Circles the Trilogy (Secrets and Lies) (7 page)

“For your
information, Ms. Ellis… I understand more than you think. I had to make decisions in my life that would not only affect me but my mother and sister as well. I had to take care of them at times when I wished that I could’ve been hanging out with my friends or chasing after some female.” He smiles and winks at me when he says the last part and I roll my eyes to the ceiling and give him a smile.

That quickly he has made m
e forget about being mad and has made me see that I am not the only person who has had to make decisions that affect the people around me – just different ones.

“But seriou
sly, though…” he continues, “… what I’m tryin’ to say is that you have to do things for the right reasons. I did what I had to do because I had to give my mother a better life while she was here and my sister a better life after my mother passed away. But I didn’t do it while neglecting my own dreams. I found a way to use my own dreams to make their lives better and here I am. If you want to marry Ol’ Boy then do it. But don’t place the blame on other people. If you marry him and live a miserable life that’s your own fault. Your family will eventually get over the so-called embarrassment, but I doubt you will get over being married to, or even having kids by, someone you don’t love. And from what I’ve seen, the dude needs to be punched dead in the mouth for some of the shit he says. You can’t possibly think that that will get better as time passes. I guarantee that it will only get worse the longer you put up with it.”

I sit there quietly. I am ingesting everything he is saying. He’s right.
But I still don’t know if I’m strong enough to stand up to my family as well as Daryn’s. I have a feeling that I may be exiled if I call off this wedding and I am only mildly exaggerating when I say that. It seems as though Quinton is reading my thoughts because he looks at the expression on my face and asks me a question.

“Do you really think your parents would disown you if you call off this wedding?”

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. As much as I don’t want it to be the truth, I know it is. They may come around some time in the future, but I am sure that if I call off the wedding they will try their best to erase the embarrassment – me – from existence until they are satisfied that they are no longer the laughing stock of their circle of friends.

“Well, damn
… That’s pretty messed up. “

After that, we sit there for another few minutes in silence. Neither one of us seem to know what to say to that. I think Quinton now understands the dilemma I have
before me.

“I am so sorry that I have ruined our lunch. I didn’t mean for this to be some pity party or a confessional. There just aren’t many people for me to talk to that won’t run back to my parents and tell them everything or use this information to their advantage in some way.
The people in my circle can be quite vicious.” I want to be done with this conversation so I get up from my seat and start to clear away the empty containers and consolidate those that still have food in them. Quinton must know that this is just me trying to avoid further discussion because he grabs my wrist and stops me.

“Don’t worry about that stuff. I’ll have Tammy come in and get it after we leave.”

“We?” I say confused by his statement. “Quinton… I don’t know if that’s a good idea. No offense, but I can’t be seen with you. If one photograph of us gets out –”

Quinton puts a hand up.
“Don’t worry about that. We won’t be going anywhere where there will be people who know me or you.”

Seven – Ride Of Your Life

“I don’t know about this, Quinton. I rode here with Neesa and Daryn is expecting me this evening for…”

“No excuses. Come. Now,” he says and then grabs my hand and places a kiss on my wrist making my whole body shiver. “We’ll stop at Aneesa’s office on our way out so she can see for herself that you are okay. As far as Daryn… I really don’t give a shit what he thinks. It’s time you start doing some things that make you happy.” He says this with the most serious expression that I’ve ever seen on his face. The funny thing about his demand to go with him is that he assumes that going with him will make me happy. I’ve only known Quinton Ramsey for a couple days but, crazy enough, I am sure that going with him will make me feel happier and freer than I have felt in a while. I quickly decide that whatever Quinton has in store for me will be worth any fall out that may come from Daryn afterwards. Really I don’t know how much of a decision I’ve made, though, because Quinton doesn’t seem like he’d take ‘no’ as an answer anyway.

“Okay.”

***

A few minutes later we arrive at Nees
a’s office door. I knock, but I don’t wait for her to answer. I pop my head in and she motions for me to come in. She’s on a phone call and mouths to me to hold on while she finishes up her call. Quinton follows behind a few seconds later, when he reaches me he places his hand on the small of my back and leans in to whisper in my ear. He tells me something along the lines of how much he loves my ass in my skirt and I blush while smiling hard. He’d started flirting on the way down in the elevator, but nothing over the top like our kiss on Saturday. Neesa stops mid-sentence and she immediately ends her phone call. She raises an eyebrow at me.

I wonder why she is so surprised by seeing us together since she is the one who set this whole thing up. I guess she knows me too well. She knows that
Sasha Olivia Ellis, oldest daughter of Judge Ellis, would never be publicly flirting with anyone – not even Daryn. Especially not Daryn. The most he’ll do is place his hand at my waist as a possessive gesture when he is showing me off to a client, just like he did when he introduced me to Quinton in his office.

