Finding Justus (20 page)

***

When she told Krystal that her answering machine had given out on her and that she wanted her help in picking out a new one, she started a recurring argument with Justus.

“See, I told you to get rid of that ancient thing years ago. It still took tapes for crying out loud. That relic was a disaster waiting to happen. Oh, and by the way if you had gotten a home phone that has caller ID like I’ve been telling you to do forever, you could’ve simply called whoever it was back and let them know that you didn’t get their message. But no, you abhor technology. I know the story, spare me the lecture. You refuse to step into the twenty-first century. The only reason you have a cell phone is because it’s supplied by work.”

Justus sighed. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, spare me. I can’t believe old faithful finally gave out on me. That thing was probably as old as I am. Now I guess I have no choice, I have to go tapeless, so it won’t happen again.”

“It never should’ve happened in the first place,” Krystal said under her breath.

***

It had been almost two weeks since Miguel had left Justus the message. He had spent many sleepless nights worrying about her rejecting him. He had lain awake thinking of the possible reasons why he hadn’t heard back from her. At first he thought that maybe she was just busy, and then he thought that she had met someone else and didn’t want to talk to him. Although, he couldn’t say he blamed her if she had met someone else. He lived halfway across the country, and he had promised her that he would call her, and he hadn’t for almost two months. Yeah, he had been a real jerk.

Many of his friends and coworkers had commented on his mental state and mood. Miguel thought that if one more person sarcastically asked him “who died,” he would rip their head off. Try as he may, he couldn’t shake his feelings of depression and sadness over losing Justus. She was all he wanted in a woman, and if he was going to get her, he had to snap out of his funk and make a way for them to be together.

He had finally come to the decision that if he was going to see Justus again, he was going to have to perform a sneak attack. He knew her well enough to know that she was head-strong and she might not come to Miami willingly. He set the wheels in motion for his plan.

Miguel had looked online and called all over St. Louis trying to find the decorating firm that Justus worked for. When he found it, he decided to change his method of approach. He remembered how excited she had seemed when she talked about the project that was waiting for her when she returned home.

It took him a while, but he finally remembered the name of the hotel. He called and spoke with Mr. Jenkins, the hotel’s owner, about their renovation. He decided that finding out what types of changes she had made there would be the best place for him to start laying out his plan.

***

“Come on in, I’ve got to grab my jacket and then we can leave.”

Krystal was surprised to see Justus beaming the way that she was. She had called Krystal earlier in the day and told her she had great news, but she was going to have to wait until tonight to hear it. Justus had deemed whatever it was important enough to not only hold off on telling Krystal until this evening, but also until they had arrived at their favorite Italian restaurant.

After their waitress had taken their food order, Krystal looked at Justus with raised brows as if to say “spill it.” Justus enjoyed delaying her wonderful news. She took out her silverware, carefully placed her napkin in her lap and took a sip of her drink before she opened her mouth.

“I got a call today,” Justus started, beaming with pride. “Well, I shouldn’t say I personally. Katherine took the call.”

Krystal looked at her with confusion. “Yes and…” Krystal said somewhat excitedly.

Justus waited until their waitress had placed their salad and bread in front of them before she continued.

“Okay, we got a call from a man in Miami today, his name is Paul Goldstein. He’s opening several businesses in the South Beach area and he’s been meeting with decorators there for almost a year. He said that everything he’s seen in Miami has looked exactly the same. He said there’s no originality there, everything has already been done, and he needed something cutting edge, but still classy.

“He said that he was in St. Louis last week on business and guess where he stayed? He was blown away by my work. He actually used that phrase, Krystal. This is so amazing,” she said with a squeal.

“I can’t believe it is all happening. Oh, where was I? Oh, yeah. Anyway, he asked around at the front desk, to find out who had designed and decorated the lobby and nightclub, but Mr. Jenkins wasn’t there that day, and the manager on duty couldn’t remember my name, but he knew the name of my firm.

“He ended up calling back to the hotel and speaking with Steve Jenkins first, to see if he was pleased with my work. Well, good old Steve raved about me. He told him that he gave me complete creative control, and he wasn’t disappointed. He said I was professional, efficient yet personable, and an overall ‘dear’ to work with.”

Justus paused to catch her breath and to let some of what she had said sink in.

“Go on,” Krystal said, an expectant smile on her face.

“Well, I don’t want to brag or anything, but it looks like I’m flying to Miami next week to meet up with Paul to look over the businesses, and talk designs. My flight and hotel will be paid for by him, and if I decide to do the work for him, I’ll be staying in Miami for about a year to design the three businesses, all expenses paid.”

Krystal’s mouth dropped open, and she quickly covered it with her hand. “I’m so happy for you. That’s amazing!” Tears started forming in Krystal’s eyes and she quickly leaned across the table to hug her friend. People dining at the nearby tables looked at them with curiosity.

“Thanks for being so happy for me. I feel like this is a dream Krystal. I mean when I learned I had gotten my last project, it was one of the biggest things I had ever done. This is a whole different level. This isn’t about just being a designer in St. Louis. This is about my designs being known outside of Missouri. I still don’t believe it.”

***

Justus arrived at the Miami International Airport feeling a sense of déjà vu. She had been here only three months ago, anxious and excited about her cruise. As she walked to the baggage claim area, she looked around for her ride. Paul had told Katherine that he wouldn’t be available to pick Justus up from the airport, but he had arranged for a car to pick her up. She was told the driver would have a sign bearing her name.

