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          Leaving out of her office with her phone glued to her ear, Gabby mentally groaned and rolled her eyes at the sound of her mother going on and on about her upcoming Thanksgiving dinner she hosts every year.

She enjoyed the whole idea of family coming together, but since her family was very judgemental and annoying at times, she wasn't too excited about the upcoming event.

She was cool with just having a dinner by herself in her own home alone with her dog.

Pulling her jacket closer to her body once the cool air of fall hit her skin causing goose-bumps to appear, she powered walked to her car listening to the sound of her heels clacking against the pavement.

Noticing her assistant making his way out of the building as well, she looked at him and they both locked eyes for a moment until he turned away and jogged over to his car seeming as if he was in a rush.

Hitting the unlock button to her ride, she opened her door and quickly got in to get away from the cold.

She hated fall, everything about the season erked her. The falling of the leaves and the temperature changes weren't pleasing to her whatsoever. She was more of a summer type of chick. She loved the greeness of the trees and grass and the pretty sunny-blue skies, not the cloudy, dull skies and dead trees cause it only matched her dull and boring life.

Putting her mom on speaker, she started her car and turned on the heat. Letting her car warm-up, she continued to listen to her mom babble on about basically nothing, but she didn't mind. She had other things on her mind and with her mama distracting her from it, it kinda kept her focus off of what was bothering her.

"Ma', do you know if Aunt Jessica is coming down?" She questioned curiously.

"Yes, I believe so. You know she loves seeing you and your sisters." Her mom stated excitedly. "I was talking to her the other day and she asked about you."

Yeah, just to be nosey and ask a million fucking questions. She thought in her head.

Her Aunt Jessica, was her moms oldest sister. They all loved her to death, but she was the most messiest and nosiest person alive. She had to literally know every little thing about one's personal life and it was annoying and with Gabby being thirty-two, single with no kids .. she always had to be in her business to ask why or when she was planning on settling down.

"Yeah, we love seeing her too." She lied. "And what did she say?"

"Oh nothing really, just asking how you were and asked about ya job and your love life."

Smacking her teeth, she rolled her eyes. "Always worried about my love life, and she ain't even got a man. How that work? Get a man first then come at me about relationships."

"Gabby, you know she means nothing by it. We all just want to see you happy. Plus, everybody is going to be so excited to see your sister's fiancé and the new born baby, I can't even wait. My little grandbaby is too precious. Now, we're just waiting for my middle child to finally bless me with some grandkids." She sighed as if she was in defeat.

Letting out a groan, Gabby closed her eyes. "When I find the right guy, then I will have kids. But ma', I'm only thirty-two, I have time to settle down and have kids. What is the rush? Gabe is the oldest, and he isn't married nor does he have kids but I don't see y'all pushing this marriage and pregnancy shit on him."

"Chile, thirty-two is the new fifty. You don't have much time baby girl, and I'm not getting any younger. And its different with Gabe, but anyways what happened to Vincent? You guys were such a lovely couple, I just knew you two were gonna get married. I was sad when you said you guys broke things off."

At the thought of Vincent her eyes began to burn, but she quickly blinked her tears away trying not to cry over that man any more. Just the mention of his name brought back memories of so many unwanted times and experiences. "Can you please stop bringing up Vincent, not all relationships last. He is the past and this the future."

"It's been three years since you two broke up, we all assumed by now you would have moved on and found someone. You're beautiful, smart and loving .. maybe you aren't putting yourself out there enough for men to catch the bait."

"Maybe, I'm not putting myself out there because I don't want too."

"And why is that? Do you not want a man Gabby?" She questioned her daughter growing concerned.

Closing her eyes, she sighed so over this conversation. "How can I want a man, when I already have one!" And before she could stop the lie, it slipped out.

When the phone got silent, she mentally cursed in her head. "Who is the guy? And why haven't you told me about this guy!? Here am I telling people you were gonna die alone and this whole time you've had someone." Her mom stated excitedly.

"Yeah, well I wanted to wait .. didn't want to jinx anything ya know?"

"No, I don't know. Anyways, is this guy coming to the Thanksgiving dinner? The family would love to meet him."

Choking a little, she coughed. "Um, probably not. He was talking about going to see his family for Thanksgiving."

"I'm sure if you asked he would say yes, just ask for me please. I would love to meet the man who makes my baby girl happy." She pleaded.

Yeah, me too. She thought.

"Fine mom, but let me go. I'm about to drive home and I want to be able to focus."

"Okay baby girl, I was just texting your aunts and cousins letting them know about your new man. They are excited to meet him." Her mom explained, which pissed her off.

"Ma', I didn't even give a valid answer on him coming."

Laughing, her mom shushed her. "I'm sure you'll make it happen. But bye baby, I love you and drive safe."

Telling her she loved her back, she hung up the phone and sighed. "What tha fuck am I gon' do?" She asked herself.

Reaching for her aux she plugged her phone in and put on her music so she could vibe on her way home.

Turning her body a little when she went to grab her seatbelt, she nearly jumped out her skin when she saw a figure standing at her window.

