Be My Valentine: The McClendon Holiday Series, Book 3

by Sean D. Young

  * * * * *

  Patrice had no idea where Nikki was. She was only supposed to be gone for twenty minutes, but that was thirty minutes ago. The only reason Patrice didn’t make her take her child with her was because Katrina had fallen asleep on the couch and it was so cold outside. So, Patrice suggested that she leave the toddler with her. Nikki promised that she wouldn’t be long, but she hadn’t called or come back and now Patrice was worried.

  Not only about Nikki not returning, but more so that she was going to have to cancel her date with Jacques, yet again. Patrice didn’t want to be a no-show, but she couldn’t leave the child alone in the apartment. She thought about calling Jacques to let him know the situation, but each time she could only dial several digits before changing her mind. Maybe if she waited a bit longer, Nikki would return and she could make her date.

  Since it was getting late, Patrice picked up Katrina as carefully as she could without waking her and took her to the bedroom. Patrice didn’t worry about putting on her night clothes, Nikki could do that when she returned.

  On her way back to the living room the intercom buzzed. Patrice smiled. She was happy that Nikki had finally come back and was safe. She pressed the button to give her access and opened the front door and stood there. Patrice wanted to see Nikki’s face just to be sure she was okay before she went to her room to get ready for her date with Jacques.

  When Jacques pushed the front door opened, Patrice’s jaw dropped. “Jacques.”

  “I thought you were coming over tonight,” he said entering the apartment.

  “I was coming. I promise you, I was coming,” Patrice said quickly in her own defense.

  “This is becoming a pattern,” Jacques said, his voice escalating.

  Patrice held her fingers to her lips. “Shh, Jacques, keep your voice down. Let’s go into my room and talk,” she said. Dreading the conversation they were about to have, but it was necessary to hash things out between them once and for all.

  “Fine with me,” Jacques answered, removing his cap and extending his hand so that she could lead the way.

  As they walked toward her bedroom, Patrice could feel Jacques close behind her. She took slower steps, which made it feel like an eternity, for her to get from the living room to her bedroom. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she watched him close the door and stand next to it. He was disgusted and she had the same feeling.

  “It’s happening again, Patrice,” Jacques said, folding his arms across his chest. “When are you going to see that this is tearing us apart?”

  Patrice jumped up. “Wait a minute,” she said holding up her hand. “Didn’t you tell me that you had to help your grandmother raise your sister after your parents passed away?”

  Letting his arms drop to his side, he stood with his back pressed against the door. “Why are you throwing that in my face?”

  “I’m trying to make a point. If anybody could sympathize with this girl, I thought you could.”

  “I sympathize with her. But don’t you see you’re getting deeper and deeper involved in this situation?”

  “We just need to stop this, Jacques.” Patrice didn’t want to keep having the same conversation over and over again. They were getting nowhere, only saying hurtful things to each other. She was afraid that one of them was going to say something neither one of them could take back.

  “Maybe you’re right,” he responded.

  Patrice was tired because their relationship was beginning to give her more heartache. She didn’t need chaos with all the things she had going on in her life. She wanted to go back to the days where she laughed all the time when they were together. They stared at each other, seemingly lost in each other’s gaze. The buzzer sounded, jerking Patrice’s attention toward the door. She moved toward him. “We’ll have to finish this later.”

  Jacques took two steps to the left and Patrice walked out of the room. She was sure that it was Nikki coming back now, but just in case, she asked before pressing the button.

  Patrice turned and walked toward her bedroom so that she could finish her conversation with Jacques. He was sitting on her bed, holding his cap as she entered the room. She watched him intently as he lifted his head ready to speak, but, Patrice interrupted him. “Give me one sec,” she said, holding up her finger.

  She turned and walked back out the room. As she got closer to the door she thought sure she heard a male voice. When she got closer to the entrance of her apartment, she saw Nikki and Terrance heading toward Nikki’s room. Anger rose within her, hot and immediate. “Hold on, where the hell are you going?” Patrice asked.

  Terrance and Nikki stopped and stood still.

  “Get away from that door,” Patrice said, walking past them going toward the living room. She didn’t want all the noise to wake up Katrina. If she heard her father’s voice, the little girl would surely want to see him. Once that happened, she was sure that Nikki would end up back with Terrance because she didn’t want her child to be without her father.

  Patrice turned in their direction and watched as Nikki tried to coax Terrance to go into the living room. Finally, he cooperated and they walked into the space where Patrice stood.

  With both hands on her hips, Patrice leaned closer to Nikki. “Have you lost your mind? Why would you bring him in my house?”

  After everything that Nikki had gone through, she showed up with the man who caused all the trouble in the first place.

  “He’s here to see the baby.”

  Patrice shook her head; she was so disappointed.

  “He just wants to see his daughter,” Nikki said, trying to explain.

  Patrice saw Terrance’s hand grow into a fist, his eyes narrowed, his jaw tight. She stood up straight and crossed her arms under her breasts. She was attempting to show him that she was not afraid. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jacques walking toward them.

