WIDOWer

CHAPTER 6

Bria arrives at Hawks Rise Elementary, a little after six o’clock. When she walks into the cafeteria, she spots Julie with a group of kids right away. Startled when Warren walks up behind her, she jumps.

“Welcome to the Hawks Rise Elementary School art fair!” Warren whispers then smiles

“Thank you!” Bria replies as Julie walks up to them

“Oh, my gosh! Thank you so much for coming!” she says

“Thank you for inviting me, I’m glad to be here” Bria replies

“My friend Jodi wants to show me her paintings! But I have to show you mine first!” Julie states, then takes Bria’s hand and shows her the three paintings she has on display.

“These are beautiful Julie. You are very talented! Can I take some pictures of you by your paintings?” Bria asks taking out her phone, after she takes a few pictures, Julie runs off again.

“You haven’t returned any of my calls or texts” Warren whispers once he and Bria are alone

Smiling Bria asks

“Is now really the best time for this?”

“No, but I want to talk to you before I discuss Julie’s letter with her!” he replies

“She wants to meet you!” he whispers

“Dad, Jodi and August are going to get ice cream after the show. They want to know if I can stay the night over their house?” Julie runs over and asks

“I guess so!” Warren replies

When Julie runs off again, her art teacher Miss Watson comes over to greet Warren

“Mr. Daniels, I’m glad you could make it.” She states

“Thanks” he replies

“Bria, this is Miss Watson, Julie’s art teacher. Miss Watson, this is my girlfriend Bria.”

Bria stands there briefly glaring at Warren then says

“Very nice to meet you Miss Watson” then shakes her hand

“I’ll let you two get back to the artwork, enjoy!” she states then walks over to greet some other parents

Bria turns and walks away from Warren, but when he realizes it, he follows her.

Smelling the subtle notes of orange oil and peach in Warren’s cologne, Bria turns around before he can say anything and in a low voice asks

“Tonight, is about Julie, why are you making it about me?”

“Because I’m falling in love with you, and you won’t hear me out!” he whispers

Bria shakes her head then smiles at the family passing beside them

“This isn’t the place for this conversation!” she whispers looking up at him

“Julie is going to a sleep over. Will you have dinner with me?” he responds

Julie comes back over to Warren and asks

“Dad, will you bring my bag over to their house tonight? Please!”

“Yes, but I need to talk to their mom before we leave” he replies glancing at Bria

“Go ahead, I’ll meet you outside!” she states

Warren catches up to Bria standing on the sidewalk near the parking lot.

Sliding his hand into hers, they walk towards her car, and he asks

“Where would you like to go for dinner?”

“I’m not dressed for dinner!” Bria says

“Plus, I’m still a little mad at you!” she adds

Stepping closer to her slightly pinning her to the car door, he says

“I am so…” he pauses giving her a quick kiss

“So, so sorry!” he adds giving her another kiss

Softly pushing him back, she says

“Quit!”

“I’ve really missed kissing you!” he whispers stepping back to her with a raised eyebrow

“Would you cut it out!” she responds quickly

They just stand there gazing into each other’s eyes for a moment and finally Warren says

“I’ll follow you to your house so we can drop off your car”

“You’ve gotta go to your car first” Bria smirks when he makes no attempt to move

“I’m going!” he whispers in her ear, then lifting her chin so their lips meet, he gives her a slow sensual kiss that lasts a moment too long.

When he finally heads to his car, Bria stands there momentarily kindled. Then finally she gets in her car, and they leave.

Outside Bria’s house, she finally gets in the car with Warren, and he asks

“Do you want to change or just grab some take out?”

“I mean I don’t see anything wrong with what you have on, but I want you to be comfortable!” he adds

“Let’s do take out” she replies

“While you decide what you want, I’ll go get Julie’s bag and drop it off to her” Warren replies backing out of the driveway

Warren is back in the car with Julie’s bag in less than ten minutes, when they drive two blocks and pull up to a beautiful two-story house right off of the lake. Bria laughs then says

“You live in the same subdivision as them? This isn’t even a mile from your house”

“I know! It’s great right.” he replies pulling out his phone

When he calls Julie, she says that they’re getting something to eat and asks if he can come back in a little while.

Unable to agree on what to eat, Bria and Warren end up going to two different restaurants.

Before long, they arrive back to Jodi and August’s house, Julie comes running out of the house and once she gets in the back seat, she is out of breath

“Daddy, is Aunt Renee, your girlfriend?” she asks

Turning to look at her, they both sit shocked

Warren laughs then asks

“Why would you say that?”

