Kelvin was pissed. She couldn't love him. Of course she wouldn't be able to love him since she already closed her mind to the possibility. She had also spoken on his behalf with so much confidence. When he talked about them having a normal life, falling in love was part of it.
The only reason he had not shaken her awake when he found her asleep in that uncomfortable position was because of how tired she looked. After waiting for her to show up, he had to go look for her himself. Kelvin didn't mean to eavesdrop but they had been talking about him. He wanted to know what his wife thought of him.
Her response hurt. More than he expected.
He loosened his tie and tossed the file Amara handed to him on the plane seat. His head was full. Work was stressing him out and his wife wasn't helping much. He needed a breather. The only thing that could calm him was the acquisition of this property in New York. He couldn't believe he moved for this. It had better be worth it.
Kelvin rested his head on the window, watching the clouds the plane drifted past. It had taken him a while to get over his phobia of flying.
"Did you set up the meeting?" he asked his assistant who was sitting opposite him.
The air hostess walked in at that moment in her uniform and beret, he waved off her request to get them refreshments. He ate before leaving the house but the food tasted bland. It annoyed him because his loss of appetite had more to do with that call from last night than the actual taste of the food. The call messed with his head.
When she was gone, Amara replied, "Yes."
On the screen of her tablet was his itinerary for the week. Kelvin hoped they wouldn't spend more than two days in New York before heading to San Francisco but he wasn't counting on that.
Rubbing the back of his hand against his eyes, he asked, "What do you know about Freya Lyons?"
Freya Lyons was his wife's best friend. That was all he knew. She was mentioned as the next of kin in Leila's file but nothing more was said about her. He heard a ping from his phone and he flipped the screen to a new notification.
There was an email from Amara with the subject being Freya Lyons. Everything he needed to know about her was in the email. Her age. Her occupation. Her husband. His occupation. Her cat's name. How long she had been in California. Hobbies. Everything.
A picture of Freya was attached to the email. Her looks clashed with that of Leila. She had this wild look in her eyes like she was planning something evil. He didn't know yet if he liked her or not. But he wasn't going to stand in the way of their friendship. Based on looks alone, he wouldn't expect two of them to be friends.
"Do you think she's good company?"
For my wife. He didn't need to say this part for Amara to understand. She nodded. "Yes. From what I gathered, she will move mountains for Leila."
A smile slipped to Kelvin's lips. He liked that. As someone who didn't have many friends, he appreciated that his wife had at least one person she could count on if the need arose. Something went wrong in the past with Leila, he didn't know what exactly but he would find out. All the clues pointed to her parents but his efforts to locate them proved futile.
The pilot's voice echoed in the plane, they would be landing soon. He switched off his phone. His eyes flickered open when his assistant tapped him, he glanced outside. They were on land.
A car was waiting to pick them, he got into the backseat without a word and his assistant sat in front. He wanted to be alone for a few minutes before the meeting. He was disturbed and he didn't know why. Maybe because he left the house without talking to Leila. Their marriage was new but his first few days before he left the house, Leila had been awake. They had spoken.
The car stopped when they arrived at their destination, he looked out the window to the skyscraper that seemed to disappear into the sky. If Kelvin played his cards right, this baby would be his.
Aside from technology and entertainment, he was also into real estate. Twenty percent of the country's wealth came from real estates but only a handful were aware of that. Fortunately for him, he was among that few and he had every intention of making more money from that industry.
Amara stepped out first with the files containing their proposal. He switched on his phone and a text popped in. He smiled at the short text from his wife. It was her first time texting him. He always initiated the calls and texts. They were the weirdest couple he knew.
Leila: Have a safe trip.
Kelvin didn't bother with a reply to her. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what a regular husband would have replied. Amara held his door open for him to get out, he offered her a nod and adjusted his coat.
The morning breeze flew into his face, the gel he applied earlier helped to keep his hair in place. They walked towards the entrance of the glass building with practised precision. Their reflections stared back at them with serious faces and sharp suits.
At the door, he told his assistant, "Send flowers to her office."
It took a second for Amara to bring out her phone. "Should the note be the same as the last time?"
The door slid open. "No. No notes."
* * *
Twelve days now and he hadn't seen his wife. Kelvin stepped outside of the room he had been forced to lodge in until the contracts were finalised. The hotel was one of the few properties he owned in New York. For someone who planned to be here only two days, nothing was working according to plan.
The pool was empty when he got there. Kelvin appreciated that.
He had his phone glued to his ear as he waited for the line to connect. Leila was not picking. She must be in Freya's house, she told him she would be going there to spend the weekend again. Today was Sunday. He hoped to get out of here by tomorrow morning.
Though they barely had much to say over the phone, his calls were frequent. He was missing her. She must be missing him too or she wouldn't be running to her friend's house for the second time in two weeks. He shrugged out of his robe and dipped his feet into the water.
A shudder rippled through him. The water was cool and he soon relaxed. Few minutes after waiting in vain for his wife to return his calls, he dived into the pool.
His arms flexed as he moved from one end of the pool to the other without coming out for air. The images from the meeting played over again in his head. He tried to remember if he said and did everything right. The call of approval should have come in by now. After a few more laps, Kelvin stepped out of the pool.
Water dripped down his toned body, his hair matted to his forehead. The place was empty but he hurried to the room. His phone rang as he was getting out of his briefs, it was his wife. As always, a smile curved his lips and he wiped it off. Leila couldn't love him.
"Hey," he said into the phone. He dried his hair with a hand towel and hung it on the seat in front of the mirror. He had promised to give Leila a tour of his room. He switched the call to video. "Are you ready?"
Leila's pretty face covered his screen. Her dark circles were gone and her hair was in two cornrows. She was on the bed with a hand on her chin. Kelvin missed her.
"This is my room," he started. She nodded for him to continue and he moved around the room, showing her every inch like she planned to visit the place. He stopped in front of the mirror. "What do you think?"
Her face still occupied his screen but his back camera was back on so she could see his figure in the mirror.
"Cool." She bit her lower lip, and he knew she wanted to say more than that. "When are you coming home, Mr McKenna?"
Home. He liked the sound of that word, especially from her. But he couldn't provide a satisfactory answer. Last time, he told her he would be back by Friday but it didn't happen. He didn't want to make any more empty promises.
"I'm not sure." Leila's lips moved into a tight smile. He wanted to be home too. "Are you missing me?"
The question was meant to be a joke but it came off serious. Leila looked into the camera, Kelvin expected her to laugh it off. "Yes, Kev. I'm missing my husband."