by H.H. Fowler
Chapter Seven
Shortly after two in the afternoon, I walked into the foyer of Smith, Robinson and Bradshaw. I estimated having at least twenty minutes to freshen up before Taj arrived. As I passed the kiosk, Esther stopped me with a devilish look to her eyes.
“Reuben left a message for you,” she said, and then handed me a note with her handwriting on it. “He says to call him as soon as you read it.”
“Oh really?” I couldn’t help being sarcastic when it came to Reuben. Maybe it was his clinginess that brought out the worst in me, but I cared not to be bothered with him. “What else did he tell you?”
Esther gave me a smile I found to be very suspicious. “Can I confide in you about something?” she asked.
“It’s your choice, Esther, but you have my word I’m never a blabbermouth.”
She leaned over her desk as one intending to share a secret. “Reuben has turned out to be one sexy man, hasn’t he? Do you remember how depressed he was about his weight before he left for Beijing?”
I worked along with Reuben for three years before he’d migrated overseas, but I’d never once noticed that he’d been depressed about his weight. I’d always seen him as the slob who didn’t care one iota what people thought about him, including his father. Now, I’m feeling a slight pain in my chest for the way I may have wrongly perceived him. But how do I respond to Esther? It was clear she was crazy over the boss’ son.
“I didn’t know Reuben had been depressed about his weight,” I replied, “But I am certainly impressed with his transformation. Now, he has a beach body he can show off to all of the women.”
Esther’s smile gradually morphed into a confused look. “You worked with him for three years, you should know that Reuben isn’t like that. He’s always been a one-woman man.”
I had nothing to say. It seemed those who had the least bit of contact with Reuben, knew him better than I did. Maybe I should have felt embarrassed by that thought, but I was too caught up on Taj arriving at any minute. I casually pushed Reuben’s note into my pocket and proceeded toward the elevator.