Chapter 16 #2
A stream of people flowed out of the elevator just as I’d gathered myself enough to respond.
Stunned, I entered the confined space with Russ and three other people.
I went from shocked to embarrassed to angry by the time we’d reached the second floor.
As soon as the others exited, I turned to him.
The doors had barely closed before I erupted.
“What do you mean no?” I snapped. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
He glared at me. His mouth formed a tight line, which sharpened his expression. “The CEO of the company you work for,” he replied through clenched teeth.
I stepped toward him. “I don’t work for you. I’m an independent contractor. I work with you.”
“And the work you do with my company doesn’t require us to have a private conversation.” The elevator dinged as we arrived on the RLF floor. He broke eye contact and focused his attention straight ahead. “After you.”
I stared at his profile for a moment and then exited the elevator.
“Everything okay?” Remedy asked as soon as I hit the intersection between the executive suites.
I forced a smile. “Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind. How are you?”
“I’m well, thank you.” Her eyes shifted behind me. “Russell, there’s an inventory issue…”
I continued my way to the showroom. I smiled and greeted everyone, ready to have a great photoshoot. But the opposite was happening on the inside.
A mixture of embarrassment and hurt swirled and filled the hollow space within me. By the end of the shoot, the rejection had fueled my anger, and I was fuming.
“And then he had the nerve to say that he didn’t want to talk to me,” I told Aaliyah as I prepared for bed hours later.
“Do you think he just meant he couldn’t talk to you right at that moment?” she countered.
“He said the work I do for his company doesn’t require us to speak,” I informed her as I pulled the covers over my body. “So, I blocked his ass.”
“Nina!”
“What? If he wants to keep things professional, we can keep it professional.”
“What if he needs to contact you?”
“He can email me like everyone else at RLF.”
“Ninaaaaaaaa…” She sighed loudly and I could almost hear her shaking her head. “Don’t do your man like that.”
I curled myself into a ball. He was only my man for a couple hours.
“He’s not my man,” I retorted petulantly.
“He should be.”
“Aaliyah, please.”
“Have you considered the possibility that the stuff your cousin was saying got to you because you feel like that about Russ?”
My heart pounded nervously. “What?”
“You have feelings for him.”
“I’ve never denied that but—”
“It’s not going to go away,” she interrupted. “Maybe you didn’t want to talk to him to clear the air for work. Maybe you wanted to talk to him about the two of you.”
“There is no two of us. There hasn’t been for the last couple of weeks. And there won’t be. I’m going to focus on my opportunity, and he’s going to continue doing his thing.”
“When are you going to admit you’re in love?”
“Oop! When you do,” I retorted.
“Wh-wha… I’m not…” She stammered over her words.
“Don’t do that. Don’t try to change the subject.
You and Russ have something real. The way you talked about him and the way you looked when you were fresh from seeing him.
I’ve never seen you that happy with a man, and I’ve seen you date a lot of men. A lot. ”
I snickered. “Not too much on me.”
“No, but seriously. Russ is the only one you have ever talked about like this. Before this whole work fiasco happened, I could’ve sworn you were going to say you two declared your love or something.
The way you talked about that Sunday with him and started calling him Russ, we already knew something happened on that trip.
And then all of a sudden, all of it kind of exploded because of this work thing.
You never really got a chance to see it through, and then you never really got a chance for closure.
And on top of that, you’re seeing him regularly but not in the way that you were. ”
I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. “Yeah,” I murmured, focusing on the last thing she said.
I didn’t even get a chance to tell my best friends that I took it there with him.
I wanted him. I wanted to be with him. I was committed to him.
And hours after I gave in to the idea of us together, it ended.
So, I agreed with Aaliyah’s sentiment—I never got a chance to see it through, and I never got closure.
That had to be the reason I felt so reactive and all over the place.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “Enough about my bullshit. Are you ready for Saturday? Do you need me to do anything?”