“We saw you guys kissing in the parking lot at my school!” she replies glancing between the both of them

Bria just looks at Warren then turns around but doesn’t say anything

“What if I said yes?” Warren asks

“So, are you saying yes?” she asks

Bria turns around and watches Julie’s reaction. When neither of them says anything, her smile brightens up and she shouts

“I knew it!” then getting out of the car, she takes her bag and runs back inside the house

The two of them sit looking at each other, still shocked Bria asks

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know!”

Warren laughs as he backs out of the driveway and Bria says

“You planned this didn’t you?”

“How could I have planned that? I wasn’t even sure you’d still be coming tonight?”

Once they get inside the house Warren says

“Make yourself at home. What would you like to drink?”

“Water is fine” she answers

When Warren walks over to the bar, Bria asks

“Is it ok if I take off my shoes?”

When he doesn’t respond, she walks over to him and handing her a glass, he says

“You can take off whatever you want!”

“Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?” she smiles

“I would never!” he smirks with a raised eyebrow then gives her a quick kiss

While they eat, Bria says

“I’m kind of nervous about what Julie is telling her friends about us”

“It can’t be that bad!” Warren responds

After taking a long sip of her wine, she whispers

“Maybe not to you!”

“But I’m worried about the ideas she may get. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Yes, things are ok between us, right now. Although you can be a complete ass from time to time.” she pauses, and they both giggle

“So far it’s been tolerable, but if for any reason things didn’t work out between us, I’d hate to think how that would affect her.”

“I’ll talk to Jewels. I honestly don’t think there is any reason to worry.” he smirks, and she knows he’s trying to do that thing he does to distract her attention.

Shaking her head and narrowing her eyes at him, Bria says

“Don’t even think about it!”

“I’m serious Warren!” she adds

“Ok, I hear you seriously. I will talk to her.” he states with a straight face

“And I’m sorry about the comments I made regarding your relationship with Jewels. I felt like a complete ass when I found her letter.”

“I don’t know what she wanted to talk to you about, but I can imagine. And I know that wasn’t easy for you.”

“I see why Jewels likes talking to you” he adds

“I do pride myself on being an excellent listener!” she smirks, and they sit in silence for a while, Bria struggling to keep her emotions in check. Reliving the conversation, she had with Julie the night she tucked her in.

Clearing her throat, she says

“Let’s talk about something else!”

For a moment Warren just sits looking at her then he says

“So, I’ve noticed you are not much for going out.”

“I guess you could say that. But we’ve gone out plenty of times.” She replies

“Since we met, we’ve had dinner twice and between the two of us, we’ve cancelled more lunch dates than we’ve actually been on.” He states

“If it’s up to me, I’d just rather stay in. We can go out more if that’s what you’d rather do.” she smirks

“I’m good either way and I do like having you all to myself!” he smirks standing up, taking his dishes to the kitchen

Warren’s phone rings and he ignores the call then puts his phone on vibrate. Then after Bria stands up, he asks

“Would you like me to finish showing you the rest of the house? Since the last time, you distracted and seduced me!” he laughs

“I’m pretty sure that was the other way around but sure.” she laughs

He shows her his office, and the two guest bedrooms and the bathroom on the south end of the house, then the play/entertainment room. When they revisit Julie’s room, Warren finally shows her his masculine master suite and bathroom.

“I love this giant mirror?” Bria states as they walk back through the bedroom

Sitting down on the couch, Bria says

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now?”

“Ask away!” Warren replies

“If you don’t want to talk about it, I respect that. No pressure!” she states studying his eyes

“Tell me about Mia!” she says eventually

“I didn’t see that coming” he states a little surprised

“I mean, what do you want to know?”

“I knew her, but only as Jay’s sister and Julie’s mom. I know she was a teacher, but that’s it. Tell me a little bit about you and Mia!” Bria replies

“Well, we met in high school, became best friends and eventually started dating. She was a sweetheart, kind to a fault! She’d always try to find the good in every situation.”

“She’d already committed to a community college here so when I went to Texas, we tried the long-distance thing for a while. But she ended up transferring to Texas, and we got an apartment together right before senior year and…” turning to look at Bria who is looking right into his eyes, he asks

“This isn’t what you meant is it?”

