~ 6

Chapter 6

~ Kesley ~

I stood in front of my bedroom mirror, practicing my interview smile for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Good morning, I'm Kesley Bellamy. Thank you so much for this opportunity."

Too eager.

"Hello, I'm Kesley Bellamy. I'm excited to discuss the Junior Data Analyst position."

Better, professional. 

I adjusted my blazer and checked my outfit again. Simple black pants, white blouse, navy blazer. Hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. Minimal makeup — just enough to look polished, nothing like the disaster from Friday night.

Monday morning. That's when my life would change. That's when I'd walk into SpecterTech and prove I belonged there.

I practiced my handshake in the mirror, extending my hand with confidence. Firm grip, eye contact, smile.

"I'm very interested in SpecterTech's innovative approach to…"

The front door burst open.

I jumped, spinning around as Taraji stumbled into my apartment. She looked terrible. Her eyes were red and swollen, mascara streaked down her cheeks, and her whole body was shaking.

"Taraji?" I rushed over to her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She just stood there, staring at me with this look of absolute horror. Then she grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"What did you DO?" she wailed.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Niklaus Specter! You said you dealt with him! You said he'd never want to see me again!"

My stomach dropped. "I... I did deal with him. I chewed gum like a maniac. I told him I smoked pot. I even…" I lowered my voice even though we were alone. "I threw sex advances at him in the middle of that fancy restaurant. Trust me, he was horrified."

That was a lie though, he actually almost took me to a hotel to ‘satisfy my cravings’, but I skipped that part when telling Taraji the details of the date, I thought it was unimportant and he may have been joking when he did that. 

"Then WHY…" Taraji's voice cracked. "WHY is he asking for a second date?!"

The words hit me like a physical blow. "What?"

"My father just called me." Taraji's tears started flowing again. "He was so happy, Kels. So excited. He said Niklaus Specter specifically requested another meeting with me. For Wednesday. This Wednesday!"

"No." I shook my head. "No, that's impossible. You should have seen his face when I…"

"I don't care what his face looked like! He wants to see me again!" Taraji collapsed onto my couch, burying her face in her hands. "Dad is already planning what I should wear. He's talking about the effect on our company if Niklaus marries me. He thinks Niklaus is really interested!"

I stood there frozen, my mind racing. This didn't make any sense. Niklaus had looked disgusted. He'd said "I think we're done here" in that cold, final voice. He'd only agreed to leave with me because I'd been so explicit about wanting sex.

And then, well the stupid remark about wanting to satisfy my cravings, and then he'd gotten that phone call and I'd run away and…

Oh God.

"Maybe..." I tried to think of an explanation. "Maybe he's just being polite? Maybe he told your dad he'd do one more date just to be nice?"

"NICE?" Taraji's head snapped up. "Kesley, the man is a billionaire CEO. He doesn't do things to be nice. He specifically requested Wednesday. He told my father he found me 'refreshingly different.'"

Refreshingly different. That's what he'd said about me. He'd found the chaos intriguing instead of repulsive.

"This is bad," I whispered.

"Bad? BAD?" Taraji stood up, wiping her eyes. "Kesley, I thought this was over. I thought I was free. Now Dad is going to be even more pushy because a man like Niklaus Specter wants a second date!"

"I don't understand. I did everything wrong. Everything!"

"Apparently you did everything right!" Taraji started pacing. "He's interested now."

My legs felt weak. I sat down on the couch. "This can't be happening."

Taraji stopped pacing and looked at me. Her expression changed from panic to something else. Something hopeful. She fluttered her eyelashes and gave me a small, pleading smile.

"You'll go on the date, right?"

My heart stopped. "WHAT?"

"The second date. Wednesday. You'll go, right?" Her voice got higher, more desperate. "Please, Kels. You have to."

"Are you INSANE?" I jumped up from the couch. "No! Absolutely not! Never!"

The word exploded out of me. I paced across my tiny apartment, my hands waving in the air like I was conducting an angry orchestra.

"There is NO WAY I'm going on a second date with that handsome, wealthy, thirty-year-old motherfucker!"

Taraji wiped her eyes, watching me like a scared puppy.

"Think about it, Taraji!" I spun around to face her. "He probably just wants you because he wants his company to partner with your family's textile empire. He wants to merge businesses or whatever rich people do. It's not about you… it's about money!"

