Page 8 of Caffeine & Chaos

Nadia stared at the yellow paper shell of the bouquet in disbelief, her heart fluttering with excitement. Ryan had sent her flowers. His behaviour was confusing, and she wanted to be angry, but she just wasn’t. She didn’t understand what he was thinking, hell she didn’t understand what she was thinking, but she knew she wasn’t upset about it.

“Wow, thank-you Tim.” Nadia looked for a card, but didn’t find one. “Was there a message with these?”

“Sorry Miss Moore, there was no note taped to them and the courier didn’t know who had sent them.”

She nodded and wandered towards the elevator in a daze. Why hadn’t he included a card? He certainly owed her a damn apology. Maybe he was concerned that word of his gift to her would somehow get back to the press. Men like Ryan were under a constant microscope. She got into the elevator and pressed the button for her floor.

Nadia peeled back the flap of the paper to take a look inside. Delicate white petals poked out around the yellow centers. Daisies? A pang of disappointment shot through her. Why hadn’t he sent roses? He was worth a shit-ton of money, and he couldn’t spring for roses? Outrage boiled up inside her again. She felt petty for it but couldn’t deny just how furious she was. Was this part of this insane game he was playing?

Nadia jabbed her key into the lock and stormed into her apartment, her steps heavy with frustration. Dropping her purse to the floor, she paced restlessly around the living room, the bouquet of flowers clutched tightly in her hand. Despite having traversed the full breadth of the emotional spectrum in the last few hours, she found the rational part of her mind still clashed fiercely with the desires of her heart.

To hell with this. She strode over to the garbage can, opened the lid, and slammed the bouquet in.

Nadia poured herself a generous glass of Merlot before collapsing onto her couch. Intent on soothing her frayed nerves, she flicked on the TV to indulge in a Netflix binge. Just as her blood pressure began to drop, her phone buzzed in her pocket, signaling another voicemail, likely from her mom. With a resigned sigh, she retrieved her phone and played the message.

“Nadia, it’s Valentina, your mother. I have called you three times this past week and have not heard back from you. It’s very disrespectful. I might be sick to death with worry, if I couldn’t see that you were still updating your Instagram account. I know you can’t be that busy with work, don’t tell me you’re working full time hours at the cafe, lord knows you don’t need the money. Robert and I are coming up to Miami for a visit this week, well Robert has some business there actually, but we would like to see you. Call me back please. Don’t make me freeze your accounts to get your attention.”

Nadia buried her face in her hands and groaned. Why couldn’t her mom just be a real person and say she missed her and felt hurt when she didn’t call her back? Instead, she had to make it about money and respect. And she was tired of her mom giving her the gears about her job at the cafe. Nadia needed the job when she first moved to the city; it helped her meet people and get a better feel for the subculture. She had explained that to her mother multiple times, but it always fell on deaf ears.

Her phone beeped again, this time it was a text message from Mandy. All it contained was the angry face emoji. Nadia took a deep, steadying breath and picked up the remote. She needed to close out everything, including her own crazy thoughts, and just recover from the day’s stress. The rest of the world could wait.

4

Her.

After spending the entire evening glancing over at the garbage can, arguing with herself about whether she should take the flowers out, she’d finally decided to put herself out of her misery and go to bed, only to find she couldn’t sleep. Now, after a restless night, it was six in the morning on her day off, and Nadia was wide awake.

The morning light filtered gently through her window, painting the room in hues of soft warmth—a typical beautiful day in Miami awaited outside. With a sigh, she resigned herself to facing the world once more. Casting a sheepish glance at her nightstand, she noticed her phone lying there. She had silenced it the night before, switching off the vibration and placing it facedown before retreating to bed. She tentatively picked it up, bracing herself for the inevitable onslaught of messages from both Mandy and her mom.

Nothing. While she should have felt relieved, the absence of messages left a bitter taste in her mouth. Mandy’s silence spoke volumes, loud and clear: she was angry. Nadia knew she would have to call her later and plead for forgiveness. When she had first arrived here, Mandy’s instant friendship had been a lifeline in unfamiliar waters. Over the past few years, their bond had deepened, and Nadia couldn’t afford to take her for granted.

Knowing that lingering in bed would only worsen her mood, Nadia rolled out of bed, threw on her jogging clothes, and headed out the door. Among other things, she had been neglecting her exercise regiment since all this business with Ryan had started. She might as well get back on track today. After her run she would face the music with Mandy and her mom.

It was early enough that the air was still crisp. With the day just starting, the sweltering heat of the sun hadn’t gained any momentum yet. Nadia closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the refreshing sensation. She had almost forgotten how rejuvenating a morning run could be. Returning to her routine was exactly what she needed to realign herself. With each step, the rhythmic pounding of her feet on the pavement, the steady cycling of her breath, and the familiar melodies filling her ears, she found solace. Running always helped her find her happy place.

Nadia rounded the corner of her building and had to stop abruptly when a man stepped out in front of her. He was an older gentleman in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair, and kind eyes. He was wearing a black suit and a grey herringbone print driver’s cap.

“Miss Moore, I presume?”

Nadia took a step back and eye-balled him suspiciously. “Yes?”

The man smiled with genuine warmth and stuck out his hand. “My name is Armand Riveira. I am here on behalf of Mr. Ryan McKellen. He has requested the pleasure of your company today.”

Nadia scoffed, “Oh he has, has he?” She was suddenly fuming at Ryan again, “well you can tell that piece of work that I don’t jump on command.” Armand’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. Good. She upped the ante, “In other words, please kindly tell him to go fuck himself.”

Armand gave a little chuckle. He took his hat off his head and looked at her in earnest, “I’ve no doubt that Ryan has done something to deserve that response Miss, but the trouble is that it really won’t look good for me to come back empty handed.” He gestured towards the black Mercedes waiting on the street, “If you please?”

“I do not please. I am sure that you are a perfectly lovely man who is simply doing his job, but I am not going to drop everything just because Mr. McKellen thinks he’s God’s gift to women.” Nadia stuffed down the thought that he actually was, as her own fracturing resolve added to her fury.

Armand didn’t budge. Without being intimidating, he made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Fine!” Nadia threw her hands up in the air. “You know what? I’ll tell him myself.” Ryan’s gall was nothing short of astonishing.

Nadia strode over to the vehicle and ripped open the door before Armand could get in front of her. There was Ryan, sitting in the back, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a royal blue golf shirt, looking sexy as hell. The color of the shirt was playing off his eyes, making them look impossibly blue. He looked up at her with a half smile on his face.

“Who the hell do you think you are, you arrogant son of a bitch!” Nadia laid into him, “You’ve got some nerve. If you think that you can just-”

“Miss, please get in the car.” Armand firmly placed his hand on her back and ushered her inside before she drew too much attention to them. Once inside, Nadia found herself acutely aware of Ryan’s presence beside her, his body emitting an almost magnetic pull. With determined focus, she worked to resist the allure, fortifying her resolve.

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