Wednesday
Tina drove up to the front door of T and C Incorporated. The sun was rising and shining beautifully across the entire area. She put the car in park and sat still, waiting. She was at work a lot earlier than usual. Actually, she is normally late for work. If she didn’t have a close relationship with Angie, she would be fired from her job a long time ago for her constant tardiness. Today was a lot different, because Tina did not want to be seen by anyone. Sitting in the passenger seat, Tony looked over at Tina with a confused look.
“What are you doing”, he asked.
“I’m letting you out at the door.”
“Why?”
“We can’t walk in together. So, I’ll let you out here and go park.”
“Whatever”, said Tony as he prepared to lean over and kiss Tina.
“No. Not in public. Especially, not at work”, said Tina as she blocked Tony’s kiss with her hand.
Tony shook his head and got out of the car. As soon as he closed the passenger door, Tina sped off and found a place to park. She decided to park and sit in the car for a while. “I’ll give him time to go to his cubicle.” She decided to increase the volume on the radio and scan through the six programmed buttons to find something worth listening to. As Tina allowed each programmed station a ten second limit before changing, a burnt orange Lexus parked next to her, on the passenger side. She glanced to see who had pulled alongside her, then took another, much longer view after noticing the beautiful, unknown vehicle. Since the windows were tinted, it was impossible for Tina to see who was driving the car. Not being able to see who was in the vehicle, Tina decided to sit in her car for a little while longer in hopes of seeing the driver get out. This would have been one of the few days that Tina had made it to work on time, but instead she would rather be nosey and see who was driving the immaculate Lexus.
Thirty minutes had passed and the driver had yet to get out of the vehicle. At the same time, T and C Incorporated’s staff had made it in and began working. Meanwhile, Tina continued to roam through her radio channels while watching the stranger from the corner of her eye. She decided to check her mobile phone for any messages or emails. As soon as she began to browse her cell phone, the unknown individual got out of the Lexus. In shock, Tina quickly powered off her cell phone to see who the person may be. It was a tall, slim, middle-aged, white male wearing a navy blue suit. He exited the vehicle, holding only a slim, leather notebook. The sound of the car doors locking twice went off, as he walked towards the building’s entrance. Tina quickly got out of her vehicle and fast walked to the entrance, in hopes of meeting the stranger at the door. “I may not know who he is, but I know he has money”, Tina thought to herself. Just as the male was exchanging hands with the notebook to open the door, Tina kindly interrupted.
“Allow me to get that for you.”
“No. I should get the door for you. I have to be the gentleman.”
“So nice of you, but I could have gotten it”, said Tina as she waited to walk in.
“I’ve never seen you here at T and C. Are you a visitor?”
“Somewhat. I’m a client of Angie’s and I was supposed to meet with her, this morning.”
Tina started thinking to herself, “Angie will not get first dibs on this one.”
“Okay. Well, I’m Angie’s assistant, Tina. And, you are?”
“Walter.”
Tina extended her hand and shook hands with Walter.
“I can take you to her office. It would be my pleasure.”
“Great. I don’t think Angie has ever told me about you.”
“Shame on her.”
They both laughed, as Tina finally walked in and Walter followed. “I bet she hasn’t. That snake”, Tina said to herself. As they approached the front desk, Tina reached and placed her hand on Walter’s back to bring him beside her. Once they got close enough to the front desk, Tina informed Fay that Walter had a meeting with Angie. Tina continued her conversation with Walter as they walked towards the elevator.
“So, what is the name of your company?”
“Fred Rodgers.”
“The steel company?”
“Yes. It actually was started by my grandfather. I’m the third generation owner.”
“Nice. You and your wife planning to pass it on to your son?”
“Wife?”
“I’m sorry. I mean girlfriend.”
“Neither.”
“Really? I’m shocked, as handsome as you are.”
“Thank you. And yes, I’m learning to adjust to the single life.”
“I know what you mean. It is a struggle to find someone, nowadays.”
“You’re single?”
“Yes. For some reason….”
They were interrupted by the elevator door opening.
“….it is difficult to find a smart, handsome gentleman these days.”
They approached Angie’s office and Tina decided to make her move, before opening Angie’s door.”
“Well, here is Angie’s office. I hope everything goes well for you.”
“Thank you. I believe it will.”
“Good. I work right over here”, said Tina as she pointed to her area on the floor.
“Maybe if you have free time, you can stop by before you leave. We could meet up for a drink or quick bite. You seem like cool people.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. What’s your name, again?”
“Tina.”
“Okay, Tina. Nice meeting you.”
They shook hands, once again and Tina opened Angie’s door.
“Angie…. I mean Ms. Waters, I have Walter here to see you.”
Angie stood to her feet with a disturbed look and came from behind her desk to greet Walter.
“Thank you, Tina.”
