by Amber Lacie
In the movies, I would have been deemed a hero. Applause would have rung out across the restaurant as triumphant music played in the background. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t a movie; it was real life. Instead, I found myself sitting in the back room with one of the waiters while the manager waited for the police.
Excuses sped through my mind in a continuous loop. Only three hundred more laps to go, and I might have a chance at grasping a solid one to use when the police showed up. My mind was on lap two hundred and twenty when the police knocked on the door. An older man in a gray uniform stepped in, followed by a woman who appeared to be younger than the man, but older than me. The man sat across from me with a small white pad of paper in one hand, while the pen in his other hand clicked twice before he cleared his throat and addressed me.
“Looks like you got quite the arm. It seems you and your boyfriend caused quite the display this morning. Would you like to tell me what happened?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. It was a business meeting,” I quickly corrected.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever been called to a business meeting because someone lost their temper,” he replied trying to hold back his smile.
My tongue ran along the smooth edges and curves of my teeth as I clenched my jaw. I didn’t lose my temper…I stood up for myself. In my mind they were separate, but I wasn’t sure they would understand the circumstances. “Am I being charged?”
“That depends on whether Mr. Cozlaski presses charges or not. Someone is currently tending to his mouth. It looks like you did a number on him.”
The arm of the chair I was sitting in was worn at the end, causing white paint specks to flake off beneath the scratching of my fingernails. The officer sitting across from me waited for me to speak, but I remained silent. If I wasn’t being arrested or charged there was no way I was going to admit to anything. Realizing he wasn’t going to get anything from me, the officer gritted his teeth as he stood and quietly exited the room. It looked as though my silence on the matter was rubbing him the wrong way.
Moments later, a feminine voice spoke from the corner of the room. “You’ll have to forgive him. He’s lost his patience in his old age. The way I see it, you were probably just fed up. You don’t look like the type to lose your cool. When I ran your license nothing came up, not even a speeding ticket. The thing is, Miss McGregor, you can’t just run around hitting people. There’s a better way to work things out.”
“You weren’t there,” I snapped.
“You’re right, I wasn’t. Did you drive here today?” she asked kindly.
“No, I was dropped off.” My eyes cast downward to the clenched fists I was holding in my lap. I felt calm, but my body language was saying something completely different. Am I crying? I thought to myself as a warm drop ran down my cheek. My fingers quickly uncurled to quickly flick it away before anyone could see.
“Is there someone you can call to pick you up?” the female officer finally asked.
“Sure, just give me a second.” Digging my phone out of my purse, I slid my fingers across the screen before hitting the ‘talk’ button. The call went straight to Eve’s voicemail. Shit. I quickly typed out a text letting her know I was in the middle of a situation and that I needed someone to come get me. After a few minutes there was finally a response.
You okay?
My fingers quickly replied. No––it’s a long story. Paul is here. I’m sitting at Rico’s in the back with the police. I need a ride.
Did he hurt you? I will kill him.
No. I hit him. I’ll explain when you get here.
K. Give me ten minutes.
I hated when she replied with just ‘K.’ It was a passive aggressive move on her part. I knew she was irritated that I hadn’t given her more information, but she would have to wait.
By that time, both officers had left and were with Paul. The waiter who was babysitting me before the police arrived was now standing in the doorway awkwardly. At least he would have an exciting story to tell around the dinner table, if people even did that anymore. I wouldn’t know, as most nights I ate alone.
Waiting for Eve to show up was taking much longer than I had hoped. The seconds slowly ticked by, quickly turning into minutes. I was fidgeting with my phone in my hands when it suddenly began to buzz. Glancing at the phone, Evan’s name flashed upon the screen. There is no way in hell I am going to talk to him while being babysat in the back room of a restaurant. My thumb hit the red circle on my phone sending his call straight to voicemail. It wasn’t long before a text lit up my phone.
You hit the ‘fuck you’ button. Y?
Is he serious right now? I’m busy.
Too busy for me?
At lunch. I had a business meeting.
Where at? I could meet you.
Don’t worry about it.
Fuck that. Now I’m worried. Where are you?
If he thinks I am going to jump whenever he tells me to, he is way the fuck off. What part of, ‘I had a business meeting,’ did you not understand? I’ll text you later.
The fuck you will. Don’t lie to me, Kayla. Where. Are. You?
Ignoring his last text, I dropped my phone back into my purse. He doesn’t need to know where I am. Eve is on her way to get me, and soon this hellish lunch will be behind me.
The waiter cleared his throat and slightly nodded his head to the officers who were now making their way back into the room. Not saying a word, I simply gave him a half smile to let him know I appreciated the warning.
“Officers.”
“Miss McGregor, it seems like this was all just a misunderstanding. Mr. Cozlaski explained everything to us. It appears his chair simply slipped, and he hit his face on the table. You had rushed over to help him before the staff could get to him. He’s not pressing any charges against you, as there’s no wrong doing on your part. Would you agree?”
I sat in stunned silence staring at the woman in front of me. Did Paul really say all of that?
