I walked into the office, which was furnished in a contemporary chic style to fit the theme of the store. A sophisticated sweet-smelling scent circulated the room as I appreciated the photography of Ansel Adams on the textured walls.
After sitting for nearly forty minutes, a tall slender brunette ushered Amy out of her office with a firm handshake and a happy smile. I wasn’t sure if this woman was Debbie the Accounting Manager or Gwen the Store Manager but I was positive she was going to be interviewing me. From the looks of it, she looked intelligent, trendy and tasteful…I wasn’t quite sure what she saw in Amy but it didn’t look too good for me.
When she called my name I gave my best look of friendliness, confidence and professionalism all wrapped into one handshake and a smile.
“Hi I’m Gwen,” She greeted with an extension of her hand.
“Hello Gwen, nice to meet you. I’m Sonya Kemp.”
Eighteen
Kaia
“Hi Joanna, it’s Kaia Hammond returning your call. I got your message about the properties and I’d like to ask if you can please email me the details and pictures if you have them. Thanks for your help. I’ll talk to you soon.”
After leaving a message on Joanna’s voicemail I hung up the phone and immediately began searching through my contacts looking for someone else to call next. I winced when I saw Malcolm’s name and kept scrolling until I stumbled upon Riley’s. When she answered the phone I could barely hear her, she was whispering something about being out costume shopping with Celeste and how she had to go. When I hung up and thought it over I found it unusual for Celeste and Riley to be going to a Halloween party together.
Since when did they hang like that?
I studied the green numbers on my cars digital clock and decided I couldn’t delay my meet-up with Christian any longer. I was already technically ten minutes late. But for the last twenty minutes I’d been sitting in my car in the BJ’s parking lot with the heat blasted trying to stall, stall, for heaven’s sake stall this lovely meeting with Christian. But I couldn’t anymore and it was time to face the music.
I stealthily touched up my lashes with a coat of mascara, my cheeks with a hint of blush and my lips with a sheer coat of lip gloss purely for purpose of not looking janky in public. I got out of the car and headed inside making sure to shield my hands in the warmth of my pockets. Now that we were in the month of October the weather had become unpredictable. One day the sun would shine and the next the temperature high would be fifty-five.
I walked into the entrance of BJ’s but before I got the chance to greet the hostess my eyes met Christian’s as he sat at a two person table near the bar. I was nervous as I walked towards him. He was sitting there looking good and that alone made my feet want to turn around and run in the opposite direction, but I just kept on trotting anyway. Why did he look so calm? I was a freaking nervous wreck inside. It was hard to believe that not that long ago he was just regular ole’ bossy, pushy, annoying Christian and now he was the man who kept me up at night with disturbing thoughts I absolutely should not be thinking.
“Hey what’s up,” he said standing to greet me with a hug.
I felt awkward embracing him but I gave him a hug anyway trying hard not to come across as too frigid in his arms.
His cologne smelt delicious. And he was rock hard to…I’m talking about his chest.
“Hey,” I replied with a rehearsed smile then sat down and immediately grabbed my menu. I began reading it like it was a New York Times best-selling novel.
He started with some typical small-talk as my eyes remained fixed on the menu only taking a moment or two to make eye contact. It was rude but I was nervous and couldn’t help myself.
“So, how was your trip to LA? How’s the family?”
“LA? Oh it was good you know. Everybody’s doing okay.” I lied. But why was I lying it’s not like he was a stranger to them. These ridiculous nerves had me just blurting anything out.
“Christian can you please excuse me? I need to run to the ladies room.”
He seemed a little shocked but obliged, “Yea, take your time. Go ahead.”
