Meeting Munroe

by Danelle Nelson

  “Beautiful speech,” I said, welcoming Tim back to our table.

  “Ah, same thing I say each year, really. Only a few ways to address what we’re here for. I’m just thankful so many men and women feel the same as I do about the matter. None of it would be possible without their support.”

  “Mmm,” I agreed while taking a sip of my champagne, “I suppose it takes an army.”

  “Indeed,” he grabbed his own champagne glass, taking a small drink before setting it back onto the table. The auctioneer had taken his place at the podium and was currently bidding the first item—a grand piano.

  “Who donates the goods?”

  “My organization sends letters out to different thriving businesses asking for donates at the beginning of each year.”

  “I see.”

  The auctioneers voice boomed over us, “Do I hear ten-thousand?”

  “You’ll come home with me after this?” Tim asked.

  “I didn’t bring any clothes. I do plan on coming to work tomorrow,” I pointed out.

  “Nonsense, Terry can go grab your clothes.”

  “Perhaps we could just stop by my apartment before going to yours?”

  “Oh, I didn’t think of that. Yeah, that works.”

  I shook my head, “You amaze me. All this champagne is running straight through me, excuse me while I attend the lady’s room.” I elegantly pushed my chair back before rising to my feet. I rose an eyebrow at Tim, hoping he’d realize I needed direction. A small smirk rose on his lips before he pointed towards the dark right corner of the room. I gave a brief nod before heading into the shadows.

  Once concealed by the stalls door I grabbed my cellphone. I was dying to see the headlines. As I already knew, our picture was plastered all over the tabloids. ‘Who’s Mr. Munroe’s Mystery Girl?’ and ’The Unnamed Vixen Appears Again!’ the headlines stared at me. Tim had his arm protectively wrapped around my body in defense, something I hadn’t noticed earlier in the evening. I inelegantly looked like a deer stuck in headlights. Wholly unflattering.

  I quickly flushed the toilet and exited the stall, staring Lacy in the face once more. “Déjà vu,” I mumbled. “Fancy cornering people in bathrooms, I see.”

  “I’m not cornering you. I didn’t realize you were in here,” she replied bashfully, making me feel like a total prick.

  “I’m sorry,” I could feel my face redden as I walked towards the sinks.

  “There was a time when I was you,” she began, her voice light as air, “When Timmy brought me to these events; to fancy restaurants, the sorts. I don’t mean to bother you, I’m heartbroken.”

  I looked over to find a single tear escaping Lacy’s eye as empathy washed over me. I was being a bitch. “I’m really sorry, Lacy. I understand heartbreak.”

  “You understand nothing,” the malice from the past week was back, “You won’t understand until you’re dropped on your ass like everyone else,” she gripped her small black leather clutch tightly to her chest before turning on her heels and leaving the bathroom. Breath rushed out of my chest as I’d been unintentionally holding it in.

  I washed my hands before exiting the bathroom, the auction still raging on. They were bidding on an oil painting from the 1800’s, an ugly old thing of a cottage in the middle of the woods. Tim was sitting at our table, the champagne glass in front of him empty. He was talking to an older gentleman who’d made his way to our table, currently occupying my seat.

  “Ah, my beauty returns. Mr. Collin, it was a pleasure speaking with you this evening. I’ll have my assistant follow up with you tomorrow about a date.” Tim shook the man’s hand and I took back my seat.

  “A date for what?” I questioned as soon as the man was out of ear shot.

  “He’d like to invest in a property out of Florida. I’ll need you to pencil in a meeting with him sometime next week regarding it.”

  “Florida, huh? That place is retirement capital of the United States.”

  “Sure is. He wants to open a retirement community,” he laughed.

  “Oh jeeze, better put in a golf course.”

  “Already one situated on the land.”

  “You can’t make this stuff up,” I finished off my glass of champagne.

  “Wouldn’t be worth the investment if I had to.”

  The sentence made me snort, “You’re too much.”

