Never Knew Love Like This Before

  “I may be crazy but if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were positively glowing.”

  Glenda felt the heat come to her face. She pinned the picture back on the board and picked up the pad off the desk, shaking her head. No, she wouldn’t tell Gerri yet. She’d wait until the ultrasound, the tests . . . the confirmation that yes, she was indeed going to have a healthy baby, and a life without Simi—pity was something she would never be able to live with.

  “I’m so hungry . . . want to take an early lunch. I need to talk to you about some changes I want to implement here in this office.”

  “Changes?”

  “Yes, Gerri, you are my administrative assistant, but how about a promotion to executive secretary, and more responsibilities . . . if you want them, if you want it.”

  “Heck yeah, I mean, sure . . . I mean . . .” Gerri grabbed Glenda’s arm. “What about Dave?” she whispered.

  “What about him? He has a department. You are my assistant; you are in line for this promotion, not him.”

  “Lunch sounds real good then,” Gerri purred excitedly.

  The position had been on boards as open for the longest time, but never filled before now. Glenda had never felt anyone was qualified to fill in for her this way. Executive secretary was basically a clone of herself, with a nearly matching salary. The powers that be had told Glenda she needed one yet she only worked harder to prove that she didn’t. But now . . . all that was about to change.

  “Glenda,” Gerri said then, serious now and in a low voice. “Are you dying?”

  Glenda laughed. “No.”

  When they reached the restaurant, Glenda quickly ordered. She was starving. Just knowing about the baby now justified her appetite and she had no intention of fighting the feeling any longer.

  “Wow, you were serious about lunch,” Gerri said, ordering only a salad after hearing Glenda ordering so much food.

  “You got that right,” she giggled.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Gerri asked. Her question was probing and curious. Glenda caught the inquiry and just smiled.

  Just then laughter came from another table, familiar laughter. Glenda turned to see if she could find the owner of it. It was a sound that tickled her ear and only one person had that effect on her.

  “Tim,” she uttered.

  “Who?” Gerri asked.

  “Oh, a friend of my nephew,” Glenda said, still looking around trying to follow the voice.

  “He must be someone interesting, you’re breaking your neck to find him,” Gerri noticed, glancing in the dessert menu. It was only around one o’clock now but something sweet was good anytime as far as Gerri was concerned and since Glenda was in such a good mood she was gonna order a big piece of pie to have after her salad. Glenda cut her eyes back to her.

  “No, no, I was wondering if my nephew is with him.”

  “Ah, but I doubt it. Glen’s schedule never allows for him to have this time of day free,” Gerri said.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know his schedule as well as I know yours, missy. See, I know more about you than you think.” Gerri winked.

  “You didn’t know I wasn’t dying,” Glenda smarted back.

  Just then, Tim’s voice closed in around her. She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing there. He waved good-bye to two other young men who looked clean-cut and professional. Gently he laid his hand on the back of her neck, sending chills through her body and a shiver down her spine. He pulled his hand away as if he too felt it and rubbed his palms together.

  “Hey, Mommy,” he said, flashing a beautiful smile. Glenda blinked slowly and then her eyes darted to Gerri who didn’t seem to catch the comment. Glenda cleared her throat.

  “Hi Tim, I’m in a business meeting right now if you don’t mind,” she quickly said. Tim stepped backwards, realizing his mistake and carelessness.

  “I am so sorry, gosh, I wish my boss took me to lunch sometime,” he said toward Gerri.

  “Please, she’s my boss but don’t get excited. This is truly the first time,” Gerri rambled before catching her professionalism or lack of.

  “Oh Gerri, you sound like I’m a tyrant,” Glenda said, fanning her hand. Gerri just gave a tight smile, which made Tim laugh aloud and again pat Glenda’s shoulder. It was almost as if he wanted to test the heat again to make sure the fire had only been his imagination.

