Chasing Circumstance (17 page)

“Well, I suppose we should head back.  The zoo will be closing in about an hour.”  Chace began to pack up the empty containers.

“Oh, okay.  Um, would you like to come back to my place and maybe watch a movie or listen to some music?”  I wasn’t ready for our date to end.

“That sounds nice.  I have a few hours before I have to be back to the bar.  There’s something I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”  He stood up, threw the backpack over his shoulder and took me by the hand.

“Should I be scared?”  I didn’t move but instead looked up at him.

“No, I don’t think so.”  We started to walk back to his car in silence.  I couldn’t help but wonder what he had to talk to me about.  The last time I had heard those words was when Stuart tried to tell me he was still married.

After he put everything in the trunk, we got into the car and after paying the parking fee, we exited the garage.  We listened to music as we drove back to my place and that made me even more nervous.  I didn’t know what to say because I was terrified of what he wanted to talk to me about.  I was even more scared because he wasn’t saying anything either.

We pulled up in front of my house and once again, he opened my door and escorted me to the front door.  I took out my keys, unlocked it and stepped inside with him directly behind me.  “Coffee?  Iced tea?  Water?”  I set my purse down and headed toward the kitchen.

“Water, thank you.”  He went into the living room and began looking through mine and Jo’s combined music collection.  “You have a lot of great music here.  Mind if I play something?”

“Thanks and no, go right ahead.”  I poured us each a glass of water from the filtered pitcher in the refrigerator and joined him on the couch.

“Oh, I love this band too!”  I handed him his glass.

“I figured that since you own the CD.”  He laughed a little as he sat down.

“Well, I’m almost afraid to ask this, but spill it, what did you want to talk to me about?”  I couldn’t wait any longer.  If it were bad news, I wanted to hear it right here and now.

“I’ve always felt that a couple should not hold things back from one another, and though we’re not a couple, I hope that the potential is at least there.”  He sat his glass on the table and turned to face me.

“I believe it is, if we take things slowly and really get to know each other.”  I held my glass in my hands to keep them from shaking.

“That’s the thing, Amia.  I know you better than you think I do.  I’ve been reading your blog.  Please, try not to be angry with me.”  He folded his hands in front of him and looked down at them.

“I knew it!  Who told you about it?”  I laughed as I answered him.

“You’re laughing?  You’re not angry?”  He looked up at me and half smiled.  “No one told me.  I heard you talking about it at the bar, and let’s face it; your name is not a common name.  It didn’t take me much to search it out and find it.”

“No, I’m not mad.  I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me before, but it’s alright.”  I actually felt relieved that he had been reading it.  It meant that he already knew about my past heartbreaks and what I had been through.  There was no longer a need for me to tell him about it.

“I really thought you were going to be upset with me.  I know what you’ve been through and I didn’t want to be that guy.”  He scooted closer to me and held my hand.

“Just tell me one thing.  Is this really who you are, or have you been using my blog for information to be the man you think I’m looking for?”  I set my glass on the table and looked directly into his eyes.

“What you see is what you get with me.  I’m not fake in any way.  I promise.”  He didn’t break eye contact with me.  I had to believe him.

“Alright, but if I find out later that you’re lying to me, I’m going to sick Jo on you!”  I laughed.

He leaned over and pulled me into his arms.  My head rested against his chest as he stroked my hair.  “Please, don’t do that, she scares me.”  His laughter joined mine as we sat there cuddled up together just listening to the music.

Jo was walking through the door as Chace was standing up to leave.  “Well, hello there, Chace.  It’s nice to see you again.”  She sat her work things on the bar and walked over to us near the couch.

“And it’s nice to see you as well, Jo, but unfortunately, I have to get going.  It’s my night to work the front of the bar.  Will the two of you be joining me later?”  He held my hand as he stepped toward the front door.

“I’m afraid I’m too tired to go anywhere tonight.  This old lady needs her beauty sleep.  I’ll see you soon though.”  She turned and walked down the hallway to her room.

“Goodnight then, Jo.”  Chace yelled after her as she walked away.

“Goodnight, Chace.”  Her voice echoed down the hall.

“How about you, Gorgeous?”  He pulled me close to him and rested his chin on the top of my head.

“Honestly, I think I should stay here and make dinner for her.  But call me later?”  I stood there just enjoying the moment.

