Drive Me Wilde

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

  Tasha didn’t want to pursue suing Colorful Times and Melinda, because she didn’t want to get into a messy battle, but I wasn’t Tasha and I took rogues to the cleaners for a living. By the time I got done with Melinda, she wouldn’t be able to see straight enough to want me, or any other man.

  “Listen here, Melinda. You might have everyone in this town fooled, but not me. I know that you are jealous of the talent Tasha has, and now that she has the man that you want it’s burning you up inside.?

  “That’s absurd. You’re crazy, Matt.”

  “Oh, I bet you lay awake at night wondering why you’re so inadequate, or why you’re not getting enough attention. Well, if you keep barking up Tasha’s tree, you might just get the attention you’re seeking. So, instead of coming on to me, which is really not going to turn out the way you expect it to, you should watch your back. At some point, you just might lose it all.”

  She smirked. “Are you threatening me, Matt Wilde?” she asked. But even as she said those words, she looked like she enjoyed them a little too much. I just shook my head.

  “I’m not threatening you. I’m promising you. Your day is coming.” With that, I turned around and left the building. On my way to my car, I dialed up Joseph Mallard’s number.

  “Hello, this is Stephanie, how may I direct your call?”

  “Give me Mr. Mallard please,” I said.

  “May I ask who’s calling?”

  “Tell him it’s Matt Wilde.”

  “One moment please.”

  Some music played on the line, and I unlocked my car door and slid into the driver’s seat. He answered as I started my vehicle. “This is Joseph Mallard.”

  “Hey, Joe…it’s Matt Wilde.”

  “Hey, Matt. How’s it going?”

  I backed out of the parking spot. “I have something to discuss with you about two of your employees. Would you have some time later this afternoon?”

  “This sounds serious.”

  “Yes, it kind of is and I’d rather discuss it in person.”

  “Okay, I could meet you at four thirty. Will that work for you?”

  “That’ll work,” I answered.

  We finished setting up the appointment and said goodbye to him. I continued my drive to the studio, thinking about how I needed to take care of this matter. I didn’t want to worry Tasha with her old job, but she deserved to be happy, and I would do anything to make that happen.

  ***

  “Mr. Mallard will you see you now!” His secretary went back to her desk as I got up and headed to his office. This wasn’t the first time I had been at his place of business. Colorful Times was only one of the many businesses he owned, and, over the course of a few years, we had met during networking mixers and a few times when I was representing clients for their advertisement contracts. I knocked on his door once I reached it.

  “Come in!” he hollered out. The minute I got inside his office, he looked up and away from his computer. He stood up from his desk. “Matt, it’s good to see you,” Joseph said, shaking my hand.

  “Hello, Joe, thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”

  I took my seat and Joseph joined me. “It sounded urgent. What’s on your mind?” he asked.

  “Well, I don’t want to cause any trouble,” I started out by saying. “But it’s come to my attention that one of your employees has violated copyright laws.”

  Joseph sat back in his chair. “That’s a pretty big accusation there, Matt. Care to divulge more?”

  I told him the whole story, everything Tasha shared with me, and how Melinda doesn’t even show remorse about it. I even told him about Nina and Melinda mocking Tasha at the charity ball. By the time I was done explaining the situation to him, I was left hoping I didn’t leave any pertinent details out. I didn’t want this to come across as a vendetta against women who had wronged my girlfriend, but what they had done to Tasha was unethical, and quite frankly could land them in a world of trouble, if Tasha allowed me to go full blast with a case for her.

  I sat there, waiting for his response and what came was more like a sigh. I opened my mouth to question if that was all he was going to give me, when he continued. “Well, first of all, thank you for bringing this to my attention and giving me the opportunity to right any wrong that may have been done. Secondly, Melinda Lory has had one of the most promising careers here at Colorful Times. I can’t believe she would stoop so low as to doing something of this nature.”

