Page 43 of Taming a Menace

Twenty

K eywan

My phone rang as I drove home from Iyla’s office. I was shocked to see her number come up on the caller ID. We had spent every night together since I’d asked her to marry me, and I still couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t wait to spent the rest of my life with Iyla.

“Hey, baby. Miss me already?” I asked her.

“We need to chill for a while, Key.”

“What does that mean, Iyla? What are you talking about, baby?”

“Us. We need to back off for a while. All the sneaking and hiding is too much. I don’t know why we thought this would work.”

“Where are you, baby? Meet me somewhere so you can tell me what’s going on.”

“I can’t, Key. I have to work,” she declined.

“You have thirty minutes. Just talk to me. I know we can fix whatever it is.”

“I don’t know if we can.”

The way her voice cracked made something break inside me. What the hell had changed in fifteen minutes?

“What happened, Iyla? I just left you. We’re almost at the finish line, mama. Don’t give up on us.”

“That was my ex in the office when you came back. He recognized you from the restaurant and is threatening to report me to the board.”

“Fuck!”

I punched the steering wheel knowing that my baby’s worst fears were coming true. I promised that I wouldn’t let anything happen. Now I felt responsible for turning our love story into something else.

“We just need to back off for a while until I can figure out what to do. He wants me to move back in with him and come back to work at his office.”

“You’re not doing that.” I snapped.

“I’m not going back to him, Keywan. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to chill for a while. I don’t want to give him any more power over me than he already has. I didn’t even know he knew where I worked until he showed up today.”

“What’s his name?” I asked her.

“Wyatt,” she responded.

“His full name, Iyla.”

“Doctor Wyatt Lowe. He’s the medical director over the clinic where I used to work. He showed up here acting like nothing happened and asking me to come home. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to handle him.”

“You don’t have any business trying to figure out how to handle another man when you have a man. I’ll handle him,” I declared.

“Keywan, don’t.”

“What do you want me to do, Iyla? You expect me to sit back and wait for him to force you back into that toxic ass relationship? I’m not doing that.”

“Please let me handle it.”

“Am I seeing you tonight?” I asked just to see what she would say.

“I don’t think we should see each other for a while,” she responded, crushing my heart.

I sighed. “Baby, come on.”

“What else can I do, Keywan? He’s trying to ruin my life once again.”

“We’re almost at the finish line, Iyla. Don’t let him make you give up on me,” I pled.

“I’m not giving up. I’m just asking for some time.”

“What about Thursday?”

“I’ve already completed your form. I’ll send it in on Thursday evening, so you don’t have to worry about coming in.”

“I need to see you, Moon. I can’t just not see you anymore.”

“That’s not what I’m asking for. Just give me time to think, baby. I love you. That hasn’t changed. I promise I’m going to figure something out. It might just take a little time to get him out of my hair.”

“I don’t like how that sounds.”

“Neither do I, but what else can I do?” she asked. I could tell she was crying and that didn’t sit right with me.

“Let me talk to him,” I demanded.

“That’s only going to make matters worse, Keywan. Don’t give him any ammunition. Right now he’s just speculating. He doesn’t know for sure what he knows. He was just trying to scare me.”

“It seems like it worked.”

“Just please give me time to work it out. Goodbye, Keywan.”

Iyla ended the call, and I sat there at the light until someone blew their horn to let me know it was time to move. My head felt like it was about to explode. I had no idea what I was going to do. She asked for time. The least I could do was try to give her that.

It had been over a week since I’d seen or talked to my baby. It was one thing for Iyla not to answer my calls, but when I showed up at her office and found out that she had called out sick on my last day of therapy, I was devastated.

I knew she wasn’t sick. She’d missed work knowing that I would show up even though she asked me not to. That was made evident by Janet giving me the paperwork for my completed hours and saying that a copy had been emailed to my parole officer.

I couldn’t even celebrate that perceived victory because my heart hurt so bad. I needed Iyla to understand that I would do anything for her. I needed her to know that I loved her more than anything in the world. I needed her to know that she was the most important thing to me.

Fuck the paperwork. I was grateful to be done with my court mandated hours, but I refused to be done with her. I left the office livid, knowing that a man who couldn’t take no for an answer was trying to ruin my future.

