by K E Osborn
“Hey, you,” Tomi chimes brightly down the line.
She instantly settles the storm. “It’s nice to hear you so happy.”
She snorts out a laugh. “Levi did so well at school today. He’s just arrived and is drawing his mockups of your lion tattoo.” The intonation of her voice lets me know she’s still not excited about the idea.
I let out a laugh. “I want a huge mane.”
She scoffs. “Don’t even. I’m not telling him that, it will look like an eighties Tina Turner.”
“Well, then, we know my lion will rock, won’t we?”
She groans. “Jesus, you’re lame. Wait… aren’t you at work?”
Smiling, I glance to the side, taking in my office. “Yeah, just having a moment.”
She’s quiet for a pass. “I’m glad you called. It’s nice to talk to you between the visits.”
Suddenly, I hear her let out a loud “oomph” as the phone muffles, sounding like she’s being wrestled. Furrowing my brows, I listen harder, wondering if she’s being mugged. “Tomi? Tomi! Are you okay?”
“Levi, you little…” I hear her mumble in the distance then the phone clears.
“Do you remember me?” Levi asks in a really loud voice—he’s obviously tackled Tomi for the phone.
“Hey, man, yeah, of course. You been drawing my lion for me?”
He chuckles, he might be sixteen, a boy growing into a man, but he’s still so young in his mannerisms. The way he talks, the way he sounds, it’s hard to remember he’s sixteen. “Yes. I made him in a black outline. It will match.”
Tilting my head, I’m impressed at how smart this kid is. Even though he loves art, he loves colors and expressing himself through his artwork, he knew my tattoos are all black and gray, so he’s stuck with the line art for the lion.
He might have autism, but it doesn’t hold him back—the kid’s fucking smart.
“Thanks, buddy. I’m excited to see it.”
“Come for dinner tonight?” he asks out of nowhere. My chest squeezes. The last thing I want to do is upset Levi, or make a promise I probably can’t keep.
“I’m sorry, Levi, I have to work late—”
Suddenly the phone muffles cutting me off as I hear Levi grumbling while Tomi mutters something to him, but then the phone clears. “Sorry about that… he seems to like you,” Tomi gushes down the line.
The uncertainty in her voice is evident as I sink back in my chair. “It’s all good. I actually think he’s pretty fucking cool.”
“Well, then, I guess I can’t go back on his offer. You wanna come over for dinner?”
I glance at the clock on the wall noticing it’s almost six. I still have a shitload of work to do. My stomach rolls with tension—I really want to go. “I have to work late, so you guys have dinner, but I can come over after and pick up some dessert on the way?”
“As long as it has something to do with ice cream and peanut butter, I’m happy.”
Humor rattles through me at the combination. “Done!”
“Later, gator.”
I snort out a laugh. “You’re so weird.”
She lets out a belly laugh. “Using my own words against me. Now you’re playing my game, Just Xander. See you soon.”
I end the call, my muscles feeling more relaxed merely from talking to her. She makes life easier and fucking harder all at the same time. Being around her, simply hearing her voice makes every little problem I have seem to vanish. At the moment, it’s just her and me in our comfortable bubble like there isn’t this fucking sword of doom hanging over our heads. The problem is the sword is swinging, but when I’m back to reality, it cuts the foundation of everything I’m building with Tomi. When she finds out about all the lies, about this deception, the sword is going to cut me off at the neck.
I feel it coming.
Huffing as I spin my chair, I get back to work. The sooner I get this shit done, the quicker I can get out of here and over to Tomi and Levi. Back to a happy place. It might all be under a shroud of darkness, but there I’m safe.
It’s here in this office—as Alex, as the real me—that everything seems to crumble.
Now to send an email, one I absolutely do not want to send.
TOMI
Knowing Xander’s coming over after work sends happiness through me that I can’t even fathom. I had no idea I would become this stupidly giddy about him coming over.
What am I, a teenage girl all over again?