“It is, keep going. You moved in together.” Bria states

“Yeah, the same day we signed our lease I printed out a marriage license and put it in an envelope with an engagement ring so when we signed the lease, I asked her to marry me.”

“A year later, we were graduating and planning our wedding at the same time. Mia was passionate about teaching; she loved the idea of molding the minds that would one day run the world” Warren laughs at the thought

“By the time we moved back, she had a ton of job offers. We both focused on our careers for a year and then we found out that she was pregnant with Julie. Her entire pregnancy, she was completely miserable, but in true Mia fashion, she always looked at the brighter side. She’d always say that she was pregnant with our jewel.”

“‘Precious jewel, you glow, you shine, reflecting all the good things in the world, just look at yourself’. That’s were Julie got her nick name, that was her favorite Maya Angelou quote.”

Lost in the memory, Warren’s voice is low, and she can see the adoring love he had for the woman he’d chosen to spend the rest of his life with. But as he continues, she watches as the look in his eyes turn from fondness to a look of sadness.

“The day after 981s grand opening, she went into labor and after complications from the c-section, she ended up having to have a complete hysterectomy. So…” Warren pauses looking up and staring into the fireplace

Gently touching his arm, drawing him out of his memory Bria whispers

“Hey, I’m gonna use the restroom! I’ll be right back”

After taking her time in the bathroom, Bria walks back into the living room to find Warren standing at the bar pouring another drink. Walking up behind him, she wraps her arms around him and whispers

“Hey!”

Slowly turning to meet her gaze, Warren says

“Hey Beautiful!”

“Did you fix me one of those?” she asks sweetly

“Here, you can have this one” he states

“No, I’m just kidding.” She replies walking back over to the couch

“Come here!” she says reaching out her hand

When Warren sits down, she asks

“You, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. How about you?” he responds rubbing her leg

“I’m great!” she replies

“Thank you for that!” she adds studying his face

Taking Bria’s hand Warren says

“You’re welcome!”

“It’s getting late, you wanna drop me off?” Bria asks

Laughing then shaking his head, Warren says

“No, I really want you to stay. Julie is at a sleepover, I thought we’d have one too”

“I bet you did!” she smiles

“Not to mention, I told you I was falling in love with you, and you haven’t said anything about it.” He states

“I heard you.” Bria replies softly

“And!” he mutters expecting her to continue

“And now I believe you!” she whispers

“Now! What changed between the art fair and now?” he asks with a puzzled look on his face

“You talked to me about Mia!”

“That’s never been an issue” he replies

“I know, but we’ve just never talked about her. And I wanted to see that look on your face.”

“What look?” he laughs

“Fondness and affection, I can see how much you really loved her.”

“So, you want me to talk about you now and see if I look the same way?” he says smiling

“No, but I want you to be comfortable talking about her, around me.” She states then he leans in to kiss her

“Hey, I’m being serious!”

“I hear you! And I am.” he replies then grabbing the remote, he turns on the tv and disappears down the hall

Walking back into the living room with a blanket, Warren asks

“Did you still want me to take you home?”

“You don’t look like you want to leave the house again tonight” she replies

“Whatever you want to do is fine. I’ll leave if you want me to take you home.”

Smiling up at him, she asks

“Are you sharing that blanket?”

Walking over to the couch, Warren balls the blanket up under his arm, smiles then says

“Well, that depends, this blanket is like a mistletoe, you gotta be kissing if you’re under it!”

“I’m game, but just so you know I don’t play fair!”

Opening the blanket, Warren sits down and when he does, Bria straddles him and says

“So, you love me and you like kissing me ha?”

“I do and I really do!” he replies slowly reaching underneath the back of her shirt and unhooking her bra before she has a chance to object

Surprised by his efficiency, she gasps, and with a raised eyebrow he whispers

“I don’t play fair either!”

It’s early the next morning when they are awakened by someone ringing the doorbell. Warren rolls over and checks his phone to see if he’s missed any calls. Ignoring the seven missed calls and messages from Doug and Marcus, he gets up and slides on his pajama pants.

“Warren!” Doug calls out, walking down the hall

Meeting him at his bedroom door, Warren says

“Shhh, shut up fool! What do you want?”

“D*mn, you having sleepovers now!”

“I been calling you all night! That thing happened last night, and I wanted you to see this”

Doug shows him the pictures of Dillon in a G-string from Bria’s birthday card and a video of the gift bag contents dumped on Dillon’s doorstep.

“Why are you showing me them pictures again?” Warren replies pulling him away from his bedroom door, so Bria doesn’t overhear them.

