Miss Independent, Volumes 1 & 2

by Leach, Kiki

  “Three. Vanessa lives with us too.”

  “That’s right, I forgot she mentioned that.” She refocused on Nikki and lowered her eyes to her short skirt, questioning. “How is Vanessa doing, by the way? I saw the cover of the Daily News this morning, and--”

  “She’s doing a lot better than she was last night. I don’t think she’s going to let this get to her, she’s been through worse.”

  “I see. I was thinking of calling to see if I could do anything, maybe give her a few words of encouragement, but I should probably wait until tomorrow after she’s settled in at work. Or maybe later in the day for the dinner we’re supposed to have in honor of my cover.”

  Maurice came over and slapped the bills into the palm of Nikki’s hand. “Next time, I’ll just ask Vanessa myself and save the two-fifty,” he said.

  Nikki tightly folded the bills and pressed them against the business card still tucked inside her other hand.

  Melanie glanced at them both and started to back away. “I should probably get going.”

  “Sorry,” said Nikki, resting her hand against her forehead. “Where are my manners? Mo, this is Melanie, Oscar’s wife.”

  “Nice to meet you,” she said.

  “Likewise. I’ve heard a bit about you and saw different slides of your cover for the magazine. It doesn’t seem to do you justice in person.”

  She opened her mouth to smile. “If I had seen a picture of you before today, I would probably say the same thing. But I notice that you have a little bruising around your eye. Is that okay, or--”

  “It doesn’t hurt. Just scuffle.”

  “It’s barely noticeable.”

  “But you noticed,” he said.

  She seemed to stare at Maurice longer than socially acceptable, almost in awe, then caught herself and shook her head. “I think I need to get going, I’m already running behind. But it was nice meeting you Maurice. I hope the bruise heals, and Nikki? I’ll see you at the shop sometime this week, right?”

  “I’ll be in tomorrow morning.”

  “Fantastic! Oscar won’t be able to make it in until the afternoon, so I’ll be there with you to open the doors. Bye."

  Maurice folded his arms and took a few steps forward, watching as she exited the bank. “So that’s Oscar’s wife.” He shrugged and moved his head side to side. “She’s cute.”

  “She’s okay,” she told him as she stuffed the cash into the side of her bra. “She was really checking you out, though, wasn’t she?”

  He glanced down at her and sighed. “Don’t get any ideas, Nik.”

  “I don’t have any--”

  “Bullshit. I can see the wheels already spinning inside your thick head. You think if I can somehow get her away from her husband, then Oscar will just leave her and be all yours with no guilt to be had by either one of you.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that. But now that you’ve mentioned it--”

  “My focus is on getting Vanessa, alright? I don’t need any other distractions.”

  She looked down at the money in her hand and removed it to look at the number on the business card. “Maybe I do.” She headed out the doors as Maurice followed close behind.

  Part Seven

  After traveling through mounds of Sunday traffic, Vanessa finally arrived at The Palace in one solid piece. Though in her anticipation to see Nathan, she didn’t know how long she was going to stay that way. She had no idea what she had planned to say when they came face to face, but she knew most of it would involve expletives and maybe even a slap or two to get her going.

  As she stepped inside the lobby still fuming from brunch, she avoided every eye that dared to gaze in her direction, and trailed over to the counter to a tall red headed woman standing behind, who had eagerly identified herself as the assistant manager.

  “Welcome to The Palace Hotel! What can we help you with today, Miss…” She leaned in close as Vanessa removed her sunglasses and placed them inside her clutch. The moment she got a true look at her face, her brown eyes widened and lit up in delight. She gasped. “Miss Brown? Oh, my God! I…” She pressed her hand against her chest and beamed with excitement. “I am such a huge fan of your magazine! Every month the covers are exquisite. You’d never know they were shot right here in Central Park. I just want to let you know that I’ve purchased every issue since your mother was Editor-in-Chief. It was my style guide the moment I moved from Wisconsin to New York ten years ago.”

  “Same age as the magazine. I’ll be sure to tell her you said so…?”

  She pointed to her nametag, lightly tapping at the edge and bending forward. “Darla, with a D.”

  “Miss Darla with a D. I can see how that might be confusing for some people if you didn’t tell them first.”

  She laughed and slapped her hand on top of the counter. “That is the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!”

  “I’ll bet,” she said, wondering if this woman was working overtime for a tip or if she was just that genuinely excitable.

  “What can I do for you today?” she asked, still gleeful. “I kind of have to admit that I’m a little surprised to see you here again after last night.”

  “You were here?”

  “My employees told me the circumstances this morning, and then I read about it. Your face is on the cover of every paper in New York City.”

  “No kidding.”

  “But in such a flattering light! We should all be so lucky to have that kind of lighting with us everywhere we went. You looked absolutely stunning in one picture in particular. I think it was when you were on top of that other woman, tackling her to the ground?”

  “Great, thanks. Maybe I’ll cut it out and frame it next to my mug shot.”

