Love Me Now

by Celeste O. Norfleet

  Kelly chuckled, knowing, of course, that Trey was kidding. “You know that won’t work with me or anyone else that knows you well. You may be the Iceman to the rest of the world, but not to those who really know you.”

  “Fine, Ms. Rhames,” he began, “I’m making this a direct order. Your job is on the line here. I don’t care what you have to do, no excuses, just do it.”

  Of course she ignored the empty threat. She’d been his personal assistant for too long to take him seriously. She turned, hearing the first boarding announcement, and saw her husband motion to her. “Trey, relax, you’ll do fine. Few bachelors get the opportunity to test the waters like this. Just calm down and enjoy the ride. I gotta go. Take care. And before you ask, I’m not calling you and don’t call me. See you when I get back.” She hung up.

  Trey was stunned. He stood there a few seconds with the phone still at his ear. He couldn’t believe this. Saying no to him wasn’t exactly a brilliant career strategy. Few people had even dared try something so risky. Kelly did it repeatedly.

  But to her credit, she kept him in check. She reminded him of his principles, and was his very own Jiminy Cricket at times. How their relationship came to be what it was was beyond him. One day she just stood up for herself and talked back, even scolded him. Since then, she was in charge and it seemed he worked for her.

  The phone rang. He answered. “All right, fine, I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.” She hung up again.

  He smiled then nodded his head assuredly. If anyone would come through for him she would. He tossed his cell phone onto the sofa. Frustration shadowed his face as he looked down at the seemingly innocent twins grabbing on to his legs. If anything, he’d learned that the sweet sparkle in their eyes belied the mischievousness of their actions.

  “What did you do? Better yet, what are you about to do?” he asked suspiciously. The question was rhetorical, of course. At sixteen months the twins spoke just enough to communicate their needs. They also seemed to have a language that only they understood. He was outnumbered, two to one. They had the advantage and they knew it.

  “Whatever it is, don’t even think about it,” he warned. With playful expressions, they smiled back at him. They giggled then dashed off in two different directions. “Oh, no, you don’t, not this time. I got you.” He quickly scooped up his cousins and held them securely under his arms. They giggled and squirmed, trying to free themselves, but his grip was tight.

  “What was I thinking?” he muttered, bemoaning his current situation. His head was pounding. He was jet-lagged, overworked and just plain exhausted. Maybe hanging out with his friends all night, then flying in at dawn, wasn’t one of his better ideas. Of course, volunteering to watch the twins for a week was another huge blunder. He still had no idea what made him do it. Yes, he did.

  “What, you think I can’t do it?” Trey had bragged a month earlier after the monthly poker game with his family and friends. He looked around the table. It was obvious that no one took him seriously.

  “Give up,” Raymond teased, “you’re not gonna win.”

  “Let’s just say you’ll never have to prove us wrong. The likelihood of your babysitting skills actually being tested is remote at best,” Tony said as he fanned out the cards in his hand.

  “What do you mean remote?” Trey asked. Faced with a challenge, he never backed down.

  “Well,” J.T. began, “that would mean Madison, Tony, Mom, Dad, Kennedy, your mother, Mamma Lou, Juliet, Regina, Hope, Faith, Alyssa, Raymond, Randolph, Juwan, Colonel Wheeler, Dennis and about two hundred and fifty other people on the list were unavailable. But don’t worry, you’re babysitting just after a dog catcher in Arizona named Pete.” They all laughed.

  “Wait, wait,” Trey complained, “how in the world is Raymond so high up on the list? He doesn’t have kid skills, either.”

  “I do have a medical degree,” Raymond informed him.

  “Plastic surgeons aren’t real doctors. They hand out cosmetics at counters,” Trey said. Tony laughed. Raymond nearly fell over laughing. Juwan just shook his head as Randolph cleared his throat and looked away.

  “I can’t believe this, my own cousin’s gonna hang me out like that, huh?”

  “Come on, Trey, you’re only concerned with business,” J.T. said. They all nodded. “Taking care of toddlers—twins—is a full-time job. That means no distractions.”

