“Oh really, funny you should say that.”
“Why?”
“If I recall correctly, it was in fact, you who brushed me off. Remember?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I thought we were supposed to meet for a tour at the London Eye together on Thursday morning.”
“So did I. When I called the number back that you left me, it was wrong. Since you never told me what hotel you were staying at, I couldn't track you down. All I had was your business card, and your cell number was not on it.”
“Oh.”
“I just figured you gave me the slip.”
“No actually, I figured that you didn't want to go after all, so I went touring anyway.”
“Why didn't you call me again when you didn't hear from me?”
Camille shrugged her shoulders before she answered. “I don't know. I guess I didn't want to seem desperate.”
“You desperate? I highly doubt that.”
“Anyway, that's not why I called.”
“Oh.”
“Look, I have no idea what game you’re playing at but I'm not interested.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You conned me and I'm furious. I want nothing to do with liars and cheats. If you thought sending me some stupid flowers was going to work you can think again.”
“Whoa. Liars and cheats? I take great offence to that. Who lied and cheated you?”
“You think you're so smooth, don't you? First of all, you chat me up on the plane. Then you continue with it at the taxi stand, asking all these questions about my advertising proposal. How do I know that you didn’t use some of my ideas for your own selfish purposes? And to boot, you don’t tell me anything about who you really are. I was at the gala and saw you accept the grand prize, Mr. Big Shot.”
“I think you have this all wrong. First of all, I talked to you on the plane because I found you attractive. Second, I was happy to see you again at the taxi stand so that I could give you my number. When I noticed, you looking a bit stressed, I assumed it was about your upcoming meeting and offered you some advice. In no way, did I use anything you said to win the account.”
The pressure in her head started to rise as she listened to him speak. When she couldn't take it anymore, she interrupted.
“Spare me the details. I know the kind of games guys like you play. You even knew about the gala and never mentioned it at all. What was the reason for that? Don't tell me you forgot, right?”
She waited for his response, but none came. Not liking the silence, she continued to talk.
“Aren't you going to say something? Or did the cat catch your tongue?”
“Are you going to let me speak?”
“Actually, no I'm not.”
“You asked me a question so let me at least answer it.”
“Why bother, I don't want to hear it. You're only going to come up with some story that you expect me to believe.”
“What story could I have except the truth? Don't you think you’re blowing things out of proportion?”
“Blowing things out of proportion? I don't think so. I don't know you at all, but I don't like what happened.”
“Look, Camille, let’s slow this conversation down a bit.”
“There's nothing to slow down, I'm done.”
“Really.”
“Yes, and do me a favour. Don't send me any more flowers.”
“At least I know you got them.”
“Well, you wasted your money.”
Then she pressed the end button on the phone.
Her hands were shaking as she put the phone down on the table. The old Camille would have easily allowed him to fill her head with all sorts of excuses. However, the new Camille was in charge of her own destiny. No man was ever going to make a fool of her again.
Her glass of juice was still on the table. She picked it up and gulped down what was left. Next, she sat back on the couch and kicked her feet up on the table. With a short sigh, she put her right hand over her heart and willed it to slow down.
***
Kyle couldn't believe what just happened. What was that all about? His head shook from side to side in dismay. The only thing she said that he was guilty of was not mentioning about the gala. But that wasn't anything of substance as he figured he would see her there anyways. To think she was that mad about it was disturbing.
How could he have misread the signals she had given him in London? He overlooked the fact that she gave him the wrong phone number. Now she hung up on him. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath. He rubbed his forehead then shook his head. After a short sigh, he smirked as it hit him that he actually found her feistiness intriguing.
It took him a few moments before he decided to call her back. He picked up his cell phone and looked at the phone number on the screen. Then he changed his mind. Putting the phone back down, he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. The first thing that caught his eye was a can of Boddingtons Pub Ale. “Boy, could I use this right now,” he said.
Kyle popped the tab, then took a swig. He took a bigger gulp the next time before he walked slowly back to the couch. He figured it was best if he let her cool off. Maybe with some time in between, she would realize that he didn't deceive her in any way. Why would he want to steal her idea in order to get the account? He had already presented his proposal before he even met her.
He had to make her aware of this. But obviously, that wasn't going to be today.
***
Four days had passed, and no call back from Kyle. She knew he had the number because it would still be on his phone. Not that she had expected him to call. After all, she did hang up on him. But somewhere deep down, she had wanted him to call, if anything to try to prove her accusations wrong. But his behaviour confirmed that what she said was indeed right. It also reconfirmed what his father had previously told her about his stubbornness.
It was her day off, but she wanted to keep herself busy. She put on her pink and white Nike jogging outfit with the pocket at the side. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, grabbed the iPod and headed out the door.