  She quickly knit her brows and cleared her throat. “Are you staying with us today as a guest? I don’t know if we have many vacancies, but I’m sure we can make an exception. The senior manager said she isn’t too happy with the publicity after what happened, but I’m willing to bend a few rules if you’re willing to--”

  “Bend a few rules. I like that. You are my favorite kinda girl. Listen, what I need isn’t a room, at least not one for myself. I need Nathaniel Taylor’s room number. Is he still here?”

  “I think so, yes. I haven’t seen him check out this morning and I haven’t seen him leave.”

  “Good.” She rested her clutch on the counter. “Now I need you to tell me exactly where he is so that I can talk to him.”

  “You want his room key?”

  “Oh, well, sure! Hell yeah! Toss that in there too for good measure.”

  “What I mean is if you want his room key, I can’t give that to you.”

  “Okay, then just give me the number and I’ll be on my merry way.”

  “I can’t do that either. I can call him for you to see--”

  “No, see, this is something that needs to take place in person, privately.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Brown, but I can only bend the rules a little. I’m not allowed to give out personal information to anyone unless there’s a death and you’re next of kin.”

  “What if I pay you?” she asked. “Hmm? I could pay you enough to send your grandchildren to college, Darla with a D. All you have to do is bend those tiny rules you mentioned and just tell me where to go and find him. Toss some numbers out there and see if I guess them right. It’ll be our little secret, hush-hush. I might even be able to get you a year’s subscription to the magazine for free.”

  “A year’s subscription?”

  “That’s right, with all the perks that come along with being an official member. Like a… water bottle or a wine glass or, keychain or something. And maybe some tickets to someplace, like Belize. Milan during fashion week!”

  Darla thought of the perks she would receive in making Vanessa’s dream come true in just giving her a number. But the more she thought of it, she shook her head and cast her eyes downward, knowing that no matter who she helped, it most likely wouldn’t be worth it. “I’m sorry,
I can’t. If my senior manager were to find out about this, I could lose my job and a lot more. I’m not willing to risk it all for that.”

  Vanessa saw the plea in her eyes and took a step back, emotionally and physically. “It’s fine. I wouldn’t want you to lose your job over some mess like this.”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help. I still love your magazine and can’t wait for the latest issue.” She moved away from her and went over to another waiting patron.

  “‘My’ magazine. Yeah, that’s if I’ll still be running it,” she mumbled.

  She looked down at her watch. It was getting late in the day, but she was determined to wait for the remainder of it if she had to, especially if it meant that in the end, she at least got to verbally slap the vile taste out of Nathan’s mouth. Going from her to Sheila in high school was one thing, but leaving her last night only to have sex with Sheila not a few hours later? That was more than she could possibly handle.

  When the elevator doors across the lobby dinged, she turned to watch them open. A sea of people came flying out, going this way and that, in a hurry to one place or another with cell phones gripped to their faces as if their lives depended upon them making it wherever they were headed on time.

  Eddie Gallagher and his few months pregnant wife stepped off in the midst of the crowd and noticed Vanessa standing to the side. He waved and helped his wife over to see her. She wanted to shun them as soon as they approached, still embarrassed by her own behavior and still slightly pissed at Eddie for being so willing to give her ex a job, but stayed put because she had nowhere else to go.

  “One of my all-time favorite cheerleaders,” he said, leaning down to wrap his arm around her for a hug.

  She pat him on the back. “And one of my least favorite ball players of all time.”

  “You didn’t have to go there, V, you didn’t.” He pulled back and they both laughed. “But you look good today. Refreshed.”

  “Compared to last night, I would hope to hell so.”

  “I was telling my wife today that I didn’t get to see you once last night, so I wouldn’t know. But she really wanted to meet you.”

  “Hi.” His wife stuck out her hand, an eager smile crossing her face. “I’m a big fan of the magazine. I own every issue you’ve ever printed.”

  “Thanks,” she said, giving her a firm handshake. “How far along are you?”

  “About three months.”

  Vanessa admired her belly and gave her a soft smile. “Congratulations. You look beautiful. Happy.”

  “Thank you,” she said, placing a hand on her stomach. “I am, extremely.”

  Vanessa looked over at Eddie. “Well, you two may not have seen me in all of my exuberant glory last night, but I’m sure you saw plenty of me this morning.”

  “We didn’t look at the papers out of respect,” he said.

  “Thanks--”

  “But we did hear about it on the entertainment news stations. They played the fight on loop.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Great, just great. God bless camera phones and all that. I’m sure Alexis is having a ball with this.” She looked down and saw him holding two suitcases. “Why were you staying overnight? I heard that you live just a few miles from here?”

  “Keisha wanted to experience what this place was like for more than one night since she’s not originally from here, so we made it into a weekend.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “I like to think so,” he said with a laugh. “We’re headed back home now, though. Have you seen Nathan today?”

  “Not yet,” she told him. “Have you? Did he say something to you about anything?”

  “I haven’t seen him. I was only asking because I saw Sheila earlier. She was running out of here to meet with someone when I was headed back up to my room.”

  “Yeah, she was probably meeting me. We had brunch this afternoon.”

  He lifted his brows in shock and pulled his head back. “Really? I guess things really have changed since high school.”

