Falling for Diana Clarisse

4

I took a few seconds to find my voice. "Swimming didn't work out as well as I planned. Things happened and I decided to go take English and Lit courses." A lot happened a few years ago.

She had a calculating look. "What are you doing in Manhattan Beach? What I mean is what influenced you to move here?"

In other words, what was I doing outside of Lenoire? I gave her the simplest answer, not wanting to go in-depth."I transferred from Knight's community college outside of Lenoire to UC Berkeley. My mom got tired of the old town so she and my dad sold the home there to permanently move into the summer house here. Some other situations arose, and I decided to stay here with the family. Now may I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"When did you and your sister open a publishing house?"

She said, "after that summer, we moved out here. Lillyana was relocated here for work and she had sold the house in Lenoire for some reasons. We moved into the old family estate here because our grandma passed away that summer and she said she wanted us to move in and take care of it in her will. Not only that, but we were trying to speed up the process in opening our parents publishing house again. We wanted everything ready to go into the process of reopening once I turned eighteen. There was some tension here and there for some time. My sister and her husband ran it while I rushed into getting my degrees. And now we're here."

I remember hearing her parents had some business here in California. They were on a trip on the way here when they were hit by a drunk driver. I remember it was the towards end of a school year, of sixth grade. Diana was called into the principal's office to be told what happened. She didn't come to school for a week. After that, she became distant and reserved. Her sister became her only guardian, all they had was each other and that one grandmother here. The whole event was tragic.

She cleared her throat. "Nick said you were about to lose a job when he heard about your qualifications to work here. I was wondering where you were working." Then she added, "if you don't mind me asking."

"I was working at Marcel's, a restaurant on Venice Beach. It was either get relocated three hours away or drop the job. Why did your last assistant leave?"

"She was complaining about how the work, even when she was the one slacking off. The only thing she was good was pissing off Carmen. All she did was flirt with Nick."

I smiled. "Yeah you don't need to worry about me flirting with anyone."

She was shuffling some files around and typing. "Is that so?" She was reading something and then filing it.

No, I don't, flirt with guys. Ladies, yes. "I'm busy being a dad right now so no."

She rose an eyebrow and looked at me. "You're a dad?"

I nodded. She asked another question. "Are you married?"

What an interesting interview. If I was to marry my daughter's mom, I would be six feet under right now. "No. Just, no. She didn't want to have a child, so she left my baby girl with me and I only ran into her once since then."

"Does your daughter ever ask about her?"

"No, she was terrified of her. She quote on quote visited us when it was Haven's fourth birthday. There wasn't a sober bone in her body, and it was only two in the afternoon. Haven was scared of her, and she still is."

Diana looked concerned. "How old is your daughter?"

"She turned six in February." She's my little princess.

She asked. "So how are you going to take care of her if you're working here five or six days a week? Does she have someone to drop her off and pick her up from school?"

I said, "my dad works as a teacher at the school, so he takes her to and from school. He basically takes over during the weekdays and I try to do what I can during the weekends. But with the schedule here, I think I have more time during weeks with her. I try what I can to be there for her, because she's all I got. She and Dad are all I need. But I need to be able to provide for them too."

She stays quiet. "What happened to your mom?" She noticed I didn't really mention her.

"She passed away last year. She had heart conditions." One year without Mom has felt like a decade.

"I'm sorry."

Sorry, the word I couldn't use like a normal person last time I saw Diana. "I'm sorry for all the things I said that summer. I know it's been a while since then, but I still take back everything."

She looked at me blank before shrugging. "It's fine. What happened is now in the past. I'm over it, honestly. Don't worry about it. As long as you're on time for work and you meet the deadlines you should have a simple five day workweek."

I nodded.

Then she added jokingly, "and no jerk actions."

I laughed. "Sounds about right."

Smiling, Diana said, "welcome to our publishing house."

We shook hands and I started my day of work in my office, approving some manuscripts, and pondering over the sparks I felt when I shook Diana's hand.