“It’s not just pictures, it’s a birthday wish list email, with these pictures attached. Sent to every Scope employee and their contacts from ya boy’s cell phone!”

“Wait did you say every employee?”

“Yeah, the only way to keep ya girl out of it was to send it to her too. But it was sent to her work email, hers kicked back saying she was out of the office until Monday.”

“How did you send it from his phone?” Warren asks

Laughing Doug says

“A dancer friend from Atlanta that was in town for a few days!”

Shaking his head, Warren says

“I don’t even know why I asked”

“But listen, why did you send it to their clients?” Warren asks walking into the kitchen, a little concerned how that may affect Scope and impact Bria

“If I got something like this from a company, I’d drop them! This was just supposed to be about him, not the entire company!”

Turning and looking at the front door, they see Julie and August walking in

“Oh, D*mn!” Doug says turning to look back at Warren

“Good morning, Daddy. Good morning, Uncle Doug!”

“Hey Mr. Daniels, good morning!” August states

“Hey, Julie bug!” Doug says

“Why didn’t you call me to come get you?” Warren asks

“I just came to get my camera!” she replies

“Okay!”

“Daddy, who’s shoes are these?” Julie asks when she comes back into the living room

“Julie, I’m leaving, I’ll drop you guys off!” Doug states attempting to divert her attention from Bria’s shoes

“Dad!” Julie says

“We’ll see you later Bro!” Doug says rushing them out of the house

When Warren walks back into the bedroom, his phone gets an alert with a new message from Doug. Sitting down on the bed, he reads the message

Your daughter grown as hell,

she told the other lil girl,

Daddy had a sleepover too!

Lol!

Bria walks out of the bathroom in Warren’s t-shirt and sweats and asks

“Busy morning ha?”

“Not quite how I intended to be woken up!” he states

“Are you hungry?” Warren asks reaching out pulling on the waistband of his sweats

“I am! But I just want toast and coffee and maybe some fruit if you have any” she answers slightly nauseous

“I’m sure we can manage that” he replies

“My clothes look good on you!” he whispers pulling her into a kiss

As they stand in the kitchen fixing breakfast, Bria asks

“Did you date a lot before we met?”

“No, not really. I’ve been on maybe one second date” he responds then asks

“Why you ask that?”

“I just asked” she murmurs then asks

“Had you slept with anyone since Mia?”

“Are you going somewhere with these questions?” he asks

“It’s kind a late…” he begins, and she cuts him off

“No, they’re just questions”

“Yes, the same person I went on the second date with.” he responds walking to the fridge taking out the fruit and butter

“What’s her name?” she asks

Stepping back to look at her Warren asks

“Are you writing an article about me?”

Bria shakes her head and after a brief silence Warren says

“Savannah!”

“How long ago was that?” she asks

“Almost two years ago. Do you want her last name too?” he asks sarcastically

“No, but should I?” she responds with a raised eyebrow

“I was kidding” he states

“Why didn’t you date much?” Bria asks

“No, my turn” Warren responds shaking his head

“Tell me about your dating life the past few years” he states walking over to her

“It was nonexistent! I didn’t date.” She responds

“Why didn’t you date?” she asks again

“I wasn’t interested in anyone I’d met before you!” he replies

“Except Savanah!” she acknowledges

Laughing Warren says

“That was more hormones than interest!”

“What does nonexistent mean?” Warren asks

“I’ve met tons of guys and did my fair share of flirting. But never actually accepted an invitation out.”

“And to answer your question before you ask, I hadn’t slept with anyone since Jaylen!”

“So, why me?” she asks resuming her line of questioning

“Why you what?” Warren replies

“Why did you call me and why did we make it past the second date?” she asks

Warren just stands there and after a beat he looks at her and says

“I wanted to finish what we started, the night we met!”

With a raised eyebrow, she says

“Oh, really!”

“I mean yeah. But I only called you because we didn’t...” he pauses, and she asks

“So, if we’d had sex the night we met, you wouldn’t have called me?”

“Before you take that, the wrong way, let me explain what I mean” he states

“I was attracted to you, and we had chemistry but what I liked most about you wasn’t that. It was the look in your eyes when you said, ‘I can’t!’” he states stepping close to her

Backing up, Bria asks

“What look? The I’m horny but broken look”

“No, I can’t explain it. But I knew, I wanted to see you again somewhere quiet, but public so we could talk”

“The more I talked to you and got to know you, the more I wanted to get to know you” he adds

“And when did you realize you had feelings for me?”

