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Fortunately, the principal agreed with Chess. But what made her case even stronger was the fact that hers wasn’t the first complaint against Mrs. Evans. Apparently, the lady had a broken filter and had been known to say all sorts of things to students. By the time Chess left the premises, the teacher was officially under investigation.
Chess should’ve felt triumphant after that win but all she felt was sad for her son. Once again, he’d been reminded that he came from a single-parent home. Would Mrs. Evans have been more lenient with him if he had a dad? Would he get more scars from other judgmental people in the future just because he was fatherless?
Briefly, she wondered if she should’ve just kept Tazeem around. But she shook the thought off. From experience, she knew that it was better to have no father than to have a garbage father.
Her own father, Gerald Winters, was the emperor of deadbeat parents. He’d abandoned his family when Chess was just seven-years-old to be with his secretary. Over the years, he’d reappeared a couple of times. At first, Chess had anticipated his returns because she wished for a complete family. But as she grew up, she realized that he was an emotional vampire.
Each time he showed up, he claimed to have changed. He’d bombard Chess, her mother, and Senia with gifts. He’d beg them to forgive him, and get them to love him again. But once they were in the palm of his hand, the game became boring, and he’d disappear again.
The last time Gerald had reappeared, Chess’s mom was dead and there was no longer anyone to welcome him with open arms. Chess and Senia were both too jaded to fall for his usual song and dance.
That was twelve years ago, and he hadn’t shown his face since.
Good riddance!
Still, his deadbeat ways had left Chess with emotional wounds that were as deep as canyons and an innate distrust of men. The old Tazeem had waved all the same red flags that her father had. If he’d stayed in Jay’s life, he would’ve definitely left their child with the same scars that Gerald had left Chess with.
So, Chess refused to regret her decision to cut Tazeem from her and her son’s life. She’d done it for her son, and if she had to do it again, she would in a heartbeat. Any problems that came with having no father paled in comparison to having to deal with a bad one.
With that in mind, she headed back to the office but trouble awaited her there too.
“What is wrong with you?” Felicity screeched furiously as she stormed into Chess’s office. “Why did you cancel our booking with Casa de Flores?”
“What are you talking about?” Chess frowned. “I didn’t cancel the booking.”
“Yes, you did.” Felicity’s voice rose with every word she spoke. “The manager told me you called them yesterday. Do you know how hard I worked to find that place? Do you know how much negotiating it took for me to convince them to give us that particular day?”
“Okay, Felicity. First, you need to calm down, lower your voice, and take a seat. You’ll break my eardrums with all that screaming.” Chess winced as she rubbed her ears. “Second, I didn’t call anyone to cancel anything. The cancellation is as much a surprise to me as it is to you. And third, this isn’t a big deal. Just call them and let them know it was a mistake.”
“Are you kidding me?” Felicity plopped down on the seat opposite Chess. “I just told you that that place is in demand. As soon as we canceled, a wedding took our place. It’s gone.”
“Really?” Chess brow furrowed. “That fast?”
“That fast,” Felicity confirmed. Though her voice was lower, it was still tight with fury. “What will you do about it? If Richard asks why we don’t have a venue, keep my name out of your mouth because I did my part. I found a place.”
“Okay, pause with the saving of your skin for a second.” Chess calmly proposed, “Why don’t we focus on finding a solution? What other venues do you have?”
“None!”
“Come on, Felicity,” Chess coaxed. “I know you have backups. You’re too smart and organized to not have a few emergency alternatives in your pocket.”
Though Felicity tried to stay angry, she couldn’t help preening at the compliment. “Fine, I might have a few ideas. But none of them is as good as Casa de Flores.”
Chess offered, “Let’s see them first before we write them off.”
CHESS AND FELICITY SPENT THE next few hours scouting and calling alternative venues. By the time three p.m. rolled around, they’d found something decent. Felicity and Elliot went to view the venue, and both liked it enough to approve it as a worthy replacement for Casa de Flores.
Crisis averted!
But that didn’t mean that Chess had forgotten about the crisis’s origin. There was only one reason why their booking would’ve been canceled. Sabotage!
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Chess confronted the culprit the following morning.
Mark, who’d been on a phone call before she’d burst into his office, sighed. “What are you on about, Winters?”
Immediately, Chess noted that he wasn’t his usual flamboyant, over-hyped self. He had bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept the whole night, his bowtie was slightly askew, and his hair wasn’t quite as greasy as it usually was.
She asked, “You’re the one who canceled our booking with Casa de Flores, aren’t you?”
