Hooked!: A Contemporary, Multicultural Romance (7 page)

Chapter
12

Kammille
was exhausted. She hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before – thanks to Landon
-- who’d departed for Chicago this morning. She’d dropped him off at the
airport.

A
large cup of coffee in one hand, she immediately asked their office manager,
Cheryl, if Liza was in yet. They always had a meeting after a major event, just
to compare notes and discuss how to be better next time.

“Yes,
she’s in Ms. Howard. She’s in her office.”

“Great.
Thanks Cheryl,” she said, removing the sunshine-yellow, silk scarf from around
her neck on the way to her office. 

“Ms.
Howard,” Cheryl said, “she’s … she seems upset about something. She looked like
she’d been crying. … She went in her office and …”

“Go
on Cheryl,” Kammille said, sensing the young woman’s hesitation in continuing.

“I
went to check on her and I heard her crying through the door. I decided to
leave her in privacy. … I just thought you should know.”

“Thanks
Cheryl. I’ll go check on her.”

Instead
of going to her office, Kammille went straight to Liza’s. She knocked gently on
the door. “Liza, it’s me. Can I come in?”

There
was no response.

“Cheryl
told me you were in, so I know you’re in there,” Kammille said gently. At
further silence, Kammille slowly opened the door.

Liza
was sitting at her desk, a box of tissue on the desk with three used wads in
front of her. She held another in her hand, wiping tears as fast as they
flowed.

“Liza
what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I
know, not my normal perfectly coiffed, unflappable self, huh?” Liza blew her nose,
obviously not the first time that morning by the color of it. It was
pinkish-red.

“No,
not exactly,” Kammille said, noting the irony in her friend’s voice. Even
though she and Liza still weren’t bosom buddies, they had become more friendly
since landing hotel contract because they’d been working insane hours, often
spending more hours at work than at home. Liza was pretty private and on the
hard side to get to know, but the more Kammille had learned about her business
partner, the more she liked and respected her.

“You
look like Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you know?”

Liza
laughed.

“That’s
my girl. What’s wrong Liza? Wanna talk about it?”

Liza
put her hands on her desk, picking apart a fresh piece of tissue she’d grabbed
from the box. “Today’s the second anniversary of the break-off of my
engagement. I know it sounds crazy to be crying over a two-year-old broken
engagement, but it was to the only man I fear I’ll ever love. And to top it
off, my sister – my younger sister, no less – just announced her engagement.
Now all the women in my family are in wedding mode. It just brought everything
crashing down on me Kammille. I thought I’d be married with at least one bun in
the oven by now. But here I am … 31, single, alone and no prospects in sight. …
And I’m losing more eggs every year.”

Kammille
laughed out loud at that, which she knew was Liza’s intention. She had to mean
it that way; it was just too funny.

“It’s
true,” Liza said, unable to keep a straight face herself. “I read a study that
said that by age 30, a woman has lost 90 percent of her eggs. And by 35, well
it’s just downhill after that. Don’t you worry about stuff like this Kammille?
I mean, we are the same age.”

“I
guess I just hadn’t given it that much thought. Of course, I want marriage and
a family, but I’m willing to let nature take its course. There’s no timetable.
I just want to have it with the right person.”

“I
wish I was more like you,” Liza said. “In my family, all the women are married
and have at least one kid by their late 20s; early 30s at the latest. If I hear
one more ‘Old Maid’ reference at Sunday dinner, I’m gonna explode,” Liza said.

“I
guess I can see why you’re upset. I just wish I knew what to say to make you
feel better. … By the way, who is this guy who broke your heart? He must’ve
really been something to move you to tears two years after breaking off your
engagement.”

“I
swore after he broke up with me that I’d never utter his name again. And I
haven’t. … But I still love him Kammille. I can’t help it. I fell in love with
him the first time I saw him and no man since then has caught my eye. Not one.”

“I
know that feeling,” Kammille agreed, reflecting on the year she’d spent alone
after her broken engagement.

“I
know you do. What’s it been, almost a year that you and Omar split?” Liza
observed. “But judging by the look on your face from last night and this
morning, your broken heart has healed and you’ve moved on. You look like the
cat who ate the canary. Spill! What’s his name?”

“What
do you mean what’s his name? How do you know that my mood has anything to do
with a man?” Kammille said coyly.

“For
one, you’re not denying it. But mainly, I know love when I see it and you’re
definitely in love. So who is he? What does he do?  Tell me all about him?
Let me live vicariously through you. Start with what he looks like? Is he
gorgeous? At least tell me he’s better looking than Omar.”

“Omar
was handsome!” Kammille defended.

“He
was alright looking; I wouldn’t call him handsome.”

“Ouch,”
Kammille said.

“I
hope that didn’t hurt your feelings. It’s just, you’re so beautiful. I always
thought you should have someone who matched your gorgeousness.”

Kammille
was truly flattered. “I’m … I’m humbled I guess. Thank you Liza. That’s the
nicest thing any woman’s ever said to me. And it’s not like you’re chopped
liver. You’re pretty hot yourself.”

“I’m
not in your league Kammille; I know that, but I’m perfectly comfortable in my
own skin. What I lack in looks, I make up for in brains – and hair. I have
gorgeous, gorgeous hair!” Liza said, flicking her long, thick, wavy red mane
back melodramatically.