I can’t believe how pathetic I’m being.
Levi and I have finished with our dinner, and I sent Xander a text with my address, so he knows where to come when he’s done. Levi’s still playing with his video games in the family room, while I sit at the dining table working on some drawings like we normally do each night.
I have my laptop open to help with reference pictures, but I’m mainly designing everything freehand when the email alert sounds.
Exhaling, I bring my laptop over and scroll through to see another ‘urgent’ marked email from Alex-asshole-Scott. Rolling my eyes, a heavy sinking feeling takes over my body, but I click to open knowing I have to start reading.
Miss Beaufort,
Upon further discussions with your landlord, Mr. Jacob Redford, please find attached NOTICE OF LEASE TERMINATION concluding on April 19, 2019, for your immediate attention.
This documentation is final and must be met with assistance on your behalf by the deadline. The Scott Enterprises San Francisco mega-complex is moving forward, and with your cooperation, we would like to make this a smooth transition for all parties involved.
The remuneration for your departure from Hope & Faith Ink will be deposited into your account on, April 19, 2019.
The offer of tenancy in the new mega-complex is still available in the new art deco area if you wish to discuss this with us.
Furthermore, Scott Enterprises wishes you well in your new endeavors, and if you seek assistance in your departure from Hope & Faith Ink, we can designate helpers to support with your closure.
Kind regards,
Alex Scott
My eyes widen as anger surges through every inch of my body. My breathing comes in hard and fast as I read over the last paragraph again, just to make sure I read it correctly. I let out a puff of air as my palms begin to sweat with pure unadulterated rage.
How dare he?
I let out a scoff as I sit back in my chair shaking my head. “You’re nothing but an asshole, Alex Scott,” I mumble under my breath.
Swiping my cell from the table, I dial Jana’s number. It rings twice before her chirpy voice squeaks down the line. “Chica, I know you looove me, but calling for a late-night hook-up is a little beyond you, isn’t it?” she jokes.
I don’t even bite, just get straight to it. “I got another email,” I grunt.
“Oh, shit!” Her tone’s far more serious now. The sounds coming through the phone make it seem like she’s moving and about to sit down. “Hit me! How bad?”
“He offered support to help us basically pack up the place.” My tone conveys how utterly ludicrous I feel that is.
“What the actual fuck? You’ve got to be joking? Is he trying to be the world’s biggest cock face?”
I scoff out a laugh. “I know, right? The guy actually thinks giving me a measly sum of stinking money for my trouble and offering me a place… one that I can’t possibly afford in the new mega-complex… is compensation enough for him taking my business, my livelihood, my life away from me, and he what? Offers me a helping hand to do it? Fuck me! Honestly, what an ass!”
“I can’t believe the nerve… these business-types thinking they’re all high and mighty when they’re just fucking up the world,” Jana grunts.
“Tell me about it.” I glance over at Levi, wondering how he’s going to take all this when shit goes down. I feel for him. I have no idea how he’s going to cope.
“You should write an email back.” Jana’s voice is full of enthusiasm, full of pep and vigor.
I like where
she’s going with this.
My eyes widen as I sit up taller. “Hmm, but what to say?”
She giggles. “Just tell him… how you feel… professionally, of course.”
I smirk, putting her on speaker. “Okay, I’m gonna type it… hang on.”
Mr. Scott,
While I thank you for the remuneration for us having to leave our beloved Hope & Faith Ink, I don’t think you quite grasp the concept from my lack of return emails to you thus far.
Generally, a code of silence is a condition in effect when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be of vital or important information.
This vitally important information in this instance is, that you, sir, are a pompous, arrogant jerk!
Thank you for your offer of support for the closure of Hope & Faith Ink, but you can kindly shove that right up your own ass and choke on it!
Without kind regards,
Miss Beaufort.
I giggle to myself as I type it out. It started out so professional, and then I couldn’t help myself.