“Hey. Did you come by to get my keys? You can
come back by and pick me up at –”

I interrupt her. “Actually…
Um… Quinton is taking me… Honestly, I have no idea where he is taking me,” I say looking up at Quinton.

“Excuse me? Taking you somewhere?
Are you sure, Sasha?” There is concern laced throughout Nessa’s questions. I completely understand why she is concerned. Though I don’t have paparazzi following me around, if the wrong person snapped a picture of me out with a man other than Daryn, it could affect all the people I’m close to. And being out somewhere with Quinton, that is a great possibility. But before I can step in and assure her that I’d already voiced my concerns to Quinton, he interjects.

“She’ll be fine with me. I guarantee that there will be none of those
assholes prowling where we’ll be going. I’m taking her somewhere where she’ll be able to have a little fun.” Quinton smiles as if he had a secret to hide. I can’t imagine where he’d be taking me that would be fun, yet no one there would know him well enough to not want to snap a picture of him.

“Well you’d better take care of her. Boss or not… I will come after you if you expose her to a situation where she’ll be in the middle of some drama.”

I know Neesa is serious. She is very protective of me. Being my friend for so long, she understands what it was like for me and the responsibility that I have to my family. She may not agree with it, but she understands and she would feel bad for introducing me to Quinton if that association caused any problems in my life.

“I promise to take care of her.”

Neesa simply nods. Quinton heads to the door and I walk around Neesa’s desk and give her a kiss on the cheek and tell her not to worry. I then wave bye and catch up with Quinton who is waiting at the elevator. I try asking him several times where he is taking me, but he simply says that it is a surprise. I try to get him to give me a hint by asking if I am dressed appropriately but he says that it didn’t matter what I wear because it will be the ‘ride of my life’. After that cryptic statement, I give up.

When the
elevator doors open, I expect to see a driver in some fancy car, but instead there is a man standing there waiting next to a large late model black truck.

“A truck?”
  I ask with a raised eyebrow.

He smiles. “What?” he says innocently.

“This vehicle just doesn’t seem like something you’d be driving. Honestly, I guess I expected a Mercedes or BMW or something else along those lines.” I know I’ve just admitted that I believe the stereotype that all music producers need flashy expensive cars to complete their image, but he’s not offended in the least. He simply gives me that arrogant smile and tells me that he is full of surprises.

The man hands him the keys to the vehicle and tells him that the Audi
has been safely delivered to his home. I laugh a little because he’s just proven my previous statement correct. I know this probably isn’t his usual mode of transportation and it has me wondering where we could be going that he would need to drive a rugged vehicle like this large Chevy truck.

***

At one o’clock in the afternoon, there isn’t much traffic on the interstate. We hop on Interstate 85 and head south. We ride mostly in silence with Quinton only asking if I am okay with the temperature inside the truck. I said yes, but I am actually very hot, but it has nothing to do with the temperature inside the truck. My body is on fire. Quinton’s hand is perched on my leg and his thumb moves back and forth slowly, making my body tingle all over. It is an innocent gesture (well not innocent considering the fact that I was an engaged woman, but I’ll think about that little fact later), but it makes me feel connected to Quinton.

I decide
not to dwell on how inappropriate it is to be alone in a truck with a man who I’ve kissed and let fondle me while engaged to another and I simply relax into his touch. Soon I feel my eyes get heavy and I drift off. The last thing I remember seeing is a billboard for a Chevy dealership in a small town outside Atlanta called Newnan. I smile at the thought that he probably went into some dealership just like that one and paid for this truck in cash and probably shocked everyone there because I’m sure they did not expect him to do so. Quinton doesn’t put his wealth on display and he easily transforms from arrogant, cocky music mogul to the regular guy next door. He is an enigma and every side of him is sexy as hell.

I
don’t know how long I’ve been sleeping, but when I awake, we were turning into a place and I see a sign that says
Wild Animal Safari.
I blink a few times and sit up. I vaguely remembered seeing commercials on television for this place. I search my mind to remember what the commercial said the place was about. I guess Quinton sees the confused expression marring my features because he chuckles and says, “Don’t worry. You’ll have fun.”

I look down and remember what I’m wearing and he notices.
I’m not sure I’m dressed for an ‘Animal Safari’ and I wonder why he told me that my attire was fine knowing we’d be at a place that seems to be the equivalent of a zoo. I don’t voice my concerns out loud because I trust that Quinton knows what he is doing.

