by B Ivy Woods
“We’ll gladly leave the room. Maybe Ellie needs help with something…anything.” With that, Eve grabbed Liv’s arm, and the two hurried out of the room and closed the door.
“Rae, talk to me. Please.” Rae walked over to another table in the room and leaned on it. Her back was to Flint, and although she knew that she should face him head-on, Rae feared what she would see in his body language and his eyes. “Flint, you know I don’t want to come between you and your family. And your mother has some animosity toward me. For what reason, I have no idea. So maybe it’s best if we—”
“No.”
“What?” Rae asked as she looked over her shoulder. As she was saying those words, she felt as if her heart was beating out of her chest. Although Rae was saying those words, she didn’t want to. But she didn’t want to cause any friction between Flint and his family either.
“We aren’t going to throw in the towel because we are having a disagreement. I’ve waited too long to get you back into my life, and I will not leave yours unless you absolutely want me to. Now talk to me. It doesn’t matter what it’s about, just spill the tea, as you would say.”
That earned a small chuckle from Rae. “That’s not exactly the correct way to use that in a sentence, but I’ll give you an A for effort.” She took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders back, and stood tall as she turned around. Looking Flint right in the eyes right as she was about to say this almost sent a chill down her spine, but this was what he wanted, so this was what she was going to do.
“I think your mother is trying to break us up.”
18
“What would make you think that?”
Rae closed her eyes as she took deep breathes to calm herself down. She didn’t want to snap at Flint because it wouldn’t solve anything.
“Besides the information I gave you earlier, I don’t think she was too thrilled with me being your date to Rep. John Clarkson’s event either. In fact, I would think she hadn’t expected you to show up with a date. Did you tell her we are seeing each other again?”
Flint nodded and said, “Yeah. Well, sort of.” He cleared his throat and said, “I told her I wanted to pick up where we left off and that I was helping you move. So you can see how long ago it was that I mentioned it. I haven’t spoken to her in a while, but my dad knew. Not sure how much he told her.” That information sent the wheels in Rae’s mind spinning.
“When was the last time you saw Cassandra?”
Flint took a second to think about it before he replied. “Maybe at some party that my parents threw at their home a few months back.”
Rae vaguely remembered hearing about the parties the Wests threw at their home from Jules after she and Flint had broken up.
“Did you two ever date?”
“No. My sisters mentioned she might have had a crush on me years ago, but that was it.”
Rae knew there was something she was missing but didn’t know where to go from there.
Flint took several steps forward until he was standing in front of her. He placed his hands on her forearms. She could feel the surge of electricity from their bodies connecting. “How about this? I’ll talk to my mom and tell her I find it strange that Cassandra is just now interested in the nonprofit and ask that she tell me the truth. I will also mention that I am thrilled to be with you.”
She thought about his statement and figured that this seemed reasonable until further evidence surfaced to either prove or disprove her assumption. “That sounds like a good plan.”
“Fantastic. Now since no one else is in here, how about we move past the arguing part and get to the make-up part?”
Rae giggled before saying, “I don’t know what you’re thinking as far as making up, but I’m down for a quick kiss. We need to get back to work.”
“You sure I can’t…entice you to do more than that?”
“I’m positive. Having sex with you has never been an issue, and the thought of potentially getting caught does add some excitement to it, but we need to finish up the tasks at hand.”
Flint let out a dramatic sigh that made Rae chuckle again. “As usual, you’re right. But I will remember what you said about having sex in public.”
“That was the point,” teased Rae as she turned her back to him and tried to pick up where she left off.
Flint rushed out of the room to find Liv and Eve, and the three joined Rae in putting together the materials needed for the meetings that were happening on Capitol Hill the following day.
Ellie soon joined the group and they made a lot of headway in getting their work done. Rae didn’t know how long they had been working until Ellie checked her phone and gasped.
“Mr.—Flint, I ordered lunch for the group about an hour ago and need to run down and grab it from the delivery driver. Is that okay?”
“How about you go and grab my mom, Kane, and Cassandra and bring them in here while I go get lunch?” Ellie nodded, and with that, both Flint and Ellie left the room.
Liv and Eve slinked over to Rae, and Eve whispered, “What is going on?”
“I wish I could explain and wrap my head around it.”
“Try.” Liv not letting her off the hook wasn’t a shock.
“I think Gladys and Cassandra don’t like me.”
“That’s obvious. But why?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. I feel like I’m…missing something, and it’s staring me right in the face.”
“Yeah. I’d get it if you had done something to Gladys or Cassandra, but you haven’t. Did anything happen with Gladys when you dated Flint the first time around? Today is your first time meeting Cassandra, right?”
Rae took some time to think about it but shook her head. “Yep. Have never seen her before in my life and Flint never brought her up. For what it’s worth, Jules never did either but I don’t know if they know each other. They might since they run in the same social circles.”
“Maybe Gladys thinks things are more serious now, and she is feeling threatened? And maybe she is using Cassandra to shift Flint’s attention.”
