“Black. You know, after the last time you threw me out of your home I never expected I would be seated here in your kitchen watching you fix me a cup of coffee with a smile on your face,” Matt said with a shake of his head as he watched her.
Candy turned to look at him, holding the cup of coffee with both hands, “Well, I didn’t exactly throw you out. Besides, if you never expected that, how come you showed up at the club again despite everything I said to you?” She asked with a slightly raised brow as she approached him with his cup of coffee.
“Perhaps I was trying my luck to see if you would have a change of mind. I’m glad you did. Thanks,” Matt said as he took the coffee from her.
“I’m sorry I was harsh,” Candy apologized as she poured herself a cup of tea and came to sit on the chair opposite him at the table, “You can have as much toast as you want now,” Candy said as she picked up a roll and bit into it.
“Thanks. I don’t know if my ego was more hurt by all you said and did, or if it was my heart that got hurt. You were really mean getting off that bed and asking me not to bother you again,” Matt said with a shake of his head as he picked up a roll of toast and bit into it.
Candy sighed as she looked at him, “I did what I had to do. You could be in danger simply by associating with me. Fuck, we might all be in danger already,” Candy said with sad eyes.
“So you didn’t think that being in a relationship with anyone might put you in danger before signing up on that dating site? Or is the danger specific to dating just me?” Matt asked as he eyed her over the rim of his cup as he raised it to his lips and took a sip.
“That’s not the point of all this. Sure, anyone could be in danger by associating with me, but this would be worse because you are a public figure. I and my family will be at risk of being found out because of your high profile. Jamal’s father is a very dangerous man, and I just really want you to have a fair idea of what you’re getting up against if you really decide to pursue a relationship with me. It would be unfair of me to allow you blindly get involved with me,” Candy explained, and then raised a finger to stop him before he could say anything.
“Listen, Matt. If I date you, our business becomes public business. If Jero or any of his men sees a picture of me with you, they can easily find out where I am by following you. These people won’t hesitate to kill you just so that they can get to me, trust me. I’ve been hiding from them for the past two years with good reason,” Candy explained desperately wanting him to understand the implication of being with her. The last thing she wanted was to get involved with him now only for him to regret it months down the line.
“And you don’t think that maybe it is high time you stopped running from them and deal with it once and for all?” Matt asked with a concerned frown.
“You think I’m running just because I have long legs and love to exercise them? I don’t have what it takes to fight them, so I have to run. I chose to study law because of them, hoping that some day I might be able to do more than just run for the sake of Jamal. I need him to have a normal life like every kid his age and not always have to be on the move,” Candy explained with a sigh.
“Then you need me in your life, Candy. Allow me to protect you and Jamal,” Matt offered as he stood up from where he was seated and took a step towards her.
“As what? You don’t even know what you want from me yet, do you? We had good sex and maybe that’s what you are still after. You shouldn’t risk your life trying to protect us when you don’t even know whether or not you love me,” Candy pointed out when Matt stopped in front of her and dragged another chair closer to her before turning her seat so that she was directly facing him.
“Don’t do that, Candace. Don’t trivialize what we share. We both know that what we have is much deeper than mere sex. I liked you even before I had that awesome sex with you, and you know it! Yes, I would love to have you under the sheets with me again, but don’t try to make it sound like sex is all there is between us,” Matt said, sounding mildly offended as he looked into her eyes.
“Fine. Let’s assume it’s more than sex. Dating me would still be dangerous. Why date an exotic dancer like me who is a single mother and also has danger lurking all around her, when you can date someone more sexy and classy with an uncomplicated past?” Candy asked as she looked away from him.
“Why don’t you let me worry about the whys?” Matt asked as he placed a finger under her chin so that she would look at him.
“You still can’t protect me from them, Matt. As a matter of fact you’re going to be needing all the protection you can get if Jero finds out about you. I’ve watched Jero chop off a man’s fingers merely because he touched me,” Candy said with fear in her eyes and Matt dropped his hand from her chin and raised his fingers to look at them.
