• p e r f u m e •

19. w e l c o m e.b a c k

I do recall now the smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement
I ran off the plane
That July 9th
The beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt
I can still feel your arms

•••

Justin

I sipped on my coffee while going through all my texts. I drank too much last night and needed some caffeine before work. I almost chocked on the coffee when I saw a text from Bella and I instantly clicked on it.

Bells: Can you meet me at the cafe near the office in five?

Me: In fact I'm right there itself.

Bells: Oh great! I'll be there in minutes

I got nervous and happy. I fucked up big time last night and she probably wants to talk about that itself. I ordered her usual caramel frappe that she always has before she arrived.

A couple minutes later, I saw her come through the door while running her fingers through her hair.

 She was so flawless it almost seemed unbelievable that I had her in my life as my wife once. Even more unbelievable is the fact that I gave her up.

She smiled when she saw me and walked to me before sitting down across me.

"Good morning" She said and I managed to give her a smile.

"Morning" I said.

"Oh, thank you" She chuckled when the waitress placed the frappe in front of her.

"Are you alright...I mean after last night" I asked.

"Yeah of course, don't worry, I'm fine, it was stupid anyways" She said and I nodded.

"Still, I'm sorry for what happened" I said.

"Oh Justin, you don't have to be" She said and grabbed my hand. Her grip around my hand felt like a tight hug.

"In fact, I'm sorry for what dad said, I can't believe he'd do that" She said and I shrugged.

"He didn't lie either" I mumbled and she sighed.

"Anyways, let's just forget that? I wanted to meet you so you could talk about what your were wanting to yesterday" She said and I got even more nervous.

"O-Oh yeah, that..." I trailed off and licked my lips.

No, I probably shouldn't talk to her about this. I mean, I can't expect her to help me after all that I've done.

"You know what, forget it, it wasn't important" I said.

"Justin" She said in a warning tone.

"No really!"

"You don't have to feel pressured about telling me anything, is this about Nia?" She asked and I shook my head.

"It's about the business" I said.

"Oh, is everything fine?" She asked and I nodded.

"Yes, the business is fine it's just that...i-it's too much for me to handle on my own" I said.

"Why don't you hire someone who can help?" She asked.

"I tried, I even hired but they couldn't do anything of their own. I had to pay attention to everything, it was of no use. And nothing's working out, I keep forgetting stuff. Just yesterday, Sally came in and asked if I was done with the presentation for the meeting today with Coulson and it had totally slipped out of my mind! I hadn't even started!" I said.