Fates' Destiny (6 page)

“Destiny.”
Jason growled when he spotted both his equipment bag and backpack in his chair.

“Well,” Destiny shrugged from her seat across the table. “Put them where they belong and they won’t be in your way.”

He scowled at her as he shoved the bags onto the floor and dropped in his seat.

Stubborn as a mule.
She shook her head.

She glanced over at Ali and had to hold back the laugh when she saw the poor girl staring at the empty space in front of her, her hands twitching on the table.

When she called them for dinner Ali walked in, eyes on her phone, and Destiny couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled out her phone and sent this message:

If you bring your phone to the table it will have a tragic drowning accident in the toilet
tonight.

Ali texted back:
You wouldn’t dare!             

Destiny replied with:
Wanna try me? You have to sleep some time and when you do ‘Bye, Bye’ phone.

Ali placed her phone on the island and sat down at the table. She’s been
fidgeting like a drug addict going though withdrawals ever since.

“Ali, it’s really not that bad.”

A stone cold death glare was all the response she got from the girl.

“Ok everyone.”

Dela and Richard lowered platters of roast, potatoes, and other veggies in front of them.

Destiny waited for Jason to say something about the dinner and smiled when he began to eat without a single word.
Well, at least he listened to his father.
 

The table was quiet for about ten minutes and then the sound of the front door closing caught everyone’s attention.
No one moved which Destiny thought was odd. Shouldn’t at least Anna be running to her dad when he came home?

T
hen it dawned on her. He probably didn’t greet the family when he came home. He probably went straight to his office.

Her breath caught in her che
st as she waited, hoping that he would do as she requested and have dinner with them.

She didn’t release it until his tall form stepped through the archway. At that moment Anna squealed, “Daddy!” and darted for him.

“Hey Beautiful.” He scooped her up and hugged her tight against his chest. “How was your day?”

She lifted her head off his shoulder, her face radiating pure happiness. “It was great! What about yours?”

“It was crazy. I’m happy to be home.”

“I’m happy you’re home too, Daddy.” She wrapped her arms back around his neck.

“Sir?”

He glanced at Richard, still holding Anna against him.

“Would you like me to bring your dinner to your office?”

Destiny’s heart warmed when he shook his head. “I’ll be having dinner with the children, Richard.”

Destiny could feel the shock fill the room as Richard nodded and made his way to the kitchen.

“Daddy?”

Destiny’s eyes snapped to Ali. It was the first time since she arrived at the Fates’ home a little over 24 hours ago Ali spoke.

“Are you feeling ok?” She asked, eyeing her father curiously.

“Yes Baby.” He laughed as he shifted Anna to his hip. “I have a little free time and thought it would be nice to join you guys.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted from solemn to cheerful instantaneously.

Mr. Fates lowered Anna to her feet and motioned for her to head back to her chair. Once he was seated at the head of the table Dela sat his platter in front of him.

Silence filled the air as everyone went back to eating and after only a few minutes Destiny decided it was too quiet for her.

“Anna.” She glanced at her. “Why don’t you tell your dad about your day?”

Again Destiny’s heart warmed as her boss gave his daughter his full attention as she cheerfully chatted about how awesome it was that she got to lead the line and the book she’d read without any help from her teacher and swung really high on the swings at recess. Destiny and Mr. Fates both laughed as her nose scrunched in disgust as she talked about what was served for lunch.

“Oh. And I drew a picture of my family.” Her cheerfulness dimmed a bit when she said, “But I left it in my room.” But perked back up when she continued with, “I’ll show you later.”

“Sounds good Sweetheart.” He smiled at her and then turned his attention to his son.

“So Jason.
How was your cake?”

A
spark of laughter escaped Destiny when she heard his question. Same with Dela. Destiny glanced over Jason’s head to see the woman laughing silently behind hand.

“It was good Dad.” Jason replied without a hint of anger. “Destiny is a worthy adversary.”

“Why thank you Jason.” She said proudly as she gave him a respectful nod.

Mr. Fates laughed as Jason returned her nod. Then his eyes veered to Ali and his brow furrowed.

“Ali, are you ok? Where’s your phone?”

Ali lifted her eyes from her food, the fork twitching her hand.

“Ask Ms. Reece.” She retorted.

“I told her I would throw it in the toilet if I saw it at the table.” Destiny explained when his attention fell on her.

“You did?” He asked in surprise and she nodded.

“Do you have any idea what my mother would do if I brought my phone to the table? She’d batter it and toss it into the deep fryer. Dinner time is family time.” She repeated the words she’d heard her mother say time and time again.

