12: 45 pm.
Where was Carlson?Leilani May Collins hated tardiness. They agreed to meet by 12:30 pm but she was here fifteen minutes earlier. Her phone vibrated and she snatched it off the table before it could ring out. It was Carlson.“Hey,” she said into the phone.“Hey, Leila.” His voice sounded the same as it did on their previous calls. Freya, her best friend, might have put the idea that he might be a catfish into her head. “Sorry, I’m running late.”Leila stopped tapping the silk covered table and refolded the napkin. If Carlson wasn’t so handsome and probably a potential man in her life, she might have left the diner. She sipped from her glass of water that had gone warm. He was one point down in her book.“Alright. How long until you get here?”“Ten minutes top,” he replied.“Fine. I’ll be waiting.”Setting the glass down, Leila played a game of candy crush on her phone until her phone pinged with a text from Freya. She groaned almost immediately at the content of the text. It was yet another selfie from her best friend. Freya was at a wedding Leila refused to tag along to. Following Freya was equivalent to setting herself up for a blind date. It had become Freya’s mission to hook Leila up with any available but eligible bachelor.The two went back and forth, exchanging selfies and texts. Leila swiped another look at her phone. Twenty minutes were gone. She almost dialled Freya to come get her out of here but on second thoughts, she waited.Carlson could have a good reason for being late. So far, he has been a great companion. Though this date was happening because she insisted on it, Leila would give him the benefits of the doubt. She would wait an extra ten minutes, then leave. Maybe even delete Tinder. That app wasn’t working for her. It might if she put more effort into making her profile more attractive and used an actual picture of herself instead of Freya’s cat.Her brown eyes roamed the place, watching other paired diners laugh and hug with a tinge of jealousy. One peek at her wristwatch and she flashed her reflection on the window a grim smile.Five minutes and she was gone.Murmurs from the table ahead made her raise her head. A couple were arguing and it was attracting attention to them. While one waiter went to them to diffuse the situation, another came to her table to ask for her order. Leila remembered his face. He had come here twice already. She skimmed through the menu, confused and amused by the items on the list. This type of restaurant wasn’t usually her cup of tea but she wanted to impress this Carlson guy.“Can I have a milkshake?” The waiter glared at her like she had vomited on their off-white tablecloth. His black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail at the nape of his neck. Might be why he was looking so constipated. “I’ll order when my date arrives.”On a curt nod, he walked away without a word. She scowled at his retreating figure, was she going to get her milkshake or what? Her phone vibrated on the table. Freya was calling her.Leila didn’t pick.The call ended and a text followed. Her best friend wanted to know if her date had arrived and she was having fun. Fun indeed. At this point, she didn’t care anymore. She made to leave but the waiter approached her table with a tray holding her milkshake. She forced a smile to her lips but he didn’t reciprocate it.“Thanks.”He probably thought of her as one of those people who stopped at a restaurant without buying anything. Wrong. Leila was only here for one person. And he could go to hell.Staring at her phone, she gave in to the urge to reply and sent Freya a text with some sad eye emojis. Her phone beeped immediately.Freya: You should come here. The wedding is almost over.Leila: No, thank you.Freya: Come. Join us at the reception. Eat some cake.Rising to her feet, Leila used the empty glass to cover the milkshake. Her feet ached from being in heels all afternoon. She wore heels for this man. To make an appearance like her silly best friend suggested. The waiter from earlier was serving a table when she walked past him but the scalding look he sent in her direction made her steps waver.“I’m not leaving yet!” she spat at him.Some heads turned to her, she flashed them a smile reserved for her colleagues and continued to the restroom. Gripping the rim of the sink, her heart slowed. Her reflection in the mirror stared at her and her red lips parted in a fake, practised smile.Black hair cascaded down her shoulders, her brown eyes were highlighted by the makeup surrounding it. She wouldn’t be the prettiest girl in a room by any standard but she was pretty enough. On instinct, her fingertips brushed the dark mark on her jaw. She turned on the faucet and rinsed her hands.What if Carlson didn’t come because she refused to send him her nudes? Either way, Leila was done with this stupid date. She dried her hands under the automatic hand dryer attached to the wall, patted her hair one last time and pried the toilet door open.The male restroom was beside the female. Leila stepped out at the same time as a man in a suit who bumped into her, causing her to wobble on the damn heels. He mouthed, “Sorry,” without so