Live & Learn ~ A Miss Independent Novel

by Kiki Leach

  “Um, thank you.” Samantha, on the phone with an operations technician, hung up before even saying goodbye to the man and shifted in her chair, perplexed. “And, morning,” she replied.

  “Not just a morning, but a damn good one. A damn good morning.”

  She rested her chin in her hand and smiled like a doe-eyed child. “And what makes it so damn good, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I don’t mind you asking, but I’m sure as hell not going to tell you just yet.” Vanessa reached for her mail and sorted through each piece. “Is this all for me?”

  “Yes,” she answered. “I hadn’t gotten a chance to put it on your desk yet.”

  “That’s fine, so far it looks like mostly junk anyway. Thanks.”

  “Wait! Vanessa, by the way your--” Samantha began as Vanessa pushed back the door to her office and saw Alexis sitting in the chair in front of her desk. She turned back to her daughter and grinned. “Your mother is in there waiting for you to talk about something important.”

  “Yeah, I can see that now.” She glanced over her shoulder at her assistant before returning to Alexis. “Mother.” She closed her door and walked over to her desk. “You’re looking exceptionally lovely today. New perfume?” She placed her mail in front of her and stuffed her purse in a drawer on the side.

  Alexis eyed her curiously. “No. But this is a dress I haven’t worn since you were fifteen, which might explain why I look so good today.”

  “Oh.”

  She sat back in the chair and crossed her legs. “I wasn’t expecting for you to come in for another hour or so.”

  “Then why were you already in here waiting for me?”

  “I always wait for you to prove me wrong. And you did that today, surprisingly.”

  “Ah. So what do I get in return for showing up on time, a cookie?” She pulled up to her desk and flipped the switch on her computer.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe next time, Vanessa.”

  “Looking forward to it. So what’s up?” She fluffed her hair and ran her fingers through it. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  Alexis continued to observe her daughter’s odd behavior and placed her hands on either arm of the chair while swinging her leg back and forth. It was as if she were a therapist waiting for her patient to crackup during a long overdue session. “Gina’s birthday is in a few weeks.”

  “I know that, what about it?”

  “Then you should also know that Alexander wanted to have a family dinner for her tonight in order to celebrate early.”

  “Just what every sixteen year old girl wants, to spend quality time with her family.”

  “We’re celebrating early so that she can have a party on her actual birthday, Vanessa.”

  “Great! What time do you want me to be there?”

  “Time?” she asked in a peculiar tone. “That means you’ll be coming to the house tonight?”

  “Yes, why wouldn’t I be?”

  She looked her up and down. “It’s 7:30. But I almost expected you to tell me that you had something better to do with said ‘time’.”

  “Well, I don’t. Actually I could find something else if I really wanted to, but I’ll be there for Gina if she wants me there.”

  “She specifically asked for you to come. It’s the only reason she agreed to a ‘family dinner’ in the first place.”

  “Then I’ll be there at 7:30pm with bells on. Maybe literal bells, like a cow? And we can send Felicia a plate so that she doesn’t miss out moo.” She laughed and began keying her information into her computer. “You know, moo instead of two--”

  “I understood it.”

  “It’s a play on words--”

  “I understood it, girl!” Alexis became increasingly disturbed by her daughter’s strange, hyperactive demeanor and moved around in her chair. “In any case, your sister called me the other day and--”

  “Great! What did she have to say?” She reached for her glasses and continued typing. Alexis was amazed to hear that her daughter actually sounded interested instead of relaying her usual feigned enthusiasm.

  “She told me that she might be coming to visit for the summer.”

  “Perfect! Sounds like fun. How are she and the kids doing? How’s Rodney?”

  “They’re all fine. But now the one I’m starting to wonder about is you.”

  “What are you talking about?” she asked with a giggle.

  “That right there.” She pointed and uncrossed her legs, then leaned forward in her chair and placed both hands in her lap. “What the hell is going on with you today, girl?”

  She laughed again. “What?”

  “You walk in here telling everyone good morning, asking how they are--”

  “Can’t I be in a good mood, Mother?”

  “Most people can, but for the last five years, you haven’t been.”

  “Well, I’ve decided that I no longer want to be angry about the things in my life that I can’t change. Besides, you used to pay me to smile and now you’re basically scolding me for it.”

  “I’m not scolding you for anything. But I think there’s something up with it. Sit up and let me feel your head.”

  “Mother.” She clinched her teeth.

  “Sit up!” Alexis got up from her chair and rounded the desk. She placed her hand directly at the center of Vanessa’s forehead and moved it around to feel if she was warm. “Are you catching something? Pneumonia?”

  “I am fine,” Vanessa responded. “Alright?” She lightly shoved her mother away and dropped back in her chair, crossing her arms as well as one leg over the other. “In fact, I’m more than fine. I’m fuckin’ spectacular.”

  “What has gotten into you, girl?”

  “Nothing!” She opened her hands wide and spun around in her chair. “Nothingggggg!” she sang. Alexis grabbed the back of the chair to stop it from spinning and shoved Vanessa back behind her desk.