  Tim and I sat quietly around our table as the evening droned on, the last auction item finally seeing the podium—the seven-day trip to Greece. “Tim, can Terry take me back to my apartment while you wrap this up? I’d like to grab my work attire.”

  “Sure, let me walk you out.”

  He stood before grabbing my hand and helping me to my feet. Hand in hand Tim walked me to the front door, the paparazzi waiting outside like vultures. “I’ll never get used to this,” I whispered.

  “No one does, you only learn how to deal with it better.”

  Terry held the door to the sleek black Mercedes SUV open, allowing me to slide onto the back seat, “I’ll see you a little later?”

  “Of course—once this is done I’ll take a taxi back. Terry will stay with you.”

  “Thank you,” I smiled, leaning out of the door momentarily to kiss him. The door shut, leaving me in silence.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The drive back to my apartment was filled with my racing thoughts. In less than twenty-four hours I’d decided to leave New York and subsequently stay in New York. Tim’s grip on my heart seemed to be growing faster than I’d like to acknowledge. It was bringing both agony and excitement to my life, and I didn’t know which I liked better.

  The situation with Matt was far from over as well, I knew. And deciding to stay meant at some point I’d have to face the problem head on. No matter how much security Tim appointed me, it was impossible for someone to always be with me. Matt seemed to find his way into the most unusually situations, and my gut told me I’d run in to him when I least expected it. Our last meeting almost ended in a rape. What if the next time help comes too late? Terry stopped the SUV outside my building, walking around the car and opening the door for me to step out.

  “Thank you, Terry. I shouldn’t be more than twenty minutes or so. I’ll need to let my roommate know I’m staying elsewhere tonight.”

  “Of course, Ma’am. I’ll be here waiting,” he grinned.

  I smiled back before walking into the building and hitting the button for the elevator. I felt giddy, like a school girl. My heart wanted to jump into this relationship face first, no hold bars. My brain was screaming run. I was inclined to listen to my heart, though. The elevator doors opened onto the third floor and I walked directly to the door only to find it slightly ajar, “That’s odd,” I mumbled while pushing it open. “Hello!” Nate had to be in here somewhere. I flipped the switch for the living room light, only to find it not working. “Nate! Nate are you here? Why isn’t this light working, the building has power.”

  I received no response. He should be home. Maybe something came up and he just didn’t text. I shrugged, slugging my purse onto the kitchen island and walking down the hall towards my room. I opened the door and tried to flip my light switch. No power. I realized the breaker could be overloaded and decided to check it before grabbing clothes. The breaker was located at the end of the small hallway behind a beautiful watercolor painting. I carefully set it onto the floor before grabbing my phone for a flashlight. Shining the light onto the breaker box I realized everything was turned off.

  “Nate,” I screamed one last time, while flipping all the switches. The lights I’d attempted to turn on when arriving all fluttered to life, the small apartment coming abruptly to life. I turned and walked towards the living room only to find a complete and utter disaster. I’d not noticed it in the dark, but the entire apartment was in dismay. The couch was upturned onto its back. Pictures of Nate and I that once hung gracefully on the wall’s laid shattered and broken on the floor. There was a large hole in the wall where something had
hit, and the T.V was laying on the floor next to the smashed T.V stand. Someone had fought here and fought hard. Panic began taking over—I used my cellphone to try and call Nate. As soon as it started ringing, I could hear his phone. It was in his room. I raced back to the room and found his phone lying on the floor next to the bed. The room was as much of a disaster as the rest of the house.

  Dear God, what happened here?

  I quickly walked to my room, I needed to pack my things and then call the police. Flipping on my light switch I jumped back, “Hello beautiful,” Matt’s voice was precise and full of malice. I gasped. Nate was lying on my bed bound and gagged.

  “Jesus Christ! Nate!” I lunged forward but Matt met my lunge, causing me to back up.

  “He’s fine. Put up quite a fight though,” Matt laughed.

  “That isn’t funny. Untie him, now!”