“I love my fingers. It would be such a shame to have them chopped off,” he said, making Candy smile, “If I may ask, how did you get involved with someone as dangerous as Jamal’s father anyway?” Matt asked curiously, and Candy sighed as she raised her cup of tea to her lips and took a sip from it while Matt patiently waited for her response to his question.
“After Andy and I left the orphanage home where we were raised, we took up waitressing jobs at a bar. Jero was one of the regular patrons at the bar where we worked and he acted like a perfect gentleman. He took me out on a couple of dates, and he lied to me about the nature of his job. When he found out I was pregnant for him, he said I and Andy could move in with him since he had a spare bedroom and that would save us the extra money we spent paying for rent,” Candy explained, and paused to take a bite from her toast.
“Can’t the toast wait?” Matt asked with a frown, wondering how she could eat when they were having such an important conversation.
“It can’t. I like my toast hot and crispy,” Candy said as she chewed.
“Anyway, I was in love with him and was really eager to start a family of my own, being an orphan, so I agreed. I was able to convince Andy and we both moved in with him. Next he asked that we quit working at the bar. He insisted that he could take care of all our needs, and he didn’t like the idea that pretty girls like us would be out there and different men would be ogling at us. Andy protested, but once again I managed to convince her to quit. We both quit our jobs, and soon ran out of our savings and had to rely on Jero for all our needs. Next thing we know he’s complaining about how we are both lazy and can’t do anything. He soon starts forcing Andy to meet with some of his bosses and sleeping with them for money. When she fails to do it, he hits her and sometimes locks her up without food. When I protest he locks me up too. But he never raised his hands on me… He loved me too much to hit me,” Candy said in an emotionless voice.
“As time went on, he became more and more possessive of me especially after I had Jamal. The more possessive he became, the more annoying, controlling, and abusive he became too.”
“Why didn’t you both just leave?” Matt asked in confusion.
“We didn’t have enough money. Every time we managed to save up some, he would always find out where the money was, and he would steal it thus leaving us incapacitated. He also threatened us that we could never get away from him. Once when Andy tried to run away she was caught by some of his men a few hours later,” Candy said with a shrug.
“So how have you been able to hide away from him for so long?” Matt asked, and Candy turned to look at him with blank eyes.
“We sent him to jail. I and Andy mixed the stash of drugs he kept at home with some poisonous chemicals. So when he gave it to those kids and they died, I supplied the lawyer with all the evidence she needed to send him to jail and I testified against him in exchange for my freedom. He knows I set him up,” Candy confessed, and Matt blinked at her in surprise.
“You mean you killed those kids?” He asked in confusion.
“No, I didn’t kill them. They killed themselves. They would have died sooner or later at the rate they were going. I never asked them to be drug addicts or to get drugs from Jero. They were merely victims of our quest for freedom from that monster. I’m not good, Matt. And neither am I innocent. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to keep my sister and son safe. Nothing.. I’m telling you all of this so that you can make up your mind whether or not you want to be with someone like me.”
“You are not listening to me, are you?” The managing director of OmniGlobal healthcare and pharmaceuticals asked with a wave of his right hand when Benne just kept staring at him with a puzzled frown on his face.
The middle-aged man with a receding hairline had been surprised when he walked into the CEO’s office and saw Benne looking completely different from what he knew him to be. Seeing how distracted the usually sharp-witted CEO was, he could tell that his mind was very far away from whatever was going on in the office.
Benne blinked at the director when he waved a hand in front of him, “I’m sorry. What did you say?” Benne asked with a shake of his head, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had been caught in his distracted state.
“If I’m not crossing the line, we could always leave the meeting for some other time. It’s not something urgent, and I don’t think you are in any state for a work-related conversation,” The director suggested.
“You are right. I’m sorry,” Benne said, still feeling very apologetic.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.