Covering her chest, she squinted to get a better look just to see it was her assistant Eric. Letting down her window, she frowned. "What tha hell Eric? You can't just be walking up to people windows at night. You scared the shit out of me."

Laughing, he took a step back. "I apologize, I wasn't trying to scare you or anything but my battery acting up and I just need a jump. Can you help me? I have to go get my daughter from her moms house and I'm already late."

Nodding her head, she drove her car towards his then got out to help him. Popping her trunk, she grabbed her cables but stopped when she saw he had his own. Popping her hood open she leaned up against her car and watched him hook everything up.

"Why are you just now asking for help? You had to be out for a good twenty-minutes, luckily I didn't drive off."

He nodded, "Yeah luckily, and I was trying to get a hold of my brother and some other people but nobody was answering then I looked over and saw you was still here so I just had to ask." He explained.

"Gotcha, how is your daughter by the way? I haven't seen her up here in a while." She asked just trying to make conversation so it wouldn't be so awkward.

"She's good, bad as hell of course but nonetheless good."

"That's good, is her um cancer getting any better? I know you said she was starting her treatments soon right?"

Looking over at her, he nodded impressed that she actually remembered. The two didn't have much a relationship, but they were cool and talked whenever they had down time but that was about it and it was rare. Most of their talks were business related, never personal.

"Uh yeah, its kinda too soon to tell but the treatments have been going smoothly. That's my little warrior though, she's tough." He smiled. "I got faith we gon' pull through this, hell we got to. I can't lose her."

Smiling along with him, she watched as he went to start his car and when it didn't start he cursed loudly, "I knew I should have gotten a new battery when I had the chance but I waited too long and now I'm fucked." He mumbled to himself, but Gabby heard him.

"I don't have anywhere to be, and I don't mind taking you to get your daughter and dropping you guys off at home." She offered.

"Nah, I'll just tell her mama I can't come, but if you could just drop me off at my brother shop .. then that would be perfect."

"Yeah, that's fine."

The next day at work, Gabby sat in her office on the phone with a potential client. As a career Gabby chose being a wedding planner and she designed dresses for events like proms, weddings, and other big events.

The career itself was something Gabby always had a passion for, she loved weddings and she loved helping couples bring their dream weddings to life and never wanted to disappoint so she always went that extra mile to satisfy them.

Jotting down their personal information on a piece of paper, she nodded to whatever they were saying before hanging up the call all together.

Pressing her page button on her phone, she put it on speaker and waited for Eric to answer. "What's up boss?"

"Come here for a second, I have a potential client that I need you to put on file for me."

Within' seconds Eric made his way inside her office with his tablet ready to take notes. "Alright, when you say potential .. do you mean this is someone who is most def becoming one or a I'm just blowing smoke up ya ass client?"

"Most def, her name is Deanna. She's coming down today for a meeting to discuss her dress and she basically wants to see how I can help her and wants to see some styles I have already done .. and we all know, I am a beast at my job so yeah." She smiled. "And then she wants to see a few of my wedding decor ideas as well so if she likes what she sees then this is gonna be a big bonus for the both of us."

He nodded, "True that, you one of the best in the game. What time is she coming?"

"She said five, so this will probably be a long night for the both of us. Did you have anywhere to be tonight?"

"Nah, my daughter is at my moms and my brother is working on my car so I'm stuck here until he finishes."

She nodded, "Great! It's about to be lunch and I was going to order something since I don't feel like driving. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm straight. Thank you though."

"You're welcome and hey um before you go .. can you go to the styling room and pull out a few fabrics. I need the shear white fabric and a few pearl white fabrics, just to show her a few things of what she may want on her dress."

Nodding his head, he stepped out to get what she wanted while she focused in on a sketch she was working on.

Minutes later he returned sitting them all down on the couch in her office, "Thank you, I'll be out in a second to get ready for our showing at two today."

          Five o'clock came and went, and just like she assumed the lady loved her dress ideas along with her wedding decor ideas so Gabby now has a wedding to help plan and a dress to design, which meant a lot of late nights for her and Eric where coming.

Sitting on the floor in her office, she had her book of ideas laid out as she tried to envision everything the girl wanted in her mind.

Hearing her office door open she smiled when she saw Eric walk in with two bags of food. "Whataburger was the only thing open at this time of night so I got you the sweet and spicy bacon burger with no onions, a large fry and a large sprite with no ice."

She grew amazed at how well he knew her, all she told him was to take her car and get them dinner. She never said what she wanted and the fact that he had remembered exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it, really impressed her.

Taking the bag of food from him, she thanked him then went right back to planning and sketching. "She told me she wants a dress that really shows off her figure and compliments her breast area really well. So I was thinking about doing a long sleeve deep v-cut dress that will hug her frame perfectly and in the back at the end of the dress have it flow out like a long vail. The top of the dress would be shear along with the sleeves and the bottom would be solid white."

Getting up she handed him the sketch of the dress so he could get a better visual. "What do you think?"

Looking over her sketch for a while he eventually nodded in approval, "Amazing as always, she gon' love that."

