Late than Never
CLYVE
THE TRAFFIC WAS horrendous.
I stared at my phone, watching the clock as if it was a time bomb ready to explode in my hand. I was going to be late, but then Austen was not answering my damn call.
“Why aren’t we moving? I am kinda in a hurry here,” I asked the cab driver irritably. I should have driven or hired a driver already, but I thought my life had a pretty boring routine.
“Maybe there’s an accident ahead, sir,” the cab driver answered with disinterest. In his mind, he was already cursing me like shit. He thought I was an asshole like most of his passengers when times like this.
I redialed Austen. This time it went to his voicemail. Damn it!
In hindsight, maybe not talking to Westley for weeks was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have done that, these past few weeks without her in my life were enough for me to run away from the hell I called my flat.
Since I found out her divorce with Keene was finalized weeks ago, I couldn’t wait another day to tell her how I felt.
Took you long enough, arsehole. You should have done that months ago.
I dialed my brother. Maybe he could help get me out of this bloody traffic. He picked up right away as if he was constantly staring at his phone just like I did moments ago.
“Clyve?”
“Yeah, who else?”
“Whoa, brother. What’s wrong? Aren’t you supposed to be her book signing?”
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for shoving my sorry arse right into my face.”
“Is that even possible?” He chuckled, and that irritated me even more. My pulse was already racing with anger because of the bloody traffic, and now my brother was no help.
“Maybe you can call your fairy godmother to magically turn this cab into a bloody helicopter so that I can fly out of this bloody traffic, how about that?”
“Wow! You are scary, brother. Just calm down.”
“I don’t wanna calm down. What I want is to get out of this bloody traffic and be at the event. I am terribly late.” I checked the watch on my phone. Ten minutes more before the event would start. Great!
“Hey, this is not the last book signing she’s gonna have. If you can’t make it, then just talk to her after the event. Or brother, maybe you should man up and be realistic. Knock on her door and ask for your forgiveness. There’s nothing better than you two would talk about your unresolved issues in private.”
“My plan should work, Skip. You are not helping.”
“I know it will, but just in case, you know.”
“Fine.” I hung up.
Finally, the traffic moved an inch a minute.
“There’s an accident ahead, sir,” the cab driver informed.
I felt like shit for snapping at him and for the family who got into an accident. It was an SUV that collided with a black sedan. The cop’s mobile was already in sight and the ambulance just drove off. The men in that vehicle were probably in a hurry just like me. I could be in that accident if I drove myself because I had an event to catch up on.
My anger cooled off as we moved smoothly toward the place where I wanted to be. Then I found a text from Austen.
Austen: Sorry, man. My phone is in silent mode. WTF are you?”
CC: Caught in the traffic. There’s an accident ahead of my cab.
Austen: You are the only billionaire who doesn’t have a driver and doesn’t own a private jet. Time to get one, man.
CC: I don’t need them. And I’m not a billionaire.
Austen: Just get the fuck in here. They’re gonna close the venue in like 3.
Fuck!
After twenty bloody minutes, I finally arrived.
“Keep the change.” I gave a huge tip to the cab driver.
“A-are you sure?” he asked me incredulously.
“Yes. Thanks for driving me here safe.” I ran toward the bookstore building. And now, I hated the revolving door. I was stuck with a family that had three kids.
Seriously, the universe hated me.
From the glass wall, I instantly saw her. She had a mic in her hand. My heart thunderously raced in my chest. I missed Westley like damn crazy. Westley was beautiful, always. Right now, she had the most genuine smile on her face. She was literally glowing. I wondered what made her glow like that, or who made her glow. I ignored the twist in my stomach as I pushed the glass door.
It was locked. Fuck. I pulled it instead, but it was really locked.
“I’m sorry, sir. The door is closed for the event. You can’t get inside,” said the ginger head young man.
“Really? What if I blow this fucking building?”
His green eyes went wide, terrified. Then I realized I could be in jail with my threat, and he thought I was a terrorist.
“Look, mate. I was stuck in the bloody traffic for almost two hours. You can ask Westley over there.” I pointed at Westley through the glass door. “I’ve never been late, but there’s an accident that happened before my cab could pass through. That’s why I am late. You can watch the local news to confirm. Besides, my friend is there already. You can call Austen. He’s the brother of Harry Bloom.”
He stared at me, transfixed. After I explained to him for like a fucking minute, he just stared at me.
“Are you gonna let me in or what?”
He shook his head repeatedly.
“Fine. I’ll punch myself and tell the people that you assault me. How about that?”
His eyes went terribly enormous again. “Are you insane?”
“Then open the bloody door, or I swear to god.”
“Okay, okay. Jeez, man. Stop threatening me.” He fumbled the keys and unlocked the door.
“What’s your name?”
“Byorn.”