“Sure thing.  I’ll talk to you later.”  He put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to kiss me.  “Goodnight, Gorgeous.  I had a lot of fun today.”

“Goodnight, Chace.  I did too.  Thanks again.”  I kissed him back and watched as he turned and walked out the door to his car and left before closing and locking the door.

I did exactly what I said I would and made dinner for Jo.  After I talked to Chace on the phone, I washed some laundry and got some basic cleaning completed as well before finally taking a hot shower and crawling into bed to write.  I knew that Chace would be reading this entry but I didn’t let it stop me from saying what was in my heart.

“Dear You,

Potential… What a glorious word.  We all have the potential to do better, to be more than we are at this moment… To reach our full potential.  But, how do we know what that is until we are faced with a challenge?

Who determines our potential?  Our family?  Society?  I believe the only person in charge of that determination is the one that has to face and fulfill it… Ourselves. 

So tonight, dear readers, I leave you with this question…

What do you feel is your full potential?

~ Amia”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Yeah, it’s going amazing so far.  Granted, we’ve only been dating for a month, but he’s just the sweetest guy and is the same way every time we see each other.  He hasn’t changed whatsoever.”  I tapped my pen on the desk as I talked to Isabella on the phone.

“You’ve known him longer than that through the bar, right?”  Isabella was talking to me while she was out shopping.

“Yes, but that’s not the same thing.”  I heard my email notification go off, so I opened it to check it.  It was a message from Rick saying he was going to stop by that afternoon with the proofs for the campaign for the online, vintage clothing store.

“No, it’s not the same as dating, but at least it’s not like he’s a complete stranger.  Hey, did you want all black balloons or should we throw in some color?”  She was picking up some last minute things for Jo’s surprise birthday party at the bar that night.

“Get fifty black balloons and a couple dozen colorful, fun ones.  I want the black ones tied in bouquets around her favorite seat at the bar.”  I quickly typed a message back to Rick to let him know that was fine as long as it was before two that afternoon because I was leaving early.

“Alright, I think I have everything covered then.  I’ll see you later.”  She hung up without saying goodbye.

I took care of some of the copy for the campaign and shot it in an email over to Jo.  I was really hoping that the interview she was conducting that afternoon for a new copy person would be fruitful and give us even more to celebrate that night.

An hour later, Rick knocked on my office door.  “Hi, Amia, how’s it going?  I’m sorry it took me so long to get these to you.  I’ve had a lot going on.”  Rick walked in and sat the proofs on my desk.  “Here you go; I think you’ll be pleased with the outcome.”

I thumbed through the photos and pulled one out.  “What the fuck is this?”  I tossed it across my desk at him.

“What?  I thought it was sexy and you said sex sells.”  He picked up the picture and looked at it before putting it back on my desk.

“Absolutely not, Rick!  I asked you if you took any nonessential pictures and you promised me that you didn’t.  I want these negatives and any copies you made destroyed immediately!”  I picked up the photo and ripped it into shreds.

“Okay, okay, it’s no big deal.  She’s just pushing up your skirt and has her tongue on your thigh.”  He sat down in the chair across from my desk.

“It is a big deal!  I’m a goddamned executive.  I don’t need shit like this floating around and fucking up my reputation!  And stand the fuck up!  No one told you to get comfortable.”  I slammed my fist onto my desk to make a point.

“Fucking reputation is right.”  He sneered at me.

“Don’t you know who the hell I am?  I work for the third highest rated ad agency in the world.  I can fucking destroy you.  Now, be a good boy and go do what you were told to do before I have to get really mean.”  I leaned across my desk and spoke to him calmly.  I wanted him to fear me and what I would do to him if he didn’t abide by my wishes.

“Alright, Amia, there’s no reason to get upset.  I’ll mail you the negatives and the one copy I made.  You can fucking destroy them yourself.”  He walked out of my office and slammed the door.

I sat there for a moment gathering my thoughts.  I hoped that Rick was going to do what he said he would.  I mean, the photo wasn’t all that risqué, but I didn’t need my actions questioned.  Though I would never forget the events of that night, I didn’t want any physical reminders of it.

