Page 74 of Taming a Menace

Twelve

Keywan

It pissed me off that my first consultation of the day ran late. I got so deep into the meal planning for my new diabetic client that I had to push my following meeting back. Thankfully, I had gone part time with Sonny, or I would have had to prop my eyelids open with toothpicks.

What irked me even more was how I’d fucked up royally and was just walking into my last of three meetings at almost six o’clock. I pulled out my phone and reread the message that I’d sent Iyla over an hour ago. I had to break down and message her on her work phone. She should have been getting off by five, but she had yet to respond to my message asking if she could come at seven instead of six.

“Good afternoon. You must be Keywan?” the middle-aged man asked.

“I am.”

“I’ve heard great things about you. Our daughter is having her twenty first birthday party in three months. She had yourfood at a gathering she attended and hasn’t stopped talking about it yet.”

“Tell her I appreciate it,” I said, noticing that neither of the people in the room looked a day under forty. Her parents were obviously planning the party.

My phone buzzed in my hand, causing me to turn it over as I jotted down notes of what the pair expected for their daughters’ big party. They had extravagant ideas and a budget to match. I always loved that combination. The message from Iyla had my heart racing as I swiped the screen.

Future: It’s probably for the best. I don’t know what I was thinking anyway.

Me: Don’t say that, baby. I had a consultation that took longer than I expected.

I wanted to jump up and bail on the meeting, but it was too important. I needed Iyla to understand. I divided my time between birthday party planning and my nonexistent notifications as I waited for my baby to tell me she understood that it was just a delay. She never responded. Forty-five minutes later, we had the menu all planned, and I was headed out the door.

Future: I’ll talk to you when you get back to town.

A short spurt of air sounded when I punched the steering wheel. I threw my phone against the passenger seat. I couldn’t believe this shit. Just when I thought I was making progress, Iyla shut me out again.

By the time I made it home, I was on fire. I was so angry that I could hit something or someone, but I didn’t. I didn’t even send Iyla another message. I didn’t want to say anything while I was still so worked up. Instead of making a rash decision like driving to her house and knocking on the door, I took a shower. I knew I needed to cool off before I made my next move.

What the hell was I going to do to salvage our connection? I knew she could feel it just as much as I could. Her need to do what she felt was right outweighed her conscience telling her that I was the man for her. Rules didn’t have anything to do with love. That’s why they say all is fair in love and war. There are no rules or company policies that could keep someone from falling in love.

Iyla wanted love. I knew if she was mad at me right now, she was more likely to try to make something happen with whoever her sister thought was a good match for her. I couldn’t let Iyla go out with some clown while she thought I was slipping. I had to do something to fix this.

I cut through the bushes that led to the backyard a couple of blocks over from my destination. It was important that my truck be seen in a public place right now. I’d parked at a restaurant and jogged the two miles to get to Iyla’s neighborhood.

After cutting through her neighbors’ backyard, I walked through a couple of trees and up to her back door. It was dark as hell in her backyard. My baby needed to be able to see what was going on in her yard at night. Since this was my second time completing this mission, I knew that there were no cameras on the outside of her house. Last time, I noticed an alarm sticker on the back door. I’d seen one on the front door on her anniversary. I wasn’t sure if the system was active, but I hoped so.

No camera or motion lights near the back entrance of her house pissed me off. I added both things to my list of things to do as I used a brick to break the window next to the back door. I reached inside with my hand and unlocked the door, then let myself inside.

Mentally I added a new window for my baby’s kitchen to the list. I removed my shoes next to the back door before continuing inside. Once I was in the kitchen, I walked straight to the sink. I’d brought my wrench with me to fix her sink. The faucet was dripping like hell the last time I’d let myself into Iyla’s house. I wanted to fix it before I did anything else.

I wondered if I had time to cut her grass before we left. I needed to set up a schedule to come through and make sure her grass stayed cut. Once I finished fixing her sink, I walked to the living room to check her alarm system. It was right next to the front door. I flipped the cover and noticed that her alarm wasn’t even armed. I shook my head as I armed the alarm then cracked open the front door. Knowing that it was only a matter of seconds before the alarm went off, I headed for the back door and made my exit.

Once I was on the back patio, I stuck my feet back in my shoes and took off for my car. I was about a mile away from my car when my phone rang. I slowed my steps to a trot so I could take my phone out of my pocket. It was her. I stopped in my tracks, fighting to catch my breath as I swiped my finger across the screen to answer.

“Hey, baby. To what do I owe this pleasure? I thought you were mad at me.”

“Hey. I’m not mad, Keywan. Anyway, I don’t even know why I called you. The cops are on the way. Someone broke into my house. Well, at least they set the alarm off. I’m headed home now to see what’s going on,” she rambled.

“Slow down, baby. Where are you right now? I thought you had plans tonight.”

“I had just made it to my destination when my alarm company called saying my alarm was triggered. I’m on my way home.”

“Don’t go home by yourself, Iyla. Do you have somebody who can go with you?”

“I called my sister, but her and my brother-in-law are about an hour away.”

“Do you need me to come over?” I asked.