by M. O. Kenyan
“I came to live here to escape my father’s authoritarian rule. I will not trade one dictatorship for another.” Her tone was low but filled with earnestness.
“Fine, just don’t be alone with him. He’s not a good guy.”
“What about you?”
AJ’s palms began to heat up as they rubbed up and down Katherine’s arms. Bravely and lustfully moving up her back, AJ dug his fingers into the thickness of her hair. He enjoyed the silken dance between his fingers as he combed through it. AJ had the urge to twirl her locks around his wrist, pull her head back and devour her throat. But the buzzing in his pants, caused by his phone, cut into his fantasy.
Katherine took a step back, making AJ release her from his hold. Her eyes seemed glazed, her breathing short and quick. “I’ll just wait for you in the car.”
AJ looked down at his phone and frowned. “It’s Lisette.”
“Of course it is.” He didn’t miss the steel in her tone. AJ watched as she grabbed her things in fury and banged the door on her way out.
“What did I say?”
* * * *
“It’s Lisette!” Katherine mimicked. “He says her name as if she’s the best thing since…since…oh what the hell!”
“Katherine.”
Katherine turned at the sound of her name being called. And as if the fates had it in for her, she came face to face with AJ’s red-head Rose. “Dr. Henry, please.”
“Forgive me, oh high and mighty one.” Rose mocked. “I heard you forced your way into AJ’s home. Don’t you have any respect?”
“I should be asking you that.” Katherine stared her down, anger sizzling beneath her skin. She had no doubt the evidence of her rage smoked out of her ears like an enraged bull. “I didn’t go sniffing around him. He came to me. He asked me to be with him.” That wasn’t entirely true but there was no reason for her to know that. “He wants me, and yet you still press your hundred-dollar silicon disasters against him. He is never going to want you, not when he has me.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“If I find you near him, I will cut you from nose to navel.” Katherine used her ball point pen to illustrate. She had the pleasure of seeing Rose’s eyes go wide and her lower lip tremble as if she was going to cry. She felt a pinch of guilt that was quickly forgotten when she spotted Lisette come through the hospital doors.
Katherine was on a roll, and she wasn’t about to let the steam setting her momentum die out. With her trusty ballpoint pen she barreled toward Lisette, trying not to count how many different ways the brunette bombshell was better than her. Somehow she would have to put a cap on her insecurities.
“What are you doing here?”
“Huh! You really are a doctor! Who would have thought?” Lisette smirked.
“Well yes, and this is a hospital, and unless you work here or are sick, you should leave.”
“I came to see AJ.”
“I don’t think you will be able to. He doesn’t have time for the likes of you.” Katherine looked Lisette over and for the first time noticed what she was wearing.
Lisette was in a power suit, the kind you only find in powerful boardrooms. If she didn’t know any better, if she wasn’t sure Harry Henry had an exclusive tailor, she would have sworn Lisette’s trouser suit were sewn by the same hands. Her hair was held back, her makeup minimal—but that didn’t take away from her beauty. She had practical but no doubt a pair of Prada shoes on. She looked like a lawyer, a respectable one in fact.
“What are ‘the likes of’ me?” Lisette asked with a mocking grin.
“Uh-mmm?”
“Don’t back down now. I think AJ needs a girl who’s such a spitfire. It will definitely keep the flies away from the honey.” Katherine was taken aback by the brusqueness in her voice, especially when Lisette stared down Rose.
What the hell was going on exactly?
“I practically have to use a broom to sweep all the trash out, when he’s done with them.” Lisette spoke loudly and Katherine realized it was for Rose’s benefit. She watched as the burned nurse shuffled away in anger. Well, she had to thank Lisette for chasing—what did she call them? ‘flies’—Rose away. But she needed to get Lisette away too. By the time she was ready to trust AJ completely, she didn’t need the fly buzzing around her honey.
“I think you should leave AJ alone as well. We are together and your endowed breasts—are those real?—nice ass and very sweet lips, are not going to take him away from me.” Katherine frowned; those were three more things that Lisette had that she didn’t.
