My first day in my shitty new office was a fuck-up, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
"Jane, any word?" I asked. She had the receiver held firmly between her ear and left shoulder, her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"Uh, no word yet. I called her mom and she says she hasn't seen her either. But I'm sure she will turn up. She's probably at a shoot and forgot to power her phone." Jane put the receiver down after barking some commands into it.
"Mr. Ethen from Cartier isn’t here yet. Your meeting finished early?"
"No. They are still there. I was just growing restless in there. Call Cartier and move the meeting forward. If they complain, call Tiffany’s, instead. I'm not in a good mood today."
"Okay, Mr. Walker."
"And get me some aspirin. I'd like two cups of coffee, too. I didn't catch any sleep last night."
"Are both of you okay?" Jane asked purely out of concern, although I knew on some petty level it would have made her happy to see me and Angelique split up with each other. I’d noticed how she looked when I ask her to send over presents and flowers to Angelique whenever she had a show overseas. Jane saw my girlfriend as someone who prioritized her career above my well-being. She was hardly ever in town. Jane was usually the one planning our dates to fit into both our schedules. Maybe she thought that proposing to her was part of an elaborate apology on my part. Regardless, it was none of her fucking business.
"Just get me my aspirin, Jane," I hissed.
∞∞∞
Prince Walker
After hours of back and forth, I had finally decided on a ring. A flawless 10-carat pink diamond with a bejeweled white gold band. After I got Angelique to say “yes” I would have our names engraved on the inner curve.
The ring cost a fortune but I was pretty sure she was worth it. It was slowly dawning on me that I was in love with her. But I was raised to believe that trust is only for simple, poor people. When there’s money in the picture, everyone has an ulterior motive. If she agreed to marry me, I would spend the rest of my life showing her how much I loved her. But first I had to find her and get down on one knee. I didn't care if she was in a sea of people, or was sitting, pants down on a toilet seat, I would put this ring on her finger.
My intercom buzzed, and Jane’s voice rang out. "Mr. Walker, Andy's here to see you. And no word from Angelique yet.”
I was about to tell her to let him in, but Andy opened the door before I could talk.
"Your secretary said you were free. This is urgent— What have you got there?" Andy asked, surprised to see me cradling the cushioned ring box holding what he considered to be a modern ball and chain.
I could imagine the thoughts going through Andy’s mind. Why couldn't two people who love each other just be together? Why did they have to pander to society's expectations of them? He liked the more liberal idea of domestic partnerships, two people held together by choice alone, not some piece of paper proclaiming them joined forever. The very concept of marriage made him cringe. We’d spoken of this before. He could not imagine wanting to walk away from a relationship that no longer excited him and being held back by certain external factors.
"So you are really serious about this?" Andy asked, joining me behind the desk to inspect the ring. "That's a beauty. Are we sure Angelique is deserving of it?"
"There's no one else I could imagine being more deserving. I was a jerk, she's a great girl. And I've been terrible to her. I want a do-over," I replied. "I told her she needed to move out of her house. She didn't take it so well."
"Actually, I looked over the documents Jane sent over. The house was bought in her name; she doesn't have to move out since your dad is only out to get you."
I smacked my forehead.Hard."I totally blanked on that. She'll be glad to know that. I'm ashamed I didn't remember." Angelique hadn't cared about having her name on the deed but her mom had secretly insisted.
"Right. Let's go back to the elephant in your hands. So this has nothing to do with your dad's conditions? Nothing at all?" Andy asked, looking unconvinced.
"Well, to be honest it sped up the process. I would have liked more time to get to know her."
Her goodbye had lingered in my mind since she left. I’d been trying to deny the sunken feeling inside of me.
"Get to know someone you've been seeing for eleven months?" Andy said.
"Twelve months, actually. And what's with the grand inquisition? Pat me on my back and say 'congrats man.' That's all that is expected of you," I replied with a devilish grin. For the first time that week I was happy. The only thing that would crown my happiness would be Angelique appearing in my office now and accepting my ring.
"I'll do you one better. I'll pour us a drink and we can toast to your joy." Andy poured two glasses of bourbon and set them down between us. "Take two sips so I can tell you why I'm here," he urged.
"Why two?" I asked, growing suspicious.
"The first sip is a toast to you… Salute." He raised his glass to the air. "The second is to brace yourself for what I came over to tell you."
I groaned and swallowed my drink in one gulp. Andy nodded his approval then did the same.
