WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT WHEN CARMA'S INVOLVED?

CINCO

“Were you daddy’s little girl?” Leaning over, he nudged me with his shoulder. One of my pet peeves is people that do not understand personal space.

My sisters hold that title while my baby brother is Padre’s pride and joy. Being the nerd of the family, all my spare time was spent with my face buried in books, far away from everyone. I had few friends and no relationships until I shipped off to college. Wanting the attention off me, I flipped it and congratulated him on his engagement.

“Yeeepppp. I reckon so.”

I'd never met such a depressed soon-to-be groom. The lovely bride-to-be? Carma Whitlock. I could already see his relationship not ending on a good note. Basically, she wanted to get married, and he did not. At least not yet. Miss Whitlock would not stop beating around the bush and placing pressure on him. Whatever she said worked because he caved. I’d heard some gossip around the watercooler, but I try not to place much stock in rumors. One of the rumors was that Carma constantly nagged Alixxander to get married. When that happens, usually it’s because a woman has been hanging on for a long time. But their relationship was six months old. That is nowhere near long enough to learn anything about each other.

Carma’s face plastered the society pages of every Boston magazine because of her relationship with Alixxander. Before all of that, she was a model, aspiring singer, dancer, and actress. Women like her care about their looks more than anything or anyone else. It did and didn’t surprise me when Alixxander disclosed Carma wanted to get married and find a surrogate to carry their babies. I guess it made perfect sense in her mind to find a surrogate, so she does not destroy her way too thin figure.

Taking my preference into consideration, I said I would give her the time of her life for one night, then cut her loose. After my little comment, Alixxander told me to let him know what it was like. I looked at him, then my eyeballs randomly looked everywhere but at him. Turns out, they had never been intimate because she was still fcking her ex.

My response, “Oh hell no. That would be the day.” Poor guy managed to get himself into a gigantic mess.

“I wanted to come here and properly welcome you and say thanks for picking up my end of things. I mean I found you. It's only right.”

He found me? That was an interesting tid bit. He proceeded by telling me his father showed concern about bad press and flat out refused to allow him to handle the offer and my subsequent hiring. Allowing Román to hog all the credit to avoid losing me told me Alixxander knew the pecking order, and he was at the bottom of the totem pole. It was only fair to thank the real driving force behind my fresh start. Alixxander seemed to be a sweet guy getting a raw deal with an adult adolescent. I feel for him, but on some fcked up level, I can tell he loves her.

“Now that we are friends, will you call me Alixxander or Alixx?” I could not help but notice his amazing smile and perfectly aligned bright white teeth that glowed in the moonlight. As much as he wanted it, it was still not gonna happen. Shrugging his shoulders, his hands made the same gesture, and he winked at me. Sweet, funny, and handsome. Carma knew what she had sunk her claws into, that was for sure.

Eventually, I noticed he was dressed like me. He ran to my place because he didn’t want Carma to know where he was going. I scratched my head out of confusion. It was appalling to hear that she had trackers on his cars and on his cell phones. Normal people have maybe...... two cars and, unless you are a drug dealer, only one cell phone. Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked why she would go that far.

“Guilty conscience, she has.”

“I fckin’ love Star Wars.”

“You picked up on that. Nice. She hates it. That's why I watch it all the time.”

“You're sad.”

“Lost cause, I am.”

Sad, she makes you is what I meant to say. Sorrow filled my heart for the way she treated him and the way she made him feel. He didn't say anything in response. We sat silent, admiring the night sky. I couldn’t get over her controlling nature. Just when I thought their story couldn’t get any more fcked up, he revealed she was out with her ex.

“Why let it happen at all?”

“Isn't it better than being alone?”

Hmph. Not even close. What she was doing to him was multiple levels of wrong. It proved to me how little she cared about him and their relationship. His eyes didn’t hide the pain or the betrayal he felt, but he accepted Carma as she was. I asked to change the subject because my obvious observations were deepening his pain. That’s when he surprised me by sharing that I was getting my first solo case.

“Cool beans. Can I expect your cooperation on the case we have together first?”

“How about we go for a run tomorrow instead? Wait in your apartment next time. It's safer.” He got up to leave. “Thank you for sharing your smile and time. Do not ever let a man take that from you. See ya tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Savage.”

“I think you meant goodnight, Alixx.”

“Nice try.” He shrugged once more, displaying his handsome smile.

I watched as he ran to the end of the block before I scurried into my building. No use trying to figure out what the hell that was. I don't mean any certain part; I mean all of it. I feel so bad for him. He is a high-profile man in a high-profile family. His professional and personal life is or should be ethical. You would think he wouldn't be pushed around or fall for the type of woman he was with. I mean, who wouldn't want intimacy with the person they love and will eventually marry? I wish I could find someone that didn't just want to taste my rainbow. I am not a virgin, never mind, too personal. I needed sleep, the day was much more than I anticipated. Was it wrong of me to feel excited about seeing him tomorrow?

My alarm hollered in my ear to wake me for another workday. Throwing the covers off, it was time to start my morning routine. My first step into the kitchen made a splash and then the icy-cold wetness woke me up faster than a cup of coffee. A drop fell from the ceiling with a plop into the swimming pool I now had. Raising my eyes, the bright blue of the morning sky greeted me. The roof sprung a pretty good-sized hole not only in the kitchen, but in my living room too. Every soft surface was drenched. Pictures were destroyed, small knickknacks had a possibility of being saved. Meeting Alixxander had to be postponed. That line I never wanted to cross, kinda had no choice now.

I cursed the rain as I spun my rolodex until it reached 'S'. If you do not know what a rolodex is, look it up. Finding his name, I dialed and hoped to get his voicemail. "Alixx's work phone." Oh, my Gawd!

Wanting to get out of the situation, I simply asked to speak with Mr. Savage. The screechy voice demanded to know who I was. All I hoped was that she didn’t throw a tantrum because I called. Considering I wasn’t in the greatest of moods, I got to the point and asked if he was available.

Her response to my question, “Sorry, he's between my thighs right now. Don't call him again slutbag.” She's a bag full of fcking delight, ain't she?

As you know, Alixxander never made it upstairs to my place. Having the pleasure of a two-second conversation with his fiancé, it's a good thing his sneaker tip never made it over my threshold. If I ever had a girlfriend like her, I would do the world a favor and end us both. Since I was shut out by the future Mrs. Savage, I called her father-in-law and left a brief message.

Finding an emergency cleanup service that could extract the water took a few calls, but I managed to find a company that had an opening. Calling a roofing company was next on the to-do list. I was grateful the unforecasted rain ceased. The loft was acquired for me, with a lump sum put down by Román. I paid the rest in full and, since I owned it, I was the one to incur all repair costs. Just what I needed after three weeks. This is real karma coming for me because I innocently entertained one of my bosses. Let it be a warning to those of you that think you cannot tell your boss no. I never should have allowed him to stop by my residence at all.

“Morning, ma’am.” The young man merrily spoke when I answered the door.

Heading to the dry side of my place, I thought about the apartment below me. Thankfully, it was empty. The real estate agent gave me her number in case I needed anything. What I needed was to get into the apartment underneath me for a peek and see if there was any water damage that I might have to pay for. If this incident doesn’t prove being on top is not always the best place to be, I don’t know what does. While I waited for the men to finish sucking up the water, Román returned my call and understood my hesitance to leave strangers in my place. I assured him it would only be one day that I needed. He was nice, insisting I work from home for as long as it took. He is truly a one-of-a-kind boss. Previous employers did not care if a limb was hanging by a hair follicle. All that mattered was showing up and doing the job.