Troy
Last night with Reece was exactly what I expected it to be. I’m glad that she enjoyed the evening, just as much as I did with her.
Since this was my day off, I was just going to relax at home until I went out with Reece for dinner later, but Mark called asking if I could swing by the restaurant for a bit. He needed to talk to me.I didn’t know whether that was good or bad. To me, seeing the boss on a Sunday was never good.
I walked into Lucinda’s to see Mark sitting down at one of the tables in the back. I went over to him as he nodded.
“Good morning,”
“Morning. Why are we meeting so early?” I asked as I sat down.
Mark smiled. “It’s not bad, man, if that what you were thinking.”
“Well, I wasn’t thinking good thoughts.” I said.
“Relax, Troy. Anyway, do you remembered when I mentioned about Dallas?”
“Yeah; you and Vanessa are heading down there?”
Mark shook his head. “Nope; you and Reece are.”
I gave him a crazed look as Mark sat watching me closely . “The contractors contacted us about heading down there to look over the building, but we can’t go. Vanessa needs to take care of some stuff with the other locations and be close to home with her parents, and I need to stay in town for the restaurant.”
“No one else could go?”
“I trust you to go and represent the company.”
“Why Reece is going?”
Mark looked away. “That was Vanessa’s idea; but since she’s the office manager for the Richmond store, she should be there as your right-hand woman. That would be the same for Dominic and Tricia if I had asked them to go.”
I leaned back in my chair, wondering if there was something else going on. Not that I was complaining, but something wasn’t right about this.
“What’s on your mind, Troy?”
“Nothing, I mean, it’s cool that you both handpicked Reece and me, but I guess I feel there’s more than what you’re telling me.”
Mark shrugged. “There’s not, Troy. But we need you to go there tonight. You’re meeting the contractors early tomorrow morning. Vanessa has just booked your rooms, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Rooms?”
“Yes, rooms. What did you think, Troy? Or do I need to ask.” Mark said while giving me a curious look.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“When Vanessa and I went to sleep, Reece was still out with you, so…”
“We didn’t sleep together, Mark. Instead, I surprised her by taking her to the open field that I’d mentioned before, and let her take pictures with the new camera that I’d bought her.”
Mark gave a surprised look. “What?”
“Did you know that Reece’s hobby is photography? She sold her camera, so I bought her a new one.”
“Wow, I didn’t know that. I guess Reece never wanted to share that info with anyone.”
“She never told Vanessa?”
“Believe me, if she did, I would have known.”
I looked ahead, surprised that she only told me about her passion. Now, that made me feel some type of way.
“You bought her a camera? Yeah, you do like her.”
I smiled. “I do, but it’s not just that. I feel as if she’s going through a lot, so I just wanted to do something to make her smile, that’s all.”
Mark smiled. “You haven’t been like this since Deena. Does she know about Deena?”
I nodded. “I told her, but this is nothing like with Deena. With Deena, too much was happening so quickly, especially when she got pregnant. With Reece, it’s different.”
“Wow, you really are feeling her.”
I smiled. “I’m admitting it to you first, but I am.” I chuckled. “I haven’t even slept with her, and I’m already feeling something for her.”
“That’s because every other woman you were with didn’t mean anything to you; with Reece, you can see something more with her. That’s how I felt the first day I saw Vanessa. Now that you two are going to Dallas, how will things be between you two?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to find out when we go.”
I looked at Mark, wondering why he had a faraway look on his face. I turned to the door when I noticed why.
“What the fuck?”
Walking into the restaurant were two people I didn’t plan or want to see. I quickly turned around and lowered my head, hoping they didn’t see either Mark or me.
“Have you seen them in here before?” I asked.
Mark shook his head. “This is the first.”
“Hi, Mark. Troy,”
I looked over and Kari and Deena were staring at me. I didn’t believe Kari when she said that Deena was pregnant, but she definitely was as her expanding belly was on full display.
“Kari. Hi, Deena.” I replied.
“Hi, Troy. Long time no see, huh?”
“Definitely,”
“Congrats on the restaurant, Mark. I know this was your dream. Not only that, but also owner of Suds. You have done well for yourself.” Deena said.
“Thank you, Deena.” Mark said. He looked from me to Deena and Kari and quickly got up. “This is awkward, so I’m going to head back into the kitchen. Deena, congrats on your pregnancy. And Troy, I’ll text you all the info for Dallas. But good luck,” he said. He stared at Deena. “And enjoy the food while you’re here.”
Deena nodded as Mark quickly went to the kitchen. I sighed, wishing he hadn’t just gotten up and left like that. I really wasn’t trying to have a conversation with Deena or Kari.
I stared at the two as Kari decided to sit at my table. “I didn’t ask you to sit down.”
“It’s a public restaurant, Troy,”
“I don’t want any problems, okay. I was just finishing up a meeting with Mark.”
