|The bull and its Horns.|
Malisha walked into the restaurant that wednesday afternoon with Gina, Phoebe and Nelly in tow, still babbling her to do list.
The calvary. That's what they call themselves.
Ryan and a lady who had to be Lennita were seated at a table out on the patio and as the girls approached the table, Ryan stood up to pull out a chair for Malisha which she took gracefully.
Nelly and the girls seated themselves a few tables from them, with Gina glaring at Ryan, Phoebe busy on her phone and Nelly, busy on the tablet and planners she carried around.
"Thanks for coming Malisha." Lennita said extending a hand in greeting. Ryan still hadn't said anything and his gaze shifted nervously from the girls to Malisha.
"You look more lovelier in person. Don't you agree Ryan?" Lennita asked trying to pull her brother into the conversation.
"Yes she does." he said turning his attention to Malisha.
She was wearing a dark green knee length dress that was coupled with a peach Tweed coat and golden heels which looked glamorous considering all that Ryan had ever seen her in was jeans.
"I believe, you didn't bring me all the way here just to flatter me." Malisha told them.
"It's not flattery Lisha. It's true. You look stunning." Ryan told her for which he received a glare.
"What do you want from me Ryan?" Malisha snapped.
"I know you two have a lot to talk about so I'll leave you to it."
Lennita said, standing up to leave. She picked up her bag and gave her brother a pat on his shoulder before walking out to a waiting car.
"How are you?" Ryan asked awkwardly, bringing Malisha's attention back into the room.
"I'm fine. How's the wife doing?"
"She's doing well. I guess." he said, shooting a nervous look at Gina and Phoebe.
"You guess?"
"She's back at home. I haven't seen her in a while and they won't let me speak to her as long as I'm here searching for you." he told her.
"They?"
"Her parents." he replied.
"Why are you here Ryan? Your duty is to your wife, Katrina."
Ryan looked up shocked.
"They told you?" Malisha nodded as Ryan looked over at 'they' with a nervous look.
"It was an arranged marriage Malisha. They had just told me when I met you." He said in two statements that explained alot.
They explained why he never talked about his parents, his foul moods after their conversations and his drunkness, but not everything.
"Is she that bad?" Malisha asked, rembering what Gina told her.
"No, but I do not like having my choice taken away from me."
"Mmm? What about what you did to me?"
Ryan reached out to hold her hand, but she slapped it away.
"I'm really sorry Lisha. I was drunk, not thinking straight and I kind of vented out on you.Somehow in my drunken stupor, I convinced myself that if I took you, even if it was by force, then you would never want to leave me. When I got sober, I realised what I had done. I had hurt you, ruined what we had and I was so ashamed I could not face you."
"You didn't even try to apologize!" she ground out.
"I left a note." He replied sheepishly. Malisha eyed him menacingly, glaring daggers at him, until he dropped his gaze in shame.
"What about when I told you that I was expecting?" She asked him again.
"You caught me by surprise and I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind..."
"...and you married her a few months later." she finished for him.
"I searched for you everywhere, but you were gone! I tried to talk my parents out of it, but they thought I was making you up. Eventually I got so frustrated that I married her just to spite you."
"Wow," She countered sardonically, " how well did that work out for you?"
"Not so well I'm afraid."
Malisha kept glaring at him, but he kept his gaze lowered as the silence stretched between them.
Finally he gathered courage to look up and faced her.
" I wish you had said something about your background. A General's daughter? That would have surely gotten my parents attention and maybe saved us all alot of trouble."
"Can you believe him? The nerve..." her inner voice began to spit out.
"So now it is my fault?" Malisha fired back at him.
"No, I didn't say that. I should have also said something, but knowing that your father was 'the General Lenton' could have caught my parents attention. They are into their children marrying into high society and all. "
Malisha gaped at the man and she began to perplexed. He did explain a lot, but it didn't bring her any closer to figuring out what he was really up to.
"What are you really doing here? What do you want?"
Ryan smiled.
"Why? I wanted to see you to know how you and our baby are doing?" he replied smoothly.
"His name is Thomas and he is my baby, not yours."
His smile didn't drop. If anything it increased in magnitude.
