The alluring aroma of cinnamon swirls around the air, illuminating the hint of pencil-on-paper as I finish my latest project.
I looked up from my computer, that was hot from the many hours I was working on it, to only see my college friend and boss Ximena Vasilios standing in the doorway of my office. She shook her head lightly as she walked over towards me.
She was the definition of beauty and brains. With long tanned legs, shiny blonde hair, and light green eyes, she got tons of requests from modeling agencies when we were in college and even after we graduated.
They stopped sending her requests when they noticed that she was totally not interested in becoming a model, instead she chose the path of business.
"Is that cinnamon roll?" I asked, pointing at the brown paper bag that she was holding.
The smell of cinnamon was so strong that there's no doubt that it wasn't a cinnamon roll.
"Dammit, how did you know?" she asked defeated, handing me the brown paper bag and cup with coffee.
"Hot, black, and sweet?" I queried referring to the cup of coffee she just handed me.
"Hot, black, and sweet." she repeated with a chuckle, as she took a seat in front of me.
She knows me so well.
I opened the brown plastic bag and couldn't help but inhale the smell of fresh cinnamon.
It smelled so good, just like the good old times in Barcelona.
I shook my head.
Now is not the time to think about Barcelona. I let out a deep sigh.
"You don't need to overwork yourself, you know that right?" Ximena said, taking a bite of her doughnut, leaving trails of sugar behind on her upper lip.
"I'm just doing my job Ximmy." I replied with a smile, as I took a sip of my coffee.
Delicious and refreshing.
"I know, but you don't have to skip lunch time." She said, rolling her eyes at me.
"I don't skip lunch time."
"Well, I don't want you to eat in front of your computer. Go outside, get some fresh air, be healthy." she lectured. She reminded me of my Aunt Lydia. Aunt Lydia never like the idea of me being behind the computer for several hours to finish an assignment for school. But there wasn’t anything I could do. The only way I could get scholarships was if I was a straight A student.
"You sound like my aunt Lydia." I laughed.
"I don't care, bytheway how's your aunt Lydia doing?"
"She's doing really well."
"And what about Milan?" Ximena asked.
"Milan is turning six next month."
"Are you going to his birthday party?"
I nodded my head. "Yes, I don't have a choice; I missed his birthday for the past two years."
"Sweet, bytheway my brother is coming back in town today."
"Flynn?" I asked, even though I knew she only had one brother.
"Yes, I will ask him if I can borrow his yacht for the weekend, we will have so much fun!"
"Why was he out of town?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, because his girlfriend was pregnant and she gave birth a week ago. Strange that he's coming back so soon." Ximena noticed frowning. "But then again we haven't seen him since Christmas last year. I think he will just stay for a while and then go back to his wife and baby."
I shrugged; I didn't really care about her brother. He was bad news.
Flynn Vasilios, the CEO of Vasilios Global Real estate, a multi-billion company. He was known for as a womanizer, as well as the hottest CEO of America and Europe. With a perfect sculpted jawline, chiseled facial features, blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes, he was the dream man of every woman. I only saw him once. That was on the day me and Ximena graduated. I saw him from afar and he was handsome. God definitely took his time on him.
"I'm surprised that my brother is here." Ximena had said.
"Why?" I questioned.
"He's always so busy; I didn't think he would make time for this."
..........
We were busy talking and finishing our lunch when someone just barged into my office.
Flynn Vasilios.
Speaking of the devil, he shall appear.
And he looked pretty nice too.
Dressed in a dark blue Armani suit, Jimmy Choo shoes, and a Rolex watch, he looked handsome and rich at the same time.
His hair was tousled, his lips were in a thin line, and he was glaring angrily at me. I frowned in confusion at him. He has no right to glare at me in my office.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he barked, looking viciously at me.
I was taken-aback by his sudden outburst, that I accidentally spilled my coffee on my desk.
"Fuck!" I cursed as I look at the mess I made.
I opened the first drawer on my desk to grab some tissues.
"Flynn!" Ximena yelled, also infuriated by Flynn's sudden outburst.
"Don't talk to my employee like that!"
"She's your employee?" he asked bewildered, his eyes following the movements I made. I could feel his eyes burning holes in my skin. From close up he looked vaguely familiar, but I just can't remember where I saw him before except for that time at graduation. There I saw him from afar.
"Yes! And I don't tolerate you talking to my employee and friend like that!" Ximena stood up, tapping angrily with her heels on the white tiles, waiting for Flynn to apologize.
"I'm sorry." he apologized, crossing his arms tightly on his chest. His apology didn't sound sincere, but rather something than nothing.
"I thought you were someone else."
"You saw her on graduation, Flynn." Ximena reminded him with a heavy sigh.
"Really?" he asked surprised. "Sorry, can't remember."
I rolled my eyes at him. Of Course he can't. He only remembers models and actresses.
"How's the baby doing?" Ximena asked curiously. "Can I see a picture?"
Flynn's face became dreary when Ximena asked that question.
He let out a bitter laugh. "Baby?" he simpered. "There's no baby."
"W-what do you mean there's no baby? D-did something happen?" Ximena stuttered, staring at her brother with wide eyes. Even I looked at him agape. What did he mean?
"Don't look at me like that!" he huffed at the sight of his sister facial expression. "And you woman, what is your name again? Close your mouth."
I closed my mouth immediately and glared at him. "I'm just curious." I muttered resentful.
