Chapter 114 - Again, Reyes #2
"Your coffee choice was acceptable."
"Generous."
"And the fulfillment model was good."
"Wow."
"I said good. Don't become emotional."
I smiled.
She leaned back.
"What did your wife say?"
"She asked whether you were pretty."
Thea blinked.
Then smiled slowly.
"Oh?"
"I regret telling you this."
"What did you answer?"
"I'm leaving."
"You already ordered dessert."
"I'll abandon it."
"You would never."
She was right.
I hated that.
A plate of cake arrived between us.
Thea looked at it.
Then at me.
"Well?"
I sighed.
"I said yes."
"Correct."
"You're incredibly annoying."
"I'm comfortable with objective data."
"See, this is why I described you as terrifying."
"Not because I'm competent?"
"Both."
"Pretty, terrifying, competent."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Then something in my face made her laugh.
"What?"
"That is exactly what Layla said."
Thea covered her mouth.
"No."
"Yes."
"Oh, I like your wife."
"Of course you do."
"She sounds intelligent."
"She married me."
"Temporary lapse."
"Fuck you."
"Very professional."
"Lunch is over."
"We haven't eaten cake."
I sat back down.
We ate the cake.
At the afternoon session, someone introduced us as though we had never met.
"Ms. Ramos, have you met Thea Reyes?"
Thea looked at me.
I looked at her.
"No," I said.
"Never," she said.
The poor man smiled.
"Well, you two might have a lot to discuss."
Thea nodded solemnly.
"I hope so."
"I'm very shy," I added.
Thea coughed into her hand.
The man looked confused.
Eventually he walked away.
Thea whispered, "Very shy?"
"I panicked."
"You own companies."
"Introversion is complex."
"You interrogated a fund manager before lunch."
"He approached me."
"That is not a defense."
I checked my watch.
"I'm leaving after this."
"Family?"
"Dinner."
"Your son's plastic-lid empire?"
"School night."
She nodded.
No invitation to stay.
No unfinished tension.
Just understanding.
Later, near the hotel entrance, we crossed paths one last time.
"Ramos."
"Reyes."
"Try not to sell anything this week."
"No promises."
"Think long-term."
"I am thinking long-term."
"You sold the company in eighteen months."
"It annoyed me long-term."
She sighed.
"Hopeless."
"Buy that terrible company."
"I might."
"You'll regret it."
"If I do, I will absolutely not tell you."
"You'll tell me."
"Why?"
"Because apparently we meet every few years."
Thea considered that.
"Disturbing."
"Very."
"See you at the next conference, then."
"Against my will."
"Obviously."
She walked toward her car.
I went home.
Layla was at the dining table helping Carl with something on a tablet when I came in.
Carl looked up.
"Mama."
"Hi."
"Can I buy new shoes?"
"No."
He frowned.
"You didn't even ask which shoes."
"That's how confident I am."
Layla laughed.
I kissed her.
"How was the event?" she asked.
"Fine."
"Useful?"
"Yes."
"Boring?"
"Mostly."
I took off my watch.
Then remembered.
"Oh. Reyes was there."
Layla looked up immediately.
"The pretty one?"
I stared at her.
Carl looked between us.
"What pretty one?"
"No one," I said.
Layla smiled.
"The terrifying business woman your mama keeps meeting."
Carl became interested.
"Is she evil?"
"No."
Layla said, "Unknown."
"Layla."
"What? We don't have enough evidence."
I sat down.
"She is not evil."
"Still pretty?"
I looked at my wife.
She waited.
Carl waited too, despite having absolutely no context.
"Yes."
Layla nodded.
"Still terrifying?"
"Yes."
"Still competent?"
"Unfortunately."
Carl frowned.
"Why is competent bad?"
"It's not," Layla said.
"Your mother just doesn't like meeting people who can argue back."
"That is slander."
Layla looked at Carl.
"She likes being right."
Carl nodded.
"I know."
I stared at my family.
"This household is hostile."
Layla smiled.
"Did you have lunch?"
"With Reyes, yes."
"Ooh."
"There was no ooh."
"I didn't say there was."
"You said it with intent."
"What did you talk about?"
"Asset ownership. Governance. Acquisitions. Carl."
Carl looked up.
"Me?"
"She remembers you."
His eyes widened.
"Why?"
"The lid."
Layla collapsed against the chair laughing.
Carl frowned.
"What lid?"
I looked at Layla.
Layla looked at me.
Oh.
He didn't remember.
"You had a plastic lid you carried everywhere," I said.
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
"That's embarrassing."
"You wore it on your head."
"No."
"You put it in the toilet."
"Mama!"
Layla was crying now.
"You also hated pants," she managed.
Carl stood.
"I'm going upstairs."
"You asked about Reyes."
"I regret it."
He walked away.
I watched him go.
Layla wiped her eyes.
"Poor child."
"He has no respect for his history."
She leaned toward me.
"So."
"No."
"I haven't asked anything."
"I know your face."
She smiled.
"Did Reyes remember me?"
"Yes."
Layla looked pleased.
"What did she say?"
"That she likes you."
"She's never met me."
"I told her what you said."
Layla's expression changed.
"No."
"Yes."
"The pretty, terrifying, competent thing?"
"Yes."
She covered her face.
"Lia."
"She asked."
"You volunteered my analysis?"
"It was accurate."
"What did she say?"
"She agreed that she's pretty."
Layla slowly lowered her hands.
"I like her."
"Of course you do."
"Bring her home next time."
"No."
"Why?"
"Absolutely not."
"I want to meet your recurring business wife."
"She is not my business wife."
"Business girlfriend?"
"No."
"Business ex?"
"We have never dated."
"Professional situationship?"
"Layla."
She started laughing again.
I stood.
"I'm going upstairs."
"Tell Carl about the sock experiment."
"Don't you dare."
"Reyes would enjoy that."
I turned.
"Why are you involving Reyes in our family now?"
Layla smiled sweetly.
"Apparently she comes back every few years."
I stared at her.
Then I laughed despite myself.
That was the whole thing, really.
Thea Reyes was impressive.
Attractive.
Terrifyingly competent.
Our conversations were excellent.
If circumstances had been different, perhaps something else could have existed.
But circumstances were not different.
This was my life.
Layla was downstairs laughing at me.
Carl was upstairs recovering from learning that he had once considered pants optional.
Tomorrow I had work.
Thea had hers.
And maybe, years from now, some unfortunate conference organizer would put us at the same table again.
That would probably be entertaining.
But it did not have to mean anything more than that.
Sometimes the universe repeated a person.
Sometimes you just had lunch.