Secret Liaisons (3 page)

Chapter Five

Mona felt like celebrating. She sent messages to Charlotte and Kem, but they both had previous engagements so they weren't available to celebrate with her tonight.

Terrance called and shared with her that he was working from home the remainder of the day. Mona, a little disappointed about not having anyone to share her good news with, opened the web browser on her laptop.

“I'm tired of being by myself,” Mona said out loud as she typed in the words, “www.2ofakind.com.”

The website pulled up. Mona created a profile. She contemplated on a user name. She typed in the word, “Raven.” Raven captured her vibrant personality and it kept her real name anonymous until she felt comfortable revealing her real name to any prospective dates.

Filling out the profile wasn't as quick and simple as Mona thought it would be. Some of the questions delved into her psyche. She felt like she was back in school writing a thesis as she answered the questions. One question asked, “How do you feel about commitment?”

She typed, “I am looking for total commitment from a man. He should be loyal and trustworthy. If he's not ready to make a full commitment, then I am not the woman for him. I am not looking for a booty call. I want a man who is willing to take the time to get to know me. A man who I can build a future with.”

Some of the questions only required her to hit the agree or disagree button. She laughed out loud when she read the statement, “Couples do not need to have a passionate sex life to be happy.” Right next to the statement there were two boxes: Agree or Disagree. She wished there were several disagreement buttons for it. Passion was a necessity.

She had to choose six words to describe her personality. She chose the words, vibrant, easy-going, kind, honest, hard-working, and a good sense of humor.

It took her two hours to finish her profile. The dating site didn't require her to upload any photos. It wanted to match couples based on the data they entered. Mona hit the save button. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly four in the afternoon. Hopefully, by the time she made it home, the site would have sent her a few matches to check out.

Terrance decided not to return to the office after the luncheon. Lately, being around Mona had his hormones jumping all over the place. He'd been disciplined in that area for so long so this new feeling caught him by surprise.

With Mona's new revelation that she was the writer of the script that he wanted to pitch to the networks, he definitely needed to get his mind refocused. As soon as he got to his two-story home in Baldwin Hills, he headed to his den and turned on the computer.

He was on a mission to find a woman. He created a profile on the 2-Of-A-Kind dating site. Some of the questions seemed a little too personal but if he wanted to find his right matches; he answered them as truthfully as he could.

One of the questions asked him how he felt about keeping secrets. He responded, “There should be no secrets between me and the person I'm with. Trust and loyalty are two important qualities that I must have with any woman I plan to commit to.”

Terrance thought back to his college sweetheart, Nikki Reed. To his mother's dismay, he broke it off with Nikki when he found out she'd been secretly dating his best friend. He also found out that Nikki was only with him because he came from an affluent family and she liked the perks of being Terrance's girl friend.

His desire to be with one woman was halted by not just Nikki but other women he would meet over the years. Those women were more impressed with his bank account or his occupation than him. He felt it safe to date multiple women because he didn't want to fall in love again with a woman and be hurt the way Nikki hurt him all those years ago.

Terrance had every intention of proposing to Nikki. He stopped by to surprise her with a ring but was the one who got surprised when he found her straddling Doug White, his best friend since elementary school.

That day not only ended their relationship but his lifelong friendship with Doug. He never told his mom the real reason he broke things off with Nikki. Nikki lied about who her parents were. She lied about a lot of things. He could have gotten past those things but she lied about loving him.

He hadn't been in a committed relationship since Nikki. He felt it was time to change that. Terrance completed the profile questions. He emphasized via his answers that some of the traits for a potential partner must include, compassion, honesty and someone ready to make a full commitment.

He hit the save button. Hoping that the last few hours he spent filling out the profile would result in him finding his soul mate or at the very least, an interesting date.

Chapter Six

Mona curled up on the couch and logged on to her 2-Of-A-Kind profile. The computer icon blinked indicating there were several matches. She opened each profile match. She was a little disappointed when none of the matches were with men who lived nearby. Most of them were located either on the east coast or in the south. She contemplated on whether to update the location requirement for her ideal mate, but didn't want to limit herself. It was possible her soul mate lived elsewhere, so she vowed to have an open mind.

