Chapter Twenty-One
“Here you go, Knoah. One caramel macchiato.” The barista set my coffee down. It smelled heavenly. There was something inherently divine about roasted coffee beans.
I glanced up from my cookbook. “Thank you, Marlena.”
“Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will.”
At the café on the first floor, I waited for Hastings to arrive for our lunch date and browsed recipes. Anything to distract me from waiting to hear if Sawyer’s parents had accepted Garrick’s offer. It expired today. I let out a deep breath, hoping they’d taken it.
In two days, Thanksgiving would be here. I wanted to try a few new pie recipes to take to Suzette’s.
I glanced at the time; there were still a few minutes until Hastings was due from his meeting with Garrick. Since returning from our honeymoon, I primarily stayed at Shaw Towers but ventured down to the deli each day for lunch with someone new: Mom and Dad, Kurt, Sawyer, Evelyn and Ricardo, Suzette and Henry, Garrick’s sisters. It was nice and broke up the monotony of the day.
Enrique arrived for his shift at the café and waved to me. Through my daily treks down here, I got to know more about the baristas. I already knew most of them except Marlena, who was new. She was exotic with her purple contacts and black hair with white streaks in it. Probably in her early forties. Her gothic makeup gave her an edgy look. Her deep hollow cheeks added to the mystery. I liked her. From our talks, she was newly divorced with a six-year-old. She’d started working again as a barista.
“Hey, jailbird. Mom and Dad said your prison guard was allowing you time off to play each day.” Hastings unbuttoned his jacket and sat, a playful smirk on his lips.
I rolled my eyes. “Garrick’s not here to get worked up.”
“I know. Don’t worry. I did a good job of that prior to leaving our meeting.”
I tilted my head. “I’m not afraid of being a tattletale. I don’t think Dad would appreciate you getting me worked up.”
“You wouldn’t. That’s breaking the code.” Amusement danced in his eyes.
Folding my arms across my chest, I responded, “Oh, I totally would.”
“Brat.”
The serious atmosphere melted away as we laughed. It was nice getting to know Hastings. From the time we met, I had misjudged him and his parents. They were good people despite being part of the mob.
Marlena approached, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked down, keeping her eyes from making contact with Hastings. That was odd. He was a good-looking guy with an edge of danger to him. “Good afternoon. May I take your order?”
I loved her southern drawl. She sounded as if she originated from Georgia.
“Black coffee, one sugar, please.” Hastings looked at me. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes. I’ll have the American Classic Burger.”
Marlena wrote it down and gestured to Hastings, who said, “Make that two. Sounds good.”
“I’ll get that right away.” She turned and scurried away. Earlier this week she’d mentioned how hard it had been to be around men again. From the clues she gave, I believed she had been abused by her ex-husband.
“Married life seems to be treating you right,” Hastings said.
“It is. I feel…settled. Kind of hard to describe.” Although I wasn’t exactly where I imagined I would be, I was in love.
He watched me for a second. “I get it. Garrick seems like a truly changed man.”
People had mentioned that before, but it was hard for me to understand since he’d always been this way with me. “It’s hard for me to imagine him any different.”
“I guess so. You knew about his excessive working, though. Everything was business except his family.”
Marlena set his coffee down. “Burgers will be out momentarily.”
“Thanks,” we responded in unison.
Hastings took a sip of his coffee, making an appreciative grunt.
Storing my cookbook in my bag, I said, “So, personal question...”
“Shoot.”
From the first time we talked, Hastings had seemed opened to questions. If I’d wanted to know more about his world, he would have told me, but he respected my wishes. So far, the separation of the two worlds was working. I had a relationship with my biological family. It was unbelievable. Love had found me twice, again.
“Did you love Mickey?”
“No. I cared for her, but didn’t love her.”
That seemed like a truthful response. When all this first surfaced, Hastings had appeared more angry that she’d betrayed me rather than upset at not seeing her any longer.
As we spoke, our burgers were placed in front of us. I was ravenous, and I took a bite. “This is delicious.”
“It is.”
After taking a drink, I asked, “Have you had any contact with her at all?”
“Not since I stopped by her office. She was nervous, but I thought I might have had a shot to get back in her good graces. Then the next morning, she was gone. She’s sending my calls to voice mail.”
And now she resided in Navarro’s office complex. Garrick said she’d literally moved out overnight even though her lease wasn’t up until the next day.
Speak of the devil. I froze with my burger halfway to my mouth as Mickey walked across the lobby over to security. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you…oh hell, Knoah, that’s a bad idea.”
I was already out of my chair and a few steps away. “Security is everywhere. This may be my only shot.”
Inside I shook, with nerves. But I knew Mickey could be the key to figuring out Navarro’s end objective.
She handed over her keys and turned around, nearly jumping when she saw me. “Knoah, you scared the shit out of me.”
She looked tired and stressed. I guessed making a deal with the devil could do that. “Sorry, I was eating lunch at the café and wanted to say hello. I heard you’re moving offices.”
Her eyes shot over my shoulder, and I glanced back to see Hastings moseying our way. “Are you with…?”
“Who, Hastings? No, he’s my brother. Garrick and I were married ten days ago.”
Her eyes went wide. “Wait. I thought—”
Hastings stepped up beside her. “Hello, Mickey. I forgot you worked with my sister.”
“Umm…yes. Knoah and I worked together for a few years. She never mentioned it.”
“It’s a long story. Anyways, it’s good to see you again. I hope all is well. Give my best to Chelsie.”
Relaxing slightly, she gave me a tight smile. “I will. Congratulations.”
In a sudden rush, Mickey dashed past us.
“Go after her, Hastings. This may be your only shot.”
“Be right back.”