by Love Belvin
Candice’s heavy eyes danced between mine, trying to find my angle. For the first time in my life, I realized I didn’t have one. My motives were sincere; I just wanted to make sure the damn girl didn’t get crushed out there.
Candice’s face expanded as her lips curved into a perceptive smile. “Who in the hell are you? Do I even know your name?” She made sure she had the audience of her pals.
I never flinched. In fact, I flashed my tried and true annoying smile to forewarn her of my relentless abilities to play on her level.
“My name is Elle and I work with your brother. I thought it would be nice to come out and introduce myself since I didn’t have the opportunity to earlier. It’s nice to meet you Candice…ripped and all.” My tone was even, but I made sure to slant my eyes.
“Oh, you work with my brother, huhn? Don’t you mean for my brother? Are you sure you’re not trying to come out here and kiss up to me to gain his favor?”
The other kids laughed.
She snorted and though the time was inappropriate, I couldn’t help but to observe the crest form of her brilliant golden eyes, a feature she shared with her brother. Her nose was long and rounded at the tip just like Jackson’s, but Candice had natural pouty lips unlike her brother’s thin and structurally lined ones.
“Candice, darling, if I wanted to kiss up to any man and would start with anything to gain their attention, Jackson wouldn’t be the man and you wouldn’t be what I’d kiss.” I enunciated the ‘s’ for sexual implication.
My sass garnered an Ooh from a couple of the girls. Candice didn’t like that.
“Fuck. Off,” she spewed venomously through gritted teeth.
With a slow blink for dramatic purposes, of course, I shot my daggers right back to her, silently pleading with her to lower her guards, but at the same time, heightening mine just in case the beautiful Candice wasn’t mature enough to pick up on my earnestness.
With my eyes still glued to her, I turned my face to the small crowd. “Trev…”
“Yes, ma’am.” A nervous pubescent voice returned to me. I didn’t know which one he was, I was just fucking with Candice.
“I’m entrusting you to take care of our girl. Apparently, I can’t expect the same from the ladies out here.”
“Uh…yes, ma’am,” was all he replied, I’m sure nervous and jarred by my company.
Candice’s jaw dropped. Her slit eyes showed me just how much she seethed because of my presence.
“No one asked for your help. Please leave.” I saw her nostrils flare and realized I’d pushed her to her limit.
I dropped my knowing smile and announced, “I have to get back to work. Take care, Candice.”
Once in the den, I noticed everyone was back in their respective places. Jackson stood alert with a questioning glare.
“My apologies. I found my way back to the buffet table. Blame my inner fat girl,” I jested.
Bridgette responded by saying it was no big deal, but Jackson’s countenance wasn’t as forgiving.
“Are we good?” I tried for coy with Jackson as I walked over to the window to see if I had a vantage point of Candice.
“Are we?” he countered.
“Yeah.” I shrugged.
Shit. First the eye game with the near-wasted little sister, and now I’m playing with the ever-brooding big brother.
“Okay.” I quipped. “Now let’s start with the Erika Erceg account.” I started my presentation without breaking as I walked over to the flip board he had in the office to pull it over closer to the window and started to outline my findings. The room was now filled with confused faces, but I worked through them and eventually provided a distraction with my content. I wanted to be able to peek out at Candice at a moment’s notice just in case she fell into the pool or had Trevor’s undeserving hands anywhere on her body.
Throughout my presentation, I noticed Jackson eyeing me suspiciously, and as much as I could understand why, I was not prepared to tell him that I was simply looking out for his little sister. Admitting that would lead to the question why, something I had no answer for.
For some reason, my saying because I used to be a people pleasing, slutty Jezebel and can clearly see the same traits in your baby sis out there wouldn’t do. Instead, I ignored his reaction to my obscure behavior; I’d had everyone else fooled and that was good enough for me. It had gotten me to the conclusion of my file.
“So, in a nutshell: Erika, now being married to Shirez, with high-end tastes and lavish gifting to her, has caused a rift between her and her following. She’s been considered a fashionista, but now that she doesn’t wear fashion that can be recreated by lower leveled designers, she has been placed out of orbit to her following. If she can agree to ink a deal with Mascho, aside from the line she has with her sister, together they can build a line of clothing that’s accessible to women who can only dream of affording the Prada, Celine and Balmain that her husband keeps her draped in.”
I peered out of the window to see Candice shuffling toward the house. She seemed out of it with her head buried in her hands and her hair now cascading over her face.