I sent out an office wide email to remind everyone about the surprise party after work.  I had invited everyone in the office and a few of our close friends.  I had even sent an invite to Sam.  Shutting down my office computer, I packed up my laptop and headed out.  I had told Jo that I had some errands to run and would meet her at the bar after work for a birthday drink.  Locking my office door, I headed over to Brady’s.

There was no one in the front of the bar when I walked in.  I set my things on the counter and looked around the place.  I hadn’t noticed before just how retro the place was.  It really needed to be updated.  I guessed that with all the people that were usually in there, it had made it difficult to see everything that had to be done. 

“Chace?”  I called out to let him know I had arrived.  I was sure that Isabella would have been there already, and when I saw she wasn’t, I reached for my cell phone to call her.

“Hey, Gorgeous.”  Chace walked up behind me and kissed the back of my neck.

“Well, hello there.”  I turned around and kissed him back.  “Is Isabella here?” 

“Nope, I haven’t seen her yet.  How was work?”  He held me in his arms and pulled me close to him.

“It was a little hectic, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”  I stood on the tips of my toes and reached up to kiss him again.  “I need to call…”

“No you don’t, I’m here.  Help!  Take these.”  Isabella walked through the door and handed me a giant bouquet of balloons.  “I think I bought out their back stock of black balloons.”

I took them from her and walked over to where Jo usually sat.  Chace went outside to help Isabella bring everything else in while I began to tie the balloons in place.

“Are you trying to make my bar float away?”  Chace walked in carrying the multi-colored balloons in one hand and a bunch of bags in the other.  “Where do you want these?”

“Oh, um just a minute.”  I finished tying the black balloons to the bar rail and Jo’s chair and then grabbed the rest of them from Chace.  “I was thinking I would put these near the entrance.  Just put the rest of that on the bar.  I’ll get to it in a minute.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back with more.”  He kissed me again before walking outside.

It didn’t take the three of us very long before we had everything decorated and in its place.  We hung a giant “Happy Birthday” sign over the top of the front of the bar and had placed black candles in glass holders on every table.  The cake was in the fridge in the kitchen and there were bowls of snacks sitting across a buffet table near the front windows.

“It looks really good in here.”  I walked up to Chace and slid my arm around his waist.

“Yes it does.  Nice job, Gorgeous.”  He looked down and smiled at me.  “Jo’s going to be so surprised.”

“She had better be after all the running around I had to do today.”  Isabella had gone out to park her car in an actual spot and not in front of the door.

“You know she’ll love it.  Now, how about a pre-party drink while we wait for everyone to show up?”  Chace went behind the bar to mix us all drinks while Isabella and I sat down.

“Sounds perfect.  I’m going to send Jo a text and tell her that I have a run in my pantyhose and ask her to go to the store to get me a pair.  I want to make sure there is time for everyone to arrive before she shows up.”  I typed out the text on my phone and hit the send button.

“Long time, no see, Stranger.”  I heard a familiar voice as I turned around.

“Sam!  It’s so great to see you.”  I stood up and walked over to him.  “Is this going to be awkward?”

“Not in the least.  I know it wasn’t you that night at the hotel.”  He stepped close to me and whispered into my ear.

“What?  How do you know?”  I whispered back.

“Because I told him.  I called him and explained everything.”  Isabella walked up behind us.

“But how did you get his phone number?”  I was completely shocked.

“It’s listed, so it wasn’t all that hard to look up.”  She winked at me.  “Now come on, it’s all in the past and it’s time to move on and have a party.”

“Remind me to never piss the two of you off again.”  Sam laughed and walked over to the bar with us.

“I haven’t seen you around here for quite some time.  What’ll you have?”  Chace addressed Sam as he sat down next to Isabella.

“Hey there, Chace, I’ve been really busy with the new job and kind of getting my shit together.”  He reached across the bar to shake Chace’s hand.  “Just get me a lager, please.”

“Busy is good.  Glad you could make it tonight.”  Chace passed him his drink and we all sat there chatting.  We were on our second round of drinks when the first of the guests showed up and it wasn’t long before the bar was full of people.

“Chace, get everyone’s attention, please.”  I leaned over the bar.

He jumped on top of it and put his hands around his mouth, “Hey, quiet down.  We need everyone’s attention, please!”  He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly.  Reaching down, he took me by the hand and helped me to stand on top of the bar with him.