"I'ma show her what I have in mind Monday and if she likes it then the game begins. We have ten months to create the perfect dress and wedding and I feel we can do it." She stated excitedly.

Smiling at her happiness, he sat his food down then got up and sat on the floor with her. "This really makes you happy?" He questioned and she nodded.

"Yeah, just to see their faces when everything is all done is just refreshing and it makes me feel good that the smile that is on their face is there because I put it there, well we." She smiled. "A lot of these things really wouldn't be possible without you, you're like the perfect partner, you're more than an assistant."

He grinned, "I appreciate that."

Letting silence fill the room, she focused back in on her task at hand while he texted away on his phone.

When the sound of her work phone ringing, she got up to answer and placed it on speaker. "This is Gabby, talk to me."

"Hey baby, you busy?"

At the sound of her moms voice, she looked back at Eric who was eating. "Kinda sorta, I'm sketching up designs for a dress for my new client to show her Monday."

"Oh okay, well I'll let you go .. I was just calling to confirm if your boyfriend was still coming to the Thanksgiving dinner next week. I talked to your Aunt Jackie and she doesn't even believe you have a man and she says she has to see him in order to believe you actually settled down."

Picking up her phone she immediately took it off speaker, "Can you please stop telling my business to your messy ass sister! I don't have to prove anything to her, can I please just live my life in peace and do what I want without you guys breathing down my back and asking me about marriage and kids every chance you guys get!?"

Eric tried not to be nosey but since she was loud he was catching all the tea.

"We just want you happy baby, that's all." Her mom expressed.

"I am happy, I'm happy with myself and who I am as a person and I'm happy with my job and the lifestyle I am able to afford. I don't need a man to make me happy."

"Oh hush, you just make sure you and him are there Thursday. I just want to meet this mystery guy and thank him for adding onto your new found happiness .. is that such a bad thing?"

Letting out a sigh, she pressed her hand on her forehead. "It's not, but it's how you guys go about it. But ma' let me get back to work so I can go home and rest."

"Okay baby, see you in two days. Love you."

"I love you too."

Hanging up her phone, she shook her head and walked over to the couch she had in her office and plopped down on it completely over everything at this point.

At the sound of Eric clearing his throat, she looked up at him to see him already staring. "You good?"

Shaking her head, she chuckled to herself and clasped her hands together. "I've gotten myself in a situation and I don't even know what to do at this point." She sighed.

Sitting his food down, Eric gave her his full attention. "What's the problem? I'm sure I can help."

Staring at him for a minute, she decided to open up to him about the shit she got herself in. "My family has been on my ass about dating for years and I usually don't care and just ignore it but to shut them up this time I told my mama about me dating this guy and she wants me to bring him to our thanksgiving dinner."

Eric frowned, "Okay and what's the issue in that? Just ask the guy if he wants to attend it."

Laughing, she stood up and started pacing the room. "That's the thing, it isnt a guy. I'm not dating anyone, I lied to shut them up and they are insisting I bring this imaginary ass guy to the dinner. A part of me just wants to tell truth and go on bout my business, but I really don't want to hear their mouths and complains about me dying alone with cats." She mumbled to herself.

"Then don't."

Looking over at him she frowned, "What do you mean don't? If I don't tell them the truth and show up with nobody then they're still gonna clown me regardless. I'm better off not even going at this point."

Standing up she paced the room as Eric just watched her before standing up himself and stopping her. "I said don't tell them because I'll go with you. I mean if it means that much to you, I'll go as your dude to help you shut your people up."

Throwing her hands up Gabby immediately declined. "No, no! That is not happening, I couldn't allow you to lie for me plus it doesn't mean that much." She shrugged lying.

"Okay, well what if I said I wanted to do it?"

"But why?"

"Because I know regardless of what you may say this shit does bother you and it does mean a lot to you and plus you've done so much for me .. I feel like I owe it to you." He stated honestly. "I mean I know you were the one who paid for my daughter's surgeries, I know you're the one who paid her medical bills. I never said anything because I knew you didn't want me to know, but you basically been the one keeping my daughter alive and for that I owe you everything, hell I owe you my life."

Gabby didn't say anything since she was lost for words, but what he said did make her smile and feel good.

"Eric, when I did that I didn't do it to gain something in return. So no, you don't owe me anything. Seeing your daughter play, laugh, live and be a kid is the only blessing I wanted in return nothing else." She expressed being totally honest.

Grabbing her by the hand Eric turned her around and pulled her closer to him. "I get that, but despite what you say I still want to do this for you. Plus its just for a day then we're back to our normal lives. So what do you say?"

Letting out a sigh, she stared at Eric for a minute before relunctantly nodding her head giving in. "Fine, let's do it. But we gotta at least practice or something, I mean yeah we've worked together for a while but its only so much we know about each other."

"I know damn near everything about you, so just follow my lead and everything will be just fine." He smiled.

"Okay, well meet me at my place and be ready to leave in two days at nine o'clock."

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There will be a part two for this story and all the other stories that I have written. 🥰