“Who says there’ll be a problem? We just wanted to say hi to an old friend.” Kari continued.
“Kari, stop.” Deena said. “We just came for brunch, so we don’t want any drama either.”
Kari rolled her eyes as I looked at Deena. “Now that you’re here, can we talk? Without your cousin present.” I said while staring at Kari.
Deena looked uncomfortable but she agreed. “Sure. Kari, talk to the hostess about getting a table.”
“Whatever,” Kari said as she got up. She continued to roll her eyes at me and I shook my head.
“My, has she grown up since the last time I’d saw her.” I said sarcastically .
Deena smirked. “You dated her. Let me rephrase that, you just fucked her.”
“That was a big mistake.” “When did you finally realize that?”
I gave Deena a dirty look and she gave me one back. “Why did you want us to talk? We barely had two words to say after the divorce.”
“I know, but seeing you now, I figured we could have a cordial conversation. You look good, Deena.”
She nodded. “So do you, Troy. But you always did. That was not the problem. It was just your cheating ways that was the problem.”
“And why was I cheating? Because you were cheating on me with Ramon.”
“Oh stop it! You started it first with your lying.”
“No, you started it when you lied about our child! Now, you’re popping out babies for my former best friend. What makes him so different than having a child with me?”
Deena closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. I know I hit a nerve, but that was something that she’d never answered when I tried to ask her.
“Troy, a lot was going on during the time that we were together.”
“Like what?! You had an abortion and never told me. You never gave me the choice on whether I wanted to be a father. You made that decision for me.”
“Because I was scared, Troy. I was scared to be a mother. At the time, I wasn’t ready to have kids and with your wandering eye, I didn’t know if you were going to leave me alone with a child while you went and did your thing with other women. My fears became true when you started cheating.”
“Because of your actions, Deena. Estaba siendo fiel.”
“Were you really being faithful, Troy? You fucked my cousin,” she whispered.
“I was with you. I may have had a wandering eye, but I was with you, Deena. Only you. As for Kari, that was after you told me about you and Ramon.”
“Which you already knew, remember.”
I looked out to the window as Deena wiped a tear from the side of her eye. “Troy, I know it may seem crazy in a way with what’s happening, especially with seeing me with Ramon’s kids, but at the time, I really thought it was the best decision for the both of us.”
“That’s something that I will never agree with. We could had been great parents together, but I guess I will never know that.”
“You will in time, Troy. Maybe once you stop your cheating ways and settle with the right woman, then you will have that opportunity.”
“Who said that I’m still whoring around?”
“I’m sure you are.”
“A lot has changed for me, Deena. Maybe if none of this had occurred, you would have known that. But you know what, maybe it wasn’t meant for us to be together.”
Deena nodded. “I agree. We just weren’t right for each other. We were together for different reasons. Maybe I felt I was saving you in a sense, I don’t know, but I don’t regret the time we were together.”
“I know my reasons for being with you. You helped me through a low point in my life. You turned my life around by believing in me, by helping me get into school and just being supportive of me. I guess to a certain extent, I felt obligated for things to work.”
Deena sighed. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for what I did to you. I never told you that.”
“Bottom line, we just weren’t right for each other.” I said.
Deena nodded. “No, we weren’t. But I am happy with how your life has changed professionally. You’re a store manager now. Are you still thinking about possibly owning a store one day? I know you mentioned you wanted to.”
I had mentioned to Deena that I wouldn’t mind owning a store if Enrique wanted to sell a store. With Vanessa and Mark doing franchises now, this could be my opportunity, but my ultimate goal is to own the Richmond store. I know my way around the store and also, I don’t want to move to another city. If the opportunity presented itself, then I could get my foot in the door to possibly own the Richmond store one day.
“Mark and his wife Vanessa are opening up a few stores in other cities. I might try and see if I could franchise one of those locations.”
“Or you could always try and get the Richmond location.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think Mark and Vanessa want to franchise that location. They probably think I’m not serious enough to own a business.”
“I admit, your personal priorities are fucked up, but your professional priorities are not. You work your ass off, so I’m sure if you talk to Mark and Vanessa, they’ll probably consider it.”
I responded. “Maybe so.”
Kari walked up to us with a heated glance. “Are you finished talking to him?”
Deena nodded. “Yeah, I am. It was nice talking to you, Troy.”
“Likewise. I hope everything goes well with your pregnancy.”
She nodded before she walked away. Kari gave me a sinister smile, which made me want to give her the finger, but it was Sunday so I’ll contain myself.
I sat there looking out the window, thinking about what Deena said. What she’d said about the Richmond store actually made sense, but I could start off with a new location first. Maybe going to Dallas to see about the new store would help me be in consideration for owning a store.
But now, I had to concentrate on going to Dallas with Reece. This would be a great way for us to spend time together. Some alone time together. I didn’t know what the mini trip would bring, but I knew one thing for sure. It’s going to be interesting.