ended our relationship—a relationship everyone around us believed was headed towards marriage—but she let me stay with her for a few nights while I sobbed into multiple pints of ice cream.
No one knew the truth... no one but me, and Ben.
He breathed out, and suddenly, he was calm. “Fine. Say hello to your mother for me.”
I startled. “My mother?”
“You didn't hear yet?” Cocking his head, he shrugged. “She'll tell you soon enough.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Ben opened my door, speaking as he left. “If we'd gotten lunch, I would have told you. Bye, Maya.”
My mind went blank. From a distance I watched my ex-boyfriend leave my office, his shadow passing through my open blinds, until he was in the elevator.
What was that all about?
The shaking in my legs was so intense I stumbled over to my chair, managing to fall into it before I collapsed on my rug. “What the hell?” I whispered. Now I really had to talk to my mother. Right, the text I meant to send her. Opening my phone, I gazed with rising disbelief at the RingMe app that was still open.
Somehow, probably when I'd dropped my phone, my message to Conner had been sent.
Me: Keep my panties as a souvenir.
Conner: Dirty girl. Maybe I'll start a collection.
My lungs squeezed until all the air left my chest. Oh, shit. Did Ben see this when he picked it up? Panicking from the idea, I squirmed in my seat. I was trapped between disgust at my ex, and delight at Conner's proposal.
Putting my feet on the floor, I twisted my chair side to side. I needed to respond. But what to say?
Me: You've had those panties since Friday night. Why wait until now to tell me? Were you using them for your own filthy fun, then worried I'd ask for them back?
Conner: If I used them, would you say no to taking them back?
I blushed, thumbs hovering. He responded before I could.
Conner: Or maybe you love the idea of wearing a pair of your panties full of my cum.
“Fucking hell,” I whispered hoarsely. Lifting my head, I scanned my office, like I expected someone was spying on me. I was paranoid about how naughty this chat was getting.
Me: If you told me to wear them, I would.
Conner: I'll remember that.
“Maya!”
“Ah!” I jerked my head up, gawking at Aubrey as she eyeballed me through my open door. “What is it, what's wrong?” I asked, breathing heavily.
“Gibraldi group!” she hissed into her hand, pointing behind herself. I sat up so I could see through my window. Yup, there they were—a group of five men, all wearing nearly matching black suits, all filing into the conference room.
“Why didn't you remind me?” I asked, standing quickly, sticking my phone in my bag. I snatched up my folder of marketing plans.
“I did!” she argued, stepping out of my way as I strode by. “Like, fifteen minutes ago! You were all angry at me about it, I thought you didn't need a new reminder!”
“It's okay, it's fine.” Calming myself, I slowed my stride. In my bag, my phone buzzed—Conner? Probably. “My head has been elsewhere today.”
IN SPITE OF MY FRAZZLED start, the meeting went great. I was still shaking Michael Wold's hand—the head of their PR department—while his crew waited to depart for lunch by the elevator. “We look forward to working with you soon, Ms. Fontine.”
“Me, too. I'll have my team send you the contract before the day ends.”
He beamed, letting me go and strolling off with the others. I spotted Aubrey staring at me expectantly from behind her desk; I flashed her a thumbs up. She made a fist, pumping it to her ribs. Today was turning around.
My shoe crossed the threshold of my private office just as my phone began to vibrate; it had multiple times during the meeting. I'd assumed they were notifications from the RingMe app. But when I looked, my blood went cold. It wasn't a message, someone was calling me. I saw the name on the screen. Oh, dammit! “Mom!” I said, answering instantly. “I'm so sorry! I meant to text you earlier to say I'd be in a meeting and we'd have to move our call!”
“Ten times!” she crowed. “Ten times, that's how much I called you!”
I glanced at the missed calls—yup, ten. “Mom—”
“For all I knew you were dead! A car crash, a shoot out, who knows!”
“Mom!” I sighed, shutting my door, walking around the room and closing the blinds. My optimism earlier that I wouldn't need to do that evaporated at the tone of her voice. “I'm fine. I just forgot.”
“Is that better? Forgetting your poor mother?”
“No, I just—I'm seriously sorry.” Propping myself against the wall, I shifted the phone to my other ear. “I'm here now. All yours. Let's talk, what's up?”
“Are you sure you have time for family, Maya?” she mused, managing to sound both sad and resentful. This had been a hot topic for the past few years.
