by J. P. Comeau
I slowly stepped aside, and Ria’s eyes landed on the red light on my speakerphone.
Ria kept looking between me and the speakerphone, trying to find the words to say. Her tongue repeatedly licked her lips, too, as though preparing for a speech. But there was nothing else she could say. She bolted out of my office, nearly hitting her head on the door on the way out.
“Did you catch all of that, Barry?”
He chuckled while typing away at his keyboard. “Oh, yeah. Plus, all of our calls are recorded. We’ll take care of everything. By the way, do you still need that marriage license?”
I leaned back in my chair, a huge smile forming on my face as I rested my feet on the desk. “Nope.”
I breathed a massive sigh of relief as I relaxed for a few minutes, surprised that I’d finally gotten rid of Ria. Now that I didn’t need to forge any documents, I could focus on my real job.
Except all I could think about was celebrating with Ginger.
So, I quickly scanned my emails before leaving the office. The only one that seemed somewhat important was from the De Veers Diamond Group, but it appeared to just be a follow-up email. Nothing in the header suggested that I should be alarmed.
On my way out of the building, I stopped at my secretary’s desk. “I might be out next week. Please only contact me for anything that can’t wait until I return.”
She nodded, and I was so thankful to have a trustworthy assistant.
As soon as I got into my car, I called Ginger to tell her the good news.
“Jorge, you’ll never believe what happened to us today!”
“No, Ginger. You’ll never believe what happened to me today!”
19
Ginger
When Jorge invited me out for drinks at The Spicy Pineapple that night, the only thing he said was that we would be celebrating. I assumed it had something to do with Ria leaving for Belgium, and while I never even wanted to speak or hear her name ever again, I gladly accepted his invitation. The past few weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster. And as much as I would have loved for it to have just been the two of us, I was elated to see our friends waiting for us at a large booth.
Margo, Chase, and Eva were laughing and enjoying some appetizers by the time we sat down.
“Oh, this is wonderful! I didn’t know all of you guys would be here!”
Chase wrapped his arm around Margo, kissing her on her forehead at the same time. “How could I not celebrate with you two. I’ve only been telling Jorge to ditch Ria since the second he met her. Besides, Margo and I will use any excuse to get out of the house nowadays.”
Margo quickly pulled out her cellphone. “That reminds me. Our babysitter hasn’t texted us to let us know everything’s okay yet.”
“Relax,” Chase said while chuckling. “We haven’t even been gone an hour yet. I can’t wait to see how you act once she starts school.”
As Jorge wrapped his arm around me, it was impossible to ignore how uncomfortable Eva suddenly felt. She was the only one there without a partner. And out of all of us, she was someone who thrived on being in a relationship.
Eva shifted in her seat and decided to break the sudden tension. “So, tell us exactly what happened when Ria showed up at your office, Jorge.”
I looked up at Jorge, who immediately smiled upon remembering the whole situation.
Yes, please tell them how she dug her own grave.
“I was on the phone with my lawyer, asking him how to create a marriage certificate without legally filing it when she came barging into my office. I stood in front of the phone so she wouldn’t see the red light on the speaker, and my lawyer knew better than to say a word. And then Ria admitted to everything. She laid into me about wasting her time, then confessed to embezzling nearly a million bucks.”
All of us at the table burst out laughing before he kept talking.
“Anyway, I was too stunned to say anything back to her. And she just kept staring at me. When she finally asked why I was so quiet, I moved aside, and that’s when my lawyer started speaking. She bolted out of the office so fast that she nearly hit her head on the door!”
I wish she’d knocked herself out on that door!
Chase’s eyes went to my engagement ring, which I had completely forgotten to take off. “So, now that Ria’s out of the picture, how much longer will you be wearing that diamond, Ginger? Or is it no longer a ‘fake,’ if you catch my drift?”
Jorge shifted uncomfortably in his seat a little bit, but I prevented myself from getting too excited. I probably should have taken it off, but I loved how people automatically looked at it. I had never been the focus of envy before, and it felt amazing.
But I also wanted to be the focus of real envy.
If and when he does propose, it’s not going to be in front of a bunch of people. Calm down, woman!
Just as he was about to speak, Guadalupe and Yuslan showed up and pulled up a few chairs. Before they could see the ring, however, I quickly slipped it off and tucked it into my purse. I would never hear the end of it if Guadalupe saw that thing on my finger.
“All of my girls are here,” she yelled enthusiastically while sitting down. “Oh, this is wonderful, especially after the day that I had. I’ll tell you girls something, as much as I love owning a spa, some of our clients are a little too uppity. Several women came in and acted as though I should have rolled out the red carpet.”
Margo, Eva, and I chuckled while nodding.
“That’s what happens when you cater to the elite,” I reminded her. “It’s a wonderful place to work, but some of the clients definitely want you to treat them like royalty.”
Eva snickered. “Yeah, and most of them are just married to rich guys without ever having worked a day in their life.” It was unusual to see Eva so cynical.
“Eva, I’m loving your newfound cynicism.”
“That’s what happens when you stay single for so long.”
And just like that, the air at the table got tense and quiet.