much as a glance in her direction and the only thing she had to remember him by was the wallet at her feet.It wasn’t hers. Scowling, she picked it up and followed the path he took. She ignored the waiter giving her cold looks, rushing out to find the owner of the wallet. She wouldn’t be so silly to make an order without paying for it.The cool afternoon air hit her face, her hair tickled her neck and she whisked it into a high bun. Where was he? Straining her neck to see beyond the mini fence separating her from the parking lot, she caught sight of him and jogged as fast as an amateur on heels could.Bent over with his hand flat on the roof of his car, she could barely get a glimpse of his face. His side profile was stiff. He was still on his phone call. Bits of the conversation filtered in and out of her ear.“Jesus Christ! I am on my way, Madonna,” the man barked into the receiver. Leila flinched at his tone. She didn’t want to be on the other side of the phone. As if noticing her for the first time, he cocked his head slightly without giving her a full view of his face. “Yes?”Okay. Someone was in a mood. Leila pointed behind her, trying to form the words to explain to him that his wallet dropped to the floor in front of the restroom. The man sighed. He moved his phone from his left to his right ear and opened the backdoor.“Step aside, lady. I don’t have time for this.”With that, he slid into his car and shut the door, leaving her to glare at her twin image on the tinted window. She scoffed. Very well, she pivoted on her heels and stormed back to the restaurant.The gentle breeze from the air-conditioner welcomed her back in. She manoeuvred to her table and sunk into the seat. The milkshake had almost melted but she slurped on it that way. Her phone vibrated as she was rounding up and she unlocked it to view the message from Carlson.He was here.Eyes roaming the diner for the tall, model-like man on Carlson’s profile, her heart slammed against her chest when a short man who she might even be taller than waved at her from the door. The milkshake no longer tasted milky, she tried to stand, maybe run out of here but her feet refused to work.God, please no. Let this not be her date. This could not be Carlson. But the man strolled towards her table.“Leilani, right?”“R... right,” she whispered.He pulled the chair in front of her and sat. “Hi.Leila was floored. She pinched her thighs to wake herself up from this nightmare but the man didn’t disappear.“Hi,” he murmured. “I’m Carlson.”“Hi,” she replied. Pulling out her phone, she tapped on Carlson’s Tinder profile and zoomed in. “Um, I don’t mean to be rude but I’m waiting for this person.”Leila slid the phone to him so he could see the man on her screen. A tall, handsome man with blue eyes that saw into her soul, not this short man over here with brown eyes and a scalp that was almost balding. He didn’t even have a beard.The fake Carlson laughed. Was his name even Carlson? It could be but he wasn’t her Carlson?“Yeah, that’s me, Leila.” Her heart rolled to her feet. The urge to slap off the smirk on his face grew and she clenched her hands under the table. No, this was a prank. “You work an eight to five job. Your friend owns the pet you used as your profile picture.”Right. “I don’t believe you.” He laughed again. Her misery must be funny because why the hell was he la
Tempted to reply immediately, Leila opened the candy crush app instead. She didn’t want to give off the impression of being desperate.Someone laughed in the crowd. The garden had filled up now and they were raising a toast to the couple. Leila reached for the glass of wine on her table and cheered to the air.Where was her best friend?Nearly everyone in this garden was paired except her. One more reason she hated attending weddings.Another message came in from this Kelvin guy and she didn’t take her time to reply to this one.Kelvin: Are you busy?Leila: Kind of. I’m at this wedding my best friend forced me to attend.Force was not the best word to describe the true story. But Leila could bet her left ankle that Freya would have dragged her out of her house if she went there instead of coming to this wedding.Kelvin: same. In my case, I lost a bet so I had to come. I’m bored out of my mind. Weddings are not my thing but a single man has no say in such matters. My sister is trying t
A normal person would have said no but Leila stopped considering herself normal the moment she signed the contract with Kelvin McKenna. They only went on two dates for God’s sake. Her best friend didn’t even know because he convinced her to do it before telling Freya. And she agreed.She said yes.Did she make a mistake?Leila was still thinking about this as she entered her work building, she pulled the door to her office open and paused.Everyone was here.She stole a peek at her wristwatch, she wasn’t late. It was only five minutes past eight. She walked briskly to her table and set her bag and files down.Her head raised when someone sat on her desk. Lily. They were not best of friends but she preferred her to that witch staring at her from across the room. Samantha’s mission in this office was to make her life miserable but Leila was bent on avoiding her as best as she could. Already, it was working. Last month, she received the best staff of the month award for the third time in
