Round N Around We Go (Has Cupid Gone Mad?) (5 page)

Amber and Neyo have been
intimate for a little over a
year and she still likes him.
Underneath her proud exterior
she still holds a soft spot for
him. Her thoughts drift as she
begins to ponder. She still does
not understand how he could have
changed this drastically from a
fun loving, exciting, talented
and ambitious man into a vulgar,
distracted and violent person.

She shudders. Something does not
feel right and her gut feeling
is warning her to be cautious.
She has a bizarre feeling that
she hasn’t seen the last of him
and that this isn’t over yet.
Nervously
she
grabs
onto
Conrad’s
hand
and
speaks
fearfully,

“Conrad I’m worried. I can’t
trust Neyo anymore. I don’t
think he would walk away without
a fight.”

“No Taylor I cannot agree to
that,” objects Ivan, “Trevor is
not a hero and as the editor in
chief, I do not wish to portray
him in the next issue.” He rubs
his chin and begins to feel
exhausted with the debate.

Taylor’s featured article ‘Miami
Heroes’ has outranked any other
articles within the publication
circle consecutively for the
past ten
months, she feels
invincible and that she can
never be wrong. However since
they moved in together, every
subject seems to have become a
power struggle.

Persisting on the subject she
further argues, “But why not? He
successful resurrected the Miami
real estate market from its
grave. Look at the fact sheets
again, values have been climbing
steadily and he can be credited
for the positive upturn.”
Everyone at the round table in
the conference room, except for
Samantha, is tolerantly enduring
their
heated
argument
and
silently wishes for a conclusion
so they can discuss the next
subject.

Samantha is actually enjoying
the spectacle and sees a perfect
opportunity to provoke a fight
between the two. Camouflaging
her true intent under an
unsuspicious layer of childlike
innocence, she pretends to be
just and speaks out assertively.
“Sorry to interrupt but this
lengthy discussion is obviously
going to be inconclusive, so
since Ivan is the editor in
chief, I think he should have
the final say.”

Silence
fills the conference
room and everyone seems to be
holding their breath. Taylor
raises an eyebrow and glares at
Samantha in disbelieve. Ivan
opens his mouth but is lost with
words, studies Taylor’s queer
expression then looks at the
sweet innocent smile that hangs
on Samantha’s face.
Avoiding
trouble
with
his
girlfriend, he leans back onto
his chair and tries to calm the
situation before Taylor has a
change to react.

“Samantha I thank you for
reminding me of my position in
the company, but frankly, Taylor
is the key writer and associate
editor of the publication, her
unique perspective is at times
difficult to comprehend but that
is actually a contributing
factor to the success of her
writings. She makes readers
think. I trust that her judgment
is equally as important as
mine.” He smiles and continues
in his charming ways, “Taylor
why don’t we continue this
discussion in my office after
the meeting?”

Satisfied and content with his
clever response, Taylor nods
affirmatively
at
Ivan
and
graciously moves on to discuss
the next subjects. Discreetly,
Taylor throws a few dirty looks
at Samantha and fully realizes
that she cannot trust her.
Behind closed doors in his
office, Taylor puts the stack of
files on his desk and sinks into
a chair across his desk. Facing
him, she studies his expressions
as she complains. “I still can’t
believe she said that in front
of everyone in the meeting!”

“Relax.” He tries to soothe the
tension, “I’m sure she didn’t
mean to offend you in any way.”

Unsure of why he is defending
her, “I don’t care why she said
that but I’m just uncomfortable
with having her around.”

Not understanding her reasoning,
“Why?” he tries to share her
perspective.

Taylor elaborates her thoughts
and shares her honest opinion of
Samantha which unfortunately,
Ivan perceives as jealousy which
she
adamantly
denies.
The
conversation quickly escalates
into another argument that none
of them have any patience for.

“The day isn’t going too well
for us, is it?” she sinks
further into the chair, “I think
we are both exhausted. How about
we grab some dinner and call it
a night? I’ll replace the
subject
for
‘Miami
Hero’
tomorrow and I’ll have it ready
before the deadline. I Promise.”
She calls for peace and smiles
at him lovingly.

“Sure.” He leans forward on his
desk and gestures for her hands.
Holding them gently in his, “I
need a few minutes to finish up
and I’ll come get you in your
office.”

Puckering, she kisses him in the
air and heads towards the door,
“Oh by the way, Amber is
wondering when she can find my
book in the stores.”

Quite frankly he is unsure of
whether the final proof of her
book has been completed.

Impatiently he answers, “I’m not
sure Taylor, I think you changed
the ending about twenty times
and each time we send it back
for proof reading and each time
it goes back to the end of the
cue, you should know the
process.”

“Do you think I’ve rewritten it
too many times?” She presses for
answers.

Exhaustedly he rubs his temples,
“No my love, it’s
your
book so
you can rewrite it however many
times you’d like.”

Disappointed with his evasive
answer, “Oh so it’s MY book and
just as Samantha implies it’s
YOUR magazine so everything
should be your solo decision?”

Misinterpreting her words, Ivan
sinks into his chair and tries
to
avoid
any
further
confrontation, at least for the
day. His energy and patience is
quickly depleting. “No it’s not
like that and you know it.
Please don’t be unreasonable ok,
it’s like all of a sudden you’re
picking a fight. If you think
another publisher can better
handle your book in a more
efficient manner, then by all
means, have someone else publish
it.”

Taylor steps towards him and
asks with a frown on her face,
“Are you picking a fight?”

“Miss Gibbons, you are the one
who is picking a fight, not I.”
Ivan
crosses
his
arms
defensively. Truly exhausted by
now, “You know what, I’m not
going to publish your book until
you apologize for this erratic
behavior. What is this? Just
because you’re my girlfriend
does not entitle you to speak to
me disrespectfully.”

