Nights of Fantasy

by Sherelle Green

  “Oh, really?” the caller said in disbelief. “What makes you think you have any grounds to negotiate with me? I have nothing to lose. But you? You have everything to lose.”

  Danni leaned her head against the brick building as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. “I’m not paying you early,” she said, standing her ground. “You’ll get your money next week.”

  “I better get my money with interest,” the caller said louder than before. “And I don’t mean a shitty interest, either. It better be something worth all the hell you’ve put me through by blocking my number. And in case you pull any funny business, I hope you realize that I have connections and I know where you are.”

  Danni held the phone even closer to her ear. “Are you threatening me?” She was furious and, despite the mess she’d gotten herself into, she refused to be walked over.

  “It’s more than a threat. It’s a promise. You think hiding out in Miami working at that crappy boutique will keep me from getting to you? Well, you’re wrong. You have no idea what I’m capable of, but I have a few people who could give you some insight if you want.”

  How had it come to this? Danni wasn’t sure she’d ever felt more helpless about a situation in her life. “Look, I’ll contact you next week to make arrangements for your money. Until then, you can’t keep calling me like this. I have a life and we made an agreement.”

  The malicious laugh on the other end of the line sent chills running down her spine. “Just have my damn money ready next week.”

  Danni flinched when the caller yelled a few choice words before hanging up. “Oh, no,” she whispered when she felt another panic attack coming on. She’d been having panic attacks for over a year and no matter what she tried to do to de-escalate the problem in her mind, it never worked. She placed her hand over her heart as she pushed off from the wall. It’s okay, Danni. Just breathe.

  Fifteen minutes later she’d managed to calm her nerves as she walked into Bare Sophistication.

  “Danni, we were hoping you’d stop by,” Winter said, quickly bringing Danni in for a hug. “Miami looks good on you.”

  “You know I couldn’t come to Chicago without stopping by,” she said, returning the hug. “It looks like you could use a hand. Do you need me to step in?” The store was filled with women, compliments of the semiannual sale that was currently going on. Winter and Autumn even had a few of their signature spring lingerie sets on sale and they were flying off the racks.

  “Hey, Danni,” Autumn said, giving her a quick hug before she got back to helping customers.

  “Help would be great.” Winter handed her several lingerie pieces to fold or put back on the rack. “Two floor associates called in sick today and we have the other two on the registers.”

  “Just like old times,” Danni said with a smile. She’d managed retail stores before but Bare Sophistication was the first store she’d ever managed in which the employees felt more like family than associates. The way that Winter and Autumn worked together to breathe life into such an amazing vision was something Danni couldn’t have been more proud to be a part of. Although the Miami location was only a year old, it was obvious that the same camaraderie would be brought to that store, as well. Especially with Aaliyah and Nicole stepping in for the boudoir studio.

  As she got to work, her mind drifted to Jaleen. I should probably tell him I’m at the boutique. While they had been on the plane, he’d mentioned that his meeting would only take a couple of hours. Judging by the chaos at Bare Sophistication, Danni felt like Winter and Autumn would need her help for a few more hours than that. She quickly sent him a text to let him know and he’d quickly texted back that he needed a little longer, as well.

  After four hours of nonstop work, Danni, Winter and Autumn escaped to the back office.

  “Okay, we only have about a twenty-minute break until we have to get back on the floor for the evening shift, so you better spill fast,” Winter said as she plopped down next to Autumn on the sofa.

  Danni squinted at Winter. “Exactly what am I spilling?” She took a seat in the chair adjacent to them.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. How in the world did you agree to go on a date with Jaleen?”

  “Summer told you?”

  “Actually,” Autumn said with a sly smile, “Jaleen called us an hour ago and asked if we’d occupy you a while longer before your date.”

  Danni’s mouth dropped open. “Please tell me you’re joking. He actually told you about the bet?”

  Autumn glanced at Winter before turning up one eyebrow at Danni. “And what bet might that be?”

  Crap, they didn’t know. Summer and the girls in Miami already knew, so, technically, it wasn’t a secret. However, making the bet in Miami where most of her friends were embarking on new journeys in their lives seemed a lot more innocent than news traveling around Chicago where everyone had known Jaleen and Danni for years as nothing more than friends.

  “We’ve only gone on one date so far,” Danni said as she fidgeted in her chair. “Long story short, Jaleen and I were playing cards and, if I lost, I had to go on five dates with him.”

  Winter laughed loudly. “That man has been trying to get you to agree to a date for years. I can’t believe you finally gave in all because you lost a game of cards.”

  “It was best two out of three, so I actually lost two games.” Instead of responding, they both regarded her with knowing looks.

  “What?” she asked, tired of being out of the loop.

  “You already know what,” Autumn said. “And now you two are headed to Barcelona for a short trip? We may not know how things have been since Jaleen moved to Miami, but the chemistry between you two has always been obvious.”