The fresh air could do her some good. Sitting around the house today would cause her to reflect on all of the bad relationships she had had in her life. What good were those reflections going to do her now? No, she needed to move forward.
Upon her return back home, she released the band from her hair and shook her head.
“Do you think that I need a shower?” she said while walking past the flowers that were still alive from the bouquet Kyle had sent her. As if they were ever going to answer her back.
She put her hand in to test the temperature before she stepped in. Once she was immersed under the pulse of the water, her thoughts started to drift towards Kyle again. Immediately brushing them off she washed her face twice as if the soap was also there to help cleanse her mind.
She got out of the shower, reached for the towel and held it over her face for a few seconds then dried off. Her pyjamas hung on the hook at the back of the door, which she slipped on while walking towards the bedroom. She pulled back the covers and climbed in. Only then did she notice there was a message on her cell phone. It was him. Kyle had called while she was in the shower. She listened to the voicemail.
“Hi, Camille. I hope you're not still upset with me, but I want to clarify the apparent misunderstanding that happened the last time we talked. First of all, I did not steal any ideas from you as I had my meeting with the Carnegies about the account before I left for San Francisco. Second, I didn't dump you on Thursday morning. As I mentioned before, you had given me the wrong number. Maybe by mistake, but nonetheless, it happened. Third, I didn't mention the gala, because I had no intentions of going. It was simply because my business partner could not attend that I had to step in. If we had been able to connect before, I would have told you about it. Fourth, I saw you leave the table at the gala, but you never came back. When I got off stage, I searched for yo
u all evening, but with no luck. I must add that you looked quite beautiful in your blue dress. Please call me back. We really should talk about this. Believe me, I'm telling the honest to goodness truth.”
She played the message over again. Even though she was still a bit angry, she had to admit it was good to hear his voice. “What to do?” she said, “should I call him back at all? Obviously, he wants to make amends, but what would be gained by calling him?” She'd have to figure it out in the morning.
Camille woke up twice during the middle of the night. She flipped back and forth so many times that she was still tired when she got up. Luckily it was Saturday and she didn't have to go to work.
She went into the bathroom, stared at herself in the mirror and brushed her teeth. She dragged herself to the kitchen for something to eat. Nothing much appealed to her. The easiest thing to eat was cereal, so she put some frosted flakes in a bowl with milk, grabbed the biggest spoon she could find and sat down.
The whole time she was eating, her mind was occupied with if and when she should call Kyle. Their initial meeting was short lived, but she did find him attractive and fairly interesting. The fact that he still called after she hung up on him so rudely, must mean something.
Camille put the bowl in the sink without washing it. She decided there was no time like the present to call and hear him out. Her cell phone was still in the bedroom, so she got it, sat up on the bed and made the call.
“I'm so happy that you called me back.” he said.
“I really don't know why I called because I'm still mad.”
“That's ok, I can handle it. Can I assume that you now believe me?”
“I'm not sure yet.”
“Let me see if I can convince you. Will you at least give me that chance?”
“Go ahead. I'm listening.”
Her full attention was focused on what he had to say about the misunderstanding. He sounded sincere enough that she didn't cut him off when he spoke. Better yet, she didn't feel the urge to hang up on him again. By the time they had finished their hour-long conversation, they had agreed to talk again the next day.
***
Kyle leaned forward and picked up the remote from the chestnut brown ottoman his feet were resting on. He clicked through the channels until he found his favourite sport. One of the top seeded tennis players he so admired was down one set by a tenth seeded player. What he liked the most about tennis was that even when the losing player was down to the last play of the match, they could still rally back and win the game. That’s how he felt about the advertising business. Any firm had a chance of landing an account even if they were not at the top of their game, as long as they had a winning pitch. Potential relationships could also work the same way. Could they not?
While watching the ball bounce back and forth, Kyle's mind was doing the same thing changing between the conversation he had with Camille and the match on the TV. Yes, he had somehow managed to change the tone of their phone call around which could mean that he won the set. But he was not convinced that he had won the match as far as she was concerned. There was still a whole lot of work to be done in that arena.
When a commercial came on, he pressed the mute button and started to contemplate how to move forward. He had already decided that he wanted to move back to San Francisco within a year. As much as he had enjoyed his time in London, he wanted to start a branch office and felt there was no other place for it to be but back home. Besides he wanted to be closer to his mother so he could visit more often.
Setting up the office though would be a challenge considering he was so far away. He needed to have someone on the ground in the new location to run the place until he arrived permanently. That’s where Camille could fit in. But would she even remotely be interested? After all, she worked with his father, and from what Tracee said she was quite instrumental in the success of the company.
Maybe now was the time to put his little plan in motion. How great would that be to see his father’s expression if and when Lancamp Advertising shot to number one in the business, with his ex-employee in tow?
