Secret Liaisons Read online

  His desire to be with one woman was halted by not just Nikki but other women he would meet over the years. Those women were more impressed with his bank account or his occupation than him. He felt it safe to date multiple women because he didn’t want to fall in love again with a woman and be hurt the way Nikki hurt him all those years ago.

  Terrance had every intention of proposing to Nikki. He stopped by to surprise her with a ring but was the one who got surprised when he found her straddling Doug White, his best friend since elementary school.

  That day not only ended their relationship but his lifelong friendship with Doug. He never told his mom the real reason he broke things off with Nikki. Nikki lied about who her parents were. She lied about a lot of things. He could have gotten past those things but she lied about loving him.

  He hadn’t been in a committed relationship since Nikki. He felt it was time to change that. Terrance completed the profile questions. He emphasized via his answers that some of the traits for a potential partner must include, compassion, honesty and someone ready to make a full commitment.

  He hit the save button. Hoping that the last few hours he spent filling out the profile would result in him finding his soul mate or at the very least, an interesting date.

  Chapter Six

  Mona curled up on the couch and logged on to her 2-Of-A-Kind profile. The computer icon blinked indicating there were several matches. She opened each profile match. She was a little disappointed when none of the matches were with men who lived nearby. Most of them were located either on the east coast or in the south. She contemplated on whether to update the location requirement for her ideal mate, but didn’t want to limit herself. It was possible her soul mate lived elsewhere, so she vowed to have an open mind.

  She was about to log off when her computer beeped. The site indicated that there was an incoming match. The name on the profile said, Falcon. She smiled when she saw that this match was from someone who lived in the Los Angeles area. She read Falcon’s profile word for word. On paper, the man seemed perfect for her. At the end of his profile, there was an option to send a personal message.

  Mona typed, “Your profile caught my attention. I wanted to make sure I reached out to you to show my interest.”

  Falcon responded immediately, “Thanks for reaching out. After reading your profile, I’m curious to find out how compatible we really are.”

  Mona, excited and surprised by his quick response, typed, “There’s only one way to find out.”

  Falcon responded, “Why did you choose the profile name Raven?”

  “It describes my independent personality. I bring light with me when I enter a room,” Mona typed.

  “That means you have a good aura,” Falcon responded.

  “What about you? Why Falcon?”

  Mona clicked on Falcon’s reply. “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes,” Mona typed.

  “Because Falcon is the first African-American super hero from the comics I read as a child. It also describes me because as an African-American man, I’ve had many obstacles to overcome in order to succeed in life. I think I can soar as high as a Falcon when I put my mind to it.” He ended his statement with a smiley face.

  “I like your attitude,” Mona typed.

  Mona and Falcon chatted back and forth on the computer during the course of the next hour. They talked about their favorite music artists and movies. They disagreed on which Friday movie was the funniest.

  Mona yawned. She glanced down at the bottom right hand side of her laptop and noticed the time. It was after eleven. She was sleepy but didn’t want to end the conversation.

  She typed, “I hate to go, but I have a boss who can be demanding so I need to get my rest.”

  Falcon responded, “If I’m not being too forward, what’s your email address? I would like to continue chatting throughout the day.”

  Mona wasn’t sure she was ready to give him her personal email. “We can chat. I’ll make sure I stay logged in so I won’t miss your messages.”

  “I understand. Look to hear from me tomorrow. Good night,” Falcon responded.

  “Good night.” Mona typed and placed a smiley face at the end.

  She logged off the dating site and got ready for bed. She went to bed hopeful that she’d made a connection.

  Terrance smiled as he logged off his computer. Raven seemed like a nice woman. Based on the way she answered her questions on her profile, she was the ideal woman for him. He enjoyed the playful banter they exchanged online. She seemed diverse on a variety of subjects. One of the things he really liked was that she enjoyed his love of the arts.

  He found himself trying to visualize how she looked. The only downfall to the site is that there were no pictures included with the profiles. He started to ask her for one but knew if he did, he would have to present one of his pictures to her. Although he wasn’t an actor, his face was well known due to the success of the movies he produced.

  He wasn’t conceited but also knew that he was an attractive man and due to his numerous dates with beautiful women in all forms of entertainment, his pictures, along with theirs seemed to always make the gossip blog sites.

  Keeping his anonymity for now was very important. He needed to make sure the woman on the other end of the computer cared about what was on the inside of him verses what she’d read about him.

  When the computer came back with the matches, he read them all but the one with the name Raven caught his attention more than the others. While the others came back with no lower than eighty-five percent match, Raven’s match came back as a ninety percent match.

  Before he could respond to her, she’d messaged him. He went to bed thinking about Raven. She was nice, but he’d already found the woman he wanted.

  He just wished he could do something about it.

  He drifted off to sleep with Mona heavily on his mind.

