by Janae Keyes
I’d finally decided it was over with her when Gerald offered me the COO position. I knew my time in Europe was over and it would be best for me to step away from that toxic relationship, but of course I had to go back to her one more time. I hooked up with her before I left, but that was it. I was going to start over and I arrived here to find my dear Brielle.
“I had my fair share, but none of them could ever compare to you.”
“You can lay off with the charm Paddy, you’ve got me, I promise. I’m for sure about trying with you.” If she could only tell me that again and again.
“I’ll try, but you are the real charmer, no effort needed.”
“Whatever.” It was obvious that I’d made her blush. I wanted to see her blush. I was itching to be with her in the moment. I thought about our future and nights with the two of us lying in bed, chatting away. I could talk with her all night long.
“When I moved back and Gerald was telling me about the talent he’d hired in San Francisco, the moment he said your name, I couldn’t believe it, but at the same time I could. You are so smart and you are a talented businesswoman. How did you keep it all together when everything happened with Keaton?” She sighed. I knew I hit a soft spot, but we would have to talk about the good things and the bad things, we would build our relationship this way.
“My job was the one thing that kept me going. If anything would remain constant and could be something for me to build, it would be the career I’d worked so hard for. I just kept my eye on the prize.”
“And what is the prize?”
“It was the COO position, but this guy I know snatched it up. I’m hoping to put in for the CFO position when Terence Jefferies finally retires.” I wanted to laugh. Apparently Old Man Jefferies was a staple around Core Solutions and had been saying he would retire for many years now, but each year passed without him retiring.
“I’m sure you will get it. Of anyone in the company, you deserve it.”
“You’re only saying that because you like me.”
“No, I’m saying it because you have a real talent for business.” I assured her with complete sincerity.
Our chat continued into the night. It was so easy to talk to her and open up to her. She made me laugh harder than I’d done in a long time and just hearing her voice was a comfort. I wasn’t sure how I would fall asleep with all the anticipation I had about seeing her. At about 2AM we said our goodbyes, both of us obviously didn’t want to, but sleep was what the two of us needed. This was so new and incredibly beautiful. I’d somehow snagged the girl of my dreams.
Brielle
NERVOUSLY, I CHECKED myself in the mirror for what felt like the millionth time. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be an actual date. Patrick and I had made that decision over the phone the night before. Talking to him on the phone I felt like a teenage girl lying on my bed chatting with my crush. The only difference now was I didn’t have my mom picking up the other end telling me I needed to go to bed. We chatted until nearly 2AM and then I fell asleep in the most beautiful slumber. I hadn’t slept that great in a very long time.
Moving my wavy dark hair behind my shoulder, I heard my doorbell ring. I took a deep breath as I gave myself one last glance in my cobalt blue, halter top, maxi dress. I still felt stupid for inviting him to meet my family already, but there was no turning back because he seemed pretty excited about it.
I made my way through my house to my front door and opened it to see Patrick looking as hot as ever. I tried not to grin like a fool as I looked him over. He stood at my door wearing dark jeans, a plaid red with blue button up, and a dark blue blazer. He gave me the sweetest smile and right away handed me a bouquet of stargazer lilies.
“They’re beautiful, thanks,” I gushed as I looked at the gorgeous flowers that happened to be a favorite of mine.
“You’re welcome. I feel a little overdressed. I hope I won’t be,” He said, sounding very unsure of his wardrobe choice. There was a chance he might be overdressed, but I didn’t care because he looked amazing and I loved his sense of style.
“You’ll be fine. I promise,” I promised him as he came closer to me.
I was already tremoring out of apprehension as his hands slipped over my waist and down to my hips pulling me just that bit closer. I could feel his breath blowing slightly on my face. This was something I missed about my past life with Keaton, but long before our problems. I missed the days where he would hold me for no reason whatsoever. Patrick slipped his hands fully around me before bringing his mouth to mine. It didn’t take much for him to instantly deepen the kiss. I let out a moan into his mouth before breaking away.
