by Nia Arthurs
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll do one song.”
Kelly scooted out of the booth so that Benjamin could walk off and approach the DJ near the platform at the front. Bianca swung into her seat and squealed, clapping her hands.
“Benji’s voice is going to blow your socks off. It’s like chocolate.”
“Did he like to sing growing up?”
“I’m not sure. When he first came to live with us, he barely spoke a word. Dad insisted that we shouldn’t force him to talk and we tiptoed around him for six months before we heard his voice. We were in church and he sang a song…” she shivered. “Thinking about it still gives me goosebumps.”
“I’m sorry.” Kelly poked a finger in her ear. “Did you say Benjamin came to live with you? Isn’t he your brother?”
“He’s adopted,” Bianca said, blinking up at her. “Didn’t you know? Well, I guess not. Dad tried his best to keep it under wraps.”
“But you guys are so close… and your eyes…”
“We get that a lot.” Bianca nodded. “Dad says that when he looked into Benji’s eyes, he knew he had to take him home. I was only four when he came so I was too young to understand. But we grew up together and I’ve always seen him as my big brother.”
“If you were four, that means Benji was—”
“He was only ten.” She rolled her eyes. “His bio-Mom’s not the best person though. She’s given him a lot of stress since then. Oh, look. He’s getting on stage now.” Bianca waved at her brother.
As the soft pink lights on the stage dusted his hair and illuminated his handsome face, Kelly saw Benjamin with new eyes.
Who would have guessed that he wasn’t related to Bianca by blood? There was no doubt in her mind that Benjamin would die for his little sister and she, in turn, for him.
Beyond the sibling’s connection, however, Kelly was curious about the type of life Benjamin had been living before his father stepped in. She imagined a little boy with crystal clear blue eyes, too afraid to say a word, and her heart bled a little.
“Goodnight,” Benjamin said into the mike, drawing her attention. His deep voice caused an immediate stir in the female population. Women straightened and tossed their hair over their shoulders as he smiled sheepishly. “It’s been a while since I’ve sung this one.”
“That’s okay, honey!” A boisterous woman who had probably enjoyed her champagne a bit too much yelled.
Bianca grinned at Kelly and leaned forward, waiting for her brother to get over his shyness and start singing.
The music began, the crooning saxophone perking everyone’s attention. Kelly recognized the beats of the song immediately. It was a jazz number—the tune Benjamin had played in the car after rescuing her from Marco Fuentes’s wrecking-ball hands. She closed her eyes and swayed as the beauty of Benjamin’s voice washed over her.
“I used to think I knew what love meant
But then I met you
And realized I had it all wrong.”
She bumped shoulders with Bianca and her eyes popped open. Together, the girls shared a special look and continued to enjoy Benjamin’s serenade about love, loss and life.
When he was done, he received a standing ovation. The sound of clapping hands lashed against the walls like waves against a rocky shore.
Benjamin’s most ardent supporter by far was the drunk lady at the front. For a moment there, it seemed she was ready to unsnap her bra and throw it at his head.
Hey, that’s my move lady.
To his credit, Benjamin seemed more eager to get off the stage and away from the limelight then anything. He awkwardly waved and walked stiffly back to his seat, receiving congratulations and air-blown kisses all the way.
“That was awesome, Benji,” Bianca said, giving her brother a high-five. “I was crying.”
“I’m never doing that again,” he said, sliding into the booth and hiding his face with the soda bottle. “Next time I’m forcing you to go up there, Bee. Then maybe you’ll think twice about sending me.”
“You were great. Wasn’t he, Kel?”
“It was magical,” she said. “You have an amazing voice.”
“I keep telling him he should make a CD.” Bianca rolled her eyes. “If I had a voice like that, I’d demand the world listen to me every second of the day.”
“Then the world would grow sick of you,” he said with a tired smile. “I was shaking so much I thought the mike would slip and shatter all over the stage.”
His adorable, self-deprecating expression shifted something in Kelly’s soul. It was more than desire, more than curiosity about his abilities as a lover. It was something… deeper.
Because now he wasn’t just a sexy Adonis who could satisfy her.
Now he was a brother, a son, and a man—one with a painful past and a heart that had grown stronger for it.
Though she would never admit it, Kelly was glad she’d lost the game to Benjamin. He truly deserved all his wishes to come true.
More Than Bang
Kelly strode confidently into the office. Her heels clopped against the floor and her eyes blazed straight ahead. Suddenly, a brown hand flew out of nowhere and barred her way.
She skidded to a stop and glanced up to find Renesha staring at her with narrowed eyes and flared nose, lips frowning in suspicion. Dressed in a powder blue top and a black pencil skirt, she seemed gorgeously fierce in the morning light.
“Is that a new lip gloss?” Kelly asked cheerfully. “You look great.”
“Don’t try to throw me off.”
“What?” she cooed, straining to hide her grin.
“I smell cologne. A limited-edition fragrance.” Renesha ducked her head close to Kelly’s neck and sniffed. “Were you with a man this morning?”
“So what if I was?” Kelly lifted her chin prissily and strode down the hallway.
“You were with a man, weren’t you?” Rene insisted.