As I walked past him from my peripherals I noticed him give me that up and down look guys like to give when their checking you out. I tried not to let it affect me and quickly hustled to the ladies room. I found temporary solace in the first bathroom stall I could get my hands on. I grabbed a seat cover and let it gently fall into place as I sat down on the toilet with my purse in my lap and my nails in my mouth chewing away from nervousness. Last night I jotted down a list of important points I wanted to make to Christian in case he was thinking about taking our delicate friendship to a new and intimate level. I tried rehearsing my points as I sat there in the tiny white stall but I couldn’t fluidly remember one. Now when I spoke them they came out sounding like a jumbled mess instead of clear calculated statements as I had written them down. I stood and took deep heavy breaths trying to get as much oxygen to my brain as possible. I read somewhere that slow and steady breaths of air help clear the mind and get the neurons flying….whatever.
“It’s time to toughen up Kaia. Just get out there and talk to him. It is only Christian after all, you can do this,” I said trying to instill some sort of confidence in myself.
A moment later I was seated back at the table wondering if Christian could sense my anxiety about this whole thing.
“Everything okay?”
I smiled and made a point to keep eye contact with him this time, “Yes, thank you. So, are you glad to be back?”
“Definitely, but I have to go back in two more months,” he shrugged, “I’ll get thorough it though.”
I nodded my head and waited for him to continue.
“So,” he said letting out a slight nervous laugh, “I need to apologize again for what happened. I didn’t mean to invade your space like that and catch you off guard the way I did.”
I gulped on the ice cold water the waitress had dropped off while I was in the bathroom. The situation was a little awkward but Christian appeared to have it under control. No shifty eyes, stumbling over his words or brain dead comments. I was fighting hard to pull off that kind of debonair. If he was fighting hard to it surely didn’t show.
“I told you Christian it’s okay. So do you know what you’re having?” I asked praying we were done talking about the kiss and now moving on to lunch. “I think I may want a quesadilla today.”
Reaching across the table he took the menu out of my hands and gently laid it back on the table. He placed his masculine hand on top of mine and focused in on me with seriousness in face and I knew this was it. The moment I’d been dreading.
“Look,” he started, “I’m tired of seeing you running behind some guy who can’t appreciate you. You’re too good for that, I don’t like watching you wait for that nig -,” he corrected, “for that Malcolm dude when you have someone right here who cares about you.”
“Christian what are you saying? We’re practically related you know that right?” I joked in an attempt to take the seriousness out of the conversation but judging by the intensity in his eyes he was serious. “Besides, it’s over between me and Malcolm. We broke up, for good.” I added thinking that would put an end to that.
Instead his face grew anxious like he wanted to jump out of his seat. I could tell he was smothering the smile that kept appearing at the corner of his lips. Had I been a current fan of Malcolm’s I would have been offended, but I wasn’t. I imagined Sonya wore the same smile when I told her by phone even though she expressed that she was sorry anyway.
“Well I’d be lying if I said I was sorry. But are you okay?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “I guess I’m fine. It’s difficult but I’m getting through it.”
He nodded his head in agreement, “Yea, you will. You’re strong. Look, I want to be here for you, like I said you have someone right here who cares about you. Someone you care about.”
I didn’t want to look into his eyes because I felt the truth may p
our out. Or perhaps I didn’t want to look at him for fear that the sentimental crush I had on him when I was a kid would resurface. I studied my napkin folding it into different shapes when I responded.
“Christian, we’re nearly brother and sister.”
“But we’re not. The last time I checked we didn’t share any of the same blood. I’ve always been there for you right? Yeah I know I’ve been a pain-in-the ass to but I’ve always had your back no matter what.”
I wanted to call him a liar or bring up a time he wasn’t there for me but I couldn’t. I wanted to tell him that this would never work because I wasn’t even attracted to him but that would be lying.
“What I don’t understand is where this is coming from all of a sudden? Why now, after all these years Christian are you telling me this? Is this one of your games that you play with your women? Do you just want to add me to the list of women in your personal fan club?” I questioned him as the words just came rolling out of my mouth.
He seemed a little taken aback by my straightforward interrogating approach but nevertheless he continued in his pursuit.
