I Want Candy (53 page)

“Shielding the truth from someone is not love. It may seem as such during a desperate situation, but it rarely is the right answer. You should tell him the truth. Lies hurt way more.” Kafele stood up. “Well, I have taken enough of your time. I hope you enjoy your stay here. If you need a tour guide or decide that you no longer want this man to have your heart, you can stop by here and ask that man behind the counter for Kafele. He is my brother. I can see your heart and soul, Candy. They are good. You are a good person and a striking woman and will make a good wife to some blessed man.” Kafele walked away, disappearing onto the street until he could no longer be seen. Candy’s heart sank as she deliberated over what he said.

“Lies hurt,” she repeated to herself. Jasmine came down to the cafe swinging a small taupe bag while Dallas slid on a brass bracelet she had just purchased.

“Candy, I could shop in there all day. The tour guide was right. They’ve got great prices. Jasmine and I are gonna get a quick drink, then we can go if you want. We should go back to the hotel and get settled anyway.” Candy nodded as she watched her two best friends walk up to the front counter and look over the menu.

Candy looked away and closed her eyes. She imagined Gabriel whispering in her ear, the way he often did. His deep, peaceful voice vibrating close to her eardrum as he teased her, soothed her, said naughty things. “I miss you,” she said aloud.

* * *

“I’m really not in the mood,” Gabriel said as his personal assistant fixed his tie.

“Mr. Justice, I’m sorry, but you must attend. This was planned months in advance. Besides, you should be thrilled. This is all in honor of you!” Samantha explained as she patted his tie and handed him his gold cuff links.

“Who decided to honor me with a dinner ceremony anyway? Who’s responsible for this?” Gabriel complained as he put his cuff links on.

“Oh, Mr. Justice! Don’t be a scrooge. Christmas is over,” Samantha teased. “Lots of people did. You’re loved by so many, seriously!” she complimented.

Gabriel laughed. “I find that hard to believe right about now. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I have a lot to do, and this is taking away from it. Thanks for all of your support by the way.”

“You’re more than welcome. You can spare two hours. It’ll be over before you know it, and you’ve already said you need to do this. It’s the perfect time!” Samantha walked out of the dressing room while Gabriel looked himself over once more. His cell phone rang. “Yes?” he asked, hoping he would learn new information.

“Hi, Gabriel. It’s Eric. My friend spotted Quentin out at her house again. I came back over here, and I’m watchin’. She still isn’t home. We may have to call the cops. Now I’m really startin’ to get worried. I can tell he really doesn’t know where she is though. He keeps checking around and looks mad as hell. Anyway, it looks like he’s about to drive off. I’m drivin’ my mother’s car. I’m gonna follow him.”

Gabriel sighed with disappointment. “OK. We’ll give it the rest of this evening, then we’ll call the police. I’ve left several more messages for her, but she still hasn’t called me back. Go ahead and let Quentin continue to hang himself. I have something special coming for him.”

“OK. I see he’s on the move. I’ll call you back.” Eric quickly disconnected the call.

* * *

“That’s what makes Gabriel so great. He can play a great round of golf and tell you about the best deals at Target all in one breath.” Everyone laughed. Gabriel sat on a chair in the middle of the stage while various managers sat beside him. His thoughts drifted periodically to Candy’s voice, her smile, and her sense of humor. Her image swirled in his mind.

‘I know in my heart you’re OK,’ he thought. ‘I can feel it. I need to know where you are, Candy. I need to make this right between us.’ Different people approached the podium and spoke fondly of Gabriel, everyone from custodians to the owner of the company, Kevin Hardy. Gabriel smiled gracefully, at times becoming choked up from the outpouring of love and support. Gabriel heard his cell phone vibrate. He looked down and saw it was a call from Eric. Swallowing deeply, he sent a quick text message:

Can’t answer my cell right now. Business dinner. Text me back what you know.

Eric responded:

QUENTIN’S CRAZY ASS IS INSIDE WHERE YOU ARE! I THINK THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO CALL THE POLICE!

Gabriel replied:

NO. Let him come.

Gabriel braced himself as he waited to be dethroned. As acceptance set in, his body relaxed. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back and laughed. He waved to Samantha.

“Yes, Mr. Justice?” she asked.

“Bring in the green thumb drive. We’ll need it after all.” Samantha smiled and dug in her purse. She pulled it out and waved it in Gabriel’s direction.

“Good. Hold on to that until I tell you when,” Gabriel instructed. The night continued on with eloquent speeches, jokes, and dedications. Things came to an abrupt stop as someone shouted from the crowd.

“I want to speak! I want to talk about how perfect Mr. Gabriel Justice is!” The elegantly dressed employees looked up from their expensive dinner plates as they surveyed a man with a wrinkled, button-down white shirt half tucked in, making his way steadily towards the stage. Gabriel gripped the arms of his chair, his short fingernails sinking deeply into the upholstered fabric as his nerves were nearly getting the best of him. He relaxed himself and waited patiently. Quentin smiled and nodded at people as he continued to maneuver his way through the shocked crowd. A security officer stepped in front of him.