“Yes Ms. Reece.” He agreed. “That’s how I was raised too.”

That got her wondering about his parents. What were they like? Was his father as ridged as him? What about his mother? Was she ster
n and demanding? Did they demand the best of him and push him to be successful?

So many questions flooded her mind and she was thinking seriously about asking a few of them but the sound of the doorbell stopped her.

“Who could that be?” Mr. Fates asked as all eyes turned to the archway.

His question was answered when Richard reappeared in the kitchen followed by Luke.

“Uncle Luke!” Anna leapt out of her chair and darted for her uncle.

“Hey midget.”
He scooped her up and hugged her. “How are you tonight?”

“
Good. Daddy’s having dinner with us.” She chirped as she looked into his handsome face.

“I see that.
”

“Luke?”
Dela asked. “Would you like me to prepare you a plate?”

“Thank you Dela but I’m not hungry.”
He replied politely and then his eyes went to his brother. “I need to speak to you privately.”

The abrupt change in his tone from polite to serious was slightly alarming to Destiny.
She watched curiously as he lowered Anna to the ground and walked out of the kitchen.

“Excuse me guys.” Mr. Fates rose from his chair and followed.

All was quiet for a few seconds and then…

“What
?!”

The bass in his voice made everyone in the kitchen jump.
Suddenly he darted back into the room.

“Ms
. Reece,” His voice hard. “I need to speak with you.”

Instantly her mind went to ‘What did I do?
’. As she rose out of her chair and followed him to the living room her mind played back the past day and a half. She didn’t remember doing anything that would cause him to be angry with her. Ok, so she may have made a cake that blew up in his son’s face but it didn’t harm him. If anything the little prank earned her some respect from him.

“Sir?”
She asked once she was clear of the kitchen, hoping like hell he didn’t hear her nervousness in her voice. She glanced around the room to see Luke pacing in front of the fireplace, talking quietly into his phone.

“Ms. Reece,” His voice calmer but still hard.
“I have to leave for Miami first thing in the morning.”

Oh thank heavens
. It wasn’t anything she had done. But still this wasn’t good.

“What? Why?”

“I’m being sued.” He held up the packet of papers gripped in his thick hand. “Every tenet in both my Miami apartment complexes has filed complaints against my company. I have to get there and figure out what the hell is going on.”

“You’re leaving Daddy?” Anna’s voice came from the archway. Both of them turned to see all three children peaking around the corner, obviously eavesdropping.

“Yes Sweetheart.” Mr. Fates answered gently. “But only for a couple of days.”

Anna stepped from behind the wall, her blue eyes glittering with tears that hadn’t yet fallen.
“But what about our competition?”

“Yea Daddy.”
Ali stepped out. “We were looking forward to you being there.”

“I’m sorry girls. I’ll just have to go to the next one.” Then he looked at Richard. “Richard
, please get my suitcase out.”

“Yes sir.” Richard said with a nod and made his way up the stairs.

Destiny’s heart broke when she saw Anna in Ali’s arms, her face buried in her sister’s shoulder. Her little body trembled as she cried silently. Destiny had to say something. She couldn’t just let him disappoint his girls like this.

“Mr. Fates.” She turned to see him now standing with Luke by the fireplace. Their conversation ceased as she made her way to them. “Couldn’t this at least wait till Sunday?”

“I’m sorry Ms. Reece but this is important.” Then he turned his attention back to his brother.

Important?
More important than his children? That was it. In a split second Destiny’s anger had reached an all time high and she couldn’t hold back.

“Your
children are important, damn it!”

He stood solid for a moment and then turned to her.

“Excuse me?” He asked as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“You heard me.” She folded her arms across her chest, unwilling to back down or shut up. “
I’ve only been here a day and a half and I can already tell you one of the things wrong with your children. You!”

A muscle under his right eye twitched as he glared at her.

“Ms. Reece,” He growled deep in his throat. “I’m warning you, you are about to cross a line you don’t want to cross.”

Right now she didn’t care. He needed to hear her thoughts. He needed to hear her opinion.

“Ali ignores everyone because you ignore her. Jason acts up because when he’s in trouble is the only time you give him any attention. And Anna…” She glanced back at the little girl who was still in her sister’s arms but now watching the scene before her. Tears clogged Destiny’s throat at the thought of what may happen to that sweet little girl if things didn’t change around here. She swallowed them back as she turned back to the man she was scolding. “Anna’s heading down the same damn path.”