“I can make time for family.”
“You're such a w
orkaholic, it's always go go go, no moment spent to worry about me or Fiddler.”
“Fiddler?” I laughed. “Your cat?”
“He's family!”
“Then put him on the call. I'm down.”
She clicked her tongue, her voice getting softer, more strained. “Work and jokes. It's like you're avoiding everything important. That's why Ben left you, you know.”
My eyeball twitched. That's not why! I thought angrily. “If your goal was to beat me up verbally, I'm going to hang up.”
“I'm sorry. I'm just stressed out, dear. There's a lot going on and I'm sure it's going to give me a heart attack.”
“What's happening?”
“It's your grandfather.”
I perked up, clutching the phone. “What's wrong with Pappy?”
“The usual. Bad knees, bad back, bad hip. You'd know if you made time to visit.”
Her pointed jabs were wearing me down. “Mom,” I said gently, “Talk to me. I'm here.”
There was a long pause. “Your aunt Jemine has been spending more time at his house, taking care of him. I wish I could be there the way she is, but the school keeps me booked solid. You know I asked you to come out here and help him.”
“I know. But I'm—” I'd almost said busy with work but her comments from before shut me up. “I've got responsibilities here, Mom. Like you do.”
“Well, those responsibilities are going to cost me my inheritance.”
“What?”
“Jemine. She's got Pappy wrapped around her witchy little finger. She told me he's thinking about amending the will, leaving it all to her instead of giving me my share. Do you know how much I need that money, Maya? I'm killing myself for the school system but they'll never give me enough to retire on! I'll never get to rest, I'll be marching into a grave with book reports piled high in my arms at this rate!”
“Mom, calm down.” I tucked my thumbnail between my teeth, fidgeting as I absorbed everything she'd said. “I'm sure if you just talk to Pappy, he'll come to his senses.”
“No, that awful sister of mine has him thinking the only family that cares about him is her. She's pointed out you and I are too busy to help out a poor, disabled man. She's using your career against me.”
“My career?” I scoffed. “Wait. Auntie Jemine is using my job to force herself into the whole inheritance? That's shady as hell.”
“Yes! It is! I'm so glad you're agreeing to help.”
A hot flash of warning made my neck go tight. “You called me to ask for a favor.”
“Saving your mother isn't a favor. It's your obligation as my daughter! Or are you as awful as my sister, wishing that I'd just fade away?”
“No. Mom.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned. “How do you want me to help with this?”
“You need to get married.”
And there it was.
“Excuse me?” I asked, laughing loudly, nervously. I cupped a hand around my mouth so no one outside my office would hear. “What would getting married do?”
“It would show your Pappy that you're serious about family! Not just ours, but starting your own. And marriage means babies, which means needing your dear old mother around to help care for a child while you keep working that busy job you adore. I can't provide childcare to my new grand-baby without that inheritance, your Pappy will realize that. Don't be so closed off to the idea.”
At first I couldn't respond. Then I started sputtering. “Marriage! Babies! Mom, what! That's... what! Are you serious? This is how you want me to help?”
“It'd be good for everyone.”
“How is it good for me?”
“A man would make you happy in a way your job can't, Maya. Are you seeing anybody right now?”
Conner's face flashed through my head. “It's complicated.”
“So that's a no. I'll ask around for you.”
“Mom!”
“Or you can see if Ben is single?”
White hot rage made me blind. Suddenly, what Ben had said earlier made sense. “Holy shit,” I hissed. “You were talking to him about this before you even brought it up to me, weren't you?”
“And what if I was? I ran into him at the grocery store by accident, he noticed I was frazzled, one thing led to another... don't get so sensitive over this, Maya.”
“You can't try to arrange a marriage for me behind my back!”
“Well what's the issue? You dated him a long time, was he so bad that you'd never consider a future with him?”
“Never,” I seethed. “Not in a million years.”
“Any of your employees single, or is that an HR lawsuit waiting to happen? Ask Aubrey, she has to know someone who's looking for a wife.”
“Your plan is crazy.”
Her gasp was sharp in my ear. “Never, ever call me crazy! Jemine does it all the time and I hate it. No, my own daughter should never, ever—”
“Okay! God, Mom.” I ruffled my hair, scowling. “I want to help. I really do. But this is... hard to swallow.”
“You can't back out now. If you don't show up with a man at your side this Saturday, I'm doomed.”