“No,” Gabriel said calmly. “Let him through.”

“Thank you, Mr. Justice,” Quentin said. His dark eyes shined as he gave an ominous grin. His pupils dilated as he made erratic facial expressions and body gestures. The room erupted in whispering.

“Shhh,” Gabriel said. “Let’s let our National IT Director, Mr. Quentin Evans, speak. Excuse his appearance. He’s had an exhausting day, no doubt.” Gabriel waited to meet eyes again with Quentin who shot him a look of disdain.

Quentin leaned down and whispered in Gabriel’s ear. “This is the end of you. I’m gonna enjoy every second of this.” Quentin grabbed the microphone, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“We are here tonight to honor this man, this magnificent man, Mr. Justice. Isn’t he a great guy? Let’s give it up!” Quentin began to clap, encouraging others to join in. A few sporadic claps were audible amongst the sea of whispers. “We’re here to honor his commitment, leadership, and friendship to everyone here at Blue Sun. Yeah – Gabriel, I mean, Mr. Justice,
loves
his employees. And how do we show love to people that are important to us? Well, we give them attention. We do things to make them feel better when they’re having a rough day. We give them gifts, right? We listen to them and talk to them and make it seem like we really care. Mr. Justice sure does love his employees! He does all of those things. He loves one employee a whole lot, so much so that he’s been fucking her. Her name is Ms. Candace Benet, and she’s the Director of Finance. That’s how Mr. Justice shows love, by having sex with subordinates!”

There were loud gasps in the room. The security guard ran up the steps to grab Quentin.

“No!” screamed out Gabriel. “It’s OK. Let him finish.”

“I have proof right here.” Quentin held up Candy’s diary. “This reads just like a low-budget porno movie,” he laughed. “I see Candy isn’t here tonight to support her favorite man. Maybe she’s recuperating from having been bent over, tied up, and engaging in other freaky shit she let him do to her.” Quentin burned with rage as he recalled every sentence he had read while sitting outside her house.

“I don’t know where the hell she is tonight, but I can tell you where she was several weeks ago.” Quentin opened the diary. “She was in Mr. Justice’s bed, in Mr. Justice’s hot tub, and on Mr. Justice’s floor, but it wasn’t because she slipped and fell. Oh, no. She was in his shower, pinned up against the wall in his den, on the beach after flying in his private plane, and even outside in the damn woods.  They were gettin’ it on like two wild animals!”

People began to yell and move about.

“These are
her
words! Now unless Candy is lying to herself, this must be true!” Quentin turned around and looked at Gabriel who was staring back at him. Gabriel swallowed, put his hand up to his forehead and continued to look at Quentin, not breaking the silent exchange.

“Tell ’em, Mr. Justice! Go ahead and tell these good people about you fucking the daylights out of your employee!”

Gabriel looked down and smiled. “Are you finished, Quentin?” he asked calmly.

“No,” Quentin smiled. “I’m just beginning. Because of you, Candy has run away.”

Mandy raced across the stage and whispered, “Gabriel, is this true?” Gabriel slowly stood up, pushed Mandy aside and walked up to Quentin.

“I need to stand by this man because he has the microphone, and I want you all to hear me. Quentin’s concerns will be addressed shortly, but…”

“No, you address my issues
now
!” Quentin returned.

 Gabriel continued, unmoved. “I want to first and foremost say that I’m sorry for everything you just heard. Unfortunately, there is truth to most of what he stated.”

An uproar ensued. People stood up, talking loudly and gesturing.

“No one here has had to explain who they date, sleep with, or marry to anyone,” Gabriel began. “However, because of who I am, I have to divulge it, it seems. Ever since my divorce, I’ve received daily solicitations from women who will remain unnamed. They, too, work for the company. Some of these women flirted openly in front of others. I became a very eligible bachelor. There were three magazine articles about my bachelorhood. People would hang around the water cooler and laugh. Many of you thought it was funny. But it wasn’t funny, not for me. It’s not funny when you have women throwing themselves at you but are lonely because you haven’t found your life partner and so desperately want her. It’s not funny when you’re in love with someone with whom you’re required to maintain a strictly professional relationship according to people who don’t have to live your life, and it’s not funny when that person loves you back, yet you have to hide her away and keep her a secret. Going to the movies, holding hands in public, and giving a simple kiss on the cheek at a restaurant are forbidden. Ms. Benet isn’t married, and neither am I. We’re two consenting adults who decided that we wanted to be together. We never had any sexual relations on company property. I knew that many would find the relationship inappropriate, but luckily, I’ve never allowed others to dictate what I should do with my life. If I had, I’d probably be working in a bar somewhere for free drinks.” The crowd quieted as they continued to listen.

“All of you who attended the holiday party got to bring your significant others and children. We have gay and lesbian employees who were free to bring their mates. We had foster children, extended families, and conventional families. You’re able to kiss them, hug them, and love them. I just wanted the same thing, people. That’s all I wanted. Mr. Evans here is quite angry because he feels I took something away from him, something that he owned. Well, slavery is over. I’m glad you brought that diary, Quentin. Evidence is very important before making slanderous accusations.”