by Cleo Jones
Nia went through the house switching off all the lights in preparation of going to bed herself, but she quickly became sidetracked when she entered to kitchen to discover that she still needed to postmark her bills so that they could go into the mail the following morning. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat down at the table to complete the task, and that’s when she noticed a folded up piece of paper lying on top of than envelop. It was a note from Blake, and folded between it were 10 crisp hundred-dollar bills. This isn’t charity, it read. You deserve it.
Nia’s heart clenched. Her kneejerk reaction was to rip up the note and give Blake back the money whenever she saw him next, but she realized right away that she no longer harbored the hostility necessary to go through with the task. When she thought about Noah and all of the benefits the money could bring him, she relented, tucking it inside her purse and turning off the kitchen light before heading to bed.
Chapter twelve
Blake was running on empty when he showed up for work the following morning. He was still a little uneasy about his newfound responsibilities at Kanadov, and the idea of training his new right-hand man left him feeling more than a little on edge. “Amir?” he called out when he saw a man waiting for him outside his office.
Amir nodded and scrambled to his feet, dropping his briefcase before extending his hand to Blake. “Mr. McNulty, I presume?”
Blake nodded, giving Amir a slow once over. “Why don’t you come on back and I’ll show you where you’ll be working,” he said, letting go of his hand and escorting him out into the lobby.
Amir whistled when they entered a room full of cubicles and people tapping away on their computers. “Damn. This place is a powerhouse. No wonder the parking lot was full of European cars.”
Blake laughed. The small amount of humor did well to break the ice, and suddenly training Amir didn’t seem all that daunting. They spent the rest of the morning going over the ins and outs of Kanadov’s public relations plan, and by the time lunchtime hit both men were thoroughly famished. “That board is fine with everyone taking an hour lunch, so long as you clock back in on time,” Blake explained, feeling his stomach grumble.
“Nice,” Amir said. “What’s good around here anyway? Got any recommendations?”
Blake shrugged. “There isn’t much, but we do have a cafeteria with some pretty decent options.”
Amir nodded, following Blake into the lobby. “Well I hope there are at least a few nice places to grab a bite in this town. It would definitely fuck up my game if there wasn’t.”
Blake snickered. “Not married?”
“Divorced. I moved here for a fresh start,” Amir explained. “What about you? You got anyone to go home to?”
Blake started to tell him that he didn’t, not really anyway, but he was interrupted when Nia walked past them en route to the cafeteria.
Amir let out a low whistle, giving her backside a leering glare. “Who is that?”
“No one,” Blake snapped, quickly regaining his composure when Amir gave him an odd look. “I mean…I don’t really know that much about her. I do know that she has a kid though...”
“Well that’s not a problem,” Amir said with a grin. “As a matter of fact, that sort of works out in my favor.”
“Uh, how so?” Blake questioned, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh come on, don’t act like you don’t know,” Amir said, leaning in towards Blake and lowering his voice. “Women with kids are way less high maintenance. They get fewer opportunities with men, so they expect way less. They aren’t as whiny and demanding, and they don’t require quite as much coaxing, if you get my drift.”
A disgusted expression surfaced on Blake’s face. Amir and his misguided philosophy on women, one woman in particular, was all it took for him to know that they wouldn’t be getting along.
In the weeks that followed, Amir made more and more attempts at getting in Nia’s good graces. He made it his mission to find out exactly when she took her lunch everyday, and it didn’t take very long before they were eating together on a regular basis.
Nia held back a bit though. She told herself that it was because of Noah, but the truth was far simpler. To put it in blunt terms, it had been quite some time since a man had showed her affection, and she wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it.
“So don’t call it a date then,” Andrea said after Nia had informed her of Amir’s date proposal. “Just meet him somewhere for dinner or something. See if there’s still a spark outside of work.”
Nia was quiet as she considered her co-worker’s words. It had been a long time since she’d gone on a date, and as hesitant as she was, she decided that she was long overdue for a little fun. When she met up with Amir the following afternoon for lunch, she waited for him to broach the subject of taking her out to dinner and promptly accepted his offer. “How about Italian?” she suggested. “There’s this cute little family owned place right up the road that I’ve been wanting to check out for awhile…”
Amir sat back in his chair, appearing somewhat surprised by her sudden change of heart. “That sounds great,” he stated, flashing her a smile. “I love Italian.”