  He didn’t want to get me started on what lengths Melinda would or wouldn’t go to get what she perceived as hers. In the time I had known her, there wasn’t anything I would think she wasn’t willing to try to see if she could get what she wanted. She was ruthless in her pursuit to the top, and that didn’t always make for a good leader, especially when her employees couldn’t trust her.

  “So, Tasha told you about this?” he prodded.

  I nodded. I didn’t want to explain why or how I learned about it, but I just wanted him to know that he could trust the information. “You know me Joe, and you have for a long time. I wouldn’t say any of this to you if I didn’t know that it was legitimate. I don’t fight dirty and I don’t rattle any unnecessary cages, but this one needs rattling. Tasha didn’t get a fair shake.”

  Joseph nodded. “Your reputation is the reason that I’m listening to you, because I do trust you wouldn’t come to me with a half-ass argument. Tasha shouldn’t have lost her job if someone snooped and got her stories from her. The fact is that I have noticed that the stuff coming from Nina’s ‘What’s Up Now’ column hasn’t been as good as the story that got her the promotion. Her column has taken a free fall over the past month.” He pondered all that, and I waited patiently to see what he would say next. “I’m going to look into it and if I find validity in what you say, then I will be sure to take matters into my own hands and Melinda or Nina won’t get away with it.”

  “That’s really all I’m asking of you.” I stood to my feet, as Joseph got up. “Thank you!” I reached out and shook his hand. “Will you call or text me when you decide what the next steps will be?” I asked, hopeful he would get to the bottom of it soon.

  “I will definitely let you know.” He walked me to his office door. “Thank you for coming in,” he said.

  I nodded and left his office, then headed down the hall and out of his office building. I was hopeful that, at least, Melinda would be taken down a peg, and, at best, Tasha would be back where she belonged with Melinda out on the street. I would hate to see Tasha go as my babysitter, and Cody would probably kill me for getting her old job back, but I wanted her to live her dream, doing what made her happy. That was really the most important thing.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tasha

  Trip to Atlanta

  It wasn’t easy finding time where Cody was able to take a few days off school and Matt was able to take time from work, but eventually we had a couple where we could head off to Atlanta. Moving away from Atlanta was one of the hardest decisions I made, but in the end, it was the right choice. Atlanta was a safe place for me, and I wanted to go somewhere where I could experience life without the comfort of my family or the hometown feel. Moving to Miami had been tough, but a great experience. I was excited to be headed home to see the few family members I still had. On the trip there, I told Matt and Cody about my close-knit family.

  “Ever since my mother passed away a few years ago, Aunt Clara has been my rock. She recently found her old love of her life, so we haven’t talked much in the past few months, but you just wait until you meet her. You’ll know why she’s so special to me,” I said.

  “Oh baby…I know I’m going to love everyone in your family,” Matt said. He reached across my lap and touched my knee. I smiled at him.

  “I hope so. I just wish you could have met my mother.” I didn’t want to wallow in my self-pity about my Mom’s untimely death and her not being able to finally meet the man of my dreams, especially when Matt had lost family members too. “She w
ould be tickled pink about me bringing a man home.”

  “I would have loved to meet her, even if she was only half as wonderful as you.”

  “Yeah, it’s hard losing a parent.”

  “I know. Have you ever thought about looking for your father?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “He took off before I was born, so don’t really know much about him and, since he hasn’t looked for me all this time, I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “I can definitely understand that,” Matt said, dropping it.

  “So, basically while we’re in Atlanta, you’ll meet my Aunt Clara, my cousin Destiny, her husband, Jacob, and my lovely niece and nephews.”

  “You really have tiny family like us, Tasha,” Cody spoke up from the backseat.

  I laughed and nodded. “That’s right, I do, but certainly the ones I have love me enough to make up for it.” I turned around and smiled at him. “Always remember, it doesn’t matter the amount of people you have in your corner, but the amount of love in your corner.”