  “Not entirely. In some ways it’s gotten worse, but we’re working on it. At least we’re trying, whatever. Since they plan on staying here thanks to your generous offer, we are simply going to have to learn to get along. Or go along to get along because I’m certain that I’m going to keep running into them all over the city, no matter where I seem to go or when.”

  As the elevator dinged again, Vanessa looked up and saw Nathan stepping off. Eddie began ushering his wife over to the counter to check out. He bent down and gave Vanessa another quick hug, though she was almost too preoccupied with seeing Nathan to fully comprehend anything else he said after.

  “It was good to see you again, V. Don’t be a stranger.”

  “Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, you too. And congratulations again.”

  She left them aside and crept closer to Nathan, watching with a bird’s eye view as he maneuvered past everyone while his cell phone remained attached to his ear. She narrowed her eyes the moment he caught her face and stormed forward, swinging her arms in a violent fury. He quickly ended a message he left for his parents in case they were to learn of the fight between him and Maurice, and slid his phone into his pocket, backing up as she approached.

  He raised his hands as if to block an oncoming blow to his face. “V--”

  “You son of a bitch, fuck you,” she said, her voice hard and strong. “Fuck you and that bitch you rode in here on. I deserve to say so much more to you than that, I really and truly do. But I’ve already exhausted and embarrassed myself enough inside this place to the point that I’m not even sure if I have anywhere to go tomorrow morning aside from maybe an anger management class.”

  He lowered his head in shame and lifted his brow. “You talked to Alexis?”

  “Not yet, which means she’s either passed out from a coronary after seeing my ass splashed all over the New York Daily News or she hasn’t heard anything, which I find very hard to believe if she’s still in town.”

  “I’m sorry--”

  “Save it,” she snapped, thrusting her clutch in his face. He jumped back. “That’s one thing you and that trick have in common is apologizing for shit you’re not even sorry for.”

  “I am sorry for what happened, Vanessa.”

  “Then for what part, exactly? The part where you came back into my life in the first place? Or the part where you came to declare your love for me last night? Or maybe even the part where you almost fucked me silly on top of my desk at my job before coming back here to fuck your fiancée’s brains out?” Nathan became tense, exhaling harshly and grinding his teeth. He was none too thrilled to hear her relegate their time together as more than a possible fling. “I’d like to know which part you are EXACTLY so gotdamn sorry for, Nathaniel. So please” -- she tucked her clutch beneath her arm and bent forward, pressing her hands together -- “enlighten me.”

  “We need to talk about this in private. Here.” He reached out for her hand and she jerked it back.

  “Don’t touch me.”

  “V.” He took her by the arm and her heart almost beat out of her chest. It was a hard thudding sound that became difficult to ignore. Passersby stared and he smiled and released her to keep from making a scene of it. “After what you just said, do you really want to discuss this out here and in front of a crowd of people?”

  “I don’t want to be in the same room alone with you,” she said. “Not again. You cloud my judgment and make me do and say things I end up regretting. I look like a fool when it’s all said and done.”

  He knew the hold he had on her heart and that her desires were still deeply intense despite what she kept telling him, and herself, and he relished in it. He wiped his tongue across his lips and looked her up and down with a penetrating glare, moving in close. Her breath caught in her throat the moment she felt the heat from his body entangling with hers; she stepped back to exhale.

  “You won’t look like a fool if you come with me.” He took her hand and entangled their f
ingers before she could pull away. She looked down at what it represented when he pressed their palms together, and her heart sank. If he was ever good at one thing, it was swaying her into believing in a truth that never was, one that she was certain could never be again. “I just want to talk, V. that’s it.” He hustled her to the nearest open elevator. She released his hand in an instant and moved to the corner, holding her arms stiff at her sides to keep him from touching her again.

  Once they hit the top floor, he jumped out first and showed her his hand, leading to the penthouse suite. She took her time moving out and walked in a steady pace behind him down the hallway. He reached for his key once they were in front of the door and strolled inside when he finally managed to get it unlocked. She walked in with her heart pounding inside her ears, her chest tightening and her head spinning worse than it had when she woke up. She knew why she was there, she knew she shouldn’t be, but it was something so strong she felt she couldn’t freely control it.

  As soon as he closed the door, she dropped her clutch and turned to him. He kissed her through a smile, hard, long and deep. Her eyes rolled into her head the moment she felt his tongue swimming inside her mouth and fluttering against her own. All senses had been lost on her except for those of touch and taste and scent as she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him as much as she could into her mouth, savoring the feeling it gave her, breathing him in – she wanted to feel every part of him pressing against her that she might have missed from him before.

  He walked them back toward the bed, his hands caressing and squeezing every part of her body. The kiss grew in heat, their faces becoming warm and coloring with fever the deeper it became. When her feet hit the corner of the bed, her eyes jolted open and she grabbed his wrists.

  She looked at Nathan as he stared back at her with a craving she hadn’t seen before, one she didn’t recognize even from the previous night. He moved one hand down to her ass and squeezed one cheek tight, forcing her to hold her breath. He smiled, but it was almost insincere, because she knew it didn’t belong to her. His kiss, his smile, his taste and touch, none of it belonged to her anymore. As she gathered her remaining senses, she removed his hands from her body completely and shoved him back.