  “You call that nothing?” she asked. She moved back around to the front and sat back down. “Am I to understand it that you are acting like this because after five years, you just decided that you were going to be in a damn good mood?”

  “Yes… Well, that’s not exactly true, but I’ll spare you the details of exactly why.”

  “Are you seeing someone?”

  She remained coy. “It’s possible….” She lay her hands on top of her desk and couldn’t help but smile. “All you need to know for right now is that it’s brand new and that I don’t want to screw things up by talking about it just yet. We’re not telling anyone really, because we don’t want word getting out like it has in the past. We’re hoping to keep things as quiet as possible for as long as we can so that we can spend as much time together without all of the eyes and ears of the paps surrounding us.”

  “Then this man is someone who’s in the media as often as you are?”

  “Yeah… Yeah, kinda.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “I can’t tell you that just yet.”

  “At the moment, I am solely interested for security purposes. What if this man comes inside of this building asking for you? He could be anyone, and I wouldn’t know it.”

  “You’ll find out eventually, just not at this very moment.”

  She was suspicious, and unsure if her daughter was being truthful or just trying to get her out of the room. “Will you be bringing this person with you tonight for Gina’s dinner?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’ll have to ask him and make sure he’s not busy enough to come with me.”

  “If he’s too ‘busy’ to attend a small dinner – if he’s too ‘busy’ to eat, then maybe this isn’t as serious as you’d like it to be.”

  “It’s serious, okay? As serious as it gets. I waited until I was finally ready to open myself up again to someone and I’m happy with my decision. We’re happy with my decision, and I think this is going to work out for the best for everybody involved. And even for those who aren’t.”

  �
��Hm.” She stood up and clasped her hands. “Well will he be presentable if he does show up with you tonight?”

  “Yes, he always is.” She looked up from her computer and stared at her. “Would you like to know anything else about him? How about his height? Maybe his shoe size and the kind he likes to wear? I know, how about the size of his di--”

  “AH!” She raised a hand and screamed out, then pointed. “Don’t you start up with that.”

  “I was going to say ‘dignity’.”

  “Vanessa, you are my child and I’ve known that mouth of yours since before you were delivered. That isn’t what you were going to tell me.”

  “I could’ve. But you don’t know that because you keep cutting me off--”

  “So I suppose I’ll be making an extra plate for this mystery man.”

  She returned to her computer and snickered while surfing the net. “Alexander will be making that plate, won’t he?”

  “I see that whoever this man is has yet to fix that smart mouth of yours, so I must say I’m not too impressed with him already.”

  “You might change your mind about that once you actually meet and get to know him better. Your preconceived notions on people have always been a little bit off.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one if I were you, little girl,” said Alexis.

  “Trust me, I won’t.” She stopped for a moment and peeked over her glasses again. “Don’t you think I should actually start to get on some work now that I’m finally here?”

  “Yes, for once. And before I forget, the meeting for today has been pushed up from 3pm to 2.”

  “Why?”

  “Harold’s girlfriend’s child has a recital this afternoon and he doesn’t want to miss it.”

  “So we’re accommodating for him now? That’s just great, why don’t we just give him our personal account numbers while we’re at it, save him the trouble of extorting you any further.”

  “Vanessa--”

  She raised her hands. “Fine!”

  Alexis hurried out of the office and gestured to Samantha while moving off to the side out of eyesight.

  Samantha tiptoed over and smiled. “Yes, Ma’am?”

  “Do you know something about this mystery man that Vanessa has suddenly been seeing?” she asked. “She plans to invite him to my house tonight for dinner and I’m skeptical on what I might be getting myself into.” Samantha looked to the corner of her eyes and faintly shook her head. Alexis peered. “You know something, dear, and it’s okay to tell me about it, I’m her mother.”

  “She’s also my boss,” Samantha replied in a soft voice.

  Alexis squint, but smiled to hide her mild irritation. “So am I, and it’s safe to inform you that your job has not been put on the line here.”

  “Maybe not with you, but--”

  “Listen,” she shot back in a curt tone. “I think I have a right to know who my daughter has been seeing, especially if it’s someone within the likes of that Nathaniel Taylor again.”

  “I don’t think it’s him,” she said, “since he’s still marrying Sheila Harris, right?”

  “You never know with those two.” She folded her arms over her chest and turned her head to the side. “It’s not as if she would be dating, Maurice Livingston. I’ve seen him up here more often than usual, but that means nothing…” She searched Samantha’s eyes for answers. “Right?”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  Alexis stared a little longer into her eyes and grinned, satisfied with the implicitness of her answer.

  “Samantha, can you come in here for a second?” Vanessa called out from her office.

  She looked back and whispered. “Duty calls.”

  “Dear.” She tapped Samantha’s shoulder as she turned away. “I wouldn’t suggest having this conversation with her. The less problems we have this week, the better.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Samantha rushed into Vanessa’s office and stood in the center of the floor. “Yes?”