I was spiraling, but I refused to give up on us. I’d done well not to lose my temper over the past few weeks. Now I was losing my grip. Someone threatening to make me lose my heart in human form trumped losing my temper. Iyla meant everything to me.

Things that I would usually find funny no longer made me laugh. Songs that I used to sing along to no longer made me sing. I didn’t even feel like cooking. I just wanted Iyla. Without her nothing felt as good or right.

It was close to midnight, and although I had drunk half a bottle of scotch, I was five minutes away from Iyla’s house. She was ghosting me. I hated that shit. I don’t know what she expected me to do while she was figuring things out, but I couldn’t take it anymore.

The least she could do was talk to me. I hopped out of my truck without bothering to turn it off as I stormed up to her door. I rang her doorbell over and over until she finally answered.

“Keywan, what are you doing here?”

Hearing her voice made my heart soar. The agitation laced in her words didn’t faze me.

“I need to see my therapist.”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“I don’t care what time it is. I’m having a crisis, and I need to see my therapist.”

“I’m not letting you in. Please leave.”

“I can’t do that. What about us?”

“Keywan, please.”

“Come to the door, Iyla. I’m not going anywhere.”

Unable to stand any longer, I plopped down on the steps and hoped that she took me out of my misery by coming to the door. A few minutes passed before the door opened and Iyla stepped outside. I was unsteady as I stood to my feet.

“What are you doing here? Have you been drinking?” she questioned.

I held my finger over my mouth to shush her before speaking.

“Ms. Fisher, I love you. I know it’s wrong to fall in love with your therapist, but I’m in love with you.

I can’t help it. It just happened. Now that our sessions have ended, I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m going crazy without you.”

“Key, you shouldn’t have drove here. How much have you had to drink?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that I’m in love with you. I’m obsessed with you. I think of you every waking moment. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise I’ll never hurt you, but anyone who stands in the way of our love can get it,” I vowed.

“Sit back down. Let me get you a bottle of water.”

“I’m not sitting down. Tell me you love me, and I’ll go,” I said, pulling my phone out of my back pocket.

I sent a text to Iyla’s phone. When it dinged in her hand, she looked down at it before looking back up at me. I shook my head. Plausible deniability. I needed her to act oblivious to my growing feelings for her.

“Our sessions have ended. I’m not sure why you showed up at my house, but I have to ask you to leave.”

“I’m leaving now, but I’ll be back for you,” I said, staggering back to my truck.

I didn’t know if Iyla was playing along or if she really wanted me to leave her house. All I knew was that my plan was in motion. Like I had already told her, I wasn’t waiting around on her to handle shit. I needed to take matters into my own hands.

When I made it to my truck, I saw that Iyla was still standing outside. By the time I closed the door, she was going inside. My phone rang taking me by surprise. The fact that it was her was an even bigger surprise.

“What are you doing, Keywan?”

“I needed video evidence. In the morning I’m going to my therapist and telling her that I’ve been stalking you. I’m going to tell her that I need inpatient treatment because I’m obsessed with my counselor. I have to fix this for you, Moon.”

“I’m resigning, Keywan.”

“Don’t do that, Moon. Don’t go back to him.”

“I’m not going back to him. I just had to do something. I can’t have him popping up on my job like that.”

“I understand, but that won’t stop him from reporting you to the board. I have to make sure he has nothing to report.”

“Don’t do anything to put yourself in jeopardy, Keywan. I’m not letting you do that.”

“You have to let me fix it my way,” I told her.

“It’s too late. I’ve already decided. He’s not going to stop. Somehow he researched you and found your company. There was a picture of us dancing at that bridal shower with your company tagged in the photo.”

“What?” I felt like the world was spinning and I was standing still.

“I messaged Kelly and got her to remove it, but he has a screenshot of it.”

“What do I need to do to fix this, Iyla? Let me fix it, mama.”

“Don’t stress yourself. Drive away but don’t go far. I’m turning off the cameras so you can come inside and sleep whatever you’ve drank tonight off.”

“My baby is always taking care of me.”

“Keywan, shut up and back out of the driveway. I’m shutting the camera off now. Just pull right back up and come inside.”