Secret Admirer

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rebecca James sat up straight in her wooden chair and glanced out at the setting sun that made the sky almost orange. She swallowed and turned away. Today she would tell her friends that she wasn’t going to be around so much anymore. She'd made a decision.

From today on, her life would be different.

Rebecca studied the white and cream walls of the familiar restaurant decorated with drawings of life back in Cuba, before the 1960s. Miami, Florida, with its high Cuban population, had an 'art deco meets the Caribbean' vibe, and this place was no exception. She'd sat at this brown square table countless times over the years. Destiny, at her left, scrolled wedding ideas on Pinterest while they waited for Melissa.

She sent her best friend a text. Melissa, I’m going back to college… Delete. No that wouldn’t work. Melissa had actually gone to college and would support that decision, even though they'd graduated from high school seven years ago.

Melissa, I’m leaving Miami… Delete. Rebecca wasn’t sure she was going anywhere, and there was no need to be dramatic. Perhaps she would stay in town.

Financially, this made more sense, and she qualified for in-state tuition. Eighteen-year-olds who never had to pay bills were the kind who went to out of state colleges. Besides, she owned her own home.

Melissa, can you go with me to FIU tomorrow and walk me through how to register for classes? Should she delete this? It might be better to talk it out when her best friend arrived--late, as always.

Rebecca deleted the message and put her phone away with a sigh.

She wasn’t a teenager anymore. Maybe she should have gone right after high school. She felt too old now, even with the cherry red she’d added to her blonde hair. The change hadn’t helped jazz up her days, or nights. Her life was on the fast track to boring.

This couldn’t be solved by simply buying new clothes or changing her dyed red ponytail to a shorter, darker style. The problem went deeper than that.

The concentration it took to tune an engine shouldn’t be the only time her mind was quiet and peaceful.

Rebecca admitted to herself that, yeah, she needed new clothes, as every article in her closet had oil stains. But what was the point, unless she changed her job?

Something needed to happen and happen now, because working at the garage and meeting her friends here on Friday nights just wasn’t fun anymore.

Life had to be more than what she had right now. More was out there. Somewhere, just waiting for her.

Rebecca sipped on her beer. Destiny radiated happiness. Her friend was getting married on the beach, to the man of her dreams. Until she’d seen Destiny this happy, she hadn't believed anyone could truly glow.

Destiny continued to take notes, smiling occasionally as she pinned a few more ideas on her board.

One day Rebecca James wanted to glow.

In her current state, however, that wasn’t going to happen.

The bell at the front door rang and Melissa sauntered in, wearing a new black cocktail dress that probably cost her entire paycheck. Why Melissa dressed up like she was heading to a party every Friday night, when they were just meeting for dinner at this old restaurant, she’d never understand.

Unlike her, Melissa had a job that she seemed to enjoy, especially her status as the youngest head manager in the international conglomerate she worked for.

Melissa's new outfit didn't gain a single glance. The customers, like the three friends, were always the same--they were practically part of the furniture.

Melissa slipped onto the chair next to her. Long brown hair curled over one fashionable shoulder. The waitress immediately came over to take their orders. Destiny chose the "my wedding is coming" chicken salad, Melissa picked sautéed chicken breasts, and Rebecca ordered chicken Milanese--she needed the carbs after ripping apart a carburetor earlier that afternoon.

Unfortunately, her work gloves had ripped halfway through and no amount of scrubbing could get the black engine oil from her nails. Once the waitress left, Rebecca said, “Melissa, looking beautiful as always.”

Melissa smiled at the compliment, thanking the waitress, who dropped off her beer and plantains for them to share. She fixed her napkin over her lap like a lady. “Rebecca, I got your cryptic texts about "change is coming", like your life is a movie teaser. What’s going on?”

It was time to tell her best friends her plans. She thought of them as her sisters, but of the three, her life was missing something big. Destiny had her married life to look forward to, and Melissa her career in retail--she'd probably be sent to the corporate offices to shape the stores up regionally and then something even bigger. Unlike her, Melissa had a laser focus for business opportunities and getting ahead.

Rebecca took a swig of her beer, for courage. It was harder than she thought to tell them, when it shouldn’t be. They’d be happy she was putting herself first, but still, her pulse raced with nerves. “I need your help. I’m thinking about enrolling at FIU for an engineering degree, but I’m lost on how to go about it. I feel like I’m too old now to start back in school.”

“College classes are filled with people in their thirties or even older. Don’t worry about your age. We’re not old,” Melissa said fast.

“I’m so excited for you!” Destiny’s eyes widened. “Your father’s letting you leave the garage?"

Her dad had insisted he teach her a trade to make sure she always had money, or the ability to make a living.

“We had a heart-to-heart. I bought my own house when I was twenty-one. I own a safe, boring car that works like a dream. He raised me well. None of that fills me, here.” She tapped her chest. Her father wanted her to be happy and ripping cars apart to fix the broken pieces wasn’t fulfilling. She shrugged. “He sees that I'm unhappy. Besides, he’s got his new girlfriend and her son, who he’s also teaching to be a mechanic. He doesn’t need me so much now.”