I waited for the crowd to settle and look at us.  “Hi everyone and thanks so much for coming out to celebrate this with us.  I just got a text from Jo and she is on her way here.  I need everyone to face the door and wait for her to arrive.  The moment she walks in, I want you all to scream “Happy Birthday” at the top of your lungs.  Got it?”  People nodded in recognition and I hopped down from the bar.  “Chace?  Would you be so kind as to get a drink ready for her please?”  I smiled at him as he jumped down from the bar as well.

“Already did, Gorgeous.”  He winked at me, turned around and sat the drink on a coaster in front of where Jo would be sitting.

I went outside to greet Jo at the door before she walked in.  Standing against the wall outside, I waited.  The night seemed too quiet for a Friday night in that neighborhood.  I remembered it being much louder when I lived there.  I saw Jo’s car pull up and I walked out to meet her.

“What are you doing out here?”  Jo got out of her car and handed me the package of pantyhose.

“I wanted to get these from you out here so I could take them in and change right away.  Plus, I wanted to hear how the interview for the new editor went.”  Thank goodness I could think on my feet.  I wasn’t expecting the question.

“I hired her.  Her credentials are outstanding and I really think you’re going to like Nancy.”  She put her purse over her shoulder.

“That’s great! Now we really have something to celebrate!”  I smiled at Jo.

“Yep, come on, let’s go inside and get me drunk.”  She looped her arm through mine and we walked through the front door.  Everyone screamed “Happy Birthday” and I just about had to catch her as she staggered backwards in bewilderment.  “How did you pull this off?”  She started to wave to everyone and thank them as she walked over to her seat at the bar.  “I can’t believe you did this.”

“I had a lot of help.”  I sat down next to her and looked around.  People started coming up to wish her personal birthday greetings.  As the crowd dispersed and went on with their conversations, Sam walked up to her.

“Happy Birthday, Jo.”  He reached to shake her hand.

“A hand shake?  Really?”  She stood up and crushed him in a hug.  “It’s so nice to see you, Sam.  How have you been?”  She motioned for him to pull up a barstool and sit with her.

“I’ve been doing really well.  My new job is incredible and I’m doing my thing.”  He sat down next to her.

“Your thing, huh?”  She laughed and winked at him.

“No, it’s not like that.  After that wake up call, I’ve been pretty tame.”  He looked at the floor.

“That’s good to hear.  Well, this is a party, so let’s party!”  Jo stood up with her drink in her hand.  “Hey, everyone, QUIET!”  She waited for the guests to look at her and settle down.  “I just wanted to thank everyone for being here to celebrate my fiftieth birthday with me and to say that if any of you remind me how old I am, you’re fired!”  She raised her glass in the air, “Cheers!”

“CHEERS!”  The entire crowd joined in her toast.             

“I still can’t believe you pulled this off.”  She sat back down and looked at me.

“Like I said, I had a lot of help.”  I reached across the bar to hold Chace’s hand.

“Yes, she did.  Happy Birthday, Jo.”  Isabella walked up behind us and hugged her.  “I was running around all afternoon picking up everything for your party.”  She kissed Jo’s cheek before sitting next to me.

“Hi, Isabella.  Thank you so much for everything you’ve done.”  She smiled at her and raised her glass again in a salute to thank her.

“No problem, any friend of Amia’s and all that.”  She raised her glass and touched it to Jo’s.

“Anyone ready for another?”  Chace spoke up from behind the bar.

“You’re not working back there all night, are you?  Get out here and join the party.”  Jo tugged at his hand.

“Nope, I just wanted to make sure my favorite ladies had what they needed before I turned the bar over to Max and Tony.  Be right with you gals.”  He turned to go to the other end of the bar and let his bartenders know that it was time for them to take over.  He took off his apron and came around to where we were sitting.

“Ah, why did you take that off?  You look so cute in it!”  I pulled him over to me and kissed him.

“Really?  The two of you?  That’s awesome!”  Sam looked at us and smiled a huge smile.  “Congrats guys.”  He reached to shake Chace’s hand.

“Thanks, Sam, but I think we all knew it would happen eventually.  I never hid how I felt about Amia.”  He snuggled in close to me and hugged me.  “Nor did we doubt how hard she would make me work for her attention.”  Everyone laughed.