Santana

 

“Did you have any trouble finding the place?” Josiah asked.

“Not at all.” I smiled softly. With everyone tuned into our conversation, I made sure to give Josiah all my attention. I glanced at the glass of water sitting in front of him. “I’m sure your appetites bigger than that.”

Josiah nodded once. “Starved.”

“You should’ve at least ordered an appetizer,” I said.

“I had an appetizer before I arrived. Now I’m ready for the main course, but I was hoping you could help me with that.”

A ball of nerves shot up my arms and settled around my neck, saturating my body completely. His insinuation was so blatant and arousing that I was completely turned on where I probably should’ve been embarrassed seeing as how we were in front of company. I smirked and slowly shook my head as I reached for his jawline for a soft caress.

“Tease,” I said.

“So, Ms. Summers,” Josiah’s father began, “when we were in Montego Bay, I had no idea you and Josiah were dating. Is that why you two kept disappearing?”

I was sure my face lit up red as a blush covered my cheeks. Josiah found it funny, chuckling with that sexy ass dashing smile on his face.

“How long have you and my boy been dating?” Mr. Rose went on.

“I wouldn’t say we’ve been dating,” I replied. “We were friends for a while. I’m from Houston. I moved down here with Desiree when she decided to come back home a few months ago. Josiah and I met while I still resided in Houston. He was my hero of sorts.”

Josiah’s chuckling continued, and I had a notion to kick him in his shin. After a few seconds, he settled down long enough to respond to his father. “Santana was a friend of Julian’s. Her home was burglarized, and Julian asked me to watch after her while he was away on business. We’ve remained friends ever since.”

“If you’ve managed to pull my son from his rambunctious activities, then I welcome you. I also want to invite you over for dinner so we can become further acquainted.”

“Anytime,” I said.

“Mr. Rose,” Mr. Murdock said, getting back to business. He glanced from Josiah to his father. “I do hope you will consider partnering with us. If you’d like a tour of our headquarters, Tina would be more than happy to show you around.”

Tina’s eyes lit up, and she kept them focused on Josiah. She reached into a handbag that hung off the back of her chair and pulled out a business card sliding it over to Josiah.

“Call me or email me, and we’ll set up an appointment,” she said. “I’m sure once you’ve gotten a feel for what we can offer, you’ll change your mind about partnering with us.” Tina turned to Mr. Murdock. “Isn’t that right, Daddy?”

“I do not doubt it.”

“Thank you,” Josiah said, tucking the card into his breast pocket.

I made a mental note to remove it later and shred it. Then I paused my thoughts and wondered about where my mind had landed. Remember, Santana, this is all pretending, no need to get your panties all in a bunch.

“Pop, Mr. Murdock, Ms. Murdock,” Josiah called out, grabbing their attention. “It was nice meeting up with you, but if you don’t mind, Santana and I are going to grab a table.” He held his hand out and shook their hands.

“This place is pretty packed,” his father said, “are you sure you’ll be able to get a table?”

“You have the popularity of the Kardashians. I’m sure the owner would put someone out to give you a seat.”

Everyone turned to look at Tina with surprise.

“That’s being a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Josiah responded.

“No, I don’t.”

The table grew quiet.

“Well,” I said, standing to my feet. Josiah stepped behind me, quickly adjusting my seat as I rose. “It was nice meeting you all.” I locked my arm with Josiah’s.

“You as well, Ms. Summers,” Mr. Murdock said.

Josiah nodded, and we traipsed away from the table. In my periphery, I saw flashes from cell phones where people were openly taking our picture. I followed Josiah to a window seat where we were practically put on display.

“Are you sure you want to sit here?” I asked.

“Would you rather sit somewhere else? I thought if we were going to put on this show, we should put it on thick.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. So,” I smoothed down my skirt and crossed my legs, “Summer Rain Industries, huh?”

“Have you heard of them?”

“Of course. I’d have to say they are about as popular as Gemz.”

“Almost.” Josiah offered me that wide sexy grin.

