Circles the Trilogy (Secrets and Lies)

by Carla Buchanan

  “Tammy what are you doing? Stop being nosey and send my guest in. I told you to send her straight in when she got off the elevator.” He turns to me and says, “Ignore my nosey assistant and come on in.” I walk past Tammy and don’t look at her again because I don’t want to see the scowl on her face that I know is there. I make a note to be careful around her because she could be trouble since she knows my name and the fact that I am an engaged and she seems like the jealous type.

  I walk into Quinton’s office and am taken aback by the vast space. Quinton’s office is a complete surprise to me. I didn’t know what I’d been expecting, but surely not what I am seeing. His office feels as if I have just walked into a comfortable living room, not the office of a music producer.

  The first thing I notice as I make my way into the room is the large wall of floor to ceiling glass panels that overlook downtown Atlanta. There is a space beyond the windows – a balcony – that has a seating area. If I didn’t know that I was in the Watch Records office, I would think that I was in someone’s loft apartment with a picturesque view.

  The space has recessed lighting, marble floors, suede seating, a small conference table, a large flat screen television, and an open space that seems to be set up for small performances. His desk seems as though it had been an afterthought as it is situated to my right and behind it are pictures of him and two women which are probably his late mother and his sister. There are no posters or pictures of celebrities that he’s worked with and there are no platinum plaques to be seen. I love the home-away-from-home feeling in the space and I can see from the expression on his face that he knows exactly what I’m feeling.

  Quinton walks in behind me and closes the door. I had been so caught up in looking around that I hadn’t noticed that someone had come to drop off our lunch until he calls my name.

  “Something wrong?” he asks.

  I am sure he is asking because I am so quiet and am standing in the middle of the room like some kind of statue, but I am in awe of the space and its inviting ambience.

  I turn around to face him and give him a bright smile. “No. I just… Your office is beautiful.”

  He chuckles a little. “Did you expect something different?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. This is just so… so…” I am at a loss for words to describe how I feel about the space, but he seems to understand and nods as if he gets it. I make my way over to the seating area where he has started to take things out of a huge bag. He pulls out at least six boxes of food all of which smell absolutely delicious. I hadn’t realized how hungry I am until a very unladylike growl comes from my stomach.

  “Hungry?”

  “Apparently so,” I say with a slight giggle.

  Quinton walks over to me and grabs my hand. He pulls me down into one of the chairs and tells me to dig in. I don’t hesitate. I open the container and moan as I pop a shrimp into my mouth. We eat in silence for several minutes, but I break the silence when I realize that Quinton is staring at me.

  “What?”

  “Nothin’ really. I just like it a woman isn’t afraid to eat in front of a man.”

  I look down and see that my food in over halfway gone. I realize that I must not be sick anymore or maybe its relief from the appointment I had this morning.

  “Oh. Goodness. You must think I’m a pig. It’s just that I got some really good news this morning and now the knot in my stomach is gone. I haven’t eaten in nearly twenty-four hours so this is the result,” I say pointing down at the nearly empty container of food in front of me.

  “Nah. You’re good. Like I said… I like to see a woman eat.” He changes the subject and asks, “What kinda good news did you get if you don’t mind me asking?”

  I hesitate for a moment. I don’t know why, but I tell him exactly what happened. Maybe it’s because I want him to know why Aneesa took off work so he won’t think she tried to skip out on a meeting or maybe it’s the fact that something about this man makes me feel extremely comfortable, I am sure that it is the latter. I tell him about my pregnancy scare and I even go as far as to tell him about Daryn’s reasoning for wanting me to be pregnant. I don’t feel like I am revealing too much because Quinton has already witnessed one of Dayrn’s asshole-like comments so he isn’t surprised by what I am telling him now. He does seem confused by the fact that I am glad not to be pregnant since I am supposed to be marrying Daryn and if I’m not then why haven’t I called off the wedding.

  “I haven’t figured out how to handle that situation yet.” I don’t tell him that I have not decided to call off the wedding or that I probably won’t since that decision could possibly affect everyone I care about. The people in our social circle would have a field day if it came out that I embarrassed both our families by calling off the wedding.

  “Hmph.” He says this and continues to eat his food. I don’t like that sound because that one sounds seems to reveal so much about what he is thinking about me and my situation. I immediately go on defense and attempt to explain myself, though he has said nothing.

  “Quinton. You really don’t understand. You don’t know my family or know what kind of pressure I am under to be an example for my sister and brother. There are things I am expected to do and there are things I am expected not to do. Calling off the wedding would cause so much embarrassment to my family and Daryn’s and I don’t think I could put them through such public scrutiny from the people in their circle.” I realize that I am breathing hard and I have tears in my eyes. I want to run. I want to disappear into a bathroom and regain my composure, but I have no idea where the bathroom is and I have a feeling that Quinton wouldn’t allow me to run from him again.

