Page 3 of Out of Office

The dissatisfaction had been gradual. But the intensity ramped up, starting with talks with Anita sharing her impending nuptials. Then my best friend, Gino, met someone that made him happier than I’d seen him in years, but the actual start had been...

A familiar tall Black man awaited at the bottom of the steps. His brawny body rested against the wall next to the exit, and I flushed hotly at the sight of him. Thank God for my deep mahogany skin that hid any redness. Every time I saw him, he elicited a convulsion of emotions inside.

Not every man could handle my five-seven height and solid bones, but this man right here? He could probably hoist me up on his broad shoulders and carry me away like a bag full of balloons. Just the thought made my heart skip. I may or may not have used that exact image as my finger bank these past few months.

He wore a crisp white shirt opened at the collar, and faded jeans encased his thick thighs, his warm chestnut complexion enticing me to touch.

What would it feel to run my lips right there at his collarbone?

Realizing I had my horny face on, my gaze flicked back to his eyes. His mischievous deep brown eyes flashed with heat, then his every-present mask of politeness returned.

The smile made me shiver, and the dimple on his right cheek had me saying a brief prayer for sanity. The close-cropped hair had been freshly cut since this morning.

Did he do that for me? Nah, I knew better. He was just here to do his job.

“Buenas noches, Ms. Raymond,” said Adrián Nicolas. My driver.

Two

Adrián

“Hey, are you coming through tonight?” Julín asked me. Damn, he was my best friend, but he could be annoying with the demands.

“Later, I’m picking up the Tropics’ job in ten minutes.” I attempted to say that with no inflection. Maybe it would spare me his comments on the matter.

“Ah, I see. So, you couldn’t call dispatch and ask them to pick her up, even though her usual pickup is at six, and it’s eight right now?” So, no chill. Alright. The suspicion in Julín’s voice didn’t faze me. Anytime I got remotely attached to someone, it raised Julín’s hackles. Let him think what he thought. I’d stopped having this particular conversation with him a while ago.

“Oh, so you’re just gonna ignore me? Instead of accepting this woman has you out here, doing transfers, which you said you didn’t want to do anymore now that we had enough drivers?”

The goal of reaching ten drivers for our little company had been arduous, two years in the making. Julín and I were now making enough money to pay the bills and our team. We still had time to be with our loved ones, which remained the company’s main objective. When we’d decided to do this together, I had been desperate to cut back on long hours and all the sacrifices that had cost me precious time now lost. So, Julín wasn’t wrong in calling me out, but his concern was misplaced. I never planned to let my career ambitions dictate my life ever again.

“What’s your point?”

“My point? What’s my point? I mean, I don’t know. I’m just saying you have the hots for her,” Julín said, sounding deflated.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t hidden my attraction for her, which is why I’m going to pick her up and take her home instead of calling dispatch.” Julín was well familiar with my admiration for Ms. Raymond. At first it had all been physical—a beautiful woman, tall, voluptuous, dark brown skin that glowed in the early morning light when I picked her up. Demure smile that transformed into a full leg-disabling grin whenever she was excited about a topic of conversation.

And did I mention her curves?

Have mercy.

Her innate elegance intrigued me because as the days passed, she opened up, and we started talking, I noticed a shyness that I never would have guessed existed. But that shyness dissipated as our conversation grew deeper, from trivial tips for Black people visiting the country, to intense discussions of the diaspora’s future, and how we could grow our communities and families to be strong and self-reliant.

Ms. Raymond was the type of woman who didn’t mince words, but had a deep understanding of their weight, so she deployed them with care. That spoke to me, to the person I strived to be. Care of your fellow person placed on the same level of importance as your own feelings was a rare sight.

“Damn, it’s not fun if you accept it.” Julín sighed. I stifled a laugh; Julín sounded as if I smacked an iced raspao out of his hand.

“I’ll come thru for dominos after I drop her off. It won’t take me more than thirty, forty minutes,” I said and heard Julín’s grumble.

“Don’t flake,” Julín warned.

“Never.”

Julín’s frustration wasn’t unprecedented. It was Friday night, and we didn’t need to be working right now. Based on my new philosophy in life, work was only a means for living. When the job became living, adjustments were required. So having to drive at eight at night on a Friday would be a sign for a quick adjustment, but not tonight.

Not this time.

I pulled up the fancy driveway of the new hotel, admiring the final project. Filled with pride, I studied the steel structure’s sleek lines with glass encasings forming an arch across the valet entrance. The overall design and structure were sound and gave a feel of opulence with a welcoming warmth that wasn’t supposed to work, but it did. With a sense of closure, I acknowledged things past and accomplishments deferred. This building was the last thing I’d designed before leaving a career that no longer served me to live the life I wanted to embrace.

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