“You are really asking a hundred questions this morning, aren’t you!” he states

When she just looks at him, he says

“It was the day Julie, and I wrote notes to Mia.”

“Every year on the anniversary of her death, we write notes to her, put them in balloons and release them that night.”

Turning to look back at her, he continues

“This year, all I wanted to do was tell her about you!”

“A few days later, I came by your office.”

“Yeah, I remember. I’ll never forget my one o’clock with Mr. Daniels!” they stand both laughing, remembering the day he came by her office

Sitting down at the bar Bria says

“Last question for the morning”

“When did you know you were falling in love with me?”

Staring off, then looking back into her eyes, he says

“The night we went bowling I knew that I could, but I wasn’t sure until I saw you with Julie at her birthday party.”

“The night we went bowling, you mean before or after you got mad at me and disappeared?”

“I thought that was your last question” he laughs

“I mean it was, but I need clarification!”

“It was actually part of the reason I disappeared, I wanted to see if you’d leave” she replies

“Oh, so you were testing me?” she asks

“More or less!” he states

“Definitely more, because leaving did cross my mind a few times”

When Bria stands back up, Warren asks

“Whoa, where you going? It’s your turn to get in the hot seat!”

“I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back” she replies giving him a quick kiss

“Your mom doesn’t live close and you’re a single dad. How is your house so clean and organized!” Bria asks walking back into the kitchen

Warren just smiles at her, when she sits down, he says

“Marcus’s mom owns a cleaning service. And I’m a lifetime client!”

“Ok, so let’s see. Jaylen. No dating” Warren begins figuring out his line of questioning

“No sex!” he adds smirking at her

“So, the night we met, why’d you dance with me?”

“I already told you”

“I forgot, tell me again” he states

“I wanted to see how you moved” she answers

“And why did you say yes to my invitation to lunch?”

“Because…” she pauses briefly thinking back

“I’d had a tough day and I was genuinely surprised to even hear from you!” she replies

Warren shakes his head then asks

“What made you agree to being off the market?”

Bria shakes her head and says

“Oh, am I off the market?”

“You most certainly are!” he replies

Laughing she says

“I’m kidding. You’re sweet and I like spending time with you. And things like sending me flowers and the random texts just to say hey. They didn’t hurt.”

“And what about now?” he asks

“What do you mean?”

“Do you love me?” he asks softly

Bria just shakes her head and smiles

“Since when?”

Glancing up at the ceiling, Bria says

“While we were in Amelia Island, when you said, and I quote ‘I have the sexiest most amazing girlfriend, but she spends all of her time looking for flaws that she doesn’t allow herself to enjoy the little things in life! Bria, I’m not your husband!’ end quote”

“Why that?” he inquires

“Well, because you said it. And you were right and because it broke my heart a little!”

They sit there for a moment, then Warren stands up and asks

“So, why haven’t you told me?”

Turning her seat around to face him, Bria says

“I wanted to talk about Mia and ask you the millions of questions I asked earlier!”

“And?” he responds stepping closer to stand between her legs

“And love is so complicated!”

“I mean, I…” she pauses

“You and Julie mean a lot to me individually, but as a package, that’s a little more complicated. She wants a whole family, and to be a big sister. I still don’t even know if I want to have a kid. Or if I want to get married again.” She states then shaking her head, she continues

“You’ve had a great marriage and perfect life. I…”

“Hey!” Warren mutters putting his finger up to her lips

“There you go again, thinking too much! And perfect is a misconception!”

“It’s not complicated, just tell me how you feel. Without thinking about any of that other stuff”

Finally, Bria says

“I love you, but…” Cutting her off Warren puts his finger up to her lips but moving to stand up, Bria continues

“I don’t want to hurt you or Julie!”

Warren’s phone rings and when he looks at the ID, it’s Julie.

“Speaking of Julie!” he states answering the call

Bria’s eyes water and hit with overwhelming nausea and an urgent need to vomit, she puts her hand up to her mouth and searches for the trash can. When Warren sees her, he tells Julie he’ll be there in a minute and hangs up the phone. Walking over, he asks

“Have you been sick since last weekend?”

“No” she shakes her head, leaning over the trash can, as he rubs her back

Once Bria is done, Warren steps back and asks

“I need to go get Julie, are you ok?”