I shrug. Oh well. I may as well let him know how I truly feel because I have absolutely nothing to lose right now. I grin, reading it out loud to Jana, and she bursts out laughing.
“Holy shit! Yes, you have to send it, girl. Do it! Have you clicked send yet?” she gushes frantically.
I hover over the send button, knowing this isn’t a very professional way to conduct business, but to be honest as of the nineteenth, I won’t have a business anyway. So, what the hell.
I click send and watch my email fly off to Alex Scott.
Finally, I’m able to tell him how I truly feel.
I can’t fight the slow grin that appears on my face as I slump in my seat. “Okay, sent.”
“Yes! You go, girl,” Jana practically screams over the loudspeaker.
“So loud!” Levi calls out.
I glance over to see him blocking his ears, and I grimace, turning her off speaker and place the phone up to my ear. “I can’t believe I just did that.”
She snorts out a laugh. “I can, you’re a badass, Tomi. Alex Scott is no match for the likes of you.”
My mail dings letting me know another email has arrived. My eyes widen as I sit taller. “Shit, Jana he’s written back.”
“Well, open it!”
I open and read it out to her. “Message received Miss Beaufort. Whether I’m a jerk or not, you have time to come back to me and ask for help. The lease termination will not be retracted, but the offers stand. Regards, Alex Scott.” I shrug. “Short and sweet, and only regards this time,” I laugh. “Think I pissed him off.”
Jana’s quiet for a pass, then she clears her throat. “I wonder who he is. He’s probably some old fat guy with a receding hairline,” she answers her own question.
I burst out laughing, making Levi groan, his hands racing to his ears as I stop myself and try to keep the noise level down a notch. “Anyway, I better go, just needed to vent. Thank you for being there for me.”
Jana scoffs. “Girl, I’d walk through fire with you, you know that!”
My stomach flutters. Jana is one of those friends, the ones who will do anything for you. “You’re the best.”
“No, you are.”
I snort. “If you start this, no you hang up first bullshit, I’m going to punch you tomorrow when I see you.”
She laughs her angelic laugh that always makes me feel better about the world. “You love me, you know you do. But anyway, I gotta go, Outlander’s coming on, and you know I gotta support my fellow redhead.”
Rolling my eyes, I grin. “Go watch your porn.”
“It’s not porn, it’s a tasteful show about time travelers, Scotsmen, and redheads!”
“Got it! Now off you go and watch your porn,” I reiterate making her laugh.
“Fuck you! See you tomorrow.”
“Laters.” I end the call glancing over at Levi. All humor of the moment before now gone as I focus on the email Alex sent. The eviction notice is final, I have no choice but to leave. I want to fight this, but I don’t see any possible way of doing so. I don’t have the money to fight. I don’t own the property, Jacob did, before he sold it to asshole Scott, and that’s where I’m screwed in all of this. My father knew Jacob from high school and when Dad helped me get this place, and we built Hope & Faith Ink from the ground up, we thought we could trust Jacob to do right by me because he and Dad were practically best friends.
Since Dad died, Jacob’s been difficult to deal with. I suppose I could take up a position in one of the new spaces in the mega-complex, but it’s so much more rent than I pay now, and ultimately, we’d end up with hardly anything to live on. Right now, we’re comfortable. Levi wants for nothing. He’s doing all right at school. I know he has a bit of trouble with some of the kids in the mainstream section, but in the special needs area, he does well. I need to keep him there, and I have to keep us here in this house—the one where we both grew up, and the one that holds all the memories of our parents and Kaylie. Stability is so important for Levi. I don’t even know how he’d cope if it were all thrown into chaos by me losing this house and having to move into something smaller and in a different location.
I can’t even fathom it. I have to face the fact that Hope & Faith Ink is closing down, and I need to find a way to support us. In the interim, I’ll have to find work as a checkout chick or something until I can find another shop more in my price range and can open a new store. But everything has to be right—the location, the rent price, the vibe. It all has to fit, and more importantly, be right for Levi to feel safe there like he does at Hope & Faith Ink. I can’t just walk into any old place with low rent and start up again, it’s not that simple. It has to work for Levi—he’s my only consideration.
