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“Right,” she huffed. “And since I’m never going to change your mind, I’m done Lawton. So very done with you and this.” Silent tears escaped her eyes as she gave me one final look before turning and walking away.
My heart thumped wildly in my chest because the fear of being alone was crippling. For six years, I’ve enjoyed the time we spent together. I enjoyed making memories with her. Whatever she asked, I gave. Whether it be my time and attention, or the multitude of businesses that I invested in all for the sake of her happiness, I gave. In the end, none of it was enough. Dahliawasn’t willing to accept me for who and what I was, just like I wasn’t willing to give her the two things she desired the most.
Peering around the wrecked living room, I shook my head and left the room. I needed a drink, something stiff with longing effects. Snatching open the liquor cabinet, I fished out the four-thousand-dollar bottle of whiskey and popped it open. After dropping the large, round ice cube in the glass, I poured a shot and hurriedly downed it. My thoughts were loud and overpowering. The selfish part of me wanted to beg Dahlia to stay while my rationale side was saying to let her go.
It was never my intention to cause her any grief. I only wanted to give her a life of luxury a life that she would have never been able to afford. The more anguish set in, the more shots I consumed. Before long, the sound of bags being drug down the stairs jarred me from my head. Turning in the direction, I waited for her to make her final descent.
When she stepped around the corner fully dressed and pulled together, one wouldn’t believe not even an hour ago she had redecorated my entire living room in a fit of rage. Her hair was now thrown up in a slick ponytail. The white button up she wore was perfectly tucked in a pair of tan chino pants. On her feet were the black and tan Chanel espadrilles I brought home from my business trip to New York. Her face showed how void of emotions she now was.
“You can accept this as my resignation from the LH Youth Center. Or not,” she shrugged. “Just know that I no longer want ties to anything dealing with you. Per our agreement, I will be expecting my money to be wired to my account. Once our business ties are severed, Lawton Harvey… I want nothing else to do with you. If you so happen to see me out in public, please, I beg of you… go the other way.”
“I’ll get with my accountant and have the money sent over ASAP,” I readily agreed. Feeling the need to speak my peace, Ifollowed up with, “For what it’s worth Dahlia, I do love you. I admire the woman that you’ve grown to be.”
“The woman youmademe, you mean. You love me, just not enough to give me what I want. She really fucked you up. Of course, you can’t see it because you have this sick admiration for her. That woman is going to be your downfall, Lawton. You just wait.”
Paying me one last look, Dahlia blew out the most dejected huff and walked out of my life for good.
The day after my breakup with Dahlia, I found myself sitting behind the large red oak wooden desk in her office. I was under the impression that this would be her first stop after leaving my house yesterday. Knowing her mindset, I purposely showed up a few hours before the center opened. If she had indeed stopped by and wreaked havoc around the place, I planned on having it cleaned before the staff showed up for their duties.
I got the surprise of my life when I walked in and everything was intact. Her personal items were missing from the walls, desk, and bookshelf, but that was as far as it went.
After reaching out to my accountant, I decided to stick around for the day to handle a few housekeeping things. Shortly after eight p.m., the staff slowly but surely started to trickle in. Rossi, Dahlia’s assistant, and right-hand was the first face I came in contact with when I stepped out of her office.
Doing a double take, he shrieked. “Mr. Harvey, I wasn’t expecting to see you here this early. Is everything okay?”
Skipping formalities, I got right down to business. “Rossi, I need you to get with Marsha as soon as possible. The youth center needs a new director.”
Bewildered, he asked, “What happened to Dahlia?”
“She resigned,” I voiced, void of any emotion.
“Wow.” His brow creased. “Did something… you know, happen? It’s unlike her to make such a bold move without addressing the staff.”
“Nothing happened. She decided to pursue another opportunity.”
“Well, what’s going to happen now?”
“Business is still going to go on, Rossi. The only thing that’s changing is the director.”
“That’s a big change though, Mr. Harvey, and it makes me sad.” He sulked.
“I’m saddened as well, and sure her sudden departure will have that effect on a few people. However, the show must go on. We need that role filled expeditiously. I can’t afford for the kids to suffer.”
Two years ago, Dahlia had come to me with the idea of opening a youth center; a place where kids could come after school. After scouring several locations, we decided to renovate an old recreational center in Vine City. The crime was so bad in the city of Atlanta, we felt it would be a better location since it was central to several neighborhoods.
The center offered counseling, basketball, and football programs; we even employed a few educators to help some with their homework. During the summertime, we offered feeding programs and let them utilize the swimming pool. The ultimate goal was to keep them so busy that they wouldn’t have time to play in the streets. The center was Dahlia’s baby and being that she was there twenty-four seven, I let her do her thing andplayed the background while focusing my attention on my other business ventures.
Now that she had up and quit, I was going to have to spend a few hours out of my day there to make sure things didn’t slip in her absence. It was imperative to hire her replacement sooner rather than later.
“I’ll get right on it. Uh... Mr. Harvey, will you be sitting in on the interviews? I can have Marsha reach out when she has enough suitable candidates.”
“I would prefer to skip the interviewing process. As soon as she’s narrowed the search down to three solid leads, she can email me over their resumes and I will make the final decision.”
“I can do that sir. Anything else?”
“Actually, there is. Get the staff together and have them meet me in the conference room. I need to bring them abreast before the rumors start spiraling out of control.”
Everyone employed at the youth center knew of my relationship with Dahlia. I would be a fool to think that once they figured out she was no longer working here, they would assume it had something to do with our personal affairs.It did.That was none of their business though, therefore I felt no need to try to clarify or justify anything. What I would do is answer questions about what to expect going forward.