Forever Love (Arabesque)

by Norfleet, Celeste O.

  “He could have, should have, done more in three and a half years.”

  “Not with an obstructive city council headed by your friend.”

  “What friend?”

  Donna chuckled as she approached. “Seriously, listen to you two. You argue like me and my ex did years ago.”

  Gia and Keith turned around to see Donna standing there smiling. “Sorry about that, Donna,” Gia said.

  “I apologize,” Keith added.

  “No, don’t apologize. I enjoyed it,” she said, turning her full attention to Keith and even blocking Gia with her shoulder. “You’re both very passionate about your beliefs. So am I. It’s a good thing to be passionate. You don’t see enough of it these days. Hi, my name is Donna Mathers.”

  “Hello, Donna, it’s a pleasure meeting you. I’m Keith Washington. And please disregard my conversation with Ms. Duncan. We disagree on particulars, but fully agree on purpose.”

  “You’re an attorney, right?”

  “Yes, with the Washington and Associates Law Firm.” He handed her a business card.

  “Nice, thanks, I might just give you a call one evening.”

  “Our firm is always available to assist.”

  “I’m sure you are,” she said seductively, “firm, that is.”

  “Ladies, if you’ll excuse me,” Keith said, nodding politely, “I believe we’re about to begin.”

  Gia stared at Donna with her mouth slightly open. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that. Apparently being blatantly obvious wasn’t just for her outfit. The bold leopard-print dress should have been cougar.

  “Better take notes, Gia. That’s how you get what you want.” As Keith walked away, Donna watched and sighed admiringly. “Damn, that is one fine brother. I would not mind doing him day in and day out all night long and then some.”

  Gia turned to follow Donna’s gaze. Sure, it was crude and a bit over-the-top, but Gia had to admit she had the exactly same sentiments. Keith was everything any women could want in a man. No wonder he had every woman in here taking a second and third look at him. He was successful, intelligent, built and too sexy. And on top of all that, he had the swagger and confidence to know it.

  “Come on, let’s get a good seat right up front,” Donna prompted. “I want to see everything.”

  “Sure, sounds good,” Gia said, but she was really hoping to sit in the back and as far away from Keith as possible. After the dream she’d had last night, all she could think about was exactly what Donna had suggested.

  Still, one full day of seeing Keith and ignoring the way he was making her body burn was getting to be too much. Whether he knew it or not, he was driving her crazy. At one point, while giving a brief presentation, he glanced in her direction. The look he gave her took her breath away. She nearly climaxed right then and there.

  And perhaps it was just her imagination, but he seemed to be staring at her from the head table the entire time. At one point it had gotten so obvious that Donna, sitting next to her, leaned over. “Is it me or is Keith Washington staring directly at you? How well do you know him?”

  She, of course, quickly disavowed any knowledge other than their very brief encounter at the community center.

  Donna’s expression showed she was skeptical. “You sure you want to stick with that story?”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “Uh-huh, okay, if you say so,” Donna said, smiling curiously. Moments later the program took a break. Everyone stood and walked around. Donna was the first to make a beeline straight to Keith. Gia went in the opposite direction. She grabbed a glass of water in the back of the room, then turned. Keith was directly across from her with Donna and two other women in his face.

  “Gia.”

  She turned, hearing her name, to see a wide politician’s smile. Lester Jameson walked up to her, blocking her view of Keith and his fan club. “Councilman Jameson, how are you, sir?” she said.

  “Councilman, sir, what is this? Please, call me Lester.”

  “Yes, of course, Lester, how are you?”

  “Good, good,” he said, speaking entirely too loud. Those close by quickly looked over, taking notice as intended. “It’s good to see you. How’s my favorite community organizer?”

  “I’m fine, thank you.”

  “And when’s my endorsement coming?”

  “Your endorsement?” she asked.

  “Where’s Bill? He usually attends these functions.”

  “He was unable to attend. I’m sorry, you mentioned an endorsement....”

  “Yes, time is getting short and having OCC’s rubber stamp would seal it for me,” he said, looking around in earnest. “Ah, here he is now—someone you should see.”

  Gia turned and stopped cold.

  “Hello, Gianna,” Lawrence said.

  “Hello, Granddad,” she said.

  “Now, isn’t this nice?” Lester gushed, seeing grandfather and granddaughter staring at each other wordlessly.

  * * *

  Keith openly bristled as his attention was focused across the room at the two people standing and speaking way too close together. It was Gia and Jameson, and it took everything he had not to storm over and end their conversation. But the last thing he wanted to do was to openly show what had been churning inside him the past few days. Gia had been on his mind too much. Earlier he had been in a meeting and found himself totally distracted and needing to completely refocus. He even went as far as to ask a client to repeat what he’d just said.

  Now he was standing here listening to these two women trying to outmaneuver each other for his attention. Neither had any hopes of getting it. Ordinarily he’d be flattered, but right now he was just annoyed. But he nodded and smiled when appropriate, giving nothing away. This was part of his job as his father’s front man. No one knew that this was the last place he wanted to be.

