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James
Iwas buried knee-deep in paperwork, trying to catch up from all the distractions today. Between my wife showing up and finding out she was really Rose, the fire alarm that emptied the whole building after someone decided to pull the alarm, and trying to find a new accountant, the hours had flown by with no sign of slowing.
“Mr. Langston, you were supposed to leave an hour ago.”
I looked up at the clock and sighed. It was nearly nine o’clock and Rose hadn’t heard from me yet. I shoved back my chair and grabbed my suit jacket, pulling it on.
“Fuck, she’s going to be pissed.”
Alisha stood in my way. “Not nearly as pissed as she was earlier today.”
“How do you know she was pissed?”
Alisha crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. “Do you think a woman can’t tell when another woman is angry?” She turned and flicked her wrist, motioning for me to follow her.
Since I wasn’t about to start an argument with Alisha, I followed her. She’d already proven that she could put me in my place, though she only wielded her power when no one else was around. She stopped at her desk, pulling out a box. “This is for both of you. I took the liberty of getting you something temporary for the time being.”
I opened up the box where two wedding rings were nestled. One was a basic white gold men’s band, and the second was a white gold band glittering with diamonds. “You think she’s upset because she doesn’t have a ring?”
“No, but you need wedding rings if you’re going to convince anyone around here you’re happily married.”
I closed the box, looking at Alisha. “I met her on an island. I had no idea who she was.”
“And you love her.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, I was telling you that you love her,” she argued. “Men. Do you think I couldn’t tell from the way you were staring at her? It’s a good thing I got you these,” she said, pulling out a bouquet of roses.
“I don’t think she’s fond of roses.”
“Do you want to show up with roses or with nothing after being an hour later than you said?”
Point taken. I took the roses from her. “Anything else?”
“Yes, I already had the car leave to pick her up, which means you need to go. I also called your doorman and let him know of her arrival. He’ll take her up when she arrives.”
I nodded and headed for the elevator, but stopped and turned back to her. “How did you do all this? I mean, the rings and convincing my doorman…”
“I used your personal credit card for the rings, and I’m a very convincing woman,” she smirked. “Now run before you make her even angrier.”
I raised the box in thank you and hauled ass downstairs, which took longer than expected considering there was no one in the building. My car was waiting outside for me at the curb. I quickly got inside and told my driver, Darren, to take me home. I stared out the window, scrubbing my hand over my face as the streets flew by. I couldn’t believe this was my life, but even worse, I hated how easily I slipped back into the role.
No matter how hard I tried to escape my father, I always ended up back here. Which made me wonder if I would be able to walk away after five years. However, now my situation had changed. Maybe I could still be happy. After all, I was in love with Rose. I had already considered having kids with her. Would the contract really make a difference in all this?
Still, I couldn’t see myself being happy in this job long term. Five years was going to be hard enough. I didn’t like the man I became when I was in that building, but at the same time, it was required. I needed to be a strong leader with killer instincts. The man I was on the island just wasn’t going to cut it, and it was hard to shut it off once I turned it on.
The car pulled up in front of my building, yet another place I was forced to stay for the time being. My father had insisted I live in the best of the best, sure that if I lived in my old apartment, it would give the wrong image. I couldn’t say that I really cared what my father thought, but it was in the contract, something I had missed the first time around. I was so worried about getting out of there for six months that I didn’t read some of the additional requirements.
“Thank you, Darren,” I said as I stepped out of the car. The wind had picked up, sending chills down my spine. Fall was in full force, reminding me how much I hated living this far north. I could have lived on the island for the rest of my life.
I nodded to my doorman as I walked through. “Good evening, Jeffrey. Did my wife make it inside okay?”
“Yes, sir. I took her up myself.”
I grinned at him. “And abandoned your post? I can’t believe it.”
“I never abandon my post,” he answered, giving me a sly grin.
