Considerably Wicked: A Dark Romance

by Leigh Frankie

  “There’s the Big Dipper,” Will said all of a sudden. When Una turned to face him, he was pointing at each of the seven stars.

  Una looked up as she started munching on her blueberry cheesecake. “Well, it’s visible all year.”

  Delighted to know that she was interested and quite knowledgeable about the topic, they went on to talk some more about the November constellations and tried to find any in the sky that night.

  “I used to watch a lot of movies and documentaries about Earth and space.”

  She nodded. “It’s fascinating.”

  He smiled. “I know you’ve already told me you didn’t watch a lot of movies growing up. But did you happen to watch Apollo 13?”

  “No,” she said softy that it almost came as a whisper.

  “Oh, then, we should have a movie night next time.” He paused, his smile widening. “But I have to have your tv fixed first. Or maybe I should just buy a new one.”

  “Okay,” Una said and when she told Will how she was very much looking forward to movie nights with him, the excitement suddenly disappeared from his face. She noticed how his smile faded weakly and before she could point it out to him, Will dragged his hand through his hair and turned to her so he was facing her.

  “Are you alright, Mr. Thomas?”

  “Ms. Miller…I have something to tell you.” He took a deep breath as if he wasn’t done yet convincing himself that what he was about to do was the right thing to do. “When you knocked yourself out in the bathroom―”

  “You didn’t really look away, did you?” Una narrowed her eyes at him and instantly leaned a little away from him.

  “I did,” he assured her immediately. “But it’s not whether I looked away or not that I want to confess about.”

  “What then?” she asked, her stern expression telling him that she was ready to walk out.

  “I want to tell you about what I felt…and still feel whenever that day crosses my mind,” Will muttered, looking like a schoolboy who just confessed to committing a crime.

  “What you feel?” Una asked, not put off, just surprised this time. Her body started to relax again next to him.

  “Yes. I feel this tension inside. And whenever I think about you that day, I feel the tension building up. It’s a strange feeling.”

  They stayed in silence again for a long moment, pondering. Una was thinking what she should do with Will’s surprising admission while Will was contemplating whether he did the right thing or would it just backfire and make matters worse for him.

  After a minute though, despite Will’s little revelation, it almost felt like Una should still feel angry but she wasn’t. Needless to say, she was blushing furiously, but she wasn’t feeling any anger or resentment at all. It might have been due to the fact that Will didn’t really do anything bad. He didn’t lie to her. He still saw her naked body for perhaps a couple of seconds and the only information he had kept from her was that he felt something when he saw her.

  Una looked over to him with a slight bit of gratefulness. Had it been a different guy, she wouldn’t be too sure if the ending of her little accident would be the same.

  “I respect you so much, Ms. Miller,” he said, breaking her from her thoughts. “I tried my hardest to get the image off from my mind. I didn’t want you to feel weirded out. And I thought dealing with it by telling you about it now would help lose the tension for good.”

  “And I hope it’s working. I hope you no longer feel that tension,” she muttered although there was no denying the fact that she was baffled and intrigued by what sort of tension he was actually referring to.

  “That’s right. Talking helps.” Will smiled at her cautiously, looking relieved but also surprisingly uncertain. After a good several seconds of silence, he said, “I just realized something. We’re actually doing two of your top three best feelings in the world right this moment. Blanket,” he eyed the blanket and pointed at the sky, “and the stars.”

  “Ah, yeah. And…wait…” Una looked over. “You asked me out.”

  Will held her eyes for a moment before he nodded in agreement. “That’s right.” Looking deeply into her eyes, he suddenly asked instead, “Alright! Now, going back to movie night, tell me your top three best movies when you were young? The only ones that you can remember, of course.” He gazed up into the sky. He was always aware of how straightforward Una could be. Yet, he still couldn’t believe how this night had played out.

  Una took in the look on his face, fully aware of the obvious change in topic. She sighed loudly as if Will’s completely random question was a difficult one for her to answer in actuality.

  “I don’t have any top 3s,” she replied curtly. “I haven’t really watched that many movies.”

  Will nodded thoughtfully. “That’s okay. Well, I’ll help you catch up then. We will watch all movies that you missed out on growing up. Come up with a list. You can ask Liezel to help you. I’m sure she watched plenty of movies when she was a kid.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  “Cool.” He looked over at her and his eyes held hers. He took a deep breath, let it out with a nervous smile, then he looked back up into the sky again.

  ***

  “Good morning, ladies. What can I get you to fuel your bodies today?

  Liezel read the young waitress' name tag and grinned. “Annika,” she read.

  Annika grinned back, pulling an order pad from her apron. “Yes. Are you ladies having the usual this morning?”

  “You remember,” she chimed. “Yes, we will have the usual.”

  Leizel’s voice barely registered. Una’s attention was fixed on the news on the television in the corner. Sanson Road Café was packed and smelled of brewed coffee, bacon, and pancakes on that chilly morning. The other two waitresses who usually took their orders were bustling among the tables.

  When Annika left their table, Liezel followed Una’s gaze. “Another person went missing again?” She lightly shook her head. “That guy’s already dead.”

  Una looked back at her this time. “How can you be sure?”

  “He’s been missing for over a month now. Isn’t it obvious to you?”

  They continued to talk about the news and whether Tyra could still be alive or really be dead by now. When the commercial break on TV came, they fell silent while Liezel fished her phone from her bag. Once she’s done with what she was typing, she heard Una clear her throat.

  “Uhm…” Una hesitated for a few seconds. “Mr. Thomas is buying a new TV and…” she trailed off and pursed her lips. It was easy to tell that she was not comfortable with what she was about to ask her friend. “Can you…like…can you recommend some movies? What’s you top three favorite movies when you were young?”

  At that, Liezel couldn’t help but grin. “Geez, Una, I thought you were going to tell me you want to kick him out for wanting to replace that piece of junk of yours.”

  Una’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why would I want to kick out him out for offering to buy a new TV?”

  “I don’t know. But you’re capable of making some very weird decisions.” She shrugged. “Top three. Hmmm…” Liezel pondered to herself. “Okay, I know. You should watch Shakespeare in Love, Match Point and Unfaithful. Those two are my top movies for three solid straight years in high school.”

  “In high school?” Una scoffed. “I’m sure these movies are not PG-13. I’m sure your parents weren’t aware.”

  “Look, I’m not the one who’s asking for any recommendations here, Una. Don’t worry, these movies are great. Trust me. Don’t let the cheesy, misleading titles fool you.” Liezel winked at her before grinning.

  “Hmmm…”

  After a minute of Una thinking what those movies were actually about, Annika returned with a tray of their orders and sat their plates in front of each of the two of them.

  “Thanks, Annika. That was fast.” Liezel looked up at the waitress who smiled proudly of herself and left.

  Una immediately took a sip of her hot c
offee before cutting into her waffles with her fork and knife. Liezel, on the other hand, gingerly sliced her fork into her ham and pepper omelet and took a modest bite. Una looked up at her before staring at her plate.

  “You’re not in a hurry; it’s almost eight o’clock,” Una observed. “Don’t you have work?”

  Liezel carefully lifted her cup of tea to her lips and took a short sip. “I do.” She smiled, but before she could say anything further, she heard her phone beep. Hurriedly, she dug it from her bag and read the text message.

  “Oh, no, he didn’t.” A smile filled with excitement spread across Leizel’s lips. She quickly typed her reply and tossed her phone back into the bag. “Oh, I’m so happy right now.”

  “What just happened?” Una asked her.

  Leizel beamed. “My boyfriend just messaged me that he’s left me the key to his penthouse suite.”

  “Ah, your wealthy boyfriend. Good for you. What did you tell him?”