  Terrance stepped forward. “Lady, you can’t stop me from seeing my daughter.”

  Who the hell does this punk think he is? Patrice didn’t step back, she stood firmly in her place. She already didn’t like him, but now he had crossed the line. She wasn’t going to be bullied by him. “I can stop you. You’re in my apartment.”

  Patrice watched him tighten his fist and she guessed her words and body language only infuriated him more, but she didn’t care one bit. His eyes squinted and his mouth was turned up. “You’re the one who told Nikki to have me locked up. Now you’re trying to keep me from my baby,” he said, his voice escalating and filled with bitterness. “This is all your fault, you dirty—”

  Jacques stepped in front of Terrance. “You’re not going to do that here.”

  Terrance looked Jacques up and down. “Who do you think you are?” Terrance spat back.

  “You are not going to talk to her in that manner.”

  Terrance pointed at Jacques. “You don’t have anything to do with this, man. I don’t even know you.”

  Nikki threw her hands up to her face. “This was not a good idea,” she said, crying uncontrollably, tears running down her cheeks.

  “I’m so sorry,” Nikki screamed. “Terrance, please just leave.”

  “I’m not going any damn where until I see my baby girl,” he said, staring Jacques in the face.

  “The girl asked you to leave, man. Now, I’m telling you. Get off the property.”

  Patrice could tell that Jacques was trying to hold on to his anger and not get into a fight, but Terrance wasn’t budging. This situation was rapidly getting out of control.

  Jacques placed his apple cap on his head, walked around Terrance and went to the door. “You’re at the point where you’re about to take a ride. Either in an ambulance or a police car, you pick,” he said, swinging the door open.

  “Please, Terrance, just leave,” Nikki pleaded.

  Terrance turned to her, pointing his finger in h
er face. “I’m not going back to jail tonight,” he said, his eyes narrow. “I’ll deal with you later,” he said, walking out the door.

  Jacques motioned with his foot as if he were kicking Terrance in his behind after he walked across the threshold. He slammed the door behind him.

  Patrice’s eyes widened when Jacques turned in her direction. She could tell he was furious as his eyes bucked.

  “I told you, Patrice,” he spat.

  “Okay, you told me. Fine, Jacques. You told me,” she said to him, but her eyes were on Nikki.

  “I’m so, so sorry Patrice,” Nikki said.

  Patrice stepped in her direction, wanting to comfort her, but she ran from the room. Following behind her, Patrice headed to the back, but Jacques stopped her.

  “Patrice, I’m going to leave,” Jacques said, walking to the door.

  He opened the door and walked into the hallway. “Look, I’m a professional chemist not a gangster. But at the same time nobody is going to run over me.”

  “I understand that,” Patrice said, watching him.

  “I don’t appreciate being put in that kind of situation, Patrice.”

  She threw her hand against her chest. “I didn’t put you in anything, Jacques.”

  “You need to choose, Patrice,” he said.

  “You won’t give me an ultimatum,” Patrice countered.

  “Fine, then I’m out of here,” Jacques said. He turned on his heel and walked swiftly to the door and out the apartment.

  Patrice took a couple steps into the hallway and watched until he was out of sight. She went back into her apartment and slammed the door. “Bye.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Patrice walked back to her bedroom. She was exhausted and just wanted to relax. Jacques walking out of the apartment continued to play like a movie in her thoughts. Her mind needed a rest because it was on overload.

  Closing the door behind her, she flipped back her covers and climbed into bed, fully dressed. She stared at the ceiling for a minute, then her eyes started to flutter closed. She heard a knock on the door that could only be Nikki.

  “Come on in, Nikki,” Patrice said.

  There was no doubt in her mind that Nikki was afraid, but Patrice gave her credit for coming in to talk to her. Bringing her abuser into someone else’s place of residence was reckless and rude.

  Swinging her body so that she could sit on the side of the bed, Patrice patted the empty space on the other side. “Come over here,” she said to her. “What is wrong with you, Nikki?”

  “I’m so sorry, Patrice,” Nikki said.

  “You’ve said that several times already. You’ve got to be more than sorry.”

  “I don’t know what else to say.”

  “I can’t believe that you’re trying to get back with that monster after everything he put you through.”

  Nikki sighed. “Listen Patrice. I’m not trying to get back with him. Katrina asks about him every day. I just get tired of trying to explain things to her. She doesn’t understand, she’s so young.”

  “I get that, but why put her in jeopardy?”

  “I don’t think he’d harm Katrina. He loves her.”

  “You thought he loved you too, right?”

  Nikki nodded.

  “How did he find out where you were?”

  “I told him that I was with you. I brought him here to see Katrina because I felt it was safer than me taking her to meet him somewhere else. I didn’t want to be alone with him anywhere.”

  “I see,” Patrice said. She was sure that Nikki had a lot of pressure on her especially trying not to paint a horrible picture of her child’s father. Even though it would be the truth when it came to Terrance.