Taylor gasps, “I was only asking
a simple question. I don’t quite
understand how I am being
disrespectful?” she pauses for a
brief moment and continues
sadly, “I’ll wait for you in my
office, Mr. Solovich.”

Ivan watches her close the door
behind her and sighs. He has
always known Taylor to be
rebellious,
competitive
and
challenging, he adores her
unique qualities and she excites
him more than any pretty faces
he has seen. He truly loves her
the way she is and would never
ask her to change anything, but
sometimes he finds it difficult
to cope with her erratic
behavior, especially on an
exhausting day as such.

Overwhelmed by the cruelty of
his words, Taylor sulks in her
immaculately decorated office.
She sinks into her chair, closes
her eyes and begins to ponder.

Samantha might be right after
all. Amber has her own Broadway
musical,
Karina
has
her
independent art collection and
is in charge of Theodore’s
gallery. She has nothing to call
her own but an office in her
boyfriend’s company. She mulls
over his words, “it’s YOUR
book.” Then recounts Samantha’s
words, “it’s his publication.”

It crosses her mind that it
might be wise to branch off and
create her own novel collection
with another publisher who would
respect her work as a priority.
Her thoughts are interrupted as
Ivan peeks through the door.
With a more relaxed tone of
voice he flirts with her, “Are
you ready Miss Gibbons?” He
speaks with his boyish charm.

Taylor chuckles, tosses her hair
back sensually and flaunts, “Of
course, Mr. Solovich my love.”

She grabs her purse and walks
towards the door, kisses him
tenderly and bites him gently on
the lip then teases naughtily,
“Unless you want to skip
straight to dessert?”

She tilts the canister of
whipped cream upside down and
presses on the spout, filling
the
bowl
of
Haagen-Dazs
strawberry ice cream to its
brim, she reaches for a large
silver spoon and walks to the
living room. Turning off the
kitchen light, she admires the
serenity and beauty of the dimly
lit room, softly illuminated by
gently flickering flames from
the scented candles scattered
across the coffee table.

She curls up on the sofa and
picks out a movie from the
Satellite TV, then indulges in
the guilty pleasure of the
delectable sweetness by the
spoonful. Halfway through the
enormous serving, she puts down
the bowl and sighs.

Contradicted and confused, Amber
misses the company of her lover
Neyo and wonders what he is
doing and his whereabouts. She
does not love him but enjoys his
presence.
After
all,
the
original
agreement
of
an
unattached
relationship
was
working out beautifully for over
a year, until he went a little
haywire and turned violently
aggressive.

Amber sighs again
and self
justifies in denial. She assures
herself that it is great to be
alone and be able to do anything
she’d like without having to
consider anyone else’s feelings.
She enjoys autonomy but wishes
that she has someone to love and
to count on. Perhaps she is
becoming selfish and is willing
to take but not give. Perhaps
she is getting used to living
alone and being alone. Perhaps
she likes the silence and the
freedom. Perhaps she does not
really know what she wants, and
is consumed by self pity that
she has not been able to find
another love since her deceased
ex-husband.

Tears of frustration roll down
her cheeks as she shrugs to
escape the lurking emotions.

“Damn it!” She pouts and frowns.
“I don’t want to be alone
anymore!”

Putting the bowl of melted ice
cream into the sink, she
attempts to evade frustration by
seeking momentary distractions.
With a glass of Godiva White
Chocolate Liquor in hand, she
walks over to her grand piano by
the bay window and pulls out a
stack of blank score sheets.

Tuning in and feeling her
emotions, she focuses on the
melancholy of moment and begins
to hum a melody. Her slender
fingers strike the chords on the
keyboard to back the melody in
beautiful harmony, and the words
come naturally as she sings it
out loud. “I don’t want to be
alone, every moment is cold like
stone. I want to love but love
hasn’t found me yet…”

Jotting down the notes on the
score sheet, she hears the phone
ring and rushes to answer it.
Hoping that it is Neyo calling,
she finds Conrad on the phone
instead.

Conrad has loved her from the
first moment he has laid eyes on
her some fourteen years ago in
an audition for his musical in
New York. It was love at first
sight for him and even though
Amber has broken his heart many
times and left him at the peak
of her career to marry Nathan,
he has never stopped loving her.
Fatefully as he deems, she has
entered into his life again
after her divorce to become
partners in her new musical.
Even though she has chosen
Neyo’s unattached relationship
over his true love, he has
refused to give up. His desire
for her love has not subsided
over the years and is patiently
waiting for the moment to arrive
when she will finally realize
that they are meant to be
together.

After fifteen minutes of casual
conversation
over
nothing
important, Amber is beginning to
feel impatient and would rather
resume composing.

“Conrad,” she asks sweetly, “is
there anything that you’d like
to tell me? If not my score
sheets are waiting.”

“Yes.” He affirms. “But only in
person, so I’ll let you go back
to the score sheets and I’ll
tell you when I see you at the
audition.”
“Audition?” Amber blinks and
tries to remember.

“Please don’t tell me you forgot
about the audition on Thursday.”
Conrad pauses. “If we can’t find
someone to replace Neyo then we
will have a huge problem.”

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by
the stress of running his
gallery independently, Karina is
desperate for Theodore’s return
and at the same time, is
beginning to worry about him.
Unable to reach him over the
phone at his home in Italy, she
has called all their mutual
acquaintances and nobody seems
to
know
his
whereabouts,
including his son Anthony, who
is
consumed
in
his
own
photography business and has no
desire to help Karina locate his
father.
Anthony is accustomed to his
father disappearing periodically
and traveling around the world
in pursuit of original art work,
and assures Karina that this is
another one of his impulse trips
and she needs not worry. He will
certainly reappear when his
quest has been completed.