Below you will find an excerpt of writing from a side-novel that I have been working on in my spare time. It is a romantic comedy. I hope that you find it intriguing!
From what Kayden could tell, Bailey held to a routine-like pattern. She didn’t work and she wasn’t attending college. At least twice a week, the same deliveryman brought her pizza. It must’ve been her favorite pizza shop. She left her shared apartment at least once every day. It was always at various times. Sometimes she left in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and rarely she would go out at night.
To Kayden, she grew more beautiful each time he watched her leave the apartment. Sadly, each time she went out was to meet with a new man. New wasn’t exactly the correct term… all the people she met had gray hair. Different wouldn’t be the right definition either, because they were all practically the same. Every time she met one, they would meet at an expensive restaurant. All of her dates wore designer suits to show their wealth.
Kayden learned quickly that in order to not stand out, he too would need to wear a suit. Even though she was with another man, he patiently watched from afar. He would get a table in the same restaurant she was in, and would study her as she enjoyed her meals. In an effort to learn more about her, he would instruct the waiters to give him the same meal she had ordered. He jotted down everything tidily in his notebook, making the restaurants think he was some type of journalist.
After a while, he picked up a ritualistic pattern for when he arrived at the restaurant behind Bailey. First, he would wait for her to go in. Then, he took a photo of her and her date through the window, in order to be less conspicuous. Afterwards, he entered inside himself and was seated far enough away as to not draw attention to himself. It actually became like a game to him, allowing him to minorly enjoy himself as he watched her on her many dates.
This method worked for quite a while, until one day he could not bear the sight of her with the man she was meeting. With wide eyes, he stared at the silhouette of a man he hadn’t imagined would be there. Pressing his face disbelievingly against the glass of the restaurant’s window, Kayden watched as his father pulled a chair courteously for Bailey to sit in.
What was he doing there? His brother, Kaleb, had said he was to remain in Germany until after Christmas! Looking at the date on his phone, Kayden realized that it was after Christmas. He had missed it! With him being so busy with Bailey, and Kaleb so busy at work, they hadn’t celebrated. Still, he would have hoped he’d been told his father was back in town!
Kayden shook himself, that wasn’t the problem! The problem was his father’s reputation with women! Ever since his mother had died, Kayden’s father had been with one woman after the next. He’d never settled down long enough to catch his breath! Did the other men Bailey had been meeting carry this same issue?
With a snarl on his lips, Kayden dialed his father’s phone. After a quick apology to his date, Kayden’s father pulled his phone from his pocket. Seeing who was calling him, he sent his son to voicemail and laid the phone facedown on the table. Outside, Kayden’s jaw dropped. He had just watched his father bat him aside! If he wouldn’t take a call, he’d get some messages!
“Sorry about that,” Kayden’s father Keith said as he placed his phone on the table. Smiling to the young woman across from him, he lifted his drink from the table. “Things keep going differently than you had planned. Don’t they Ms. Clegg?”
“Yes,” she replied softly with a blush.
Taking a swig, Keith responded, “I hope it doesn’t bother you too much that I came in the place of my son, Kaleb.”
“Oh, no! Not at all, sir.”
As his phone began to buzz harshly, one message at a time, Keith removed it from the hard surface of the table. “About the meeting you had scheduled with my son. I’ve reviewed the details, but how about you tell me what it is you are looking to achieve with this venture of yours.”
As Keith’s phone began to ring once more from Kayden’s frantic calls, Bailey asked, “Would you like to take that first?”
“It’s my son,” Keith explained apologetically, looking once again to his screen. When he swiped the call away the second time, he saw photos of his client with other investors he knew from around the area. Kayden asked below the images in text, Why are you with her? She is mine! You can’t have her! Go find another girl, dad!
The image of him reading the messages across from Bailey popped up on his screen. It perked his interest. How did Kayden get that picture of them together? As his son called once again, Keith looked to Bailey and stated, “I guess I had better take this.”
“Okay,” she replied nervously.
“Hello?” Keith answered.
“Dad!” Kayden snapped into the phone. “What are you doing with her? Why are you back? You didn’t tell me you were coming back!”
“I’ve missed you too,” his father chuckled.
“I want you to get out of there right now! I don’t care how many people she dates; she will never date you!”
“What are you talking about, Kay?”
“Bailey!” Kayden sighed. “She has been on dates all over the place these past few weeks. Now, she’s on a date with you!”
“How did you get that last picture?” Keith asked, avoiding the topic of dates.
“Look to your left dad.”
Keith turned his head to find his son waving at him from the street outside the restaurant. Looking back to Bailey he stuttered, “Excuse me. I’ll be right back. Don’t wait up. If they bring the food out, dig in, alright?”
“Okay,” she replied quietly.
Keith raced outside to his son. As he approached him, he scolded, “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Kayden spat.
“No! I am the parent, you tell me!” Keith snapped as he drew up his phone and flipped through the photos that were sent to him. “What is with these pictures of that young lady? Have you been stalking her or something?”