  Then he saw his chance. Lawrence Duncan came over and moments later Gia walked away and headed out into the corridor. Keith excused himself and followed. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw her standing at the window looking out. He walked up and stood beside her. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she responded without turning to him. They stood a few feet apart, and from a distance it would appear they were not even communicating.

  “Are you okay? You look a little stressed.”

  She smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I just didn’t expect to see my grandfather here.”

  Keith nodded. “Lawrence comes each year. I’m surprised Bill didn’t tell you.”

  “Yes, so am I.”

  “Are you enjoying the conference?” he asked, looking ahead.

  “Yes, it’s very informative. I’m learning a lot about how this business works.”

  “That’s very true. Running a city, a state and a nation is a business. And every business needs a responsive leader.”

  “I understand the mayor will be in attendance this afternoon.”

  “Yes, he’s on his way. Are you sure you’re up to meeting him?”

  “Translation,” she began slyly, “will I be asking the mayor pertinent questions like the other day?” She turned to him. “I didn’t come here to confront anyone. I came to learn. And to be perfectly clear, what happened at the community center was the truth. Your father owes this city more than the last three years. We deserve better,” she said.

  “The city does deserve better. In fact, they deserve the best and they have it with the current mayor. His record stands for itself on creating, implementing and promoting working education and housing programs. The mayor has had to fight the city council every step of the way. Despite mudslinging politicians, bogus lies and false accusations of fraud and corruption, he’s succeeded and that’s the truth.”

  “Whose truth, your campaign-manufactured truth? That’s
nowhere near axiomatic,” she said heatedly.

  “Axiomatic, for real, you actually talk like that?” he joked.

  “What, are we trading childish insults now?” she asked.

  “No, of course not. Look, I just came over to clear the air. We obviously got off on the wrong foot and I’d like to rectify that and hopefully get a better understanding of what you do. Perhaps we can open a more conducive, less antagonistic dialogue between OCC and the mayor’s office.”

  Gia felt the patronizing sting of his words. “Mr. Washington, OCC is neither hostile nor antagonistic. We merely have justifiable grievances that need to be heard, including a comprehensive jobs program.”

  “Admittedly, a jobs program is more challenging to commit to, but the mayor does have a number of very viable programs on the table. And I think—”

  “On the table,” she snapped quietly. “You don’t get it, do you? People need jobs now, right now. They don’t need a handout. They need food on the table, not proposals.”

  “Then tell that to the city council and your benefactor, Lester Jameson, as he spews his paranoid propaganda and blocks every program the mayor’s office proposes,” he snapped back.

  She opened her mouth and then closed it. Her temper flared. “Lester Jameson is not and never has been our benefactor. For your information, this organization is not and never has been politically affiliated. The OCC isn’t bipartisan, we are nonpartisan. We stand behind no one candidate or party. We stand with and for the people.”

  “When you openly stand against one, you automatically stand with the other.”

  “That’s ridiculous. We believe in fairness in politics, and when you stand up to one, it makes that one stronger.”

  He chuckled. “Excuse my impertinence, but exactly how long have you been in this business? You need to grow up, wildflower.”

  “What? Did you just call me a wildflower? Look, Washington,” she lashed out at him. “You can skip the charm and cutesy name-calling. No matter how much you want to, you can’t control this election by systematically excluding half the city. And if you’re implying that we’re on Councilman Jameson payroll, then—”

  “I’m an attorney. I don’t imply. I state facts,”

  Keith said.

  “Then your facts are wrong and you need to—”

  “So this is where you got to. Good afternoon.”

  Gia stopped speaking instantly, noticing Blake Washington in close distance. “Mr. Mayor, good afternoon.”

  “How are you? Thank you for coming today. We appreciate you taking the time for this conference.”

  “It’s my pleasure. My name is Gia Duncan,”

  she said.

  “Of course, Gia, it’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard some good things about you.”

  “Oh,” she said, looking at Keith.

  “How’s your grandmother doing?”

  “She’s doing much better. Thank you for asking.”

  “Marian and I were truly saddened to hear that she was still in the nursing home. Please convey our most sincere wishes for her full recovery.”

  “Yes, I will. Thank you.”

  “Now, I see you two are in bit of a heated discussion, so I’ll leave you to enjoy your conversation,” Blake said as he reached out his hand to shake.

  Gia took his hand and was immediately drawn in for a warm hug. She went willingly, instantly feeling the warmth and friendship of Blake’s words. “Thank you, sir, it was good meeting you.”

  Blake nodded to Keith, then walked off and was quickly engulfed by a number of local business leaders. She turned back to Keith. “He seems like a really nice guy.”

  “He is, but what did you expect, open hostility?”

  “No, I get enough of that from you,” she said jokingly. He smiled. “I guess we have got to stop doing that,” she said. “I’m sorry about that, this is not the time or the place. Truce?”