  “Now now, Ness, we both know I can’t do that yet. I just want to talk.”

  “And this is how you go about that?” I exclaimed.

  “I know, a bit extreme, but I couldn’t find another way. I tried at the club but that damn man knocked me over and you left. You left with him!”

  “He’s my boyfriend, Matt. Not you.” I glanced down at my phone. I had unlocked it and discreetly tried to dial 911.

  “What are you doing!” Matt lunged forward, knocking the phone from my hands. “Why would you do that, Ness? I won’t hurt you, I just want to talk!”

  “You’ve got my best friend tied and gagged, Matt! You can’t fucking do this! This is insane! On top of all of that, you just took my phone from me!”

  “Calm down, Ness. This just seems worse than it is, I swear. Please.”

  I looked over to find Nate staring at me, wide eyed. I mouthed I’m sorry, but he shook his head no. “What can I do to end this, Matt?”

  “Give me another chance. Please Ness, I’ll do anything.”

  “I, um..” I paused, watching Nate vigorously shake his head. Matt saw me glance and looked to see what I was looking at.

  “No one asked you, Nate!” He screamed, kicking the bed and causing Nate to squeeze his eyes shut.

  “Stop!” I had to do something. “Fine, I’ll give you another chance.”

  “I knew you still loved me. It was just a matter of time, Ness, before you came crawling back.”

  The excitement in his voice caused me to cringe. This man was insane. “Let him go.”

  “Not so fast. I need you to prove to me that you want me. Like old times, yeah?”

  I paused, unsure what to do. I didn’t want to do anything, but I also wanted Nate to be safe. “What would you like?”

  “You know,” Matt whispered, while stepping forward. My body tensed, and it took everything in my core to keep from squirming away. Matt grabbed me, pulling me in and kissing me. Just as our lips made contact, we were both abruptly shoved forward.

  I landed on Matt, who had landed on the floor. The breath was knocked from my lungs, causing me to gasp out in pain. Someone was on top of me. Someone heavy. The seconds it took for me to gasp for air and realize there was a fourth person was all it took for me to be pulled from Matt and tossed onto the bed next to Nate in a daze. It took a moment for me to catch my breath and will myself to focus. The fourth person was Terry.

  Realizing Terry had the situation under control, I took the gag out of Nates mouth and started to untie the ropes that bound him. “Jesus Christ,” I exclaimed, “Are you okay?”

  “Fuck no! He was here, Ness, he was here waiting! How in the fuck did he get into our apartment! The door was locked!”

  “I…” panic set in when I realized my missing key only went missing after having our encounter the night before. “Terry, check his pockets.”

  Nate looked at me confused, “For what?”

  “My missing key,” I whispered.

  Terry found exactly what we were looking for in the left front pocket of his jeans, “I believe this belongs to you,” Terry exclaimed, tossing it onto the bed in front of us.

  “I’m so sorry Nate.”

  “For what? You didn’t cause this, Ness. This guy is a psychopath!”

  Terry had grabbed the rope from the bed and began tying Matt’s hands behind his back, “Vanessa, call the police. Then call Tim, please.”

  “Alright,” I grabbed my phone and finished calling 911. The operator answered quickly, “We need someone here, fast. 1911 51st ave, apartment 325. We’ve had a break-in; my roommate was tied up. Please, come quick.”

  I hung the phone up with the operator, calling Tim, “Vanessa?”

  “Tim,” I sobbed, my emotions taking over. I couldn’t get anything out, the tears falling down my face faster than I could wipe them away. I felt Nates arms wrap around me, his hand grabbing my phone and taking it from my ear. I leaned my head into him, the sobs coming uncontrollably.

  “Hey, she’s okay. Matt was in the apartment when I came home from dinner tonight, tied me up and waited for Ness. She held her own, he didn’t touch her.” I could hear Tim’s voice over the phone, panicked and loud, but I couldn’t understand what was being said. “Alright man, yeah, we’ll be here.” Nate said as he hung up the phone before placing both arms around once more. “He’s on his way, baby-cakes.”