  Cody nodded, casting a glance towards Matt. “I know what you mean.”

  That made me smile. It was true that Cody certainly knew what it was like to live in a small family with a lot of love. No matter how many people made up a family, as long as you were loved, that was the important thing.

  When we arrived in Atlanta, we got our luggage and rental, and within an hour pulled into the driveway of Destiny and Jacob’s home. I couldn’t wait until the time came that I could get out of the car and run into Destiny’s arms. We were like sisters growing up. Even though we hardly ever saw one another, every time we did it was like no time had passed between us.

  When Matt halted the car, I saw the door open and Destiny stepped outside. I flung my passenger side door open and jumped out of the car. I could hear Matt laughing in the background as I hurried to greet her. She held one of her arms open in a welcoming fashion and in the other was her bundle of joy, Jacob Jr. We hugged on the front porch of her home, and I kissed little Jacob’s chubby leg.

  “It’s so good to see you,” I said, breathing in the Atlanta air, getting full of home. “And he is just precious!” I said smelling his little neck. I loved the smell of newborn babies.

  “Thank you, and good to see you too, cuz,” she said, hugging me again. “Who do we have here?”

  I heard the rustling of feet on the pavement and turned around to find Cody and Matt with the suitcases, and they were now a step behind us. I beamed at Matt, proud to say that we were in a relationship.

  I turned back around. “Destiny, this is my boyfriend Matt and his nephew, Cody.” I pointed them out and they said their greetings.

  “Tasha has told me so much about both of you that I feel like I already know you,” Destiny stated.

  I blushed and Matt chuckled. “I hope she didn’t bore you with stories about me. I’m not exciting enough for conversation, I’m sure.”

  She snickered at Matt’s attempt to be modest. “Not at all. They were all very intriguing.” She pointed to the bags. “Bring those in and I’ll show you to the guestrooms,” she said, while Matt looked at me as if he wanted to know about the ‘intriguing stories’ I’d told about him.

  We followed Destiny inside the house that was big enough for Matt and I, as well as Cody, to each get a room. Destiny showed us upstairs, where our rooms were. Cody walked in his and his eyes grew. “Whoa…where’d you get all this cool baseball stuff?” he asked as he touched a case that held a ball that had been signed. The way it was locked in glass let me know that they were collectables worth a lot of money.

  And, I had no reason to doubt that everything in the room was valuable. Destiny’s husband, Jacob Turner, was the CEO of the largest construction business in the United States. Just with the hurricanes in Texas and Florida earlier this year, his company had been awarded a quarter billion-dollar worth of contracts to repair and restore public buildings. The man could throw money away every morning, and never get broke.

  I glanced at Destiny, intrigued to hear her response.

  “It’s my son’s. He plays in this room when we don’t have guests. Jacob is a baseball fan, so he keeps it stocked with whatever rare memorabilia he can find,” she told Cody. “When Montie Jr. gets home, he’ll show you all around.”

  “Oh cool, Miss Tasha told me about Montie Jr. I can’t wait to get to play with him.”

  “Well, he’s with his father right now, but he should be home by dinnertime,” Destiny told Cody and smiled lovingly at him.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Cody walked into the room and put his bag down.

  “Your bedroom is over here,” she said, pointing to Matt and myself. Cody stayed back at his room and Matt and I went on across the hall into another equally spacious room, but this one was decorated with pure elegance, like the rest of the house.

  We got in the room and looked around. “What…no baseball memorabilia?” Matt asked.

  That got the three of us to laughing. I touched his arm, as the laughter subsided. I looked back at Destiny.

  “This is perfect. Thank you so much for putting us up for a couple nights. I really have been wanting to come back to Atlanta and see you guys, and I know you wouldn’t have let us stay in a motel.”

  “Nope, I wouldn’t hear of it,” she said.

  “Sometimes, I wish you were still in Miami, so we could see each other more,” I told her.