“Aren’t you going to drop me off first?” she asks

“No, I wasn’t. Why” he laughs

“You’re fine, plus she already saw your shoes in the living room!” he adds

Shaking her head Bria says

“I don’t care. Take me home before you pick her up, please!”

“Ok, fine!”

“How you gonna be bossy and sick at the same time!” he smirks

“I’m taking your clothes, but I’ll return them, promise!” she says going to grab her things

Once Warren drops Bria off at her house, he stops by to get Julie. When she gets in the car, she asks

“Where’s Aunt Renee?”

“Home, why?”

“I thought she’d be with you.”

“Is she going to move in with us?” she asks as they pull into the garage

“No” he replies realizing the moment had come for them to discuss the letter she’d left under his pillow

“Jewels, I read the letter you wrote me. And I understand where you’re coming from. But Bria and I have only been dating for a few months and I didn’t even know she was your Aunt Renee when we met. We only figured it out when you saw her at your birthday party.” Julie just sits listening, her expression unreadable

“Yes, we both love you and we also care about each other. But I don’t want you to think that that means we’ll be together forever, cause, we’re not there yet. And I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth sooner.”

“It’s ok, cause she’s perfect! Aunt Renee is exactly what I want for a stepmom!” Julie states finally smiling like she hadn’t heard any of what he’d said

Shaking his head, Warren smiles then says

“I know, she is pretty awesome!”

Bria pulls back up to her house after running to the drug store and on her way inside, her phone rings

“Hey Ma!” she states answering the phone

“Hey Nee, what have you been up to?” she asks

“It’s been so hard getting in contact with you. I thought you would have come to visit this week. Did you end up having to work?” Grace asks

“No, I didn’t. I went out of town for my birthday and….”

“Out of town, with who?” she asks

“Sounds like you already know.”

“A friend, ma.”

“And what’s his name?”

“Why are you asking me questions I feel like you already know the answer to. Have you been talking to Susan?”

“Well, she actually answers her phone and returns calls.” Grace answers

“Just tell me about Warren already, cause Susan made him sound like a dream!”

“He’s a nice guy Ma, and we’ve been dating for a few months.”

“So, you’re bringing him to our anniversary party next month, right?”

“I feel like that’s a statement rather than a question. But we’ll see.”

“Warren has a daughter, so it’s a little complicated” she adds

“You mean Julie!” she replies

“That’s not complicated, that is divine intervention!” Grace states

“Is there anything Sue didn’t tell you?” Bria asks

“Yes, the party is on Saturday, but were having a small family dinner Friday night. We hope you both can be there as well.”

“I cannot wait to meet Mr. Warren in the flesh!” Grace states

“Ma, I don’t know if I’m even going to invite him, and I don’t know if he’s free that weekend!” Bria states

“Of course, you are and if he’s anything like I imagine, he’ll find a way!”

“I gotta go honey, love you and I’ll talk to you soon” Grace says ending the call

Bria stands at the kitchen counter looking down at the bag of pregnancy tests and sighs. Then taking the bag, she goes into the bathroom.

Sunday, Bria spends all day in bed watching football and eating junk food. Her and Warren text throughout the day, she lets him know that she’s still not feeling well but discourages him from visiting. Still slightly overwhelmed with everything that’s going on, she just wants some time to be alone with her thoughts. And not to mention she’s dreading going back to work Monday morning, having to see Dillon again.

Monday morning Bria walks into Scope a little after nine and the office is complete pandemonium. No one is working and everyone is standing around looking at computers or cell phones talking amongst themselves. Jennifer catches her as soon as she walks off of the elevator.

“Please tell me you saw the email!” she states

“What email?” Bria asks confused continuing to her office

“That Dillon sent out Friday night!”

“No, and I’m not interested” Bria replies remembering the encounter they had in the parking garage

“Girl, trust me, you want to see this. And hurry up before they lock us out of our emails! I already forwarded it to my personal email!” Jennifer states

“Lock us out why? What are you talking about?” she asks now irritated

Bria boots up her computer and logs in all while Jennifer stands lurking over her shoulder. When she logs in, she clicks on the email from Dillon titled, ‘My Birthday Wish List!’

When she does, the pictures of Dillon pop up on the screen along with an explicit list of items; Lotions, Lubes, Positions Sex Bible, Any and every sex toy, handcuffs, Lingerie (edibles)

“Oh my god!” Bria exclaims when she sees the pictures and the list

“What in the world!?” she adds turning to look at Jennifer

“Yeah, he’s been in with HR since he got here, and the phones have been ringing off the hook!”