  Chapter Seven

  Mona’s ride into the office took longer than usual due to an early morning accident but it didn’t mar her attitude. The good mood she was in after chatting with Falcon the night before lingered into daylight.

  Terrance hadn’t made it into the office yet, so Mona got behind her computer and logged on to her 2-Of-A-Kind account. Her smile turned into a frown. Her inbox was empty. She’d hoped that she would have heard from Falcon by now, but she reminded herself that it was still early. It wasn’t even nine o’clock.

  She minimized the browser on her computer screen. Mona went through her normal morning routine of making sure hot coffee brewed for Terrance. Afterwards, she scanned through the emails and voicemails. She responded to most of the messages in her inbox. There were a few requiring Terrance’s attention. She forwarded him those and made a note to tell him about it.

  The sound of Mona’s cell phone ringing broke her momentum. Charlotte’s name showed on the display. Mona had barely spoken when she heard Charlotte say, “Why am I the last person to find out that your script was chosen by Terrance for his pitching session?”

  “I was going to tell you but I know Terrance is one of your clients, so I didn’t want there to be any sort of conflict,” Mona confessed.

  “I’m your friend first, a talent manager second. After I broker this deal for Terrance, all of us must get together and celebrate. This is your big break and I’m so happy for you.”

  “Kem said the same thing but it hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Aren’t you the one whose always hollering, ‘think positive?’ Well, I’m telling you, think positive. It’s going to happen,” Charlotte said, with excitement in her voice.

  “Speaking of your client. He just walked in the door, so I’ll call you back later,” Mona said, as she ended her call with Charlotte.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Terrance said, as he walked in and went straight to his office.

  Mona looked at
him curiously. He’d never called her “sunshine.” She placed the notepad under her arm and went to pour him a cup of coffee. She added one packet of sugar and a little cream just like he preferred and took it to him.

  Terrance was typing something on his laptop when she entered. He stopped for a second but barely looked at her.

  “Here’s your coffee,” Mona said.

  “You can put it down. I’ll get it in a minute,” Terrance responded.

  Mona walked around to place it near him. Terrance closed his laptop. He looked at her and smiled. He picked up the coffee and took a sip.

  “Umm. Just the way I like it,” he commented.

  Mona removed the pad from under her arm and tore off the top sheet of paper. “You got a few calls that require your attention. And also check your email.”

  Terrance said, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “Let’s hope you will never have to find out,” Mona said. She turned and walked out.

  She went back to her desk and opened the computer browser. She smiled when she noticed the message from Falcon.

  Terrance drank more of his coffee before opening his laptop. He didn’t want anyone to know, especially Mona that he was using the dating site.

  He saw that Raven had responded to his good morning message. “Good morning. I thought about you too.”

  Terrance typed, “I have a busy day ahead of me, but know that I will be thinking of you. Until tonight, have a good day.”

  “I will now that I’ve heard from you. Enjoy the rest of your day,” Raven’s message stated.

  Terrance logged out of his 2-Of-A-Kind account. He looked at the sheet of paper with the notes Mona had given him and went through his normal routine of responding to emails and returning phone calls. When he finished, he summoned Mona to his office.

  She walked in looking jovial with a huge smile on her face. The site of Mona standing there in a royal blue jump suit made his heart flutter.

  “What do you need boss?” Mona asked.

  “Are you busy tonight?” Terrance asked.

  “Why?” Mona walked closer to his desk.

  “Charlotte just informed me we were invited to a party. Some of the executives from the network will be there and since you’re one of the writers and my acting co-producer, I wanted to see if you were available to tag along.”

  “Yes, I’m available. What time do you want me to be there?”

  “It starts at seven. I’ll pick you up at six.”

  “I think it’s best I meet you there,” Mona said.

  “Are you sure because I have no problem driving to the Valley?”

  “Just give me the address.”

  “Let’s compromise. Why don’t we leave from here?”

  “Do you see what I have on?” Mona looked down at her jump suit.

  Terrance bit his bottom lip. He didn’t see anything wrong with her attire. Nothing at all.

  Terrance reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He removed a credit card and handed it to her. “Take a late lunch. This is an important event for the both of us, so find you something nice to wear.”

  Mona held the credit card in her hand. “What’s my limit?”

  “I’m going to leave it to your discretion. Don’t get carried away, but buy whatever you want. I look at this as an investment in our future.”

  Mona walked towards the door, stopped and turned around. “Remember you said get what I want.”

  Terrance laughed, “I sure did and I hope I don’t regret it.”

  “You won’t. Trust me.” Mona winked her eye and walked out.

  Chapter Eight

  Mona went shopping at a nearby mall. She found the perfect dress, shoes and accessories for tonight’s event. The door to the office was locked. She struggled to hold her items as she fumbled in her purse for her set of office keys.

  Once inside, she hung the garment bag and placed the shopping bags near it.

  She noticed a yellow sticky note on her computer. It read, “Will be back later. The other writer called. We’re all set.”

