Secret Liaisons (6 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Mona placed the omelets on two plates while Terrance went to answer the door. She hoped it was her clothes. The thick, white, terry cloth robe covered her body but she still felt naked around him.

She tried to pretend like what happened between them wasn't anything, but it meant more to her than she wanted to admit.

“Mom, let's go in the living room,” she heard Terrance say. He was talking louder than normal as if he was trying to warn her.

She didn't want his mom to see her in his kitchen wearing nothing but a robe. Mona had to think and think fast. She opened one of the cabinets. If she held her stomach in, she might be able to fit inside. She attempted to try but the door wouldn't close.

Their voices were getting louder. Mona had two choices. She opted for the second choice. She ran out of the back door with nothing but a robe on. She could see Terrance's head from the window. She noticed him looking around, probably wondering where she was.

Fortunately, his house was far enough away from another house where she didn't have to be concerned about a nosy neighbor. She turned when she heard a van. It parked behind Terrance's mom's Mercedes. When she saw the man park and get out of the van carrying a bag, she knew it was her clothes.

She ran over to him. The man seemed startled.

“Are you Mrs. Beckham?” he asked.

“Yes,” she lied.

He handed her the bag along with a brown pad with a piece of paper on it with a pen attached. “I need for you to sign right here.”

Mona signed the paper. The delivery guy stood there. Mona realized what he was waiting for. “I'm sorry. I left my money inside. I'm locked out. I'm glad you came with my clothes when you did. Can I borrow your phone?”

The delivery guy reluctantly handed her his phone. “I don't have too many minutes.”

“I promise you this won't take but a second.” Mona dialed Terrance's number. He didn't answer. “Dang it,” she said out loud. She dialed his number again.

This time he answered. “Terrance, don't hang up. It's me. Mona.”

“Where are you?”

“I'm outside.”

“What are you doing there?”

The delivery guy paced back and forth.

“Look, I have to give this guy back his phone. He dropped off some clothes. Is the front door unlocked?” Mona asked.

“It should be.”

“Good. Keep your mom in the kitchen. I'll be in there shortly.”

“Look lady, I don't know what you got going on, but I need my phone. Don't worry about a tip.”

Mona handed the deliveryman his phone and rushed inside of the house. She tip-toed up the stairs to Terrance's room and closed the door.

Terrance scratched his head trying to figure out why Mona didn't just slip through the door that led up the back staircase instead of going outside.

In the meantime, he tried to figure out how to explain two plates on the counter to his mom.

“I should have known you were entertaining some lady friend when I didn't get my early morning call,” his mom said.

“Mom, it's only ten o'clock in the morning. I was going to call you.”

“Well, I was out and in your area.”

“You live at least an hour away,” Terrance said.

“Okay. I admit I made a special trip over. I do worry when I don't hear from you.”

His mom got a fork and started eating one of the omelets. “This is good. I guess those cooking lessons you took paid off.”

“Mom, just eat the omelet and go. I have a busy day ahead of me. I was just about to get dressed and get out of here.”

“I'll wait.” She went to the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of orange juice. She went to the counter and poured herself a glass. She looked at him. “Do you want some?”

“No, mom,” Terrance responded. He threw his hand in the air when she went and took a seat at the counter.

“Dear, don't let me stop you from getting ready. I'll clean up when I finish. Aren't you going to eat your omelet?”

“I'm no longer hungry,” Terrance said.

“Pass it here. No sense in letting good food go to waste.”

Terrance's mom was thin but had a healthy appetite. He handed her the plate.

He left out of the kitchen in search for Mona.

Mona stood at the bottom of the stairway dressed in a pair of black fitted jeans that hugged her curves and a pink shirt.

“There you are,” Terrance whispered.

“I need to get my stuff out of the living room,” Mona whispered.

Terrance looked back. His mom was not behind them. They walked to the living room. Mona got her clothes off the couch. He picked the pillows off the floor and placed them on the couch.

Terrance and Mona looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“I can't believe we're acting like teenagers hiding something from their parents,” Mona said.

“I know. We're grown,” Terrance stated.

“Yes, so let's go tell your mom she's eating my breakfast.”

“Mona. Uh. Let's not. Let me get rid of her. In the meantime, wait for me upstairs.”

“But I thought we were grown,” Mona teased.

“We are, but I don't feel like explaining things to my mom right now.”

“I'm your assistant. She wouldn't think anything of me being here.”

Mona didn't know Terrance's mom suspected Mona of being an opportunist. Terrance knew Mona wasn't like the other women, but his mom didn't and he wasn't going to give her any reason to add ammunition to her suspicions.