“What's happening Saturday?”
“It's your Pappy's birthday,” she groused. A hard knot formed in my guts. She was right, I was detached from my family and what they were all doing. I loved my grandfather, forgetting his birthday was shameful.
Sucking in a stabilizing breath through my nostrils, I said, “I'll figure something out. Something without Ben, so stop talking to him about me.”
“You promise to win Pappy over, I'll promise to avoid Ben.”
“Fine, great, I promise.”
“Thank you, Maya.” She sounded like she meant it. “I'll see you at the end of the week.”
“Okay. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. Take care of yourself.”
She ended the call. I dropped my hands to my hips, pushing the back of my head into the wall behind me. What the hell did I just agree to?
My stomach growled. I looked over at the box of cupcakes on my desk. Take care of one problem at a time. Food first, solving your mom's drama next.
Opening the box on my desk, I plucked out one of the cupcakes inside. It was heavy in my hand, weighed down by the swirl of pink frosting. Some of it smeared on my thumb; I licked it off, closing my eyes in bliss from the sweet, tart explosion of flavor. Unable to hold back, I bit into the cupcake, taking a mouthful. Chewing on the soft crumbs, vanilla and cherry mixing on my tongue, I thought about how I was going to fix the mess I was in.
I didn't want my mom to lose her inheritance. But I couldn't possibly use her idea of getting back with my ex, especially after seeing him today. The memory of his fists made me cringe.
How the hell was I going to prove to my grandfather that I was serious about having a family without actually committing to marriage, to babies, of all things? And how could I do it in a week?
Popping the rest of the cupcake into my mouth, I sighed around the tender bits of cake. I had to thank Aubrey again for these. I hadn't wanted them earlier, but now, they were cheering me up. Vanilla Jubilee was my favorite flavor in the whole world. I sucked a stray piece of fresh cherry off my finger.
I froze.
Cherry.
The cupcake had given me an idea. A clever, risky, potentially terrible idea. But... when insanity is all you've got... you have to embrace it.
I opened the RingMe app.
Chapter 5
Crazy Ideas
“YOU'RE LEAVING ALREADY?”
It was Aubrey who'd caught me as I was waiting for the elevator. I made a face, gripping the strap of my purse extra tight before I faced her. I could see the clock on the wall behind her head—just after four. Way, way earlier than I'd ever left without some emergency.
But this was an emergency. Sort of. My mother's future was in my hands. “Uh, yeah,” I said, keeping my tone light. “I need to let my landlord into my place. Maintenance or something.”
“Huh. Shouldn't he have a key?”
My face went blank. “Yes. Yes, he does. But he's not allowed to go inside without me being there. I negotiated that into my contract.”
“That's so you,” she laughed. “Maya the Micromanager.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Does it ever get tiring, being in charge of so many things? I think I'd buckle under all that responsibility.”
“I just like making sure stuff gets done the way it should be.”
“Well, I admire how good you are at controlling every aspect of your life. See you tomorrow.” She half turned, then glanced back at me with her nose crinkled. “Before I forget. Am I crazy, or did I see Ben in here earlier?”
A tiny shudder went through me. “Remember how you said the person who found my ID was coming by to return it?”
“Oh god. That was him?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Blech. I'm sorry, Maya! I didn't recognize his voice on the phone. If I knew it was him, I never would have let him get within sneezing distance of your office.”
“Forget it. I'm erasing the meet-up from my mind as we speak.”
“Okay. I won't keep you any longer. Have fun with your maintenance thingie.”
I waved at her as the elevator doors shut between us. I sank down between the building's levels, my mood sinking even lower. Lying to my friend felt awful. But I couldn't possibly tell her where I was really going.
Peeking at my phone as I left the building, I re-read the messages I'd sent to Conner.
Me: I do want to meet again.
Conner: Perfect. When and where?
Me: Stony's Grill, around 5?
Conner: Isn't that place a bit... public, for our brand of meetings?
Me: It's fine. I'll explain when I see you.
THE RESTAURANT I'D picked was in walking distance. I wanted to use the fresh air to clear my head, I needed my mind to be as sharp as possible before I spoke to Conner.
I can't believe I'm doing this.
It had seemed like a good idea earlier when it first came to me. I wasn't as sure, now. It's not a big deal, I assured myself. I hoped Conner thought the same.