There
are few cars at this time of day on a Monday and from what I can tell, most of the people there are mothers and their children. I feel out of place in my pencil skirt and skimpy blouse. Though Quinton has on jeans and a t-shirt, I still feel that we stand out like the color red within a sea of black and white. Quinton leads me inside the building where there was a short line of people paying for admission. We don’t get into the line, but instead we walk over to where a man stands. He seems to be expecting us since he starts to smile as soon as we start to walk in his direction.

“Mr. Ramsey. I’m glad you could make it,” the man sa
ys and the two of them shake hands.

“Thanks for doing this on such short
notice. I really appreciate it.” Quinton looks over at me and then back at the man. “This is my friend, Sasha. Sasha this is Todd. He’s a manager here at the
Wild Animal Safari.

Todd and I shake hands and exchange greetings. He tells Quinton that
he’ll be personally driving us around the park. He also mentions that the buses don’t normally run on Monday’s in May, but because he has been a donor to the facility he is more than happy to make an exception.

There is no telling how much money Quinton has shelled out to make this day happen on such short notice and I feel flattered that he’s thought to do this for me, though I’m not completely sure what
this
is yet.

Todd leads us to the counter where there are people still in line paying admission. He goes behind the counter and grabs a paper bag. He hands the bag to me and when I look inside I see large chunks of something in there.

“What’s this?” I ask Quinton.

Once again he is being cryptic and says, “You’ll see.”

Obviously it’s something I’ll need because I see a few children with large cups of the same stuff that’s in my bag. Quinton is smiling bigger than ever and I feel warmth course through me as I take in the child-like mood he seems to be in since we stepped out of his truck.

As we follow Todd out to where the buses
are parked Quinton tells me that his mom brought him and his sister here a couple times when they were young. He also tells me that after his mother died, he continued to bring his sister back at least once a year because he loved how excited she was to see the animals. He said that though they don’t come every year as adults, they still visit every now and then and it is just as much fun as when they were kids.

“Here we are,” Todd says directing us toward the entrance to a large school bus that has been painted to look like a zebra. Minutes later we’re settled into seats and the bus is entering a gate driving slowly.

At first I’m not sure about how fun this will be. I see the other cars and passenger vans ahead of us with their windows down. They are feeding the animals what looks to be those chunks in the bag I have. The bus slows to a crawl along the first turn and Quinton opens the bag and pulls a few chunks of the food out. He’s sitting in the seat along the isle and leans over me to demonstrate how to feed the animals. A giraffe practically sticks its head through the window of the bus and takes the food from Quinton’s palm. I giggle like a kid when he smiles at me and nods for me to do the same.

I’m a little
nervous but very excited about doing this. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve only been to the zoo a couple times and it was when I was in elementary school. I mimic Quinton’s actions and giggle again at the strange feeling of being so close to the beautiful animals. 

The bus slowly proceeds through the park and a little over halfway through, I run out of food
for the animals. Quinton is now sitting in the seat in front of me as I have gone into full kid mode and am now on my knees nearly hanging out the window. I’m laughing and having a good time and so is Quinton. There is no mention of fiancé’s or work or social circles during our ride through the park. We only enjoy each other’s company and talk about what we are seeing. Occasionally, Todd gives out facts about some of the animals or gives us advice on how to get them to come over to the bus.

As we make our way through the last bit of the park,
Quinton returns to his position next to me.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Society Girl?”

I laugh. Using that nickname in this place makes me realize how far away I am from that person. Right now I am not the woman who is the daughter of a judge or engaged to a partner at a very successful investment firm. I am not the big sister who has to be an example to her sister and brother. I am not the person who has to be reserved and conservative. I am free and happy and laughing and enjoying myself. Right now I don’t have a care in the world and it is all thanks to this man sitting next to me.

“I am. Thanks,” I say beaming at him. “I don’t remember the last time I laughed this much or had this much fun.” I don’t know what comes over me, but I grab his face and I pull him into me and kiss him. It’s not an innocent ‘thank you’ kiss either. I kiss him with passion, sealing our mouths together with
an intensity that I didn’t know I had lying dormant inside of me. Instantly, heat infuses me and I hear myself moan as Quinton takes over exploring the depths of my mouth with his tongue.

I forget where we are a
nd that we aren’t alone as I try to remove any space between our bodies. Quinton pulls me into his lap and I can feel his erection pressing against the front of his designer jeans into my backside. My insides are quivering and I am now wishing we were somewhere else so we can get closer than we are now.

Quinton is the first to pull away. He places his forehead against mine and reluctantly places me back in the seat next to him. I think that I’ve done something wrong, but realize that Quinton is as affected as I am.
I can tell that he is trying to regain control of himself as he spouts a few profanities under his breath. He waits a moment before he looks over at me with eyes that are filled with want and desire that I am sure are reflected back in my own.