“Who got this?” Bria asks

“Everybody! All of Scope and all of our clients. Sheryl is livid!” she laughs walking around the desk and sitting down

Bria laughs then murmurs

“Serves him right!”

“What do you mean?” Jen asks

“Saturday, he met me up here as I was leaving and let’s just say, it wasn’t a pleasant encounter.”

“What do you mean?”

“He scared me!”

“He brought me a gift for my birthday and pretty much forced me to take it!”

Confused Jennifer asks

“What was it?”

“I don’t know, it was a gift bag. I just threw it away.” She replies

“You’re kidding. You could’ve just given it to me!” she responds then laughs

“He was probably sending this email to you!”

“Ha ha, very funny!” Bria replies with a straight face

“Are we doing any work today?” Bria asks as one of the assistants walks towards her office with a glass jar of two dozen pink roses

“I doubt it. We’re probably going to lose all of our clients over this!”

“Girl, most of the calls this morning have been from lawyers! We’re all bout to be unemployed!”

“But look at you! At least your man got taste!” she states taking the flowers and setting them on the desk

“Thank you!” they both say at the same time

Bria grabs the card and when she reads it, it instantly makes her smile

No poems and no fancy words.

I just wanted to say

I LOVE YOU!!

The chatter in the office gets louder and they look up and see Dillon quickly walking towards them. Storming into Bria’s office he shouts

“WHAT THE F*CK DID YOU DO?”

Surprised, Jennifer jumps up as he lunges at Bria

“What!” she voices startled, pushing back from her desk

Standing up Bria asks

“What are you talking about?”

“THIS IS MY F*CKING CAREER!” he snaps

“YOU THINK THIS S*IT IS FUNNY?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Bria says while Jennifer tries pushing him back out of the office

Sheryl and a few other bigwigs walk down when they see all the commotion. Dillon glances around the room, when he sees the flowers on her desk, he smashes them to the ground then pointing at Bria, he scoffs

“I KNOW THIS WAS YOU!”

Two of the men with Sheryl help get Dillon out of the office and to the elevator all the while, he’s yelling and screaming at Bria.

“YOU UNGRATEFUL B*TCH! YOU DID THIS! I KNOW YOU DID THIS!” he yells

Once the elevator doors close, Sheryl asks

“Are you both ok?”

Bria just glances down at her shattered vase and flowers all over her office and shakes her head

Sitting down she says

“No, I’m so lost!”

“Join the club honey. This is a complete sh*t storm I never could’ve saw coming! We’ve had at least a dozen clients terminate their contracts effective immediately. And several others threatening lawsuits. We’re investigating the email, but so far the IT department says it came from his phone, and his phone took the pictures, so I don’t know…” Sheryl replies looking at the flowers sprawled across the floor

“You ladies are welcome to take off for the day, we’ve gotta try and figure this whole mess out.”

“But Bria keep your phone on. I may need you to help with damage control later this afternoon. If any part of this can be controlled” She states leaving the office

Jennifer’s phone vibrates with an alert, she laughs then says

“Scope made headlines, breaking news!”

“I need another vacation!” Bria mutters

“Wait, so, what was that with Dillon going apesh*t on you! What did you do?”

“Nothing, I have absolutely no idea what that was!” Bria replies glancing back down at the broken vase and roses on the floor

Grabbing her trash can, she picks up as much of the glass as she can and the flowers. Then taking her bag, her and Jennifer leave the office and head to Susan’s shop. When they pull into the parking lot, Bria’s phone rings and she tells Jennifer

“This is Warren. I’ll be in, in a minute!”

Once she gets out, Bria answers the call

“Hey babe!” she says attempting to control her emotions still pretty shaken up

“Hey honey. Happy Monday!” he states

And that does it, before she can say anything else, all of her emotions unravel, and she starts to cry

When Warren hears her sniffle, he asks

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

Not responding, she just sits there and cries

“Babe, are you at work?” Warren asks

“No” Bria mutters

“I’m at Sue’s shop” she adds finally

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry” she mutters

“It’s ok, what’s wrong?”

“I’m downtown, can I come see you?” he asks when she doesn’t respond

“Yes” she replies

“I’m on Orange Avenue” she adds softly

“Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes” he states

In less than ten minutes, Warren pulls up. When he walks over to her car, he sees Bria with her head down on the steering wheel still crying.