“Thanks, Byorn. I awe you big time. If you need anything, just go to any Linton businesses and tell them you are there to see Clyve Linton.” I patted his back.
Finally, I was in. Relief washed over me. Westley’s voice was like a melody to me. She hadn’t seen me yet. Her focus was on her book. I slowly marched forward, but there was no single empty chair, and most of the audience was standing. Since I was taller than most people around her, I could still see her even from a distance.
Pride and relief swamped me. This was where she exactly belonged, inspiring her readers to embrace what they love, their true colors, and to be true to themselves. Despite making mistakes, there was always a new beginning, and she just started hers.
When she was done, she smiled and gave the mic to the emcee.
“We will take a few questions from the audience. Then we will move on to the book signing.”
I raised my hand, but I was at the back, and there was no chance she could choose me.
“I’m from Weekly Magazine. I love the story. It’s hard to find inspirational books as a story like yours. If you’ve given two choices for your character, like asking help from her parent over letting her choose the job, what would you choose?”
“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “This story is inspired by my true experience. It wasn’t easy for me to be in that position, and you might all raise your brows and look at me as a hypocrite if I say things happen for a reason. Being a Sindy Kate taught me a lot of things. I became mature from being a brat or a black sheep because of my choices. And that poor choice also changed my views in life. And not all the time, you can depend on someone even if it is your family. One day you have to decide and stand on your own for you to grow. That’s one of my life lessons. Thank you.”
“Please, can I ask a question?” It was Austen who yelled and stood up. Everyone laughed at him.
“Sure.” Westley smiled.
“Thanks, Harry. I’m kinda intrigued by the love interest of Sindy in the story. So, if this man is based on the man she met, is he this introvert? I mean, is he for real? For someone as beautiful as Sindy, she could have men filling in line to be with her. What’s so special about this guy Collin? I’m so jealous, man.”
The audience laughed at him again. “And how far do you go for love.”
“Thank you. That’s my brother, anyway. Collin has a choice. Like he chose to be vegan. He chose his passion for art over managing their empire. He chose to drink sparkling water over the finest wine. He chose a simple life over luxury. He’s the kind of man who you rarely find nowadays. And he chose to be with someone he had a connection with despite how messy Sindy’s life had been. He saw the real woman behind Sindy Kate. He never judged the choice she made. Those are only a few lists I could give you of how special Collin was. How far I should go for love? If men traveled to the moon, I’d be willing to go beyond.”
The crowd applauded. And I thought I was the luckiest man on earth. My heart was thunderously beating inside my chest, and I could feel it was soaring high. Then I realized her answer was from her heart. She still cared about me.
I raised my hand. I wasn’t exactly expecting I would be called. Then the air shifted around the venue. Westley’s gaze landed on me, and I could see the shock on her face. Her eyes somewhat twinkled with anticipation, surprise, and longing mixed all together.
“Yes,” she simply said.
I grabbed the mic offered to me without breaking my gaze. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but I didn’t give a damn about them. I focused solely my attention on Westley.
I took a deep breath before I spoke. “I read the book like maybe three times or more, which never happened to me. For one, I’m not much a fan of an autobiography novel, but now I take it back because, from the moment I read your book, I am your biggest or maybe your number one fan.”
The audience chuckled.
“I know the real Collin is one piece of an arsehole. Sorry for the word choice. I just thought it was a perfect adjective for him, but aren’t we all sometimes? We screwed things up, and Collin had his moments, and the lucky lad reconciled with Sindy Kate. Don’t you think the real Collin deserves a second chance, deserves his happiness as well? Since Sindy Kate is based on your life experience, then you can’t disappoint your readers. You can’t leave them hanging with what exactly happened after they kissed, can you, Westley? I mean, Harry. As your number one fan, I strongly suggest that you should write a sequel. I am sure your fans would love that.”
Tired and determination should not be mixed, but this was what I felt right now. I was a few fans away before I could have my book signed. My question and my speech earlier were cut off with gushes and yells in excitement from the audience erupted. They were more excited to know what happened to Sindy and Collin’s romance.
Finally, after long tiring hours, I was in front of Westley. She just took the book and didn’t even lift her gaze to look at me and ask for my name as she did to everyone. She opened the first page, then she stilled and chuckled the moment she saw the note I stuck in earlier.
And as for me, my tongue was stuck inside my mouth. I couldn’t even tell my name while she was waiting patiently for me. I was jittering, scared like shit that she would not give me a chance at all.
Finally, she smiled, and her gaze flew up at me. I just caught the love blazing in her eyes-it was enough to answer my question, and I could live with that.
“Do you also want a selfie, my number one fan?”
I didn’t realize I was just standing there longer than I should have until someone nudged me to move.
Then Westley wrote something down and gave my book back.
“Yes!”