by Tina Martin
“Girl, Bella kept me up all last night.”
“Why? Is she okay?”
“Yes. I think she got her days and nights mixed up. Barringer had to work today, so I figured I’d stay up.” She yawned again. “Anyway, how’s packing going? I was trying to call you yesterday to see if you needed some help, but—”
“Girl, you already got your hands full over here. Plus, I got Kurt there to help. He packed most of the stuff by himself and the movers have boxes and furniture on the truck already.”
“Kurt is ready to go! I ain’t mad at him.”
“Yeah, he’s ready, especially after what Barringer did.”
“What did he do because I asked him what was going on but in pure, Barringer fashion, he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Girl…” Candice shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it either, but after discussing some of it with Dad, he wants me to make peace with all of my brothers before I leave, so I have to talk to him at some point.”
“What did Barringer do, Candy?”
“It’s complicated, but putting it in a nutshell I had to meet with my ex, Quinton, for business. Barringer made sure Kurt saw us together, hoping me and Kurt would get into an argument and eventually break up.”
Calista’s mouth fell open. “Did Barry really do that?”
“He did. And I think it was more so because the company Kurt worked for made an offer to buy Blackstone Financial.”
“Okay, so I can’t tell you why Barry did that but I can tell you what his aim is. Barry will stop at nothing to protect Blackstone Financial.”
“I know that.”
“And it’s not for him. He’s doing it for his father.”
“I understand that. I get it, but I’m his sister. It’s almost like he’s lost that connection to me. I’m the enemy now. And then there’s Bryson…don’t get me started on him.”
“I know. Kalina told me.”
“So, she knows what Bryson did?”
“Yeah. She said she heard you two arguing on the porch.”
“Crap…so that’s why she’s been calling me nonstop. Now, I have to deal with that situation. You know what—I’ma go talk to her now. Then, it’s Bryson and your worrisome husband.”
Calista chuckled. “You know how Barringer is. He’s been your brother longer than he’s been my husband.”
* * *
After leaving Calista’s house, Candice went straight to Blackstone Financial. She was supposed to stop by Kalina’s first but decided she’d clean out her office last minute. That would also give her time to talk to Barringer.
She managed to sneak in without him noticing, surprised that her badge still worked. In her office, she gathered up her pen holder and some pictures on her desk – her college graduation picture, pictures of her niece and nephew and a family picture with her brothers. She opened the desk drawers and took out an almost empty lotion bottle and tossed it in the trash. Then her eyes focused on the red light on her phone. Loose ends. Things she’d leave behind for Barringer to deal with. There were voicemails from new clients but the voicemail from Quinton was the one that gave her pause. She listened intently to his message, reading his breaths. His tone. Remembering how sad his features were when she met him at the restaurant:
Hi, Candice. I just wanted to call to say thank you for meeting with me, even though it ended abruptly. Uh…*releases a loud sigh* I just wanted to let you know that I was being truthful. I hope one day, you will find out the truth. Anyway, thanks again. I’ll tell Bernard to proceed with signing on with Blackstone Financial. He was going to do that no matter what happened. Bye.
It wasn’t right. The sour feeling she felt in her gut wasn’t right. This was the feeling she’d been fighting all along – the feeling that there was something better out there – not to say anyone could ever be better than Kurt, but what if? Had Bryson not interfered in their relationship, she didn’t know how her relationship with Quinton would’ve ended up. The least she could do was provide closure for the both of them and let Quinton know she had found out the truth. It wouldn’t serve any other purpose except closure because what was done was done. She couldn’t do anything to change that.
“I thought you were supposed to be leaving.”
Candice looked up at the sound of her brother’s voice. “I am eventually. I had a lil’ chat with dad. He thinks it’s best if we talk before I leave town.”
“What’s there to talk about?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Is it possible that you can come out of business mode for a one minute and see me as your sister and not your employee?”
“Well, you’re not my employee any longer since you’re skipping town.”
“Okay, then can I be your sister?”
Barringer closed the door and took a seat. “What is it, Candice?”
“What you did was foul, Barry—just plain wrong. There’s no way around it.”
“It wasn’t wrong. It was business, and I still don’t trust that man.”
“Who cares! I trust him. He’s my husband.”
“Okay. Is that all you have to say?”
“No. That’s not all I have to say. I have always been there to support you, Barry. Even when you and Calista were going through hard times, I was always there. I had your back. I was worried sick about you. Thought you were going to lose it. I was talking to Calista, making excuses—saying anything for her to not give up on you—telling her how stressed out you were about the company. But here you are, once again, not having my back on anything because everything is always about what Barringer wants. Do you even care about me?”
“Don’t ask me no stupid question like that. You know I care about you.”
“Then why don’t you show it? And why would my brother try to intentionally wreck my marriage.”