“Uh… no…” Kayden lied as he tried to stow away his notebook.
“What is that?” Keith asked as he tore it from his son’s hands. Reading out loud, his voice became troubled. “Bailey’s favorite things, favorite activities, favorite foods!”
Slamming the evidence back shut, he turned to his son in worry. “What is wrong with you? Don’t you understand how creepy this is?”
“It’s not creepy!” Kayden tried to defend himself.
“It is too!” Keith growled. “Not to mention illegal! What if she had caught you and turned you in? Your reputation would be ruined. Why can’t you just ask her out like a normal person. My sons are able to get any girl they want!”
“Not her,” Kayden replied sadly. “I’ve asked and I’ve asked. She rejects me every time.”
“Then get another one!” Keith spat. “Honestly! What is wrong with my children? None of you seem to understand how to date! You will go straight home, and you will never bother this girl again! Do you hear?”
“No!” Kayden cried. “Please! Don’t go back in there. Leave her alone!”
“I’m not on a date, Kayden!”
“You’re not?”
“No!” Keith took a minute to calm down. “I arrived home just this afternoon. I went to visit your brother at the office, but you know how he is.”
Kayden nodded his head along as his father spoke, he knew indeed. “I saw how busy he was, and I wanted to give him a bit of a break. I heard he didn’t even take Christmas day off of work! Poor kid. Anyway, he had a meeting scheduled with Ms. Clegg this afternoon, so I took it for him.”
“What is it for?” Kayden asked. “Is she working for one of the other old guys I saw her with?”
“Are you calling me old?” Keith asked angrily.
“No!” Kayden said in fear for his life.
After giving his son an angry glare, Keith looked to the photos again. “These men are other investors from within the city. I guess she is trying to go through her options. That, or they have all rejected her proposal. Wait! She went to Perkin’s firm first? Our firm is so much better than his! He’s no more than a bottom feeder who steals my scraps!”
“So, you’re considering her proposal for something?”
With a sigh, Kayden’s father replied, “No. She applied for a loan to start up a business, but it isn’t a good investment, so I have to turn it down. I’m just being kind at this point.”
“Dad! Can’t you just hear her out?” Kayden pleaded. “This is her dream.”
“Everyone has dreams, Kay,” Keith replied. “Only some of us get to live them.”
“Please,” Kayden begged. “Can I come with you? Maybe you don’t like the idea, but Kaleb set this up. He may have liked the pitch! Let me sit in for him, and I’ll hear her out.”
“You just want to have dinner with that girl.”
“Please, dad, please!”
“Okay,” Keith relinquished, “but you have to stop stalking people. It’s weird.”
“Only Bailey,” Kayden smiled as he entered the restaurant.
“No!” Keith growled. It was too late. They couldn’t discuss such things within the crowded restaurant. Kayden happily pulled a chair from another table and slid it beside Bailey. Her jaw dropped as he extended his hand.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Clegg. I’m Kayden Simmons. I’m here to listen to your pitch about your business. I am very excited to hear the details, and I look forward to the opportunity of working with you.”
Keith stood shocked. That was a very good entrance. There was something wrong with that boy, to flip his emotions around so easily.
“N-nice to meet you,” Bailey replied with a red face. Stephanie had told her that Kayden wasn’t involved in the family business and using them for her loan would be okay. She had been wrong!
Kayden sat down and turned his notebook to a blank page. He grinned happily to himself. He was sitting right beside her! “Now, Ms. Clegg, I haven’t been made fully aware of your pitch. Would you mind giving me a brief overview of your dream?”
“My… my dream?”
“Yes,” Kayden smiled politely at her. That was what her mother had called it. “We all have dreams, things we hope to achieve. This business venture, it can be called your dream, can’t it?”
“It can,” Bailey smiled. None of the other investors had made that connection before. She quickly controlled her emotions. She would never smile for this jerk, even if it meant she didn’t get her loan through them. At the same time, fear gripped her heart. What if this was her last chance? Could she go through with it knowing that the funding came through her best-friend’s nemesis?
“So,” Kayden egged. “What is your dream?”
“I am setting up a dance studio in the lower parts of the city,” Bailey replied nervously. Was she breaking the codes of her friendship with Stephanie by simply talking to him again?
Kayden scribbled happily into his notebook. “A dance studio huh? Is dancing a passion for you? Have you ever done anything with it before?”
“I love dancing,” Bailey replied. “I hope, with my studio, I can bring more people to it.”
Looking at her, Kayden grinned. “I’m sure if you are running it, people would come.”
Keith cleared his throat beside his son. He wasn’t acting professional anymore. Without hesitation, Kayden went back to scribbling. “So, you will be providing dance lessons in your personal studio?”
“Yes.”
“Where will it be located?”
“On South Hampton Street, in one section of a commercial rental property.”
“Oh, the one with your parent’s shop?”
“How… how did you know that?”
