Live & Learn ~ A Miss Independent Novel Read online

  Live & Learn ~ A Miss Independent Novel

  by Kiki Leach

  Copyright 2015 Kiki Leach

  Smashwords Edition

  First Edition: May 2015

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Various Spanish Translations:

  Mierda ~ Shit

  Puta ~ whore

  Sigue intentando y fallando, como siempre haces ~ So keep trying, and failing, like you always do

  Pajas ~ jacking off

  Gracias ~ Thanks

  Esto es exactamente por qué Vanessa no dormir contigo ~ This is exactly why Vanessa won’t sleep with you

  Lánguido ~ Pining away

  Dos ancianos casados ~ Two old married people

  Cierra la boca ~ Shut the hell up

  Juntos ~ Together

  El veneno ~ Poison

  Especialmente cuando es verdadero ~ Especially when it’s true

  Enemiga ~ Enemy

  Indescriptible ~ Indescribable

  Por favor, no vuelvas a decir eso ~ Please don’t ever say that again

  Perra critica ~ judgmental bitch

  Parásito ~ Parasite

  ******

  In LIVE & LEARN, the third book in the Miss Independent series, Vanessa attempts to erase the past, while Maurice comes to grips with a long ago decision that he fears may damage his future with her. Nikki grows closer to William, as Melanie and Oscar continue to grow further and further apart. And Sheila begins to question her decision to marry Nathan as he contends with the possible consequence of his most recent, and reckless actions.

  ******

  Miss Independent series:

  Miss Independent

  Decision Makers

  Live & Learn

  Part One

  Nathan stood at the center of a crowded sidewalk just outside of Vanessa’s office building as workers from every side of Manhattan whizzed past him. While they hummed nonsense into their cell phones and crossed busy streets, he remained completely motionless, never glancing at a single one of them as he continued looking up at the building with his hands placed inside his pockets. Beads of sweat dripped down either side of his face, coating the collar of his crisp white dress shirt. He was so stiff that he couldn’t even bring himself to reach for the handkerchief sticking out of his top pocket to wipe it away.

  Aside from the insanely warm weather being a contributing factor to his now drenched appearance, he was also scared as hell to see his ex for the first time since announcing the new date and location of his upcoming wedding to her former best friend, Sheila Harris. While he had hoped to keep the information from leaking out past anyone who hadn’t planned to attend, his future bride was more interested in making as big of a deal of it as humanly possible. She didn’t just want their family to know of their new plans, she was ready for the entire world, especially Vanessa, to become aware of the fact that she was finally going to wear the name Mrs. Nathaniel Taylor once and for all and a lot sooner rather than later, which had been her plan all along. After the press got wind of the news via an ‘anonymous source’, they ran with the story and haven’t stopped once to pace themselves, much like Sheila.

  Nathan inhaled deeply, engulfing the vicious smells of smoke that surrounded him as he tried but failed to get just a glimpse inside the window that led to Vanessa’s office. He wondered what she would say to him upon sight. Or if she would toss something at his face instead like she had done once or twice before during an argument when they were still together. Part of him was hoping that she would throw a complete fit like a juvenile. He wanted her to get mad the same way she did when he first came back to town because it meant that she still gave a damn about him and what they had as much as he tried to claim to himself, and to Sheila or anyone else who would bother listening to him, that he didn’t anymore – which is why he had finally consented to an earlier wedding date after putting it off for so long. Another part of him, so small he could barely see or feel it inside of his chest, didn’t know if he should be so enthused to possibly see her still so angry at him, and for good reason.

  Part Two

  High up in her spacious office, Vanessa sat mindlessly at her desk, tapping her fingers against her lips and looking out at her employees as they traipsed back and forth in front of her. Some poked their heads in to say a quick ‘good morning!’ before returning to their desks. Others kept their heads down, focusing on the papers in their hands, remembering they were on a tight deadline and needed to turn in their articles by 3 o’clock in order to get the latest issue of the magazine out on time. Her mother had already snapped at her in front of everyone during their morning meeting in regard to their last issue which had not only been a few hours late for printing, but also dipped by a percentage in sales, and she wanted to make damn sure that neither would ever happen again as long as she was still the C.E.O.

  It had been over three weeks since the reunion fiasco, but only a few days since it had finally begun to die down. During such a heightened frenzy, Vanessa wanted nothing more than for it all to be over, to not be followed nearly everywhere she went alone for the sake of a local pap getting his money’s worth of a shot if only she just managed to glimpse in his direction.

  Or asked any questions regarding Sheila and Nathan, or more notably ‘Shathan’ as the media began to refer to them. (Vanessa thought it was such a stupid nickname.) But as time went on, she was almost desperate enough to seek out the paps herself if it meant that her mind would remain clouded with such nonsense as opposed to the everyday muck that continued to make an entrance into her daily life, most of which had to do with those two people in particular.