  “Are you okay, Nate?” I was emotional, I was exhausted, but Nate had been through so much more!

  “I’ll be fine. I might need some therapy, but I’m good,” he squeezed tightly.

  “Terry, are you alright?” Terry had efficiently hog tied Matt, who was now lying face down on the floor.

  “I’m okay Ms. Fox. Nate was it? Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “I’m fine, seriously. I could do for whooping his ass, but I’ll let the police handle it.”

  “Ness, please,” Matt started before Terry kicked him in the ribs. The air left his lungs and he quieted down once more.

  “Thankfully you gave me the twenty-minute time frame,” Terry said, while letting out a large sigh. “Mr. Munroe would kill me himself had anything happened to you.” There was a knock at the door and I stood to answer it. “Stay here, please,” Terry stated, pointing back at the bed. I sat back down next to Nate.

  “If you kick him I won’t tell,” I whispered.

  “It’s my conscious I’m worried about, but thank you, baby-cakes.”

  We could hear the police entering the apartment while Terry was explaining the situation. With hurried footsteps two officers arrived in my doorway, concerned eyes falling on Matt who was still hogtied on the floor. “This him?”

  “Yes sir, he gained entrance using a key that was stolen from Ms. Fox’s purse late last night.”

  “Do you know him, Ms. Fox?” The officer in command was an older gentleman who’d gone grey with age. His pot belly reminded me of my father, the wrinkles on his face showing the years of stress he’d endured while serving.

  “He’s my ex-boyfriend,” I replied quietly.

  “How did he get your key last night?”

  “Don’t answer that,” Tim’s voice boomed over the room as he made his way through the doorway. He maneuvered around the police officers and grabbed me off of the bed, pulling me into his arms and hugging me tightly. “She’ll need her lawyer present for any further questioning. If you insist that she answer question tonight, she can meet you at the station. The same with Nate.” Tim nodded his head in acknowledgement of Nate, who gave a simple head bob back in response.

  “Alright, Mr. Munroe. We’ll need her and her roommate at the station first thing in the morning. We understand that they’re under stress at the moment, but if we want charges to stick we need statements. Including from you, Mr…” the officer peered in Terry’s direction.

  “Robinson, Terry Robinson.”

  “Bright and early, you three hear?”

  “Yes sir,” I responded, nodding. The police grabbed Matt, untying the ropes and placing him into cuffs.

  “Please, Ness, Baby,” Matt pleaded as they leaded him out of my room.
/>   “Don’t listen to him,” Tim whispered, pulling me tightly into his chest.

  “He tied up Nate,” I said as my voice cracked. My emotions began running wild once more, the comfort of being in his arms releasing the tears that I’d reigned back in.

  “Shh,” his hand gently rubbed up and down my back, “Lets go home,” he pushed me out while looking me over slowly. “Did he touch you?”

  “No,” I shook my head. “Can Nate come with, please?”

  “I assumed he was,” Tim replied, looking over at Nate.

  “Don’t have to ask me twice. Let me pack a quick bag.”

  ∆ ∆ ∆

  We arrived at the large skyscraper Tim called home a short thirty minutes later, Nate and I both relieved to be out of our small apartment. Nate had already contacted his work to let them know he wouldn’t be coming in the morning, and Tim had contacted Vicki to let her know we’d be late.

  Terry pulled into a large parking garage on the side of the building, allowing us shelter from the paparazzi that were stationed outside of the building. “Are they always here?”

  “Twenty-four seven, Ms. Fox,” Terry replied somberly.

  “Jeeze these cars are amazing,” Nate echoed, fully taking in the array of sports cars that lined the bays.

  “All mine,” Tim replied proudly.

  “Seriously, man? Damn, what a life!” Nate exclaimed.

  “It’s alright,” Tim responded absentmindedly.

  “Only alright?” I questioned.

  “Lonely is all. They don’t tell you that having money makes life lonely.”