Terrance walked Mona to the stairway.

“Mrs. Beckham,” Mona whispered.

“Go,” Terrance said, using his hands to shoo her away.

“Terrance, did I hear you talking to someone?” His mom's voice rang through the hallway.

Mona rushed up the stairs and into Terrance's room just as Terrance's mom got in clear view.

Terrance fumbled with his cell phone. “I was on the phone.”

“Well, I've eaten as much as I could. I've let time get away from me. I have a meeting at the Museum. You know I could recommend you to sit on the board.”

“No, mom. My schedule keeps me pretty busy as is.”

“Well, you take care. And tell the woman you're hiding from me, that if she's going to be a part of your life, she will need to meet me.”

Terrance looked at his mother stunned. She kissed him on the cheek. “I'll call you later..”

His mom walked out leaving Terrance to his thoughts.

Chapter Fifteen

Mona and Terrance laughed the majority of the way to the office as they reminisced about the events of the morning, leaving out their intimate moments. Mona wanted to discuss what happened between the two of them but didn't know how to approach the topic. She'd hoped Terrance brought it up but since he didn't, she avoided the topic too.

Terrance unlocked the office door. “I guess we can say this is casual Wednesday since we're both in jeans.”

“I guess so,” Mona responded.

“Well, let me go work on this proposal. Once I finish, I'll definitely be asking for your input.”

“No problem. I've got email and phone messages to go through myself,” Mona said.

Terrance went to his office as Mona walked towards her desk.

There wasn't anything normal about this day so she didn't go about her normal routine. If Terrance wanted coffee, he would have to ask for it or make it himself. She was still a little miffed that he hadn't acknowledged what happened between them.

She sat behind the computer and logged on. She checked her emails and saw that she had several from the 2-Of-A-Kind website. She'd forgotten all about Falcon after the night she'd had with Terrance.

Her heart felt conflicted because although Falcon seemed like he was perfect for her, she couldn't help how she was beginning to feel about Terrance. She clicked on the icon and sent a response to Falcon's message. It was time-stamped the evening before. She must have logged off before getting that one.

She typed, “Falcon, I'm sorry I didn't get to respond last night. Something wonderful and unexpected happened.”

Mona began to go through her other emails until she heard a noise indicating she received an incoming message. She opened Falcon's message. It read, “I experienced something extraordinary last night myself.”

Mona typed, “Something else we have in common.”

“Would you like to share your good news?”

Mona looked at Terrance's closed door. “I got a promotion,” she typed.

“That's great. What are you going to do to celebrate?”

The only way to forget one man was to start talking to another one
, Mona said to herself. “I will be at the Flamingo Lounge later. Why don't you meet me there?”

“Under the circumstances, I'm not sure it's a good idea.”

Mona frowned. “If you change your mind, I'll be wearing a red dress with a red flower in my hair.” She hit the send button.

She continued to check her emails but didn't get another response from Falcon. The rest of the day went by with her and Terrance doing their best to avoid each other unless they had to talk with one another.

“T, if you don't mind, I'm going to call it quits,” Mona walked to Terrance's door and said.

He looked up from his desk. “Go ahead. I'll be alright.”

Mona paused. “You sure? You've been in your office all day.”

“I'm fine. I'll call you later,” Terrance reassured her.

Mona was disappointed Terrance didn't address what happened between the two of them. Maybe it was easy for him to forget but it wasn't easy for her.

She left the office and went home to change into her red dress and red heels. She fixed her hair and placed the red flower behind her right ear. She needed to forget Terrance and tonight she would do that with or without meeting Falcon.

Terrance chatted with Raven off and on all day because he was trying to get what happened with Mona off his mind. He decided that after last night he wanted to explore a relationship with Mona. His only issue would be to convince her to do the same.

When Raven asked him to meet her out, he declined. Raven seemed to be a nice woman but she wasn't Mona. Raven's identity intrigued him so against his better judgment, he decided to go to the Flamingo Lounge just to get a glimpse of the woman who captured his attention, if only briefly.

Terrance kept a change of clothes at his office because he never knew when he would have to go to a last minute event so he changed out of his jeans into a pair of brown slacks and a blue shirt. Less than an hour later, he was valet parking his car at the Flamingo Lounge.

The popular lounge hadn't gotten crowded yet so he was able to secure himself a seat at a table that gave him a clear view of the front entrance. He'd looked around and hadn't seen anyone in a red dress with a red flower in her hair. He ordered a glass of Remy Martin and people-watched.

