True Fate (4 page)

Rhea's condo wasn’t far from the design studio.
The studio is on Fannin downtown and she lives on Webster and Bagby. Nia
stopped by the store on the way, they would need ice cream and snacks. She
ordered Pizza while she was waiting in line. Then she called her dad.

 
"Hi
honey, is everything okay?" Vince answered with a smile in his voice.

"Yeah dad everything's fine. I'm assuming
you know the rest of our family is at the studio till late tonight?"

He responded quickly, "Of course, your
mother said they may even end up breaking out the sleeper sofa's bed. I told
her to stay at a hotel if they needed to though."

Nia laughed, "And what are your plans
Pop?" she giggled, he always hated it when she called him that.

"My plans are getting some sleep in my office
after work so I can do the night shift with Al, we have that huge import from
China coming in. He's coming to help me oversee it. Maybe you and..." Nia
cut him off, "Already taken care of dad. I'm on my way to Rhea's
now."

He laughed this time, "Good, good. Could you
do me a favor honey and ask Al to bring some cards and maybe even the poker
chips? So we're not just staring at each other all night."

"Will do dad, be safe. Oh! I almost forgot.
Would it be okay if I take the day off tomorrow? I'll make it up, I
swear!" Her dad was silent for a second but quickly recovered.

"Sure honey, I don't see why not. It would
give us a chance to give Suzy a dry run before she has to do your job while you
go off on this road trip. And Adam too I suppose. Are you sure he can do all of
Rhea's jobs? I can just hire a temp." Nia thought about it for a minute.

The girls had known Adam Foley since fifth grade
and the three were pretty close. "Rhea will be in the rest of the week
making sure of it dad, promise. By the time we leave he will be a Rhea
clone." Nia said laughing.

"I sure hope so.", Vince replied.

"Well I have to go baby girl. You be careful
out there and y'all lock that door up tight after Al leaves. Remember to call
me if you plan on going anywhere. I don't want to lose my girl."

"Of course daddy. I love you."

You could hear the smile in his voice again when
he said, "Love you too Nia, Bye."

She amped up the radio because her MP3 player had
gotten around to a great song for the story she'd have to retell to Rhea. Crash
Into You, it was perfect!

Pulling into Rhea's is always like going home.
She didn't even have to pack because she has an entire dresser full of clothes
and a section of closet that's hers. She even has a shelf in Rhea's medicine
cabinet, toothbrush and all.

Once at the door she took out her spare key and
went inside. Al was asleep in his recliner and Rhea was shushing her pit bull,
Dallas.

"Honey, I'm home.” Nia teased.

"Ha, ha.” Rhea answered in a sarcastic tone.

"I ordered pizza already, should be here in
fifteen." Nia explained putting away the goodies she'd brought.

"Oh, wow. Ice cream huh? This Aaron guy must
be something." her best friend said coming over to inspect the bag on the
counter. "Oh, man! There's chocolate and pickles? This is serious!"
she exclaimed laughing.

Nia whispered "Shut up."

Rhea grabbed her hand and drug Nia up the stairs
to their room. "It's time for you to spill!"

 
Chapter
2

Aaron was definitely dazed and confused after his
impromptu lunch with Nia. In all his twenty two years he had never experienced
anything like that before. He was glad they called him to tell him his watch
was ready for pick up. He had been dreading going to the mall, but that lunch
made all of that a distant memory.

He had seen her on a
bench, back against the wall with her knees up in front of her. She had a thick
book resting on her legs in her hands. She was so concentrated on it only
looking around occasionally. He caught himself staring and wanting to see what
she looked like behind the book and her hair. She had the silkiest hair he had
ever seen, black looking but maybe dark brown from the way the light shined a
deep red through her hair, he thought.
 
From where he stood in the shop he could see her kohl rimmed eyes, they
were stunning.

Aaron was wondering what color they were when a
faraway voice said, "Sir."
 

Snapping out of his musing he took a look at his
now ticking watch. It was a gift from his father, his mom Miranda had bought it
for his dad on their anniversary. It was one of his most prized possessions.
Aaron smiled thinking how happy she'd be knowing he had it and wore it often,
and now it was good as new. He glanced at the engraving on the inside before
slipping it on and fastening it in place. It read
Eternally Yours
with a
heart beside it.