“Does my brother know you are marking your territory?”
“Your brother?”
“Yes, I know, he’s black and I’m Latina. There was a mix up of orders in our mother’s womb.” She teased. “He is my stepbrother.”
Katherine felt utterly stupid. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. To make matters worse, AJ was walking toward them, a strange smile on his face. Katherine took a step back, ready to make a pivot turn and run to hide her shame. But Lisette caught her arm before she could move. She struggled to set herself free. You’d think a girl who grew up wrestling three brothers would be stronger than this. But Lisette seemed to have the strength of a thousand bulls.
“Hey, big brother!” Lisette chirped.
“Hi.” Katherine managed to mumble out. She was seriously pissed. Why hadn’t AJ told her Lisette was his sister? But now it dawned on her, like a ton of bricks crashing into her. AJ was “the” Adrian Ross Junior. How could she forget one of the most powerful and multicultural families in New York? Adrian Ross Senior was mostly seen with David Kent, the man who married into the Italian financial giant family with the Hawaiian son. There was also something in the papers about a missing daughter.
“Adrian Jackson Ross of Ross and Kent Associates. And Lisette Marie Ross, of Ross and Kent Financials.”
“I’m not that Adrian Ross,” AJ said with a grin. “My father is the lawyer, I’m the doctor.”
“And you are Katherine Henry. Oh, my God!” Lisette broke out in a fit of giggles. “Your father is our main competitor. And your brother—dear God, if I didn’t have Reno I’d be barking-up that tree.”
“Lisette!” AJ’s silencing tone was back.
“I’m just saying.” Lisette stuck out her stubborn jaw and immediately Katherine knew this was what AJ was talking about when they met at the hospital.
Randomly, Katherine pressed her finger against the throbbing vein in Lisette’s jaw that was still stuck out defiantly. “Ha! You were right, AJ.”
“Right about what?” Lisette asked confused.
“Lisette, you do exactly the same thing. Except Katherine has those lightning blue-gray eyes—that just drive me crazy.” Katherine blushed as AJ’s desire laden tone wrapped around her in an erotic hug.
“Keep it in your pants. And, don’t drool, Katherine, he’s just a man, I assure you.” Lisette mocked. “Before you arrived your girlfriend was hitting on me.”
“What?”
“She asked me if my boobs are real. I promise you they are, and if you don’t believe me ask Reno. You should come for Saturday lunch and meet him. I’ll tell Mama to set an extra plate setting. You’ll have fun and our parents will be happy to know AJ has finally settled down.”
“But—” Katherine and AJ cut in at the same time.
“Don’t worry; you don’t have to bring anything. Mama, Catalella and I will have everything ready for you. By the way Kat, if you ever need some back up with those flies, I got you.”
“Why are you here, Lisette?” AJ cut in.
“Birth control, I’m out.”
“No! Not hearing anything!” Katherine chuckled as AJ covered his ears with his hands, a troubled look on his face. He was definitely a big brother.
“I’m going. I’ll see you this weekend, Katherine.” Lisette grabbed her into a vise-like hug leaving Katherine gasping for breath. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
K
atherine watched as Lisette sauntered away. She stopped and tossed over her shoulder. “Peeing on him will be better. That’s what dogs do.”
“What!” AJ exclaimed.
Katherine felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She shrugged her shoulders feigning ignorance. Right then Lisette growled at Rose just before she disappeared round the corner. “She’s something.”
“She is everything to me,” AJ said with softness that Katherine had never heard before. “About the lunch—”
“I don’t have to come if you don’t want me too.” She rushed to say it.
“I want you to, but only if you want to come.”
“I want to.”
“Great.”
“Great.” They stood in an awkward silence for a while, before Katherine ran away.
Chapter Nine
“I think you’d better take a step back.” AJ said once they walked into the Hamptons mansion.
“Why?” Katherine asked confused.
“You’ll see in just a second.”
