Not Always

by Ancelli

  “I know.” He smiled, winking at his dad. “I should start calling you mami, Jewel.”

  José and Carlitos started chuckling.

  “Where did that come from?” She looked at them curiously, arching an eyebrow. They were up to something, but it didn’t matter. They were laughing again.

  José strolled over to where they were and wrapped his strong arms around them. “My family,” he whispered in her ear, and then started tickling his son. “I hope there’s isn’t a next time.”

  “No.” Carlitos giggled, running out of the room with Coco chasing after him. Jewel watched them play, and her heart melted. This was what he needed: evidence of everything he’d achieved for his sacrifices. José had faced that moment with Carlitos head-on. He loved his son, and he wanted the best for him, no matter the cost.

  Jewel knew it had hurt José when he was told his son was only staying for a week. They had four more days with him, and they were going to make the best of them.

  “Wait for me!” Jewel smiled as she left the room in search of her newfound family.

  Chapter Thirty

  It’d been a week since José had been back from vacation. The time he’d spent with his son had been great, except for that one incident. The rest of their time together was done in laughter, memories to last a lifetime.

  José was dusting the conference room when Frank slammed through the door. He had a frantic look on his face. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and his breathing was short as if he’d run a marathon.

  “José, they need you in Ms. Browne’s office.”

  He stared at the old man as he snatched a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his face. What the hell did Connie want now? He’d told her several times that he’d moved on with Jewel, and she seemed to have accepted it. They were civil with each other when they ran into each other. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know, but the higher-ups from HR are there. It has to be serious.” Frank moved closer to him, tugging the duster out of his hand. “I’ll finish up.”

  José took a deep breath. What could it be? He rushed out of the conference room. Was it about what had happened with Aaron? That was months ago, so why now? He walked down the hall to the stairs, and took them two at a time. He reached the third floor, and marched over to Michelle, the secretary, who sat in the outer office.

  “They’re waiting for you.” Michelle’s voice was low and her lips quivered.

  “Everything okay?” This worried him. Michelle was always upbeat, smiling, and now she wouldn’t even look him in the eye.

  “Yes.” She finally glanced at him, then continued typing. “Just take care of yourself.” “I will,” he said before walking over to Connie’s door, and knocking.

  “Come in,” a man said.

  José turned the knob. Connie sat behind her desk with her hands entwined, and two other executives he didn’t know sat in the chairs in front of her. Connie’s lips were curled down in sadness. She barely looked him. Now, he was fucking worried.

  One of the men stood, extending his hand. “Mr. Martinez, I’m Noah Braxton, and this is Peter Smith.” José shook his hand, but didn’t say anything. The man sat back down. “Mr. Martinez, please have a seat.” He pointed at a chair in the far left.

  “I prefer to stand.” José observed Connie. She met his eyes and mouthed “sorry”.

  “Mr. Martinez, or can we call you José?” Mr. Smith asked.

  “Mr. Martinez is fine.”

  His lips thinned. “Do you know why you’re here?”

  “No.” José stood still, and narrowed his eyes.

  “Well, sir. We were informed by an anonymous person of something rather interesting.” Mr. Smith stared at José.

  “You lied on your job application,” stated the one called Braxton.

  José arched his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you have any felony convictions?” Mr. Smith had the nerve to smirk.

  José looked over at Connie. What the hell had she done? She was quiet, sitting there while they questioned him, knowing full well that she’d been the one who’d filled out his paperwork. She’d told him to sign, and he’d trusted her to be honest. And when he’d read it over, he hadn’t seen the section that asked that question.

  “Yes,” José muttered.

  “A background check was never ordered on you.” Braxton looked at Connie. “Which was an oversight on our part.”

  “We rectified that mistake and ran one. You mention in your application that you had a high school diploma, when you didn’t,” Smith mentioned.

  “No, but I have a GED. That’s just as good.”

  “You obtained that after you were hired here.” Smith searched his papers. “Did you lie on this application or did someone in this company hide the facts?” He turned once again to glare at Connie.

  Connie was about to say something when José spoke up. “I lied. I needed a job to help support my son and no one would hire me, so I lied.” José sighed. “My work speaks for itself.” José studied the men, trying to read them. He couldn’t afford to get fired, not now when everything was good. He wouldn’t let Connie go down for helping him either. She’d done him a huge favor.

  The men stood. “Mr. Martinez, you’re fired.”

  José just stood there in disbelief. The one time he thought he’d done everything right, by the book. He understood that Connie had helped him out to a certain degree, but he hadn’t known she’d lied. José had learned his lesson about lying on a job application from the diner.

  “What?” Connie finally spoke up, getting out of her seat. “He made a mistake.”

  “A big mistake,” Braxton chimed in. “He lied, and that’s grounds for immediate dismissal.”

  “He’s a good worker. José has been here for almost a year.” She moved around her desk. “We have never had a problem with him.”

  José watched them talk. His body tightened up, and beads of sweat began forming at his forehead. What was he going to do? He couldn’t believe he was unemployed again.