  Trey eyed them indignantly. The fact that they had absolutely no faith in his babysitting skills was insulting. Never one to back down, he stepped up to the challenge.

  It was the last hand, the most important one of the night. It was never for cash. Everyone anted up, tossing in a task they either needed done, or immensely disliked—painting the garage, cleaning windows, detailing cars, cleaning out the attic or, in this case, babysitting. Everyone folded except Trey and Tony. Tony won. When Madison found out days later, she was livid with both of them.

  “Trey, are you sure you’re ready for this?” Tony asked several weeks later.

  “I still can’t believe you wagered babysitting the twins in a poker game,” Madison said sternly to her husband. “What exactly were you thinking?”

  “I had a full house,” Tony said. Madison looked at him menacingly. “Okay, okay, it was all in fun, Madi,” Tony promised. “Who would’ve thought that we’d actually need a babysitter on such short notice.” Madison shook her head. “Look, don’t worry about it. You go, I’ll stay here.”

  “No, we’ll both stay,” Madison said. Trey was her first cousin. She loved him dearly, but he was in no way responsible enough to care for her twins.

  The actual trip wasn’t scheduled for another two months. But when Madison found out that her sister Kennedy was pregnant, plus had a virus and had to go on immediate bed rest, she knew she needed to be there. Unfortunately, the twins weren’t ready for the long trip yet.

  “No—Madi, Tony, why should you?” Trey protested. “With Kennedy pregnant and on bed rest, you need to be there. They need you. With the museum show opening, Aunt Taylor is gonna need all the help she can get. They’re looking forward to you being there, both of you. Go, take a break, enjoy. I’ll take good care of the twins while you’re away.”

  Madison looked worried. “I wish Hope could come down or Faith didn’t have that nurse’s seminar. And Juliet—”

  “Juliet is eight months pregnant and counting. There’s no way she can run behind the twins. Hope is pregnant and in the middle of a major fund-raiser at the Ray of Hope Foundation. Alyssa is still getting her grandmother settled at the Spirit Center in San Francisco. See, everyone’s either away or unable to come. I’m here, ready and willing,” Trey said.

  “Trey, you have absolutely no idea what you’re getting into,” Madison added.

  “Are you saying that I can’t do it?” Trey challenged.

  “This isn’t a dare or a competition, Trey. The twins will wear you down. They’re toddlers. There’s no way you can handle them alone,” Tony said. “What about hiring Mrs. Thatcher for the week.”

  Trey shook his head. “I can’t believe you have so little faith in me.”

  “It has nothing to do with having faith in you,” Madison said. “It has everything to do with not being used to having kids around the house. You’re the only bachelor I know who keeps his home immaculate without a housekeeper. Kids are messy. Twins are doubly messy. Mrs. Thatcher is a godsend. We’ve used her on several occasions. I just hope she’s available. Or we can even call Mamma Lou.”

  Trey instantly froze. The mere mention of the name gave him the shivers. “No need to call Mamma Lou,” Trey said quickly, adding firmly, “I can do this, alone.”

  Tony smiled knowingly then shook his head. He remembered that reaction well. His grandmother was notorious. Bachelors feared her like the plague.

  “What about work?” Madison interjected.

  “True,” Tony added, “you’re not the kind of guy to just stay home and play Mr. Mom for a week.”

  “What
, I can’t take a few days off? I own the company, remember? I can pretty much do what I want. So, with that said, have a little faith. I can do this. It’ll be my pleasure.”

  “Okay, fine,” Tony relented. They looked at Madison.

  “Okay, okay, but I’m giving Kelly Mrs. Thatcher’s phone number, just in case.”

  The expression on their faces was all the motivation he needed. They had relented and finally changed their minds. He smiled victoriously. He had successfully convinced them that he could do it. Now the question was, could he?

  A day later, he got Kelly to pick up a few things. He personally went to toy and furniture stores and spared no expense. He intended to do this right. Nearly cleaning them out, he purchased everything he ever imagined the twins might need or want.