Yuslan smiled while leaning back in his chair. “What are we drinking tonight?”
I took a long sip of my drink while smiling at him. “All of us are having their spicy pineapple margaritas. You two should try one, too. So good!”
Guadalupe leaned across the table to get a better look at Jorge. “You know, Jorge, Ginger is one of our best employees. She never needs any help when it comes to doing her job, and I have yet to find any errors in her work. She’s also one of the sweetest, most giving women I’ve ever met.”
Yuslan nodded approvingly while sipping his margarita, wincing at how spicy it was. “My wife is right, Jorge. She’s a good woman who deserves a good man.”
“Believe me, I have every intention of treating her like the queen that she is, and I don’t have any plans on leaving Miami. This is my home, and I know that Ginger feels the same way.”
Our eyes met as he nuzzled my nose, and I realized that nothing could ruin our night.
“Get a room, you two,” Eva said while drinking another spicy pineapple margarita. “I’m sorry, it’s just kind of weird being the only one without a date tonight.”
Guadalupe leaned back and scoured the restaurant. “Eva, I’m going to find you an alto, oscuro y guapo man tonight!”
She held her hands up while shaking her head profusely. “No, please don’t do that, Guadalupe. Thank you for being so nice, but I was just joking around.”
Margo and I burst out laughing because we completely understood Eva’s apprehension. Guadalupe wouldn’t have thought twice about approaching a man and telling him that he should date Eva, and that’s not how Eva wanted to meet her next boyfriend.
“All right,” Guadalupe said while facing the table again. “But you’re going to find a good man one of these days, mark my words!”
I rested a little bit more against Jorge, enjoying the sound of his heart beating.
“I miss working with you guys,” Margo said. “Especially now that Ginger has been pro
moted and Eva has her old job back.”
Chase smiled at her while brushing some hair out of her face. “I can easily take care of Joanna if you want to go back to work. Besides, I love working from home.”
Margo burst out laughing while shaking her head at him. “Are you crazy? I can barely keep up with her as it is, and as she gets older, it’ll only get harder. I’ll go back in due time.”
Guadalupe looked so happy, smiling at all of us at the table. It was as though we were one big family.
Yuslan tapped Jorge on the shoulder. “Jorge, would you mind sitting with me at the bar for a few minutes?”
“Sure, no problem.”
The two of them sat down at the bar behind us, and I couldn’t help but lean back in my seat, wanting to listen in on their conversation.
“Two spicy pineapple margaritas,” Yuslan said. “I’ve noticed a change in you lately, Jorge. You seem happier. Is it because Ria’s gone?”
“That certainly adds to it, but most of it has to do with Ginger.”
I casually turned around to see Yuslan smiling at him. “I figured as much. I went through a similar change after meeting Guadalupe many, many years ago.”
Jorge chuckled while sipping his drink. “I’d love to hear about it.”
“I dated so many women before her, Jorge. Dozens of them would flock to me because, according to Guadalupe, I was alto, oscuro y guapo. As you can see, that’s changed over time.”
“Oh, stop, Yuslan. You’re still a good-looking guy.”
Yuslan shook his head while chuckling. “Not like I used to be. The women would pounce on me the second I walked into any public place. I was like a magnet for them, you see. And then I met Guadalupe, and everything changed.”
“How did you know she was the one?”
Yuslan looked off into the distance. “She was different than the rest. Sure, she made it clear that she found me physically attractive. But she wouldn’t put up with my flirting with other women. Before her, I wouldn’t think twice about hitting on women in front of each other.”
“That’s how you knew?”
“Well, that and something else, Jorge. I knew she was the one because whenever I wasn’t with her, I felt incomplete. A man should be able to stand on his own two feet. He should be able to make his way in the world without any help, and if you do it right, you’ll attract an equally strong woman to have by your side. And that’s how I felt about Guadalupe.”
Jorge nodded while sipping his drink, taking in Yuslan’s wisdom. “That’s how I’m starting to feel about Ginger. I felt terrible about asking her to help out with the Ria situation, but I also knew that she could pull it off. She’s the strongest, most independent woman that I’ve ever known. And I can tell that if I lost all of my money tomorrow, she’d still want to be with me.”
Yuslan patted him on the back while standing up. “That’s how you know, Jorge. And I could have told you that Ginger wasn’t the materialistic type a long time ago. Now let’s go back and join our strong, independent women at the table.”
I quickly sat up in my seat, not wanting it to be evident that I’d been eavesdropping on their conversation.
Jorge smirked at me as he sat down. “Well, now that we’re all here and liquored up, I’d like to discuss going away with Ginger for a week.”
My eyes instantly lit up. “Oh, Jorge! I’d love to go on vacation. Where to, though?”
“I thought that we could celebrate your recent promotion at a spa in Paris. What do you say?”
I started fanning my face, just as I’d done at Seafood Divine when I thought he was going to propose to me. Right as I was about to answer him, Eva spoke up.
“Are you kidding me? Ginger, you have to go to Paris! It’s the most romantic city in the world! You two can kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower, feed each other chocolate-covered strawberries in a Parisian cafe, and walk on The Ponts des Arts!”