Nia smiled at him in return. “Well I don’t know what your schedule is like, but Tuesday nights work best for me. Say 7:30?”
“Perfect,” Amir said. “Just text me the address.”
Nia’s heart skipped a beat as Amir’s dark eyes latched onto her own, but little did she know, Blake was across town making pretty big strides of his own. Tired of rotting away in his father’s estate, he’d hired a realtor to find him a place somewhere on the beach, and the turnaround time ended up being much sooner than he’d anticipated. He’d put an offer down on a five-bedroom just a few miles outside of town, and it was accepted right away. Now the only thing he had left to do was convince Nia to move in with him.
Blake was so excited about the whole thing that he didn’t even pay Amir any mind when he returned to the office later that afternoon, which was surprising considering he wouldn’t stop bragging about the date he had coming up. “That’s great,” he muttered without looking up from the stack of paperwork on his desk. “What’s she like?”
Amir stopped talking to think it over. “I don’t know man. This girl’s hard to read. She’s a little shy, and guarded too, but I like that. We’re going out for dinner tomorrow. I let her pick the place.”
“Nice,” Blake said, glancing up at him as if to say ‘go away’.
Amir got the hint and left his office, immediately finding someone else to yap about his impending conquest with. It wasn’t until later that afternoon that Blake finally started to put two and two together.
“Nia, wait up!” Blake called out when he spotted her in the parking lot after work. “I have to meet with my realtor tomorrow night to finalize some stuff, so I might be running a little late, but I was thinking about picking up something for dinner after. That cool with you?”
Nia frowned. “Your realtor?”
“Yeah, I told you I was looking to buy a house, remember?”
“Oh yeah,” Nia said, struggling to free herself from his gaze before he could take notice of her envy. “Right…I guess I just didn’t realize you’d get around to it so soon.”
Blake felt an air of awkwardness settle over them, and he was quick to break through it, not wanting the conversation to head in the wrong direction. “So…dinner tomorrow night? You’re cool with me bringing it?”
Nia started to tell him that was fine, but she stopped short when she remembered her date with Amir. “Actually…I’m going out to dinner with a friend tomorrow, but if you wanted to get something for yourself and Noah that would be great.”
“Wait, you’re not going to be there?” Blake questioned with a frown. “What happened to the whole ‘supervised visits’ only shtick you were on?”
Nia shrugged and turned to unlock her car. “Consider it a test, but don’t be foolish enough to think he won’t relay everything you say and do to me as
soon as I get home.”
Blake laughed. “So this dinner,” he began, rubbing his jaw. “Is it a date?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business…”
“Oh come on, I’m just making friendly conversation,” Blake said, giving her a soft nudge in the side. “Is it anyone I know? Someone from college maybe?”
“Actually, you do know him,” Nia said, turning to look at him again. “It’s that new manager you’re training. Amir.”
Blake’s smile immediately dissipated, and a much more somber expression took its place. “Please tell me you’re joking,” he said, studying her face for a moment before continuing. “Nia…you can’t go out with him. The guy’s a misogynistic pig, and he’s certainly not the kind of person I want around Noah…”
Nia scoffed. “Noah isn’t the one going out on a date with him, I am, and as far as I can tell he seems like a perfectly nice guy.” She got in her car and started up the engine before rolling down her window to address him again. “And do me a favor…don’t break your habit of being on time tomorrow just because you’re a little jealous. I need to be out the door at seven on the dot.”
Chapter thirteen
Nia’s impending date with Amir was just about the only thing on Blake’s mind the following day. Amir was a jackass and Nia deserved better, but the fact that she seemed to have taken such a liking to him left him feeling vaguely guilty about what he was about to do next.
“So what do you think about the changes you requested?” Blake’s realtor spoke up, pulling him from his thoughts and waving a hand around the empty house. “The contractors just left this morning.”
“Everything looks great,” Blake said, going from room to room to soak it all in. “Thanks for the quick turnaround. The flooring came out especially well.”
“Not a problem,” Karen said, flashing him a smile. “I don’t get too many buys in this price range. You must make a great living for yourself.” She looked at Blake for confirmation, but he only shrugged. “This sure is a lot of house for one person though…”
“I actually have a son,” Blake explained, turning to look her in the eye. “He’ll be visiting me from time to time.”
“Aw. How old?”
“He just turned nine.”
Karen pursed her lips and kept her eyes steadied on Blake’s. “Well if he’s anything like he’s father, I’m sure he’s absolutely adorable.”