  “Well, I won’t interrupt your meeting. Oh, by the way, I would really like it if you would come by my clinic. I would love to give you a massage and show you what we do there at—”

  “Okay,” Glenda said, cutting off the rest of his statement just in case his clinic had some name that had carried the word baby or mother or birth in it.

  “Wow, can I come,” Gerri asked. He glanced at her, his eyes staring into hers.

  “Well, I don’t think our service is for you,” he simply said, bending over, sliding a card from his pocket under Glenda’s water glass. She stared at it, afraid to pick it up and then feeling the heat on her face. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His face was close, his skin smooth. He smelled good. His hands were large and strong looking. The thought of them on her aroused her. Hardly ever had she thought of another man touching her and never with the excitement the thought of Tim massaging her brought.

  “I’ll call,” she managed to say.

  Just then, the waitress came to the table with the black book that contained her credit card. Her face was tight and concern was showing. She stood until Tim moved away from Glenda and then whispered in her ear while laying the black book on the table. “Ma’ am, I’m sorry but this card didn’t clear.”

  “Excuse me?” Glenda said, her voice reaching a high pitch.

  “Do you have another one?” she asked. Her voice rose a little louder now and Gerri immediately saw what was happening and heard her. She reached for her purse. Tim too reached for his wallet. Glenda held up her hand.

  “Guys no, please . . . hold on, there must be a mistake,” she said to the waitress, who shook her head, buckling her lip in embarrassment.

  “Wow,” was all Glenda could say, rubbing her forehead. She didn’t even want to verbalize her instant thoughts.

  Simi.

  She opened her purse and pulled out cash and paid the tab along with a large tip for the girl’s trouble. Her stomach was turning and churning the whole time. “Please bring me a doggie bag. Gerri, I saw you looking at the sweets. Do you want something? I’m not in a hurry, just not hungry any more.”

  Gerri shook her head and quickly folded the menu closed. Glenda shook her head and handed the girl another ten-dollar bill. “Bring us a couple of slices of cheesecake too please,” she said, hoping to show Gerri she truly had no financial worries. The waitress nodded and smiled, walking away from the table happily.

  “Well, that was scary,” she said to both Gerri and Tim. “I guess my husband has been doing a little shopping,” she said sipping her ice water. Again, Tim slid his large hands over her shoulders, easing the immediate tension he saw come up in her face.

  “Call me, Glenda . . . tonight,” he said, in her ear.

  Glenda hated that Tim no doubt knew about her separation. She could tell by the compassion in his voice. Glen had told him. When he walked away Glenda watched him a long time.

  “Okay, spill it,” Gerri said, bringing her back. Glenda assessed her emotions. No, she would not cry. She was actually a little ticked off at Simi’s audacity. To max out the cards without telling her was downright rude.

  “Gerri, Simi and I had a little misunderstanding about finances, apparently,” she added, rolling her eyes. Her mind was soaring.

  “And so big hand handsome dude just happened to be available to . . .”

  “What are you talking about? Tim is my nephew’s friend. Come on now, he’s a kid and I’m a grown woman. Actually, I’ve been thinking of having a masseuse come in once a month to give massages to all my leads.”

  “And so you were
just gonna try him out first?” Gerri asked. Glenda nodded and pointed at her.

  “Exactly,” she said. Gerri and Glenda burst into girlish laughter. The waitress brought the doggie bag and pie, only to find Glenda eating now and she and Gerri engaged in lively business conversation about Gerri’s new work duties.

  Chapter 9

  Glenda went back to work without concern over much. She felt good about her conversation with Gerri and both had a full understanding of what was going to be expected as the months continued. It was easy to talk to Gerri, easier than Glenda thought possible. Even when Gerri’s curiosity over who Tim was came into the conversation, Glenda wasn’t even rattled. She had an answer for that one. He was Glen’s best friend, nothing more, right? Sure, he always seemed to be there when she needed him but still . . . he was Glen’s friend, not hers.

  Thinking about Glen, she called him to tell him what had occurred during the lunch break.

