The Upward Ripple

Chapter 7

Cynthia had been wondering if moving was the right move for her ever since Nate suggested to move to New York to work with him. Granted, Nate Duncan was good business. Heck, great business. She had no idea how much the sale of the Duncan estate was going to be worth until she got her commission. Suddenly, her house did not need two more mortgage payments but a single one. And just like that, she was a home owner. She was not sure if that factored into her decision to accept the job or not. There was too much to deal with that she still had to do. There was the opportunity to make more money in New York and there were also her feelings… she had to know what it was between her and Nate that gave her near sleepless nights. As far as she was concerned, Cynthia Washington did not know the first thing about love. The only love she had ever known was her grandmother’s but when it came to the love shared between a man and a woman, Cynthia could not make heads or tails of it. She tried being one of those girls who benefited from the attention and affection of young, willing men and on her first attempt, she found a terrible forceful man who was determined ‘to get his money’s worth’. After him, she had given dating a try just a couple of times, but the guy treated her like a piece of meat. Not so different from how the first man had treated her. He kept on staring at her chest, making ridiculously sexist comments about them not wasting any more time in the restaurant. He even went as far as telling him that he did not usually need to work so hard to get ahead with ‘people like her’. Whether that was racist or not, she was not sure. All she knew was that she was not ready to see that dinner through. After all, she was already as uncomfortable as she could ever get.

The other time she tried the dating pool, she ended up with yet another sleaze ball. It was when she was burning the candle at both ends, working hard during the day and studying in the evenings just to keep herself and her grandmother above water. That was when she met Ian Holstead. He was nice. Good looking, polite and most of all, he was a gentleman. There was a big difference between the sleaze balls she usually met and dealt with and Ian. As she found out, Ian Holstead was a businessman in Colorado for a friend’s wedding. Everything was going great until they met for dinner. He chose Skyline Beer Garden.

“You are going to love their grilled meat,” he had said.

Cynthia had worn her prettiest black dress, a low round neck elbow sleeved knee-length dress and a pair of strapped high heeled sandals, her hair which she always wore in her natural curls back then was pulled back into a curly ponytail. She looked simply but she was also as elegant as she could master. Ian was a perfect gentleman. They met at the restaurant and he pulled out a chair for her. They proceeded to have the most wonderful dinner and he was right. The grill was something special especially coupled with the wine he picked out. He offered to give her ride back home and that was when everything changed. He got real handsy with her in the car. His hands finding her thigh and then going ahead to caress her leg even after she told him how uncomfortable she was.

“Come on, don’t be a tease,” Ian said as he let his hands roam freely.

He pulled the car over to the side and Cynthia desperately tried getting out, but he had the doors secured. It was horrible and when she could not take it any longer, she let out a blood curdling scream that called the attention of the people passing by. That was the only reason Ian let her out of the car before he sped off. She never saw or heard from him again.

Given the kind of people Cynthia had rubbed shoulders with, it was no wonder she had chosen a life of solitude. Meeting Nate had renewed her hope in humanity and everything about him, the way he had bared her soul to her… there was something so gentle about him that got her thinking that maybe this was the one man she could trust. Sometimes she felt so heavily in her spirit that Nate was the man God had kept for her all those years. Even though it might have sounded ridiculous with the kind of life he had led, there was an overwhelming feeling Cynthia that indeed God had been looking out for her all along and Nate too. It was those thoughts that made Cynthia walk right into her boss’ office telling her that she needed to take a break so she could go take care of things in New York. Two days after that, she was in a private plane with Nate, Leon and Deloris headed to LaGuardia Airport.

                                                            *****

The first few days were confusing for Cynthia. Life moved so much faster in New York than it did in Colorado. Matter of fact, there was no concept of time there. There was only light and dark, but business went on day and night. Deloris did the best she could getting Cynthia settled in. Nate had set her up at the Brownstone he intended on selling. He was also in the same house, though he was always busy. He organized a charity gala in his father’s honor to be held at The Bowery. As far as Cynthia was concerned, it was a little too big of a venue but when she looked at the guest list, she understood.

“My father was passionate about cancer research. He gave tirelessly to cancer research courses,” he explained. “This year’s event was already been planned but with everything… someone has to take charge.”

“And that is you, naturally,” Cynthia said, and Nate nodded.

“I’d like you to be there with me,” Nate went on. “As my date.”

Cynthia’s eyes grew wide.

“I don’t know, Nate. I have never been to such a fancy event.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked as he looked at her. “You are fancier than you realize. You will fit right in.”

She shook her head.

“What would I even wear? I mean, it is a gala for God’s sake.”