“Carolyn of all people asked me to meet Darryl.” Vanessa wondered as she got ready to meet Darryl at his house. Different questions flooded her mind as she pulled out jean trousers and a hoodie from her closet.
Why would he ask her to meet him at his house? What was he up to at that time? Only Darryl had answers to those questions.
Twenty minutes had passed and Vanessa was still at her place because she was not ready to please Darryl. She was only going because Carolyn had talked her into it, not because Darryl had commanded it.
“After he gave her a cold shoulder during the day, he had the audacity to text her to meet me. He was not even polite about his request.” she rambled as she exited her apartment door. Someone had to teach Darryl a lesson, and she was ready to do it herself.
She sat quietly in the back seat of the cab. She was lost in the idea of things she could do to punish Darryl for ruining her night before she noticed the ride had stopped.
“We are here ma’am”, the driver told her.
“Thank you” she replied, giving him his pay.
Darryl’s house wasn’t what she had imagined it to be. Even the front view alone was opulent, this made Vanessa’s jaw drop. She had seen beautiful buildings, but Darryl’s house was another level of elegance.
A figure materialized from the street before she could call Darryl to announce her arrival. She was frightened until she realized it was a woman like her. The woman stopped in front of the house, her gaze moved around Vanessa from head to toe.
This woman definitely looked familiar, as Vanessa tried to remember where she had seen her before. The elevator woman. Yes, this was the elevator woman who called Darryl this morning.
What was she doing in front of Darryl’s house? Vanessa wondered. This can’t be a coincidence. Was she one of Darryl’s flings?
“Hey, I’m Tania”. Tania’s words pulled Vanessa out of her thoughts.
“I’m Vanessa.” She replied, confusion etched on her face.
“Are you here to see Mr Peter?” Tania asked Vanessa as she began to plot her scheme.
“How did you know that?” Vanessa asked. Suspicion and curiosity gnawed at her.
“Everyone here knows Mr Peter’s house, it is a unique building. And you happen to be standing in front of it.” Tania explained casually.
“Yes. Yes. Do you stay around?” Vanessa furthered her interrogation.
“Yes, I live in the next building” she lied. “Actually, I went out to get something from my car, and I saw you staring intensely. So I thought you could use some help.” Tania lied through her teeth.
“That’s really nice of you, thank you.” Vanessa told her. She turned back to the gate, looking for a siren switch that she could use to announce her arrival, but she found nothing useful.
“Do you have access to get in?” Tania asked.
“No, but I will call him now.” Vanessa replied.
After saying that to Tania, she dialed Darryl, but the call didn’t go through. She was mad and disappointed at the same time. Why would he ask her to come when he knew he wouldn’t be around?
Tania, who observed Vanessa’s move, was pleased that Darryl’s line was unreachable at the moment. All she had to do now was to convince Vanessa about Darryl’s whereabouts.
“I saw him drive out like a maniac. It looks like he was in a rush,” Tania told her.
“He drove out?” Vanessa’s eyes widened in surprise. “How could he leave when he was the one that invited me here?
“It might be an emergency.” Tania tried to console her. “Who knows what might have happened?
Tania could not believe Darryl had invited his secretary to his house after what she told him in the morning. Darryl must have thought she was joking about how far she could go when it came to achieving her aims.
She was on her way to Darryl’s house when she saw Vanessa in front of his house. Quickly, she came up with a good plan to hide her real intentions. Thankfully, naive Vanessa bought all her lies. Now, it was time to make Vanessa return home.
“It is too cold out here to wait for him to return,” Tania began. She was pleased that Darryl had stood by Vanessa, and she hoped Vanessa would return home rather than wait for Darryl.
“I don’t think it is right for me to go back without hearing from him. I know it is wrong for him to stand me up but, like you said, it might be an emergency.” Vanessa explained calmly.
Tania resisted the urge to roll her eyes. How can someone be so clueless, she wondered. Before she could form another reason to persuade Vanessa, she sighted Darryl’s car from the beginning of the street.
“Suit yourself, but please, be safe out here. I would have loved to wait with you, but I have something else to do inside.” Tania faked concern as she spoke to Vanessa.
“Thank you for your time. See you tomorrow, at work.” Vanessa said.
Tania was surprised that Vanessa recognized her, but she masked it up and walked away quickly before Darryl could sight her. She didn’t know if it was good that Vanessa had recognized her.
It would be to her benefit if Vanessa should tell Darryl about their encounter tonight. It would be like a reminder to Darryl. The thought alone made her smile, she was pleased that her plans were working out even without stressing over it.
Tania looked back to see what was going on with Darryl and Vanessa. She saw Darryl get out of his car and what he had done next made her jaw drop.
She could not believe what she saw. Darryl pulled Vanessa towards him and his lips crashed into hers. Tania’s heart broke into pieces as she witnessed Darryl and Vanessa’s kiss.