“Yes, Mr. Klein. Anything else?”
“Go to the bakery down the street and get me one of their lemon poppy seed muffins.”
“I’m on it, sir. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“Are you quitting?” I arched my brow.
“No. I’m pregnant. I just thought you should know.”
“Pregnant? Are you serious? Is that going to prevent you from doing your job here at Klein Technology?”
“No. It won’t affect it at all.”
“I hope not. Because if it does, I’ll have to fire you and find someone who I can trust won’t be getting pregnant any time soon.”
“I understand. You don’t have to worry.”
“Good. Now get out of here and get my muffin and reports.”
She nodded her head as she got up from her chair and timidly walked out of my office. Fuck. Why the hell did she have to go and get pregnant? It was in my best interest to start looking for another assistant ASAP.
Pulling out my phone, I brought up Dr. Perry’s number. Maybe it was time I gave her a call to try and get to the bottom of these damn nightmares. I hated the thought of sitting in her office again like I did all those years ago.
“Dr. Perry’s office. How can I help you?”
“It’s Ethan Klein and I need to see Dr. Perry.”
“When were you looking to meet with her?” she asked.
“Today, if possible.”
“She’s completely booked for the rest of the week, but I can squeeze you in next week.”
“Next week isn’t good. I need to see her as soon as possible.”
“I can put you on the cancellation list and give you a call if someone cancels.”
I let out a long, hard sigh.
“Fine.”
I ended the call and leaned back in my chair. As I was pondering the idea of taking a vacation, Holly walked in with my muffin.
“Here you go, sir. I’ll go pull up those reports now and I’ve already scheduled your meeting with the product development team.”
“Good. You may leave.”
As I was eating my muffin and drinking my coffee, my phone rang.
“Ethan Klein.”
“Mr. Klein, it’s Amanda from Dr. Perry’s office. We just had a cancellation for three o’clock. Shall I put you in?”
“Yes. Three o’clock will be fine.”
“We’ll see you then.”
Noon had approached and I headed to the conference room to meet with my product development team.
“Good, you’re all here.” I took a seat at the head of the table.
“Why the urgent meeting, Ethan?” Rob asked.
“Did you know that there are over four hundred and forty thousand people in New York alone that are visually impaired?”
“Umm. No. I didn’t know that,” Rob spoke.
“And over two hundred and eight million worldwide.”
“Interesting,” Terrence spoke as he stroked his chin. “So what does that have to do with Klein Technology?”
“I want us to develop an app, and not just any ordinary app. This app we design will have the ability to scan an entire indoor area and tell the person the layout of the space, guiding them in the direction they need to go and alerting them of objects that are in the way of their path.”
“Apple already has something like that.”
“But it’s not suitable for the visually impaired person. It’s not voice over compatible. This app would be, and it would also store previous routes, which could be very useful in hotels, malls, and other large buildings.”
“I don’t know, Ethan,” Rob spoke.
“You don’t know?” I glared at him. “You will make it work. I’ve already started the coding.” I threw the paper in my hand down on the table. “Look it over and go from there. This can be done. I know it can. Think of how much Apple would pay for something like this. They can’t do it, but we can. And as a little incentive to get your asses in gear on this, once it’s complete, I will throw in a ten-thousand-dollar bonus to each of you for your hard work.”
“Are you serious?” Terrence asked in shock.
“Dead serious. Now get to work. I want an update in three days. If you have to work all night on this, do it. I want this done quickly.”
“May I ask why this is so important to you?” Rob asked.
“It’s just something that I think visually impaired people need to make their lives a little easier.”
Rob laughed. “Since when do you care about blind people, Ethan?”
I shot him a look from across the room.
“I have a friend who is completely blind. That concludes this meeting. Now get out of here and get to work.” I looked at my watch. “I have to leave for an appointment.”
Chapter 20
Aubrey
The school day came to an end and I was exhausted. Ian walked into the room just as I was packing my bag.
“Hello, princess. Are you ready to leave?”
“Yeah.” I sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He walked over and placed his finger on my chin, slightly lifting my head.
“Are you still thinking about him?”
“Maybe. I can’t help it, Ian. He swept me off my feet.”
“Listen, sweetheart. He’s no good for you. You don’t need a man like that, especially with so much baggage in your life. You’re too good for him. You’re a kind and sweet girl who deserves a man that will love you forever. Someone you can trust.”
“You sound like Penelope.”
He laughed. “It’s the truth. Any reasonable person can see that.”
“So you’re saying I’m not reasonable?”
He kissed my forehead and took my bag from me. “No. I’m saying you’re a woman with a broken heart right now, and when your heart heals, you’ll be more reasonable.”
I let out a sigh. “You know I hate you, right?”
“Of course you do. Now let’s go home. I have a date tonight.”
“A date? With whom, may I ask?”
“His name is Rigby.”