“I don’t want to get too much lipstick on you. We don’t want my family figuring out that something is going on,” I smiled slyly as I spoke to him. Patrick gave me a smirk and gripped me harder.
“Let them know. I want the world to know,” he professed before pressing his lips back to mine for a short moment. “Let’s go.”
I GAVE PATRICK directions to my mom’s house as he drove us. The ride didn’t take long and was comfortable, but you’d expect a comfortable ride in a fully loaded Mercedes S-Class. We finally made it onto my mom’s street and my nerves began to take over again. I hadn’t brought a guy home since the night Keaton picked me up for the Winter Dance in the 10th grade.
“It’s that white house on the corner,” I pointed out as Patrick parked his car. The street curb was already filled with cars, but that was typical when my family was having an event and all her neighbors were used to it. I was sure that some of those neighbors would be joining us as they all loved my mom’s cooking.
Patrick got out of the car and came over to open my door. I gave him a soft smile as I exited the car. I grabbed the small floral bag that held my grandma’s gift and Patrick laced his fingers with mine. We crossed the street together and walked to the small single family home that I grew up in. I opened the front door and right away I was hit with a mix of smells and sounds.
“Bri’s here… and some dude is with her!” Yelled out one of my cousins. That was my family pointing out the obvious before I had the chance to.
“There is my Bri-Bri,” I heard my dad’s booming voice over the crowd. I looked and saw him right away coming in our direction. A tall bald black man with a protruding beer belly came to me and instantly grabbed me into a hug so big that my feet left the ground.
“Daddy!” I squealed happily hugging him back. He let me go and looked me over, but nearly right away his eyes were on Patrick.
“Who’s this?” He asked, staring at Patrick, not allowing his eyes to deviate from him.
“Dad, this is Patrick,” I informed.
“It is very nice to meet you Mr. Elliot. I’m Patrick Bailey, Chief Operating Officer of Core Solutions,” Patrick introduced himself proudly to my dad, extending his hand to him. My dad took a look at his hand before taking it into his own and giving it a hard shake, but Patrick seemed to also shake hard back.
“Man’s got a good firm handshake,” my dad commented. I smiled nervously. “You are a friend of Bri’s?”
“You could say that,” Patrick smirked as he took my hand into his, holding it firmly.
“Maybe a little more than friends, dad,” I confessed. This was all so new and still a little unreal.
“Look, Bri’s got a boyfriend!” One of my many cousins shouted out pointing at Patrick and I. I rolled my eyes.
“Dad, where’s mom?” I asked my dad who still looked a little shocked about the revelation that I was actually seeing someone.
“In the kitchen. Nani is with her supervising, of course,” my dad pointed out. I nodded and pulled Patrick with me.
“Patrick, you and I will talk… later,” my dad seemed to demand as he looked directly at Patrick who gave him a nod.
I pulled Patrick along as I weaved my way through family members giving them all small hellos as we went. We arrived in the kitchen where I saw my mom standing over the stove and not far from her was an eld
erly woman with tan, wrinkled skin, and gray hair. Right away her gray eyes landed on me and she smiled. This was my grandmother.
“There is my Nawasi,” my grandmother said to me in her thick Pakistani accent. I went to her right away and hugged her. Once I pulled away she smacked me in the butt. I jumped and let out a shriek.
“Nani!” I howled out before handing her the floral gift bag. Even at 80 years old my grandma still had it. “Happy Birthday.”
“Thank you. How is my Nawasi?” she questioned. I was used to this question. She seemed to ask me every time I saw her since Keaton’s accident and in the same concerning sound of voice.
“Ammi, she is fine. Look, she brought a boy with her,” my mom interjected as she turned and gave me a smile. She looked very pleased with the fact I’d brought someone with me.
“It smells amazing in here Mrs. Elliot,” Patrick mentioned breaking his silence.
“My mom is the best cook I know,” I concluded.
“After your Nani,” my grandma proclaimed.
