by Tina Martin
When he loosened his grip on her, he looked at her lips and briefly flirted with the idea of kissing them but instead said, “I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay.” She looked away from him, trying to figure out why being in his arms had her floating. She actually felt dizzy. Again. Dizzy like when he kissed her at the bakery.
“You okay?”
“Ye-yeah,” she said. Then after a few blinks, “I-I’m…I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Regal walked to the door and exited her office. The moment he did so, Felicity released a sigh of relief.
“He’s a client,” she said softly. But why was he starting to feel like so much more?
Chapter 13
Back at work, Regal found it difficult to concentrate. He wanted to have a more thorough conversation with Felicity because the desire he had for her had turned into concern. Something wasn’t right with her. He just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“How was your lunch date?” Royal asked, stepping into Regal’s office and making himself comfortable on the fancy sofa. Regal’s office was decked out like Ramsey’s. Wet bar. Sofa set. Coffee table. The whole shebang.
“What? Y’all having meetings about my whereabouts?” Regal teased.
“Nah. I was looking for you earlier and Ramsey told me you were out.”
“Yeah, I was out…had a meeting with Felicity. She’s found some matches for me.”
“Nice. You like any of ‘em?”
“Not really.”
Royal chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re going through with it.”
“It’s the only way I can get close to Felicity, so—”
“I’m sure it’s not the only way. We see Felicity all the time.”
“At various functions, yes, but never long enough for me to spend any considerable amount of time with her. Now that I’m her client, I get to see her whenever I request a meeting.”
“Poor Felicity.” Royal chuckled.
“How about poor me? She has no clue I’m feeling her. If she does, she’s doing a phenomenal job of hiding it. Anyway, why were you looking for me? What’s going on, trouble?”
“Here’s the deal. The lawyers are going back and forth with Christopher Powers about the land. He ain’t budging. I’ve already informed Rom. I haven’t said anything to Ramsey yet for obvious reasons.”
“Yeah…he’d blow a fuse.”
“Exactly. Romulus told me about the work-around he presented to you.”
“And I told him Ramsey wouldn’t go for it.”
“He would at least seriously consider it if we—you, me and Rom—show a united front on this,” Royal said.
“Ramsey could give a crap about a united front. Majority doesn’t rule with him. You know that.”
“He may have no other choice this time,” Royal said. “By the way, where are you on the design?”
“Which one?”
“The one Romulus talked to you about. The six-level project.”
“I’ma be honest—I haven’t been spending a lot of time on it, so it’s nowhere near completion. I’ve been working on it in my spare time and that’s few and far in between.”
“Then just keep at it for now.”
“Yep. I’ll do what I can. Ay, we need to get together soon and I’m talking steaks on the grill and forties.”
“That sounds cool. Maybe Gemma and I can host.”
“Yeah, y’all do that. I’ll be waiting.”
Chapter 14
With her hair covered in one of her comfortable scarves, Felicity was in the midst of a long-awaited Netflix-and-chill-alone days. There was nothing else to do on a rainy Saturday and she loved taking full advantage of carefree, laid-back, relaxing days like this.
Since Regal had told her about all the times he observed Donald in the parking lot at her building, she’d been avoiding Donald’s calls and researching other private detectives so she could already have one lined up when she finally decided to give Donald the boot. Still, he persisted on calling, leaving message after message. In three days, he’d called her nine times. He was starting to become a nuisance.
She twisted the cap off of an exotic berry wine cooler and took a swig when her phone beeped. She glanced at the display and saw a text message from Donald’s cell phone number:
704-555-0077: It’s Donald McConnell. I’ve been trying to reach you for the last few days. I made contact with the adoptive family and they…well just call me back
Felicity decided to end it then and there. Here he was again with information he could’ve given her in this particular text message but he wanted her to call him back. She was beginning to doubt anything the man had to say. Seemed all he wanted to do was stare at her face and lure her to restaurants with small nuggets of information. She hit reply and messaged him back with:
Felicity: I no longer need your services. Thank you for what you’ve done so far. I will take it from here
A few seconds later, he responded back:
704-555-0077: What?!
704-555-0077: I’ve put a lot of hours into this...
Felicity: And I paid you upfront. I no longer need your services Mr. McConnell. You can keep the money. Thanks for your help.
She tossed her phone to the coffee table and said, “Good riddance.” Grabbing the remote, she adjusted the volume on the TV to a higher setting then listened as her phone rang. Every atom in her body froze. What on earth was wrong with this guy?
She picked up the phone, pressed the green call-answer button and lit into him, “I said I’m done now stop calling me!” she snapped when she answered the phone.
“Whoa…what did I do?” Regal asked.
Felicity looked at her phone. This wasn’t creepy Donald. This was, “Regal?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Why are you cussing me out?”
“I wasn’t cursing you out. I—I—”
“Nah, don’t get to stuttering now. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” she said laughing it off. “I thought you were someone else. How can I help you?”