“Just thank Charlotte for me. My dress is perfect.”
“I can do that. I can’t wait to see both looks.”
“All I need now is a date.”
My stomach sank. “Same. But I’m not worried and you shouldn’t be either.”
“Taco Tuesday tomorrow?”
“Yes,” I agreed quickly. “I’m shooting content all day, so I’ll be ready for a night out with my girl.”
We ended the call fifteen minutes later.
Talking to Aaliyah helped to calm me down, but when I woke up Tuesday morning, I got mad all over again. More accurately, I was mad at his actions and embarrassed because I felt like I played myself.
And there was nothing I could do about it.
Channeling that energy into my work, I spent the day creating content. I was able to lose myself in the process. Being preoccupied with work actually made me feel better.
“I’m about to put it on!” I greeted the camera. “Get ready with me as I get ready for a girls’ night out—Taco Tuesday edition. It’s pretty hot tonight and I plan on bringing that same energy…”
After I was ready, I called a car to take me downtown to the Mexican restaurant where Aaliyah and I were meeting. I walked into the restaurant in my green-and-gold minidress and smiled as soon as I saw my best friend.
After a quick hug and an exchange of compliments, Aaliyah and I were seated. As soon as the waiter took our order and walked away, we launched into conversation.
“Okay, who are you meeting after this? Because you look good!” Aaliyah commented.
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, I will be heading home after this. I have a photoshoot in the morning.”
“Oh, really?” She gave me a curious look. “I thought you were done.”
I told her about the incident that happened on Friday. “So, a new shoot was set up for Wednesday,” I concluded.
Her mouth hung open as the waiter sat our drinks down. When we were alone again, she sputtered. “So, he kissed you and he fired someone for you?”
I swallowed my feelings again. “Not like that—”
“He kissed you and fired someone for you,” she interrupted.
“He doesn’t like being disrespected. And the kiss… the kiss happened because we hadn’t been around each other in a couple of weeks.”
“Hmm.” She lifted her drink to her lips. “That man loves you.”
“Aaliyah, please,” I complained.
“I love that energy.” She swooned, ignoring my protests. “He stood up for you. He had your back. He then couldn’t resist you. I knew you two were endgame.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Are you not hearing anything I’m saying?”
“No, I heard you. And this changes everything.”
“This changes nothing . After he did that on Friday, he turned around and played in my face Monday morning. He ignored me during the entire shoot. He didn’t even attempt to make amends.
And for that, he’s still blocked.” I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.
“I extended that man an olive branch and he rejected it.”
“Nina, you’re in denial!” She leaned forward. “It’s so obvious that he said no to you because he can’t be alone with you! He wasn’t rejecting you. He was resisting temptation.”
I rolled my eyes and waved my hand dismissively. “Speaking of resisting temptation. Run the potential dates you have lined up by me and try to convince me you don’t have a thing for—”
“These plates are hot,” the waiter said, sliding the fajita skillets in front of us.
The sizzling chicken and fresh vegetables smelled delicious. I took a sip of my drink as Aaliyah asked for chips and salsa. As much as I hated to admit it, Aaliyah’s romantic-ass excuse for Russ made me feel better.
Slightly.
“… so I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”
I pointed to her. “It does matter. Because you matter. And what you want matters.”
“It’s been an exhausting summer,” she admitted. “I don’t know how you do it. My birthday is Saturday, and I don’t feel like I’m any closer to what I want than I was two months ago.”
“Change your perspective,” I told her. “You had a mission this summer and you went for it. You should be proud of that. Dating is exhausting if you’re not having fun.
So have fun! Line up the rest of your week with dates and see what happens.
While you wait to find the one, enjoy the ones.
” I gestured to her cell phone. “And when you’re ready to go after what you really want, you’ll get that fairy-tale, happily-ever-after Prince Charming. ”
She swallowed the bite she was chewing and pointed her fork at me. “You, too.”
I almost choked on my fajita.