by Tamika Brown
“And what did you calculate?” Bryce asked impatiently, but Calen could hear the amusement in the question.
“What? Dude, he’s definitely mine! I can’t believe it. All the time I lost, the first kick, watching her grow, the doctor’s appointments.” He sighed. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I am truly glad this is happening to me, but when I imagine all the stuff I missed, I get pissed all over again, and a part of me still goes back and wonders what she was thinking.”
As he tried to get his thoughts together, they arrived at the airport and turned their rental back in.
“I’ll go ahead and check on the tickets. See if the Corporal arranged everything for us. Meet me at the terminal,” he said over his shoulder, heading toward the ticket counter.
They arrived just in time for boarding.
“Aren’t you going to call her before we get on the plane?” Bryce asked.
“No, I believe I’ll wait until we get back in North Carolina. I need some time to clear my head. If we have a layover, then I may.”
The two friends boarded their plane.
It wasn’t until they were seated and the plane in flight either one of them spoke again.
“So, what’s up with you and Tela? You two got a little comfortable with each other, right?” Calen jokingly asked.
“Man, she’s awesome. I mean, she’s her own woman, smart, sexy, and she has her own money,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, that’s always a plus.” Calen laughed with him.
“But seriously. I’ve never met anyone like her. She’s had a hard life, not at all the way Shayla grew up, from what she was willing to tell me. They didn’t even like each other at first, but they have been friends since high school. She made it out. A real success story. Did you know that her and Shayla do the same kind of work, but they work for different companies?” He spoke admirably.
Calen listened intently at what his friend revealed to him. It was hard to keep the smile off his face because he had never pictured Bryce this way about any woman. He could tell he was totally into Tela; he really seemed to be smitten with her. “I knew you dug her, I could tell how you charmed your way in the first time you met her. What I bet you didn’t know is she had her sights on you that first time, too.”
“For real, man? How do you know?” Bryce asked him.
“Shay told me. It was so funny. She said she felt bad for you, but I assured her she shouldn’t, and you deserved whatever you got,” Calen said, laughing. “So, you two had a great time together? What am I saying, of course you did, you spent the night together. You had to have a good time.”
“Man, that was probably the best sexual experience I’ve ever had. I just took care of her. Something in me kept saying cater to her. She’s more fragile than she appears. So, that’s what I did.” His focus moved to the windows as the city lights below lit up the darkness. “I’d never done that before. I mean you know me. I’m a hit-it-and-quit-it type of guy. As long as I get mine, I’m good. But it was different with her, somehow special…”
Calen glanced over at his friend and detected something in his eyes. He could tell he was thinking about the night he and Tela spent together. He was happy for his friend. He deserved someone who would make him happy.
He also thought it would be pretty cool they both had best friends for lovers. Calen suddenly remembered when they left the restaurant. He had been watching Bryce as he said goodbye to Tela.
He wanted to know what he said to her; although, it was none of his business. “Can I ask you something? And if I’m prying, tell me it’s none of my business, but I was curious.”
“Sure, what is it?” Bryce pulled his gaze from the window.
“When we were leaving the restaurant, you were whispering something to Tela. What did you tell her?” he asked his friend.
“I just told her I had a great time with her, and I would try to come back as soon as I could to visit her,” he said flippantly.
Calen gawked at his friend in astonishment. He couldn’t seem to formulate the right words to respond to what Bryce told him, but he most definitely knew this wasn’t his friend. He usually didn’t make promises to women.
Tela must have really done something to him.
Calen noticed again how Bryce gave way to thoughts of Tela; he was sure of it. He let his friend have his time to fantasize about his night with his new challenge.
He leaned his head on the back of his seat and closed his eyes. They had at least an hour and a half left on the flight, and he was a little tired. The day was exhausting, and he wanted to have at least had some sleep before they hit the ground in Raleigh, because from that time on, they would be in fast forward for an explanation as to why they were called off leave early.
26
Shayla
Six-thirty in the morning. Time to move.
Shayla was tired and not ready to face the day just yet, but she made a decision last night and would follow through on it.
She dragged herself out of bed and headed for her bathroom. The shower felt wonderful. All the emotions she carried she gladly let wash down the drain. She needed to clear her head and be ready for the day. It was going to be long and stressful or long and productive.
She finished showering and rummaged through her closet. She decided on a red-wine, silk maternity shirt she bought from Motherhood when she and Tela went shopping, along with black slacks that were made with the belly cut out with the matching jacket. She decided she would wear her black kitten heels to top the outfit off.
She gazed at herself in the full-length mirror, hanging on the back of her door as she did last night to examine herself. She appeared confident, ready to take on anything and anyone. She studied her face and was surprised to see little evidence of spending most of the night crying and laughing, but she could still stand for a little makeup.
She finished her makeup and ran her fingers through her hair just to make sure it was in place before she headed for the kitchen. Her mother would already have breakfast and coffee waiting for everyone. She usually was up early.
As she expected, her mother and father sat at the kitchen table, him reading the paper and her putting the pots and pans she used to cook breakfast in the dishwasher.
When Shayla sat down at the table, her mother turned from her duty.
“Well, look at you. You seem at peace.” She beamed.
Her father nodded in agreement but said nothing.
“Thanks. I feel great,” Shayla said as she guided a fork full of eggs into her mouth.
Her mother finished loading the dishwasher and poured Shay a cup of decaf coffee. She set the cup in front of her and sat down to take a sip of hers before she spoke again. “Did you get a call from Calen last night?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t check my phone this morning. I was pretty much dead to the world once I hit the pillow.” She smiled as she remembered last night. “I was having so much fun last night I forgot he was even supposed to call. But I’ll check my messages when I get to the car,” she said, smiling.
“Let me see how you look, dear.”
Shay was starting in on the toast her mother made when the impromptu fashion show was requested. Shayla did as she was told and stood for her mother and father to see how she looked.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this? You look very pregnant this morning,” her mother said.
Shayla rolled her eyes. “Mom, I’m ready. The person who counts the most knows about the baby. I couldn’t care less what everyone else thinks.”
“Okay. Finish your breakfast so you won’t be late.” She gave her daughter a kiss and walked into the laundry room.
Shayla finished her toast and took a few more sips of her coffee before leaving the kitchen.
She went to the phone to call a cab. She had almost forgotten she hadn’t driven last night.
She kissed her father on the forehead and headed back to her bedroom to retrieve her things. She had forgotten all about Calen’s promise to call
her as soon as he could. She wouldn’t get her hopes up because he wasn’t sure he would be able to call her.
She grabbed her purse, keys, and cell phone from off the bedside table before heading for the front door and to the waiting taxi.
Once she was settled on her way to work, she checked her phone.
She had a text message and a voicemail. She checked the text message first. It was from Tela, letting her know she was home safely and she would call her when she had a chance.
She hit the number one, then talk on her cell phone, and entered her passcode to retrieve her voice message.
It was from Calen. She listened intently.
“Hey, baby. Bryce and I made it safely to Raleigh. We’re on our way back to base. I’ll try to call or text you again if I can. I wanted you to know I’m so very proud to be a father. I love you so much. Sorry, I missed you. Take care of him and yourself.”
Shayla chose to save the message in her phone, pressed the star key on her touch screen, then tried her best not to cry. She was sorry she missed his call, too. She was looking forward to talking with him before she would not be able to contact him any longer.
The call came in at three-thirty in the morning. He would definitely be at the base by now, but she supposed she should at least let him know she did get his message.
She dialed his number.
As she expected he did not pick up, so she left a message.
“Hi. It’s me. I’m sorry I missed your call. I really wanted to talk to you before I wouldn’t be able to reach you again. Anyway, I spent the night at my mom’s house. I miss you already. I’ll check in periodically to let you know about me and the baby. I love you, too. Bye.”
She disconnected before he would not hear the quiver of tears in her voice. She hoped he would get to listen to the message before he went into the field, and she prayed to God everything would be all right and he and his team would be safe.
She arrived at the office at precisely eight. She was glad she had a little time to get herself together before she faced the wolves.
She paid the cab fare and headed into the massive building in downtown Denver.
As she expected, the stares and whispers started immediately as she made her way to the elevator. However, she took everything in stride, smiling and greeting on-lookers as usual.
When she reached her floor, Janice greeted her with her usual smile and a good morning.
“The coffee’s brewed, and you have a meeting at…” Her sentence trailed off. She stared wide-eyed at Shayla as she stood by her desk taking in Shayla’s new appearance. “Um, Miss Blackwell,” she whispered. “Are you wearing maternity clothes?”
Shayla laughed. “Yes, as a matter-of-fact I am.”
She couldn’t hold back her smile and her laughter as Janice rose to her feet to come around the desk to hug her. She was relieved someone was happy for her.
“What? When? Where did this happen?” she asked almost out of breath.
Shayla searched around and could see they had caused a little commotion. People were beginning to stare at them.
“Come into my office, and I’ll tell you about it.” Shayla turned, headed for her office, stopped, then turned back to Janice. “Bring the coffee and the files for my next meeting.”
That should give her some time to get her bearings and prepare for the questions she knew her friend would have.
She went into the bathroom to give herself a little pep talk.
She took a deep breath and walked out into her office where her assistant awaited.
Janice closed the door behind her and placed the files and coffee Shayla requested on her desk. She sat on the couch and waited for Shayla to come out of the bathroom.
Janice had been with Shayla for about three years. She was a few years older than Shayla, but they had a lot in common. They had both been in relationships, which didn’t work, and romances that didn’t amount to what they wanted.
They hadn’t always liked each other.
Two years ago, the sharing of secrets like friends wouldn’t have happened between them. Janice resented being an assistant to someone younger than her. She felt as though Shayla didn’t really deserve the position in the company. Janice believed Shayla was one of those women who used sex to climb up the corporate ladder. She couldn’t have been more wrong about her boss.
What changed her mind about Shayla was when they had to pull an all-nighter once. Shayla had been in charge of a takeover for the company. Everything was set for the meeting with each of the company’s executive officers. The presentation was ready and set for the nine-sharp meeting. They both were eager to get home for an evening of rest.
When Shayla went to lock up her office, she found a note and a file slid under her door, warning her someone was after her job. That they had contacted the merging company with numbers from another interested corporation. Numbers that were a lot more promising than what Shayla was proposing.
Shayla immediately dropped everything and called Janice into her office.
“Did you see who slipped this under my door, Janice,” she questioned, holding up the file so Janice could see.
“No, Ms. Blackwell. No one has been in here as far as I know, but I was gone from the office when I went to lunch.”
“Can you call Brian for me, please, and ask him to come down here? Get ready for the long haul,” she said.
Janice went to her desk and dialed Brian’s extension. He worked in the accounting department of the office, but he also knew a little about Shayla’s job because he helped train her before he took over the accounting department.
Janice reached Brian and relayed the message.
She turned back to Shayla. “He’s on his way down. Now, what’s all this about?”
Shayla handed her the note and the file. Janice read the note first, then flipped through the file.
“This file is from Connor International,” she observed.
“How do you know?” Shayla asked.
“I used to work there. It’s been about five years, but this is their work.”
“Are you sure?” Shayla probed.
Janice nodded as she continued to ruffle through the information in the file.
Brian entered the office behind her. Janice immediately stiffened when she recognized his voice. She hadn’t talked to or seen her ex-boyfriend since his promotion out of the department.
“Okay, so, what’s this all about? What’s so important I had to stop my reports and come down here right away?” he asked confused.
He nodded to Janice as he took the file from Janice’s hand, making eye contact with her briefly before he opened the file.
Both women sat while Brian scanned through the file.
Shayla knew he would fast forward to the numbers first, and that’s why she called him.
When he finished, he closed the file and glanced up at her. “Where did you get this?”
“Someone slipped it under my door when we were out to lunch. Janice says it’s from Connor International. It’s their format.” She glanced at Janice who was unusually quiet.
“Yeah, she’s right. I have a few friends who work over there, and I have drinks with every once in a while.”
“What about the numbers? Are they correct?” she persisted.
“As far as I can tell they are. What is this about? The merger?”
Shayla shook her head. Both she and Janice had a feeling it was. She wanted Brian to help her out with this, to come up with some better numbers. A better bottom-line, so she wouldn’t have wasted anyone’s time with millions of dollars hanging in the balance.
She would just come out and ask. “Brian, I know you have a lot on your plate, but I really need you on this. You’re the best, and I want the best. Will you help?”
Brian maneuvered his way to sit on the plush couch beside Janice. She could see his move made Janice fidgety and uncomfortable; she wondered if there was something going on with them.
After what seem
ed like at least ten minutes, Brian agreed to help her. “Let me run up to my office right quick and cancel my plans for the evening. I’ll be right back.”
He headed out the door.
Janice excused herself, saying that she would order dinner for everyone.
Brian was back in the office a few minutes later. The trio worked feverishly to come up with a way to counter the numbers. At about 5:00 a.m., Brian had an epiphany. He was so excited he didn’t share what he’d found.
Both women watched over his shoulders as he made the necessary changes to the numbers in the spreadsheet. As they watched the end result change, he had shaved more than one hundred thousand dollars off the end result, saving both companies millions of dollars.
“That’s it. I think that’s the way to go.” He began to rise from the chair, letting Shayla take his place, so she could get a closer look.
She scrutinized every figure. When she finished, she let out a scream of joy and relief, and her colleagues joined her. They had worked hard and long to save this much money; they deserved a celebration.
Shayla looked at both of them more appreciative than she could ever say. “Thank you both so much for your help and hard work. Both of you should head home.” She turned to Brian. “You can sit in on the meeting today if you would like.”
“I think I will.” He smiled as he made his way out of the office.
She turned to Janice. “Do you think you can get all this stuff re-done before the meeting this morning? If you do, you can take the rest of the day off.”
Janice smiled at her. “Yeah, I can. It will only take me a minute to get to the copy place.”
Shayla went to her and hugged her. “Thank you so much for your help again.”
Shayla left the office and went home.
She was back at 8:30.
When she arrived, Janice was already there with the presentation handouts for the guests and coffee ready for her. They took the next twenty minutes to make sure everything was in order, then headed for the conference room.
When she got there, Brian was waiting at the extended table with smiles. The floor to ceiling windows let plenty of light in, which brightened up the dark carpet and mahogany walls of the conference room. She took her place at the head of the table as Mr. Riley planted himself in the plush leather chair in the center of the table as all the major players began coming in one-by-one.