“I know it might seem like I’m out here playing games with women’s heads but I’m not. Maybe when I was younger, a lot younger, but I don’t do that anymore. I get hurt to.”
He paused and looked like he was holding something back,
“I can’t believe I’m even doing this. I’m putting myself out here which I normally don’t do but here goes.” He said bracing me for what was next, “For a long time I’ve had a strong attraction to you Kaia. It just seems like the timing was always off. Either you were always dating somebody or I was.”
I gave him a skeptical look, “Since when?”
“Ever since you were seventeen and you ran that track meet against Valley. When I saw those legs, man I just about lost it.” He chuckled, “And remember when you and Ce Ce got into a fight and I ended up driving you to UNLV for check-in?”
“Uh huh,” I barely responded above a whisper. I was too caught up reliving the memory of it all. He remembered that track meet? My heart was beginning to pound hard as I felt myself getting weak for him. That was so many years ago. I remember he had just so happened to be in town on leave that week. That track meet was the biggest one of the year and he surprised me by showing up along with his mother and the rest of my family. He even handed me a pretty bouquet of flowers he’d bought after the meet was over. I had no idea he had feelings for me back then. I thought he was just being… you know…brotherly. Had I known I would have dropped everything for him, I was in love with him in those days.
“And remember we stopped at New York New York and got on the roller coaster to stall time because you were nervous that you didn’t know anyone?”
I nodded my head in agreement still in shock and speechless at his ongoing confession.
“When we were going up before we got to the freefall you were scared, and you took my hand and held it tight. But everything was okay. Then I dropped you off at your dorm and you gave me a hug. I didn’t want to say bye, I didn’t want to let go.”
I remained silent at first not knowing how to respond. When I did finally open my mouth words completely different than what I’d rehearsed came spilling out.
“I care about you to Christian. I’ve known you all my life. What are we going to do about this?” I asked shyly. “This is a mess.”
“Well, I know you’re going through a breakup and all but if you’re up to it we can take it slow. I want to see you more often and spend time with you. I want you to ditch that punk forever. I can treat you better than he can. I think I’ve proven that a long time ago.”
It felt surreal to oblige but like the only reasonable thing to do. Because of the sketchy Las Vegas dating scene I’ve been known to go from one relationship to the next, but never this quickly. And certainly never with someone I was so close to. Maybe this could be a good thing. Perhaps this is what I needed to get over Malcolm and move on with my life.
When I smiled a genuine smile and said “okay” agreeing to work on the transition from family friends to sweethearts I didn’t know what to expect or how long this would last. I do know that Malcolm was the furthest thing from my mind and when my chicken quesadilla arrived piping hot I was happy to share it with Christian when he asked for a bite.
After leaving BJ’s we went to Big Lots and caught a major sale on Halloween candy to pass out to the trick-o-treaters. We agreed to do Halloween at his house since he had that view I couldn’t live without. When we went back to his place later that day and relived our first kiss again and again all of my previous fears had been washed away and I kicked myself for not reading the signs earlier.
Nineteen
Sonya
Bright and early Friday morning a decision had been made. I leapt up and down, hopped, skipped, hell I even twerked in the middle of the living room with excitement when I found out I got the job as Accounting Specialist for Maddison’s. I was even louder than the excessive banging and crashing coming from the perverted trash men outside collecting the complex refuse.
“Bye-bye stupid job applications, bye-bye ridiculous compatibility tests, screw you debit card declines and peace out daytime TV!” I yelled as I ran around my apartment like a clown on uppers.
Gwendolyn called me at eight o’clock sharp and happily offered me the position with company paid benefits after ninety days, two weeks’ vacation, eight personal days, thirty percent discount on whatever, whenever and get this…a starting salary of thirty-eight thousand a year.
Oh God was so good to me, my prayers had been answered!
After taking no time in accepting the position she asked me to meet her at Maddison’s at four; I needed to complete my new hire paperwork, bank deposit information and get my instructions for the first day.
