“I hope so, lovey,” Raya said. “I really, really hope so.”
“Me too.”
My phone buzzed, and I looked at the caller ID.
“It's Malcolm,” I said, staring at the number for a long time, my mind and heart awash in thought and emotion.
“Well, are you going to answer it?” Raya giggled.
“I guess I probably should, huh?”
“Uh, duh,” she said.
I clicked the button to pick up the call, and his voice came through crisp and clear, right away.
“Casey, you there?”
“Yes, I'm here.”
“Still feeling up for the task?”
Was that nervousness in Malcolm Crane's voice? A bit of fear? Hesitance? Or, was I just imagining things?
“I - I am,” I said.
“Good. I've spoken to my lawyer and he's gone ahead and drawn up some paperwork. We'll be ready to meet with you tomorrow,” he said. “Will that work for you?”
“Tomorrow. Wow. Things are moving fast,” I bit my lip and looked over at Raya.
“If you need a little time – ”
“I just need to check my calendar,” I said. “Gotta make sure I'm free.”
“Oh,” he said, sounding somewhat disappointed.“I'm kidding, Malcolm,” I said. “I can meet you whenever. Now that I'm unemployed, my days are pretty much open.”
“Good,” he said, letting out a long breath. “We're moving fast, I know, but we don't have much time. Hopefully, my lawyer can answer any questions, and help ease any fears you might have. We can hopefully make this go as smoothly as possible.”
“Sounds good,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Let's get this show on the road.”
“I'll text you a time and a location once I have it,” he said. We were both quiet for a long time before he added. “And Casey? I really can't thank you enough for this. What you're doing – sacrificing – I won't forget it. Ever.”
A small smile touched my lips. I wasn't just doing this for me, I realized. As much as I wanted to help my family by doing this, I also wanted to help Malcolm too. God help me, I wanted to help him because I actually liked him. Because I actually thought he was a good man in a tough spot.
It wasn't like I thought I could see anything between us going anywhere, either. I wasn’t going to let myself get all delusional and hope we'd end up together in the end or anything like that. This was life, not some silly rom-com.
Besides, once I had that money in hand, I was out of here. Leaving Los Angeles behind was at the top of my list, and that meant leaving Malcolm as well. So, it wouldn't do me any good to get attached or ascribe any romantic feelings to anything. This was business, plain and simple.
“See you tomorrow, Malcolm.”
“Later, Casey.”
I hung up the phone and stared at it for a long time, still trying to process everything that was happening to me. Things were moving a lot faster than I'd expected them to, and because of it, my heart was racing, and my cheeks were burning.
“Looks like someone has a crush,” Raya teased.
“No, it's not like that at all,” I said. “Please. This is a business deal. One that works for both of us.”
“Uh huh.”