“Did someone say ‘man’?” Harley’s head popped out of her office. Her ponytail bounced against her back as she trotted to catch up to her coworkers. “Was it Benjamin Levy by chance?”
“Who invited you?” Renesha snarled at Harley and leaned closer to Kelly. “Was it really Mr. Levy?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“What do you think I think?”
“Say that again? Real slow…”
“It was Mr. Levy! Wasn’t it?” Renesha pointed a finger at Kelly’s head.
“Nooo!” Harley wailed and stomped her white pumps against the tiled floor. “What do you have that I don’t? I can barely get that man to give me the time of day. He always brushes me off.”
Kelly ignored Harley’s whining. “I’ll tell you everything at lunch, Ren.”
“I can’t wait until lunch.” Renesha shook her head and followed Kelly into the Business Admin office. “Did you actually sleep with him? Is the deed done? Is he out of your system for good?”
“Actually—”
“Is that why you want him?” Harley gasped. “Benjamin Levy is hot-as-jalapenos, rich, smart, and a decent human being, but you want to throw him under you and then throw him away?”
“Pretty much.” Renesha smacked her lips. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Harley brightened. “No, not really.” She hopped onto a nearby desk and beamed. “He can mess around with you all he likes, as long as he marries me in the end.”
Kelly rolled her eyes. “For your information, I’ve changed my mind about that.”
“About what?” Rene slid closer. “Sleeping with him? Good for you. I told you nothing good would come of a scandal with our boss.”
Kelly nearly choked. “Of course I still want to sleep with him. Every time I look at that man, I can barely control myself.”
“You’re not alone.” Harley waved her hand in the air and closed her eyes as if Kelly’s words deeply affected her.
Both women glared at the intruder.
“So what’s changed?” Rene asked, returning her
gaze to her friend.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you sure you didn’t sleep together? Why were you with him this morning if it was something innocent?” she challenged.
“His sister is leaving to return to the States today so I ate breakfast with them before coming to work.”
Rene remained unconvinced. “That doesn’t explain why his cologne is all over you.”
“Yeah, explain that!” Harley bobbed her head.
“Bianca wanted to do a group hug,” Kelly explained. When the women sent her dubious looks, she threw her hands up and defended her innocence. “If you knew her, you would believe me.”
“Who does ‘group hugs’ anymore?” Harley asked absently.
“Everyone does it. You just don’t have any friends,” Rene said.
“How dare you!”
As the girls started bickering, Kelly’s cell phone vibrated. She grasped at the opportunity to duck her head into her purse and hide from the squabbling. When at last she pulled her cell from the depths, Kelly glanced at the screen and spied the blocked number. With a sigh, she tossed it back in.
“Is that Mr. Levy?” Harley asked, her eyes widening and her expression warning that she would tackle Kelly for her phone if the answer was ‘yes’.
“Someone else.”
“Clayton?” Rene asked.
She nodded. “He’s been calling me since we broke up, but it’s always late at night. This is the first time he’s bothered to try my number at a decent hour.”
“What do you know? The man is actually capable of seeking more than a booty call every once in a while.”
“It’s good to change things up,” Kelly joked, snorting through her nose.
“I’m lost!” Harley raised her hand. “Who’s Clayton? And why are you ignoring his booty calls?”
“He’s none of your business.” Rene glared at the thin girl. “Why are you still in here? Don’t you have work to do?”
“We all have work to do,” Kelly said, lightly pushing Rene toward the door. “Hit the road, baby. You too, Harley.”
Rene grumbled but left, while Harley lingered around. Kelly sat in her chair and pressed the power button on her computer, straining to ignore the architect. When at last, she could take Harley’s hovering no more, she whipped around and threw her hands up.
“What do you want?”
Harley’s brown eyes zoomed in on her face. “You mean it, right? You’re not thinking of getting involved with Mr. Levy long term.”
“Not that you even deserve an answer, but no. I love my job, and I don’t want to quit because my personal relationships got complicated.”
“I wouldn’t mind quitting. I would quit in a heartbeat if it meant I could be with him and never have to work again unless I wanted to.”
“That’s where you and I differ,” Kelly said, returning to her computer. “I told you everything you wanted to know. We good now?”
“You better keep that promise,” Harley said sternly. “Since you’re close to his sister, you’ve got an advantage over me.”
“Why are you so worried?” Kelly asked, pulling up a document on her computer and tapping a pen against her desk with her free hand. “You’re always making comments about my not being ‘good enough’ for him.”
“Well… you’re not.”
“Goodbye, Harley.”
“But you’re hot,” Harley mused, her hand tapping her chin. “You ooze sex appeal, that’s like catnip to a man—especially one as virile as Benjamin Levy.”
Kelly’s fingers paused over her keyboard. “Keep talking.”
“You’re smart and free-spirited. You don’t care what anyone thinks, and you just do what you want without worrying about what other people think. Even if you should sometimes.”
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment…”
“I wasn’t giving one.”
“You can stop talking now.”
Harley smiled. “Come to think of it, I have nothing to worry about. You might look good on the outside, but on the inside, you’re not that great of a person.”