Rae staggered at the suggestion. “That’s silly. Why would she feel threatened?”
“Because you might take her baby boy away from her.”
Rae gave Liv an incredulous look. “I wouldn’t dream—”
“I didn’t say it was rational. Just some mothers feel that way, or so I’ve read.”
“And where are you reading these stories?”
“On Reddit.”
“Liv, you live an incredible life.”
“I know, I know.” She took her brown hair out of her ponytail and dramatically flipped it over her shoulder. Rae burst out laughing, which led to Liv attempting to hold her laughter in but failing. Eve soon joined in, and before they knew it, all three women couldn’t contain their giggles.
Tears of laughter were flowing down Rae’s and Eve’s faces by the time Ellie, Kane, Gladys, and Cassandra arrived back in the room. Liv’s very red face was trying to hold everything together but failed.
Gladys stood in the doorway with an eyebrow raised, surveying the scene before her. “Is everything all right in here?”
Rae nodded because she’d forgotten how to use her words.
A stomach growled in the room, and everyone’s attention shifted to Liv.
“Sorry, but I’m ready for lunch. Is anyone with me?”
Kane shook his head with a grin before turning for the door. “Let me see if Flint needs any help.”
“No need. I have all the bags of food, and the delivery driver brought the drinks up so we should be good.” Flint shuffled through the door and Kane reached out to help him place the bags on the conference room table. Eve and Rae started setting out the food while Liv and Ellie went off to fill some cups of ice and grab utensils that the store forgot to put into the bags. Neither Gladys nor Cassandra tried to help.
A few minutes later, the group was sitting at the conference room table, chowing down on a variety of sandwiches and salads.
That was the first time in a while that Rae heard Cassandra speak during her time volunteering at Homes for Vets.
“Thanks for the compliment, but Ellie was the one who did all the work.”
Cassandra’s cheeks turned slightly pink, and the rest of the table thanked Ellie for throwing the lunch together. The group continued chatting with one another as they ate their food.
When the group finished eating, Cassandra hopped up and started cleaning. Rae noticed that ever so often, she would glance at Flint and look at him longer than necessary. And that was when the puzzle pieces fell into place. Her feelings for him were still there.
Pocketing this newly gained information, Rae smiled at something Kane said before focusing on her thoughts on the situation. She felt someone tap her foot under the table and noticed it was Eve.
Liv mouthed the words are you okay and Rae nodded her head.
“Flint, do y’all need any more help? I’d love to continue volunteering here.”
Flint nodded and gave her a smile as Rae’s eyes twitched because she was trying not to roll them. She needed to get out of here because she was worried that her eyes would get stuck in the back of her head, given the number of times she had rolled them over the last few hours.
There were other tasks the group completed before their time at Homes for Vets was finished.
Rae gently cleared her throat and said, “I had a great time seeing this aspect of the foundation.” She directed her attention to Flint, Kane, and Ellie. “Thank you for everything that you do to help veterans and other members of the community.”
Ellie blushed and looked down while Kane and Flint both gave her big smiles. When she peered at Gladys, she saw something unexpected. Her face was unreadable, which was a step above what Rae expected her reaction to be: pissed. Rae stared at her for a few more seconds before turning her attention to Liv and Eve.
About an hour later, Rae, Flint, Eve, and Liv walked out to their cars and noticed that Gladys and Cassandra were still outside.
“What are they still doing here?” muttered Liv as they got closer to them.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” replied Eve.
Gladys and Cassandra had exited the building at least twenty minutes before them, so what were they still doing here? Before Gladys noticed the group approaching, Rae had thought of fifty different ways they might avoid being detected. But they were useless when Gladys’s gazed connected with her son’s. And she wasn’t done dropping bombs.
“Sweetie, would you be a dear and take Cassandra home? I have to go meet your dad for a last-minute event he’s attending in DC.”
“Mom, you would never drive in DC. How are you getting there? Can’t Cassandra drive your car back to the house and you call a car from here? After all, we’re closer to DC now than we would be if we went all the way back home first.”
“Well, that is a good idea. I got so flustered I didn’t even think of that.”
“Bull—” Rae and Eve nudged Liv from opposite sides before she could complete that sentence.
Gladys handed her keys over to Cassandra before giving Flint another kiss goodbye on the cheek.
Rae, Liv, Eve, and Flint walked over to Flint’s sedan, and Liv and Eve each gave Rae a big hug.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Thanks for inviting us,” Eve said.
Rae stared at Liv for a second before she said, “Whatever it is you’re thinking of doing, don’t do it.”
Liv took a slight step back with her mouth agape. “What? What would I possibly do?”
“I don’t know what you have up your sleeve, but I can see the twinkle in your eye. Don’t do it.”
“What sucks is that I rode down with her, so whatever mess she gets in, I have to go along with it.” The pained look on Eve’s face made Rae chuckle.
“I won’t do anything weird. You have my word.”