She was about to log off when her computer beeped. The site indicated that there was an incoming match. The name on the profile said, Falcon. She smiled when she saw that this match was from someone who lived in the Los Angeles area. She read Falcon's profile word for word. On paper, the man seemed perfect for her. At the end of his profile, there was an option to send a personal message.

Mona typed, “Your profile caught my attention. I wanted to make sure I reached out to you to show my interest.”

Falcon responded immediately, “Thanks for reaching out. After reading your profile, I'm curious to find out how compatible we really are.”

Mona, excited and surprised by his quick response, typed, “There's only one way to find out.”

Falcon responded, “Why did you choose the profile name Raven?”

“It describes my independent personality. I bring light with me when I enter a room,” Mona typed.

“That means you have a good aura,” Falcon responded.

“What about you? Why Falcon?”

Mona clicked on Falcon's reply. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes,” Mona typed.

“Because Falcon is the first African-American super hero from the comics I read as a child. It also describes me because as an African-American man, I've had many obstacles to overcome in order to succeed in life. I think I can soar as high as a Falcon when I put my mind to it.” He ended his statement with a smiley face.

“I like your attitude,” Mona typed.

Mona and Falcon chatted back and forth on the computer during the course of the next hour. They talked about their favorite music artists and movies. They disagreed on which Friday movie was the funniest.

Mona yawned. She glanced down at the bottom right hand side of her laptop and noticed the time. It was after eleven. She was sleepy but didn't want to end the conversation.

She typed, “I hate to go, but I have a boss who can be demanding so I need to get my rest.”

Falcon responded, “If I'm not being too forward, what's your email address? I would like to continue chatting throughout the day.”

Mona wasn't sure she was ready to give him her personal email. “We can chat. I'll make sure I stay logged in so I won't miss your messages.”

“I understand. Look to hear from me tomorrow. Good night,” Falcon responded.

“Good night.” Mona typed and placed a smiley face at the end.

She logged off the dating site and got ready for bed. She went to bed hopeful that she'd made a connection.

Terrance smiled as he logged off his computer. Raven seemed like a nice woman. Based on the way she answered her questions on her profile, she was the ideal woman for him. He enjoyed the playful banter they exchanged online. She seemed diverse on a variety of subjects. One of the things he really liked was that she enjoyed his love of the arts.

He found himself trying to visualize how she looked. The only downfall to the site is that there were no pictures included with the profiles. He started to ask her for one but knew if he did, he would have to present one of his pictures to her. Although he wasn't an actor, his face was well known due to the success of the movies he produced.

He wasn't conceited but also knew that he was an attractive man and due to his numerous dates with beautiful women in all forms of entertainment, his pictures, along with theirs seemed to always make the gossip blog sites.

Keeping his anonymity for now was very important. He needed to make sure the woman on the other end of the computer cared about what was on the inside of him verses what she'd read about him.

When the computer came back with the matches, he read them all but the one with the name Raven caught his attention more than the others. While the others came back with no lower than eighty-five percent match, Raven's match came back as a ninety percent match.

Before he could respond to her, she'd messaged him. He went to bed thinking about Raven. She was nice, but he'd already found the woman he wanted.

He just wished he could do something about it.

He drifted off to sleep with Mona heavily on his mind.

Chapter Seven

Mona's ride into the office took longer than usual due to an early morning accident but it didn't mar her attitude. The good mood she was in after chatting with Falcon the night before lingered into daylight.

Terrance hadn't made it into the office yet, so Mona got behind her computer and logged on to her 2-Of-A-Kind account. Her smile turned into a frown. Her inbox was empty. She'd hoped that she would have heard from Falcon by now, but she reminded herself that it was still early. It wasn't even nine o'clock.