Missing his mom was an everyday thing but he
believed that everything happened for a reason even if you couldn't figure it
out. Paying for the watch repair he noticed the mystery girl had moved.

He took the receipt and was out the door quickly in
search of that face he wanted to see more of. He saw her heading for the food
court and he stopped to look at a kiosk while she took little time deciding
where to eat he supposed. Aaron’s plan was to look from afar and admire.
Perhaps he would get up the nerve to say hello or something like that.

Aaron got in line behind her but not too close,
when she abruptly turned looking at the phone in her hand like she loathed it
murmuring about stupid auto correct. He looked down for a second so she
wouldn't notice him staring and, smack! She'd run right into him!

Once their eyes met he knew this was no chance
meeting, and then she spoke and he'd never loved the sound of a voice more.
When she asked if he'd join her for lunch there was no way he was going to say
no.

The whole time they were there they talked and
laughed. It was like they'd known each other forever and they were just catching
up. It was a strange sensation to feel like this about someone who was a
complete stranger, but who was he to judge what he couldn't explain. The crazy
thing was, he didn't really buy into the whole "fate" business, but
now he wasn't so sure.
 
Time flew by and
Aaron realized he was taking a really long lunch at that moment he was really
glad he was the boss.

Besides, Nia was worth it.

Aaron wasn’t going to be able to forget this girl
anytime soon. That was for sure! After meeting her sisters he had to think
fast. He could almost feel her slipping away. So he used being new in town and
working all the time as an advantage. He would need to enlist a local, even if
said local was a beautiful girl to show him around. He was glad she’d agreed to
exchange numbers.

They parted ways
and he was certain he'd be getting in touch with her sooner than later. It just
depended how long he could hold back his overwhelming need to see her again.
Aaron just couldn't stop thinking about Nia on his way back to work. He texted
Leo after putting on his seatbelt.

Aaron: Hey be
there soon, sorry took so long.

Leo: yea I don't
care really, not your mom dude.

Aaron: LOL Yeah
bye.

 
He wasn't sure if he should tell Leo about her
yet. Although they shared pretty much everything until they had moved here into
separate apartments. Leo was a ladies man all about business while Aaron was
about the business and didn’t spend a lot of time looking for ladies.

Aaron didn't even
know what was wrong with him for feeling so drawn to a girl he just met. The
image of this girl was an unstoppable force in his mind. She smelled like sugar
cookies and home.

How was that even
possible? Aaron was having a hard time trying to figure out why he felt such a
strong need to get to know her better? It was so much more than the physical
attraction he usually felt with the opposite sex, it was all-encompassing. When
he says need he definitely means as in need air to breathe. Everything else in
life took a backseat to the earthquake that just rocked his core, also known as
Nia. He figured the ridiculous fluttering he felt was what most called butterflies.

'Butterflies!
Seriously!?'

Aaron wanted to
know more about Nia than just the beautiful upturn of her nose and the gorgeous
black hair that cascaded down her back. It occasionally fell in her face and it
took every ounce of strength to keep himself from tucking that ornery strand
behind her ear. He wanted to know more than her Hispanic and French Cajun
roots.

He thought she was
so laid back, yet shy, smart and funny. Almost too good to be true,
almost.
 
He knew he would kick himself in
the butt daily if he didn't see what would come of this, if anything. Find out
somehow if she felt what he couldn't believe he was feeling.

He pulled into his
parking spot at their newly built office complex, grabbed his laptop bag and
made his way inside. The tall blonde receptionist, Becca gave him his afternoon
schedule and messages along with the presentation she'd copied for him. Tilting
her head she studied him with her grey eyes and asked him about his goofy smile
but he just shrugged it off. No need to get the gossip train going.

He found Leo in
the break room getting a soda, well dressed as usual. Even though they
maintained a relaxed and casual atmosphere Leo was always dressed to impress.
He was tall and well-built just like Aaron. He was Italian and could have been
an Armani poster boy. His eyes were pale blue and sometimes a stormy grey, his
olive skin made his eyes stand out. He had dark hair that he kept longer on top
and wore the latest styles. Today it was wavy reminding Aaron of an Italian
gigolo. He laughed but quickly recovered.

"Hey
man." Leo said.

"Hey."
was his response.

"Are we still
on for the game tonight?" Leo inquired.

"Definitely,
what time?”