“I don’t know. I’m scared to say anything now... might get attacked.”
“Oh, hush. Why are you calling me on a Saturday? I don’t work on weekends.”
“I’m aware of that, but I need to speak with you in person and I was wondering if I could do that at some point this evening.”
“No.”
“Come on, girl. You know you ain’t doing nothing, anyway.”
“How do you know what I’m doing?”
“Well, it’s Saturday. You don’t work on weekends. You don’t have a man, and you’re not with Gianna or Gemma. So what are you doing?”
“Minding my own business. Goodbye Regal.”
“Wait—don’t hang up. Hear me out.”
Felicity grabbed the remote and paused the movie. “Talk fast. You’re interrupting my movie.”
“Movie? See, I knew you weren’t doing anything.”
“I was watching a movie, relaxing on the sofa and drinking a wine cooler.”
“You got some heels on, don’t you, even while you’re laying on the couch? Umph, umph, umph…”
“Okay, I’m hanging up.”
Regal chuckled. “I’m kidding.”
“What do you want, Regal?”
“I need to discuss this date.”
“No, you don’t. You just want to bother me. You’re way too smart to not know how this works. Why do you want me to hold your hand through this process?”
“Two reasons. One, your hands are so soft and two, you’re the certified matchmaker. If you walk me through this, chances are we’ll get this right the first time. I only want to get married once, Felicity, and I’m not a believer in divorce. So what do you say? Can you help a brother out?”
“My goodness...okay. Fine. You can stop by around 6:30, and don’t think about staying long. Get your lil’ questions together and be ready. I’ll text you my address.”
“No need. I know where you live.”
; “Should’ve known. Alright. I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, ma’am. Now, you can get back to your movie.”
“And you can get back to doing whatever it is you do on a Saturday.”
“Will do. I’ll see you later.”
* * *
Regal pulled up at Felicity’s apartment building around six, heading to her door when he saw her holding two brown grocery bags while talking to a guy. As he got closer, he found out they weren’t exactly talking. More like arguing. The baseball-cap-wearing man looked like Felicity’s parking lot stalker.
Regal didn’t care who it was. There was a certain way a man was supposed to talk to a lady, and this wasn’t it. He quickly approached, intentionally stepped between the two and asked, “Is everything okay here?”
“I don’t know who you are, Sir, but this is none of your concern,” Donald said, irate.
“I don’t know who you are,” Regal said taking an intimidating step forward, “But Felicity is a good friend of mine and she looks upset right now. Felicity is this man bothering you?”
“He is. I don’t know how he obtained my address, but I told him I didn’t need his services any longer and he went nuts.”
“Is that so?” Regal asked, his nostrils flared. “I suggest you get out of here old man and don’t come back. Next time, I won’t be so nice about it.”
“Whatever man,” Donald said. He looked at Felicity and shouted, “Have fun looking for your bastard baby all by yourself!” Then he continued walking to his car.
Talking about adding insult to injury – Felicity was mortified. Not only did the private investigator turn on her but he also revealed something she’d been hiding in front of Regal – that she had a child she was searching for. There was no way Regal missed what the man had said.
Regal looked at Felicity and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I was just about to pepper spray him before you showed up.”
“Is that so?” he asked, taking the grocery bags from her arms so she could unlock the door.
“Yes, that’s so.” She stepped inside and Regal followed. “When you told me you saw him in the parking lot at my job, I knew then that something was off with that guy. Honestly, I kinda had a hunch, but that confirmed it for me,” she confessed.
Regal placed the bags on the counter.
“And you’re early.”
He glanced at his Rolex. “I’m not early. I said I’d be here around 6:30. It’s 6:17. Besides, I’m glad I did show up early to get that clown out of your face.”
“Either way he would have gotten dealt with.”
“I’m sure he would have,” Regal said. He wanted to probe further into who the man was and what the baby comment was all about. Hoping that conversation would happen naturally, he went right back into Regal-mode when he said, “I’ve never seen you in a head wrap,” he said.
“Don’t pick on my scarf. This is a relaxed version of me. I wasn’t planning on leaving the house at all today. It’s all wet out there, but I wanted to cook something to eat rather than order takeout, so—”
Felicity took the wine bottle from the bag along with a bag of frozen veggies, shrimp chicken strips and brown rice.
“The scarf looks nice. I like the relaxed, old lady version of you. And you’re about to cook, too. I’m wit’ it.”
Felicity shot him a side eye. “You said you had some questions for me.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said watching her work. She washed her hands and placed a skillet on the stove. She had on a pair of gray sweatpants, the thin, clingy kind that molded to the shape of her butt. The gray tank top she had on showed off just enough cleavage to tease him. She looked super relaxed – as relaxed and laid-back as he’d ever seen her – but he could sense that the altercation with orange-face-dude left her rattled.