  “For your information, Ms. Ellis… I understand more than you think. I had to make decisions in my life that would not only affect me but my mother and sister as well. I had to take care of them at times when I wished that I could’ve been hanging out with my friends or chasing after some female.” He smiles and winks at me when he says the last part and I roll my eyes to the ceiling and give him a smile.

  That quickly he has made me forget about being mad and has made me see that I am not the only person who has had to make decisions that affect the people around me – just different ones.

  “But seriously, though…” he continues, “… what I’m tryin’ to say is that you have to do things for the right reasons. I did what I had to do because I had to give my mother a better life while she was here and my sister a better life after my mother passed away. But I didn’t do it while neglecting my own dreams. I found a way to use my own dreams to make their lives better and here I am. If you want to marry Ol’ Boy then do it. But don’t place the blame on other people. If you marry him and live a miserable life that’s your own fault. Your family will eventually get over the so-called embarrassment, but I doubt you will get over being married to, or even having kids by, someone you don’t love. And from what I’ve seen, the dude needs to be punched dead in the mouth for some of the shit he says. You can’t possibly think that that will get better as time passes. I guarantee that it will only get worse the longer you put up with it.”

  I sit there quietly. I am ingesting everything he is saying. He’s right. But I still don’t know if I’m strong enough to stand up to my family as well as Daryn’s. I have a feeling that I may be exiled if I call off this wedding and I am only mildly exaggerating when I say that. It seems as though Quinton is reading my thoughts because he looks at the expression on my face and asks me a question.

  “Do you really think your parents would disown you if you call off this wedding?”

  “Yes,” I say without hesitation. As much as I don’t want it to be the truth, I know it is. They may come around some time in the future, but I am sure that if I call off the wedding they will try their best to erase the embarrassment – me – from existence until they are satisfied that they are no longer the laughing stock of their circle of friends.

  “Well, damn… That’s pretty me
ssed up. “

  After that, we sit there for another few minutes in silence. Neither one of us seem to know what to say to that. I think Quinton now understands the dilemma I have before me.

  “I am so sorry that I have ruined our lunch. I didn’t mean for this to be some pity party or a confessional. There just aren’t many people for me to talk to that won’t run back to my parents and tell them everything or use this information to their advantage in some way. The people in my circle can be quite vicious.” I want to be done with this conversation so I get up from my seat and start to clear away the empty containers and consolidate those that still have food in them. Quinton must know that this is just me trying to avoid further discussion because he grabs my wrist and stops me.

  “Don’t worry about that stuff. I’ll have Tammy come in and get it after we leave.”

  “We?” I say confused by his statement. “Quinton… I don’t know if that’s a good idea. No offense, but I can’t be seen with you. If one photograph of us gets out –”

  Quinton puts a hand up. “Don’t worry about that. We won’t be going anywhere where there will be people who know me or you.”

  Seven – Ride Of Your Life

  “I don’t know about this, Quinton. I rode here with Neesa and Daryn is expecting me this evening for…”

  “No excuses. Come. Now,” he says and then grabs my hand and places a kiss on my wrist making my whole body shiver. “We’ll stop at Aneesa’s office on our way out so she can see for herself that you are okay. As far as Daryn… I really don’t give a shit what he thinks. It’s time you start doing some things that make you happy.” He says this with the most serious expression that I’ve ever seen on his face. The funny thing about his demand to go with him is that he assumes that going with him will make me happy. I’ve only known Quinton Ramsey for a couple days but, crazy enough, I am sure that going with him will make me feel happier and freer than I have felt in a while. I quickly decide that whatever Quinton has in store for me will be worth any fall out that may come from Daryn afterwards. Really I don’t know how much of a decision I’ve made, though, because Quinton doesn’t seem like he’d take ‘no’ as an answer anyway.

  “Okay.”

  ***

  A few minutes later we arrive at Neesa’s office door. I knock, but I don’t wait for her to answer. I pop my head in and she motions for me to come in. She’s on a phone call and mouths to me to hold on while she finishes up her call. Quinton follows behind a few seconds later, when he reaches me he places his hand on the small of my back and leans in to whisper in my ear. He tells me something along the lines of how much he loves my ass in my skirt and I blush while smiling hard. He’d started flirting on the way down in the elevator, but nothing over the top like our kiss on Saturday. Neesa stops mid-sentence and she immediately ends her phone call. She raises an eyebrow at me.

  I wonder why she is so surprised by seeing us together since she is the one who set this whole thing up. I guess she knows me too well. She knows that Sasha Olivia Ellis, oldest daughter of Judge Ellis, would never be publicly flirting with anyone – not even Daryn. Especially not Daryn. The most he’ll do is place his hand at my waist as a possessive gesture when he is showing me off to a client, just like he did when he introduced me to Quinton in his office.

  “Hey. Did you come by to get my keys? You can come back by and pick me up at –”

  I interrupt her. “Actually… Um… Quinton is taking me… Honestly, I have no idea where he is taking me,” I say looking up at Quinton.

