Blind Date with the Spare Heir

by Yahrah St. John

  And that was exactly what he was going to do this morning. After the weekly meeting, he’d changed clothes and was prepping to assist with the rehabilitation of an athlete’s syndesmotic injury. Julian could have let one of the trainers handle him, but this was his specialty and a part of the job he liked.

  On his way to the therapy and recovery rooms, Julian ran into Xavier, who was in a tank top and gym shorts. “Hey, where were you last night?” Julian inquired.

  “I was...uh, busy,” Xavier responded.

  “Busy with a woman?” Julian picked up on what Xavier wasn’t saying. At six foot two and 230 pounds, his younger brother had once been quite the quarterback. With his physique, cropped hair and coffee-colored good looks, Xavier had made many a lady swoon.

  Xavier glared at him, which told Julian he wasn’t about to elaborate.

  “You didn’t miss much,” Julian continued. “Father was on his soapbox, reminding me I’ll never be as good as Roman, and Mother wants to set me up.”

  “Yeah, I think Roman getting hitched and Shantel’s pregnancy has Mama visualizing lots of grandbabies running around. You need to curb her.”

  Julian rolled his eyes. “As if that’s possible.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to give her what she wants,” Julian responded evenly. “I’ve agreed to allow her to set me up on a few dates. After which, she’ll see the error of her ways and leave me in peace.”

  Xavier laughed. “Do you know our mother? She never gives up. When I was in rehab after my injury, Roman may have flown with me to Denver, but it was Mama who kept visiting.”

  “She had to ensure her baby boy was okay.”

  “When Mama gets something in her head, you’re not going to be able to convince her otherwise. So mark my words, Julian, you’ve just dug your own grave. Because Mama won’t give up until you’re headed down the aisle.”

  Julian frowned. Although he was open to the idea of committing himself to one woman, he wasn’t sure he was ready to jump on the marriage bandwagon. He would go through the motions to appease his mother, but he doubted there was any woman out there with the power to change his mind.

  * * *

  Julian was bored to tears.

  Cassandra Harris was the second date his mother had arranged in the last two weeks. The first had been an unmitigated disaster. Julian had arrived late thanks to overtime work on one of the defensive back’s legs.

  When he’d realized the time, he’d rushed home, showered and sped to the upscale restaurant to no avail. His date had been livid. His usual charms had failed on the uptight attorney and she’d eventually cut the evening short, stating she had a case to prepare for the court the following day. Julian hadn’t been sad about it, silently admitting he’d much rather spend the evening watching paint dry.

  And now here he was with yet another of Angelique’s finds. On paper, Cassandra had all the right qualifications in his mother’s book. She was educated, from a good family, beautiful, and talented in her own right as a junior college professor of literature. But she and Julian didn’t have a thing in common.

  For starters, Cassandra was an academic. She enjoyed scholarly activities, like reading, writing and the opera. Although he didn’t mind attending the odd opera, he was by no means an enthusiast; he much preferred theater. When Julian asked if she liked to go to events like fashion shows or football games, she’d looked at him as though he’d lost his marbles.

  Didn’t she realize his family owned a football empire? Football games were a must. Quite frankly, Julian needed more stimulation than this woman could offer. He was thankful when she opted to forgo dessert, making the excuse of an early morning and the need to get home.

  After dinner, Julian did the polite thing. He walked Cassandra to her car and bid her adieu. As soon as he made it to his Bugatti Veyron, Julian turned on his favorite Sirius station and loudly played some old R & B. He had to jam the vision of the evening from his mind. If this was his mother’s idea of his ideal woman, she was sorely mistaken.

  A half hour later, he was pulling into the parking space at his penthouse when the display on the dash read Mom. Julian rolled his eyes and prayed for inner peace. Turning off the ignition, he plopped his earbud into his ear as he exited the vehicle. “Hey, Mom. What’s going on?”

