Exposed (Free Falling) (14 page)

I sighed and let the reality of what Mr. Tanaka and my father were offering me sink in.  My salary would more than double, the housing allowance would cover our living expenses for the first year in the city, and the bonus was big enough to buy my Bentl
ey…
twice. 
But more than the money, this promotion was an opportunity to hold an executive position like I’d always wanted within my father’s company – an opportunity I thought I’d lost out on when things went south when he messed things up all those years back.  This opportunity was a chance to have the life I was
supposed
to have back.  But was it okay to tell Kira all of that?  Would it sound selfish that I wanted this so bad?  She’d have to walk away from her dream to follow me while I chased mine.

“What’re you thinking?”  She asked.  “I mean…honestly.”

I organized my thoughts before speaking.  “Based solely on what this would mean for my career…it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

She weighed my words and placed her hands on her hips when she leaned against the wall to think.  Her expression was tense while she appeared to be having an internal conversation that she hadn’t decided to make me privy to just yet.  When she sighed hard and looked up at me again, she nodded.  “Take it.”

My heart sped up.  “But what about the magazine?  What about –“

“AJ…take it.  I can see if the magazine will let me work remotely.  I can set up an office in our home there and maybe commute every now and then when they need me to.”  She nodded again, seemingly more sure this time.  “Take it.”

It felt like my head was going to explode from all the excitement and uncertainty.  When I stood, Kira smiled.  “Are you sure?  I was serious about turning it down if you didn’t want to leave.”  I kissed her cheek once and then her lips.  Her smile grew.

“How could I ask you to turn down an opportunity this big?  Regardless of what my dad thinks,
Arata belongs to your father…and to you.”  She fixed the collar of my dress shirt and then my tie.  “And as your fiancé, I support you one hundred percent.”

I kissed her again.  “Thank you, Kira…just…thank you.”  Our lips touched one more time and
then she giggled when I rained kisses against the side of her neck.

“You’re
gonna be a great boss
and
a great husband, Mr. Hahn,” she added with a smile.

She held my gaze when I pulled away and looked over the doll-like details of her face.  Sweeping the few loose st
rands of hair aside, I marveled at the strength and selflessness that Kira possessed. 

“You’re amazing.  You know that?”  I kissed her forehead and her eyes drifted closed. 

Without words, I led her up to our bedroom and made love to her for the rest of the afternoon, celebrating not only my new job, but also celebrating
us. 
Deep down, I believed that once we made this move and got settled in, we’d only grow stronger together.  Nothing was powerful enough to tear us apart. 
Nothing

C
hapte
r
S
even

Sam

“You seem…lighter?” Dr. Gill said with a smile.  “That’s the only word I can think of that fits.  I mean…look at you!  You’re smiling and…
happy
,” she added.  “I take it this past weekend went well.  Tell me about it.”

I didn’t even know where to start.  “Well…the wedding was beautiful.  I think it did me some good to be around my old friends like that.  I hadn’t seen Terrell and Maisha in nearly a year.”

She nodded, waiting for me to continue.

“The change of scenery was nice, too,” was all I added.

Dr. Gill shot me a look and then shook her head with a smile.  “There was a truce I recall needing to be made.  How’d
that
go?  Or did you decide against it?”

I lowered my head, smiling to myself as I fidgeted with my nail
s.  My thoughts drifted back to AJ, mostly our moment on the dance floor, but also the way he’d dismissed the drama between us with that one short statement that he made while we stood outside the hotel gift shop.

“I’m good. 
We’re
good.”

D
r. Gill’s face lit up.  “Good?  So you
did
do it.”

I looked up at her for a moment, honestly feeling embarrassed that I couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of AJ.  But, my god, the butterflies that man could still give me…

“I didn’t have to.  He beat me to it,” I admitted.  “Maybe I’m giving myself too much credit.  I think I would’ve chickened out actually,” I said with a laugh.

She continued to observe the changes that she saw in me from the
previous
Wednesday. 

“Well, I think that’s amazing.  You look ten
times more at ease than I’ve ever seen you.  Seriously.”

I didn’t know what to say, mostly because I didn’t know how I felt about AJ being the only factor that had changed between then and now.

“So, what’s going on with Angel’s move?  How many days left until you’re on your own?”

“When Jason and I got back in town Sunday night she was basically all packed up,” I smiled, feeling genuinely happy for my cousin and the love that she’d found.  “She spent the weekend making some aesthetic c
hanges to her boyfriends’ place and she says she’ll be completely moved in by this coming Saturday!”

Dr. Gill nodded.  “And I must say
, you really do seem like you’re going to be okay with this.”

I thought about her statement and agreed.  “I am.  I’m turning her bedroom into a studio so I can start painting again.”

“I think that’s an excellent idea!”  Dr. Gill chimed in. 

I nodded in agreement.

“So, I take it that this means you’ve made your final decision about taking Jason up on his offer?”

I let out a sigh and honestly felt somewhat guilty for being so set in my ways on this one, but I couldn’t deny that the idea of moving in with him just wasn’t what I
wanted.  It had absolutely nothing to do with him or my
feelings
for him; it was just simply that I wasn’t ready. 

With a hint of a smile, I answered Dr. Gill’s question.  “I have, and I’m looking forward to being on my own.”

She smiled at that.

W
hen my session was over, I hailed a cab as usual, and answered my mother’s phone call without even having to look at the ID.

“Hey, Ma.”

“So…how was it?” she replied.