  “What? Your card didn’t go through. Is Simi nuts? How can he use up all the credit when you’re gonna have a baby. How can he do that to you and the baby?”

  “Glen, he doesn’t . . .”

  “I realize that he doesn’t know, but even still, how could he just take money like that? How could he leave you and then take money? I mean, I’m sure he was embarrassed when you popped his chops in the restaurant the other day but still . . .” Glen was fuming. Glenda had never seen him have so much anger towards Simi before. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

  “Well, I called the bank and closed the joint checking accounts that we have. They were my accounts anyway and therefore I just had to close them and move my money to a different primary account. I want you to be on it with me,” she said. Glen was so busy fussing he didn’t hear her right away. “As well as my IRA and well, I’ve got to meet with my attorney but . . .”

  “You want me to what?” Glen snapped to attention, shaking his head at the same time on his end of the phone. “No, I don’t want to, Aunt Glenda. It’s too much pressure.”

  “Pressure?”

  “What if Simi finds out, I mean . . .”

  “He won’t find out and what if he does?”

  “I don’t want to end up fighting him. He’s so jealous.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Oh yeah, didn’t you know that. He’s always been jealous of me and you and our relationship. I’m so surprised you didn’t know that.”

  Glenda laughed aloud. “What is there to be jealous of, Glen?”

  “Well, like when we start going to your appointments together he’s gonna flip!”

  “You’re going with me?”

  “Of course I am. I would never let you go through this alone. I already told Tim we’d be there next week.”

  “You told him what?”

  “He was saying that he wanted to be your doula or whatever the hell he is, maybe you should let him deliver your baby . . . or whatever.”

  “No way,” Glenda giggled. “He’s not a doctor . . . anyway, no. I’m not going to let him touch me.” Glenda felt the heat on her face, whispering loudly into the phone as if someone might be overhearing. Once again, Tim had come up in conversation. He was becoming a somebody in her life . . . who, in particular, she had no idea.

  Just then, Dave peeked his head in the door. Glenda held the receiver to her chest. “How can I help you, Dave?”

  “Need to speak with you for a minute,” he said. He had a bit more of an edge in his voice than Glenda was used to. She held up her finger for him to hold on a moment but instead of his usual compliance, he rolled his eyes. “Some people need to get to work around here,” he mumbled. She heard him.

  “Let me let you go,” she told Glen before hanging up quickly. “You have a problem, David?”

  “So, Gerri’s role in his office has changed?” he asked, sounding a bit off the wall. Glenda leaned back and folded her arms.

  “She’s my assistant, Dave . . . same position she’s always had.”

  “Well, she’s acting like you and her just had some friggin’ power lunch or something because she’s out of control. Whatever you broke, you need to fix.”

  “Pardon me?” Her body language said it all. How dare he question any decision she made.

  “She just asked me to bring my department stats for the week to her. I’m thinking to myself, what does she want them for? She can barely read, let alone . . .”

  Glenda’s hand flew up. “End it right now, Dave. Don’t say another word. Gerri is my assistant. Reviewing stats is in her job description. She’s good at her job and does it well. It’s called delegation. Good-bye,” she added, looking over the stack of papers on her desk. He stood there for a moment longer before pushing up his glasses; he realized he’d been dismissed and left in a huff.

  “You must have bumped your head when you fell,” he mumbled again under his breath. Glenda pretended not to hear.

  Dave wanted Gerri’s position. Glenda wasn’t sure of that fact until now but suddenly she was very aware. Over the last few days Glenda had teetered on softness but she needed to keep her wits about her in the workplace. Yes, there were changes at home but here, whatever different was going to be happening she wanted her hand on the trigger—making it go. There was no room for pliability and tenderness in the corporate world. She knew that and wanted to believe that she hadn’t given Gerri the added duties in error, or out of some kind of tender emotion. If Gerri made a mess of things it might cost Glenda more than she was ready to give up. Just then she felt a pull in her belly. It felt like a hunger pang but maybe . . .