  He nodded. “I’m sorry, too. Agreed, truce.”

  “I guess we’re just direct opposites, like fire and ice.”

  “You know what they say, opposites attract,”

  he said.

  “True, but I think we’re more like magnetic forces repelling as soon as we get too close.”

  “We both know that’s not true, don’t we?”

  She blushed instantly. “Keith, about what happened...”

  “Nothing happened. You were in need of comfort, and I was there. That’s all,” he reminded her, then realized he’d been standing too close and the people around them were beginning to notice. “We’d better get back inside,” he said.

  “Yeah, you go in first. It’ll look less questionable.”

  He nodded and took a step, then turned back to her. “We’ll talk later. It was good seeing you again,” he said.

  But later never came.

  Chapter 8

  Thursday morning, Gia woke up much later than she’d expected. She was surprised that she’d been sleeping so well, since for weeks she hadn’t been sleeping much at all. Her nights were usually fitful and restless. Most nights she just stayed awake and stared out into the night or worked until daybreak, making herself cranky and edgy the next day. But the last few nights were different. She woke up feeling refreshed and energized and charged into her day full-force.

  She exercised, showered, dressed and then decided to work from home for a few hours before visiting her grandmother and then going into the office. She called in to let Bonnie know that she’d be out the entire morning. Then she grabbed a cup of tea and sat down at her desk and began to outline a workable agenda and some basic initiatives for her first meeting with the mayor.

  Although she hadn’t heard anything from Keith and the mayor’s assistant hadn’t called to set up an appointment, she trusted that he was a man of his word. They had a truce and she intended to honor it.

  Of course, thinking about a meeting with the mayor immediately made her think about seeing Keith. And that reminded her of the dreams she’d been having recently. She didn’t exactly remember them in detail, but she knew they were on the amorous side and had everything to do with him. She wondered what Freud would say. Probably that she was subconsciously living out some erotic fantasy and that he simply represented a much-needed physical release.

  Curiously, in the guise of doing more research, she looked Keith up online again. She read through a few screens and then clicked to the images profile at the top of the page. Dozens of photos appeared. She enlarged one for a better look. The notation at the bottom stated that he was attending a political event with his family. It was a candid shot with him and his brothers. They were all handsome and smiling.

  Then the next photo was at the same event, but this time he was standing with a woman. She was looking up at him as if he ruled the universe. The awestruck admiration in her eyes was amazing. She was completely mesmerized by him. Granted, he was gorgeous and he looked incredibly attractive in his tailor-made tuxedo, but that was all surface appearance.

  He didn’t fool her and she had no intention of playing his game and falling for his charismatic charm. Her work for OCC was too important, and too many people depended on her. Besides, she’d been through that before. Men with money and power were like little boys with toys. The more they had, the more they wanted and they didn’t care how they got them or who they hurt to get them.

  She thought about the conversations she’d had with him—at the community center, in her office, at the hospital and then at the conference. They were heated and passionate, but most of all they were troubling. It was obvious they didn’t completely agree on politics, and the fiery passion proved it. But it was clear that they had an ongoing connection that was getting more and more difficult to ignore.

  She wasn’t sure what this thing going on between them was, but she was sure
it was escalating. There was a spark in his eyes that she connected to. Admittedly, she liked their sparring and enjoyed their times together even when they disagreed. But it was the spark that got her. She clicked back at the photo of the woman staring up at him. There was no way she was going to be one of them—blindly staring and hoping in vain.

  She’d known women like that. In college they were only there to meet a husband, preferably someone rich or with enough prospects to be wealthy. In law school they were there to meet lawyers, judges and men with power. In most cases their current marital status didn’t really matter. And the men loved it. They were exactly the same—money and power. Her family’s money was a major draw. Over the years, plenty of men had tried to use her. Now she was perpetually leery. Trust was almost impossible.

  So of course she didn’t trust Keith or his motives. He wasn’t exactly the enemy or in need of money, but he was someone who might use any relationship to his advantage. She thought about the last time they’d talked. His deep masculine voice had sent a shiver through her body, and even now her stomach fluttered. He had gotten to her and she let him. “Focus,” she muttered, chastising herself sternly. “Stay focused.” She closed the screen and went back to writing.

  For the next hour and a half she researched and came up with what she thought and hoped would convince the mayor to focus his attention on unemployment. She also suggested ideas to encourage the mayor to take a more proactive role in developing a full comprehensive jobs program focusing on lower-income families. She knew it was imperative to have everything on point and in order. The last thing she wanted to do was blow this opportunity and appear to be unprepared and wasting the mayor’s time. There were a lot of people depending on her, and hopefully this was only the beginning.

  After she finished, she read everything over and was pleased that her writing was more focused and definitely a lot clearer. Satisfied with what she produced, she sent out inner-office copies to Bill and Bonnie to get feedback. As soon as she pressed the send button, her cell phone rang. It was the office. She answered, “Hello.”

  “Hey, Gia, it’s Bonnie. Are you coming in any time soon?”