“Miss—”
“Sorry, yes. He––um, hit his face on the table.” My fingers twisted nervously in my lap. It didn’t matter if I didn’t look the part of an honest person, Paul had admitted to it all being a misunderstanding. I was off the hook.
“Right. Well, I would suggest that in the future you try to prevent people from hitting their faces on the table when you are with them.” The female officer gave me a slight wink and walked from the room with the man following behind her. He seemed annoyed with us wasting his time, but I didn’t care. I was free to go.
By the time Eve pulled up I was already outside, sitting on the cement edging around some flowerbeds. A look of concern was indenting itself between her eyes as she stepped out of her car.
“I’m not going to yell at you, but I want you to know that I’m extremely angry right now. Why didn’t you tell me you were meeting him? I thought we had agreed you wouldn’t do that anymore?”
“It’s not like I had a choice. I needed the money. Part of the rules of working for my father are that I have to deal with Paul.”
“Jesus, Kayla––stop working for him. Stop meeting Paul. It’s detrimental to your health. I hope you’re aware of how fucked up all of this is.”
I could tell Eve was pissed. Kicking at a leaf on the ground, I turned my face away from her. Of course, I knew how fucked up it was, I didn’t need a reminder. “Can we just go?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah. Get in.”
Evan
G od damn it. That woman knew how to get under my skin. We were playing a cat and mouse game, and she loved it. I fucking hated it. All I wanted was just a few minutes in her head––a moment to see her thoughts and make my plans accordingly. Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t having any of it. In the past, I had women who wanted under me and I never wanted them. Kayla was different. I didn’t want her under me. Fuck! Yeah, I did. But more than that, I wanted her.
Theron stood, pacing back and forth outside the dressing room at the tux shop w
hile Robert was trying on his tux. He kept spinning his phone around in his hand like he was waiting for something. Our eyes only met twice, but I could tell he was hiding something from me. Just as Theron’s phone rang, Robert stepped out of the dressing room. With a quick wave of a finger, Theron headed outside to answer the call and I was left with Robert, alone. As long as I had known the man, we had never said more than five words to one another. Normally, a polite nod was good enough and we each went on our way. I was willing to continue the tradition, but it seemed Robert had other ideas.
“Do I look ridiculous?” he asked, standing on a small box in front of three mirrors while another man was on his knees pinning the hem of his pants.
“To be honest, yeah you do.”
“Fuck.”
Feeling bad, I tried to play it off as a joke. “The tux will look great, man. No worries. I just meant that you look a little odd standing in front of another man while he’s on his knees, pulling at the hem of your crotch. Just not how I pictured you looking when you walked out.” Lies. Utter bullshit fell from my mouth like rain slipping smoothly from the clouds.
Whatever chick he was marrying had him dressed in a black tux with a neon yellow vest and tie. He looked like a fucking bumblebee. To make matters worse, I knew I was going to be wearing something similar. Whose bright fucking idea was it to wear yellow and black?
Robert chuckled nervously as the tailor began to pin the waist of his pants. “Right. Yeah––no, I meant the tux. Do you think I look like a bee?”
Yes. “No. Yellow is a nice summer color. You look good.” We are going to look like a fucking hive of bees attacking a wedding. Where the fuck is Theron? I hated making small talk and Theron had left me to survive on my own. Sudden movement outside the large glass windows caught my attention. I did my best to give Robert a couple of half assed grunts of approval before stepping outside to figure out what was really going on.
“Wow, but you guys are okay? Do you need me?” Theron asked in concern.
My ears perked up as I got closer to Theron, who had gone from pacing inside the store, to pacing on the sidewalk. You guys? Who in the hell is he talking to?
“And she can keep the kids? No, it’s moving slowly. Robert is in there now with Evan…I won’t say anything. Got it. Love you. I’ll see you when I get home.” He slid his phone into his pocket and turned around to find me leaning against a brick pillar. I knew how to read Theron like a book and the next few questions would give me all the information I needed. When he wasn’t being honest, the left side of his body would twitch. It’s an odd thing to pick up on, but it’s what I was trained to do. After all, everyone has their tells.
“Eve okay?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. No worries.” Truth. He shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal. Most people would accept it, but he was never one to just brush something off so easily. He was hiding something, but at least I knew Eve was safe.
“Who is she with? I heard you say ‘you guys?’”
“She’s with Brix. There was a dress hiccup.” Lie. I watched as his fingers on his left hand moved slightly, unconsciously tapping his thigh, giving him away.
“Oh, I see. And where does Kayla fit into all of this?” I asked without warning.
Theron’s gaze went wide, and I knew I had hit the jackpot. “I don’t know what you mean.” Lie.
“How long have we known each other?”
Sighing, his head fell forward. “A long time. Look, I promised not to say anything.”
“So far you haven’t. I won’t make you break a promise. Just answer a few more questions and then I’ll pretend like I was inside the whole time.”
“She’s going to kill me.”
“No, she won’t. She loves you. Brix isn’t with them, is she?” He sighed as his head shook back and forth. I figured as much, but I needed to make sure I had all my pieces in order. “Is Kayla hurt?”
“I honestly don’t know. Eve said she was handling things.” Truth.