"Well, curiosity kills the cat, ever heard of that---,"
Ximena interrupted her brother by clearing her throat loudly. "I want to know what happened to the baby, Flynn. Am I an aunt or not?" she asked, crossing her arms tightly over her chest, tilting one hip, and giving him a raised eyebrow.
"Of course," he said the irritation clear in his voice. "And no, you're not an aunt, because the baby was not mine to begin with!"
Because I knew this meant taking another step for Clint and me.A step I felt we’d both been ready for.“You want to rehearse?”I peeked over at Michael. “What?”He snickered. “Rehearse. You know, what you’re going to say to him tonight.”I shrugged. “Nah. I’m good. I usually wing it with stuff like this.”“You’re going to wing it when it comes to telling Clint how you feel for the very first time>”“I mean, I usually wing it with my English speeches and I do just fine with those.”He paused. “You didn’t plan out that speech you gave last year?”I shook my head. “Nope.”“That massive speech you gave on 1984 sort of applying today.”“Are you not hearing me right? Clean out your ears, Michael.”He chuckled. “Holy shit, you’re amazing. You know that?”I smiled. “And I hope that’s one of Clint’s many reactions tonight.”“If it isn’t, I’ll kick his ass for you.”“Michael!”“What? Come on, Rae. I see how happy he makes you. I see how much this boy means to you. And if he doesn't love you o
And I decided she would be. If she knew what was happening right now, she’d be proud. Possibly screaming at me like Cecilia currently was. But she’d be proud after the fact.Not today, Dad. You’re done with this shit today.The only thing I processed was the smell of alcohol. The only thing I felt was my father’s storm unleashing against me. He held so much anger within him. He had such fury in his fists. The only thing I saw were his angry eyes coming at me as I shoved him in his chest, listening as Cecilia screamed in the background.“Stop it! I’m calling the police if you don’t cut it out right now!”Her voice faded away. Fell into the background as I moved and ducked my father. Whatever this storm brewed from, I wasn’t going to be my father’s punching bag any longer. If he wanted a fight, a fight is what he’d get. And I’d make sure to repay him for every fist that ever connected with my face. I’d repay him for every bruise he ever wrung around my neck. I’d repay him for every knee
I felt myself blush. “Okay, yes. We are officially together. So, yeah. We’re going to prom together.”“You still don’t sound too sure of that. Is everything going okay with his recuperation?”I shrugged. “I mean, he’s always struggling with his dad. Which I’m sure is affecting his recuperation efforts. But he’s okay. Far as I can tell.”“I’d like to get his dad in a room for a few minutes.”I scoffed. “Wouldn't we all.”“So, how are the two of you? You know, now that he’s on the mend?”I felt myself blush deeper. “I guess we’re good.”“You guess, huh?”“You’re a dick, you know that?”He chuckled. “Maybe a bit. Can I ask you something, though?”“Of course. I mean, you have to spit it out soon because I only have one more minute, but—”“Do you love him?”The question didn’t catch me as off-guard as I figured it would. In fact, it was easy to answer. I bit down onto the inside of my cheek as I turned to face Michael. And with a nod of my head, I answered his question.“Yeah. I really thi
I stopped for one last breather a couple of blocks away from my house. I watched it looming in the distance, sparkling underneath the harshness of the sun. Sweat dripped down my back as I sighed. I watched the off-colored white glisten against the deep red shutters of the house. During the entirety of my childhood, I remembered that house in three distinct ways. Three different sets of colors that all popped more than the houses around it. Maybe it was the fresh coats of paint put on it every year that kept the house lively. Maybe it was the fact that it was the biggest house on the block. Or, maybe, it was the fact that we had the only house with a wrap-around porch as well as a wrought iron front gate that was barely utilized.Either way, it stood out.I picked up the pace. I went from standing still to walking. To speed walking. To jogging. I burst into a sprint, pumping air through my lungs and feeling them expand into my back. I felt the last pangs from my ribcage fall free, rele
“What? I mean, seriously. Come on. Your dad can’t actually think any of this was your fault. They almost killed you. They were drunk, from what I could gather from that night. They should be rotting away in jail. Or juvie. Or something.”I shrugged. “My father pretty much showed his ass in that office. Said things like I needed to be focusing on school instead of chasing down four guys I’d provoked.”Aly’s jaw dropped open. “What!?”“He also said I’d been a problem child my whole life. Essentially tried to paint me as some bad boy trying to get the one-up on someone before they got the one-up on me. He told the lawyer that he didn’t see those boys pressing assault charges on me when I started the fight. So why should I press attempted murder charges on them simply because they were seeking out revenge like most young boys do?”Mike’s face turned red. “Is it always like this with your father?”I sighed. “I mean, let’s just say I’ve talked a big game in the past with bruises I’ve come t
I snickered. “Which is apparently not very good. I know something’s wrong. Do you want to talk about it?”Clint dropped his bag. “Just—that shit with the lawyer yesterday.”I nodded. “What happened?”He leaned against the brick wall of the school. “Dad’s back in town.”“Oh, no.”“Oh, yeah. I told Cecilia time and time again not to tell Dad about the fucking lawyer. And of course, she didn’t listen. She’s awesome, but she never fucking listens. It’s like she thinks Dad’s actually gonna be this decent-as-fuck person one of these days. Then she gets shocked and hurt and scared when he loses his shit. She’s been married to him for four years! The fuck is she thinking!?”I placed my hands against his chest. “Deep breaths. Come on, take them with me. There we go.”I walked Clint through some even breathing. He was shaking against my hands, and I needed him to settle down. That explained everything. With his father back in town, shit always popped off. I smoothed my hands over his torso, try