She minimized the browser on her computer screen. Mona went through her normal morning routine of making sure hot coffee brewed for Terrance. Afterwards, she scanned through the emails and voicemails. She responded to most of the messages in her inbox. There were a few requiring Terrance's attention. She forwarded him those and made a note to tell him about it.

The sound of Mona's cell phone ringing broke her momentum. Charlotte's name showed on the display. Mona had barely spoken when she heard Charlotte say, “Why am I the last person to find out that your script was chosen by Terrance for his pitching session?”

“I was going to tell you but I know Terrance is one of your clients, so I didn't want there to be any sort of conflict,” Mona confessed.

“I'm your friend first, a talent manager second. After I broker this deal for Terrance, all of us must get together and celebrate. This is your big break and I'm so happy for you.”

“Kem said the same thing but it hasn't happened yet.”

“Aren't you the one whose always hollering, ‘think positive?' Well, I'm telling you, think positive. It's going to happen,” Charlotte said, with excitement in her voice.

“Speaking of your client. He just walked in the door, so I'll call you back later,” Mona said, as she ended her call with Charlotte.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Terrance said, as he walked in and went straight to his office.

Mona looked at him curiously. He'd never called her “sunshine.” She placed the notepad under her arm and went to pour him a cup of coffee. She added one packet of sugar and a little cream just like he preferred and took it to him.

Terrance was typing something on his laptop when she entered. He stopped for a second but barely looked at her.

“Here's your coffee,” Mona said.

“You can put it down. I'll get it in a minute,” Terrance responded.

Mona walked around to place it near him. Terrance closed his laptop. He looked at her and smiled. He picked up the coffee and took a sip.

“Umm. Just the way I like it,” he commented.

Mona removed the pad from under her arm and tore off the top sheet of paper. “You got a few calls that require your attention. And also check your email.”

Terrance said, “I don't know what I would do without you.”

“Let's hope you will never have to find out,” Mona said. She turned and walked out.

She went back to her desk and opened the computer browser. She smiled when she noticed the message from Falcon.

Terrance drank more of his coffee before opening his laptop. He didn't want anyone to know, especially Mona that he was using the dating site.

He saw that Raven had responded to his good morning message. “Good morning. I thought about you too.”

Terrance typed, “I have a busy day ahead of me, but know that I will be thinking of you. Until tonight, have a good day.”

“I will now that I've heard from you. Enjoy the rest of your day,” Raven's message stated.

Terrance logged out of his 2-Of-A-Kind account. He looked at the sheet of paper with the notes Mona had given him and went through his normal routine of responding to emails and returning phone calls. When he finished, he summoned Mona to his office.

She walked in looking jovial with a huge smile on her face. The site of Mona standing there in a royal blue jump suit made his heart flutter.

“What do you need boss?” Mona asked.

“Are you busy tonight?” Terrance asked.

“Why?” Mona walked closer to his desk.

“Charlotte just informed me we were invited to a party. Some of the executives from the network will be there and since you're one of the writers and my acting co-producer, I wanted to see if you were available to tag along.”

“Yes, I'm available. What time do you want me to be there?”

“It starts at seven. I'll pick you up at six.”

“I think it's best I meet you there,” Mona said.

“Are you sure because I have no problem driving to the Valley?”

“Just give me the address.”

“Let's compromise. Why don't we leave from here?”

“Do you see what I have on?” Mona looked down at her jump suit.

Terrance bit his bottom lip. He didn't see anything wrong with her attire. Nothing at all.

Terrance reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed a credit card and handed it to her. “Take a late lunch. This is an important event for the both of us, so find you something nice to wear.”

Mona held the credit card in her hand. “What's my limit?”

“I'm going to leave it to your discretion. Don't get carried away, but buy whatever you want. I look at this as an investment in our future.”

Mona walked towards the door, stopped and turned around. “Remember you said get what I want.”

Terrance laughed, “I sure did and I hope I don't regret it.”

“You won't. Trust me.” Mona winked her eye and walked out.