Miss Independent, Volumes 1 & 2

by Leach, Kiki

  “Why would you do that to her?”

  “Because I was an asshole. And because at the time, I thought it was true. I thought that we could get married, that I could stop teaching and she could work at the magazine or whatever it was she wanted to do, and we could live a happy life in Connecticut or anyplace outside of New York. But that’s not real life and I knew that it wasn’t no matter what I kept telling her. What we had together was a fantasy based on the lives we wished we could’ve had with each other if we weren’t who we were. I couldn’t face her when I told her that I was going because I knew that she would hate me. So like a coward, I wrote her a letter and left it in her mailbox. I knew that she would break me if I saw her, keep me from leaving, and I couldn’t do that to her or myself.”

  “So if you left town because of her, why did you bother to come back? It’s not as if she was ever leaving New York.”

  “I knew that. And it’s why I came back, to see her again, but then I couldn’t.”

  “Maybe not at the time, but you might have a chance of changing that now.”

  “I don’t think so anymore.” He got up from the couch and went to the kitchen, placing his mug in the sink and turning on the water to rinse it out.

  “You were all too enthusiastic about it when I got here.”

  “That’s before we started talking and I started bringing up a lot of memories I wish I didn’t have. Letting go of her… I don’t think I can do that again.”

  “Who says you have to?” Sheila got up and went to the kitchen. She tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned on the frame. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you couldn’t make some kind of connection with her again.”

  “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t think you needed a distraction away from your future husband,” he said through a slight grin.

  She drank her tea and turned away, refusing to respond to his ‘nothing but the truth’ allegation. She saw a stack of newspapers and tabloids on his counter and frowned at every single one in which she was on the cover, looking like a scared, wild animal attempting to be tamed by an even wilder animal in Vanessa.

  But it got her to thinking: if he was that obsessed to purchase every paper with even just Vanessa’s name on it, then he wouldn’t be letting go of her as easily as he claimed.

  “You said you wrote her a letter when you told her goodbye,” she began, still staring at the papers before turning back to his eyes. “It wasn’t cowardly, it was just the only way you knew how because you didn’t want to see her but felt you owed her that much. You’re in the same boat now, and my suggestion to you is if you feel like you just can’t see her again for the time being, why don’t you just write her another letter instead? That way, she can decide what she wants to do with you on her own terms without ever having to see your face unless she wants to.”

  “The letter didn’t work out so great the last time. And I don’t need her to know where I’m staying.”

  “If you’re smart, you won’t leave a return address on the outside of the envelope and she might think you’re still in the Congo, that’s if she still cares. Just put her address on the front and sign your name at the bottom of the letter.” She heard her phone buzzing from inside her purse and sat her mug down on the counter. She went over and dug around for it, finally grabbing it at the bottom and reaching out to see the number to Vanessa’s office flashing across the screen. Her heart swelled, her palms sweat. Seeing that number was almost too overwhelming for her to take. Ignoring the fact that she was in someone else’s home, she quickly pushed the green button and pressed the phone against her ear. “Vanessa!” she said, sounding overly enthusiastic. She cleared her throat and swallowed back her nerves. “I mean, hi.”

  “Hi, um… I had my assistant look you up to get this number since I don’t have my cell phone with me. She’s savvy like that. I hope you’re not freaking out about it or anything.”

  “I’m good, it’s okay. Actually, I’m glad that you called. What’s going on?” Adrian slinked up behind her to listen in on the conversation, but Sheila shoved him away and moved to the other side of the room to be in her own space.

  “I need to talk to you about something important.”

  “If it’s about that article in Page Six, I completely understand, but that girl tricked me into talking about--”

  “I’ve come to realize over the years that not many people have to trick you into doing much of anything, Sheila, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about. Well, it is but it’s not the only thing. In fact, there’s a lot we need to discuss and I think it’d be best if the conversation happened in person rather than on the phone. Can you meet with me today?”

  “Sure. I can meet you anytime. When?”

  Vanessa looked over at her clock that sat adjacent to the phone on her desk. “In about ten minutes from now, if you can. I have a meeting in an hour that I still need to prepare notes for, but I’d like to kind of get this over with.”

  “Ten minutes?” She squeezed her eyes shut and grimaced. “I wish I could, but I’m not in the city right now.”

  “Where exactly are you at this time of day?”

  She looked back at Adrian, who smirked while holding onto her mug. She snatched it from him and sat it down on the coffee table on the opposite side of the couch. “I really can’t say, V--”

  Vanessa pushed herself away from her desk and turned toward the window. “Sheila, I don’t have time to screw around here today, okay?”

  “I’m not trying to screw around, I have things I want to talk to you about too. Since I can’t make it back to the city in ten minutes, why don’t I come and see you after your meeting?”

  “I don’t know how long it’s going to last because my mother is going to give everyone notes regarding New York and Paris Fashion weeks for September, along with Milan and London, and those can last late into the day. Plus, I already have another commitment after work. Look, if you can’t get here now, then I guess we can just meet up tomorrow.”

  “No! I can… I can make my way back now. I’ll be there before you know it, just don’t go anywhere.” She hung up and tossed her phone back into her purse. “I have to meet Vanessa in her office in ten minutes. I don’t know how I’m going to react to her because she almost sounded nice on the phone. As nice as she can be to me. I have to go, but first I need to use the bathroom so that I’m not running inside trying to find one when I get to her building.” She ran her hands down the front of her skirt and skittishly looked around the room. “Where is it and is it clean enough for me to not have to hold my breath when I walk inside?”

  “Down the hall, make a right at the first open door you see. And yes, I put some spring time air freshener in there just for you in case you needed to go.”

  She scurried off, unconsciously leaving her purse behind as she was too focused in making it on time to meet with Vanessa. Adrian saw it gapped open with the edge of her cell phone sticking out from the corner. Writing another letter might have been a good idea, per Sheila’s advice, but he felt that if he was going to put himself out there with Vanessa in a way he hadn’t in years, then there was also no harm in formally calling her up and reintroducing himself as a new man.

  It wasn’t like she would know who he was before answering. And once she figured it out, the worst she could do was hang up on him. He thought about it for as long as the time allotted and peeked around the corner.

  “You okay in there?”

  “I’m fine!” Sheila hollered back. “I’ll be right out.”

  He quickly snatched up her phone and pulled his out of his pocket. He scrolled through her contact list, looking for Vanessa’s name and immediately programmed all of her numbers into his phone. He had an old picture of them saved in his files from when they were first together, and used it as the picture for her name.

  When he heard Sheila turning on the faucet to wash her hands, he gently placed her phone back down inside her purse just as it was before and hurried bac
k to the other side of the room. Sheila practically ran out, drying her hands by shaking them in the air.

  “You don’t have any towels in there,” she said.

  “They’re in the dryer.” He went to grab one for her and handed it over.

  After she got her hands as dry as they would get, she tossed the towel back at him and grabbed her purse from the couch, zipping it and lifting the strap on her shoulder. As she made her way to the front door, Adrian called out for her. She rested her hand on the knob and dropped her shoulder as she turned back to him. “What is it?”

  He stepped up, shrugging. “Where does that leave all of this?”

  “All of what?”

  “Everything we said in here today? The reason why you came to see me in the first place?”

  “I don’t know – I don’t know, I need to see what she has to tell me first.”

  He grinned and briefly turned his eyes toward the floor. “If she hadn’t called you and sent you running out of here like a cat in search of a fat mouse, you’d still be willing to have me keep her occupied.”

  “You might still need to do that, I don’t know what she wants.”

  “But you’re hoping for the best.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “I am. Which means I plan on taking your advice and contacting her.”

  “I don’t think you should do that until I’ve talked to her first.”

  “What do you think ‘hoping for the best’ means, Miss Harris?” he asked. “Look, there’s how it is, and then there’s how it should be done. You’ve let the cat out of the bag by coming all the way out here and opening up a can of worms that refuses to go back inside the can. That’s now on your head, not mine.” She dropped her hand from the knob and he opened the door, nodding for her to leave. “But don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll talk again real soon once ‘V’ has gotten an earful from me.”

  “But.” The door was shut in her face and locked before she could respond one way or another. “Hey!” She called out to him and began knocking on it. He stood on the other side, pulling his phone from his pocket again and looking down at her numbers. It was as if he was on cloud nine just by having them all in his possession. “Hey!” Sheila called out gain. When she realized he wasn’t coming to let her back inside, she swung her purse around and hit it against the door. “UGH! Damn it!” She slapped and kicked it before storming down the hall and out of the complex to her car.

  Part Twenty-One

  Nathan sat inside Mr. Gallagher’s office, which was located on the fifteenth floor of the Chrysler Building, waiting for him and Eddie to arrive. He kept adjusting his collar and tie and clearing his throat as if it would make a difference to his intensifying nerves, which were on edge in him believing that Mr. Gallagher no longer wanted him working for the company.

  He thought back in telling Sheila that it might have been best to leave town, but it wasn’t what he wanted, no more than he wanted her carrying his babies. She knew it too, which was why he was so determined to get out of there before he cracked and managed to admit to her being right. Vanessa might have been angry at him for the time being, but she was bound to come around like she always did. He didn’t think there was a need for her to still be so caught up in her emotions over him if she didn’t still care.

  When Mr. Gallagher finally walked in with Eddie behind him, Nathan stood and showed his hand. Mr. Gallagher, dressed in a crisp black suit with matching tie, looked down at Nathan’s shaking hand and then back at his son, who arched his brows and nodded as if to pass along some kind of secret code. Nathan’s hand hung in the air as he waited for Mr. Gallagher to take it, which he finally did after some prodding.