“Because I don’t know Kurt outside of business. I know he came to my company with some bogus proposals. That’s all I know about him. How am I supposed to see him in a good light if, when I look at him, all I see is a man who’s trying to take my father’s company?”
“Get to know him outside of business because your little plan to break us up, it didn’t work so stop being a jerk and be my brother for once!”
Barringer leaned back in the chair. The stubbornness in him didn’t want anything to do with Kurt Hempstead, but for the sake of family unity, he said, “Fine. I’ll hit him up. We’ll go out for beers or something, but after that, if I don’t like him, I’m not forcing any more interaction.”
Candice smiled. Pleased. “It’s really sad how stubborn you are.”
Barringer stood up and walked over to the desk where Candice was sitting and said, “No, what’s sad is how you still don’t get me after all these years.” He opened his arms and said, “Bring it in.”
“Get away from me, Barry. I’m still mad at you.”
“I said bring it in, girl,” he said leaning toward her and wrapping her in a big, brotherly bear hug. “You know I love you.”
“I love you too, Barry.”
“That’s why you’re leaving me high and dry, huh? Because you love me.”
“Oh, stop it. You’ll be just fine without me, especially once you find somebody to take my place here. Have you started looking yet?”
“Nah. Not yet, but I will. You leave me no choice.”
“I’ll still help you. I told you I would, so—”
“No, don’t worry about it. You need to focus on your new life. I’ll handle finding a replacement.”
“Thank you, Barry. I appreciate that.”
* * *
After leaving the office, Candice went to see Kalina at her office. She was making her rounds, tackling issues one by one, but visiting Kalina had to do with a different issue. The Quinton issue.
“Oh my God, girl! Where have you been?” Kalina asked throwing her arms around Candice. “I’ve been blowing you up, trying to make sure you were okay. Then I thought you were mad at me because of Bryson and—”
“Come on in. Let me get you some coffee.”
Candice stepped inside and sat on the couch.
“Here you go,” Kalina said. “Now what did my husband do?”
“You know what he did. Calista said you told her.”
“Yes, I told her what I heard, but Bryson didn’t want to talk about it. I ain’t never seen him so worked up in my life.”
“He lied to me—lied straight to my face.”
“About Quinton…”
“Yes…told me Quinton was cheating on me.”
“But wasn’t he? You said he stopped talking to you.”
“He did, but only because Bryson threatened him. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he proceeded to tell me that Quinton was cheating on me. It was all a lie. The only reason things didn’t work out between me and Quinton is because Bryson didn’t like him and didn’t want me with him. In his eyes he wasn’t good enough for me, so therefore, he had to go. Now, I’m left with questions of what could’ve been.”
Kalina shook her head. “Don’t do that to yourself. I’m not endorsing what Bryson did. That was totally wrong on so many levels. I’m sure he has his reasons, but it was wrong. As for you questioning yourself—it’s over and done with, Candy. You’re married now. You’ve moved on.”
“I have and the way I feel is nothing against Kurt, but what if I wasn’t supposed to move on? What if Quinton was supposed to be the man in my life? Since Bryson interfered, I’ll never know. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless maybe I talk to Quinton. He called me. Left a message.”
“Candy, please don’t tell me you gave him your cell phone number.”
“No. He has my office number and when I went by the office to clean out my desk drawers, I listened to my voicemails and there was one from him. I owe him an apology, Kalina.”
“Bryson’s the one who owes him an apology.”
“I was the one in the relationship with him. I should’ve trusted him.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to talk to him. I at least want him to know that I know he’s not a liar. I owe him that much.”
“You don’t owe him anything.”
“But I feel like I do. I think I should say something, close it out and leave it off like that.”
“Do you think it’ll be that simple?”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because you’re vulnerable right now. Your emotions are involved. You’re mad at Bryson and you’re pondering over how your life with Quinton would’ve turned out.”
“Listen, Kalina—I know you’re the relationship expert but I think I’m making the right call here. I have to do what’s best for me in this situation. Quinton isn’t the only one who needs closure from all of this.”
“Candy, Candy, Candy,” Kalina sighed. “Just be careful. You’re a newlywed. These situations can be tricky. If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself in a predicament you don’t want to be in.”
“I’ll be careful. I’ll talk to him and then this will be all over.”
* * *
And now it was Bryson’s turn…
Candice walked into Bryson’s office the next morning feeling completely opposite of the way she thought she’d feel. She wasn’t angry. Wasn’t there to chew him out or talk about how wrong he was for interfering in her life. All she wanted to know was why. And that’s what she asked him. The one word. Why?
Bryson tapped a pen on his desk as he thought about it and responded, “I told you I didn’t think he was right for you.”
“You never thought anyone was right for me.”
“In my mind, no one is. I told you that, too. I had no right to interfere in your life. I didn’t. You wouldn’t have done that to me, I shouldn’t have done that to you. I realize that now. So, how do we squash this and move forward?”