Everything I do is for him.
Sighing, my mind shifts to Xander. He’s coming over tonight, and now I’m in a really crappy mood. I want to feel good for him, I want to look good for him. So, I figure I’ll do something to cheer me up and to make myself look nice for a change. Xander’s never seen me in anything other than jeans and flannel, so I’m gonna wear a dress. Make an effort.
I check on Levi, and he’s fine playing his games as I pass him and stroll to my room to get changed. I want Xander to notice me. I want to feel good for the rest of the night and not worry about the shitty way Alex-asshole-Scott has made me feel.
He has the power to destroy me, and he’s doing a damn fine job of it so far.
Let’s hope Xander can restore my mood.
ALEX
Finishing work is the highlight of my day, knowing I’m leaving to spend the evening with Tomi and Levi makes the shitty day worth it. I don’t know what it is about Tomi, how she can captivate me so easily, but she has me in a fucking spin. After her sassy email, it’s only confirmed how headstrong she is. It also confirmed how utterly deep in shit I am. She fucking hates me, and now I can see just how deep it runs, which is only making it harder for me to tell her who I really am. I know I have to because the time will come when I need to expose what’s going on.
Just not tonight.
I had Henry take me home so I could pick up my car. Riding a Harley with tubs of ice cream and donuts won’t work tonight.
As I pull up my candy apple red, 57 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible, the engine rumbles, echoing through Tomi’s street. I twist my keys with my lucky dice hanging off them, sending the noise to silence as I see Tomi peeking out her giant front window.
Guilt surges through me over her eviction email, but I have to keep my shit together, or she’ll know something’s up.
I lean across the front seat and grab the grocery bags, then step out of my baby.
Tomi rushes out the front door, her hair is up in her usual high ponytail, her red bandana around her head, but tonight the jeans and flannel are gone and are replaced with a black pin-up dress with red cherries all over it. It’s figure-hugging on top but fans out at her waist. It’s retro, cute as fuck, and suits her to a T. Sh
e looks stunning. I’ve never seen her in a dress. In fact, I didn’t think she wore them. Oddly enough, she matches the theme of my car. It’s like she somehow knew as I stand here stock still staring at her beauty in some sort of fucking awe.
She rushes toward me, her eyes wide as she takes in my car with her mouth open wide. “Xander… holy shit! This is your car?”
“Yeah, had her restored. I drive her around when I’m not on my bike.”
Tomi rushes straight past me to the car, spreading out face first on the hood, her hands smothering over the paintwork. I let out a loud laugh watching her basically make out with my car.
“She’s beeeautiful,” she drawls out, lusting over my beast.
I can’t help it as I stare at Tomi’s ass up in the air, her chest pressed over the hood as she fans out looking so fucking gorgeous in a position like that. My cock throbs just seeing her so vulnerable in this moment, and I can’t help the direction my thoughts are taking.
But holy hell if it doesn’t make me want to fuck her right here, right now, on the hood of my car.
I am a man, after all.
“Yeah, she is,” I murmur back at her.
She slowly looks up at me from the car to see the grocery bags in my hands and her eyes light up.
“Oh, ice cream? I need it.” She jumps from my car like she wasn’t just stretched out over the top of it like something from my freaking dreams.
“And peanut butter-filled donuts.”
Her eyes open wide as she gasps. “Bullshit!”
I tilt my head toward her front door. “I bullshit you not. C’mon, it’s gonna melt.”
She leans up on her toes and rushes with me toward her home. I love how excited the little things make her. She has such a unique personality, I think that’s why I’m so attracted to her.
She doesn’t take shit, and her no-holds-barred attitude is second to none.
She’s straight up.
It’s fantastic in a woman, and I am attracted to it more each time I see her.
I’m glad the emails haven’t affected her mood as much as they have mine.