I chuckled. “After my Nani, of course,” I corrected. I made my way to Patrick and allowed him to take my hand again. “Come on,” I said as I pulled him from the kitchen and into the dining room that, for the moment, seemed to be the quietest room in the house.
“Your family seems fun,” Patrick commented as he pulled me in close. “And I learned a little something about you.”
“And what’s that?” I asked, peering into his eyes.
“You like a good spanking, don’t you?” He questioned in my ear in a low seductive voice.
“That’s something you’ll have to find out, won’t you, Paddy,” I flirted with a smirk. “But you won’t find out too soon, so don’t count on it.”
“Then, all the new words I learned. Nani, Nawasi, Ammi. What language is this?” He inquired.
“It’s Urdu, the national language of Pakistan. I don’t speak it fluently, just the few words I grew up with. My mom speaks it a bit, but isn’t fluent like my grandma,” I explained to him. One thing I loved about my family was how diverse we were. My mom was half-black and married a black man making my sister and I a fourth Pakistani. My sister married a Korean. We were a melting pot in our family alone and I was sure that was why no one blinked an eye when I brought a very white Patrick with me.
“Bri!” I heard April’s voice call. I looked to see her enter the dining room. She gave me a look that I knew too well. She knew I had invited Patrick with me and was beyond excited about it. “Hi, Mr. Bailey.”
“It is fine to call me Patrick, April,” he said kindly to my best friend.
“Where are Nate and the girls?” I asked April right away as I didn’t see my Goddaughters nor their father with my friend.
“Your dad kidnapped the girls of course and Nate is chatting with your uncle about some stocks and bonds, boring stuff,” April said with a shrug.
“Would you ladies like something to drink. I feel like I should make myself useful,” Patrick requested.
“A glass of wine would be great. I think I saw the drinks set up in the main room,” I said as Patrick’s hands left my waist. Right away, I missed his touch.
“April?” He questioned.
“Water, please,” she said sweetly.
“I will return, hopefully,” Patrick gave me a quick smile before he was off. The moment he was out of the room April seemed to squeal with pure delight.
“I’m still in shock. You and him are a thing. I’m so happy for you that I can’t take it,” She beamed pure joy as she spoke. “You already seem so much happier, you look so well rested, too. I think he’s good for you. Scratch that, I know he is good for you.”
“I’m certain he is,” I admitted to my best friend.
Chapter Ten
Brielle
IT WASN’T A bad idea having Patrick meet my family. They seemed to love him and vice versa. My dad cornered him for a few moments after dinner, giving him a lecture on taking care of his baby girl and right after he and Patrick had a beer together. I was pleased with how the night went. He’d brought me home and walked me to the door, leaving me with a sweet kiss, as much as I wanted him to stay and how much I wanted more, I liked our slow pace and was determined to keep to it. Now, today, we were going on our first date together. The night before had calmed my nerves so much, that tonight I was purely excited.
April sat on my bed watching me as I finished applying my make-up. I’d gotten off work a little early to start getting ready and as soon as April left the office she came straight to my house. I sat my makeup brush down and turned to her looking for a sign of approval. Her face lit up at seeing the final product.
“You look amazing. He is going to eat you up in that dress. You already look hot in it and the color goes great with your skin tone,” she motioned to the biscotti colored, lace, body-con dress that she insisted I wear because it hugged all the right curves. I truthfully felt a little too sexy and was trying to figure out what I could change into when I heard my doorbell. “He’s here!” She squealed out as she jumped off my bed and handed me my small black clutch purse. “I’ll lock your place up. Good luck, hottie,” she gave a whistle. I couldn’t help, but laugh at my best friend.
“Thanks. I will call you later, I guess,” I said to my best friend.
Leaving my bedroom behind, I arrived in the entrance hall of my house and opened the front door. Standing there was Patrick in a gray suit, black button up, and black tie. His dark hair was slicked back and he looked as handsome as ever.