He scanned the room again. He didn't know when he'd missed her grand entrance, but his eyes landed on the back of a woman in a red dress. His eyes traveled north and that's when he noticed the red flower in her hair.

He didn't believe in coincidence so he'd figured that he'd discovered the identity of Raven. He took a huge gulp of his drink. He needed it to calm down his hormones. He was there to meet her but he'd made up his mind it wouldn't go any further than a meet and greet. Terrance stood and walked in Raven's direction.

On the way there, Terrance thought about what he would say. He didn't want her to think she'd wasted time chatting with him. He would explain to her that he hadn't expected to fall for a woman who was already in his life. That everything happened suddenly. Who was he fooling? The woman would laugh. She would think he was full of crap because if he cared so much for this other woman, why would he be meeting her?

Before Terrance could reach the bar, Raven turned around. Terrance's mouth dropped open. He stopped and contemplated on what his next move should be.

Chapter Sixteen

Mona sipped on the apple martini the bartender just handed her. One of the men at the other end of the bar paid for it for her. She smiled and mouthed the words thank you. She turned around holding her drink. The contemporary R & B music filled the room. Ramblings of pieces of conversations could be heard throughout.

Mona removed her cell phone and checked to see if she had any messages from Falcon. She was a little disappointed that she hadn't heard anything else since earlier. She turned and took a seat on the barstool and nursed her drink.

“Hey, Sunshine,” a familiar voice said behind her.

Mona swiveled the bar seat around. “Terrance, what are you doing here?”

Terrance was so close; she could smell his woodsy cologne.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

Mona looked around Terrance and then back at him. “I was supposed to be meeting someone but I guess they aren't coming.”

“Who? This mystery man you told me about?” Terrance said while smiling.

Mona wanted to wipe the smirk off his face. “For the record, maybe he's busy. Have you ever thought of that?”

“Ouch. You don't have to bite my head off.”

“Don't make assumptions.”

“Maybe he's not the one for you and its best you find out now,” Terrance noted.

Mona couldn't agree more, but she wouldn't give up hope that Falcon would eventually show up. If he did, she didn't need to be in such close proximity of Terrance. She slid off the barstool.

“Office hours are between nine and five. Mr. Beckham, I'm off the clock so if there's nothing else, I'm going to mingle.”

“Have fun,” Terrance said.

To her disappointment, Terrance didn't follow her when she walked away.

A part of Terrance felt bad knowing Mona would be waiting on someone who would never show. He could have revealed his identity but felt it was best to keep the fact that he was Falcon to himself.

He would play along with her for now. He could probably use his Falcon character to his advantage. He just had to figure out how.

Terrance watched Mona from the bar. He'd drank another glass of Remy Martin. He decided it would be his last because he didn't want to get intoxicated and not be able to drive home. Plus, he needed to be able to keep a watchful eye out on Mona.

He laughed to himself. It was funny that the woman he'd met on the internet was actually Mona. He thought back to the first time he met her. Mona's perky, go-getter attitude is what made him decide to hire her.

From a distance, it appeared that Mona was in distress. He placed his glass down on the counter and walked to find out what was going on.

A man a few inches taller than Terrance stood near Mona. Terrance heard Mona ask the man to move. The man responded, “Why you got to be like that? I only asked you for a dance.”

“My boyfriend's right behind you and he's not going to like the fact you're trying to flirt with his woman.”

The guy turned around and came face-to-face with Terrance.

“What's up, man?” Terrance asked.

The guy looked at Terrance. “Do you know her?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. That's my lady and I heard her tell you she wasn't interested.” Terrance stuck his chest out.

“My bad. I'm not trying to start any trouble. She's looking fire in that dress and all I was trying to do is get a dance. No harm, man.”

“I'm here now, so I suggest you go find some other woman to bother.”

The man held his hand up. “We good?”

“Just don't let it happen again.”

The man dropped his hand and walked away. Terrance continued the charades. He walked over to Mona and placed his arm around her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. “Thanks for coming to my rescue. He was a little aggressive.”

“Why don't we get out of here? Have you eaten anything?” Terrance asked.

“No, but I told you I was waiting on someone.”

Terrance contemplated on whether or not to tell Mona he was Falcon. If he told her, would she understand? Would she feel disappointed that it was him? So many questions filled his mind. This feeling of being insecure was foreign to him. He didn't want to appear too vulnerable.

In the end, he decided not to take any chances and failed to reveal his identity. “You can always text him.”

Terrance knew she couldn't because they hadn't exchanged numbers.

Mona seemed hesitant at first but then said, “Fine. Let's go. I am sort of hungry.”

Terrance smiled. Mission accomplished.