  “It’s too early, Glenda,” she told herself. Thinking about Tim suddenly, she reached for his card. “A doula . . .” she thought out loud and then chuckled. “Are you easily distracted or what?”

  Just then, she heard a ruckus coming from the front office. Stepping from her haven, she found Dave and Gerri going at it in a verbal altercation. His files were scattered about on the floor.

  “What is going on here?” Glenda exploded, looking around the office realizing that clients were sitting, staring, shocked at the unprofessional behavior they were witnessing.

  “You bitch!” Dave yelled. “I’m not giving you a flippin’ thing. I’ll quit before I allow you to double-check me! If you want my files pick them up yourself!”

  “Let’s not get personal here, David,” Gerri said calmly.

  “Personal . . . Ha! That’s a laugh. You’re personal life is all over this office . . . and the bathroom walls.”

  The air cracked from the stiff silence that suddenly froze the room. All Glenda could do was stand there and wait to see what Gerri would do next. This was her test, her first one. How would she handle this situation?

  “Well, if that’s true, David, then I suppose we should call maintenance or better yet, my lawyer for copyright infringements, because I don’t remember giving anyone the right to put my life in print that way,” Gerri remarked coolly. Keeping her cool, Glenda realized then Gerri had been indeed listening to her lectures. Dave’s face went beet red as he stormed off.

  Before Glenda could apologize for her employee’s actions, Gerri was already handing out gift cards to the waiting clients. They always kept complimentary coffeehouse cards for clients who had waited too long to be seen or were otherwise not totally thrilled by their visit there. On her way back to her desk, Glenda nodded approval and headed out to look for Dave, but his jacket was off his seat and his cubical was empty. His cube neighbors were all busy with clients and had apparently either missed the loud exchange or wanted to pretend they had so as not to jeopardize their jobs as Dave had.

  Later when Gerri wrote up her incident report, it showed Dave in a very bad light. Apparently he was bringing his personal life to the office. “His wife left him. I know he’s upset about that. It was so unexpected, but still . . .” Gerri divulged. It was gossip and maybe a little bit of a rumor but still, it would explain Dave’s change of demeanor. “You don’t go off in front of the clients. Even I know tha
t. I came in here and cried in your office . . . sheesh,” Gerri said, handing Glenda the report.

  Too much stress, Glenda thought now, pulling out Dave’s personnel file, giving it a look over. He was up for review and this go-round wasn’t going to be as pleasant as the last one was. His resentment over Gerri’s increased responsibilities coupled with dropping department scores this quarter were, unfortunately, damaging. Glenda could relate, though. This separation from Simi was turning out to be a bear and all she could hope was she could handle the pressure.

  When Glenda got home that night, she was met at her door by a small gift. A peace offering from Simi was her first thought. Picking the single rose up, she gave it a sniff. The flower immediately affected her. “Can I forgive him?” she asked herself. “Can I take him back after all he’s done?” She shook her head. No. Simi had showed his ass for the last time as far as she was concerned. Now he was trying to hurt the baby. Sure, he didn’t know there was a baby, but still. How dare he try to take money from her when she needed everything she’d saved over the years to support this child—to give him or her everything he or she needed.

  Glenda huffed and shook her head again. Yes, it was a sweet gesture but just not enough to change things.

  Walking in the house she glanced at the phone, the message light was blinking. Laying her purse and the rose on the coffee table she pressed the play button.

  “Glenda, call me.” Minx.

  “Aunt Glenda, call me.” Glen.

  “Girl, have you lost your damn mind, Simi was here all tow up. What’s going on? Call me,” Glenda’s brother yelled into the phone.

  Glancing at the card hanging from the rose she read it. “I hope life gets better real soon. Tim.”

  Tim?

  Glenda gave way to coquettish giggling and then stopped herself and looked around.

  Tim?

  What in the world did getting this rose today . . . of all days, mean? Timing was everything in Glenda’s mind and Tim had been right on time more than once since this all began. He was becoming as mystic as the contents of a fortune cookie . . . and maybe as sweet.