  “What about the altercation with Aaron?”

  “Aaron was being an ass. José was defending himself,” Connie stated.

  José knew no pleading was going to change their minds. It wasn’t up to them, anyway. “Ms. Browne, I’ll be okay.”

  “Don’t expect unemployment.” Smith made sure to rub it in.

  José stared at all three of them, turned, and grabbed hold of the doorknob.

  “Sorry it had to come down to this,” Braxton said. “Good luck.”

  He opened the door and slammed it behind him. “Fuck,” he said underneath his breath.

  “José!” Michelle yelled at him.

  He stopped and glanced at her. She was rushing up to him with a white envelope in her hand.

  “This is your sick and vacation days,” she said, out of breath.

  José looked at her. “I have direct deposit.”

  “I know you do. Your last paycheck will be deposited.” She examined the area as she whispered to him. “You were fired, and according to policy, you wouldn’t have been able to cash in your days. So I played with them, and I liquidated your vacation and sick days.”

  José was touched. Michelle was very sweet, but he couldn’t accept it. He tried to hand it back to her. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  Michelle smiled. “I promise you, I won’t get in trouble. You earned those days, so you should get paid for them.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Noah told me to do it.” She backed away, placing her index finger to her lips.

  ***

  The light in the living room was dim. Jewel was worried, sitting on the couch, watching the door, waiting for José to come home. He’d been arriving later and later, but never this late. It was two in the morning. José wasn’t answering her phone calls; she’d left multiple messages.

  Jewel didn’t want to think the worst. Had something happened to him? Wa
s he okay? Was he with another woman? She shook her head. He’d never given her any reason not to trust him. But still, she hadn’t heard from José, and he always called her at least twice a day.

  She heard the jingling of keys, and Coco ran from his dog bed to the door, like he always did when José came home.

  José opened the door and closed it behind him. He stumbled on the puppy, making Coco squeal in pain.

  “Move, Coco!” he yelled at the dog, making him run over to his bed in the corner of the room.

  José was usually so gentle with the animal. Jewel could tell he had been drinking. His words were slurred, and he swayed into the house.

  José bent down to take off his shoes, and when he stood up straight, his eyes widened as his gaze landed on her. “Shit, Jewel, you scared me.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I was worried about you.”

  “Why?” He staggered over to the loveseat, away from her.

  “I haven’t heard from you all day.” She noted his clothes. His shirt was wrinkled, half hanging outside the waistband of his pants.

  “I’m a fucking grown man. I don’t have to check in with you.” He stared at her through hooded eyes.

  Jewel pressed her lips together and counted to ten before speaking. “I thought something happened to you! But by the looks of things,” she roamed her eyes over his body, “you’re good.” Jewel stood. “If you’re already bored with me, leave, and stop sneaking around.”

  He studied her. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Why are you speaking to me like that?” Jewel kept her voice hard. She was worried about him, and this was the way he treated her, with disrespect. He’d never talked to her in this manner. Tears threatened to fall as she tapped her foot “I don’t know what’s your problem, but you better take it out on someone else.” She took a deep breath and blinked several times.

  José combed his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  Jewel was about to turn and leave. All of a sudden, José grabbed her hand. “Babe, I’m sorry.” He stared at her. “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at myself.”

  “Why? What happened?” She studied his hand on her wrist; he was trembling. Something big must have happened and that made her more concerned.

  He released her hand, and moved back into his seat. “I was fired today.”

  “What happened? Why didn’t you call me?” Jewel knew how much that job meant to him.

  “I didn’t need your sympathy.” José peered at her and slunk deeper into the chair.

  “My pity? Really!” Jewel stepped in front of him, and pointed her index finger. “Let me get this straight. You get fired, and you didn’t want my sympathy, so instead you feel sorry for yourself and get drunk.”

  “I was looking for a job!”

  “At a bar with some bimbo?” She drew her finger up and down, over his clothes.

  He leaned forward, staring at her. “I would never step out on you.” José combed his fingers through his hair. “I went to Tropicana. I wanted to see if they needed a bouncer, or any other position.” He sighed. “And yes, I started drinking.”

  “Did you drive home?”

  José didn’t answer.

  “Please tell me you got a ride home.” He glanced away from her. “José, what if you would’ve been pulled over? Being fired would’ve been the least of your problems.”

  “I didn’t,” he muttered. “Jewel, I’m tired of being a disappointment.”

  “You aren’t!” Jewel yelled. “When will you get that through your thick skull?” She wanted him to see the way she saw him. “When one fucking door closes, you bust down another one until you get the right door. You don’t take no for an answer, you keep asking until you get a yes!”

  He glared at her.

  “Get your ass up and stop feeling sorry for yourself!” She took a deep breath, needing to calm down. “At least you went and tried to find a job for the time being. I’m not disappointed in you, but I’m mad because you didn’t trust me enough to confide in me.”

  “I’m telling you now.” José sighed.