I laughed out loud. “Seems like your father is serious about partnering, or he would’ve picked a company with a lesser reputation.”

“You’re right about that. But I do think you may be on to something about him wanting to see if I’m interested in marriage.”

“Oh?”

“Before you arrived, he mentioned Gemz needing stability to withstand the test of time.”

My smile widened. “It looks like we have him in the palm of our hands, too,” I said.

“Trust me,” Josiah said. “We’ll have to keep this going all the way to the altar before my father reveals his true intentions. Which is one of the reasons I asked you if you would take this all the way if that happens.” He held me with a straightforward gaze. “Are you still game, Santana?”

I smirked. “I’m here, aren’t I, Josiah?”

His smile became bright again, and he picked up his champagne glass.

“To us,” he said. “May we last… forever.”

I kissed his glass with mine, and we sipped. This was going to be more fun than I thought, but I would remind Josiah later we should stick with the theatrics when we’re in public only. The last thing I wanted to do was blur the lines between real and fantasy. Even if I was already feeling fuzzy on the inside.

 

Josiah and I sat in Chops Lobster Bar for an hour when I received a text message from Carla.

Apparently, she’d been thinking about her job at the school and decided she wanted to use her paid vacation time while she had the chance. The problem was Natalie Rosenburg, the assistant principal, wanted to speak to Carla in person. So, Carla told Mrs. Rosenburg that she and I were out together so she couldn’t come in at that time. Putting it plainly, it backfired, and Mrs. Rosenburg asked for us both to come in.

With much reluctance, I had to cut my time with Josiah short and head to Carla’s apartment.

 

The door to the brick apartment complex opened, and Carla tugged at a skirt that barely touched her knees. The heels she wore were those stripper shoes I kept telling her might not be the best choice for school when she purchased them in Montego Bay. But she just had to have them, reasoning that school wasn’t the only place she visited. But I didn’t know who she was fooling. Although we’d been acquainted only a short while, Carla’s days and nights had consisted of being at work and going home.

She opened the passenger door and climbed inside.

“Thank you, girl. I appreciate you for coming.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice since you included me in your cahoots.”

“Cahoots?” she said, feigning astonishment. “No cahoots, I promise.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Natalie caught me off guard. You know how she is sometimes. I had no idea she would ask to see you, too. That was the last thing I was banking on.”

I pulled away from the curb and went in the direction of the school.

“I hope this doesn’t take long because I’m supposed to grab drinks with Octavia and Selena later.”

Carla reared her head around and put her hands on her hips. “Oh, so I don’t get an invite?”

“Well with you quitting your job, I didn’t think you would want to spend money when you should be saving it until you get something else.”

“Is that what you thought? I know I don’t live in an upscale townhome or anything, but I think I can afford a drink or two without the lights going out.”

“Okay, so does that mean you’re going?”

“I don’t know. I have to check my bank account.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Girl.”

“What,” she said. “Ooh, girl, I met this honey brown skinned brother at the library of all places. He was so cute. You know I was scoping out his ring finger like this.”

Carla bucked her eyes and tilted her head forward as if searching for something on the floor. I laughed and shook my head some more.

“Oh my God, you are so crazy. Do you think he can read or was he just there to scope out single desperate women?”

The smile on Carla’s face fell. “Oh, so you got jokes?”

I shrugged. “Actually, I was serious. Did he check out any books?”

Carla mused over it for a second. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t see him check out any books.”

I giggled some more.

“When I spotted him, he stood at attention with his hands behind his back looking my way.” Carla shrugged, and I laughed harder. “You’re being mean. What’s gotten into you today?”

“How am I being mean?”

“You just called me single and desperate, and I resent that. I’ll have you know you’re still single yourself. Might not be desperate but still.”

My giggles bubbled over. “Aww, don’t be like that.” I reached out and tugged at her cheek.

“Get off me,” she mumbled, swatting me away.

“Okay my mouth is closed. Finish telling me about your day,” I said.