The department was louder than before as male and female staff discussed her husband. Leila was mortified as Susie broke down into a commentary about his looks.Bile rose to her throat and she forced herself to take a sip of water from her flask. One of the rules of their firm was this: No inter-staff relationship. It was forbidden and highly frowned upon, so most of what they were saying would only happen in their dreams.Still, their thoughts nauseated her. She wasn’t breaking the rules by being married to the boss but she felt like a criminal as she listened to them ogle and try to picture Kelvin without a shirt. He was her husband and she hadn’t even seen him shirtless yet.Susie was the loudest of the gossipers, her comment about Kelvin’s lips between her legs bothered Leila and she scowled at their backs when they laughed at her remark. Her cheeks warmed when she remembered their near kiss from this morning.Kelvin was perfect as he was.Lily dragged a seat close to Leila’s tabl
“Carlson,” Leila breathed out.“Leilani.” He smiled. Those familiar emotions of anger that she had buried since their failed date bubbled inside her. “I didn’t think I would be seeing you anytime soon.” Neither did she, she should have looked first before hopping into his car like a rabbit. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”“Oh.” What was the kindest way to tell someone she blocked him? Her fake smile became faker. “I changed numbers. Might be why you couldn’t reach me.”“Sweet. Can I have your new number?”“What?” she squeaked out.“Your new number. I’ll give you a call later.”Today he was wearing a beanie so she was spared the sight of his thinning hair. When his head tilted to get a fuller view of her, she froze.“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I apologise.”“It’s okay. Can we just go?” she asked.“Where to?”“Straight ahead. I’ll let you know when to stop.”Carlson burst into a string of apologies as their ride began. Leila cursed her fate over and over again. She should have
Minutes later, the food was ready. Leila set the tray on the table, her smile, big and bright as she marched to the study to get her husband. She met him on a call. His voice was so low she barely heard a word he said. She leaned on the doorframe, a small smile on her face as she watched him massage his forehead. Even when disturbed, he looked cute. They might get along.The call ended and he turned to her. Leila smiled, ready to speak but he cut her off. “What do you want?”Wow. His words were like ice poured over her, she took a subconscious step out of the study. Her hand curved in the direction of the dining.“Dinner is ready.” She tried and failed to smile but his reaction hurt her. Here she was, trying to be a good wife and he was being rude. “I came to tell you that.”She was a few steps out of the study when he called her. “Leila.” She stopped but didn’t turn. If he would be rude to her, she didn’t want to be around him. “Sorry for raising my voice.”Hiding a smile, she nodded
Leila’s heart jumped to her throat. Masking her fear of the unknown, she nodded. Kelvin’s gaze swept over her and she hid her hands under the table. For once, she didn’t want to know what he was thinking. Her mind slowed as she replayed the events of today. She had done nothing wrong.“Today at the office...” Kelvin started.“I get it,” she interrupted. “We should remain a secret.” Her cheeks burned when she remembered how he acted towards her and she shrugged. Too bad she wouldn’t be able to exchange husband tales with Freya. “I understand. I can do that.”After four rigorous years at Tech Valley, she didn’t want her success to be attributed to him. Most importantly, she didn’t want him to go out of his way to please her. Only real couples did that and their marriage was one of convenience.Kelvin smirked at her discomfort. “I was about to say… I didn’t mean to make you nervous.” Oh. She stared at her feet, embarrassed by her forwardness. “I didn’t say anything about us because we ha
Leila rose to her feet slowly. Her husband had not moved an inch, he was staring at her like he couldn’t understand why she hadn’t joined him on the bed yet. They might be getting along now but she wasn’t ready to be intimate with him.He was still a stranger to her, a familiar stranger.Her heart beat faster, she found it difficult to breathe as she dragged one foot in front of the other. Kelvin’s phone rang before she reached the bed, they stared at each other and she sent him a soft, pleading smile to leave the room.Furrowing his brows, her husband shot out of the bed. “I have to take this,” he said. “One second.”The words to reply to him failed her, he gave her a curt nod and her chest deflated with relief once he stepped out of the room. After one last look at the door to be sure he wouldn’t be back soon, she hurried to the wardrobe to get her pyjamas.A polka dot long-sleeved pyjamas. Scowling at her nightwear, Leila questioned her fashion choices. The pyjamas made her look li