  As much as the seemingly happy couple hadn’t planned to leave town despite Vanessa’s constant pleas that they go away and never come back, for the most part Sheila had managed to physically keep her distance, which had taken mounds of restraint. It certainly didn’t mean that she hadn’t tried getting in contact with Vanessa in other ways for one reason or another (mostly another) from time to time, but it meant that even when Vanessa didn’t answer or return her phone calls – which was often – Sheila wasn’t coming up to her job to suggest a random lunch date in Central Park or making an unexpected visit on her doorstep like she had done so many times before. The same couldn’t be said for her future husband.

  Fortunately, the good in her life was beginning to take shape and outweigh the bad as she and Maurice were starting to make some real progress in their growing relationship. They had spent various nights out in Lower Manhattan with other friends for dinner and drinks in a slew of dive bars, while a few nights in alone were spent on the couch and filled with passion and heaping amounts of ecstasy that lead to heavy breathing and lots sweat and open mouthed kisses.

  Unfortunately, they were still in the ‘no sex’ phase of their relationship, but by now, it was no longer due to a lack of trying on both of their parts. If it wasn’t the phone ringing and interrupting the mood that had been set, or someone coming to the door to sell something for their church or school, he was forced to work late during the week for his boss while she was coaxed into doing the same by her mother. She thought about telling Alexis what was going on with her and Maurice, hoping that it would get her to ease up a little bit as she felt it was at least ONE thing in her life that she was finally managing to get right; but she decided against it believing that her mother would do nothing but interfere every step of the way as she always had when it mattered less, as opposed to when it mattered the most.

  When her phone rang, she jumped at the noise it made, momentarily
forgetting where she was. As it continued to get louder, she quickly reached for the receiver and pressed it against her ear.

  “This is Vanessa Brown, speaking,” she said in a calm voice. She lifted the sleeves of her dress and adjusted a few sticky notes around her desk.

  “Hey, V, it’s Benita from downstairs.” She looked up at Nathan over the rim of her glasses and soured. “I would’ve called your assistant, but I thought you might want to deal with this one directly.”

  “What is it?”

  “You have a visitor down here waiting to see you.”

  “Do they have an appointment?”

  “He says he doesn’t, but--”

  “Well then tell him that’s too bad because I’m swamped. Meetings until five and another tight ass deadline way before then. Whoever he is doesn’t matter if he has no appointment, because I don’t have the time for it today.”

  “I understand all of that, but I think you might want to see this person.” She swiveled in her chair so that Nathan couldn’t see her face and covered her mouth as she pressed her lips into the speaker. “It’s Nathaniel Taylor.”

  Vanessa wasn’t sure she had heard correctly at first, but once she realized she had and that there was no denying it, she sat back in her chair and groaned loudly. So much so that her assistant Samantha glanced back at her from her own desk to see if she was alright. “Tell that man that he is no longer welcome inside of this building under any circumstances. If he didn’t get the memo the first time, I can gladly fax it to his ass once again. Or have it hand delivered via a mail courier.”

  “I’ve tried getting him to leave because I know your policy, but he says he’s not going away until you either come down to see him personally, or I send him up there to your office without trouble. I’ve already tried stopping him from getting on the elevator at least twice.”

  “Shit.” She bent forward on her desk and pressed her fingers against her temple. Had she left him stewing, it would’ve meant more trouble for her than for him and she knew she didn’t need the aggravation right now. But if she were to see him, she knew that nothing positive would come out of the situation as it never seemed to. It felt as if she were in a no win position, so she reached into a drawer for her purse and pulled out a coin from the side pocket. She flicked it high in the air and when it landed on its head on her desk, she closed her eyes then slowly opened them and looked down.

  “V?” Benita asked. “Are you still there?”

  “Sadly, yes.” She breathed out. “You can send him up. But tell him before he even steps onto that elevator that he can’t stay long and if he’s here for more than five minutes, security will immediately be called to my office and I will have his ass hauled outta here in the most insecure and embarrassing way possible. His soon-to-be wife wants a New York City style cover story, I’ll make sure they get one.” She dropped the phone back down and stared at it as if it were a snake ready to bite her just in case she thought of touching it again.

  Samantha got up from her desk and peeked her head inside Vanessa’s office. Her mousy brown hair cascaded over her shoulder as she leaned on the frame. “Is everything okay?”

  “Not in the slightest because Nathan is inside the building and won’t go away until I see him.” She grabbed her head as if she were in pain. “Nothing is ever okay when it comes to that idiot.”

  “Does he know that you’re already aware of the changed date of his wedding?”

  She glanced up at Samantha and nodded. “If I thought he were coming here just to reiterate it for the sake of being an asshole, I wouldn’t have allowed him to come up at all.” She slicked her hair back into a quick ponytail and picked up her black rim glasses from the other side of her desk, placing them on her face. “Let me know when he taints the hallways with his presence.” She tugged at the front of her dress and began typing something on a blank Word screen.

  Samantha turned her head and widened her eyes when she saw a well-built man in a nice fitting grey suit walking toward her in what seemed like slow motion. She gasped and placed a hand on her chest to catch her breath. “I don’t think I’ll have to.” She stared long and hard, thinking some of the most inappropriate thoughts as he approached and smiled in her direction. His teeth glinted, his brown eyes sparkled in hers. She took one look at his smooth, caramel skin then focused on his full lips, and swallowed hard before tracing a tongue around the edges of her own. “Damn,” she whispered to herself, slightly shaking her head. She nibbled her now wet lips and furrowed her brows. “I didn’t know he looked like that.”