“It’s squashed. I’ll just leave it at that, but for future reference, I won’t tolerate it so don’t even try to pull that stunt with Kurt. Understand?”
Bryson smirked. “No worries. I like Kurt. He’s a cool guy.”
She narrowed her eyes. He just said no one was right for her but now, he was saying Kurt was a cool guy.
“I’m serious. He is. We’re meeting him for drinks later.”
“We, who?”
“Me, Barry, Gary and Everson. Barry set it all up.”
“Is this a setup to get him drunk, then beat him up in the alley or something?”
Bryson shrugged. “Let your man handle his own battles.”
“Alright. Fine. I’m just happy to see you’re making an effort.” Candice walked around the desk and wrapped her arms around her brother.
“Forgive me,” he said. “Everything I’ve done I thought was for your best interest. I wouldn’t intentionally hurt you.”
“I know, and I forgive you. Just make sure you return my husband in one piece.”
“No worries. I got you.”
Chapter 29
Bryson slapped hands with Kurt as he walked into the bar. “You made it.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it,” Kurt said. He spoke to Garrison, Everson and mumbled a greeting to Barringer. He didn’t want to say anything to him at all.
“Let’s grab a table,” Bryson said since they’d all been sitting at the bar. When they settled at a table, Bryson ordered a round of beers.
“I guess this is the bachelor party that never was, huh?” Barringer joked.
The brothers chuckled.
Kurt clenched his jaw and ignored the comment. How do you find common ground with a man who tried to sabotage your marriage?
“I think, before we have drinks and break bread, we should acknowledge the elephant in the room,” Bryson said.
Kurt grinned. “First, I’m the man who stole your sister. Now, I’m the elephant.”
Garrison chuckled. “Look, as long as my sister is happy, I’m good.”
“I second that,” Everson said right before he took a swig of beer.
“And you know we’re cool,” Bryson told him.
All eyes then went to Barringer. He was holding his beer when he said, “Look, man—you know my reason for the animosity between us, but now that I know you weren’t in this to take advantage of my sister for business reasons, I can get behind this…whole…marriage…thing.”
Kurt took a sip of beer, not acknowledging anything Barringer had said.
“Okay,” Barringer said. “I get it. I did something I shouldn’t have.”
“Something like what?” Garrison asked. He was out of the loop on Barringer’s plan.
“When you told me about Quinton’s meeting with Candice, I sent Kurt to the bar so he’d see Candice talking to her ex-boyfriend.”
“Yeah,” Kurt said, looking directly at Barringer. “He tried to break us up.”
“Wow. That’s a new level of shady, Barry,” Garrison said.
“It was, but I thought I was doing what was right at the time, so—”
“So you think lying to your sister is right?” Kurt asked.
“No, not at all, and I’ve since made peace with my sister. I came here tonight to attempt to do that with you.”
“I honestly don’t need peace with you, man, and I don’t need you to be okay with me. All I ask of you is that you respect my wife.”
“I guess you heard that,” Everson said.
Barringer leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, I heard it.”
“Then I guess we’re on the same page for once,” Kurt said.
“Yeah, man. We’re good. Just keep those Champions away from my company and we’ll be even better.”
“No, we’ll be better if we keep business out of this.”
Garrison nodded. “He has a point there. There’s no sense in destroying family ties over business dealings.”
“A
greed,” Bryson said.
“Alright. The issues are out of the way, now let’s have some fun,” Everson said.
“Sounds good to me,” Kurt said. “I’m sure the women are having their fair share of fun tonight.”
Bryson raised a brow, confused. “They are? Kalina told me she was about to soak in a hot bubble bath which made me immediately regret coming out here with y’all.”
“June said she was going to bed early tonight,” Everson said.
“Yeah and Calista has Bella and Junior, of course,” Garrison added.
“Oh, then I probably misunderstood her,” Kurt said to save face, but he was sure Candice said she was going out with Kalina and the girls tonight. If she wasn’t with them, where was she?
“Kurt, you play pool or does collecting rocks consume most of your time?” Everson quipped.
Kurt laughed. “I play pool.”
Everson stood up and said, “Then, let’s see what you got.”
Chapter 30
Candice sat in the car for a moment rationalizing in her mind that if she walked up to the door of Quinton’s house, spoke her peace, apologized for her brother’s actions and then left, all would be right with her world. She would be given a clean slate and so would Quinton. This would give him the closure he needed.
That they both needed.
She got out of the car and walked to the door. She didn’t have to ring the bell to alert him of her presence. As she got closer, he stepped out onto the porch.
“I was wondering if you were ever going to get out of the car,” he said. “For a moment there, I thought you would drive off.”
“How’d you know I was out here?”
“I was watching TV…saw you pull up.”
“I know I should’ve called first,” she said stepping up on the porch.