  When Madison and Tony saw the room he prepared, they were stunned. They made a few changes, but ultimately, he was on top of this game, as usual. He expected the week-long stay to be a breeze. He was wrong.

  The twins squirmed and squealed in his arms. He sighed heavily. “It must have been low blood sugar or a temporary lapse of sanity,” he muttered as he deposited them in a playpen set up in the dining room. Moments later he turned to the mess in the kitchen. “How could two little kids make such a huge mess?” he asked the empty kitchen.

  When Tony and Madison dropped them off before dawn, they were peacefully asleep in their baby beds. He expected them to remain that way, at least for a while. But as soon as the door closed they woke up, and he’d been running around ever since—five hours, twenty-three minutes and a few odd seconds.

  The cereal-covered kitchen floor crunched underfoot. Trey lifted his bare feet and grimaced. It had taken him half the morning just to get them dressed and fed. Most of the food was still on him, on them and all over the kitchen. He peeled the French toast he’d cooked off the floor and refrigerator then grabbed a broom.

  It took thirty-three minutes to clean the kitchen although it usually only took fifteen. He looked at his watch. Tokyo would be opening in a few hours. He needed to review Friday’s closing numbers to get a jumpstart on the market. It was a holiday here in the States but not in the rest of the world. Business was business and he never lost sight of that.

  He went into the dining room and peered into the playpen. The twins were innocently playing with their toys. They looked up at him, then at each other. Trey squinted warily, sensing a possible coup in progress. He knelt down to eye level as they stood holding on to the mesh-padded sides. They smiled, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

  His cousin, Madison, and her husband, Tony, had created two adorable children. With large brown eyes, fat cheeks and perfect pouty mouths, they looked more like cherubs than toddlers.

  “I get the feeling you two know exactly what you’re doing.” They giggled. He couldn’t help but laugh, too. “All right, you two, so here’s the deal—play nice and let your cousin Trey watch the business report. Afterward, I’ll let you have ice cream and pizza for lunch, okay?”

  They laughed again then babbled something only the two of them understood. One reached out and grabbed his ear and the other grabbed his nose. Trey chuckled as he hugged them close. “Okay, I’ll take that as a goodwill handshake.”

  He sat them back down in the playpen then went into the living room. He picked up the remote control and turned on the television. A large high-definition flat screen brightened as a cartoon character happily jumped from letter to letter. He reached down and removed the DVD and placed it on the side table. He removed his syrup-stained T-shirt, sat down and then turned to the business channel. Finally, peace and quiet. He was back in control.

  He attached his Bluetooth earpiece, grabbed his glasses, opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop.

  Tokyo would be opening in a few hours and then London. He focused on Treasury numbers and market volume and activity. He believed that trading would be heavy when the market opened. He e-mailed his instructions to his associates overseas. They sent confirmations almost immediately, with hard copy to be special-delivered to him within the hour.

  Everything would be handled exactly as he instructed. Confident in his decisions, he took off the syrup-stained T-shirt, sat back and waited for the market to open. He may not have been in the office, but for all practical purposes, the office was wherever he was. He watched intently as numbers flashed. Ten minutes later his eyelids drooped. He jerked awake, then a few minutes after that he dozed off.

  A crash woke him up, then the house phone rang, his cell phone rang and the doorbell chimed. He looked at his watch—he’d been asleep for only twenty minutes. He grabbed the remote to silence the television. Pushing the wrong button, the sound level blared instead. He quickly turned it off, grabbed his cell beside him and then ran to the playpen. “Hello,” Trey answered hastily, with his Bluetooth still in his ear.

  “Hey, Trey, you all right? What’s going on?” Tony asked. Trey didn’t answer right away. “Trey, you there? Everything okay?”

  Trey cleared his husky throat and half chuckled as the doorbell chimed again. He looked down at the empty playpen. “Yeah, yeah, of course everything’s okay. What, did you think I couldn’t handle it? I got this.” He saw that a toy, some books and a stack of CDs had been pulled to the floor. He picked them up and tossed them in the playpen. “I told you, man, don’t worry,” he said calmly as he looked around in a panic and quickly scanned the area. There was no sign of the twins. He hurried to the kitchen following a trail of CDs.