“I still feel like I’m dreaming,” Patrick commented as his eyes looked me up and down. “The girl that I thought was the prettiest girl I’d ever laid eyes on in school, is the sexy woman I’m taking out tonight. This is unreal.” I tried not to blush at his words, but it was nearly impossible not to. “I’m guessing you are ready,”
“Yes, I am,” I answered as I stepped out of the front door and onto the porch with him. He pressed his lips to mine for just a small moment and gave me a smile.
I TOOK IN the beautiful part of California that I lived in as I rode shotgun with Patrick. We arrived at the Berkeley Marina and Patrick parked his car. He opened my door and helped out of it before he purposefully laced my fingers with his. The moment shouldn’t have been so poignant, but it felt like a symbol of both letting go of the past and embracing the future we could have. We walked away from the car with our hands still intertwined and I began to become I intrigued to know what we were doing tonight, since he hadn’t given me any hints.
We started to walk down a dock and stopped at the ramp that would take us up onto the most beautiful yacht I’d ever seen this close, it was huge. I looked at Patrick who gave me a proud smirk as he allowed me to walk ahead of him on the ramp and onto the large boat. The moment I boarded the boat, I was greeted by a waiter who had a tray with flutes of champagne.
“Drink ma’am?” Questioned the waiter.
“Uh, yes. Thank you,” I said quickly as I retrieved a glass. I wasn’t used to this kind of treatment at all. I grew up in a middle class family, in a typical working middle class neighborhood. I wasn’t a celebrity and though I could afford my own small luxuries in life like my car thanks to having a great job, I was nowhere near being able to afford this type of opulence.
I walked further onto the boat as Patrick also retrieved his own champagne. I roamed over to the edge of the deck where I could look out at the water of the San Francisco Bay. It was nearing sunset and the city seemed to be amassed by the most gorgeous golden glow.
“This is… it is beyond beautiful,” I breathed out as I felt Patrick’s arm loop around my waist. I turned to look at him as he gave me a grin.
“Like you, I’d say,” he affirmed, pulling me into him just a bit tighter. I tried not to blush. He was constantly commenting on my looks and it wasn’t something I was accustomed to.
“Patrick, you keep making me blush. I’m not used to being complimented like this all the time,” I admitted truthfully. Patri
ck looked taken aback.
“Keaton never told you how beautiful you were, all the time?” He questioned.
“No, he rarely commented on me or my looks,” I said truthfully. Patrick seemed shocked and a tiny bit angered at my answer.
“He should have told you every single day,” he urged. “Every day he should have told you just how beautiful you were and how lucky he was to have you.” I looked away from him and back down at the water. My mind was questioning so many things at one time it was dizzying, I found myself wondering about Patrick’s motivations before I turned back to him.
“What do you see in me?” I challenged. “Are you only with me for my looks?”
“No, no, no… Brielle. I see everything in you. Your looks are only a tiny fraction of why I want to be with you. I could remember the exact day I met you. You walked into the lecture hall wearing a knee length navy colored dress.” He closed his eyes for a moment as he seemed to imagine me, on that day, years ago, our first day of business school. “Your beauty took me in that moment, but then class started. Your hand shot into the air at every question. You were the only one prepared for class that day and you took the challenge head on. I saw your tenacity that day. I saw your pure intelligence that day. Those two things turned me on to you right away and your beauty just made them even more prominent. I want to be with you because of your backbone, your brilliance, your vibrant and strong personality, and the pull you have on me. You’ve had me hooked from that day and I’ve never forgotten you,”
I’d never been spoken about in that manner. Even with Keaton, he never acknowledged any of this and here Patrick was spilling his guts to me on why he liked me and wanted to be with me. It rolled off his tongue like pure poetry.
“Wow,” was the only response I could vocalize at the moment, while I did my best to take all in.
“Now Mrs. Elliot, why did you say yes to trying with me?” He seemed intrigued as to why I’d changed my mind when it came to waiting for Keaton.
