For the next few days, Brandon and his mother worked tirelessly to find out who was behind the chase. When he continues to hit dead ends, Brandon is frustrated beyond words. I, on the other hand, am mostly over the incident. Brandon insisted on going to work with me for a week after the incident, but I soon realized how difficult it was to work with the man.
By the third day, I was frustrated beyond words. Brandon had something to say about everything! He talked too much, complained incessantly, and snapped at a couple of workers. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I grabbed my bag, held him firmly by the arm, and dragged him out. That was the last time he went to work with me.
Now, as I sit at my desk going over accounts, I’m reminded of the thousand and one reasons why I never liked maths in high school. I have to be honest. This is one of the few reasons why I can’t let Mariah go. She might be a witch from hell, but she does an excellent job. Even though I am only going over an already settled ledger, I can already feel the signs of a terrible headache.
When I hear a knock at my door, I say an inward prayer for whoever has come to save me from these ledgers. The smile on my face falters when Robin walks into my office carrying a bouquet of flowers and a dessert box. Brandon’s going to know that he was here. I mean, I’m happy to see Rob, but I’m also worried.
I am worried, not just because of how I think Brandon’s threats from the other day, but because I am worried about losing this newfound easiness that we have about us.
“Natalie Hayes, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you look rather disappointed to see me.” He says, balancing the contents of his arms on my desk.
I push back from my chair to hug him.”Well, it’s a good thing you know better.” I say while exchanging air kisses. “Hello, Rob. It’s Natalie Martinez now, you know.”
He tuts, “Errr, doesn’t roll off my tongue as smoothly as Hayes.”
I laugh and sit at the edge of the table while Rob takes a seat on a chair in front of me. “A dessert box?”
He shrugs. “I wanted to get lunch, but I know you enough to know that you’d say something about eating out when you run a restaurant of your own.”
I smile at the accuracy of his statement. Rob has always been thoughtful. As we get engrossed in conversation, I soon forget my worries about Brandon and his threats. I laugh heartily when he tells me about his editor threatening to have him arrested for refusing to adhere to the terms of their contract.
“Just give her her story already!” I say, stifling more laughter.
“What can I say, Nat.” He says with a nonchalant shrug “I’m a creative. I can’t write unless I am inspired to.”
“She should totally get you arrested.”
His right-hand flies to his chest. “My God! You too?” He says in mock surprise.
By this time, we’re both eating heartily from Rob’s box. I deftly cut a slice of cake and keep it aside for Hailey. She has the day off today, but I still have to stop at her place on my way home. She and I ordered some novels that were delivered to my place this morning, and she was so excited when I told her they’d been delivered, she insisted I bring them over today. When I tell him about somebody following us a few days ago, Rob is visibly disturbed.
“You’re talking about it with such levity, Nat. That’s some scary shit.”
I shrug before responding. “I don’t know. I was really scared that night, but now, I’m mostly over it. I’m starting to wonder in fact if we were actually being followed. I mean… What if whoever it was just happened to be going the same way as us?”
He stares at me for a few seconds before responding, “You said they stopped following you as soon as they noticed you were trying to lose them.”
“Well, maybe they got to their destination.”
“On an expressway? They got to their destination on an expressway? Are you crazy?”
Against my better judgment, I begin to laugh. Of course, I know that Rob is right. An expressway is a crazy destination for anyone to call theirs. But it’s true that I believe that we weren’t being followed. When Robin’s expression remains stony, I wipe the mirth off my face and try to make him understand better.
“Hear me out, Rob. Brandon and his mother have been trying to find out who was following us. They’ve each hired a private investigator, and they’ve each gotten no response. It might sound crazy but the only explanation I can come up with is that this person doesn’t exist. Maybe it was a gross misunderstanding, or maybe whoever it is doesn’t have any bad intentions.”
Rob signs heavily and places a hand over his face. “You can’t possibly be this naive, Nat.”
I shrug and go back to eating. Later when Rob offers to drop me off, I refuse and tell him that my driver will take me home instead. On his way out, he hugs me tight and long before making me promise that I will take care of myself.
Shortly after he leaves, I leave too. On the way to Hailey’s place, I try to make small talk with Baldwin. At first, he lets me do all the talking while he just grunts and nods, but he soon lets down his guard. He tells me about his wife, Melanie, and how he met her while mowing her father’s lawn almost eight years ago. He tells me how he was stupefied by her beauty when he first saw her, and how although he worked hard to win her over for almost a year, he cried the first time she told him that she loved him.
After I drop off Hailey’s books and cake, and we’re on our way home, he deftly picks up where he left off, telling me about his kids. The pride in his voice when he talks about each of them reminds me of my dad, and for a second, I feel overwhelmed by my emotions. I keep it in check though. My dad has been dead for five years now. When I remember him, I should smile over our fond memories, not cry.
When Baldwin tells me about not liking his name, I begin to laugh. He talks about trying hard to convince his mother to let him change it but having her say no several times because it was her father’s name and she thought it was a beautiful name. I assure him that it’s a good name, and he tells me that it doesn’t matter anymore. Melanie thought his name was fascinating when they first met, and so he stopped hating it.
When we get home, I find myself wishing we had a little more time so Baldwin could tell me more about his daughter and his son, Mariah, and David. With my hand on the door handle, I catch Baldwin’s eyes in the rearview mirror and smile. “Say hello to Melanie for me. You tell her that she’s one hell of a lucky woman.” I say as I step out of the car.
“No, ma’am.” His voice stops me before I can shut the door, “I’m the lucky one. I’m the one who struck gold.”
With a small smile to acknowledge him, I shut the door and walked inside the house. Lodged in my heart is an emotion I can’t quite fathom. A feeling of regret over the fact that I might never find what Baldwin and his wife have. As a teenager, I had such lofty dreams of love and romance, but now, the possibility of that seems far-fetched. Even after Brandon and I get separated, what are the chances that I would find someone who would cry when I first tell him that I love him?
With my mind in an entirely different place, I do not see or hear Brandon walking in my direction. I ram into the brick wall that is his chest and I am pulled out of my reverie. Before I can say anything, he places a finger on my right cheek. It comes up wet, and it is only then I realize that I have been crying. His face darkens immediately. “What’s happening?”
I look up at him with tear-filled eyes. How do I tell him that I am crying because I fear that I might never find love? How do I tell him that just before I stepped out of the car, I was smiling prettily at Baldwin’s beautiful stories, and I have no idea why I am crying now. I take a deep breath before responding. “Nothing,” I say, and my voice breaks. “I was just thinking about my dad.”