“Long story short, he gave me his number. Told me to call him later.”

“So, are you?”

“Of course not, what I look like? You know I have to wait at least three days.”

“Really?” I said. “You’re doing the three days rule? That’s so high school.”

“How is that? Would you suggest I call later, looking like I had nothing better to do but sit around anxiously waiting to talk to him?”

I laughed and pulled into the school parking in my assigned spot. I flipped the visor down and checked my redberry colored lipstick in the mirror. The time read 5 p.m. School was over for the day, and Mrs. Rosenburg would be leaving within the hour.

“Thanks for sharing the highlights of your library trip. I look forward to the follow-up conversation.”

“Somehow, I feel like you’re trying to be funny again,” Carla said.

I was because I knew Carla would call before the night was over. We left the car and entered the school through the front door. There was a casual stroll in our steps, and after entering the office, Carla tapped lightly on Mrs. Rosenburg’s door.

“Come in please.”

Mrs. Rosenburg held up her hand, signaling for us to give her just a minute. The office was designed with a hideous floral print on the walls with every color of the rainbow while the furniture looked as if it had been made from the coat of a Zebra. As many times I had been in the office, there was no getting used to the style if you could call it that. Who in the world would take the time to pick out the patterns was beyond me.

“Just send them in an attachment before 6 p.m.,” she said into the phone. “I can’t wait for them any longer, yes, thank you.” She dropped the phone on its base and turned her attention to us.

“Ms. James, Ms. Summers, how are you ladies today?”

“We’re doing just fine,” I said.

“As I told you over the phone,” Carla said, “I need to put in some vacation time starting right now.”

Mrs. Rosenburg motioned for us to sit down. “Is everything okay?”

“I would like to take a leave of absence until this investigation is over. Working in the same environment with my offender is uncomfortable in more ways than one.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the full truth either. Really, being walked to the door because the drug test came back with marijuana in it was the last thing Carla could take. It would mock her even more, especially when she was sexually assaulted. She crossed her legs and sat back.

“I completely understand,” Mrs. Rosenburg replied. “Company policy does state that you need to give notice a week in advance to take a leave of absence. However, in this case, I’m going to go ahead and approve it. Besides, between the three of us,” Mrs. Rosenburg lowered her voice, “I never liked him anyway. I knew he would be one of the first ones to go. His comments about women are unacceptable, and I’m surprised he hasn’t been fired before now.”

Carla’s eyebrows shot up. “So you believe me then?”

Mrs. Rosenburg waved her off. “Of course, honey, every woman in this office believes you.”

“So, tell me what’s up with the theatrics. Why am I going through being investigated?”

“You know why, because the creep has to try and take you down with him by saying you do drugs. We’re not going to have a problem with that, are we?”

“Oh no, definitely not,” she lied again.

“Good, I’d hate to lose you. Good help is hard to find.”

Mrs. Rosenburg turned to her computer screen, her fingers pecking away at the keyboard. Two seconds later, her printer warmed up, and a piece of paper slid out.

“Fill out this form. Now, you have two weeks’ worth of vacation time to use, but this investigation will be over in a week, so how much time would you like to take?”

“I’ll take the full two weeks.”

“I don’t blame you,” Mrs. Rosenburg said. She set her sights on me. “How about you, Ms. Summers, do you need to take vacation time, too?”

“I put mine in this morning with Mr. McDonald.”

“Have you had a problem with Roger also?” Mrs. Rosenburg frowned.

“Not in the way that would warrant an investigation. Trust me, if it ever happens, you’ll be the first to know.” Besides Josiah. The thought skimmed across my mind so fast I almost let it pass me with no recognition of it. Why would I need to tell Josiah anything? Suddenly I felt a bit uneasy. I wasn’t the type of woman who got ahead of herself. I was open, honest, and agreeable most times. So, having that fleeting thought was unsettling.

“That’s good to hear. Keep me updated,” Mrs. Rosenburg said.

Carla continued to fill out her paperwork as I sat there trying to take my mind off Josiah.