“He sounds like a dog.” I smirked.
“Oh, my dear Aubrey. He’s far from a dog. He’s tall, tanned, dreamy chocolate eyes, and he has the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen.”
“And when did you meet this Mr. Rigby?”
“Last night when I was at Starbucks getting an iced coffee. He was standing in front of me and when he went to get his wallet, he realized he left it at home. So, being the kind gentleman I am, I paid for his drink.”
“Smooth.” I grinned.
“He only lived a block away, so I followed him home. He paid me back and we exchanged phone numbers.”
“And why am I just hearing about this now? Why didn’t you tell me this morning?”
“Because I was waiting to see if he’d make the first move, and he did. He texted me this afternoon and asked me if I wanted to go to dinner.”
“That’s great, Ian. I want to hear all about it tomorrow morning.”
After climbing out of his car, I walked into my building and up to my apartment. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t have any smoke damage. Walking into the kitchen, I opened the refrigerator and took out the container of last night’s leftovers of chicken and pasta from the Italian restaurant down the street. Just as I popped it into the microwave, my Aunt Charlotte knocked on the door.
“Honey, it’s me. I heard you come home.”
Walking over to the door, I opened it and let her in.
“Hi, Aunt Charlotte.”
“Hello, honey. Is this a bad time?”
“No. Come on in.”
I felt bad because I never told her that Ethan was the one I stayed with. In fact, I didn’t tell her anything at all about him. As far as she knew, we had dinner that one night and everything went well. I didn’t want to hear her tell me how she was right and I should have listened to her.
“The fire started in Mr. Johnson’s apartment. Apparently, he was making something on the stove and forgot about it. Stupid man. He could have easily burned this place down.”
“But he didn’t and everyone is okay. So we need to thank God for that. Would you like some chicken and pasta?” I asked as I took the container out of the microwave.
“No thank you. I’m having dinner with Mr. Morris tonight.”
“Mr. Morris down in 1C?”
“Yes. That Mr. Morris.”
“He’s been asking you out for a year. Why did you decide to go out with him now?”
“I think it’s time I start to explore what’s out there and we always have nice conversations. He’s a good man. By the way, speaking of men, have you heard from Ethan?”
“Umm. Yeah. We went out and there really isn’t a connection there, so I probably won’t be seeing him again.”
“Oh. Well, it’s for the best anyway. I already told you how I felt about him. You deserve much better. I need to get going, sweetheart. I have to get ready for my date,” she spoke with excitement.
“Have a good time.” I smiled.
After she left, I sat there and ate my dinner while I thought about Ethan. I didn’t want to think about him, trust me. But, somehow and someway, he left his mark on me and he wasn’t so easy to forget. But I had no choice; I needed to forget about him and the short time we spent together. As much as I didn’t want to allow myself to fall for him, I did. I did everything wrong and everything that was out of character for me. I had sex way too fast, I fell too hard too quickly, and in the end, I let him break my heart. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid on my part.
Now Penelope was seeing Leo, Ian was going on a date, and my Aunt Charlotte was spending time with the guy down in 1C. I felt alone at the moment and felt sorry for myself, thinking that I might never find the right man to build a future with and have a family of my own.
Chapter 21
Ethan
“It’s been a long time, Ethan. Please have a seat,” Dr. Perry spoke. “What brings you back to my office?”
I took a seat in the chestnut-colored, oversized leather chair and placed my arms on the armrest, bringing my ankle up to my leg.
“The nightmares are back.”
“When did they return?” she asked as she adjusted her glasses.
“About a week ago.”
“Hmm. Did anything in your life change? Possibly something you did or saw that triggered the memory?”
“No.” I looked down.
“I get the feeling, Ethan, that you aren’t telling me everything.”
Letting out a long sigh, I got up from the chair and paced around the room with my hands in my pants pockets. I used to do that during my sessions because it felt more comfortable to me. Dr. Perry understood that and didn’t seem to mind.
“They started after I met someone.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Why don’t you tell me about her?”
“Her name is Aubrey. She’s an English Literature teacher over at Roosevelt High School.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Go on,” she slowly spoke.
“I don’t know what else to say except that she’s blind.”
Dr. Perry cocked her head when I said that and removed the glasses from her face.
“She’s blind?”
“Yes. But I didn’t know she was blind when I first met her. I asked her out first and she told me no. Then she proceeded to tell me about her loss of vision.”
“Was she born blind?”
“No. She was in a car accident when she was eight years old that also killed both of her parents.”
“That poor girl. Did you sleep with her?”
“Yes. A few times.”
“And the nightmares returned after you slept with her?”
“Yes. That first night.”
I had enough pacing around, so I sat back down.
“Do you have feelings for her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ethan, you know how this works. You have to be totally open and honest with me.”
“I sleep with a lot of women and I have rules.”