All of this though was a pipe dream unless Camille agreed to be a part of it. It would take a hell of a lot to win her over, and in his heart of hearts, he knew it wouldn’t be about convincing her with money. She was the type of woman that would need to have a vested interest in the business.
Realistically though what did he know about her work ethics, attitude, or business sense? Yes, from what he read on the internet and their brief conversations she seemed dynamite and on the ball, but he would have to personally see her in action before considering any type of partnership. This, of course, meant that pulling her away from under his father’s wing would take some time and careful planning.
Although he was thinking about her for his business, his interest was not only a professional one. It was also one that dealt with matters of the heart. He genuinely fancied her and while she had made a few barbs about past relationships, she never clearly said that she was not interested in pursuing one. But then again, they had just met and it was highly unlikely that anything could work considering the distance between them. So, if they ended up only being friends then so be it. Just like a switch had been flipped back on he immediately thought with a sheepish grin, No I think I'm interested in pursuing more than just friendship, but how will I convince her of that if I mention the business. It could come across as if I am just using her. I might have to rethink my strategy.
***
Camille tossed the idea around in her head about when she was going to bring up the topic of Ellis to Kyle. At first, she felt it would be best to approach it head on and get it out of the way. But after thinking it through, she thought it would be a good idea to wait until a few phone conversations had passed before she brought it up.
They spoke again the next day, exchanging more pleasantries. She wanted to know more about the advertising business in London and compared it to how things operated in San Francisco. He wanted to know more about why she selected advertising as a career. Their conversations were never long as one of them was regularly being interrupted by phone calls relating to work.
After the third day of them talking and avoiding the topic of his father and family, Camille finally swallowed deep, took a breath and asked him the question.
“Kyle, I have not heard you mention anything so far about your father. Why?”
“I figured you are aware that Ellis Lange is my father.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware of that.”
“My father and I are not exactly on speaking terms right now.”
“Okay, that doesn’t sound so good. Can I ask you what happened?”
“Well it’s rather sensitive so I don’t think I’m ready to discuss it yet.”
“Does it have something to do with your mother?”
“Maybe. Why do you ask?”
“I know that she's in a home and it's hard for the family. I can respect that you don’t want to discuss it, but I must say that I truly admire how much devotion he has to his wife. Uhm, I mean your mother.”
“Really, you mean he actually cares? I wouldn’t know.”
“You should know.”
“Possibly, but now is not the time for this.” he said.
Not wanting to pry too much she politely said, “Okay, I hear you. I hope I didn’t upset you by bringing this up.”
“No actually, I’m fine with it.”
Camille could tell by his quick response and elevated pitch that he was slightly bothered by her intrusion into the relationship with his father. She tapped her fingers nervously on the glass coffee table deciding whether to push forward with more questions, or to let things rest with the hopes that another window would open and she could revisit the topic. She went with the latter.
“Why spoil the momentum we had going? he said before she had the chance to say anything else. Let me continue on with our previous conversation. What makes Camille Pryce tick?”
“A quick
change of topic. Smooth,” she stated making a full note to leave well enough alone. “I like to watch old movies, love to cook and enjoy a good stroll on a beautiful summer morning,” she replied.
“Sounds good. I like what I hear so far.”
“Is it safe for me to assume that you also like some of the same things?”
“Somewhat,” he replied. “However, since I’ve been in London, beautiful summer mornings don’t come up all that often, so walking is not always high on my list.”
“Well it's not for everyone, but any type of exercise as I see it is always a good thing.”
“That's true. I try to get out and play a round of tennis as much as I can. It's one of my favourite sports.”
“Good to hear that you're not the traditional sports fan who likes football and or baseball,” she replied.
“I watch those occasionally but not that often. On another note, do you have family in the San Francisco area?”
“Actually, I have one brother who lives about twenty minutes from me and a sister who lives in Boston. Both my mom and dad have passed away but the three of us are fairly close,” she said.
“Oh, so sorry to hear about your parents.”
“You don’t have to be sorry. They have been gone for over eight and ten years now respectively. They were great parents and I still miss them both very much, but what keeps me going is that we had a great relationship right up until the end, so I have no regrets.”
She heard Kyle sigh before he spoke.
“Oh, so no regrets eh? That’s great to hear. Hopefully, when it gets to that stage for me I will be able to say the same thing.”
“You will reconcile in time, I’m sure. After all family unity is always important, especially when the time comes that you need them the most.”
Once their conversation concluded, Camille took a moment to reflect on the broken relationship that had occurred between her brother and father. They never truly reconnected before her father's passing. To this day, her brother still has regrets about not working harder at mending the relationship. It would be a shame if Kyle and Ellis suffered the same fate. She was determined to help in any way she could to push them both towards a reconciliation.
Walking Through and Other Stories Page 9