“My first question is, can you really cook?”
“Work-related questions, Regal,” she clarified.
“Will it kill you to answer me?”
She put the veggies in the pan and looked at him. He was just as handsome, if not more, in casual clothes as he was in his designer suits. And his fast-growing beard looked thicker than when she saw him just a few days ago.
“Yes, I can cook,” she decided to tell him. “A little. Now, what are your questions about Danella?”
“We can tackle those over dinner and wine,” he suggested.
Felicity smirked. “This isn’t for you, Regal.”
“Then who is it for because I didn’t realize there was a Mr. WB in the picture.”
“There isn’t. I’m cooking dinner for myself.”
“Correction—you’re cooking dinner for us. I’m your guest, I’m hungry and you didn’t offer me a glass of water or anything.”
The corner of her mouth quirked up. “You know, I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t have any questions. You just want to bug me.”
“I do have questions, but you got me all thrown off base with this kitchen smelling like this.” And you looking like that…
“Would you like a glass of water?”
“Yes, I would, please, and a glass of wine.”
She locked eyes with him.
He smiled.
She held a gasp in at the beauty of it.
“I’m sure your taste in wine is a lot more mature than this stuff I bought from the grocery store.”
“I’m not picky.”
“Liar.”
He smiled small. “I’m not.”
“Okay,” she said placing a glass on the table.
Regal saw her hand shaking when she poured the wine and he knew it wasn’t because she was nervous about him being there, which meant she was still shaken up about the guy’s surprise visit to her place. She tried to downplay it, but her body language was giving her away.
He didn’t like how she internalized those emotions. As it was, she was very careful not to disclose too much information about herself. Why did she feel the need to be so secretive?
He took a sip of wine, thinking it was pretty good to be of the cheap variety then said, “I was curious if you had any further information about Danella.”
Felicity cooked the chicken strips in a separate pan. “I gave you all the information I had.”
“Then, how do I get more?”
“You’ll find out more about her when you go on the date.”
“That’s the thing—the information I need about her are things that would determine if I really want to go on a date.”
“And what information would that be?”
“I want to know if she has a good relationship with her parents and if her parents are still together.”
Felicity tossed in shrimp with the chicken then looked back at him. “Let me make sure I’m understanding—if her parents aren’t still together or if she doesn’t have a good relationship with them, that’s a deal-breaker for you?”
“It is.”
“Well, I can only imagine what you must think of me then,” she said. She’d already told him that her parents were divorced and she hadn’t spoken to them in years.
“I’m not judging you. Family is important to me and I want the woman who I’m bringing into the St. Claire family to have a good, solid foundation.”
“That’s understandable,” Felicity said and suddenly she felt bad about the situation between her and her own parents. She could have done more to settle the rift between them but she had her own problems to contend with.
“If I recall, Danella alluded to something about her parents being a good example for her. I’ll have to go back and look at her profile. But sure, I’ll let her know I have some additional questions.”
“That would be perfect,” he said. Perfect because it gave him more time to stall. He was staring at the woman he wanted. Danella or nobody else came close in comparison.
Felicity emptied the chicken and shrimp into the pan with the broccoli and sprinkled in some salt and pepper with a dash of lemon juice. Then she mad
e the instant brown rice in the microwave.
“Were you serious about wanting a plate?” she asked him.
“I was.”
“Okay, but keep in mind that this is a rushed meal especially since it was just supposed to have been me.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
“And you better not pick on me if the shrimp taste like rubber balls.”
He laughed. “Now, you’re telling on yourself. How do you know what rubber balls taste like?”
“I don’t,” she said, tickled. “It’s what I imagine overcooked shrimp tastes like. I have a tendency to overcook shrimp.”
“I can’t cook it at all, so I’ll take it however I can get it—rubber or otherwise.”
When she was finished with the stir-fry, she prepared plates and placed one on the table in front of him. She sat down across from him at the small table and frowned when he reached for her hands.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m about to pray over our food. Give me your hands.”
She placed her slightly trembling hands on top of his and closed her eyes.
Regal closed his hands to hold hers steady. Her eyes were closed. Head bowed.
When he finished praying, she said, “Amen,” and opened her eyes to meet his that were already open.
He smiled.
She inwardly gasped again. Smiled, too. It was a kind gesture for him to say a quick prayer before they ate. She appreciated it.
“Do you think you can give me my hands back?”
“Sure,” he told her, but at the same time, he squeezed her hands tight, then slowly decreased the pressure until she was able to fully pull them away from his grasp.
He tasted the food. “This is good.”
Felicity acknowledged his praise with a half smile as she searched through the meat and veggies for shrimp.
“I like your apartment. It’s very cozy.”
“Thanks.”
“Welcome,” he said taking a sip of wine. The food was bangin’ but the conversation was too stiff for his taste. He glanced up at her. He had to keep the conversation going. “How is your business doing?” he asked.