Katherine watched as AJ set the bags down on the floor. He took off his leather jacket and handed it to her. He stood with his legs apart and arms ready. And just as Katherine was about to ask him what he was doing, two bullets shot past her from around the corner and into AJ’s arms. Startled, it took Katherine a few minutes to realize one of those bullets was Lisette, the other one with a pixie hair cut had to be the youngest, Catalella. It was nice to see that Lisette wasn’t always as tough as she seemed and that AJ had such a gentle side.
AJ set Lisette on her feet and held Catalella a little while longer. “Mi tesoro.” He whispered as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
“I miss you, big brother.” Catalella’s voice made her seem more like a little child than a married woman. She snuggled closer to AJ, wrapping her arms around his torso, like she never wanted to let go.
“I missed you too, peanut.” AJ looked over Catalella’s head at Katherine. Katherine smiled then looked away, hoping he hadn’t seen the emotion in her eyes. AJ seemed to prove to her every single day why he was the man for her. But Katherine was too stubborn or frightened to see it.
“What does ‘mi tesoro’ mean?” She asked once the girls had abandoned them.
“It means ‘my treasure’.” His smile wrapped around her and Katherine wished one day AJ would have such a loving word reserved just for her.
She coughed the knots of emotion out of her throat and smiled. “How do you say my nagging roommate in Spanish?”
AJ turned toward her; looking her straight in the eyes his warmth filled her. With the back of his hand he caressed her cheek. He smiled at her, a smile he always seemed to have reserved for her. Then he said. “Eres la razon de mi existencia.”
Katherine didn’t have time to ask for a translation. But the oh, so warm and tingly feeling inside told her AJ hadn’t said what she asked him to. She watched as he was swallowed into the embraces of his family. The sweet picture reminded her so much of her own family, without her father of course. But the need to know what he said superseded the nostalgic feeling she had. Katherine tried to piece together what he said, but she couldn’t remember. Otherwise she would have asked Lisette for a translation.
“Why are you standing way over there?” AJ’s stepmother asked.
“Come over here, sweetheart. We don’t bite.” Adrian Senior’s booming voice matched his massive body. Now she knew where AJ got all his positive attributes from. Apart from the hint of silver in the old man’s jet black hair, AJ looked just like his father, down to the well- kept goatee that bordered his mouth.
Katherine found herself the center of attention and it made her fidget. She let out a quiet sigh of relief when AJ took his place beside her and introduced her to the Ross clan.
“This is Lisette’s boyfriend, Reno.”
The night AJ kind of said he loves her. She remembered he had been out with Reno. Katherine just wanted to hug the man, right after questioning him about everything AJ had talked about that night. “The Reno who got you drunk and dropped you off at my door step.”
“Guilty,” he said grinning.
“What?” Rosalinda exclaimed.
“It was nothing, Mama,” AJ assured.
Katherine looked around the room and noticed the odd one out. The man was leaning against a far wall, swirling golden liquid and ice in his glass. He was out of place, and to her, it seemed as if he had wandered in off the street and into the house. But when Catalella went to his side, looping her arm into his, Katherine realized he was little Catalella’s husband. She also realized there was no love lost between him and the rest of the family. You only had to look at the clenched jaws of Reno and AJ to know. Even Lisette had the look of murder in her eyes.
“We should sit down for dinner.” Adrian Senior boomed, breaking the thick silence that had cloaked them.
“This is Michael Mathews, my husband,” Catalella introduced with a wavering smile.
“Hallo.”
Michael raised his glass to her and sent a wink her way. Katherine took a step back, confusion canvassing her face. She wondered if anyone had seen that. She looked up at AJ and the throbbing vein in his jaw told her he had. Cautious, she took AJ’s hand and led him away from the man who seemed eager to part with his life. How the hell had that vile creature slipped past Adrian Senior and AJ?
Katherine sat across from AJ at the dinner table. Every few seconds she would sneak a peek at him. She loved, yes loved, the flex of his jaw, the way he laughed and how he every so often reached over to caress his little sister Catalella’s cheek. How she wished she was in Catalella’s place. But AJ had been showing her some attention. Under the table, his foot would rub against her leg. At first she was startled and looked up in surprise, only to be met by a smile in AJ’s gleaming eyes.