Opening the driver door Warren says

“Hey!”

Getting out of the car, she buries her head in his chest and hugging him tight, she breathes in the familiar, sweet bitter peach fragrance of his cologne that had repeatedly soothed her.

“What in the world happened?” he asks after a minute

Jennifer walks back outside to see what’s keeping Bria and when she sees Warren holding her, she walks over to them

“Aww, how is she?” she asks

“I don’t know, she hasn’t said anything” he replies

“Did something happen? Why aren’t y’all at work?” he asks

Laughing Jennifer says

“One of the guys at our office sent some explicit pictures and stuff to everybody’s email. Before he got thrown out of the office, he kind of attacked Bria and said it was her fault and called her a few ungodly names!”

“And he smashed the roses you sent her!” she adds

“Attacked her?” he says stepping back a little to lift her chin up to meet his gaze

“Babe! Are you ok?” he whispers concerned

Forcing her head back down, she shakes her head no

“I’ll leave you two” Jennifer says then starts to leave but turns back around and says

“And something happened last weekend too, I didn’t really understand. But it didn’t sound good, the same guy gave her a gift and she threw it away or something!” she says shrugging her shoulders

Guilty of orchestrating the very pain and suffering, he now stands trying to soothe, Warren becomes enraged over this Dillon character.

Once he reigns in his own frustration and guilt Warren kisses Bria’s forehead then asks

“Would you like me to drive you home?”

“Please” she murmurs finally looking up at him, eyes red and swollen

Warren walks Bria to his car and after getting her things, he locks up the car and they head to her house.

Once they arrive at her house, Bria goes straight to her bedroom and lays down.

Warren goes into the bathroom to grab Bria a cold towel. Glancing at the trash can he sees it overflowing with pregnancy test boxes. When he gets a towel, he wets it and then comes to sit next to Bria on the bed.

“You, okay?” he asks laying the towel on her forehead covering her eyes

“I’m better, thanks” she replies

Warren just sits there looking at her for a moment, then glancing at her belly, he leans down and kisses her lips

When he backs away, Bria moves the towel from her face and looks at him

“Hey” he whispers

She smiles slightly trying to read his eyes

“Hey” she mutters finally unable to read him

“Are you pregnant?” Warren whispers

Closing her eyes and laying the towel back on her face, Bria takes a deep breath then slowly exhales

Warren gets up and walks into the living room. Pulling out his phone, he pings his location and sends it and an SOS to Doug. When he turns to walk back towards the bedroom door, Bria is walking out of her room

“Are you leaving?”

“No” he replies shaking his head

Then sitting down on the couch, he takes her hand and pulls her to his lap.

“You didn’t answer my question” he states

“I think so” she replies softly

“What did the tests say?” he asks

“They were all positive!” she responds

“When’d you take them?”

Attempting to get up, Bria says

“Saturday afternoon!” but Warren tightens his grip

“Where you trying to go?”

“Nowhere” she replies

“Ok, then you’re good right here” he states

“Why didn’t you tell me after you took the test. Were you going to tell me at all?” he asks

“Of course, I was going to tell you.” she responds shaking her head

Sliding her onto the couch, he hovers on top of her briefly then kisses her neck and says

“I love you!”

Pushing him away, she says

“You better, since you knocked me up!”

Warren’s phone rings and standing up walking towards the kitchen, he asks

“I gotta get back to the office for a little while before I get Jewels from school. Will you come with me?”

“No, I’m good, I really don’t…” she replies

Narrowing his eyes, Warren walks back over to her then says

“Let me rephrase that. I have to go back to my office, and I want you to come with me!”

“Please” he adds

“I’ll meet you outside!” he adds pulling out his phone

Outside, Doug has pulled up. When Warren gets in the car with him, he says

“Dillon attacked Bria today and blamed her for that email in front of their entire office. This sh*t is all over the internet!” he begins

“Sending that to their clients was reckless! They’ve lost almost all their accounts. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re out of business by the end of the week.”

“Fix this and make sure he doesn’t even think about Bria again! I don’t care if you have to take him and dump him in the middle of Tuvalu!” Warren states

“Yeah, Alright! Bro, I got it!” Doug states finally responding

“Today!” he adds then gets out of the car just as Bria walks outside and waves at Doug

Before Warren backs out of the driveway, he reaches over and takes Bria’s hand

“I’m really sorry about everything that happened at work today!” he states feeling more liable than she can imagine

“Thank you” she replies softly