Page 36 of Out of Office
“Wouldn’t you want to know?” I teased.
“I do... I do want to know...” She sounded breathy; her pupils dilated in the screen, her beautiful face adorned by tasteful makeup, her plush red lips parted. My fingers itched to slide down my basketball shorts, but I refrained.
“I’m going to need you to finish getting ready and get out of the apartment before you tempt me, woman.”
“Tempt you to what?” she taunted, spurred by the arousal in my eyes.
“Tempt me to entice you to stay with me.”
“I...”
“No, I know you’ll be upset if you’re late. Go, have fun tonight. I’ll be here if you want to call later.”
“Damn, I hate when you’re right. Okay...okay, but let’s talk about this... I...yeah, let’s table this.”
I smirked as she licked her lips, then blew me a kiss goodbye. Then went to my online buying account and started plotting.
A few days later, I had my plan in place. It so happened that it coincided with her week-long tour in the Caribbean. I made sure to instruct Genevieve to pack the surprise in her luggage.
“How am I in one of the most beautiful areas in the world, and I can’t even go out and enjoy the scenery?” Genevieve complained as she settled herself on the sofa in her suite in Barbados. She propped her tablet up somewhere that allowed me to see her sitting on the sofa in her tank top and shorts, hair wrapped under her satin scarf; her luxuriant thighs opened as she sat crisscrossed.
“Did you ask your driver to take you to a cool place for dinner?” I asked from my cabana in Villa Bonita; I lay on the sofa bed, holding my cell phone, watching the night waves come in. I had come for a long weekend to take care of the landscaping, which was out of control. Chichi and Mario had done a little of the work, but with the fonda staying busy, I came up to assist. I’d just returned from taking a plunge in the ocean, and then a quick shower to rinse off. I had needed to bathe twice to calm down enough for this call.
“I should have, but that would have meant me cheating on my old driver.”
“Graciosa. You should have. You told me you figured out how to squeeze the minutes of every day...squeeze some for you. You’re as equally, actually way more, important than the work you do.”
“You’re right... I know you’re right. But this project about this expansion, it’s so time-consuming. I’m starting to think my mom is right, and I should try to find that elusive architect.”
I bolted up from the sofa, my heart thundering in my chest.
“What elusive architect?”
“This dude that did the Tropics Panamá? Ricard is hoping that we can get him to do one of the beach resorts they wanna do there. I didn’t ask the driver to stop because Ricard called me, yammering about how my mom had mentioned the thought, and it was such a splendid idea, and maybe I could put out some feelers when I went to Panamá. Maybe Anita can help me find him so I can get them off my back...”
“You’re coming to Panamá?” My chest tightened; too much activity happening in there as Genevieve dropped bomb after bomb and sat there oblivious.
“Yeah, in less than three weeks. It’s wild because I have a lot to do before that, but I don’t care because I get to see you. It’s a two-day trip, but it ends on Friday, so I can extend it.” Her eyes shined in excitement and hope.
“I can’t wait to hold you, Preciosa.” I gave her the truth, or the only one I could handle giving her right now.
My path to healing continued every day, but the thought of explaining my relationship to the Tropics and the reason why I left brought chills. Besides my family, no one understood everything that had transpired. It was so easy to open up to Genevieve, to share with her my everyday, my dreams, my challenges. But for some reason this topic stuck in the back of my throat, bringing cold sweat and palpitations anytime it came up.
Genevieve had become essential to my everyday.
In my quest to divest myself from the relentless chase for a career, I’d traded a life of lesser comforts but higher returns. Returns in the love of my family, the time I had for them, the time I had for myself, the time I had to explore and enjoy life simply.
If I had met Genevieve before my parents passed away, I’m not certain I’d have had the time to dedicate to her as I have now. There were days Gen couldn’t talk, and I just texted her through the time, funny thoughts and observations, just letting her know she was on my mind while she hopped from meeting to meeting, answering the texts with hearts and thumbs-up. I got it; I did; her day was saturated with deadlines and tasks, and her mention of her boss wanting to locate me made my palms sweat and my stomach cramp up.
Because listening to Genevieve’s goals had made me wonder if I could dive into that world again. If we could build a life together around those goals and beyond. Complementing each other’s strengths.
To produce another project, this time at home...
I hadn’t finished doing the work of balance, and it scared me to go back to a world where I knew no boundaries. But I continued to flirt with the temptation of something more permanent with Genevieve, something that allowed me to be next to her every day, even if it upended my life as I knew it...
“Hey, where did I lose you? Are you tired? I...we can talk tomorrow if you like? I think I always take for granted that you’re available to speak. Sorry for that.” Genevieve jostled me out of my reverie.
“Just imagining having you close again.” Again, I said part of the truth. Just not the whole truth. If I did, I would have answered something to the tune of, “I want you forever, to be your man, your partner and I want to spill all my secrets to you.” Best if I didn’t overshare. She’d probably run away and never call again.