  “They’re my twins, Trey, and sometimes even I can’t handle them,” Tony confessed. “You sound rushed, panicked.”

  “I’m fine, we were just playing hide-and-seek.”

  “What…hide-and-seek?” Tony exclaimed.

  “I’m joking, I’m joking, man, chill,” Trey said, charging into the kitchen. The twins were sitting on the floor. They immediately looked up innocently. One had a CD in his mouth and the other was fanning a dish towel around.

  “Trey, its Madi. What’s going on? Is everything okay there?” Madison said, having obviously taken the phone from her husband. “What’s this about hide-and-seek?”

  “Calm down, Madi, I was just joking with Tony. The twins are fine, they’re right here. Hold on, I’ll let you talk to them.” He turned off the Bluetooth and put the cell phone to Jonathan’s ear. He said hi, then a few other words, then laughed. “That was Jonathan.”

  “I know my son’s voice, Trey. Put Johanna on.”

  Trey gave Johanna the phone. She grabbed and held it like she knew what she was doing. She smiled happily and talked, answering yes and no mostly. When she started laughing Trey reached for the phone. She held tight. He gently pried the cell away from her. She started whimpering. Trey picked her up. She grabbed at the cell again as he maneuvered away from her reach.

  “She really likes this cell phone,” Trey said.

  “Johanna loves any phone,” Madison said. “There’s a toy cell phone in one of the bags we brought over this morning. Trey, remember, if you need help, I can always call someone. I think Mamma Lou is probably headed to D.C.”

  “No, absolutely not. I’m fine.”

  “Trey,” Madison said.

  “Madi, not to worry. As a matter of fact we were just about to have a morning snack. The three of us are in the kitchen even as we speak.” The doorbell rang again. He’d forgotten all about it. If that was the nanny Kelly hired, he didn’t want her to leave. Holding Johanna securely, he quickly grabbed up Jonathan. With a twin under each arm, he juggled his cell and hurried to the door.

  “Trey, are you sure everything’s okay?” Madison asked.

  “Of course, Madi,” he said easily as he opened the door wide and motioned for the woman to enter. “So how’s the flight so far?” he asked, motioning again for her to enter. She just stood there looking as if she were in shock. Madison continued talking. Trey beckoned again; she still didn’t budge. She just stood there staring, looking confused. This was his nanny?

  Kenya W
hitaker stood impatiently, waiting for someone to answer the door. Fury clouded her good sense as she rang the bell a sixth time. She’d been ringing the bell for almost five minutes now. She knew someone was home because she heard the television blast, and the crash of something falling from inside.

  “Trey Evans.” She steamed silently.

  How could anybody be so cruel as to take advantage of someone like her father? Granted, he wasn’t the most straight-and-narrow person in the world, but he had a good heart. In the end that’s all that really mattered. But the flip side of that was unscrupulous businessmen who preyed on his naiveté. Men like Trey Evans, who assumed that since they were rich, they ruled the world and everybody in it.

  She’d seen it before, those in power taking advantage of those without. It was the shark syndrome, the big fish eating the small ones. They set their own rules and when there was blood in the water they closed in. They had no shame, no sense of morality and no scruples. All they cared about was their own success, even at the expense of someone else.

  She looked up at the stylish Woodley Park residence. The large, stately town house was on a modest tree-lined street that cut between the National Zoo, Rock Creek Park and Washington’s National Cathedral. It had a gated front yard and was at least three stories high. An eclectic mixture of old and new, like the rest of the row houses, it looked like it had been renovated, restored to look like it was from the nineteenth century. It was typical of what she expected of the area. Apparently, Trey Evans was good at what he did, but then most con men and criminals were. Unfortunately her father found this out the hard way.

  Of course she blamed herself. If she’d been more attentive to what was going on, and not so single-mindedly focused on her own goals, maybe she could have stopped this before it got to this point.