  “After I had to drag it out of you.” Why couldn’t he trust her completely, the way she trusted him?

  “Muñeca, I want to be the best I can be for you. I want to give you the world, and this was a huge setback in my plans.”

  Jewel knew José was hurt, and kicking himself in the ass. She sighed. “What happened?”

  “They accused me of lying on my application.” José looked away from Jewel. “Just like the inn.”

  Jewel remembered José had told her about what had happened years ago. He’d been fired then for not mentioning his felony. “Why did you lie?”

  “I didn’t.” He placed his elbows on his legs, leaning forward. “Connie filled out the paperwork for me. She wrote that I had a high school diploma, and lied about me having a felony. I would never lie about that in an application. I’ve learned my lesson.”

  “Did you tell them that? What Connie did, and they didn’t believe you?”

  “I couldn’t tell them the truth. It would’ve cost Connie her job.”

  “And! It cost you yours!”

  “Jewel, she was in the room when I was fired. Connie tried to defend me, but they wouldn’t hear her out.”

  “Did she tell them it was her?”

  “No… and I couldn’t do it. Connie did me a favor by hiring me in the first place.”

  Jewel looked at him. Why would he still defend Connie, after everything she’d done?

  “It’s done.” He lay back in the chair. “I don’t want to talk about it any longer. I got a part-time gig at the club, and I’ve been bussing tables at Rio’s after class. I know he won’t mind keeping me on.” He closed his eyes, placing his head on the pillows. “So you see, I didn’t give up on anything. This is just a minor setback.”

  So that was what he’d been doing all those late nights. Now she was more upset at him: why hadn’t he told her he’d gotten a second job. “You’ve been working after school?”

  “Yes,” he mumbled. “You deserved a nice birthday present.”

  Jewel gazed at the ring he’d given her. Her chest tightened. She knew he cared about her, but she wasn’t a materialistic woman. All she wanted was his love. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “It’s been a long day. You have things to do tomorrow, and all I want to do is go to bed.” He opened his eyes, meeting hers.

  Jewel had a knot in her throat. He’d sacrificed himself for Connie, and it hurt. She understood why he’d done it, but it still didn’t feel right. “Fine. I hope you sleep well in your room.” She ambled out of the living room to her bedroom. “Goodnight.”

  She waved her hand in the air as she closed and locked her bedroom door.

  ***

  José stared at her retreating form. Was she really having a moment? He had the right to be mad. He’d lost his job and this time it wasn’t his fault. Well partly, he should’ve read what he was signing, but he was so happy he had finally found a job, that at the moment nothing else mattered. He should’ve known better.

  He placed his hands on the sides of the chair, pushing up. He hadn’t come home right away because he’d needed some time to think. Jewel was right: he should’ve at least called her. He stood and staggered into the guest bathroom. He took off his clothes and stepped in the shower, trying to scrub away the day’s events.

  He dried off, and stomped to his old bedroom. José glanced at her door. He hadn’t slept in his room in over seven months. He lay down naked with his hand behind his head, thinking about his life. At least he still had Jewel. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her, too.

  José tossed and turned, trying to sleep, but he couldn’t. He missed Jewel’s body against his. He needed her next to him. Thinking about her made his dick throb. He couldn’t take it any longer. José slipped out of the bed, strolled over to her door, and knocked.

  “Muñeca, p
lease let me in,” he pleaded. “I know you can’t sleep without me, because I can’t sleep without you.”

  He leaned his forehead on the barrier. “Please baby… We don’t even have to talk. I need you. Jewel, I need to touch you. I can’t sleep without you by my side.”

  José was about to give up when the door cracked open. Jewel stood with tears in her eyes. He gazed into her brown iris. God, he loved this woman. José pushed the door wider and pulled her into his arms, feeling wetness against his face. “I’m sorry.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back, and then walked her backward to their bed.

  They slipped in under the covers. Jewel turned and he spooned her, holding her tight. José laid his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her cherry blossom smell, and finally found sleep.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Jewel sat anxiously, kicking her leg out, as she waited for Connie to arrive. She’d woken up an hour early, making sure she didn’t rouse José. He’d been so tired lately, coming home at two in the morning.

  She was on a mission. It had been two weeks since José had lost his job, and she’d tried to let things go, but she couldn’t. She needed to have a talk with Connie, and there was no time like the present. José was working at the bar, going to school, and bussing tables at night. He was frustrated and exhausted, working two part-time jobs. José wanted so much from life, and once again he thought the universe was against him. If he only knew he was her world. That she would do anything for him. She didn’t care about having to pay the mortgage because he was short on cash, but he did. She knew Connie was an early bird, arriving at work well before the official start hour, a good thing, since Jewel had a lot to say and didn’t want witnesses. The guard at the entrance remembered her coming in with Jazmine a few times, and allowed her access to the building.

  The door cracked open and Jewel cocked her head. Connie was talking to someone as she entered her office backwards with a briefcase in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.