Chapter 24

 

Chris

 

I called Mary hundreds of times, and each time it went to voicemail.

I texted and even direct messaged her on every social media site, but there was no answer.

Danny tried to ask me what was wrong, but I ignored him and instead called for a LYFT from Jersey to New York from my phone and waited on the front stoop for the driver to get to the house.

“Was that your lady you were fighting with on the front lawn?” Dad asked, taking the seat next to me.

“Yeah. That was her. Sorry about that. Though the neighbors should be used to our loud arguing,” I said with a laugh, but there was no humor to it.

“Was what you said about her true?” Dad raised his eyebrows.

I shook my head, looking up to meet the shadow of his face, lit only by half burnt-out street lamps. “You heard my conversation with Danny?”

Dad sighed. “Unfortunately I did.”

I blew out a large breath. “Parts of it were true.”

He raised his eyebrows. “So you brought a fake girlfriend to meet Abuela? Was this your way of hiding that you…um…how do you say…prefer the company of men?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “No, Dad. I’m not gay.”

Dad slapped his knee. “Thank God. Your cousin Rico owes me fifty bucks.”

“You made a bet on my sexuality?” I raised my eyebrows.

Dad laughed. “No, Rico made the bet; I just said he was wrong.”

I put my head on my knees. “As if this day couldn’t get any more fucked up…”

Dad’s hand was on my shoulder. “Son, the day still isn’t lost. You can still get your girl…if she is your girl?”

I sighed. “You know, at first this was just all to charm her. To finally get a real client and to show the company I could do something, but now…now…”

“You fell in love with the girl?”

I slowly lifted my head up. “It’s only been a few days; I couldn’t possibly…”

“Stranger things have happened, Son. The moment I saw your mother across the market back home, I knew I was going to marry her. We were young, and most would say stupid, but over thirty years and we’re still young, stupid, and in love.”

The white sedan pulled up to the front of the house, my phone alerting me that my driver was there.

Looking up, I met my dad’s gaze and nodded. “Thanks for that, Dad.”

Dad smiled, clasping my shoulder. “Always, Christiano.”

 

***

 

I stood in front of Mary’s building, looking up as far as my eyes could take me, which wasn’t even enough to reach her penthouse.

I thought the entire ride over what I would say and I couldn’t come up with anything. I hoped words would come to me when I stood in front of her building, but I had nothing.

It was true that I used her to further my career.

It was true that I never told my friends that we were anything more. I was afraid that if it happened, I’d mess up the job. Mess up any chance for a promotion.

Now? Now I just knew that I was falling head over heels for this girl and I had no idea how not to fuck it up again. So instead of trying to call her or buzz into her apartment, I left and went back to my own place.

Maybe sleep would bring something to say.

 

***

 

Of course, I didn’t sleep, and of course, I still couldn’t think of anything to say to Mary and by the time work rolled around on Monday, I was a zombie.

“Holy shit, Chris you look like shit.”

I winced, hearing Danny’s playful tone as he leaned on my cube.

I wanted to punch the smug fucker, but I didn’t have any energy, and it wouldn’t do any good. Mary was gone, and I was the ass who couldn’t tell her how I really felt. So I just whirled around in my chair and went back to working on a spreadsheet.

“Whoa, seriously, buddy, are you okay?” Danny took a few steps forward, his strong cologne overpowering the small space.

Finally, I turned around and glared. “No, dude. I’m not. You didn’t need to say all of that shit in front of Mary. Why would you even do that?”

Danny put his hands up. “Okay, first off, I didn’t know she was right around the corner, second off, it was just locker room talk. You know I was trying to talk to you like us guys do. What did you want me to say? Something all pansy like and ‘Oh how is it going wooing the new client? Are you two going to have a happily ever after’?” he said the last part in a mocking high tone.

I shook my head. “That’s not locker room talk, that’s called just being an asshole.

Danny sighed, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his dress pants. “Look, man. I came to Abuela’s party because I wanted to see this chick for myself. I thought you would have said something like ‘No, I really like her,' but you didn’t. You kept playing into that same shit you’ve been feeding me all week that I know is wrong. You like this girl, but for some reason, you’ve been too much of a pussy to admit it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “So you decided to sabotage me instead?”

“Hey. I was just hoping you’d finally admit to it and I can’t resist Abuela’s tamales.”

“You’re fucking ridiculous, do you know that?” I asked.