“Yes, I know of your rules.” She nodded. “Those were rules you put in place to protect yourself since Sophia.”
I swallowed hard. “I like being with her and I think about her all the time. She’s different from anyone I’ve known.”
“Different how?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”
“Try.”
“She’s beautiful and smart. At first, I was incredibly attracted to her physically. I knew the moment I laid eyes on her, I had to have her.”
“Sexually?” she asked.
“After she declined my invitation to go out for a drink, I asked her friend about her and she told me that on Saturday mornings, she goes to Shakespeare Garden to read. So, that next morning, I went there.”
“And what happened?”
“I was just going to keep my distance at first, like some kind of fucking stalker. But then, she knew I was there, which really caught me off guard.”
“How did she know?”
“She could smell my cologne and she just knew it was me. Her senses are incredible. So, we talked and I asked her out and she invited me over for dinner that night.”
“She cooked for you?”
“Yes and it was very good. After dinner, we had sex and the first nightmare came that night.”
“While you were with her?”
“No. After we had sex, I left and went home. I didn’t call or see her that whole week.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I got what I wanted and I was done with her.”
“I don’t believe that. I think you started to have some sort of feelings for her and you ran.”
I looked down and shifted in my chair.
“Maybe I did. Things were happening to me that haven’t in a very long time. Then, a week later, I ran into her at a friend’s birthday party. I didn’t know she would be there.”
“What happened when you saw her again? I would assume she wanted some sort of explanation as to why you never called her after that night.”
“I told her I was busy, but she wasn’t buying it. She told me that she didn’t expect me to call.”
“And how did that make you feel when she said that?”
“A little shocked, to be honest. Anyway, we ended up going out that night and while we were taking a walk in SoHo, she got a call that there was a fire in her apartment building and they weren’t allowing any of the tenants to stay there that night.”
“What happened then?”
“She tried to call a couple of her friends, but they didn’t answer, so I invited her to stay at my place for the night.”
“Really?” she spoke as she arched her brow. “And how did that go?”
“Fine. Except I was lying with her and fell asleep and had another nightmare. I left the room and didn’t speak of it. The next day, I invited her to my parents’ house and we had a good time. My sister told her about Sophia, which really pissed me off.”
“Why did that piss you off?”
“Because she had no right. What happened in my past is nobody’s business. When we got back to my place, we had sex again. She asked me to stay with her and I couldn’t. So we got into an argument, she brought up Sophia, I said some things, and she left.”
“How did her leaving make you feel?”
“Angry. Very angry. I told her she was no different from any other woman I had slept with and that I was sorry if she got the wrong impression.”
“But she is different from the other women and you know that. Your fear, Ethan, is what stirred up the nightmares again. You’re afraid because for so long, you could control your feelings and emotions. Now Aubrey walked into your life and you feel that control slipping away and you don’t know how to handle it.”
I sat there with my fist to my
chin, listening to what Dr. Perry was saying.
“Time’s up, Ethan.” She got up from her chair. “I want to see you again in a couple of days.”
“I have back to back meetings for the next week. Is there any way you can come to my house for a private session? I will pay you triple your normal fee.”
“I suppose I could.” She walked over to her desk and looked at her calendar. “How about Thursday at eight o’clock? My last appointment is at six.”
“That’s fine. I’ll make sure I’m home.”
“In the meantime, you need to do some self-reflecting. Maybe give Aubrey a friendly call and see where she stands. I can tell you’re not at peace with what happened and I think calling her is a step in the right direction.”
“We’ll see. I’m sure she hates me.”
“She may or may not. There’s only one way to find out.”
I walked out of the building and hailed a cab back to the office.
Chapter 22
Aubrey
After getting home from another day of school, I set my things down, changed my clothes, and sat at my computer to begin listening to the essays I had my students email me. After listening to about ten of them, I was getting hungry, so I decided to take a break and walk to my favorite Thai restaurant a few blocks away.
“Hello, Miss Aubrey. How are you this evening?”
“I’m good, Kai.” I gently smiled.
He took hold of my arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to your table and Gwen will be right over. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just water will be fine. Thank you.”
“Hey, Aubrey. It’s good to see you. Are you ready to order?” Gwen asked in a cheerful voice.
“Hi, Gwen. I’m going have the Pad Thai tonight with chicken.”
“Medium spice okay?”
“That’s fine.”
“Great. I’ll put that order in for you. Would you like a spring roll to go with that?”
“Sure. A spring roll sounds good.”
As I sat there and waited for my food, I thought about the conversation Ian and I had this morning about his date with Rigby. Things went so well that they were seeing each other again tonight. Rigby Jones was a financial officer over at Chase Bank and he hadn’t been in a relationship in over a year, just like Ian. When he was telling me about his date this morning, his voice was excited and I could tell he was happy. I got the impression that he was already head over heels for him, which I believed could happen after one date. After all, it did happen to me.