  Danni leaned back, unable to deny she’d agreed to the bet for that same reason. She’d be the first to say that a woman could accomplish any and everything with or without a man. Even so, she’d gone without the comfort of being thoroughly kissed...thoroughly made love to...for entirely too long. Jaleen was on a mission and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see where these fantasy dates were headed. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she forgot Winter and Autumn were in the room until they spoke again.

  “Yeah, she knows what’s in store,” Autumn replied, glancing at Winter.

  “I don’t know, Autumn.” Winter crossed her arms over her chest. “Danni may have noticed their chemistry, but Jaleen has had years to prepare.”

  She swallowed. Hard. If what they were saying was true, these next four dates wouldn’t go as smoothly as the first date. On their first date, Jaleen had probably been aiming to make her feel comfortable with the idea of them dating. Now that date one was out the way, there was no telling what he had planned next.

  Chapter 6

  Jaleen stared out the large floor-to-ceiling conference room window as he watched the moon slowly rise into place. He’d always known that he’d work in the family business. He loved the work that Walker Realty Partner did, however, over the past five years he no longer recognized the company as the one he’d once loved. The past two years had been far worse than the previous three.

  Jaleen didn’t think his family understood that he also had another business to run. He was a partner at R&W Advertising along with his friends Taheim Reed and Daman Barker. Both men had other businesses to attend to, as well. However, they’d taken over several of his larger clients when he’d needed to dedicate more time to Walker Realty Partner.

  Jaleen had been very close to his grandfather and he’d always envisioned taking over the company one day. Realistically, he knew that being the youngest of three brothers meant that his dream may never be a reality, but his brothers were content with their roles in the company and his grandfather had groomed Jaleen to take over one day.

  When he’d found out that his grandfather had lung canc
er, he’d been devastated. It was no secret that his grandfather had enjoyed smoking cigars. Whereas most people had a wine room, his grandfather had a cigar room, full of cigars from all over the world. Any time Jaleen went someplace, he brought him at least two cigars...one to smoke and one for his collection.

  His grandfather had always joked that if old age didn’t knock him off his rocker, smoking would. They only had six months with him before he passed. Jaleen had spent every day at the hospital leading up to his grandfather’s death. The last promise he’d made his grandfather was to make sure he always did what was best for Walker Realty Partner. His grandfather had dedicated his life to building the Walker brand and there was no way that Jaleen was going to see the company fail.

  “Jaleen, what’s the status of the South Beach project?”

  Jaleen cleared his throat before responding to his father. “We’re a little behind schedule, but I’m confident that my team can make the deadline.”

  “Good, because I’m sending an appraiser to South Beach in a few weeks.”

  Sending an appraiser in a few weeks is way too soon. “That’s too soon. Although things are running smoothly, I think it would be best if you wait until I give the okay before sending an appraiser.” Jaleen glanced at his brothers and uncle who were also present in the conference room, but neither man commented on his behalf. He really couldn’t blame them. Trying to reason with JW was like trying to outrun the wind. Exhausting and impossible.

  His father looked up from the documents he was reviewing. “If things are going as smoothly as you specified, then a few weeks is more than enough time.”

  Things weren’t going as well as Jaleen had hoped, so having an appraiser looming over him, calculating his every decision, was not what he needed. However, trying to get Jael Walker to understand that he had everything under control, despite a couple of major setbacks, would be a hard promise to sell. Jael Walker didn’t know the meaning of failure, nor did he know the meaning of setbacks. Growing up, Jaleen used to admire his father’s stern business attitude and the fact that everyone seemed to respect him in the real-estate industry. Little had he known at the time that although some may respect the man better known as JW, they’d feared him more than anything.

  “Just promise me you’ll give me a heads-up when the appraiser will be sent.” It would be a waste of breath to continue to argue about the same topic.

  “I’m not sure I like that tone in your voice,” Jael said. “Seems you’ve forgotten your place while you’ve been away.”

  Jaleen counted to ten in his head as he reminded himself why he put up with his father’s disrespect. Even now, Jaleen still had flashbacks about the meeting his family had had with his grandfather’s lawyer after he’d died. The meeting in which they’d learned JW was to run the company, not Jaleen as they’d all suspected.

  JW may be the current president of Walker Partner Realty, but Jaleen had no doubt in his mind that he would be a better leader than his father. Unfortunately he had to play his cards right before he set his sights on overthrowing JW from the throne he’d placed himself on.

  “JW, can we try to conclude this meeting in a civil manner?”

  JW disregarded his question and continued discussing business.

  Jaleen observed his father, wondering when their once good relationship had turned into a poor replica of itself. A quick glance at his brothers, Jeremiah and Joel, made him wonder if they felt the same way. Years of being bossed around by their father was evident in the stress lines on their faces. Being the youngest did award him a certain benefit of seeing what they each went through when dealing with the wrath of JW. He was able to prepare himself for what he knew was coming if things didn’t change with JW.

  “Jaleen, need I remind you that you turn thirty-five in less than six months?”

  “I’m well aware of my birthday.”

  JW clasped his hands in front of him. “Then you’re also well aware that this so-called lifestyle you’re living will cease soon.”