Kayden’s eyes widened. He couldn’t just give himself away like that! “I just remembered that part of the file. We researched your parents as a sort of background check on you.”
“I see,” Bailey replied. Keith smirked. Kayden had always been a little trickster.
“How much were you looking for in an investment from our firm?”
“Two hundred thousand dollars.”
Kayden dropped his pen. No wonder she couldn’t get anyone to invest in her business. She was too young for something like that. Kayden knew for a fact she didn’t own a car. She had never paid rent in her life. Most of all, she hadn’t even attended college. Her credit line was a dull zero. All she had for aid would be her parents and their business, but that mom-and-pop shop was on the verge of collapse already.
The location made matters worse. In that area of town, she wouldn’t get many customers to win back her money. She’d never be able to keep up with her payments. Being a rental property, if things did go south, like they assuredly would, the company couldn’t make its money back by selling her store. It would be the person she rented from who would benefit.
Still, Kayden felt bad. Him dropping his pen like that would be a sure sign that she wasn’t getting the loan. Trying to cover his actions, he shouted. “Food’s here!”
The waiters set the food on the table. Even though Kayden hadn’t ordered, a plate had been brought to him. He had come in often enough after Bailey, that the waiters must have expected him. They set a matching plate of food, as well as a matching drink, in front of him and Bailey.
Seeing the apparent reasoning against her proposal, Kayden switched to questions about the types of programs she had hoped on teaching in her studio. She answered each and every one of his questions. After his father finished eating, he patted Kayden on the shoulder. His son hadn’t let him speak all night. “You seem to have this under control. I’ll be going now.”
“Alright,” Kayden replied without care. He had no intentions of leaving. “Safe travels.”
“I’ll be in touch,” his father smiled to him. Lifting his gaze to Bailey he outstretched a hand. “Have a good evening, Ms. Clegg. I’m sure Kayden will get everything squared away for you.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied as she shook his hand.
As he was leaving, Keith paid the bill. With one last look at his son, he shook his head and walked away. Kayden rambled out his next question. “Now, Ms. Clegg, would you say that you were looking to have students in younger ages, or did you want to offer courses for the elderly?”
Bailey sat back a bit in her chair. She looked shyly into her hands as she asked, “Can you be honest with me?”
“Of course,” Kayden grinned. She was opening up!
Unable to look him in the eyes, she continued, “I won’t get it, will I? The loan. You can tell me. It’s better than saying you’ll review my information, only to have your secretary call me on Monday to say that you don’t want to go through with it.”
Kayden couldn’t say anything. His father wouldn’t give it to her, and his brother was even more picky about investments than him! Her chances were very, very low.
“I knew it,” Bailey sighed as she stood up from her chair. “Thank you for your time.”
With that, she left him behind. He stayed for a moment as he watched her walk away. She looked really good from the back. Shaking himself, he chased her outside. “Bailey, wait!”
“What?” she asked, turning back to him. Kayden couldn’t help but notice the tears brimming in her eyes. It was terrible for him to see her like that, but what could he do?
“My father won’t give you the money, but I would get it for you.”
“I don’t want your money,” she cried. “What do I look like to you? Some kind of gold digger?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Kayden stated as he tried to fix his predicament.
“I wanted to earn my money,” Bailey continued. “I wanted to build my business from the ground up, like my parents did.”
“I can help with that!” Kayden pleaded.
“No,” Bailey stated. “You can’t. This was my last chance. I’ve tried every other broker in the city. Every single one rejected me!”
“Bailey,” Kayden said quietly as he approached her. He touched her shoulder just enough to show her he was there for her. “I can get you a loan with the company. Not with my dad, but through my brother. The guy you were supposed to meet today. How does that sound?”
“You can?” she asked in shock. “How?”
“I’ll work it out with him,” Kayden shrugged.
“What do you want in return?” she asked.
Kayden’s heart pounded in his chest. He hadn’t thought of that. Payment. He was going to do it for free, but since she expected to pay, why let the opportunity slip away? As his lips curled into a grin, he stated, “I’ll need some time to think about it. How about we move this little meeting of ours elsewhere?”
“What do you mean, elsewhere?”
“I know a great little coffee shop. My brother holds a lot of meetings there. Maybe it’ll be our good luck charm as we hash out the details.”
Bailey let out a sigh of relief. Coffee shops were safe, lots of people. The more people, the more witnesses! “Okay. When did you want to go?”
“How about now?” Kayden asked as he opened the back door of his company car for her.
“N-now?” she asked. Getting into a car with a strange man got you killed! If Stephanie ever found out she had ridden in Kayden Simmons’ car, she was definitely dead!
“Unless you’re no longer interested?” Kayden grinned. It was like putting a carrot in front of a bunny’s nose. So long as her goal was in sight, she’d do whatever he wanted. That much he had learned.
I hope that you enjoyed this little excerpt! Lord willing, I'll finish this novel up so that you can read the full story!
Please respect copyright laws. This excerpt is the work of S. S. Snodgrass.
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