  “That I have a surprise for him.”

  Una remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

  “I’m going to cook for him.”

  Una’s eyes widened a bit. “You never cooked for any of your rich ex-boyfriends.”

  Liezel smirked. “I know, right? He might really be the one, Una.”

  Una scraped off her waffles with the spoon and licked the ice cream. “As long as he continues to make millions, he will remain to be the one for you.”

  Leizel pouted at her. “Whatever. I’m going to buy some groceries after work later. How about you?”

  “I’ll meet up with Mr. Thomas to the mall and check a nice TV. He said he wants us both to have a say on what type and brand to buy. We’re probably buying one on Saturday.”

  “Aww…how considerate of Will. He might really be the one for you too.”

  Una narrowed her eyes at her and shook her head to express her disagreement instead of her usual snarky remarks.

  “Well, as soon as you both start calling each other by your first names like normal people, you’ll soon realize I’m right!”

  ***

  When Liezel arrived at the office after her breakfast with Una, she received a message from Sinclair telling her he was out for a meeting. She wanted to ask with which company this time. It wasn’t because she doubted him, but it was more like she wanted to know how much millions the meeting was going to bring in to the company. After all, Sinclair’s success is her success too. If he managed to close another important deal, he might ask her to go with him on a week-long vacation at someplace in the world that only rich people, like her boss, could afford―and someone like her could only dream of.

  Rent a private island in Seychelles…maybe? Leizel thought, her eyes immediately lit up at the image of her and Sinclair on a trip to the Philippines, her country. They could go to Amanpulo on the Pamalican Island instead. She smiled as she imagined herself clad in a white two-piece bikini, sunbathing in the sun.

  Oh, the thought of going and having whatever she wanted now that she was with Sinclair made Liezel feel giddy with excitement. And, perhaps, in two years, she could introduce him to her parents who chose to go back to their country a couple of months after her college graduation.

  Her smiled broadened as she continued with her daydream and stood up from her desk to grab some M&Ms from the vending machine in the breakroom.

  “Hey, Liezel,” Will greeted her inside.

  “Hello there, Mr. Thomas,” she teased.

  For a moment, Will stared at her like he had no idea why she just all of a sudden became formal towards him. Then his lips curved into a half a smile. “Haha…that’s cute.”

  Liezel giggled. “You know what is cuter than that? You and Una are buying a TV later. Enjoy watching my movie recommendations.”

  Will poured himself a mug of coffee and yawned. “What movies did you recommend?”

  She winked at him and said before leaving, “It’s a surprise.”

  Going back to her work, Leizel pushed her daydreaming aside and worked on the tasks she was meant to finish that day. Following her special relationship with Sinclair, she had noticed that her job had become less tedious, although she also noticed that she had become less aware of Sinclair’s out-of-the-office meetings and other whereabouts.

  She concentrated on the reports she needed to complete before the end of the day, keeping herself busy that by lunchtime, she finally allowed herself to send Sinclair a text message when he was not in his office.

  “Why are you watching cooking videos?” Glen asked when he and the others joined her at her table during lunch.

  “Because I want to learn how this Fontina Rolled Chicken is done? Duh! Do not disturb me. I only have an hour to create my menu, okay?”

  And so they all did let her be, and after she took her lunch, she finally saw Sinclair arrived. Still feeling the excitement of her dream vacation to Seychelles, Liezel went to Sinclair’s office to update him of the calls he missed and the others who were expecting him to call back.

  Unexpectedly, she was greeted by a stern expression as soon as she crossed the room. He immediately canceled the call he was on to speak to her, although his expression didn’t change. She went on to tell him the reason why she came in, and he thanked her but not before telling her how glad he was to see her after his long and tedious meeting in the morning.

  Liezel left as soon as Sinclair started his numerous Skype calls. Three hours later and they hardly said a word to each other. Swamped with all the transactions and documents she needed to cross-reference, Liezel never left her desk, and by the time she noticed it was already 4:30 PM, Sinclair was walking to her desk, looking like he was about to call it a day.