  “Have a seat, son,” said Mr. Gallagher. His voice was thick and seemed to hang in the air as long as Nathan’s hand. Just the sound of it made him even more petrified than he already was. Hoping neither of them would notice, he slid his hands down either side of his pants as he reclaimed his seat to remove the sweat that had formed on his palms. Mr. Gallagher moved around him and unbuttoned his suit jacket before taking a seat on the edge of his desk. He adjusted his black framed glasses and rested his arm on his leg. “Look, son, I just want to tell you that--”

  “Mr. Gallagher,” Nathan started. “Before you say anything else, I would like to sincerely thank you for this opportunity, especially knowing my lack of experience. I would also like to sincerely apologize for my actions this past Saturday night at the reunion.”

  Mr. Gallagher looked over at Eddie and puckered his brows.

  “Nate,” said Eddie, shaking his head. But Nathan never turned around.

  “I know that someone of your caliber and esteem probably finds my behavior completely reprehensible and disturbing, but you need to understand that I was put in a situation in which I needed to defend myself--”

  “Nate,” Eddie chimed in again, with more base in his voice this time.

  Nathan glanced back, but still ignored him. He moved up in his chair and raised his hands as if to make a serious point. “Maurice Livingston and I were longtime friends. That may not be the case so much anymore, but--”

  “Son.” Mr. Gallagher stopped him. “I don’t have the faintest idea of what you’re even talking about. My son referred you to me because he said that you two were old friends and teammates from Lockney. When he told me your last name and who your parent’s were, there was no reason for me to say no. What’s this you’re telling me about the reunion? If you’re referring to something regarding that sensationalist Vanessa Brown--”

  Eddie groaned. “Dad--”

  “There was always something about that young woman that I never seemed to understand, unlike her friend Sheila Harris who always seemed to show a bit more poise in public. Between all the drinking and strung out parties Vanessa often hosted in high school, a few in which my son was heavily involved” – he glanced over at Eddie disapprovingly, as he diverted his eyes – “and now beating up that poor woman before your entire senior class. My son tells me you and Sheila are engaged. It must be a terrible time for you right now to have to deal with such negative journalism being reported. Normally, I like to keep such ‘glorifying’ press as minimal as possible. But my son speaks very highly of you. And he’s managed to change his act over the years and become more successful than I ever believed. I’m determined to give you a chance as a clerk and runner. That means being here at 8am every morning and not leaving until absolutely every case is filed by the end of the day or taken to court. If you screw up once, you might get a second chance out of respect, but it all depends on how severe that screw up may be. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said, his mouth as dry as the Sahara.

  “Good. You’ll get your own office right across from this one as you’ll work with me directly, and you’ll be paid generously with health benefits included.” He looked down at his watch and stood up from his desk. “I’ve got a meeting with an investor in about half an hour across town. Eddie can fill you in on the rest.” He took Nathan’s hand, grasping and shaking hard as he slapped him on the arm. “Welcome to team McManus, Mann and Gallagher.” He pat Eddie on the back before leaving.

  Nathan let out a deep breath, a mixture of relief and contentment.

  As soon as the door closed behind his father, Eddie turned to Nathan and shook his head. “Man, what in the hell were you thinking going into detail about Saturday night like that? Did you think I’d really try to sell you up the river without a warning first?”

  “It was possible he might have seen something about it in the papers or on the news and didn’t say anything to you about it. I had to be prepared for it. How stupid would I have looked coming in here and still expecting to keep a job I haven’t even started yet, all because of a reckless decision I made one night? I’ve learned my lesson there.”

  “You’re talking about V,” he said.

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “You gotta let that shit go, man. You said you didn’t come back here
for her and I was skeptical with how you said it, but tried to take you at your word anyway. I haven’t said anything to her when I’ve seen her out, but it’s obvious you came back here to try and get her back in some kind of way. Which leads me to ask what you plan on doing about Sheila? If you actually got V back, what happens to her?”

  His eyes shifted. “I haven’t gotten that far.”

  “You plan to make it up as you go along? Because that’s something you might wanna think about. Sheila’s not the kind to let go that easily.”

  “She’s not a fatal attraction type,” said Nathan.

  “I never said she was. But she’s insecure, Nate. We all saw that back in high school with her doing all kinds of desperate things to get noticed. Her headlining the reunion is a perfect example of that, which is why I said it didn’t surprise me. She probably bullied Joan into letting her take over the reins. And everybody knew she was jealous of Vanessa back then, you had to know that too.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me any of this when we first met up again instead of congratulating me on my upcoming wedding?”

  “It wasn’t my place to say it then. We’re still friends but not as close as we were and I didn’t know where your head was at despite what I was almost certain of. But now that you’ll be working here and she’ll be coming by here, I thought it was best to get a few things out of the way first.”

  “You told me I was lucky to have her.”

  “I think you are lucky to have her, any man would be despite her flaws. Like I said before, she’s fine as hell, and I know first-hand what she can do to a man between the sheets.” Nathan twisted his face in slight anger, but didn’t verbally respond. “But Nate,” Eddie continued, “you gotta start being realistic about these things, man. You want Vanessa, but you’re marrying Sheila, because…?”