Page 13 of The Aries Alliance
But a sister was tired of absorbing trauma and never having the tools todosomething about it.
Proposition
After my call with Scarlett,I was confident that I was making the right move with her. Although it seemed that I went from zero to one hundred with a request to meet me in Ramston, I knew the minute that she left my office, she was the perfect Bonnie to my Clyde. Her feistiness ignited a fire in me no one else had in quite a while, maybe never. Sure, I violated almost every EFU HR protocol, but my gut told me that Scarlett was worth crossing boundaries. She was a risk-taker, and despite her calling me a sellout, I was a risk-taker too.
I could have invited her to my place or could have driven to her house in ten minutes, but we needed uninterrupted timealone, on neutral ground, to silence workplace noise and move beyond our biases about each other. Ramston was the perfect place to share our stories on our terms.
Scarlett passed her first test with flying colors when she agreed to meet with me. I threw in a request to wear something sexy to see if she could move past her need to be in control. That dominance was appropriate for taking down the system, but it would cause problems if we decided to work together and she couldn’t follow my lead. I didn’t need anything to break down what I had in store for her.
After hitting the gym, I rushed to the Trader Joe’s near my home. My grown tail practically skipped and hummed down every aisle as I thought about my pending rendezvous with Scarlett. By the time I loaded the six bags of groceries into the trunk of my Audi coupe, I’d already given myself an honorary award for Host of the Year. Scarlett and I would lack for nothing. We wouldn’t have to leave the house if we didn’t want to.
On the way to the cottage, I called my sister, Tiffany, who answered on the first ring.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of a call on a Friday night, baby brother? Is Mommy okay?” Within seconds, Tiffany’s voice lowered.
Tiffany and my mother weren’t as close as my mother and I were. Call it my healed sister clashing with my still-healing mother. Like my work role, I was their facilitator.
In her subtle way, Tiffany called out my workaholic tendencies. I wanted to defend my choices to prioritize my HR role above almost anything else, but I kept my mouth closed. Now wasn’t the time for me to argue with my best friend.
“Calm down, big sis. Last I heard, Mom was fine. I need your advice, though.”
Tiffany remained silent. I continued before I talked myself out of sharing my plan.
“Remember that militant woman from work I told you about a while ago?”
“Yeah. The Black lady whose mouth you said was worse than a bull in a China shop?”
Shame overtook me as I rubbed my goatee. That ugly description of Scarlett was unwarranted and immature.
“That lady’s name is Dr. Scarlett Kane. In her defense, EFU is a rough place to work. She was harmed by her work experiences like Mommy.”
“So, you’re defending her now?”
“Our relationship has shifted.” I paused and took a big breath. “That’s why I’m going to comfort her in a weekend escape.”
“What do you mean, comfort her?” Tiffany’s raised voice caused me to lower the volume on my phone.
For the first time since my decision to meet with Scarlett, I forced myself to process the complexity of the situation I was getting myself into.
“No matter how many degrees you have, you’re not her therapist. What you’re doing sounds dangerous. If she’s broken, you could damage her more. You’re colleagues, Warrick.”
Tiffany was correct. I rarely extended myself emotionally for anyone, especially a stranger. Despite her list of cons, I was determined to enter uncharted territory and become an accomplice for Scarlett in her quest for justice.
“I’m going to help her get vindicated at work. It’s time for me to execute that plan I shared with you a while ago. I’m making myself available to a woman who’s worthy to receive what I have to offer.”
“You’re speaking about professional availability, right? ’Cause I know you’re not talking about marriage.” Tiffany’s awareness that I didn’t cling to women unless it was to their warm bodies on cold nights stung a little.
“Hell no. It’s not that deep. Available as in a mutual exchange. Scarlett meets my professional needs, and I meet hers. She has potential, though. She’s funny and matches me physically and emotionally. We could make a great team.”
“Are you willing to explore that without going to war with her, War?”
Tiffany refused to use my nickname unless she thought I was being toxic. I pushed her unspoken judgment aside and thought about how I wanted to answer her question. I’d never been good at lying to her.
“I think so. She’s the type of woman I would be willing to put myself out there for. She needs a friend, a protector.”
“Aww.” Tiffany’s gushing embarrassed me, reminding me of how she used to tease me and pinch my cheeks when I was a little boy.
For some reason, I felt shy sharing this vulnerability with my sister. Instead of overthinking my choice, I refocused on Tiffany’s question.
