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Deja scrolled through an entertainment blog in her tiny office. Aside from her cluttered white computer desk and chair and two ivory seats for clients, the office was bare, but she kept promising Raquel she would decorate. She started when her office intercom beeped. She straightened in her chair and shut down the gossip website. “Yes.”
“A man’s on line two for you. He wouldn’t say his name but said it’s important,” Maggie said.
Deja’s pulse raced. She’d slept restlessly after talking with Kevin, scared of what he would do next. It must be him now, letting her know he had found out where she worked. She’d tried so hard to leave Kevin and all the drama behind in the East Bay. Him showing up would ruin everything, as usual.
“Transfer him.” Deja could barely make the words come out.
“Ms. Vu, it’s Gary Thompson.”
Deja closed her eyes, breathed a little easier, and cleared her throat. Gary Thompson was the last person on her mind, but she definitely would prefer to hear from him over Kevin any day. Raquel desperately wanted to take her business to the next level with corporate events and ditch weddings altogether, so Deja would have to get herself together.
“How are you Mr. Thompson? Was everything satisfactory with the wedding?”
“Actually, that’s what I am calling about.”
Deja’s heart stalled. If the call were to complain, Raquel would be furious. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. And it’s Gary. I was so impressed with the wedding’s execution, I wanted to set an appointment to talk with you about possibly partnering with your company in the future. How is Friday at eleven in my office?”
Raquel had mentioned that Thompson had office space in the most expensive building in downtown San Jose. Deja’d never imagined she’d end up doing business there. She clicked on her calendar, which had several appointments with brides-to-be that would all need to be rescheduled. “Friday at eleven is perfect.”
“Good. I am certainly looking forward to seeing you again.”
After Thompson hung up, Deja ran to Raquel’s office, slamming open the door.
Raquel glanced up from a stack of documents and raised her eyebrows. “Deja?”
Deja’s smile covered her face, but she couldn’t hide her happiness even if she wanted to. “Gary Thompson called. We have an appointment at his office on Friday!”
Raquel stood, her face lighting up. “This could change everything. Everything I’ve worked my ass off for the past ten years could actually happen. I knew hiring you was a good move.”
“For both of us.” Though Deja’d had absolutely no experience working in an office or as an assistant when she’d been hired, she had a way of knowing what people wanted and how to give it to them. She’d read Raquel like a book during the interview. Raquel’s business was her baby, and she needed someone as dedicated to growing it as she was. So that was exactly what Deja had told her, that she was an excellent personal assistant and would help take Raquel’s business to the next level. Deja sighed and dropped her gaze to her worn navy slacks.
“What’s wrong?” Raquel asked.
“It’s just that I wore my best outfit to the wedding. What should I wear when we see him?” Deja picked at her bland black blouse. “We need to dress our best, and payday isn’t for over a week.”
Raquel didn’t skip a beat. “You’re right. Let’s go buy a new outfit. I’ll just expense it out.”
Deja held in a cheer. “Really?”
“I’ll do anything to make sure Friday’s meeting is perfect. Let me wrap up what I’m doing, and I’ll meet you outside.”
Deja sauntered back to her office. A few hours off from work and a new outfit made a boring Tuesday one hell of a day. Now, Raquel needed to carry out her part of the deal and get Thompson to sign the contract. Maybe it’d lead to a raise that would allow her to pay off her debt to Kevin incrementally, which would keep him at bay and close the chapter she needed permanently behind her.
***
DEJA CHEWED ON HER pen, forcing her eyes to stay open while she reviewed a bride’s furniture rental order. After shopping, Raquel had treated Deja to a big brunch, and now, all Deja needed was a nap.
Maggie’s voice rang over the intercom. “Call for you on line two.”
Deja picked up the handset. “Deja Johnson. How may I help you?”
“You sound so sophisticated when you’re at work. I like it.” It was Rodney.
“I told you not to call me here,” Deja said in her sternest voice.
“Come on. I wanted to hear your voice.” Rodney’s voice was pathetic and whiny.
Deja kept her voice low. “I told you it’s over, and I’m at work. You know I can’t take personal calls.”
“I have to see you. I’m outside your office. I can come in if—”
Shit. “Fine, I’ll meet you at the coffee shop around the corner in ten.” The last thing she needed was Rodney showing up. When Raquel had hired her, she’d made it clear that personal drama was to be kept out of the office.
Deja chugged the remaining liquid in her water bottle then hurried to the reception area and refilled it from the cooler. “Did you happen to get the name of that person who just called?” she asked nonchalantly, hoping Maggie didn’t realize it wasn’t a client.
“No, he asked directly for you.” Maggie didn’t take her fingers off her keyboard. “I assumed it was a personal call.”