Blake smirked at the compliment, immediately picking up on the thick air of flirtation in her tone. “Well I don’t know about that, but he’s definitely a cute kid. I think he takes more after his mother though.”
Karen immediately latched onto that bit of information. “I’m guessing you’re divorced?”
“Nah, never married,” Blake said as he continued to look around the house, feeling all too aware of where this conversation was heading. “That reminds me though…would you mind doing me a little favor?”
“Sure,” Karen said, jumping at the opportunity. “What is it?”
“Would you mind calling this number for me?” Blake questioned, scrolling through his cell for Nia’s number before handing it over to her. “I have something I need to get out of. You’d really be saving my ass.”
Karen agreed after a little coaxing, and Blake went on to give her exact instructions on what to say before stepping back to let her work her magic.
Nia was in the process of getting ready for her date when her phone rang, and a sultry female voice filled her ears as soon as she picked up. “Hi there,” the woman said. “This is Mr. McNulty’s assistant. I’m calling because I have a bit of bad news to deliver…”
Nia frowned and set the tube of mascara she was holding down on her bathroom sink. “Is everything alright?”
“Oh, he’s fine,” Karen assured her. “He just wanted me to let you know that he got into a bit of a fender bender on his way home from work, so he won’t be able to make it tonight.”
Nia hesitated, immediately suspicious. “Can I talk to him?”
Karen was silent for a few seconds before responding. “Um…he’s actually a bit tied up at the moment, but I’ll be sure to have him give you a call as soon as he’s free.”
“Alright,” Nia said with a sigh, reaching up to massage the tension from her temples. “Thanks for letting me know…”
Karen ended the call before Nia could say anything else and turned to face Blake again, handing him back his phone. “So?” she cooed, closing the distance between them and running her hand down his chest. “How’d I do?”
“You did great,” Blake told her, offering her an insincere smile before making his way towards the door. “You’re a regular Meryl Streep.”
Karen swooned at the compliment, obviously flattered. “Who was that anyway?” she questioned, following him outside. “Ghost from your past?”
Blake turned to look at her before climbing into his car. “Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “You could say that…”
Chapter fourteen
Nia rushed to meet Amir, wanting to let him know in person that she wouldn’t be able to make their date that evening. Being the only patron of color, he was easy to spot when she entered the restaurant, but the smile on his face dissipated as soon as he noticed her pulling Noah along after her. “Sitter fall through?” he questioned.
“Something like that,” Nia said, out of breath and visibly frazzled.
“Well that’s cool I guess,” Amir said with a shrug. “I already ordered us a couple appetizers and some drinks. Maybe you can just have the kid sit over there or something.”
Nia scoffed, following Amir’s gaze over to a booth somewhere down the aisle. Good Lord. He had to be joking. “Actually, I can’t stay,” she said, suddenly welcoming the excuse to get away from him. “I just got a bit of bad news and I have to go check in on a friend.”
“Oh…” Amir looked concerned for a moment, but the concern was quickly replaced by irritation as he watched Noah grab up a complimentary breadstick and stuff it in his mouth.
“Mom, look!” Noah called out, pointing across the restaurant at a boy who’d just won a large stuffed animal from a claw machine. “Can I try?”
“No, Noah, not now,” Nia hissed, pulling him back alongside her.
Amir looked as though he’d had about enough. “That’s alright,” he said. “So long as I can get a rain check.”
“Sure,” Nia said, but deep down, she had no intention on ever seeing that through.
“But a table for two next time, right?” Amir hedged.
Nia realized what he was angling at right away, and if her thoughts weren’t so preoccupied by Blake, she might have told him to forget about the whole thing right then and there. Andrea was right. Seeing how he behaved outside of work had been pretty enlightening, and needless to say, she was definitely no longer interested.
Nia drove over to Blake’s father’s estate after leaving the restaurant, and she found his car parked in the driveway completely unharmed. After muttering a series of expletives under her breath, she instructed Noah to wait in the car before pacing her way to the front door.
Blake answered a few seconds after Nia rang the bell. “Nia,” he exclaimed, obviously taken off guard by her presence. “W-what are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” Nia repeated, not bothering to mask the anger in her tone. “I came to see how you were doing, but apparently you and your car have made a miraculous recovery.”
Blake sighed and rubbed his neck. “Just let me explain…”