Margo nearly choked on her margarita. “The what des what, Eva?”
Eva clasped her hands together while looking up at the ceiling, pretending it was the Parisian night sky. “The Ponts des Arts, Margo! You and Jorge inscribe your initials on a padlock, click it onto the metal, and then throw the key into the water!”
“I hate to break it to you,” Jorge said, “but the government put a stop to it in 2015. All of the locks are gone, and they even inserted panels to prevent it from happening anymore.”
Eva could not have been more devastated, but she made herself feel better by downing her third margarita.
“Well,” I said, “as much as I’d love to go to Paris right now, I don’t have vacation time for five more months.”
Guadalupe leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Ginger, I thought you knew me better than that. Of course you can go to Paris with Jorge!”
“Are you sure, Guadalupe? I mean, we just got the new computer software installed, and I don’t want to go against the rules.”
“I make the rules,” Guadalupe replied, “and I’m ordering you to spend a week in Paris with your alto, oscuro y guapo man!”
20
Jorge
One Week Later
Spending a week in Paris with Ginger was nothing short of amazing. We made love every night in our five-star hotel, ate at some of the best restaurants, and even saw a few plays. Leaving the most romantic city in the world had been bittersweet, though. On the one hand, we would be returning to Miami without worrying about Ria coming between us. But on the other hand, both of us knew that work had piled up while we were away.
Ginger and I had showered together that morning and discussed working from home just so we could spend more time together. But we knew there would be physical mail waiting for us at work.
It was business as usual as I walked into my Miami office that Monday morning. My first order of the day was finding someone to fill Ria’s position. Ginger and I had discussed my options for replacing her while in Paris, and she agreed that my secretary would be the right candidate. She’d been with me from day one and needed little to no guidance on how to do her job. In her spare time, she had taken it upon herself to learn everything there was to know about the diamond industry. But the most important qualification was that she was trustworthy.
Of course, to be fair, I’d officially have to list the position opening and interview other candidates. The position would come with a significant pay increase and better stock options, which meant that giving it to my secretary would undoubtedly result in people complaining behind her back. They’d also speculate that she had slept her way to the top, too.
That’s what was going through my mind as I picked up a stack of documents from my lawyer, thankful that I’d decided to come into work that day.
They were waiting for me on my desk first thing that morning. As I scoured through all of the papers, I was blown away at how badly Ria had screwed me over. It wasn’t just the nearly one million dollars that she embezzled from the company. She also messed with our company’s investments, for reasons that were still unknown, which caused me to lose a large amount of money in the stock market.
According to the documents, Ria had cashed out one of our major investments, redistributed the funds into lower-yielding bonds, and some of the money from the investment sale was unaccounted for. It was bad enough that she had embezzled our regular income but messing with our investment portfolio had a worse impact on the company’s long-term goals. Whoever took over her job would have to sit down and run some serious numbers before the company could move forward.
In other words, I didn’t have time for this bullshit.
My secretary knocked on my door right as I was eager for a break.
“Come on in.”
She shut the door behind her while holding a letter in her hand. I thought I noticed a “certified” stamp on it.
As she went to put it on my desk, I realized that I was in desperate need of a distraction for a few minutes. “I know that you respect my privacy, but aren’t you goin
g to ask about my trip to Paris?”
“Of course, Mr. Stein. I know that things were quite tense in the office right before you left, due to Ria, so I hope you enjoyed your vacation. I assume you and Ginger had fun in France?”
“It was amazing, and you need to put it on your bucket list. We saw a handful of plays. However, they weren’t nearly as good as those on Broadway. I was amazed at how fulfilling a simple French pastry and coffee could be for breakfast, too. Of course, it probably helped that we were in Paris. The ones you can buy at the store here aren’t nearly as good as we had. Hell, who am I kidding? I never let myself eat that kind of food.”
All she did was smile at me, while awkwardly shifting back and forth in her shoes. Typically she was a bit more talkative, but I got a distinct feeling that she was hiding something.
“That sounds wonderful, Mr. Stein.” Something was definitely off with her that morning.
“Is everything all right? You look…worried. Did something happen while I was gone? Ria didn’t come back here, did she?” I stood up from my desk, suddenly worried that Ria had, in fact, shown back up at our office.
She shook her head at me, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief. “No, Mr. Stein. But I had to sign for a certified letter on Friday from the De Veers Diamond Group. I was going to call or text you about it, but I didn’t want to ruin your vacation with Ginger. After everything that happened with Ria, I’m sure you were eager to get away.”
I practically yanked the letter out of her hand, causing her to recoil in fear. “The De Veers Diamond Group never sends me certified mail.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Stein. I should have called you right away, but I figured you’d be back in a few days anyway.”
Yes, you most certainly should have contacted me right away.
With a wave of my hand, I dismissed her from my office and read it to myself.
There was a miner’s strike at the diamond mine that I owned in Africa. It was the same one that had been striking off and on over the past few weeks, only returning to work every time Ria or I authorized a small wage increase. Their new demands were too complicated for me to spend time working on, and this was Ria’s department. She handled payroll and everything related to human resources.