  Jaleen was already shaking his head. “Not until my birthday.”

  The look on JW’s face made Jaleen take pause. He’d seen the look on his father more times than he could count and he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what his father was about to say.

  “Jaleen, I’ve had enough of your disrespect. I won’t have you stand in the way of furthering our family’s business.”

  “I’m not standing in the way of anything. I understand what’s at stake, which is why I simply want to do my job without having one of your goons watching my every move. You know the type of work I’m capable of. I always deliver—and this South Beach project will be one of our best property flips yet.”

  The tension on Jael’s face seemed to ease a little. “For your sake, you better hope you’re right. There will be consequences if you’re wrong.”

  “And there it is, gentlemen,” Jaleen said, waving his hands around the room. “First threat of the night. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen hours ago.”

  Jaleen knew he was playing with fire. JW never liked to be baited, but after over seven hours of being in the room with his brothers, uncle and JW, he was beginning to lose his patience.

  “Don’t be such a pompous ass,” JW said with a spiteful smirk. “Maybe you should try acting your age for a change.”

  Jaleen flinched. “I’ll start acting my age when you start running this business like Grandfather used to.”

  JW’s smirk immediately dropped. Mentioning their grandfather had always been an emotional trigger for JW.

  “Let’s sunset this conversation and move on to the next order of business,” Jaleen’s uncle suggested.

  “No need,” Jaleen said as he rose from his seat. “I have other important business to tend to tonight, so I have to go. Jeremiah will fill me in on what I missed.”

  He left before anyone could say anything else, especially JW. He knew that coming to Chicago would be stressful but, as usual, Jaleen had underestimated the effect his father had on him. Maybe subconsciously he’d known that he’d feel emotionally and physically drained after meeting with his family, which was why he’d asked Danni to accompany him on the trip. He was excited to see her, but he had so much weighing on his heart that he wasn’t sure he’d be good company.

  Jaleen pulled out his phone and began calling a number he hadn’t dialed in a couple of weeks. On the third ring, the caller answered. “Hello? Jaleen, is this you?”

  “Yes, it’s me. Hi, Mom. How are you?”

  “So much better now that you called. Oh, wait,” she said a little more panicked. “Is everything okay with you? Are your brothers okay?”

  “Everyone is fine, Mom. I just called because...” His voice trailed off. “I honestly don’t know why I called. I just needed to hear your voice, I guess. I’m glad you finally have phone service.”

  “Me, too. We’ll be in Beijing for at least another couple weeks,” his mom said. “Then we head deep into a Thailand rain forest, so I probably won’t have service again.”

  When his mother—former history professor—had originally told him and his brothers that she was celebrating her retirement by backpacking around the world for two years with a group of historians, they’d thought she was joking. Now, a year into her two-year trek, she seemed more dedicated than ever.

  “That’s great, Mom. I’m glad you’re living your life. Somebody in this family should be.” He grew quiet then, wrapped up in his own thoughts.

  “Oh, sweetie, I think I know why you called. I’m guessing your father is being even more unreasonable than usual since your birthday is approaching in a few months.”

  Jaleen closed his eyes and sighed as he thought about the way his mother always knew exactly what was wrong without him even saying much. Jocelyne Walker may not win a Pulitzer for best mom of the year, but she’d put u
p with Jael Walker for over thirty years. She deserved an award for having to endure that man for as long as she did. It wasn’t until he became an adult that Jaleen realized that his mother had only been distant with her sons because she knew nurturing them would only make JW push them harder.

  “You guessed it,” he said.

  “And your brothers and uncle understand, but aren’t really supporting you when you try to stand up to your father.”

  “Exactly.” Jaleen hopped into his car, racing through the parking garage faster than he should. It always seemed that way when he was leaving the office. The Walker Realty Partner parking garage wasn’t someplace you left leisurely. With Jael Walker as an owner, you left as fast as you could.

  “Jaleen, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you have to stand up to your father at some point. You can’t let him rule your life like this.”

  “I know that, but you of all people understand how difficult that is.”

  “But, Jaleen, out of all three of my sons, you are the one who can reach your father. You are the one who always had the qualities and makings to be better at the real-estate business than he ever was, and for that reason alone, your father has always been slightly afraid of what you can accomplish.”

  What his mother was saying wasn’t news to him. He’d heard it before from Jeremiah. Her words should have motivated him to finally stand up to his father. Instead they only made him more frustrated.

  “JW’s been like this all his life. No matter what I say or do, he will still expect me to fall in line after my thirty-fifth birthday.”

  “Your father wasn’t always like this,” Jocelyne said. “There was a time in his life when he never would have traded his soul for the business.”

  “Then what happened?” Jaleen asked as he parked his car outside of Bare Sophistication. “I remember the stories you used to tell us about how great a man he was, but I’ve never seen that man.”

  “Rarely anybody does,” she said with a sigh. “But I think that man may still be buried deep inside there. In the meantime, why don’t you try and do something that can take your mind off of your father and the business. Maybe even think to take a vacation.”