Rae moved out of the way as Flint circled his car to open the door for her. “I know you just sidestepped what I said.” Rae sighed. “Be careful.”
“I always am. Now go have fun with your man.”
And with that, Rae got into the car, and Flint walked around to get into the driver’s seat. They both buckled their seat belts and Flint pulled out of the parking lot.
“What was Liv talking about?”
“No clue. But I’m sure Liv will report back to us in about an hour.”
Rae and Flint were cooking in his kitchen when something came across her phone screen.
“Can you check my phone? I saw it light up, but I can’t get to it.”
Flint nodded and checked the message. “It’s from Liv.”
“Okay, give me a second.” She hurried over to the sink to wash her hands. She dried them on a kitchen towel and Flint handed her the phone.
Liv: Admit that I am amazing.
Rae: Can’t do that when I don’t know what makes you amazing.
Eve: Even I have to admit she is.
Liv: I can’t just be amazing because I am me?
Rae smirked as she typed her response.
Rae: No.
A second later, Rae’s phone rang.
“Hey, Liv.”
“You know your words cut deep, right? Eve is still here.”
“Hey, girl.”
Rae laughed before saying, “Hey yourself. Now, what are you talking about?”
“Admit that I’m amazing.”
“Will it get you to tell me this story?”
“Yes.”
“You’re amazing. Now spill it.” Rae glanced at Flint before chuckling. Flint snuck up behind Rae to embrace her and laid a small kiss on her neck.
“Wait, I’m basking in the glory of that compliment.” Rae didn’t reply during the moment of silence. She then asked, “So you know how we volunteered today?”
“Yes, I was there.” Rae shook her head.
“And when we left the building, we saw Gladys and Cassandra outside.”
“Right.” Rae placed the phone on the counter and turned on the speaker. “Liv, you’re on speaker. Figured Flint would want to hear this too.” She then moved to place a lid on the pot.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did we interrupt anything?”
“Only us making dinner. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“But that’s its permanent residence. Anyway, when you guys left, Eve and I stayed for a bit longer. I hoped it came across as us trying to fix my GPS or something. When I pulled away, they were still there, and I figured that it doesn’t take that long to call a car in Crystal City.”
“Right.”
“I pulled out of the parking spot and made a U-turn and parked my car down the street where I still could see inside of the parking lot. And then we waited.”
“I think it was maybe twenty minutes?” Eve chimed in with her recollection.
Rae recognized Liv’s pause for dramatic effect.
“You guys aren’t any fun. Anyway, Gladys and Cassandra left together. Gladys was driving.”
Rae’s eyes widened and she turned to look over her shoulder at Flint. He gently broke the embrace and took his phone out of his pocket. He didn’t say a word.
Rae took the time to choose her words carefully because Gladys was still Flint’s mother.
“Does this mean that either Gladys took Cassandra home and then came back to attend the event in DC, or she just went home and didn’t go anywhere?”
“I don’t know, but that would have been taking her farther out of her way.”
Rae took another glance at Flint, trying to figure out what he was thinking. His furrowed brows and the stare he gave his phone was without a doubt cause for concern. Had he found something else out?
“Okay, Nancy Drew and George Fayne. I will let you both go, but thanks for the update. This information is probably a piece to the large puzzle at hand.”
“Don’t mention it. And I’m Nancy, Eve. Talk to you soon.” And with tha
t, Liv and Eve hung up.
No one spoke for several seconds. Rae was over the silence and asked, “Hey, did you find anything suspicious on my phone that would show that it was being hacked?”
“No. Doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to hack it, however.” His response was curt and his attention was stuck on his phone.
“What’s wrong?”
Flint didn’t answer. He showed her his phone and she read the messages.
Flint: Hey, Dad. What are you doing?
Dad: Heading into DC for an event. Is everything okay?
Flint: Yep. I was just curious and was thinking about coming over.
Dad: Oh great! I should be home in a few hours.
“Huh. I don’t mean this as any disrespect, but that doesn’t mean your mom was with your dad.”
“True. But a lot of this is circumstantial.”
“Also true. My intention is not to accuse her, but she brought Cassandra to the foundation without telling you beforehand…”
Flint nodded. “We can’t do anything with that evidence, so we should drop it for now.”
But Rae knew that this was far from over.
19
Several weeks later, Flint invited Rae over to his apartment for the first time after a night out on the town.
“Nice place you have here.” Rae examined the layout of his apartment. She concluded that he had to be paying a small fortune to live here. Between the doorman at the front door, the beautiful views of the city, the amount of space in the apartment, his rent had to be way higher. While she looked over the stainless-steel appliances and white and gray countertops, she was in complete awe that he had this much kitchen space in his apartment compared to hers.
“Please tell me you cook a ton in here. It would literally be a sin if you didn’t.”
Flint tittered and said, “I cook here and there, but was hoping to learn more at some point. One of my potential date ideas was to do a cooking class with you.”
That snapped Rae out of her daydream about cooking in Flint’s kitchen. “Really? That sounds like a lot of fun.”