Secret Admirer

Chapter Four

My woman of the hour Miss Gabriella Cooper will be pictured as the beautiful Mrs. Keisha Epps former Total singer. She is so dang pretty to me and can rock all types of hairstyles. She seems so down to Earth. Anyway, I know it's better to put a face with the character so here we go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was shit, my car was damaged and I didn't get much sleep for thinking about my new obsession with James. As much as I hate to admit it, that man has gotten my panties in a wet bunch. After dealing with Darnell and other despicable men, I was determined to chill out for a while. Technically, I am still in the young area age wise but in experience—I am old enough to know what I want. A drug dealing, pill-popping, bed-jumping buster is not one of them.

James is a mystery to me on all counts. Despite him being sexy as sin, he has a good job. Though dangerous, at least it is legal. Anything with benefits, I would say is a good job. Even my employment status could use a little pick me up. As an operator and secretary for a downtown office building, I answer a slew of calls that come into the building. Along with directing calls between a doctor office, accounting firm, and law office in the building, I am the first person seen when people step into the door.

In retrospect, I can't complain about my job because I at least have one. Many people cannot say the same. Darnell definitely could not. Apparently, none of his entourage would know what real employment looked like for they all hung out throughout the day on a regular basis. When he would go missing with my car, late to pick me up—it was a good chance he was with his crew.

Since James brought up enemies of Darnell's wanting to do me harm, I should probably look into his crew. It is a good chance that those bums knew about his baby mama the entire time as they would smile in my face. Surely, they knew or at least felt that I did not like them one bit. Being an introvert has worked to its advantage if I don't say so myself. The thing I once thought of as a burden turned out to be a good thing.

Regarding any sort of family died when my grandmother passed away three years ago. There are other members remaining on Earth but I have no intentions of reaching out to them or getting to know them on a personal level. In a way that could be a terrible decision but not knowing them could be a blessing. Either they could stab me in the back or get stabbed if someone dangerous is after me.

Now thinking about this cluster fuck up I am involved in, getting attached to James may not be a good idea. Living with myself would be incredibly difficult if he lost his job or if his life was in jeopardy because of my mess. Still the question remains, what is it about me that someone is so drawn to or that made them kill for me. In my opinion, I am nothing special nor do I have anything to offer. One would think that my self-esteem suffers but that isn't the case, my self-worth is only good for my own personal gain. Does that count as a bad trait?

"Braxton building, how may I direct your call?"

"Bitch, we are watching you!" A distorted voice was heard on the line. Out of instinct, I found myself rolling my eyes. The dramatic manner in which I am harassed seems too over the top but to each his or her own.

"Why, don't you have better things to do?" I smarted off, I am sick of this treatment.

"Your time is coming to an end, Bitch!"

"You have stated this threat countless times before," I mocked. Many would not think it favorable for me to provoke these possibly dangerous individuals but enough is enough.

"Watch your back," the line went dead. It is beginning to feel like an automated call because the caller damn near says the same thing every time they call.

"Braxton building, how may I direct your call?"

"Good morning," a voice greeted.

"Good morning, how may I assist you today?"

"The real question should be how can I be of assistance to you." The voice continued. "I am willing to handle your garbage."

"My garbage," I questioned in a whisper.

"The threats made against you, they all can go away. All you have to do is say—YES."

"Who is this?"

"A secret admirer..." The voice and the suggestion was lost on me as I began to feel panicky. This was the same person who called after Darnell was pronounced dead. The palms of my hands were sweating and my breathing had increased substantially. Paranoia was hovering over me like a strange dark cloud.

"Gabriella, is everything okay?" As if I were miles away someone snapped me out of the daze that plagued me. Shaking off the remnants, I tuned into what the security guard wanted.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I asked was everything okay, you were staring into space as white as a sheet." Realizing that I was still holding the phone to my ear, I quickly laid it in the cradle. As if it were a rattlesnake about to bite me, I looked around to see if anyone was out of place.

"Uhm..." Searching the faces of the newcomers into the building, I could find no one that seemed suspicious.

"Is someone bothering you?"

"NO, what... why?" I rambled.

"I only asked because you were on the phone when you zoned out." Dave the security guard commented. "Now you are looking around as if you were expecting someone."

"The phone call was strange is all," was my reply. How did you explain to someone that you are afraid of a voice? A voice that has done nothing to harm you but has harmed someone close to you at that, it sounds weird even to my ears. NO one would believe me but I probably should tell someone what is happening.

"Should we make a report, has this happened before?"

"No, this is the first time." Not sure if I was convincing enough to him because I damn sure wasn't fooling myself. "Don't worry about it Dave, I'm sorry I frightened you."

"Are you sure you're all right?" He didn't seem convinced but he had no clue where to start.

"Yes, excuse me. I better get this." The phone was now ringing and I knew I had to put on one serious brave front to get him to walk away.

"Braxton building, how may I direct your call?" Thankfully I was now back to the regularly scheduled program as I got back to work. Dave walked away soon after realized there was nothing else he could do. Plus, I wasn't talking so there was nothing to speak about.

In truth, the thought of revealing my secret caller's conversations could put me in more danger than keeping it to myself. What if this man is dangerous? How else do I explain how he contacted me at home or at the office? To top it off, he knew I was receiving strange phone calls and I'm pretty sure he knew I was being harassed.

Somehow James' face came to the forefront of my mind when thinking about my so called 'secret admirer.' He is somewhat secretive. Actually, he isn't so much secretive as I haven't bothered to ask him anything about himself. Maybe I should rectify that simple hiccup the next time we speak. What could it hurt?

James has claimed the slot designated for a friend or close confidant, in a way protector so why not probe a bit into his life. The mystery man would definitely fit the mold seeing as though the caller seems concerned for my wellbeing. It would be easy to bunch them into a single box seeing as though they only want to keep me safe.

"I think I am going crazy," I whispered to myself. How the hell can I justify a stalker over the phone being a friend instead of a foe? James was recently pissed to high hell to hear how nonchalant about the strange things going on around me. If he were the caller wouldn't he already know what was going on? Or is that the plan to confuse the hell out of me?