“Oh, no. Just someone I gave my card to at a wedding we did a few months ago. He has an upcoming event he wanted to discuss.” Relieved that he hadn’t given his name, Deja headed back to her office.
“Sure.” Maggie peered at her with raised eyebrows.
Deja froze. “What’s that?”
“I said, sure. Did he happen to mention he wanted to discuss these plans in person... over drinks?” Maggie raised an eyebrow. “You have that effect on men, Deja. They fall in love you with at first sight. Gary Thompson didn’t even wait twenty-four hours to call.”
“Stop it.” Deja laughed nervously. Too close.
“Haven’t you noticed that Raquel keeps you at least fifty feet from the grooms at all times?” Maggie continued. “Last thing we need is one of them canceling the wedding and the bride demanding her money back over you.”
“You really need to stop,” Deja said. “Get back to work. I’m going to grab a coffee. Want anything?”
“No, thanks. I can’t drink coffee. Won’t be able to sleep.” Though only in her late forties, Maggie looked and acted much older. She’d never married or had children—maybe since she wasn’t exactly what people would call attractive. She had lifeless blond hair cut in a short bob, a face wrinkled from too much sun, and a rail-thin figure. Deja’d initially wondered if she was a lesbian but now thought she was an asexual type. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t Deja’s business. All that mattered was that Maggie had a good work ethic and helped the small company tremendously.
Deja grabbed her umbrella from her office then returned to the reception area.
“What I say is true,” Maggie said as Deja walked out. “If only we all could be so young and so lucky.”
“Lucky.” Deja almost laughed.
Raindrops pummeled the umbrella’s surface on her walk to the coffee shop. Deja tried not to inhale exhaust car spew as they drove by. Street lamps illuminated the gray-cloud-darkened wet streets. Deja loved the rain and winter. It was cold, gloomy, and damp, just like her life. Her black boots struck the pavement, and she jumped as a passing car beeped its horn at her.
“Hey, baby,” a man yelled out of the window.
Deja flipped him the bird and kept walking. Men couldn’t actually think women liked that. She couldn’t stand it, and her mom’s loser-boyfriend, who everyone called Ash because of his propensity for smoking weed, came to mind. Before he’d moved in with them, he’d spent five years in prison. He’d only been on the outside for six months when he’d met Deja’s mom at the neighborhood bar where she was a regular.
As a freshman in high school, Deja spent as much time as possible at school to avoid Ash’s constant ogling after he moved in. But after about four months, it became physical. Then the nightly routine of her mom leaving for the graveyard shift at the grocery store and Ash forcing himself on Deja began.
“Remember, if you tell your mom, she’ll say you wanted it. And if you tell anyone else, I’ll kill you both,” Ash whispered after he’d taken her virginity.
Too traumatized to do either, Deja pretended it wasn’t happening. But denial wasn’t a form of birth control, and she became pregnant. Deja didn’t discover the pregnancy until she was almost five months along. In hindsight, she wished she had been like Bella in Twilight and had a father she could go live with in a place like Forks, Washington, or anywhere to get away. But her life wasn’t a movie. So Deja had decided to leave home before being kicked out or killed.
“Lucky, huh?” Deja said under her breath. She opened the coffee-shop door, bringing the cold in with her. Rodney’s back faced her, so she walked toward him and touched his shoulder.
He rotated toward her, and his gaze wandered over her body. “Sit.”
Deja slid into the seat across from him. “This isn’t cool, Rodney. I have a job. You have a wife, and I’m over this.”
Rodney slid an envelope across the table. “Why don’t you use this to buy something nice? I’ll bring over some champagne, and we’ll have a good time. It’ll be like it was in the beginning.”
Deja glared. “You don’t get it, do you? This started when Nina was out of the house, and you said you were divorcing her. Not only did you not divorce, you moved her back in and continue to be married. Now, you need to stop calling me, and don’t show up at my work again. I can’t take the chance of being fired because of you.” Deja stood and turned her back on Rodney.
“Come on, Deja. You know I still need her financially. If I hadn’t got back together with her, I wouldn’t have been able to help you and Miles out with money these past few months.” Rodney slid the envelope across the table.
She picked up the envelope and shoved it into her purse. With her ending things with Rodney, this money might be the last he would give her, and she was short this month—as usual.
“It’s over.” She ignored Rodney’s protests and marched out the door. Sure, Rodney had given her a little money here and there, but it wasn’t worth it anymore. The situation had grown too complicated with Nina in the picture, and he definitely wasn’t worth the potential drama. Having Kevin back in the picture already provided enough of that, and she needed a large amount to make him go away, which Rodney couldn’t help her with. Now, more than ever, she needed to make sure she and Raquel landed the contract with Thompson. Though it was her only alternative option, she feared it still wouldn’t be good enough for Kevin, and he’d force her to go through with his plan for repayment.