"My place,
six thirty, bring a six pack." Leo responded with a wry smile.

"Of?"
Aaron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Beer of
course." Leo responded non-plused.

"And what am
I supposed to drink?"

Leo knew dang well
Aaron didn't drink.

"Oh, well get
something for yourself too." Leo replied with a wink.

Sometimes Leo
could be so annoying but as usual Aaron let it go.

"Sure man
sure." he responded calmly, grabbing a soda for himself and heading to his
office.

Business had been
good for them online and in Cambridge. Senior year was like a whirlwind.
Between keeping up GPA's and starting the business they had little time to
spare. They learned to sell their product well. Along with how to give the best
demos to get the importance and convenience of "A Brighter Future,
Today."

They checked their
demographics and that most of their business indeed came from the state of
Texas. So the move after college made perfect sense.

It cost them some
friendships and even Leo's relationship with his longtime girlfriend. Their
company was built on their blood sweat and tears as well as personal
sacrifices. They learned everything you could possibly know about solar panels
both stationary and portable, large and small. They've even gotten into the
development of the panels themselves.

Leo weighed his
options and decided that they shouldn't have anything holding them back from
the success he could see on the horizon. His job and school were stressful
enough without an added factor of a peeved girlfriend. So the breakup was
inevitable really. Maybe he was just done with her, Aaron was never sure with
how nonchalant he acted like it was.

They still have an
office in Cambridge, a branch of their business that personally handles the
people and companies who gave them their start. They have no intention of
shutting that branch down, ever.

The move was
drastic especially with the climate change. Leaving Alice and Ava was a whole
other dilemma for Aaron. They were so precious to him. He went home every weekend
just to spend time with them, when he was at school. They were so sad that he
was moving so far away. His home trips have been lacking so far, he hasn't been
back yet. He was so thankful for video calls, seeing their smiles and showing
him they got his random gifts that he sends to them.

He loved to spoil
them and they are good girls with good heads on their shoulders so far. Anna is
raising them to be thankful for everything they have. Just because they want
for nothing doesn't mean they shouldn't appreciate the little things. And they
don't keep things they don't use, they give any excess away about every six
months without any complaints.

He was leaned back
in his chair when he couldn't help it any longer. He texted Nia, quickly and
hit send before he changed his mind. He punched in Becca's extension.

"Talk to
me." She said through the speaker.

"Hey, Bec can
you bring in my schedule for this week so I can take a look at it?"

"Sure boss
man, be there in a sec."

Aaron shook his
head laughing. She was most definitely a character.

To his surprise
Nia texted back fairly quickly that she would check in with work and get back
to him.

That was enough to
make the already great day better. She didn't hesitate, that spoke volumes to
him. Maybe she felt the crazy vibes that he did too.

Putting a flash
drive in his PC, she asked, "Anything else?”

"No, that's
it. Thanks." he replied in kind, she bowed and exited his office. He
couldn't help but laugh at that.

He did some
stealthy maneuvering but cleared his schedule for the next day. Now to wait for
Nia to let him know if she was free. He felt like it may be too soon, but the
urge to see her again was just too strong.

This was so unlike
him really, Aaron was the confident, have anyone I want sort of guy and he
played the game like a pro. Never letting on so quickly that he was interested.
Or letting himself give in to any forever feeling like
‘love’
. His days of heart on the sleeve were long since behind him.

Aaron wasn't a
player per se, he hadn't had a girlfriend since freshman year at MIT. He tried
to do the casual thing but it got old real fast though his options never lacked.

He made his phone
calls and sent emails then went to what they'd deemed the lab to check on a few
things. His pocket panel was coming along nicely, all the diagnostics were
checking out just fine. A few glitches but it's to be expected with the design
that folded like a paper fan. He was actually happy with the progress and made
sure to give his tech crew a thumbs up.

When it was almost
five he ran out of things to do so he checked his phone again, nothing. He
sighed, hoping he didn't scare her off with his trying to spend time with her
so soon after they met. He could only hope she'd say yes.

Aaron grabbed his
things and stopped by Becca's desk to leave the flash drive, "Can you look
that over before you leave? I made some changes." he said with a wink.

"You sure you
don't wanna tell me about that goofy grin yet?" She replied with a mocking
smile.

"Nope"
he said shaking his head.

"You got it
boss man." She said and he grinned making his way outside.