A Word of Praise
Chapter 51

Two months had come and gone, and Chris knew he was on the right track. He didn't fail his promise to see her every Saturday, no matter how poorly it fit the rest of his commitments. The weekend after Christmas was particularly hard because he had to leave in the middle of the company's Christmas party. It was worth it; he earned an eye-roll coated with an adorable attempt not to smile when he explained his delay.

Every Saturday was the same, he'd get to her building, buzz her down, and they'd walk around the block talking and pampering Batman. He'd talk about work and the restructuring of the company. She'd shoot sarcastic remarks about the impending downfall of construction oligarchies. And every single time he wanted to kiss her smug tight-lipped smile away.

On one particularly rainy Friday in the middle of February, Chris got a message from Kiara saying she had an all-day event that Saturday, so they couldn't meet. The way his humor plummeted at the thought made him realize just how much he needed this to work out.

His week had been exceptionally rewarding in the business instance, but that text left a sour taste in his mouth that made him want to leave the office. He was pondering over an early leave when his secretary told him his father was there to see him.

"Send him in," he said, schooling his expression to avoid wearing his bitter humor on his face.

Edgar was having a hard time getting used to no longer being in charge, but Chris knew better than to force him to stay away for good. He was trying to save the company, not drive his father into a crippling depression. The business was visibly the old man's most prized possession, which made him a terrible father and a dick of a husband. But still, ripping it away from the man was not the human thing to do.

"Christopher," he greeted from the doorstep.

"Edgar. Come in."

The other man sat on the chair across the table and gave him a piercing stare before breaking the silence.

"You need me back here." Never one for preamble.

"No, I don't." His voice was stern, as it had been during the past couple of months after his Kiara-induced change of heart.

"You will ruin this company!" Edgar's voice rose, showing his absolute lack of control over the topic. One more reason to leave him as an outside consultant instead of a member of the board, as he requested. "I will not. Is there something else you need?"

"You can't do this. I won't allow it."

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. He was not in the mood for that discussion, especially after he found out Kiara would be busy the next day.

"Edgar, we've been over this. You sunk the company in debt, and you kept it from your board. They decided to remove you from the post and I only agreed to these meetings because I value your expertise and I respect you. Now, is there something you want to share about the progress we made this past week?"

The man was fuming, just like he had been for the past couple of months. But surprisingly, it didn't spark anything but a mild sadness in Chris. Sadness for seeing such an industry titan crumble to the weight of modern business models. "You should marry Felicia!" The sadness went out the window with that sentence, but instead of going berserk on the man for such absurdity, he kept staring at him with impassive eyes. "Why is that?"

"We can merge, and they'd pay off the debt. I arranged everything with her mother!"

"Jesus Christ, no wonder we sunk into debt. We were negotiating like it's the eighteenth century. Tell me more about her dowry, Edgar. Does it come with a few good horses?" Chris laughed at his own joke, thinking about how Kiara's ways were rubbing off on him.

"So you'll pass on a good woman to be with a promiscuous dancer?"

Chris didn't know if he should laugh or punch the man in the face. It was so utterly pathetic to think he was only now showing his hatred towards Kiara. And it was even more ridiculous because the man didn't really care what his woman - or any other - did for a living. He was only bitter about it because it got in the way of his plans.

"I'll ignore that absurd remark on Kiara's profession because you are mourning the loss of your position. I won't do it a second time, Edgar."

"She changed you!" He barked as if it was an insult.

"Yes, she did."

***

"Michael, I need to know where she'll perform tomorrow"

"Hello to you too, Mr. Sinful Voice! What a pleasure to talk to you again"

"Can you help me?"

"No."

"Oh, for fucks sake." Chris pushed the heels of his hands against his closed eyes and sat back on his kitchen chair. It took him over an hour to get hold of the man on that faithful Friday night, and now he was refusing to help. "Why do you want to know?"

"I need to see her." Desperately.

"Why don't you ask her instead?"

"Because it's Kiara. She won't tell me." He heard an amused laugh on the other side.

"You know her so well already, it's adorable. Tell me, what are your intentions with my baby girl?"

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"What are you, her father?" Chris joked, but the silence on the other side reminded him that was not something to be said when Kiara was concerned. "Sorry, that was a shitty thing to say."

"It was, but it's alright. As long as you don't do it to her and make her go cuckoo again." Michael was laughing, but his joke had a warning. Chris debated whether he should ask about it or not.

"Does it happen a lot?" He tried. It was better than asking the story behind her episodes.

"It's been a long while, so I was surprised she had another one. I'll be honest with you; I think it was important she did. She was under the impression there were no more issues because she could keep her head on her shoulders," he scoffed. "I think it's about time she opens up to someone other than a therapist."

Chris thought about it for a while. He understood Michael's reasoning, even though he approached the subject too lightheartedly. But he could still see her body shaking and distant eyes when he thought back to it.

"I don't want her to go through that again," he stated firmly.

"Ooh la la, there is that voice again. That's one of the reasons I am playing matchmaker for you two."

"You are what?"

"Matchmaker. Or pimp since she's a hoe. Now, do you have a pen?"

Chris wanted to laugh at how fast Michael could change the tone of the conversation. It was probably one of the reasons Kiara was so fond of him, no sad topic could linger on that man's tongue. He dismissed those thoughts and grabbed the pen and paper by his side. This is what he came for.

"Tell me where to replace her"