Taraji shook her head weakly. "That doesn't make sense, Kels. There are tons of families way bigger and richer than mine in this city. If he wanted a business partnership, he could pick from dozens of better options."

"Maybe those richer families don't have daughters!" I countered, still pacing. "Or maybe their daughters are too ugly! Or… or maybe their daughters are too PRETTY and they don't want him!"

"That's ridiculous…"

"It's NOT ridiculous! It makes perfect sense!" I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink, my mind racing. "He's clearly using you for something. Business connections, social status, I don't know. But there's an angle here."

"Kels…"

"No! I refuse to believe that man wants a second date because he actually LIKED what happened Friday night. No one in their right mind would like that!"

Taraji stood up slowly, her tear-stained face looking absolutely miserable. Then, to my complete horror, she dropped to her knees.

"Taraji, what are you…"

"Please." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Please, Kesley. I'm begging you. On my knees. Literally begging."

"Get up!" I tried to pull her up, but she wouldn't budge.

"I can't face him, Kels. What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, sorry, I wasn't actually at our first date, that was my friend pretending to be me while smoking imaginary pot'?"

"Then be honest! Tell him the truth!"

"I CAN'T! My father would kill me!" Taraji grabbed my hands, still on her knees. "Please. Just one more date. Wednesday. That's three days away. You have Monday and Tuesday to recover from your interview. Please."

"I have an interview on MONDAY!" I pulled my hands away and started pacing again. "At SpecterTech! Where HE works! What if I see him? What if he recognizes me?"

"You won't see him…"

"You don't KNOW that!" I stopped pacing and stared at her. "Taraji, he's the CEO. What if he walks by during my interview? What if he decides to sit in on interviews that day? What if…"

"CEOs don't do that," Taraji interrupted, still on her knees. "They have assistants and HR people for interviews. You won't see him. I promise."

"You can't promise that!"

"But it's very unlikely…"

"UNLIKELY ISN'T IMPOSSIBLE!" I was shouting now. "God, Taraji, why are you doing this to me?"

She finally stood up, "You're my best friend. Best friends help eachother…please…."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm not going."

"I'll pay you double. Two thousand dollars."

My eyes snapped open. "What?"

"Two thousand dollars." Taraji pulled out her phone. "I'll transfer it right now. Before the date. Just... please."

For a second, I considered it. Two thousand dollars. That was a lot of money. I could get a new laptop and still have money left over.

But then reality crashed back.

"No." I shook my head firmly. "No amount of money is worth risking this interview. Do you understand? This is my CAREER, Taraji. My future. Everything I've worked for."

"But…"

"And besides," I continued, my voice getting higher, "Niklaus Specter is clearly a PSYCHO! What kind of man asks for a second date after THAT disaster? He's probably a pervert! He's probably attracted to wild, crazy women because he has some weird fetish!"

"Kels…"

"What kind of man hears 'I smoke pot with children around' and thinks 'Yes, I'd like more of that'? A CRAZY man, that's who!" I was on a roll now. "He's probably dangerous. Unstable. Maybe he collects crazy women like some people collect stamps!"

"You're being ridiculous…"

"I'M being ridiculous? HE'S the one who wants a second date!" I pointed at nothing in particular. "Any normal person would have run screaming. But no, not Niklaus Specter. He probably went home and thought, 'Wow, that was refreshing. I should see her again.'"

"Maybe he just likes confidence…"

"That wasn't confidence, that was INSANITY!" I threw my hands up. "And I'm not doing it again. I'm NOT, Taraji. You need to handle this yourself."

"How?" Taraji's voice cracked. "How am I supposed to handle it?"

"Just GO!" I grabbed her shoulders gently. "Go to the date on Wednesday. Be yourself. Be boring and normal and tell him you teach kids and like reading books and I don't know, collecting stamps or whatever normal people do!"

"But I'm not the person he met…"

"Exactly! So when he sees you're different, he'll lose interest and leave you alone!" I was practically pleading now. "Problem solved! You don't need me!"

"But what if he asks why I'm different…"

We both burst into laughter, then seized after realising this situation was actually not funny. 

Taraji started crying again.

"Please don't make me do this," I whispered, my own eyes getting wet.

"I need you."

"I need this job."

"I hate Niklaus Specter"

"I hate him too!!!"

We embraced each other, both of us crying, trying to console ourselves from this ridiculous situation.