The second time was not so rough.
Then the third time was more of a recipe for disaster.
Reyona had been in the middle of a late dinner meeting she and Samantha were having with a new client.
She had to round things up quickly and apologised to the man.
Samantha was there to stay till the end of dinner with the man.
"You are a lifesaver. I owe you one" she whispered to Samantha.
"A raise would be enough thanks, ma," Samantha said cheekily, and their client laughed.
Reyona rushed out of the restaurant while Samantha and the man started discussing the philosophy behind every employee requesting a raise at every opportunity they could get.
"Couldn't the woman be a bit more predictable?" Reyona muttered in frustration as she checked the message she got again.
It was ten minutes already, and she could only hope she would be able to make it on time.
Maxwell's call came through just as she was driving out of the parking lot.
Reyona quickly connected it to the car speaker and picked it up.
"Hi, I got the message. Update me."
He had just started talking when the call got disconnected.
"Shit," Reyona swore as she just got to the highway at that moment.
She momentarily took her eyes off the road, so she could dial the number back.
They had not spoken all week, so she had no idea what he had done with the kids.
Of course, he had tried to invite her to some of it but she had declined.
She was regretting that now.
She should have at least get a list of what they had done from him.
As it was, she was running late already and might get there about the same time that Miss Macaulay would.
Which meant there wouldn't be any time to prepare her for what to say.
Reyona's phone rang just as she reached for it.
She eagerly picked up the call without looking at the screen.
"Go ahead," she said as she quickly passed the intersection just before the light turned red.
"Oh, I see someone is impatient."
"Wha…oh," Reyona said as the voice registered.
Sehima!
"Oh, I am sorry. I was on a call with someone before and…"
Sehima listened to her explanation and told her she understood.
She was on her way to Japan for a conference too, but she had a juicy deal for her.
An acquaintance who came from old money and has been living the trust fund lifestyle for too long has finally decided to go into business.
He asked Sehima for advice about how to go about it, so he wouldn't end up in bankruptcy pretty soon.
After giving him the business advice she could about his choice of business, Sehima informed him of getting a very good accounting firm to handle the financial planning and all the messy taxation issues for him.
Then she had recommended Reyona's company.
"I will forward his details to you now. I need you to act fast though. He is a darling, but he can be very unpredictable too. Get your buttering-up game on too. You are going to need it with this one. If you can convince him that you are the good hands that his company needs to be in, then you are good to go."
"Alright, I am about to board. Let me know how it goes."
Reyona thanked her and promised to give her feedback just as she got to Maxwell's neighbourhood.
Damn.
She had seen his number come through again while she was speaking to Sehima, but she couldn't pick up the call.
Her phone pinged with a notification, and she opened her inbox to check what Sehima had sent to her.
That was when she realised that he had sent her a message too.
A sound further in front of her made her look up as she tried to listen.
It was the sound of a car, and it was further ahead.
Macaulay would get to the house before her!
Reyona quickly accelerated, so she could catch up with the woman on time.
Maxwell was on the porch of the house welcoming Miss Macaulay when Reyona hastily parked behind the woman's car.
"Hi," she said with a bright smile as Miss Macaulay looked back at her in surprise.
"Babe", Maxwell said suddenly, as he quickly came towards her.
With his hands outstretched like a love-sick husband who couldn't wait to hold his wife, Maxwell threw his arms around Reyona.
With his back to Miss Macaulay, it seemed to the woman like he was hugging his wife tightly.
But Reyona had her arm in front of her, which was creating a barrier between the two of them.
"Did you get the message?" he asked in a whisper as he tilted his head like he was kissing her.
Reyona followed suit and bent her head just so as she said "No, I just saw the notification. I haven't even opened it at all."
"Shit. We will work with what we've got." Maxwell said, then wrapped his arms around her lovingly before turning towards Macaulay while asking Reyona with an indulgent smile. "Hectic day, huh?"
"You bet," Reyona said in a tired, almost drowsy voice as they came arm in hand towards Macaulay. "All I want to do right now is sleep. With no one bothering me at all."
"I will give you a good massage, so you can do just that. Then maybe I can join you in…"
"Stop," Reyona said shyly as she air-patted his shoulder.
"Miss Macaulay, I am so sorry for keeping you waiting. I had such a busy day at work"
The lady smiled sheepishly at her. "I am sorry for making it longer. This would be brief."
"We would appreciate that. The children need to be in bed soon. It is school night, you know."
"Oh, you enrolled them in school already?" Miss Macaulay asked with a beaming smile as she followed them in.
"Yes, yes, we did. Right, babe?" Reyona said to pass the conversation to Maxwell before the woman started asking her more questions.