If Kayla was seriously hurt I know Eve would’ve said something to him. Both girls were safe, but I could tell something was wrong. My stomach twisted at the thought of Kayla being alone and Eve having to run to her. The last time she was alone and needed someone was when that asshole destroyed her. It suddenly clicked. Paul. “What did he do?”
Theron looked at me with confusion. “Who?”
“Paul.”
“Whoa! I think you’re jumping to conclusions. How do you get from Kayla needing Eve to come pick her up, to Paul being involved?” He slipped up and he knew it. Even with the added information, it still wasn’t making sense yet.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” I pressed.
“Evan, I know that look. No one is hurt. Let’s go inside, get fitted, and then we can go from there. You can’t just run off into action mode when we don’t know everything.”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out, and you’re cutting me off.” It didn’t matter what I said, I wasn’t going to get anything else from him. Instead, I found myself yelling at his back as he walked away.
Reluctantly, I followed him back inside. Robert was getting dressed and it was now my turn to be fitted. It didn’t take the tailor but a few moments to send me off into the fitting room with a tux to try on. I hated it. I didn’t just look like a fucking bee…I looked like an aging one. The yellow from the suit only made the silver hair on my face stand out stronger. That color wasn’t anyone’s friend, unless they happened to be a cab driver.
When I stepped out of the room Theron almost fell out of his chair laughing. “Wow. That’s a choice,” he snickered.
My eyes took a quick glance around the room. Noticing Robert wasn’t nearby, I gave him my full opinion on the matter. “I look like fucking bee. You realize you’re going to look like this too, right? What the fuck, man? Can’t we do something about it?”
“Are you kidding me? Brix has gone back and forth with colors at least seven times now. Eve finally got her to stick with one color and yellow is it. No one likes it, except her. Don’t put any ideas in anyone’s head. This is what we are wearing. Deal with it.”
“I want to hear you say the same thing when you come out here with this shit on.”
Theron chuckled as the tailor pinned the inseam of my pant legs. I stood silently, shooting daggers at him, as Robert walked up, taking a seat a behind me.
“Is that what I looked like?” Robert asked, his voice laced with disdain.
Theron patted Robert on the back while flashing me a bright white smile. “No, you looked good. It’s Evan that looks bad. Think of his gray hair as natural highlights.”
It took everything in me not to bite back at him with a nasty response. The only reason I kept my mouth shut was because I knew that the fucker would have his turn in the banana vest soon enough.
Once I had the okay from the tailor, I stepped back into the dressing room and stripped as quickly as I could. Relief flooded me as I slipped back into my clothes and boots. Stepping out into the store, I held open the door to the dressing room before nodding to Theron. “You’re up.” I chimed, my voice laced with amusement.
While Theron was trying on the different pants the attendants were tossing over the door, I decided to take a moment and check on my girl. My girl. She wasn’t mine yet, but I wanted her to be.
After dialing her number her phone rang twice before it went straight to voicemail. It was obvious she wasn’t going to answer, so I sent her a text. My jaw ticked as I typed out my response to her lack of reply. I knew something had happened, but she wasn’t telling me. It must have been ‘Lie to Evan day’ and I didn’t get the memo. Not getting a response, I tried again. Nothing. Not one response. I needed to try a different tactic.
There were a few things I knew for sure––Theron knew more than what he was telling me, and that Kayla was safe, albeit angry at me, but safe. Eve was the connecting piece. The conversation I’d had with Eve in the café started to play in my mind.
She knew where Paul was working. The distain in her voice when she mentioned the company suddenly became apparent to me. It was right there the entire time and I had missed it. Chandeleer.
“Theron, you wouldn’t know anything about any companies in Cincinnati, would you?”
“Not really, but I could make some calls. Do you got a job lined up out there?”
“Sort of. Let’s just say I’m doing some recon. What do you know about a place called Chandeleer?”
Frustration painted his face. “And we circle right back to Kayla. You’re not going to drop it with her, are you?”
“How is she connected, besides Paul working there?”
The shock on his face didn’t go unnoticed by me. It appears he doesn’t know as much as I thought he did. “What do you mean Paul works there? How did you find that out?”
“Let’s just say I’ve kept my eye on him.”
“Kayla’s dad, Nick Chandeleer, owns that company.”
“That’s not Kayla’s last name,” I stated flatly.
“He’s her step dad. Her real dad died when she was three. That’s why her last name is Stone. For someone whose job relies solely on Intel, you haven’t really done your research on her.”
“That’s because she’s not a case. She’s someone I want to get to know.”
“Know or fuck?” he asked with a knowing look.
The chair beside me fell to the floor as I stepped towards him. “Choose your next words carefully.”
Theron threw his hands into the air in an attempt to reason with me. “Whoa! Calm down. Remember who I am. I was there the last time you fell apart.”
“I could say the same for you,” I snapped.
“I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours, but you should know…Kayla still works for her dad. It’s just little side jobs, but I honestly didn’t know Paul worked there. It just doesn’t make sense.” I watched as he tried to wrap his head around the new information. He was obviously just as confused as me.