“Ridiculous and right. You like this girl. Client or not. Promotion or not. So stop being a little bitch and tell her how you feel. Worse that could happen is she dumps your ass as a fake boyfriend or whatever. She won’t dump you as a publicist because you got her that gig on that movie.”

I stood up, almost in Danny’s face. “What movie? What are you talking about?”

“Holy shit. Have you not been on the internet? Everybody’s reporting that Mary James is set to start filming a biopic in LA. I was pretty sure you helped her get that part. I thought you knew?”

I shook my head, blowing out a deep breath. LA? Mary? Shit… If she already left, then what?

I sat back down, trying to figure out my plan of action. Did I text her? Text Brian even?

Before I could figure out my next move, my phone rang, alerting me it was my manager’s secretary.

“Chris, here.”

“Chris, you’re being called to Mr. Tate’s office,” she said in a worried tone.

“Oh…Um…okay…I’ll be right there…” I stammered before hanging up the phone.

Noah Tate was the co-CEO of Tate & Cane. My Aunt Rosie was his assistant and a good friend so I’d seen him at a few family functions but never actually talked to the guy, and I had no idea what the hell I did to warrant a meeting with him.

Was this how people got fired?

“We can talk about this later,” I muttered to Danny before locking my computer and standing up, heading down the hallway to the elevators.

I went all the way up to the top floor, holding my breath until I got out of the elevators and saw my Aunt Rosie behind the desk in front of Mr. Tate’s office.

“Christiano! That was fast!” she said, standing up and hugging me over the desk.

I took in the scent of spices and a hint of her floral perfume before letting her go. “Do you know why he’s asking me in?”

Aunt Rosie smiled, walking around the desk to open the large oak door. “I guess you’ll see.”

Mr. Tate was only a few years older than me but had a commanding presence. Even just sitting behind his desk in his tailored suit and a fresh haircut, he exuded power. The only crack in his exterior was when he looked up and smiled at Aunt Rosie. “Thanks, Rosie. You can leave us.”

Aunt Rosie nodded and closed the door, leaving me standing there and staring at the most powerful man in the company.

“Have a seat, Christiano,” Mr. Tate said, pointing to the leather armchair across from his desk.

“Yes, sir,” I said, nodding and taking the seat, my hands on my knees.

“You can call me Noah. I’ve known you for years now,” Noah said, cracking another smile.

“Oh. Okay. Um. You can call me Chris then.”

Noah let out a single laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I’ve seen in the papers. Chris Garcia, publicist for Tate & Cane, arm-in-arm with actress Mary James.”

I winced. Shit. Was I breaking some sort of company protocol?

“Sir, it was just a fake relationship. We did it for the publicity to help her career, and it has. I’ve just been informed she booked a movie role in LA,” I said, rattling off the information as if my life depended on it. And it probably did. At least my work life.

“A fake relationship?” Noah raised his eyebrows.

I nodded, licking my lips. “Yes, sir. I know it was a stupid idea, but it was partially hers. And it worked. It helped her get some good press, showing she was in a stable relationship and seeing my family.”

Noah nodded. “And now? Are you still in that fake relationship for the press?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, sir. I can end it if you want. If that’s what I need to do to keep my job.”

Noah leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Tell me something, Chris. Did this fake relationship turn into something more or was it strictly business?”

I could have lied like I did to Danny. Like I had been. But I was sick of lying. Sick of trying to hide something just for my job. If I was to get fired now, then so be it. At least I was finally honest. “Yes, sir. It did. It’s unprofessional, and I know it shouldn’t have happened, but I care for the girl. More than anything.”

Noah’s face went still, and I held my breath until a small smile crossed his face. “Did you know my relationship with our co-CEO Olivia was planned in our fathers’ wills? There was a clause we could only inherit the company if we were married and produced an heir.”

My mouth dropped open, and I just stared before muttering, “Seriously?”

Noah laughed. “Yes. It’s true. We both were just going along with it for the company, but then something happened along the way. It turned real. We fell in love.”

And they were. From what I’d seen and heard around the office, the two, who were expecting their first child, were always smiling, joking around, and holding hands when they thought no one was looking.

Noah stood up. “What I’m trying to say, Chris is that if you really care about this girl, just because it started out one way in your relationship, doesn’t mean it can’t finish another.”

Before I could respond, Noah leaned forward and smiled. “Go get your girl, Chris. And when you come back we can talk about that promotion.”