  Mona’s cell phone rang. She saw her attorney’s name and number displayed on the screen. “Hi, this is Mona,” she answered.

  “Mona, this is Blythe Evans. I went over the option agreement and I only made a few changes. I’ve emailed it to you. Call me back when you get it so we can discuss.”

  “If you have a minute, we can discuss it now.” Mona sat behind her computer and logged on. She opened the Word document and read over the highlighted changes.

  “If they want your story idea, I want to make sure you’re listed as the head writer,” Blythe said.

  “I’m reading through this and it sounds perfect. I hope Terrance agrees to the changes.”

  “If it works for you, I’ll email you the document without the markups and all you’ll need to do is print, sign it and hand it back to Terrance.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Mona did just as her attorney, Blythe, suggested. She printed out two copies and signed each one. She placed them both in a manila folder and all she needed to do now was wait on Terrance to come back to the office.

  She hoped she didn’t get any resistance to her changes. The original contract was fair but the updated one ensured that she would play an important role if her scripts were chosen.

  Terrance walked in holding two brown bags. “Hey, you’re back. I figured you didn’t have time to buy lunch so I went out and got us both something. I picked up food from the Chinese restaurant down the street from here.”

  “Perfect,” Mona said. She stood and took one of the bags from him.

  “Did you have any luck finding a dress?” Terrance asked.

  “Yes. Thank you again.” Mona reached into her purse and pulled out his credit card. She handed it to him.

  Terrance took the card with his available hand. “Well, where is it? Where’s the dress?”

  “No can do. You will see it when I put it on.”

  “Come on. I need to see what my money bought.”

  “Your food’s getting cold. And you know it’s not going to taste the same cold so I suggest you eat it while it’s still hot,” Mona playfully said, as she shooed Terrance away towards his office.

  “Fine. I guess I can wait.”

  “Don’t worry, it’ll be worth it.”

  Terrance went to his office but left his door open. Mona held the manila folder with her signed contracts and joined him soon afterwards.

  “Here’s the signed option agreement with a few changes. Hope it’s to your satisfaction.” Mona placed the folder on Terrance’s desk near his computer.

  “I’ll take a look at it as soon as I finish eating,” Terrance responded.

  “Great. Now let me get back to my shrimp fried rice.” Mona left out hoping that Terrance agreed to her changes.

  After finishing his food and wiping his hands clean, Terrance opened the manila folder and read through the contract. If it had been anyone else but Mona, he would have been hesitant on signing the contract with the change, but he wanted the best for Mona and he didn’t have a problem bringing her on as head writer if the network agreed to the production.

  He signed both copies. He kept one in the folder and took the other one to Mona. Mona was busy typing on her computer.

  “Mona, as the owner of TNB Productions, I hope that our relationship will be taken to another level with this new venture.” He handed her the contract.

  Mona looked at his signature on the bottom of the second page and smiled. “So we have a deal?”

  “Yes, we do. Tonight’s a prelude to our meeting, so let’s knock it out the park.”

  “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget this.” Mona jumped out of her seat and hugged Terrance.

  Terrance could smell the sweet aroma of flowers in Mona�
�s long curled hair. He wrapped his arm around her enjoying the closeness.

  Mona slowly pulled away but not without them both staring into each other’s eyes longer than they normally would have. Mona said, “I’m sorry. I just got a little emotional. You don’t know how bad I want this to work.”

  “Mona, no need to apologize. I’m excited for you. I’m glad that I can hopefully be a part of making your dream come true.”

  “You have. More than you’ll ever know,” Mona said, as she went back and sat behind her computer.

  Terrance stared at Mona. She was petite but full of life. Being around her energized him. Made him feel as if he could do anything. He went back to his office and turned on the radio. Erykah Badu’s song, “Next Lifetime” came on. He thought of Mona. Maybe if circumstances were different, he could envision himself with her. But with the new upcoming business venture, any thoughts of a romantic encounter with her needed to be pushed out of his mind.

  He hopped on the dating site and sent Raven a quick, short message. He needed a distraction from Mona and chatting with Raven was just the solution.

  Chapter Nine

  Mona ended the chat with Falcon so she could get ready for the dinner party. To her surprise, Terrance stayed in his office behind closed doors the remainder of the day. He hadn’t asked her to do anything for him so she was free to chat online.

  Mona took her dress and other items and went to the bathroom. She freshened up and got dressed. She pinned back her black hair leaving a bang and a few loose strands on the side. She placed on a pair of faux diamond earrings and matching necklace. She slipped into the emerald green, knee-length, evening dress with the spaghetti straps revealing her light-brown back. She bent down and placed on a pair of black, velvet-smooth heels with diamond accents.

  Satisfied with her appearance, she walked out of the bathroom holding a bag with her other clothes in it. She placed the bag under her desk. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearing six o’clock. She knocked on Terrance’s door.