  “Excuse me? Taking you somewhere? Are you sure, Sasha?” There is concern laced throughout Nessa’s questions. I completely understand why she is concerned. Though I don’t have paparazzi following me around, if the wrong person snapped a picture of me out with a man other than Daryn, it could affect all the people I’m close to. And being out somewhere with Quinton, that is a great possibility. But before I can step in and assure her that I’d already voiced my concerns to Quinton, he interjects.

  “She’ll be fine with me. I guarantee that there will be none of those assholes prowling where we’ll be going. I’m taking her somewhere where she’ll be able to have a little fun.” Quinton smiles as if he had a secret to hide. I can’t imagine where he’d be taking me that would be fun, yet no one there would know him well enough to not want to snap a picture of him.

  “Well you’d better take care of her. Boss or not… I will come after you if you expose her to a situation where she’ll be in the middle of some drama.”

  I know Neesa is serious. She is very protective of me. Being my friend for so long, she understands what it was like for me and the responsibility that I have to my family. She may not agree with it, but she understands and she would feel bad for introducing me to Quinton if that association caused any problems in my life.

  “I promise to take care of her.”

  Neesa simply nods. Quinton heads to the door and I walk around Neesa’s desk and give her a kiss on the cheek and tell her not to worry. I then wave bye and catch up with Quinton who is waiting at the elevator. I try asking him several times where he is taking me, but he simply says that it is a surprise. I try to get him to give me a hint by asking if I am dressed appropriately but he says that it didn’t matter what I wear because it will be the ‘ride of my life’. After that cryptic statement, I give up.

  When the elevator doors open, I expect to see a driver in some fancy car, but instead there is a man standing there waiting next to a large late model black truck.

  “A truck?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

  He smiles. “What?” he says innocently.

  “This vehicle just doesn’t seem like something you’d be driving. Honestly, I guess I expected a Mercedes or BMW or something else along those lines.” I know I’ve just admitted that I believe the stereotype that all music producers need flashy expensive cars to complete their image, but he’s not offended in the least. He simply gives me that arrogant smile and tells me that he is full of surprises.

  The man hands him the keys to the vehicle and tells him that the Audi has been safely delivered to his home. I laugh a little because he’s just proven my previous statement correct. I know this probably isn’t his usual mode of transportation and it has me wondering where we could be going that he would need to drive a rugged vehicle like this large Chevy truck.

  ***

  At one o’clock in the afternoon, there isn’t much traffic on the interstate. We hop on Interstate 85 and head south. We ride mostly in silence with Quinton only asking if I am okay with the temperature inside the truck. I said yes, but I am actually very hot, but it has nothing to do with the temperature inside the truck. My body is on fire. Quinton’s hand is perched on my leg and his thumb moves back and forth slowly, making my body tingle all over. It is an innocent gesture (well not innocent considering the fact that I was an engaged woman, but I’ll think about that little fact later), but it makes me feel connected to Quinton.

  I decide not to dwell on how inappropriate it is to be alone in a truck with a man who I’ve kissed and let fondle me while engaged to another and I simply relax into his touch. Soon I feel my eyes get heavy and I drift off. The last thing I remember seeing is a billboard for a Chevy dealership in a small town outside Atlanta called Newnan. I smile at the thought that he probably went into some dealership just like that one and paid for this truck in cash and probably shocked everyone there because I’m sure they did not expect him to do so. Quinton doesn’t put his wealth on display and he easily transforms from arrogant, cocky music mogul to the regular guy next door. He is an enigma and every side of him is sexy as hell.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, but when I awake, we were turning into a place and I see a sign that says Wild Animal Safari. I blink a few times and sit up. I vaguely remembered seeing commercials on television for this place. I search my mind to remember what the commercial said the place was about. I guess Quinton sees the confused expression marring my features becaus
e he chuckles and says, “Don’t worry. You’ll have fun.”

  I look down and remember what I’m wearing and he notices. I’m not sure I’m dressed for an ‘Animal Safari’ and I wonder why he told me that my attire was fine knowing we’d be at a place that seems to be the equivalent of a zoo. I don’t voice my concerns out loud because I trust that Quinton knows what he is doing.

  There are few cars at this time of day on a Monday and from what I can tell, most of the people there are mothers and their children. I feel out of place in my pencil skirt and skimpy blouse. Though Quinton has on jeans and a t-shirt, I still feel that we stand out like the color red within a sea of black and white. Quinton leads me inside the building where there was a short line of people paying for admission. We don’t get into the line, but instead we walk over to where a man stands. He seems to be expecting us since he starts to smile as soon as we start to walk in his direction.

  “Mr. Ramsey. I’m glad you could make it,” the man says and the two of them shake hands.

  “Thanks for doing this on such short notice. I really appreciate it.” Quinton looks over at me and then back at the man. “This is my friend, Sasha. Sasha this is Todd. He’s a manager here at the Wild Animal Safari.

  Todd and I shake hands and exchange greetings. He tells Quinton that he’ll be personally driving us around the park. He also mentions that the buses don’t normally run on Monday’s in May, but because he has been a donor to the facility he is more than happy to make an exception.