“Unhappy?” Melissa sat forward, her elbow on the plastic table top. “Is this because of Javier?”

Rebecca cringed. Javier had been a huge mistake. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, since they’d been in bed and he'd called her Katie in the heat of the moment. She couldn’t escape fast enough from that fiasco. Her face felt hot but she couldn't tell her friends exactly what had gone down. “No. I’m sick of dating guys like Javier.”

Sweet Destiny, busy planning a wedding to a trustworthy man she'd known since they were all in first grade, said, “What do you mean?”

Her stomach knotted. But, friends were always her rock. Melissa and Destiny knew everything about her life and stood by her, and she’d do the same for them. Everything, except this. Red-hot humiliation replayed in her head. She’d thought maybe Javier loved her, and one day would marry her. After she’d agreed to hit the sheets, he’d cried out ‘Katie.’ She’d scrambled out of bed, grabbed her clothes, and raced home.

"Out with it," Melissa said.

She met Melissa’s cool gaze. “He called me someone else, in bed.”

“Rebecca, no!” Melissa sucked in her breath. “What a jerk.”

They were on the same page.

Last night, Rebecca had cleaned her house and put all her tools in the garage rather than the living room. She'd skipped out on dinner with her dad and made some decisions.

This morning, she’d told him her plans to start college. He'd called it a waste of money, as she had skills most women never learned. Being a mechanic made her father happy, but what made her excited was designing a truly safe environmental car and not one of those hybrids that most people thought were ‘good’, when in truth the creation of that car did more damage to the earth than driving a good car for ten years.

She sighed. “Look, working at the garage and staying in this same circle isn’t conducive to meeting a classy guy who will treat me right, and remember my name in the moments that matter.”

Melissa’s lips pinched like she saw through her. “But you’re definitely going to FIU and not hoping to meet some guy who will fulfill you?”

“I don’t chase men. I’d love to go to school in New York or be accepted at Cal Tech or MIT, but those require a ton of tests.”

Destiny quickly said, “Rebecca, you can’t go to college and disappear on your friends. I’m getting married and you’re in the wedding.”

Her friend was living the dream. “FIU is cheaper and easy to commute to from my house.” Rebecca reached across the table and squeezed Destiny's hand. “I’ll probably stay, but either way, your wedding is important. I’ll be there. I promised, and I always keep my promises. I can take a flight if I move away.”

Melissa leaned back, placing her newest phone on the table beside her, and indicated that their meal had arrived. They were quiet while the waitress set everything down. Once they were alone again, Melissa said, “Look, there are rich socialites in Miami.”

They could dress up, hit South Beach and go to more clubs, and then not be remembered, again. And rich wasn’t the plan--she didn't care about money, but class. Easy drinks and men on vacation were not the kind she’d build her own happily-ever-after with. And a good man with a heart wouldn’t be buying drinks and expecting to see her naked in exchange for the fruity vodka mix she’d order. So, no thanks. She tried to explain, “Even if we pretend we’re twenty-one and go to all the party spots, that isn't the man I'm looking for. I want a hard-working, upscale guy to treat me right. I want him to think I’m his princess.”

Melissa nodded like she was okay with that answer. “Those guys exist in Miami, but I still say a man with connections will be better for you than some random mechanic or airport worker like Javier.”

Goals were important and the next time she needed a man with bigger goals.

Melissa was right on that part.

Neither of them had met him yet. Melissa worked in retail and Rebecca worked in her father’s garage. The garage for sure wasn’t the place to meet sophisticated men looking for the forever kind of love. “Where do you suggest I hang out for a man like that?”

“Some hot master's degree student at FIU maybe,” Melissa said. “Or one getting his PhD. Smart guys are cuter than meatheads like Javier anyhow.”

Destiny handed over her tablet. “Let’s be specific. Show me a picture of the kind of guy you want.”

Huh? A picture. She went to the search engine but held her finger above the image button as she said, “This will just be an example.”

Melissa nodded. “Good idea, Destiny. We need to know who you are looking for and then we’ll figure out where you can meet him.”

A group project to find her true love. She was in. She browsed through "classic gentleman" as her search and stopped at an Italian in a nice suit, with chocolate brown eyes, a strong jawline, and muscles molded to perfection. In the photo, he was giving money to a charity. Rebecca scanned for his name-- Bartolomeo "Bart" Morgan, philanthropist.

She handed the tablet to Melissa first. “Okay, but this is just an example. I don't need someone to always wear a suit. I love his clean-shaven face--I bet he’s the kind of guy who brings flowers to brighten up the day, remembers your birthday and treats you like you matter.”

Melissa rolled her eyes but her face had paled as she handed the tablet to Destiny and said, “This guy looks like he wants to run the world, and would toss his children out of their homes if the children were bothersome--his secretary will send the flowers.”