  “Did my mother just try to grill you about Maurice?”

  “In a way, but she’s also not exactly sure if you two are together. You can tell that she wants it.”

  “I know that she does. That’s why I like screwing with her mind about it. Part of me wants to show up at her house tonight with a blowup doll at my side just to see the horrified look on her face.” She chuckled as Samantha quietly laughed. When her office phone began to ring, Vanessa bent forward to look at the number and smiled as wide as her face would let when she saw Maurice’s name scrolling above it.

  Samantha saw the quick change in her expression and backed out of the office while closing the door. “I’ll let you take that one.”

  “Thanks.” Vanessa sat up straight and flipped her hair a few times. She exhaled and placed a hand on her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart, then extended her other hand to the phone and fell back against her chair. She swung her legs back and forth while leaning to the side and whispered, “Hi.”

  “Hi.” How is it possible that he manages to sound even sexier on the phone? Gotdayum, she thought. Maurice bent over his desk, the sleeves of his crisp white shirt tightening around his arms, and fiddled with a pencil in his hand. He was staring at a blank piece of paper laying in front of him, unable to create anything for the last few hours as his mind had been on Vanessa since before he even left for work. If not for making his early morning presentation, he would’ve stayed in bed for the remainder of the day just to watch her sleep. “How are you?” he asked.

  “Um.” She spun around in her chair to face the window. “Ya know…”

  “Yeah, I do know.” They both laughed.

  “I’m actually glad you called because I was just invited to dinner by Alexis. She and Alexander want to do something for Gina before her big party with all of her friends. And I was wondering if you wanted to come with me tonight as my date?”

  “As your date. So that means we’re making this ‘thing’ between us official?” he asked.

  “I think last night pretty much sealed that notion, don’t you?”

  “I’m not sure if it did. We might need to test things out again after dinner tonight, just to make sure it wasn’t all a fluke. Or that you won’t change your mind.”

  “I’m definitely not going to change my mind on that,” she said. “Or anything else about us.” She wrapped the cord of the phone around her finger and bit down hard on her lip. “So how’s work?”

  “This deadline is hell, but thinking of you helps get me through it. You?”

  “Same. And… same.” She grinned. “Listen, I’m thinking that since you want to be absolutely sure on this ‘thing’ between us, we could try that other ‘thing’ that I suggested? The one I told you about that I said I could… you know.”

  He looked around the room to make sure no one was looking in his direction as he readjusted his pants. “Yeah, I know that too.”

  “Good, well, maybe I could show you a few other ‘things’ to go along with it that I didn’t get a chance to last night.” She felt dizzy at the memory of them in bed together and tilted her head back catch her breath. “Are you up for it?”

  “You’ve got me up right now, V,” he responded.

  “Mo!” She crossed her legs tight and switched to the other side of her chair. “Leave it to you to take the conversation just that much further.”

  “What did you expect after the things you just said?”

  “I guess I’m the world’s worst enabler.” She looked aside, a wicked grin edging up the corners of her lips. “I should probably go before you get me in trouble.”

  “That wouldn’t be so terrible, would it?”

  “Under normal circumstances, no. But I need to do some research and finish this article before 2 o’clock. In the meantime, you can spend whatever minutes you have free just thinking about me.”

  “That won’t be too hard, unlike a few other things,” he said. She giggled. “I’ll see you tonight at home.”

&nb
sp; “Our home,” she responded. He grinned so wide it made his face hurt. “Bye.” She turned back to her desk and placed the phone back onto the hook. Then she leaned back in her chair again and lifted her arms high in the air, spinning around like a child sitting at the center of a Ferris Wheel. “Whee!”

  Maurice sat back with his hands behind his head, thinking of their time spent together last night and how much he couldn’t wait to spend that time with her again. He finally had everything he ever wanted with Vanessa, it was just a matter of keeping it all intact for the long haul.

  Part Nineteen

  Later that afternoon, as Nathan sat waiting for Joan at one of the tables outside of Isabella’s restaurant, a waitress brought him his second cup of coffee. He ripped open packets of Sweet n Low, dumping them all inside and stirring while pouring the creamer. As he tested to make sure it was cooled off enough to drink, he looked down at his phone to check the time. It was half past the hour that Joan had agreed to meet. He wondered if she had spoken to Sheila, screwing up his plans, and decided to call his fiancée just to make sure nothing had happened.

  She was at the florist shop with her planner, picking out another set of flowers to be laid up and down the aisle in place of the originally designed white lace, when she felt her phone vibrating from inside her purse. She snatched it from a side pocket and looked down to see who it was and when she realized it was Nathan, she swiped it to voicemail and tossed it back inside. As soon as he heard her recorded voice, he yanked his phone back and slumped back in his chair.

  “Shit,” he muttered in a panic while shoving the phone down on the table.

  “Nathaniel Taylor?” He jumped at hearing the voice of a woman coming from behind him, and turned to see her holding a baby in her arms.