His ruggedly handsome featur
es darkened as he glared. His face reddened, nostrils flared. At that moment she felt fear slither all through her but she wasn’t backing down and she wasn’t apologizing for telling him the truth. He could hit her, kill her, or whatever but she wasn’t going to let him hurt these children anymore.

“Ms. Reece,” His voic
e low as if trying to contain his anger. “you do have limitations in this house and you’re very close to exceeding them. No one dictates to me what’s important and what’s not important. You don’t know me!” His anger released as his voice rose. “You don’t know them!” He motioned to the children.

“Neither do you!” She yelled back. “
They’re doing everything except screaming at the top of their lungs for your attention. Today I was actually going to talk to you about fitting them into your schedule. Do you know how sad it is that a child actually has to make an appointment to see their dad? It’s horrible.”

“That’s it.” His dark eyes flared. “Ms. Reece, your services are no longer needed. Gather your belongings and leave.”

Even though she should’ve expected this she was still shocked.

“You’re firing me?” She gasped in disbelief.

“I think I made that very clear.
No one comes in to my house and speaks to me the way you have. Now,” His voice rose as he pointed in the direction of the stairs. “Get your shit,” He changed direction to the door. “and get the hell out of my house!”

Her chin trembled. She w
as on the verge of breaking into tears but she didn’t. Her anger and pride wouldn’t let her. Instead she yelled, “Fine!” turned and stormed off toward the stairs. “I don’t want to sit here and watch you destroy your family anyway!”

It wasn’t until she heard Anna’s tearful, “Destiny!” did she allow her tears to flow.

“Adam,” Luke closed the door to Adam’s office once he was inside. “you’re making a mistake.”

Adam was certain he wasn’t.
How dare she stand in my face and dictate what was important and what wasn’t to me? Just who in the hell does she think she is
?

He dropped down in his chair trying desperately to get his blood pressure down.

“How dare her!” He slammed his fist down on his desk.

“How dare
her?” Luke asked ridiculously as he lowered into a chair. “Are you kidding me? Everything she said was right Adam. You don’t know your kids. You don’t spend time with them. And just so you know the look on Anna’s face when you told her you wasn’t going to their competition broke
my
heart.”

“Don’t Luke.” Adam pinned him with a dangerous glare. “Don’t start. I’m warning you.”

“Adam, look,” Luke leaned up in the chair and propped his elbows on his knees. “I can handle this. I can fly out tomorrow and find out what’s going on. You can catch a flight Monday.”

Adam shook his head. Sure, he trusted his brother but this was big… really big… so big he could lose everything.

“I need to be there.” He said as he laid the packet in front of him.

“Ok.” Luke held up his hands in surrender.
“Let’s get to work then.”

~              ~              ~

Destiny’s tears flowed as she drove home but she didn’t regret what she’d said. It was the truth and he needed to know. She just hoped like hell once he calmed down some of what she said would sink into his head.

She could still hear Anna’s cry for her. As she lugged her suitcases pass the little angel’s closed bedroom door she could hear
Dela trying to sooth her. She thought it would be easier just to leave without saying ‘goodbye’ but she couldn’t. She had pushed open the door and tried her best to hold back her tears as she hugged the little girl who she was absolutely in love with for the last time. She’d promised she’d come and see her but Destiny knew that her father would probably never allow Anna to see her again… The thought was devastating.

As she continued along the highway her cell phone went off. She was going to send whoever it was to voicemail but when she seen her brother’s roguish grin she
slid her finger across the screen and put the phone to her ear.

“Hey.” She didn’t hide her desolates.

“Hey.” His voice curious. “You ok?”

“No.” She broke back into tears. “He fired me.”

He was silent as she told him about the blow up.

“Awe.
It’s going to be ok, Des. You’ll find another job.”

His words were far from comforting. “I don’t want another job.” She wanted that job, helping those kids.

“Des, it’s going to be ok. I wish I was working that side of town tonight. I’d come see you.”

Destiny sniffled loudly. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to stop by the liquor store on my way. I need to get drunk.”

Ryan’s deep laugh came through the phone. “Sounds like a plan. And, hey, look at the bright side. Mom will shut up bitching at you now.”

Destiny had to laugh. “We both know she’ll never stop bitching at me.”

“True, true. Now, I have to let you go. Just got a call. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Ok. You be careful.”

“Oh please.” He snorted incredulously. “You be careful.”

“I will.”

Destiny hung up with her brother just as she turned her car into the parking lot of the liquor store a block from her apartment determined to get drunk and try to forget the heart ache she now suffered.