****
I woke to the ringing of my cell phone. With my eyes still heavy with sleep, I swiped it off the bureau and put it against my ear. When I heard Jennifer’s voice, I eased up against the headboard and looked at the time. It was fifteen after six in the evening and I couldn’t believe I’d slept for nearly two hours.
“Sierra, I’ve been trying to call you all day,” Jennifer complained. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone, sweets?”
“I had my ringer turned off.”
“Why the heck would you do that?”
To avoid Taj, I wanted to say, but instead, I tersely replied, “I was in a very important meeting for most of the day and I didn’t want to be interrupted. I’m sorry.”
There was a pause on Jennifer’s end, which made me think the line had dropped. “It seems as if you’re on the path for another promotion. Good for you.”
“Well…” It was my time to pause. I dithered in my decision to tell Jennifer about the meeting with Mr. Fenton Sullivan. She didn’t seem too thrilled to hear about my successes tonight. “Let’s just say if everything after this meeting continues to be positive, it will put me way ahead of my competition. I owe Reuben a great deal of thanks. He’s the one who recommended my services and I’m extremely happy he did.”
“Reuben is in town?” Jennifer’s voice peaked. “How could you be so selfish and not tell me?”
My brows furrowed in confusion because Jennifer was never that excited to hear about Reuben. As a matter of fact, she’d barely asked about him in the two years he’d been living in Beijing. “I wasn’t aware you had such an interest in Reuben,” I teased. “Don’t forget that you have another man’s ring on your finger.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jennifer spat. “I’m amazed that you didn’t mentioned it when all you ever did was complain to me about how much Reuben got on your nerves. Now you’re suddenly singing his praises. Is he still overweight?”
Jennifer’s words stung, but they were the truth. However, I didn’t need her pointing out something to me I already knew. “No…he has lost over one hundred and fifty pounds.”
“What! No wonder there’s a change in you. I sensed it last night when we were playing Dirty Games. You’re different somehow. Wait a minute…have you been secretly having a rendezvous with Reuben and attempting to hide it from me? You naughty little girl!”
“What’s the matter with you? To even suggest that I’m remotely interested in Reuben that way is completely preposterous. You know my focus is on building a stronger connection with God. I don’t need anything distracting me right now.”
Wow, I was becoming too good at masking the truth…Jennifer needed to know that Taj is not the faithful man she thinks he is. How dare he assume that I would keep quiet about his actions? So what if I’m helplessly attracted to him. That doesn’t mean it’s right…
“I’m just saying, sweets,” Jennifer said, disrupting my mental tirade. “You seem different. Like you’re hiding something from me. Don’t forget, we’ve been friends since the eighth grade. I know you very well.”
“Well, you’ve always had an active imagination.”
“I’m not buying it, but since you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll leave it alone.”
“There’s really nothing to talk about, Jennifer. If there was, you know I would have told you by now.”
“Whatever you say. I didn’t call to drill you about your boring life anyway. What are your plans for tonight?”
My eyes swung to my alarm clock, which showed it was now twenty minutes to seven. I had a little over an hour to get dressed and head to the Mesa Grill to meet Reuben, but I was not about to relay that to Jennifer.
“I have plans for tonight,” I replied simply. “Why’d you ask?”
“Well, it looks like I’ll be spending a few extra hours at the office tonight. I’m trying to balance one of our ledger accounts, which is off by eighty-three thousand dollars and some change.”
“Wow, that’s huge. I’ve never heard of you being unable to balance your accounts.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Jennifer said. “I’m asking a small favor of you. So please tell me that you will do it.”
“I have to be somewhere at eight tonight, but I promise that I will at least try.”
“Thank you, sweets. Do you still have that spare key to my house?”
“Yes…”
“Great! There’s a check for nineteen hundred dollars on the dresser in my bedroom. A lady by the name of Dale Strummer is scheduled to come by my home this evening at seven- thirty to pick it up. Can you get the check and give it to her, please? I’m taking out a new life insurance policy on Taj. Something happens to him and I’m an instant millionaire.”
“Jennifer, I don’t find that remotely funny, even if you are kidding.”
“Of course I’m kidding,” she giggled. “You need to lighten up. It’s a down payment to have my kitchen remodeled in time for the wedding. I can’t afford to live in the rich coves of Paradise Island like you, so I have to settle for what my money can buy.”
I struggled not to tell Jennifer about the surprise that Taj was working on. I didn’t want her wasting nineteen hundred dollars on a home she wouldn’t be living in. But then I thought that maybe Taj couldn’t really afford a four-million-dollar home anyway and that it was wise that Jennifer wanted to invest in something that was secure. She could always list the home on the market for sale if Taj was able to put his money where his mouth was.
“How come you didn’t ask Taj to do it? He lives with you, right?”
“I have asked him, but he’s working late tonight as well. Sierra, please, tell me you will do it. It’s very important that Ms. Strummer gets that check tonight; otherwise, I will have to pay the full price of the renovation.”
“Okay,” I said. “That means I will have to break a heel trying to get out in time for my eight o’clock appointment.”
Jennifer laughed. “Thanks, sweets. You’re the reason why we’re such good friends. Love you much.”
I disconnected from Jennifer, feeling like I’d just been struck by an eighteen wheeler. But the feeling quickly dwindled as I jumped to my feet and switched into adrenaline mode. In less than forty minutes, I’d showered, gotten dressed and was in my car heading to Jennifer’s house. The clock on my dashboard read, 7:21 p.m. I convinced myself that I had a lot of time to fulfil Jennifer’s request and still be back across the bridge in time to meet Reuben.