Zori
I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business when Clinton walked in. I checked the clock on my laptop, and it was five minutes after nine. I didn’t have to prepare the conference rooms; Judith did that. So I wasn’t there to see it, but I could imagine how pissed off Carver and his partner were that Clinton was late after he’d been specifically told not to be.
“Are they in there?”
“I would think so,” I grunted back, not bothering to scowl up. Instead of walking straight to the conference room, he stood before my desk. I knew he hadn’t moved because I could see his hands on his hips out of my peripheral. I didn’t acknowledge his presence right away. I hoped he’d get the hint and move on.
“I can take those tickets off your hands, Zori. Come on, I know the trip set you back. Let me help.”
He’d used the voice, the one he used when he wanted something to go his way. It was smooth and sugary. But I was officially done with him, and even though I had some residual hurt and anger left over from the way he’d treated me, I knew him breaking things off with me was for the best. Instead of answering, I acted on impulse. The website to Indulgences opened with a beautiful panoramic view of white, sandy beaches and a beautiful ocean. I logged on, pulled up my itinerary, and quickly made the change. I couldn’t say what prompted me to act so hastily, and even now when I thought back on the initial decision, I had to wonder if I had intended to do this all along. I changed the name from Clinton to Mateo and hit save. Next up was the airline, where I had the tickets on hold. I hadn’t purchased them yet. The plan was to purchase them a few days before the trip because that was when the sale would hit. I’d gotten the tip from my cousin Marie, who worked for the airline. Yay for the family and friends discount. My heart hammered in my chest the entire time I entered in the passenger information. You’re doing this. You’re really doing this. It was all said and done, and I was scared and a little anxious.
Clinton still stood in front of me. “Zori, I’m trying to be fair
here.”
“So am I, Clinton. But you just can’t take the hint, can you?”
“What hint?”
My desk phone buzzed, and I saw it was Carver on the phone. I answered. “Yes, sir. Yes, he’s here. I’ll send him over.”
My eyes traveled up to meet Clinton’s. He didn’t even care that he was now ten minutes late. He knew he had the partnership in the bag. But I could hear the anger in Carver’s voice, and he wasn’t the least bit happy.
“They want you in the conference room. You’d better go.”
The jerk tugged on his tie, and when I finally looked at him, my stomach turned. I needed to see it for myself. He wasn’t what I needed, no matter how much stability he could provide. We wouldn’t have been an agreeable match. There was no way we made sense. The look in his eyes said he knew what I was thinking. The words he said next confirmed it.
“We would have never worked. I’m too good for you.”
Asshole.
With his parting remark, he walked out of my office and down to the conference room. How had I not seen this part of him before? Because you were looking for something that didn’t exist, my mind supplied.
What I wanted wasn’t hard to accomplish. I wanted to be happy. To be taken care of. And I wanted it all while not having to eat Top Ramen or some form thereof. My parents had struggled for so long to get the finer things in life. My father had almost lost his life because of it. He’d worked two jobs during the week and took on extra work on the weekends until he couldn’t anymore. My mother had even worked long hours. Still did. The house they lived in now wasn’t new, but it was new to them. It was in a decent enough neighborhood in Missouri City, but I wanted more than that. I wanted my place built from the ground up. I wanted my yard to be immaculate, and I wanted to join the Katy Cult.
I called them that because they were women who didn’t have to work, they just walked their kids in their expensive strollers and brunched at Starbucks, shopped at CityCentre, and had personal trainers to keep their childbearing hips in line. I wanted that. It wasn’t too much to ask. I wanted to fall in love, I did, but before any of that could truly happen, I needed the other items to line up perfectly. I had thought I would get that with Clinton. I was wrong. So wrong.
My sulking turned into full-on panic mode when I realized I’d screwed up yet again. In my quest to not give a damn, I’d switched my travel companion from Clinton to Mateo. My mind went a hundred miles a minute, but I couldn’t back out now. The airline would charge me an arm and a leg just to change the name on the ticket. I groaned loudly when I hit my head against my desk. See, Zori, this is what happens when you don’t use your brain. But what did that say about Mateo? I loved him, sure, but not in that way. I was confused, and regardless of my confusion, I didn’t see how sending the wrong signals to my best friend would help my situation at all.
I was going to Indulgences with my bestie. The same guy who’d confessed to having feelings for me. He was also the one I would have given my world to back in high school.
With all my worrying, I barely caught the email that popped into my inbox. It was from Kenderly, asking me to update my profile along with my fantasy. Indulgences was known for their fantasy packages, and when I’d read the comments on the website, one of the reviews raved about the different fantasies to choose from. Action, adventure, love, or just leisure. It was everything and more. I wanted the romance, I wanted the ring. Great. What the hell do I do now? My fantasy was to have Clinton propose to me. Now, I was going with Mateo. Him proposing would never happen. That was insane.
I would like to just relax, and get away from it all. My plans have changed. I’m not sure if that’s okay or not, but I don’t think a fantasy is needed at this time. Maybe next time. Thanks.
Zoraida.
Kenderly responded quickly, letting me know it was okay, and told me that she and Mr. Aragon would meet us in three days. Three days. I tried calling Mateo, but it went straight to voicemail. He must be in the shop. He worked at Custom Cars and Motorcycles in Houston and was one of their top mechanics. People came from all over just to get their stuff customized by him. The shop belonged to a biker named Papi, and he constantly praised Matty for all his hard work. Hopefully, he’d give Mateo the week off. Or you’ll be vacationing alone.
I almost hoped for that. Almost. But in the back of my mind, there was a small part of me that wanted to know what it would be like with just me and Mateo, no distractions, seeing exactly where things could lead. I wasn’t one to balk at extra attention, and Matty knew how to be attentive. I’d seen him wine and dine a girl right out of her panties. Maybe it’s what I need to relax, something fun and flirty. I’d have to explain that things couldn’t get out of hand because, at the end of the day, he was still my best friend. And it would suck to lose him.