  “Hello, darling. I was just checking in to see how your evening went with Cassandra?”

  Julian sighed.

  “Oh dear.” He heard the disappointment in his mother’s voice. “Don’t tell me—you and Cassandra were not a match?”

  “C’mon, Mom, you had to know that someone as introverted as Cassandra wouldn’t be interested in a flamboyant extrovert like me.”

  “I suppose,” she responded. “I thought perhaps she might ground you. Make you more settled.”

  “I appreciate your help, Mom. Really, I do.” Julian pressed the button for the elevator. “But until you bring me someone with a more vivacious personality, your matchmaking is designed to fail.”

  “All right, I’ll give it some further thought. Until then, you’ll keep your promise to not go out of your way to stir up any bad press?”

  “I gave you my word and I meant it.” Julian stepped inside the elevator. “I’m being a real Scout.” Much to my chagrin.

  He ended the call several minutes later, thankful for a reprieve. It would take his mother a while to find a more suitable candidate. In the interim, he needed some fun.

  The elevator chimed and he exited.

  Opening the door to his penthouse condo, Julian instantly relaxed. The two-bedroom unit was his haven. The complex itself—the Charles—located in the center of Buckhead Village, offered plenty of amenities.

  Kicking off his shoes, he walked across the two-thousand-square-foot condo to the corner living room. Plopping down onto the plush sectional that fronted the folding glass doors leading to the terrace, he pulled out his phone. He knew exactly what would get him out of this funk. Some time with the boys.

  “Xavier, you up for a game of poker?”

  * * *

  “This is great, Elyse,” her boss, Pierre King, said at Friday’s morning meeting when Elyse presented him with options to help an embattled rock star try to clean up his public image. “You really have a knack for figuring your way out of tight spots.”

  “Thank you.” Elyse beamed with pride. She’d been working at King Public Relations for three years and, although relatively new, was ambitious and one day wanted to partner in the firm. Elyse envisioned herself as a gladiator in training. The woman who would one day bring down Josiah Lockett and restore to her father all he was rightfully due.

  “Keep it up,” Pierre said. “If you do, there’s no stopping how far you can go.”

  Elyse left his office feeling on top of the world. It helped that she’d worn her best outfit; a tailored burnt-orange skirt suit with her Manolo jewel-buckled pumps. She walked with confidence to her cubicle, but was stopped along the way by her coworker Andrea Stevens.

  The tall, freckle-faced brunette was wearing her favorite wraparound dress and high-heeled sandals. “Way to go!” Andrea high-fived her.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “I think a celebration is in order. How about lunch?” Andrea added quickly, “On me.”

  “Sounds fabulous.”

  Twenty minutes later, Elyse and Andrea were seated in an upscale eatery sipping Perrier while they waited for their respective orders of salmon and chicken Waldorf salad.

  “I can’t believe how well today went,” Elyse said, sitting back in her chair.

  “C’mon, Elyse.” Andrea regarded her. “You’re one of the most ambitious people I know. You’re not going to stop until you’re on top.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” she asked. “You know more than anyone how difficult it’s been for me.”

>   “How is your father doing?”

  “Same. Wallowing in self-pity. I don’t understand it, Andrea. I got him settled in this new place, made sure he got a job, and still he falls off the wagon. It’s disheartening.”

  “You can’t keep doing this, Elyse. You have to let him know, in no uncertain terms, that unless he sobers up, you’re done with him.”

  “That’s easier said than done, Drea. He’s the only family I have in life.”

  Andrea frowned. “You have me, Elyse.”

  Elyse had known Andrea since college, and she was one of her oldest and dearest friends. She’d even helped Elyse get the job at King PR.

  “I know. I know,” Elyse responded. Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading, she made up an excuse to bail. “Pardon me for a moment. I’ve gotta go to the ladies’ room.”