As Tina walked to her area, she was a little upset by Walter’s response. “I can’t believe him. He didn’t even remember my name. So much for that one.” As Tina walked to her desk, Tony was busy chatting on the phone and didn’t notice Tina walking by. Although Tina saw Tony yapping on the phone, she was not concerned. She was still frustrated about not exchanging numbers with Walter. She had a seat at her cubicle and started going through her mail.
“Good morning.”
Tina looked up and realized Marla was standing over her.
“Good morning. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you there.”
“A lot on your mind?”
“Always.”
“Something you need to talk about?”
“No.”
“Okay, as long as it doesn’t affect your work.”
“Trust me, it won’t.”
Marla didn’t say another word and walked away. At the same time, Tina watched Marla walk away and rolled her eyes. Marla approached Angie’s office and prepared to knock. “She’s busy”, yelled Tina. Marla didn’t look towards Tina. She decided to walk away and try later on. Tina’s loud voice caught Tony’s attention. He left his cubicle and walked toward Tina’s desk. Not looking up, Tina asked, “What do you want, Tony?” Instead of walking towards Tina, Tony walked past her. At the same time, Walter had just left out of Angie’s office and approached Tina. Once Walter reached her desk, he stood and watched her continue to go through her mail.
“I said, what you want”, asked Tina as she finally looked up and saw Walter.
“Oh my goodness. Walter….”
Tina quickly got out of her seat.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it was you standing there.”
“Yes. You had me worried for a minute. I started to think you had a twin. I thought, this can’t be the same beautiful lady that escorted me in.”
Tina began to blush from embarrassment.
“Yes, it is me. I do apologize. My mind was somewhere else.”
“No need to explain. Look, I have to run. Before I go, I wanted to invite you over to my place for dinner.”
“That would be great. When?”
“Possibly, tonight. It all depends on how long my day lasts. Let’s do this. Give me your number, I’ll give you a call later this evening.”
“Sounds great.”
Walter quickly pulled out his cell phone as Tina told him her phone number. The entire time Tina and Walter were talking, Tony walked past a few times, unknowingly to Tina or Walter.
“And, what’s your name again love?”
“Tina. T-i-n-a.”
“Gotcha.”
Walter flashed a sly grin, placed his cell phone back into his pocket, and quickly walked away. Tina’s attitude changed and a huge smile appeared on her face, as she returned to her seat.
# # #
Michael was busy at work, sitting at his desk going through numerous bills and comparing the numbers. With his back hunched over and constantly scanning the documents, Olivia snuck up behind him and kissed him on the cheek. “Olivia, will you stop”, asked Michael without even looking up. Olivia quickly stood back and began to giggle. Olivia was a beautiful, 22-year old, Hispanic, full of energy and fun. With a light, bronze skin complexion and hair down to the middle of her back, Olivia could easily pass for a model. Instead, she was a part-time secretary for the company. Although her English wasn’t perfect, her looks easily made up for any mistakes that she may make.
Michael continued to confirm and edit the documents as fast as possible. As Michael sat at his desk, going through paperwork, Olivia peeled a piece of yellow post-it that was sitting on a desk nearby, balled it up, and threw it at Michael.
“You’re so mean”, said Olivia.
“Oh yeah”, asked Michael as he looked out the corner of his eye.
Michael quickly rose out of his seat, ran toward Olivia, and stood over her with a devilish grin.
“You bad bad man, you”, said Olivia as she lightly tapped his chest with her fingers.
“I’ll show you bad.”
Suddenly, Michael’s cell phone began to ring. Michael stepped back and pulled out his cell phone. The touch screen read, ‘Marla’. Michael selected to ignore the phone call and placed the phone back in his pocket.
“So, you want to see bad”, he asked.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working”, asked Olivia.
“You asked for it”, said Michael as he grinned.
“At the sound of the beep, please leave your….”
Marla hung up her phone, instead of leaving a voice message for Michael. She assumed he was busy at work and decided to call him at a later time. She ignored any assumptions of what Michael might be doing and chose instead to start going through her large stack of paperwork. For the most part, Marla was happy to be back in her field of expertise. The only difference was that she had to manage a handful of people, versus only being managed by someone else. It may be more headache, but the pay was definitely rewarding.
After the way the relationship ended with Maverick’s, it was a blessing to have the opportunity to start over again. To be honest, Marla thought her career would go downhill. Either Leonard didn’t say anything negative about Marla or Angie didn’t bother calling Marla’s previous employers. Whatever it was, Marla managed to get another job and ultimately, another chance. Ever since that awkward departure from her previous job, Marla had not laid eyes on any of the staff she used to work with. If it was left up to Marla, she would never have to see either of them again. Each for their own personal reason.
Just like Angie, she was off into her own world. As she sat at her desk, she began thinking about her experiences at Maverick’s and how it took a toll on her life. The worry, the guilt, and disgust that came along with her attempts to find love was devastating. Although she wasn’t quick to wear her emotions on her sleeve, she still looked down on herself for what she had done in the past. But, she knew it wasn’t healthy to keep her mistakes over her head for the rest of her life. Somehow, the wounds were still fresh in her mind. As always, it was Junior that kept her together. If nothing or no one else, she had to stay strong for her son. In many ways, he became the gel in her life. Whether it was dealing with people on the job or having issues within her marriage, she fought through it all by having Junior in her life.