I smiled. 
“Fine.  Actually,
better
than fine.”

“Really?
  You
sound
good.”

I
climbed inside the cab while I answered.  “I think it’s just this beautiful weather we’ve been having,” I lied, knowing that there were other factors contributing to my good mood.  Looking up at the mostly clear sky through the open window, I smiled.

“Are you headed back to work?” She asked.

“Yep.  I’m on my way there as we speak.”

“Well, I won’t hold you up.
Just wanted to hear your voice.  I miss you,” she added, causing my smile to widen.

“Miss you too,” I said back, trying to calculate how long it’d been since I’d seen her and Daddy.  If my memory served correctly, they were here in the city roughly six months ago.

“When do you think you’ll come visit again?” she asked.  “Here in Virginia?”

That
question made my stomach drop and I didn’t respond.

I think it was
at that exact moment that my mother recalled the same memory that came into
my
mind.  “No rush,” she amended.  “I was just thinking it’d be nice if you dropped in.”

There was silence between us for a while. 
“Yeah…we’ll see,” was all I said in return.

The last time I came into town
, right around the time Jason and I met two years ago, I ran into Antonio’s mother, Mrs. Martin, at the grocery store while I picked up a few things my mother needed.  It took me the entire weekend to recover from the conversation that took place – the one where she accused me of everything from setting Antonio up or provoking him, to arranging to have him beaten up afterward.

“Don’t worry about it,” my mother said sweetly, almost sounding like she felt guilty for bringing it up.  “We’ll try to make it out there sometime this summer. 
Whenever your father is able to take off.  Sound good?”

I nodded like she could see me, still thinking about my last visit to Fairfax.  “Sounds good,” I said back.

As soon as the call ended, the driver stopped in front of my office building.  I paid him and added a tip before stepping out onto the sidewalk.  When I did, I stopped cold in my tracks.  Right there, out in plain sight, was Jason.  I closed the door to the cab behind me and watched as he smiled and placed something in the hand of a woman that I was pretty sure I recognized as our waitress from the lounge we visited the week before.  Curious as to how this would play out, I folded my arms over my chest and just observed.

Jason smiled
a bit at the girl again and I recalled the way she’d flirted with him right in my face before.  Flipping her hair behind her shoulder, she looked him over from head to toe when he walked away.  He was nearly all the way to me when he noticed that I was standing there.

“Oh, hey babe,” he said sweetly, placing a kiss on my cheek when he did.

“Hey,” I replied dryly, not returning his hug.

He stepped off and walked toward the building, holding the door open for me.  When I didn’t move, he let it go.  “What’s up?”

I looked him in his eyes and cocked my head to the side.  “Tell me I didn’t just see you give that girl your business card.  That was the waitress from the other night, right?”

Jason smiled and lowered his head.  “It was.  And what you saw was me networking.”

I folded my arms over my chest and kept my eyes trained on him.  “Networking, huh?”

His smile turned into laughter.  “Babe…I just ran into her and she mentioned that she’s on her way to meet her sister.  They’re looking for a condo together.  I ga
ve her my card so I can help.  Make a little cash?  That
is
what I do for a living, you know,” he added, trying not to laugh again.

He stared, still smiling, waiting for me to get my emotions in check.  When he saw my expression soften, he leaned in and kissed me.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you get jealous,” he added, pulling me in by my waist even though I wasn’t responding to him physically.  Once I realized that I’d overreacted, I leaned into him a little. 

Jason let me go and went to reopen the door to our office building, trying to hold in his laugh.  We stood at the elevator and I gripped his hand when he laced his fingers with mine.  Silently, we rode to my floor and he kissed me one last time before I took off, headed for my desk.

Once I read through the three email
s that I missed while I was out, I sat back and stared out the window while chatter and the regular commotion of the office went on around my cubicle.  Laughing a little, I couldn’t believe I’d jumped to conclusions with Jason a short time ago.  Knowing he’d reached his desk by this point, I dialed his extension.  When he picked up, I tapped my pen against the surface of my desk.

“Jason
Fenelus,” he answered.

“
Soooo…I know a girl who needs to apologize to her man for thinking he was flirting with another girl.  What you think he’d say if she said she was sorry?” I asked coyly.

I could hear him laugh quietly through the phone.  “I think he’d tell his woman that she doesn’t have to apologize, but to take a look in the mirror and ask
herself if she really think’s he’d cheat on someone as beautiful as her.”

I blushed and tried not to grin.  “You accept then?”

“I let it go while we were out on the sidewalk,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone

“That’s why I love you.”

He laughed again.  “And here I was thinking you were with me for my good looks.”

I rolled my eyes and sh
ook my head.  When someone stepped into his office talking business, I slipped off the phone with a rushed “bye” and then got back to work.

There was a stack of paper on my desk that I couldn’t even see over, fabric samples awaiting my approval, and the light on my phone was flashing that I had new voicemail. 
Even all
that
wasn’t enough to dampen my mood.  Dr. Gill was right; I
did
feel different.  I hadn’t realized how heavy it’d been weighing on me that so much negativity still lingered between me and AJ until after it’d disappeared.  Well…
practically
disappeared.  We didn’t talk through any of the issues, but he kind of forgave me.  And that was huge.

I got my second wind and breezed through the paperwork and was out of the office by five on the dot.  A little more tired than usual, I dragged myself inside to the apartment, finding Angel sprawled out on the couch looking like she’d just finished running a marathon.