  “Mr. Godfrey―”

  “See you at my apartment,” Sinclair muttered discreetly. “I’ll meet you there in an hour.” Then he left before her.

  Hurriedly, she gathered her things and left the office. Glancing at her watch, she reckoned she didn’t have enough time to do some cooking. And Sinclair might already be at his apartment by now, so she decided to surprise him with her cooking abilities she just recently learned from watching YouTube.

  She made a turn and drove her car to a gourmet takeaway shop. Since she never had to order any food for Sinclair, and since they never really tried having meals together, she had no idea what he would like and just ordered based on what Sinclair’s older sister used to have her order for her.

  Half an hour later and she was opening Sinclair’s apartment with the spare key he left by the reception. Carrying a bag of food containers, she came in at an empty apartment. She set the bag in the kitchen and waited.

  And waited.

  An hour later, Sinclair still had not arrived.

  She decided to take a shower. When she was done, she finally received a text message from him.

  Sorry, darling. Still caught up with work. Meeting my brother in a few. We’ll be out drinking. Can’t drive back. Will stay in his apartment.

  She quickly typed her reply: Where are you?

  Less than a minute after, she got a reply: New York.

  “New York? What the fuck?”

  Chapter 13

  First Kiss

  Annika beamed at Una from behind the counter when she stepped into Sanson Road Café that Saturday morning. She took a seat at a row of tables and not the one she and Liezel usually occupied.

  “What can I get you today? The usual?” Annika approached her table, a warm smile spread across her face.

  “No. I want a Tortellini pesto with few onions and extra tomatoes, a tuna melt, and a chicken Caesar wrap with extra parmesan cheese.” She returned the young waitress’s smile.

  “So this is where you usually eat.” She heard someone speak but didn’t bother checking where the voice came from.

  “I should have checked out this place a long time ago.” Sinclair occupied the seat in front of her. He looked up at Annika and smiled. “I’ll have coffee. Black.”

  They both stared at Annika’s r
etreating back when Sinclair excused himself to use the bathroom.

  “What are you doing here?” Una asked right away as soon as he rejoined her after a minute.

  A laugh escaped from Sinclair’s lips. “Good morning to you too, Una. And to answer your question, I met with a friend who lives around the area. I was on my way out from the university when I saw you walked into this cafe.”

  “On your way to the university?”

  “That’s right. My family’s one of the benefactors. Let’s just say we check in on them every now and then,” Sinclair said.

  Una sighed. “I go to that university.”

  “Is that so? What a small world then.”

  “Yeah. I guess.” Somehow, she didn’t seem surprised.

  “Do you usually come here alone for breakfast?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. I’m meeting Mr. Thomas. We’re buying a TV.”

  Sinclair’s face twitched. “Right. You two live together.”

  “Not like that. He rented out one of the rooms in my house.”

  “Ah. Why didn’t Liezel rent the other room instead? I mean, from what I gathered from her, you two are close.”

  Una shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess she is fine where she lives.”

  “By the way, since you’re here, I think you can help me with this tiny bit of a problem I’m in.” The way he was suddenly looking at her suddenly made her feel uncomfortable, although he tried to lighten the mood with a joke. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing illegal. I’m not connected with any gang.”

  His effort to make a joke earned him a blank reaction from Una. “Okay. What problem? You’re going to have to be more specific.”

  “So we have this benefactors’ dinner, and since you are a student there, it’d only make sense for me to take you with me.”

  “No.” Una declined flatly.

  Sinclair looked as if he was still processing the single word that Una just uttered. “No? Why?”

  “You just met me last week. We don’t know much about each other.”

  “Well, then, the dinner would be the perfect time for us to get to know more about each other, don’t you think?” he said, trying to ease her concerns with a cordial smile on his face.