  Elyse rushed to her feet and walked quickly to the restroom. Once inside, she moved into the accessible stall, which contained its own sink and mirror, and looked at her reflection. She knew Andrea was right. She should let her father sink or swim on his own, but how could she? If she gave up on him now, he’d have nothing left and then where would he end up? No, no, it was up to her to right the wrongs.

  Elyse was touching up her makeup when she heard the door swish open.

  “Girl, I’m so excited about my date tonight,” a woman said from the other side of the stall door.

  “Oh yeah? Anyone I know?” her friend asked.

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, Janis.”

  “Try me.”

  “Julian Lockett.”

  “No way.”

  “Yes, way. Julian’s mom and my mom are sorors, and Mrs. Lockett is upset that Julian’s tomfoolery with the ladies always lands him in the gossip blogs. She wants him to clean up his act and settle down.”

  “With you? Omigod, that’s incredible, Tiffany. He’s such a stud. I heard he really knows his way around the bedroom.”

  “Janis!”

  Elyse could hear the water running, so the woman must have turned on the taps.

  “I’m not going out with him to get him into bed. At least, not yet. No, my goal is to end up with his ring on my finger.” She spoke the last several words in singsong.

  “Julian Lockett has never been the settle-down kind.”

  “He hasn’t met me yet,” Tiffany replied.

  “So when do you see him?”

  The taps were turned off. “We’re meeting tonight at Bacchanalia for dinner.”

  “Oh, I’ve been dying to go there,” Janis gushed.

  Elyse heard paper towels being ripped from a dispenser. “So have I.”

  “I’m so envious,” Janis responded, and Elyse could make out the sound of the door opening and closing as the women left.

  Now alone in the restroom, Elyse listened as the women’s footsteps receded in the hallway. Damn, Tiffany had left without ever revealing the time for their dinner reservation. But that wasn’t a problem for Elyse. She could talk her way around anyone.

  This was kismet. She happened to be in the right place at the right time to overhear that Mrs. Lockett was playing matchmaker for Julian. It was the most interesting development to fall into Elyse’s lap in a long time. Her window of opportunity into the Lockett inner circle had finally opened.

  * * *

  After Elyse and Andrea had returned to the office, while Andrea went back to work, Elyse set upon a secret mission. During lunch, while Andrea had rattled on about her live-in boyfriend not helping out with chores, Elyse had been concocting a plan to meet the illustrious Julian Lockett.

  Not only had she called Bacchanalia to learn the time for Julian’s dinner reservation, she’d contacted his office to change the time to half an hour earlier. It would give her a chance to go in Tiffany’s stead. By the time Tiffany arrived, she’d already have Julian’s attention.

  When she wanted to be, Elyse could be very convincing, and Julian was a man, after all. A ladies’ man, from what she’d read. There wasn’t a skirt out there he couldn’t talk a woman out of, one article had said. Elyse was certain Julian would be eager to please, to show how charming he was, but he needn’t bother when it came to her. Elyse wasn’t remotely interested.

  Julian was the weakest link in the Lockett family, a Lothario without much substance. She’d done her research. Roman, the eldest, was a commanding executive with a new wife and a baby on the way. Then there was Xavier, the former Atlanta Cougars’ quarterback phenom. Though, since breaking his knee, word had it he wasn’t the same man he’d once been. That he was broken and therefore of no use. Xavier had no role with the Cougars so he wouldn’t be useful to her plan.

  And then there was Giana Lockett.

  Elyse had researched ways to make contact, but it turned out Giana was just as ambitious as her eldest brother. She was all business and was rumored to be a workaholic. She rarely dated and didn’t have any close friends, there had been no avenue forward with her.

  That left Julian. Dating him would offer her the chance to get close to him. And maybe, eventually, to the family—so she could wreak havoc on Josiah.

  Oh yes. With a little luck and the sexiest dress she could find, Julian Lockett was going to be putty in her hands.

