Unlikely Destinies

Episode.5

Marissa did not sleep at all.

Hours passed as she gazed at the letter from the leasing office. "Unauthorized access to restricted property files" was unclear. A warning, no proof, no explanation. But it was enough to shock her.

Nothing other than her clearance had been pulled. Not even close. The implication, a whisper, tightened her chest with terror. Her first instinct had been to call Issah, but he was Ruth's father, not just her landlord. The leasing board could cow him. Or worse, on the orders of some other person.

A person such as Vera.

Marissa still had nothing to prove. Vera's timing, however, was too suspicious to be a coincidence. Charlie had defended her just a few hours before the warning.

She thrust the letter into a drawer and tried to concentrate. She needed to present her portion of the redevelopment plan to the VEC partners and outside stakeholders tomorrow. Charlie would be there. Viktor Daniels would be there.

She could not afford one mistake.

---

Tense silence and muffled hellos filled the boardroom at precisely 9:00 a.m. With anticipation, people tapped on their slates and adjusted their ties. Everyone was apprehensive as Viktor Daniels did not normally attend these meetings.

Charlie sneaked in when the meeting was about to start, saying hello to some of the executives and observing before his eyes landed on Marissa.

She wore a simple yet fashionable navy pant and white top. Her hair was tied back in a neat bun. She looked calm, but he could see that her jaw was clenched.

He sat beside Viktor, but his mind wouldn't stop wandering.

Around the halfway point in the meeting, Marissa stood up. She walked to the front of the table, remote clutched in her hand and the projector at her back coming to life.

"Good morning. I'll be speaking on the residential inclusion model that we're submitting for Phase Two of the redevelopment project. This model combines low-income housing with commercial flexibility, offering financial viability to VEC while maintaining the needs of the community a priority."

She did not tremble with her voice. She kept her presentations brief. She dissected hard statistics into simple sentences without appearing rehearsed by her seamless shift from data to photographs.

Charlie observed, almost wondering again.

And then she said something that made Viktor sit up, and we can expect a 12% increase in community-level jobs within the first 18 months if we take the economic models of similar projects in Savannah—i.e., the Riverbend pilot."

"Savannah?" Viktor broke in.

Marissa advanced to the next slide. "Yes, sir. I matched local statistics from my hometown to show the manner in which smart development affects neglected neighborhoods.

Charlie puffed.

He studied her face. The curve of her eyes. The cadence of her speech. After years of accommodation, his memories started to reorient themselves again.

River Bend. That was the neighborhood. They lived in that neighborhood.

The air weighed on him.

---

Charlie caught up with her just outside the conference room after the meeting.

"Savannah," he said.

She turned slowly. "Yes."

He hesitated. "Do you ever have a fake name?"

Her face was unreadable as she gazed at him. She shook her head gently, then. "I think you know the answer to that already."

"You took too long."

It was not a question.

She smiled faintly at him, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You took too long."

The years weighed on Charlie like a mist. The boy he'd hung out with. The one who'd really known him. He thought he'd never lay eyes on the girl again.

She stood before him now. Not merely in his head. Here, instead.

He asked, "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because you didn't remember. Anyway, I wasn't sure you'd want to.

He turned aside for a moment. "That's not fair."

Maybe. But it's the truth.

Two individuals with too much baggage to unravel in a corridor stood without speaking.

Marissa started to move away.

"Hey," he said in a hurry. "What I told the group in the meeting was genuine. You were a smart one."

"Thanks," she replied, not looking at him. "But I'm not trying to impress you."

-----

Later that night, Charlie sat in his living room, dim lights, gazing out over the Atlanta skyline. The city vibrated beneath him, but his thoughts were miles away from the glass spires and streetlights.

Mari.

He remembered her now. In its entirety, not in fragments.

The treehouse. The bruised knees. The way she always got to jump first.

How could he have forgotten?

And more than that, what did it mean that she was in his life again now?

Viktor, who had a glass of wine in his hand, came in from the kitchen. "You were really quiet during today's meeting. Everything okay?"

Charlie nodded absently. "Just lots to take in."

Viktor's head was c****d to the side. "Your team is good. That Villaon girl is a shooter."

"She is."

"Keep her in mind."

Charlie's brow went up. "What do you mean?"

"Just be careful. She's on the rise. And at the top, not everyone plays nice."

Charlie frowned. When he received a warning veiled in mystery, he knew it.

***

Marissa was downtown in the kitchen, scowling again over Vera's letter with her arms crossed.

An hour before, he had called her and told her that there was an anonymous complaint filed to the board. vowed to attempt to make it more hospitable.

He did not sound hopeful, though.

Marissa was weary. Weary of having to prove herself. Weary of dodging sabotage. Weary of entering rooms where everyone regarded her as a test case.

Her cell phone rang.

Unknown Number: You have some real enemies. You'd be wise to watch your back where you're going.

Her heart started racing.

No name. I had no idea who it was. But the message was not up for interpretation.

She tried not to let the shiver crawl up her spine as she gazed at the shadows creeping across the kitchen floor.

This was just the beginning of whatever this was.

Additionally, Marissa felt less isolated in the apartment when she listened to the door creak slightly as a result of a draft she did not know existed.