“Yes
you do!” Kammille agreed, “and a wicked sense of humor. Don’t forget your
inimitable sense of humor. I find you irresistible. You should let that part of
you show more. I never would have guessed you were so darned funny!”

“Well
Kammille Howard, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were hitting on me,”
Liza said in her thickest southern accent.

“Just
stating facts,” Kammille said, laughing out loud at her theatrics.

“Thanks,”
Liza said, “but get to the good stuff. Tell me about this guy who has your head
in the clouds.”

“To
start with, we met in Miami. Or I should say, on the flight to Miami. He pulled
my stuck bag from the overhead bin. The first thing I noticed about him were
his amazing grey eyes.”

A
knock sounded on Liza’s office door.

“A
Mr. Lennox is on Line 1 for you, Ms. Howard.”

“Thanks
Cheryl.”

“Take
it here,” Liza said. She turned her head and teared up again. She used to be in
love with a pair of grey eyes. She had to warn Kammille that once you go grey,
you never go back, she thought sardonically.

Kammille
hung up. “I have to jet over to the airport. I swear, that man should rent
office space at Hartsfield Jackson. Of the four meetings we’ve had, three have
been in the VIP lounge at the airport.”

“And
we were just getting to the good part,” Liza said.

“Well,
let me just leave you with this … he’s moving to Atlanta, and we’re having a
housewarming party for him in five days. So you can meet him in the flesh and
tell me what you think then. If past behavior is anything to go by, this
meeting with Mr. Lennox means we’ll be busier than a bee at a Sunday picnic and
won’t have much time for girl talk any time soon.”

“Deal!”
Liza said. “Can’t wait. Glad to hear love still blooms. Gives me hope.”

“Keep
hope alive Liza. Keep hope alive. There are still a lot of good men out there.”

“Thanks
for the ear Kammille. I feel much better.”

Kammille
instinctively hugged her friend. “Glad I could help,” she said.

“You
better scram,” Liza said, uncomfortable with blatant affection. “You know what
a time-crunch Mr. Lennox is always in.”

“True,
very true,” Kammille said, looking at her watch. She grabbed her bag and scarf
as she headed for the door.

“See
ya!” I haven’t even had a chance to go in my office, she thought as she headed
out the front door from where she’d come just about 20 minutes ago.

“If
you need me Cheryl, call me on my cell. I’m on my way to the airport to meet
Mr. Lennox. I should be back in two or three hours.”

“Will
do, Ms. Howard.”

EPILOGUE

“Are
you all ready to be an Atlanta resident, Mr. Shaw?” Kammille asked.

“Yes.
Seventy-two hours down; 24 more to go. Can’t wait to get settled in the A-T-L.”

“Listen
to you sounding like a native already,” Kammille teased.

“It’s
a fabulous city. I’ve been there so many times, it’ll be nice to live there and
actually go to all the places I read about online. Every time I’ve gone, I try
to go to a different restaurant, although I do have a couple of favorites. And,
Atlanta has some great jazz clubs. But the best part of moving, is I’ll be
close to you. Thanks again, by the way, for helping me select an apartment. I
can just hit the freeway and be to you in 20 to 30 minutes. And it’s not too
far from your office, which means you can sleep in a little longer when you
stay over with me,” Landon said.

“Who
says I’m going to be spending nights with you, Mr. Shaw?” Kammille teased with
a straight face.

“Oh,
you will. You will definitely be spending nights with me – and days, and
afternoons and weekends. In fact, my plan is to spoil you so thoroughly, you’ll
give up that mansion in the suburbs and move into town with me.”

“Let’s
not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Shaw. For now, separate residences work just
fine.”

“Alright,
alright, I won’t push. While I appreciate technology, I just can’t wait to see
that pretty face of yours in person all the time. With all trace of joking
disappearing from his voice, he finished, “You make me very happy Kammille.”

Kammille
teared up.

Landon
touched her cheek on his tablet screen via Skype. “I hope those are happy
tears,” he said, smiling as his grey gaze penetrated her heart.

“They
are. Very happy tears. You make me very happy too. …. Oh goodness, I’m ruining
my makeup, and I have to get out of here and get to the office. Have a good day
good looking.”

“You
too gorgeous. I’ll Skype you tonight around 9:30, ok?” He put two fingers to
his lips and touched the screen. “Until tonight,” he said.

“Until
tonight,” Kammille parroted, and signed off.

***

Kammille
smiled as she sat at her desk that sunny afternoon. True to form, her meeting
with Mr. Lennox a few days ago had produced more work. She and Liza were going
to have to get their own commercial kitchen. It was a major expense, she knew.
She made a note to discuss it with her partner. They couldn’t put off figuring
out how to do it any longer.

Landon
arrived tomorrow – for good. She could barely contain her excitement.

She
couldn’t remember a time when her life had felt so full and right; especially
her personal life. She reflected on a saying that she’d run across on her
social media accounts often. It went something like, “
When you meet ‘the
one,’ you’ll know why it never worked out with anyone else
.” And now she
knew why things hadn’t worked out with her Omar, her ex-fiancé. It was because
she was meant to meet and fall in love with Landon.

And
she was definitely in love. In fact, she was hooked on it … with this man.

###