As she scanned the area looking for her driver a familiar form caught her eye. It couldn’t be. Miami wasn’t some small town, it was nearly impossible to run into someone in a city of its size. It couldn’t be, but it was. He had spotted her and was moving toward her with a warm smile on his face.

“Justus,” Miguel grabbed her bags and gave her a quick, friendly hug.

“Hi.” Justus couldn’t make her mouth form any other words. She was simply too stunned. “I-I’m waiting for my ride,” she said dumbly.

“I know. I’m it.”

She looked at him as if he had suddenly started speaking Greek.

“I’ve started driving limo
s, as a side job. When I saw the name Justus Kendall, I didn’t bother bringing in the sign. I didn’t think that there could be two of you in this world. It turns out I was right.”

He explained it all in such a glib manner, that Justus couldn’t help but nod her head in agreement and follow Miguel to where he was parked. Even though she had been to Miami before, it didn’t stop her from going through culture shock all over again.

She was still amazed in the diversity that she saw at the airport alone. When they arrived at the limo, Miguel held the back door open for her. She looked at him as though he were joking.

“No, thanks. I’ll ride in the front seat. I would feel weird having you chauffer me around.” She couldn’t believe her rotten luck. She had always heard the phrase about it being a small world, but it wasn’t that small was it? She just wanted to get this awkward drive over with. She was anxious to meet with Paul, check into her hotel, and possibly do some sightseeing this evening.

Miguel tried to make small talk during their drive, and Justus responded as politely as she could, although she focused most of her attention on gazing out the window at the passing scenery. When the two stopped in front of a small old building, Justus breathed a sigh of relief. She practically leapt from the car while it was still rolling. She didn’t want to give him time to come over and open her door.

“You’re not making my job any easier, you know.”

“I’m sorry. I feel weird having you wait on me. So, this is it,” she said more to herself than to Miguel.

It certainly wasn’t what she had expected. Paul had said he wanted her help with designing a nightclub. She had expected a big building, something brightly painted and more along the lines of the other Art Deco structures in the area. This one however, was plain brick, with a small awning over the front entrance. Overall, it had a quaint appeal to it, but it didn’t seem to say nightclub to Justus. Miguel sta
rted leading her up the walkway, and when he pulled a set of keys from his pocket, Justus became suspicious.

“Why do you have the keys? I thought Paul was meeting me, where is he?”

When he opened the door, Justus’ nostrils were assailed with the musty smell associated with old, unoccupied buildings. As Miguel stepped through the threshold, he flipped on the lights. Once they were both inside, he turned to Justus and expelled a long breath, while running his hands down the sides of his face. He looked like he was about to be sick.

“Justus,” he began slowly. “I’m Paul. I mean, I am the one who called your boss and raved about your work. I’m the one who owns this business. I want you to work for me, help me design this place, get it off the ground.” His eyes were sparkling and there was a hopeful smile on his face.

Justus nearly laughed in his face.

“You expect me to work for you after you lied to me! You don’t even have the decency to call me, not even so much as a hello, but yet you lie, go behind my back and call my boss. I’m supposed to jump at the chance to work for you, right? Liars always make the best bosses,” she said
, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

How could she have been so naïve? She started heading for the door, but she turned to say one more thing to him before she left for good this time.

“As if working for a liar wouldn’t be bad enough, it’s always a good idea to work for someone you’ve slept with. Someone who…” she stopped because if she didn’t, soon she would be saying too much. She was in danger of getting too personal and letting him know how she really felt.

“I lied to you, Justus. There’s no getting around that, I won’t deny it. I’m sorry. I feel terrible for deceiving you, but after I called you and asked for your help and you didn’t respond, I knew you wouldn’t come to Miami on the terms that I asked unless you didn’t know that I was the one hiring you. Does that make sense?”

“No, none of it does. I think you’re delusional. When was it that you supposedly called and asked me for help?” Justus asked as she rolled her eyes, not really concerned about what he might say in return. She was convinced that it would be just another one of his lies. Miguel appeared to be getting angry, but she didn’t care. As far as she could tell, he was a complete phony. Justus looked at him as though he were a stranger.

“I called you last month,” he practically shouted. He ran his h
ands through his thick hair. “I left a message, and you never returned my call. That’s why I came up with this place. I had to get you here. I had to have you design my club. I had to see you,” his tone had softened considerably, and he was making steps toward her.

Justus quickly backed up. She looked at him with large eyes, glassy with tears. She was shaking h
er head no, only she didn’t realize it at first. Her head was spinning from everything that had taken place in the last hour. Seeing Miguel again, feeling exhilarated, yet angry at him. Being lied to, which she hated. Damn him, he should know that. Hadn’t she let him know that she had been deceived before and it had destroyed her relationship with her own mother? What made him think that she could forgive him if she couldn’t forgive her mother for lying?

She knew that Miguel’s lie and her mother’s lie were like comparing apples and oranges. She knew that she was being irrational, but she didn’t care.

“You lied to me,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

“I know and I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say, or how to make it up to you. But I want you to know that I was telling the truth about this job. The offer still stands.”

Justus let out a snort of contempt. Miguel kept speaking as if he didn’t hear her.

“And although I don’t have three businesses at the moment, I will with your help. I am going to renovate this building and make it into a dance studio and a nightclub, like I told you about. Eventually I want to add a Cuban restaurant. I’m going to split the building up, so that all three sections will be long, but narrow. I’ve taken the measurements myself and I know I can make it work. With your help, that is.

“Justus, we were, I mean we are, so good together, the way that we fit together when we dance. Let me tell you, I have been dancing for most of my life, and I’ve never had a dancing partner like you before.