  * * *

  Julian wasn’t looking forward to tonight’s dinner. If he could have found a way to get out of yet another blind date, he would have. When his assistant had told him Tiffany Mayes had called, he’d hoped it was to cancel. Instead, she’d asked if they could meet a half hour earlier because she had some important business to attend to in the morning. That was fine with him. Perhaps that meant she’d call it an early night and he would be home before nine?

  Anyway, his mother hadn’t told him much about Tiffany other than that she was a debutante and charity fundraiser. Given how bad the other two blind dates had gone, Julian hadn’t bothered to look her up on social media. She’d be just as boring as the previous two dates, so why make the effort? He’d done this to humor his mother on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, he’d meet someone worth settling down with. So far, they’d all been clunkers.

  As he pulled his Bugatti to the curb in front of Bacchanalia, and handed his keys to the valet, Julian couldn’t help but think, How pretentious this restaurant was. He knew his mother loved it because of its Michelin rating. But he would rather have gone to Manuel’s—the new restaurant owned by an up-and-coming Jamaican chef. Julian loved the food so much, he raved about it on social media. The place had become so busy thanks to Julian’s tweets, the chef had given him his own table. If the choice had been his tonight, it’s where he would have gone. He could take off his suit jacket and they could kick up their heels and really get to know each other.

  Instead, he walked through the double doors, and was immediately greeted by a maître d’ wearing a suit and tie. “Good evening, Mr. Lockett. Welcome to Bacchanalia.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Allow me to show you to your seat,” Julian was glad he was early. It would allow him to order a stiff drink to prepare him for dinner.

  The maître d’ led him to a private candlelit table for two in a secluded corner. It was all “romance” and had his mother’s hand all over it. Justin sat in the proffered seat and accepted the menu and wine selection. “Thank you and bring me a bourbon, please.”

  “Of course, I’ll get Elliott, your server, on it right away, sir.”

  Julian glanced around the room and noticed several pairs of eyes on him. It wasn’t unusual for his father and Roman to come to places like this, but Julian favored a more laid-back vibe. In any event, he’d be on his best behavior—for his mother.

  Thankfully, the server quickly came with a tray holding a tumbler of brown liquid. “Your bourbon, Mr. Lockett. Would you like to wait till your guest arrives to order wine?”

  “I’m here
.”

  Julian turned to see a goddess walking toward him.

  Three

  Julian’s brain registered that the woman had to be Tiffany Mayes, but his lungs were being starved of oxygen. He had to blink a few times to remind himself to pick his jaw up from the floor, take a breath, and stop staring. She wasn’t just beautiful, she was striking, with almond-shaped brown eyes, incredibly thick lashes and lush, pouting lips.

  Her hair was short and chic with wispy bangs coming forward to reveal a round face. She had a slender figure, curves in the right places, and her strapless gold dress and gold strappy sandals did her justice. She looked like a Greek goddess.

  “Tiffany?” he questioned.

  She shook her head. “I’m afraid Tiffany isn’t coming.”

  “No?” He raised an insouciant brow.

  She shook her head. “I gave her a different time to meet you and commandeered her place instead.”

  An old-fashioned switcheroo. Julian, impressed, couldn’t suppress a laugh. “Really?”

  She came toward Julian and he caught a whiff of her floral scent, which made him eager to lean forward when she offered her hand. “The name’s Elyse Harper.” Her hand was small, but Julian noticed it was elegant and perfectly manicured.

  “Julian.”

  “Pleasure.” She gave him a soft, enchanting smile and a hot tsunami of lust swept through him at the sight. He wanted more. “May I sit down?” Her eyes went to the empty seat beside his.

  “Of course. I admit, I’m at a loss as to why anyone would go through so much trouble to meet me.” Julian was glad for the interruption. The dates his mother set him up with had been miserable and he was in no mood for a repeat, but this beautiful interloper intrigued him.

  “Oh c’mon, Julian. You reputation is legendary,” Elyse stated. “Any woman would be eager to make your acquaintance.”