“Thank you Gwendolyn, I’ll see you at four.”
“You’re welcome Sonya and please, you can call me Gwen. You’re officially part of the family now.”
“Okay Gwen I’ll see you then.”
“Oh wait honey before you hang up, make sure to bring your ID and social security card with you okay?”
“Okay, no problem.”
Now that that’s settled, me being gainfully employed again and all, I was free until four when I needed to meet Gwen. No need to bother with lengthy job applications and interview callbacks today, but I did need to let Saundra know that my assistant duties would be coming to an end here shortly.
I let out a long sigh of relief as I pounced down on my living room sofa, “Freedom.” I exclaimed before remembering the slip I’d gotten in yesterday’s mail.
When I checked the mail yesterday a beige colored slip from the post office was nearly missed when I found it hidden amongst a stack of junk mail. Finally my package had arrived after waiting weeks for its delivery. Corrine, the diva herself, and her sap of a fiancé didn’t blink an eye when Saundra told them I required a budget for custom packaging for the jewelry pieces. After all, this was going to be a Sonya Kemp design and it had to be perfect, including the presentation. Nearly two weeks ago I placed an order by phone, after speaking for an hour and a half with a highly knowledgeable rep from Exquisite Packaging Online. We discussed bulk orders, small orders, hot press stamping, engraving, custom logos, custom designs, acrylic bags, paper bags and lastly ribbons. After it was all said and done I was confident in my order couldn’t wait to see it!
Filled with the sensation of financial relief and goal accomplishment I got up from my lounging position on the couch and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I watched the hot water spray with passion when I asked myself; what am I rushing for? Instead, I turned off the shower and placed the stopper in the drain to draw a relaxing bath. I raided my hallway closet stash of bath salts, body scrubs and bath bombs and chose one of each. I felt good and I wanted to look and smell good to. I poured in a generous amount of bath salts, Lemon Verbena scented and dropped a few honey lemon bath balms in the water and watched them e
xplode creating my own in-home spa.
After forty-five minutes of soaking and day dreaming to the point my fingers turned into rigid wrinkles and the water began to lose its therapeutic heat, I unplugged the drain and skipped to my closet. I couldn’t wait to get to the post office and get my hands on my order. I was so anxious I forgot to put on panties before leaving the house!
I waited in the offensively long line at the post office until the white haired postal clerk finally handed me my packages through the large cutout in the door. He wasted no time in calling up the next customer before I even had a chance to walk away.
“Geesh! Can I collect all of my stuff before you call the next person in line?” I thought.
But I was too happy to be mad so instead I opted to struggle with the packages through the lobby and out the door without the peep of a sarcastic remark. Isn’t it amazing how good news keeps you happy and somehow suppresses the urge to be unpleasant?
I managed to stuff the boxes into the small and compact confines of my passenger’s seat somehow then hustle to the driver’s side. Unable to wait until I got home, I anxiously used my key to puncture the tape on the largest box then struggled to get it open.
“Come on, open up.” I said as I used my strength to pull the box apart.
After removing the pieces of tape from my car keys and throwing the inside packaging to the car floor I finally saw the first set of lids for the jewelry boxes, they were beautiful. More than beautiful they were stunning. The boxes were a gorgeous hue of lavender to match the final color of the bridesmaid’s gowns and across the front in pretty scripted gray lettering read the words:
In Honor of the Corrine Palmer
Bridal Shower
A Sonya Kemp Original Design
A smile the size of Nina’s cleavage appeared across my face as my heart did somersaults in my chest. Then I reached for the satin gray ribbons that were to be placed on opposite corners of the boxes for an extra touch of sophistication. Everything was so perfect, it felt magical. If I could I would kiss the rep at Exquisite Packaging Online and give her a raise for doing a phenomenal job. Although I’m sure she wasn’t actually in the factory producing the boxes she explained everything to me perfectly.
The Countdown to Thirty Page 19