“Hey!”
Harley hopped off the desk and flounced out of the office. Kelly grabbed her stapler, barely restraining herself from tossing the thing at Harley’s head. Thoughts of paying for the hospital and court fees kept her hand steady.
She wasn’t that awful of a person. Dating a married man aside, she had morals. Sort of. She didn’t lie. Didn’t steal—unless it was another woman’s man.
Wow.
She was horrible.
“No, you’re not,” Kelly mumbled. “You’re not the only person responsible for what went down with Clayton.”
A disturbance exploded in the office and Kelly shook off her musings to frown at the sound. Had she been dreaming or… did the voice making a whole lot of noise sound like her ex?
“Baby!” the male voice came again. “Kelly!”
Her eyes burst open and she skated out of her chair, rounded the corner and came to a grinding halt when she saw Clayton in the foyer. Rene was doing her best at keeping him back, but the stubborn man pushed against her, his neck craning and his eyes skimming the offices in sight.
When he saw her, Clayton threw Rene’s hand down and dropped to his knees. “Kelly!”
She glanced around the office at the co-workers who were climbing out of their offices to spy on her. Embarrassed out of her mind, Kelly hissed through gritted teeth. “Get up, Clayton.”
“You wanted a big public gesture?” He cried and swung his arms out. “Here goes.”
“Clayton!” She tried to tug her hand out of his, but he held firm.
“Baby, I was wrong.”
“Aww…” The ladies in the office cooed and held their hands to their chests, while the men looked on in horror.
“What’s going on here?” Errol pushed his way to the front of the crowd forming around them. “Ms. Banner, this is not appropriate conduct for a place of business!”
“I know, Errol. I’m so sorry.” She tugged on Clayton’s hand so that he stood. “Let’s take this outside.”
He got up, but instead of quieting down, he slipped his fingers through hers and kissed the back of their clasped hands. “From now on, I’m going to hold your hand on the street. I’m going to post pictures of us online. I’m going to tell all your friends about us. About how much I love you. I don’t care anymore.”
“You idiot!” Renesha hissed. She jumped into the fray and helped Kelly to push Clayton out of D&T’s doors.
As the buzz of conversation in her office grew fainter and fainter, Kelly groaned. This would be prime gossip for a solid month. What were the chances that everyone would keep today’s outburst from Benjamin?
Probably zero to nil.
Crap.
When Two Worlds Touch
Kelly struggled to contain her fury as she looked at Clayton. His handsome face was downcast and, though she knew he meant the expression to reflect his petulance, he just looked stupid.
“What were you thinking?” She hissed, straining to keep her voice calm and her vocabulary clean. Clayton had already made a fool of himself and of her. She didn’t need to compound it by releasing her ‘crazy’.
“I’ve been going insane without you, Kel. My heart feels cold like ice. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I can barely breathe. You need to come back to me or I think I’ll die. Say you’ll forgive me.”
“Clayton, let’s talk later.” She spun to return to the office when he captured her hand and tugged her back to him.
“Let’s talk now,” he said.
“I have to work.” She pushed him off. “If you want me to hear you out, if you really care about me… leave.”
His eyes searched hers, the dark irises pored over her face as if he was doing his best to memorize it. At last, Clayton gave in. “I’ll see you at home. We can talk then.”
“Whatever.” Kelly brushed him away, unable to tackle anything but the most imminent task of getting him
off her company’s property. “Just go.”
“Alright.” He planted a kiss on her forehead, which she accepted without fuss. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Kelly watched him until the elevator swallowed him whole and then scrambled back into her office. Like a crowd of travellers who had witnessed a car crash and could not look away, the entire staff of D&T stared at her when she entered.
“Uh… hi.” Kelly waved. “Don’t pay him any mind. He’s not completely right in the head.”
“Old boyfriend?” Harley inquired.
Kelly opened her mouth to answer when Errol tapped his foot on the floor and folded his arms over his chest. “Ms. Banner!” his voice boomed. “My office. Now!”
She winced at the tone and bowed her head to follow him out of the foyer. Rene shot her a sorrowful look as Kelly began her slow, tortured trek. The two friends communicated a world of well wishes and fears in the short glance.
The journey to Errol’s office ended too quickly. Kelly ducked inside as he slammed the door behind her and pointed to the chair facing his desk. The silence caused her skin to crawl. Kelly would much prefer if he yelled at her instead of leveling her with that cold, disappointed stare.
“I can explain,” Kelly said before her supervisor had even been properly seated in his chair.
“Save it, Ms. Banner. I think we’re both well aware the incident that occurred today is a shameful and unsavory event that should never be repeated.”
“Yes, sir. I take full responsibility, sir.”
He eyed her and tossed his glasses on the table. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m about to get a little personal with you, Ms. Banner.”
“S-sir?”
“My family is not well off. My father is a papaya farmer from the Toledo District. They could not afford my education and I dropped out during my first year of high school.”
“I… had no idea.”
“I had to work harder than anyone else to earn money so that I could go to night school and earn my high school diploma. I did not have many friends and in most social situations, I hung back and simply observed. You’d be amazed how much you can see if you just look.”