  “Like what?” she asked, puzzled. Vanessa looked out of her window and saw Nathan coming closer. She turned back to Samantha and glowered. “I’ve shown you pictures from my yearbook. And he was at that Bistro Bar and Grill opening – didn’t you see him there?”

  “I barely saw anybody there because I was too busy working. And no one ever really looks like their pictures from back in high school, do they?”

  “Most people do if it’s only been five years.”

  “He doesn’t. I don’t.” She tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and exhaled heavily. “But he really doesn’t.” She bit down hard as she crossed one leg over the other and leaned back against the door.

  Vanessa picked up on her assistant’s sudden attraction to her ex and snapped her fingers to break her out of her daze. “Excuse me. HELLO?! You might want to wipe the drool from your face before he gets any closer to see it.” Samantha dropped her head and immediately dabbed the corners of her mouth. “And don’t you have some phone calls to make before the end of the work day?”

  She nervously grinned at her boss and pointed her index finger. “I’ll get right on those, Miss Brown.”

  “Yeah, why don’t you go and do that.”

  She backed away from the door and returned to her desk, but kept at least one eye on Nathan as he strolled up to Vanessa’s door. He raised his hand to knock, but stopped himself when he realized she was refusing to even look in his direction. She continued typing as he gazed at her, admiring her restraint in wanting to kick him out or slug him in the face for even daring to show up. He stepped inside after a few moments of waiting for her to speak, and closed the door behind him.

  Vanessa paused after hearing the clicking sound. “I didn’t allow you to do that,” she said, keeping her eyes focused on the words she had typed up right before he came in to interrupt.

  Nathan smirked and walked to the other side of her office. He looked out at all of her employees and saw a few who tried looking inside at them without appearing suspicious, whereas others couldn’t help but just full on stare while whispering to those that sat across from them. “You have some pretty nosey people that work for you. The woman from downstairs all but asked me for a blood sample before I came up here.”

  “It’s part of their job to be nosey, but at least they’re working which is more than I can say for you today. In fact, shouldn’t you be off at McManus, Mann and Gallagher doing just that since you now have a ‘real’ job that pays ‘real’ money by the hour?”

  “I’m taking a lunch break, V.”

  She ripped her eyes from the computer and glanced down at her watch. “Oh. Well in that case, shouldn’t you be off spending your free time in Hades celebrating the circus finally making its way to town? Which reminds me…” She typed one more word in her document, then placed an elbow on her desk and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She looked over at him and smiled in a devious manner. “Since I haven’t seen you in a while, I just want to lend my congratulations to you on that new wedding date. November was just too far away, eh?” She laughed to the point of nearly snorting.

  He spun around to look directly at her face, gauging for a more serious expression behind the eagerness, which he thought was just a show for his benefit. When he didn’t receive what he had been looking for, he stood straight and leaned his head back in astonishment. “You don’t sound too upset about this, V. I almost expected you to--”

/>   “Throw things? Rage like a complete maniac? No. First, this office is made of glass, which is a hell of a lot more expensive than it looks, so getting someone to replace it would be a real bitch, more than my mother would become once she saw the damage and bill. Second, I’ve already made an ass out of myself in front of my ‘nosey’ employees once already because of you, and third…” She looked up toward the ceiling and opened her arms wide. “I just don’t think I give a damn anymore. You two getting married was never really a secret, Nathan. I’m sure the city dump still has my invitation sitting in there somewhere amongst all the other trash to prove it. And frankly, the fact that you two decided to move up the date absolutely thrills me in a way like you wouldn’t believe.”

  He grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. “Why?”

  “Because it gets you both the hell outta my hair permanently. Sheila will no doubt continue to hog the press for the next few months and milk this shit for all its worth into next year and beyond if she tries hard enough. But I can live with all of that if it means little visits like this will cease to exist in the near future because you’ll be too busy trying to keep her happy, which means staying the hell away from me. And now that we’re on the subject of you being here, I’m actually surprised Mr. Gallagher let you off the property. I thought his minions were only allowed to have lunch while chained to their desks? Have you even been there a week yet?”

  “It’ll be three weeks on Friday.”

  “Then maybe his letting you out of the cage today was just an early wedding gift you can’t return. From what I’ve heard from Eddie, don’t expect to have more time outside of the office during work hours unless you’re forced to run errands or bathe the Gallagher family dog.”

  “I’ll remember that the next time I’m forced back into that awful place called The Bean for his coffee.” He made his way to her desk and placed his hands on the chair sitting in front of him. His eyes roamed over to a picture sitting at the edge of her desk, the one of Vanessa, Maurice, and Nikki in a full on embrace – the same picture in which he and Sheila had been so blatantly removed from. He hadn’t noticed it when he was there before, but then again his mind was so focused on other things at the time, noticing a picture in which he was mysteriously missing from was the last thing on it. He stared at it this time, then looked at her, making a face of both wonder and amazement. “I still can’t believe you’re not angry about any of this,” he said.