  “Girl, I’m excited to have you here, but I felt it was best that we move back to Atlanta, all things considered.” She gave me a knowing glance, and I nodded, as she stepped back to the door. Her husband had a crazy stalker who had been admitted to a Miami mental facility, and the city just held bad memories for Destiny. “Jacob will be home in an hour, and Mama won’t be in until tomorrow. So, why don’t you guys rest up and dinner will be ready in a little while,” Destiny added.

  “Okay,” Matt and I said together.

  Before leaving, she glanced at me. “It’s truly good to have you back home.”

  She left the doorway and I smiled, then caught Matt staring at me.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “Like what?”

  “Just looks like you have something serious that you’re thinking about.”

  “So, you’re a psychic, are you?” he asked, grabbed my hand, and pulled me to him. Instantly, I could feel his warm breath across my lips. “She said it’s good to have you home,” he said. A small smile appeared on his lips. “So…this will always be your home?”

  I snickered. “She said it. I didn’t.”

  “Well, what are your thoughts on it?” he asked.

  The deeper question simmering beneath his words penetrated the depths of me. I hadn’t felt more at home as I had with Matt, so wherever he was had become the new definition of home for me. I went to the door and closed it, then walked back to him and wrapped my arm around him and inched closer. “Frankly, this place stopped being my home when you and I started seeing each other.”

  His mouth went to mine and we kissed, his tongue slipping between my lips and revolving around my tongue. His sultry kiss held me captive, and I didn’t want to let go, but then I heard a knock on the door and Cody’s voice followed.

  “You guys in there?”

  I giggled sweetly parting from the kiss.

  “And on that note, we’ll conclude this tonight,” Matt whispered.

  I nodded, went to the door and opened it for Cody. “How did that door get closed?” I asked, feigning innocence.

  “I don’t know.” Cody shrugged, then started to talk about his room and how amazing the baseball decorations were.

  I shot Matt a couple glances and he just smiled and nodded to Cody’s enthusiasm as he would peek at me from the corner of his eye. This was going to be an exciting trip, and I was glad to share it with the two guys in my life.

  ***

  It was good to spend the evening with Destiny and Jacob. Aunt Clara’s flight was delayed in Ireland,
so she wouldn’t be making it back into the country until the next day. So, for now, it was just the eight of us, including Cody, Montie Jr., Montana and little Jacob Jr. cooing beside Destiny. I couldn’t believe my cousin had a full family of five. She still seemed so vibrant, as if rearing three kidos wasn’t driving her crazy. I just felt like if I had three small kids ranging from newborn to seven, I would be losing it. Not her. She was the epitome of grace.

  Dinner was nice just talking and getting reacquainted with one another. We then went into the living room and continued to catch up, which obviously bored Cody and Montie Jr. About an hour in, they said they wanted to go to bed. Montana and Jacob Jr. had already crashed for the night and were sleeping soundly in their rooms.

  “Do you want me to come up and tuck you in?” Matt asked Cody.

  Cody shot a look at Matt. “Uncle Matt…seriously?”

  That got the four adults to laughing and Matt smiled. “Sorry. Have a good night!”

  “Well, you know you’re getting tucked in Montie Jr. so don’t even try it,” Jacob said to my little cousin.

  “Yeah, you’re not even in the double digits, yet, so tucking in is a must,” I chimed in, while rubbing Montie Jr.’s wavy, black hair.

  “I know, Cousin Tasha. I like to be tucked in,” Montie Jr. said and hugged me. Then, he ran up to Cody. “Come on, let me show you my train set.”

  “Oh cool!!” Cody said, just before saying his goodnights to everyone and heading out of the living room and up the stairs behind Montie Jr.

  “Good night,” Destiny called after them, and that caused them to turn around.

  “Good night,” said Cody.

  “Good night, Mama. Good night everyone,” Montie Jr. said before running on upstairs.