"He must be really cute with you as his mother."
Malisha smiled back despite herself. She was human after all and thoughts of Thomas tended to make her smile.
"He is really cute and brilliant, a bit strong willed, but awesome nonetheless."
"Wow, he sounds incredible. Is it okay if I meet him?"
That caught her offguard, wiping the smile that she had been wearing completely off and she hesistated, which allowed him to add another statement.
" Katrina and I have not been able to have children."
"The vile of the man!"
Ryan was clearly an opportunist that was hoping to guilt trip her into seeing his son, but Malisha still had some more tricks hidden up her sleeve.
"I will have to discuss that with Duke first." she told him taking a seep at her coffee.
"Your fiancè?"
"Yes."
"The Phaedra."
"Yes, again."
She was beginning to get agitated. All the warm feelings from her thoughts of Thomas having evaporated.
"You really hit gold there."
Malisha growled, turning completely hostile.
"Gold? Can you believe him?"
"What is it to you?" she asked him angrily.
At that precise moment, Nelly came up to hee and whispered that were getting late for some important appointments including her planned lunch date with Duke.
"A PA? Definately gold."
"Ryan!" she snapped.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry.That was inappropriate."
Malisha disregarded his apology and nodded at Nelly.
"I have to go now. I will consider..." she hesitated before adding. "everything."
She pushed her chair back and stood up. Ryan also stood up and began to escort her out to her car.
"Gina, Phoebe...," He acknowledged her friends as they came to a stop beside the car, but the girls ignored him.
"Well, Domina...I think that went well."
He asked reffering their meeting. Malisha began to protest the title, but then thought otherwise and decided to let it go.
"Yea, I think it did." she said thoughtfully. "It could have been worse."
At that, her friends chuckled and she joinrd them in the car leaving behind a puzzled Ryan.
♧
Malisha waltzed into Duke's office just as he was adjourn a meeting with his intelligence committee.
"Until next week gentlemen. My future Domina is here and I wouldn't want to keep her waiting." Duke told them.
They all laughed and picked up their papers and briefcases while Duke remained seated on the edge of the table, with his hands behind him on the desk.
He loosened his tie and folded up his sleeves out of habit as he watched the last of them, Emmeren, wink and close the door behind him.
He shook his head and laughed as Malisha moved in to give him a hug.
Duke took advantage of their position to steal a kiss. He pulled back from their hug as his hands moved up from her waistline to craddle her face. His fingers moved slowly into her hair and he grinned as his green eyes locked onto her hazel ones.
"Now we are not afraid of Mishael?" his fiancèe asked him cheekily.
"You are not going to tell him, are you?" he asked as his mouth moved down to claim hers. Malisha's hands moved from his shoulders to circle his neck as he deepened the kiss.
"Don't be so sure Mister." She finally told him as they came up for air and Duke feigned disappointment.
"And here I thought that you were on my side." his said, his hands droping from her hair to her lower back.
Malisha chuckled and swatted him playfully.
"So how did it go?" he finally asked her about her meeting with Ryan.
She shrugged her shoulders and began playing with his loosened tie.
"Okay, as exes go."
"Mmm?" he cocked an eye at her, not convinced.
"He wanted to explain himself and requested to see Thomas."
Duke felt himself stiffen and Malisha eyed him warily, before continuing.
"Of course I told him that you and I would have to deliberate on that. After all, Thomas now calls you dad.Right?"
Duke let go of the breath that he did not know he was holding and a small smile tagged at the corners of his lips.
"So, what do you think we should do?" he asked his lady.
She moved from his hold and took a seat on one of his sofas before replying.
"Personally, I will do nothing . I will just sit down, relax and let the answer come to me. No stress. See?" She asked, stretching herself out on the sofa and Duke smiled.
"I admire you woman. How do you do it?" he said, taking a seat next to her.
"I figure, he stayed four years without seeing him, a few more days or months won't kill him."
"Mmm? And you had doubts about being Domina?"
"Aaah... he called me that too." she replied eyeing him cheekily.
"Are you trying to make me jealous?"
"I don't know. Is it working?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I know better than to do that to you." She admitted, even as he helped her up to escort her out to lunch.