Melissa acted like she knew this guy, but that was impossible--maybe she'd had to deal with someone like him in her job. Rebecca snagged the tablet. Bart’s gaze made her imagine being treated like a princess and adored. He was breathtakingly handsome. She turned off the screen and returned it to Destiny. “It’s just an example, but where would I meet a guy like this?”

Destiny turned the screen back on and held up the tablet. “Guys like this? Or this guy you want in your head?”

“Both.”

“Yeah. Okay. If they exist at all…” Destiny sighed like she was about to read a fairy tale story to one of her first graders.

Rebecca pictured his impeccable manners as he kissed her hand, and never once would he call her by any other name.

Melissa tapped her cheek in thought. “Hmm. At some fancy art show, or a gala.”

Her dream burst. Rebecca picked up her fork, ready to dig into her meal and forget this conversation. “Don't you have to buy tickets for those? I don’t have that kind of cash to go dropping hundreds of dollars to go to parties. I’d go broke in a week.”

The three friends ate in contemplative silence. Rebecca's fantasies would now have a more defined look, and a name.

Melissa pushed her plate away. “Pretend you’re buying a yacht. Rich boys don’t rent their boats or have a monthly plan. They own their yacht.”

No one would take her as the yacht-buying type. Ever. Between her brightly dyed hair and oil-stained clothes, she couldn't pass as a millionaire. But she indulged the idea, just for fun. “So you’re saying I go to the dealer and pretend to be in the market for a yacht?”

Melissa's brow lifted and Rebecca felt her judgement as she assessed the blue sparkly sleeveless shirt and knee-length denim skirt that stretched across her muscular thighs. Her lips thinned. “Say it’s for your boss so they take you seriously.”

They all laughed. She ate her last bite of chicken and imagined somehow meeting Bart when he was there to buy a yacht. She squeezed her friend’s arm. “It wouldn't really work.”

"Not with that attitude," Destiny said. "I dare you to just walk the marina."

"What?" She thought about that--it didn't seem so hard. "Just walk?

Melissa’s brown eyes widened. “You’re going to do it?”

“What are the terms of the dare?”

“If you don’t go, you’re buying the beer for the next month.”

“And if I do it?”

Melissa gestured between her and Destiny. “We'll buy.”

“I’ll be ordering an extra one then. Since you’re paying.”

Destiny showed her the tablet again, this time with her dream guy standing on a ship. "If you're feeling brave, pretend to be in the market for an hour and see who comes along."

Maybe Mr. Picture Perfect with that sexy smile.

Go to a yacht dealer and pretend she was interested--she could do that, and then she’d have something to report next Friday night, and a month of free Friday night beer. “Yes. Why not? I need to change my life. I’m not happy with how things are right now.”

Destiny put her tablet back in her huge pocketbook that she always carried and teased, “You going to throw us out when you marry someone rich and famous?”

Yeah, right. She needed her friends, as they kept her sane. Rebecca fluffed her ponytail and pretended she was fancy when she said, “The two of you are going to have to step it up if you intend to visit me in my mansion, and drink champagne instead of beer.”

“That’s awful,” Melissa laughed.

Destiny looked stricken. Rebecca stopped laughing and said, “I’m joking. We’re best friends and I need you both. I'm just afraid that I will have less time to hang out with you two in the next few months.”

“Because of school?” Melissa asked, her eyes narrowed. “Personally, I’m looking forward to champagne dinners in your villa in Rome, with your dream guy--he will only want you to have sons and not a daughter.”

“He’ll never be like that, Melissa. Besides, even if I met this man, I wouldn’t be good enough.”

Melissa scoffed and shook her head. “You are more than good enough. How many weekends have you given up to fix a junker of a car for a family looking to get back on their feet?”

She liked giving back to her community, but he'd had a list of charities. “That doesn’t make me ready for a guy like this.” Rebecca pressed her knees together as she sat forward. “I’m nervous about the classes. I didn’t study that hard in high school, and I will need to…now that I’m paying out that much tuition.”

Destiny smiled bright as she sipped her beer. “You’ll be fine as long as you keep it real and stay in touch with us, okay?”

Encouraging as always. “Some of the classes are online, which I've never done before. I told Dad I need to be part-time at the garage.”

Melissa finished her bottle of beer, and then folded her hands on the table. “But you like pulling stuff apart and putting it back again. What kind of degree are you going for?”

“I need to change and I’m willing to give tinkering with my engines up. I’m thinking of an engineering degree. The hybrid battery on these newer models is worse for the environment than just using gas for the life of your average car, not that anyone talks about that.” Sure, she enjoyed fixing things, but that didn’t satisfy her when she went to bed at night. Maybe if she could create an environmentally friendly battery she’d feel like she was making a difference.

“Then I’ll help you," Melissa said. "I just didn’t want you giving up what you loved to take pottery classes because some guy treated you bad.”

“I was looking at classes before Javier was ever in my life.”

This wasn’t about a guy. Her goals needed attention. She wanted a satisfying career. She wanted to find love. That didn’t make her strange. One day she'd like to get married, have children and not stress about money, or work so hard that she didn't enjoy her family. She’d do whatever she could to make her dreams come true.

Her time was now.