“Marla?”
“Oh my goodness. Angie. I am so sorry.”
“Don’t be. Are you okay?”
“Yes. For a moment, I forgot where I was. I have a lot on my mind.”
“You’re not letting this ‘cheating situation’ get to you, are you?”
“No. Not at all. Just thinking about some things. How long have you been standing there?”
“I just got here. I wanted to see if you could keep an eye over things for a little while.”
“Sure. Is everything alright?”
“Yes.”
“How did the meeting go?”
“Walter”, asked Angie as she burst out in laughter.
“He’s after the same thing every other man want.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And, it ain’t money!”
They both began to laugh, as Angie walked away. Angie approached the elevator and selected the first floor. Her cell phone chirped and a message popped up, showing an address. Angie closed the screen and placed the phone back into her purse. Once she made it outside to her car, she entered the address into her GPS mobile app and brought up the directions to the location.
After a while of driving, Angie slowed down and searched for the location. She noticed a stale, white motel on the right side of the road. “This has to be it.” She found a place to park and replied to the address text message. “I’m outside.” Instantly, a reply pops up, “6”. Angie decided to leave her purse in her vehicle and got out. She approached motel room 6 and prepared to knock. Before she could make the first knock, the door opened and Reggie was standing on the other side. They made eye contact and smiled, as Angie quickly walked in and closed the door.
# # #
Rhonda was on the phone with her cousin, standing outside of Jimmy’s hospital room. She was frantic as she told her cousin the news she had received. The doctors had discovered that there is more internal damage around Jimmy’s stomach. There was excessive bleeding, internally and the doctors gave Jimmy two and a half pints of blood to keep him stabilized. Rhonda was stumbling in her words and said things that didn’t make sense. After a few minutes of talking with her cousin, she quickly ended the conversation and hung up. She went back into the room to be by Jimmy’s side. The sound of medical devices continued to chirp as Rhonda stood over her beloved husband and mentally abused herself for his car accident.
“Baby, this wasn’t supposed to be. I was supposed to have faith and trust in you. I don’t understand this. All of this for nothing. I love you, Jimmy. I need you here.”
Tears began to stream down Rhonda’s face as she watched Jimmy lay with his eyes closed. Every so often, a nurse would walk into the room to check the monitors and make sure there were no major changes in Jimmy’s bodily functions.
Some time passed by and Rhonda had went off to sleep, with her head laying on Jimmy’s shoulder. She was awakened by a visitor.
“Angie?”
“Hey girl. How you feeling?”
“Confused at the moment. I didn’t know you were coming out here.”
“Well, I wanted to check and make sure everything was okay.”
“Not really. Doctors are questioning how long he will live.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, he’s bleeding internally and they say there is no way to really stop it.”
“Surgery?”
“Well, doctors said surgery may make things worse and cause him to lose blood quicker.”
“Which may not be a bad thing.”
Rhonda stared at Angie, with an urge to rip out her throat.
“Why are you here?”
“Well, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just saying, with everything that has been going on….”
“Angie, I know you through Marla. Outside of her, I know nothing about you and don’t desire to. Now, I need you to leave my husband’s room. Right now isn’t the time or the place.”
Angie stood back, turned around, and began to walk out of Jimmy’s room.
“And, I want nothing else to do with this crap! So, keep my husband’s name and mine out of this foolish game you all have going on!”
Angie didn’t say a word and continued to leave. Once Angie had left the room, Rhonda took a deep breath, in shock of what she has just heard. “I can’t believe I put my trust in another woman’s hands. I’m allowing other women to determine the future of my marriage.” The rest of the day, Rhonda didn’t bother answering anyone’s phone call. She felt as if the entire process of trying to find out who man’s was cheating on who had led to Jimmy’s car accident. She didn’t want to hear from anyone, especially not Angie, Stephanie, Diane, or Marla. She spent the rest of the evening watching television, while sitting by Jimmy’s side.
# # #
“I can’t believe this”, said Marla as she sat on her living room couch and went through her phone.
“What is that”, asked Michael, as he returned from the Kitchen.
“No one wants to answer their phone today.”
“Who are you trying to call?”
“Well, I was calling to check on Jimmy, but Rhonda won’t answer. And, I tried calling you earlier”, she said while making eye contact with Michael.
“Well, I was at work baby”, said Michael as he took a seat next to her.
“You should be able to answer your wife’s call at any time. There could have been an emergency.”
“But Marla, there wasn’t.”
“Whatever.”
Marla and Michael spent the rest of the evening cuddled up and watching television. Since there wasn’t much information gathered on Michael, Marla felt she had nothing to worry about. She had faith that her man was a ‘one woman man’ and that he was satisfied with what he had at home.