  Throwing her arm around Nikki’s shoulders, she said, “I’m not angry at you, sweetheart. I want you to think when you talk to him or if he confronts you. You’ve got to know that he would do or say anything to find out where you are to get you off by yourself.”

  Nikki nodded, tears running down her cheeks. “This was not how this was supposed to be. I thought I was doing the right thing for my daughter.”

  “Did he follow you in his car?”

  “Yes, because I wasn’t going to allow him to get in the car with me. You might have never found me. When we got here there were several people in the parking lot and coming out of the building.”

  Patrice smiled. “That’s right. Stay in a crowd.”

  Nikki stood. “I just wanted to explain things to you and also thank you for everything that you’ve done for me and Katrina.”

  “You’re welcome. We’ve got to keep heading in the right direction.”

  * * * * *

  Once again, Jacques had intended to tell Patrice all about the deal that had worked out with Fairchild. But the incident with Nikki and Terrance had stopped him from doing so. He also wanted to tell her that he was going to New York to put some finishing touches on the fragrance and make sure that everything was in place for the distribution. Maybe after things die down a bit, they would be able to have a productive conversation.

  When he entered the apartment, he noticed that Cecilia wasn’t home. He needed to let her know that he was going to be out of town. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pressed her speed dial number. He waited for her to answer.

  “Big Bro.”

  “Cee Cee, I wanted to tell you that I’m flying to New York in the morning.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “I don’t know, but I didn’t want you wondering if something happened to me if I don’t call you.”

  “I gotcha…I know there’s more to this situation than you’re telling me, but I’m leaving it alone for now. If I don’t hear from you in a couple of days, I’ll call you myself.”

  “That’s fine, but I plan to talk to Roger about working in the lab to finish the fragrance.”

  “What fragrance?” Cecilia wanted to know.

  Jacques had forgotten he hadn’t told anyone else about the deal that he had in the works for Fairchild to become the distributor for Allure No. 6. He especially didn’t tell his sister because she wouldn’t have wanted him to work with them again. She seemed to understand.

  “So, this is your deal?”

  “Mine and Patrice’s, yes.”

  “Way to go, Big Bro. That’s what I’m talking about. Be your own boss.”

  Jacques chuckled. “Cee Cee, you are something.”

  “You just go on up there and talk to Roger. I’m sure that he’ll do whatever you ask because they realized that they were wrong to treat you the way they did.”

  “That’s in the past now, Cee Cee, so we are all going to let it go.”

  “Whatever, Jacques. I’ll talk to you in a couple of days.”

  Jacques chuckled as he hung up the phone. Cecilia was a woman with fire and he admired her for it.

  * * * * *

  The next morning when Patrice pulled into the parking lot of Good Scents, she didn’t see Jacques’s car. She had no idea if he hadn’t shown because he was fed up with what had been happening between them or if he was coming in later. She hoped it was the latter, because she needed to talk to him to get an update on where they stood on the project. She also wanted them to sit down with Renee again to finalize the marketing plan because there were still questions that needed answers.

  Before exiting the car, Patrice sat for a while looking every once in a while into the rearview mirror. She didn’t want to think about the events that led up to Jacques walking out on her apartment last night, but she couldn’t help herself. Could she have done something differently? Did she try hard enough to get him to understand why she felt the need to help Nikki?

  With one last glance in the mirror, she decided to get out and go inside, but first she needed to know once and for all if he was coming into
the office today. They had work to do, so she decided to call him.

  The phone rang a couple of times before he picked up the third time. “Jacques,” she said, making sure it was him.

  “Yes, Patrice,” he said.

  “Renee asked me about distribution. Of course you know I have no idea.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

  “What time can you meet with her today?”

  “I can’t meet today,” Jacques said.

  “Why? You’re not coming to work today?”

  “No, I won’t be in today, Patrice.”

  There was definitely something going on with Jacques and Patrice had a feeling she had something to do with it. “Where are you?” she wanted to know.

  “I’m at Fairchild.”

  “In New York?”

  “Yes, I’m in New York,” Jacques replied.

  “How long do you plan to be there?”

  “Oh, a couple of days.”

  “Jacques, what’s really going on?”

  “I’m just taking care of business. I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry to bother you. You have a good day,” Patrice said, tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She swallowed hard because she wanted to say something else, but didn’t know what to say, so she hung up.

  * * * * *

  Jacques had no problem getting access for the floors of Fairchild Ltd. He was grateful to Connie for making sure his name was on the security list. All he had to do was show his driver’s license. They gave him a temporary paper visitor’s badge so he could access the secured floor.

  Jacques had just stepped off the elevator when Patrice called him. He hated to cut the conversation short, but he needed to get to work. He would call her after he got settled.

  Pulling the chrome handle of the left side of the all-glass panel doors, he stepped up to the main receptionist’s desk. He was surprised to see that Molly, the regular receptionist, wasn’t in her usual place behind the large mahogany circular desk. The peppy young greeter who wore braces and a bun had been replaced with a tall woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes.