Chapter 52 – Mindy #3
“I’m so sorry. He’s on a conference call right now, but I can get him to call you as soon as he’s done.”
“No, no. I understand,” she says kindly.
Unlike some other people who shall remain unnamed.
“Mr. Hale has been selected to receive an award for outstanding contributions to our revitalization project on The Strand. I’m trying to set a date for the awards ceremony, but I wanted to make sure our guest of honor is available that evening.
” She chuckles a little after that. “Would you be able to help me nail down a Saturday that would work for him?”
“I certainly can,” I say. “Let me just pull up his calendar.”
We chat while I search some dates, and it turns out she knew my father before he died. They actually went to high school together.
“Ah, I found a couple of available Saturdays in March,” I inform the mayor. After rattling them off, she selects one.
“Fantastic,” she says. “I’ll send over a fax this afternoon with all the information. It will include a meal selection for Mr. Hale and his date.” She pauses. “I do hope you will be his date, Ms. Espinoza. I would love to meet you in person.”
“I would love that too. I’ll ask him what his plans are,” I say diplomatically, not wanting to assume anything. “May I ask what the dress code will be?”
“Black tie.”
“Great. I’ll make sure his tux is ready,” I say, making a note in my ever-present notebook. I adore notebooks almost as much as I love pens. There’s just something satisfying about handwriting things instead of making a note in my phone. Also, notebooks don’t ever run out of battery power.
“Not to be indelicate, but I saw the news today.”
“Oh,” I say, wincing a little at what’s going to come out of her mouth next.
“I just wanted to tell you I think you and Remington make a beautiful couple, so keep your chin up. This, too, shall pass.” She laughs a little, and I do too. “Probably when some celebrity breaks up with some other celebrity.”
“Thank you for saying that,” I reply gratefully.
“The press hounded me relentlessly when I was going through a divorce during the last mayoral election. For some reason, they think my personal business is fair game for public consumption. I was just ready to get rid of my asshole ex, and they wanted to splash every little detail online.”
“I couldn’t imagine,” I lament. “I went through a divorce last year too, but thankfully it wasn’t a big deal to the press. And I understand about being ready to get rid of the dead weight. It feels so much better now that Tw—” I clear my throat. “Now that my ex is gone.”
I can hear the smile in the mayor’s voice. “What were you going to say there?”
“Just a little nickname I have for him,” I mumble.
“And what is that?” she prods.
Jesus help me. Are we really doing this? Blowing out a breath, I lower my voice and admit, “I call him Twatface.”
To my surprise, Mayor Martinez roars with laughter. “Oh, that’s fantastic. Can I use that?”
A giggle escapes from me. “I haven’t trademarked it yet, so go ahead.”
“Excellent. I will implement that posthaste. I might even make an official mayoral declaration.”
“I would love to see it,” I say with genuine affection. I really like this woman.
“I like you, Mindy,” the mayor says, mirroring my sentiment. “I hope I get to meet you in March.”
“Me too, Mayor. And thank you so much for calling. I know Mr. Hale will be thrilled to receive this award.”
We say our goodbyes, and when I hang up, I almost jump out of my skin when I see Serena is standing directly in front of my desk.
“Can I help you?” I ask, calming my nerves.
“Remington is receiving an award?”
“Yes,” I say cautiously.
“What’s the dress code for the event?”
“Um, it’s black tie.”
Serena claps her hands beneath her chin.
“Oh goody. I love black tie.” She taps her chin with her index finger.
“Though I do need to get a new dress for the event. I’ve gotten rid of most of my wardrobe because I’m in my non-hue era right now,” she says, waving her hand up and down her long-sleeved jumpsuit.
It takes me a second to realize she’s talking about white. “Well, it looks very nice with your dark hair,” I say because seriously… how else am I to respond to her “non-hue” announcement?
She flips her short, black blunt-cut. “I think so too. I’ve replaced everything with non-hues… my clothes, my shoes, my lingerie, everything. Non-hue is really the way to go,” she says, her blue gaze dropping to my very hued red dress.
Before I can formulate a response, the phone rings again, and I rush to answer it. Thankfully, Serena returns to the seating area while I continue to work.
Twenty minutes later, my phone rings with a call from the inner office.
“Good morning,” I purr.
“Hi, baby,” Remi says, sounding weary. “I’m finally done. I swear to god, if they would just do what I tell them in the first place, these meetings could be cut to five fucking minutes.”
“Like I do?”
That makes him laugh. “Oh please. You never do what I tell you to do. I think you live to defy me.”
“Never?” I ask coyly, and his voice drops into that sexy tone I love.
“I take that back. You were pretty obedient last night.”
I squirm in my seat at the memory of Remi fucking me with my legs draped over his shoulders. “I’m still paying for that today.”
His sultry tone changes to one of concern. “Does your back hurt?”
“A little bit.”
“Hmm, why don’t you book us a couples massage tonight at my penthouse? You can stay over since it’s Friday.”
“Okay,” I agree.
His voice registers his surprise. “Well, that was easy.”
“I told you,” I counter. My eyes flit to the woman wandering around the office looking at the cosmetics ads dotting the walls. “You have a guest. She refused to give me her name, but she says she’s your bestie.”
To my delight, he groans instead of sounding happy. “Serena. I just checked my phone and she’s been blowing it up with texts. She’s pissed I didn’t personally tell her we were dating, but for fuck’s sake, it just happened last weekend, and she’s been in Greece for the past three weeks.”
I have no idea how someone with no job is able to flit around the globe like that, but whatever.
“Is that Remi?” she asks, suddenly standing directly in front of my desk again. Jesus, she’s like a fucking cat, even in heels.
I nod at the same time Remi says, “Send her in, and I’ll get this over with.”
Serena reaches for my phone handset, but I hang it up and smile. “Mr. Hale says you can go in now.”
“About time,” she mutters, stomping over to the door. Once again, she bumps into it and curses.
“Oh, let me get that for you,” I say solicitously, rising and pressing my thumb against the scanner. Maybe it makes me a petty bitch to feel such a deep satisfaction when it successfully unlocks the door with the flash of a green light, but I don’t care. I can’t tolerate rudeness.
Serena marches in, and I swing the door shut, but not quite all the way. Because aside from being a petty bitch, I’m also a nosy bitch.
As I take my seat, I realize I needn’t have worried. I’m pretty sure her shriek could have penetrated even this wooden door with its dense solid core that renders it soundproof.
“How dare you not tell me you’re dating that woman!”
My eyebrows lift. That woman?
I can hear Remi speak in a modulated tone like he’s dealing with a small toddler—which isn’t too far off the mark, if I’m being honest—but I can’t quite make out his words.
I can certainly hear Serena though. “I have no idea how you can be this stupid. That woman already left you once.”
Antonio wanders in, probably to ask what our lunch plans are, and it’s obvious he heard that last part. “What the hell?” he mouths.
“My name is apparently that woman now,” I whisper, doing air quotes. “Do you have any popcorn?”
He snickers and pulls up a chair beside my desk so we can eavesdrop together.
“Well, I don’t appreciate having to learn about this on fucking TMZ. I’m supposed to be your bestie,” Serena yells, and Remi once again replies in a voice too soft to pick up out here.
Leaning closer to Antonio, I say, “If I hear the word bestie one more time, I’m going to get stabby.” He covers his mouth with his fist to keep from laughing aloud.
In a low voice, he informs me, “She’s a right piece of work. No one likes her other than Remi, and sometimes not even he can deal with her. Helix and Phoenix actively despise her.”
“Gee, I wonder why.” Then I ask the question that’s burning in my gut. “Is she in love with him?”
He sighs. “I’m not sure Serena’s capable of loving anyone but herself, but I think she wants him.”
“Great,” I mumble, and Antonio playfully punches my shoulder.
“Hush up, now. You’re worth a million Serena Greenfields. Your inner beauty only makes you more beautiful on the outside.”
I’m touched by his sweet words. “Thank you for saying that, Antonio.”
Our heads snap around when Remi raises his voice for the first time. “Well, that’s not going to happen, Serena. If you can’t accept Mindy, then you can just get the fuck out of my office right now.”
Antonio and I look at each other with O-lips.
The tone of the conversation drops again, and we both lean our bodies toward the door, but the words are inaudible. I take out my cell phone and text Gianna Bouvier.
Me: You know how you said to check with you about any women I come in contact with?
Gianna: Yep. Whatcha got for me?
Me: Serena Greenfield
Gianna replies with a snake emoji. Fantastic.
“I’d have to say that’s accurate,” Antonio says, and I look over to see him reading over my shoulder.
“Nosy,” I hiss, setting down my phone.
He’s unfazed by my insult, gracing me with a big grin. “Hey, it’s in my nature.”
And then the ringing of the office phone effectively ends our snooping endeavors, though I can’t stop thinking about that snake emoji Gianna sent.
I hope and pray Serena Greenfield isn’t going to be a problem.