Katherine looked around the dining table and realized she had been missing more than the love of a man. She had been missing this—family sitting around the dinner table talking about things. No matter how mundane or silly it was, they would still share.
Sure, she had a close relationship with the twins, Christian and Christopher, but Duke seemed to have been engulfed in their father’s seriousness ever since they were children. There was no saving him. And Mr. and Mrs. Henry, they seemed stuck in the monotony of activities they called life.
She looked over at Rosalinda and Adrian Senior as she kissed his pasta-stained cheek. Even from a look that passed between them, a blind man could see the fire and passion which still burned between them. They were in love, the sort of love never ruined by social status or what was expected by the ‘upper crust’.
They were like teenagers, and they loved each other like teenagers. Sweet, innocent, curious and with a fire that would never burn out. That was what she wanted for her and AJ.
She gazed at him again, a smile tugging at her heart. She would have that with him. It didn’t matter how long she would have to wait for him to realize one woman was enough for him. She, Katherine Henry, was enough for him.
“Are you alright?”
Katherine blinked out of her fairytale haze at the sound of AJ’s voice. She smiled at him and nodded. She was perfect, how could she not be. “Lunch is delicious, Mrs. Ross.”
“Thank you, querida, I’m glad you were able to join us.”
Katherine gave Rosalinda a bashful smile. The woman was so warm. Something about her made you want to be wrapped in her arms like a snuggy and never come out from the embrace.
“She called you ‘sweetheart’,” AJ put in.
“Thank you.” Katherine said sincerely. The only time her mother called her sweetheart was if a request would follow. Rosalinda just offered the endearment because she could.
“What do you do…querida?” Michael asked, not giving the word the same warmth Rosalinda had.
“I’m practicing to be a cardiac surgeon. AJ and I work together.”
“Oh? I thought he was in trauma,” Michael said in a nonchalant tone.
�
�I think that’s what he wants.” Katherine looked up at AJ seeking permission to go on. And when he nodded she did. “Actually, Mr. Ross, your son is somewhat a super star down at the hospital. The department’s heads are always trying to seduce him into joining their department. But I think his heart is set on trauma.”
“How are the nurses down in trauma?” Michael asked with a smirk.
Katherine could feel AJ begin to push his chair back. She put her foot on his knee to stop him. And fortunately for her, he settled back down. “I don’t know. Maybe you should keep your attitude up and find out,” She mumbled it under her breath.
“What was that, dear?” Rosalinda asked.
Katherine looked around the table and the humorous glances she got from everyone except Catalella and Michael, told her they had all heard her. Lisette especially seemed to like her remark. She coughed out a laugh and almost choked on her chicken.
“It went down the wrong hole,” Lisette said, trying her best not to laugh out loud. But her teary eyes were selling her out.
Katherine chanced a glance at AJ, half expecting him to be cross with her. But the approving wink she got made her relieved. “I said I don’t know why he just didn’t go to John Hopkins.”
“My fault. I begged him not to leave me,” Catalella piped in.
“Begged? Baby girl, you cried for a week when he discovered his acceptance letter,” Lisette piped in.
“What do you mean discovered?”
“Catalella had hidden it from me. She only gave me the letters from the New York area.” AJ winked at her. “But what she doesn’t know is—I would have never left her.”
“If we are done kissing the almighty AJ’s butt, I just wanted to say that I’ve passed the Bar,” Michael put it.
“That’s great!” Catalella was the only one to show genuine happiness.
Katherine got the feeling everyone else wanted to hog tie him and throw him off the Brooklyn Bridge.
* * * *
“Dude, it seems like you got it bad. ‘Eres la razon de mi existencia.’” Reno barked out a laugh. “I didn’t start telling Lisette she was the reason for my existence until we were three months into the relationship. How long have you been with her, a week?”
