Kenji made it to the high-end shops. He seen the café that Emma jean wanted to meet at. He sent her a message just outside the door. [I’m here. Do you want me to order for you?]
Emma Jean was just about to pay for the lingerie she had bought. Everything the woman had brought to her made her feel as if she were made of a million dollars. She ended up buying them all. Her phone buzzed. Figuring it was Kenji she pulled out her phone along with her credit card. Handing her card over to the cashier she read his message. [Just a green tea will be fine. And an orange scone.]
Kenji had just reached the front of the line when he seen her message. “A green tea with an orange scone. I’ll have a mocha Frappuccino.”
The young lady proceeded to ring up his order. “That will be twenty-five, thirteen.”
His face frowned at the cost for two drinks. He was about to say something when he remembered where he was. He took out the cash to hand to her. “Here you go.”
She pulled her wrist out of his grasp. She couldn’t help but laugh at his absurd remark. “Date you? The man that was going to ruin my daddy? Not a chance in hell.” “Wait, I never said I was going to ruin your father.” “Oh, you didn’t? please enlighten me.” She stood there glaring at him, daring him to continue. “I was going to get my revenge by ruining you and his legacy.” He stood up to talk to her. Emma Jean stepped back, he towered over her. “There’s nothing else you need to say. I’m leaving.” “Just listen to me. do you have any idea how expensive it is to go to your park? He didn’t just blackball me. He killed my dream. Of course, I wanted revenge on the man that did it. then I heard he died. I gave me a small amount of satisfaction but I wasn’t happy. I wanted him, you, to understand how it feels to have everything taken away from you. Do you get that?” He reached out grabbing her shoulders in a fit. “My family had to save up for a few ye
The light turned green and the man ran back to the sidewalk with gratitude. Emma Jean watched him, curious about why he did that. “Aren’t you worried that he will use it to buy drugs or alcohol?” Without missing a beat, he answered. “Not at all. What he does with it is his choice. I gave because I don’t know his story so it’s not my place to judge him.” She bit the bottom of her lip. Slowly she was coming to terms about the world she grew up in and the world around her. The two didn’t seem so far away anymore. Kenji kept glancing back at her to see how she was doing. He could see the wrinkle in her brow. A few minutes they arrived in front of brick building. It was a few stories high. Kenji got out of the car and went to open the door for Emma Jean. She looked at him skeptically. “Come with me.” “What is this place?” She looked around seeing the signs of wear on the building. Her first thoughts were to assume he wanted to hurt her. But a little kid ca
Mrs. Jackson turned around and hobbled out of the foyer. “Come on it’s time to prepare dinner. We’re gonna put you to work.” Emma jean followed behind her but could feel the eyes of the women on her. It felt as if they held animosity towards her. Kenji took that chance to try and slip out to play with the children. Mrs. Jackson was a smart woman. She called out to Kenji. “Come help lift these boxes for me. We have a lot to make. The men’s homeless shelter is having a hard time with funding. They barely have enough for food and supplies.” Hearing that Emma Jean wanted to do more for them. Kenji inwardly groaned, his plan to help both shelters was slipping through his fingers. He plastered on a smile. “Anything for you Mrs. Jackson. Put me to work.” Emma Jean and the other women were packed tightly in the modest kitchen. It wasn’t just the outside in shambles, the inside of the building showed it’s age. Something more should be done to help them outside of givi
Kenji had went searching for her, to find her in the living room on a call. He could only hear her side of the conversation but he already knew who it was she as on the phone with. He leaned against the door frame with his arms over his chest when he spoke to her. “Sounds like this was a good idea.” She turned to see him there, her hand went to her chest feeling how rapidly her heart was beating. “You scared me.” “Well, you did sneak off and haven’t helped in the kitchen.” “I wasn’t going to be gone for long.” “Yeah, but it would seem your call lasted longer than you thought it would. Did you mean what you said?” “You heard that? All if it?” “Just your side and only from when you said you wanted to open the park for free on the day of the gala.” “Sounds like you heard almost all of it.” “I didn’t if I’m being truthful. What made you decided to do that?” She scratched the back of her head. “Hearing how hard you’v
Emma Jean pretended to call for him to come back. “No, come back. We have work to do.” She laughed when he looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.The other women joined in on their laughter except the one that threatened her. She clicked her tongue and stormed off. Kenji went out to the backyard where the children were playing. It appeared they were in the middle of freeze tag. He announced his presence with a question. “So, who do I have to stay away from in order to win?”All the kids surrounded him giving him a big group hug. Alexia was the one to chime in and answer his question. “Yourself. Wouldn’t be fair if you ran from us. Come on lets all run from Kenji.” The soon ran off in different directions to keep him from freezing them in place. Kenji roared as he chased after them.Kieran had gotten Sam to take him to the location Emma Jean’s phone was resting at. He had all the information and documents that sh
Emma Jean knew she was right. Taking a deep breath she got in her social media account. There were tons of mean and spiteful comments. Many calling for the park to be shut down, others telling her to kill herself. It’s the first time in her life she ever felt hated by something she said. She was about to close out of her account when Kenji took her phone away from her.“You can do this.” He started a live feed pointing the camera at himself. He gave her a chance to calm down and get her bearings. “Listen up you trolls. Calling for someone to kill themselves for making an unconscious statement is just as bad if not worse than what Emma said. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Just as she didn’t know what other people went through doesn’t mean you know what she went through either.”People that started watching the feed were sending hateful remarks. Emma Jean didn’t want him to get gated on too. She took her phone away fr
“I’m Shannon. I take it you’re the brains of the whole operations? She doesn’t seem too bright.”Kieran didn’t like anyone to talk badly about Emma Jean but for a brief moment he liked the notion that he was considered the one in charge. “I’m just the assistant. And she is my best friend so you may want to watch what you say about her in front of me.”Shannon looked up at him with a sly smile. “Sure, I won’t say anything bad about her to your face.”“I’d much rather you not say anything bad about her at all.” He started to walk away from her but stopped. He turned around to hand her his card that he pulled out from his inner jacket pocket. “Call me when you can.” He took the opportunity to leave this time.Shannon held the card up in her hand as she gave him a salute. She turned her attentions back to Emma Jean and Kenji. As if she could feel eyes on her,
Shannon watched as Emma Jean headed out of the house, finally away from them and Kenji. She didn’t want to reveal herself to be his classmate just yet. It’s not like she was embarrassed of her current state, more so she would rather he not look upon her with pity. Kenji stayed at the shelter a little longer helping out with the kids.Kieran had waited for her out in the car with Sam. The two men sat in silence until Emma Jean emerged from the inside. Kieran watched as she walked towards them with her head held high. He had been going over their social media account since she did the apology video. The comments were favorable for the company. More people commented on how the two of them looked wonderful together. He hated those comments. Same exited the car to open the door for her. Kieran stayed rooted to his spot when she slides inside.“Kieran, did you finish getting everything prepared for the gala? Is there something else that needs to be done?&rd