“So, yeah. Let’s discuss this,” I offered anxiously with a tight smile for the group. “But first, I need to make a trip to the little girl’s room.”
I started my amble to the door of the den, and could feel Jackson’s heated gaze upon me. I turned and caught it mere inches away from the threshold of the room, to which I offered a placid smile before walking out.
Once in the corridor leading to the back entrance of the house, I ran into Candice stumbling in. Fearing a suspicious Jackson would be on my heels, I quickly took her by the shoulders and asked her, “Where’s another bathroom.”
Not even giving a questioning glare, Candice kept her head low and slurred, “Upstairs.”
I walked side by side with her, but followed her lead upstairs and we stopped at a bathroom decorated in ivory from the walls to the floor, giving a warm glow in ambiance. I watched Candice’s face the mirror as I surveyed her condition. Her lips were dry, eyes were bloodshot red and I noticed she’d been crying.
“What did the fucker do?” I asked with a monotone.
“Nothing,” she choked out, trying to fight the tears.
“Listen to me, you don’t have to share with me, but know that you don’t have to get drunk just to prove something to him.” I was expecting Candice to remind me that I didn’t know her and in some condescending teen vernacular to mind my business. I was preparing my comeback.
“Oh, shit. I think I’m gonna be sick.” She moved toward the toilet and I shadowed her swift movements, gathering her hair in my hands so she wouldn’t get puke in her tresses. Candice went several rounds with upheavals before her frail body was granted a pardon.
“I think I’m done.” Her voice trembled with fatigue.
I waited a beat before going over to the shower and turning the water on. I kept eyeing Candice to assess her condition. I needed to know she’d be okay alone for a little while. I didn’t want to call any unnecessary attention of her brother or mom, if she was home.
“I hope this is your shower because if it isn’t that means I’m going to have to voyage through this house for your essentials and I’m not in the mood to play scavenger this evening.” I also didn’t want Jackson to find me snooping through his home.
“My bedroom is right across the hall.” No longer did Candice sound like the arrogant pain in the ass she posed as outside, in front of her cowardice friends. She was now a vulnerable teen, needing help.
“Hop in there wash off that grit. I have to run back downstairs to appease your brother and colleagues. I’ll be back in twenty minutes to check up on you.” I grabbed her cell from the vanity and began plugging in my number. “If you need me before I’m able to return with a few things to help circumvent the hell that’ll be arriving at your doorstep tomorrow, text or call.”
Candice’s eyes barely reached mine. She wasn’t just out of it, she was shamed
. I knew. I’d been there countless times. I wanted to comfort her, to wrap her in my arms and promise her the sun would shine tomorrow, but I didn’t know how to.
“Hurry!” I bit out before leaving the bathroom.
When I returned to the den, Jamie jeered, “Damn. Did you have the beans?”
Not skipping a beat, I replied, “That and the fact I’m lactose intolerant.” I lowered myself back to my seat. I couldn’t help but to steal a glance at Jackson, whose scowl couldn’t be missed.
It’s a shame that such a gorgeous creature frowns all the damn time.
“Okay. Now, where were we? I have bubble guts and don’t know when I’ll need to make a return appearance to the john,” I muttered in a huff.
“Well, we think you have a viable angle on Erika. She mentioned wanting to break from her sister and do her own line of fashion. If we can build some hype around working with Mascho—if he’s solid—we can possibly have her sign on.” Jackson spoke with measured words. I could tell he couldn’t separate his feelings of my bizarre behavior from that of my proposal, illuminating my fears of being on his team.
“I think that was excellent, Elle! I can’t wait for the sit down with everyone. This is so exciting!” Bridgette beamed.
Marie nodded in agreement.
“That’s if Mascho is solid.” That was Jackson’s tight ass, erring on the side of caution.
Jamie played on his Galaxy as he added, “Mascho owes me big. Oh, he’ll play nice, I’ll see to it.”
“And I can handle Ms. Erika. I’ve heard about her many insecurities. I have a language that appeals to women like her,” I assured Jackson. “I perceive our biggest challenge will be the concept of her parting with her tight-knit family. They may have their familial drama plastered on every household television, but are a pretty solid unit business-wise.”
Jackson stood there piercing into me and I couldn’t back down. Hell, no! Elle doesn’t back down from anybody. I heard small chatter around me from the group, but couldn’t forfeit this war I had committed to. I widened my eyes at him after playing the scowl game long enough. I saw his jaw clench.
“A word with you outside…?” Jackson demanded through gritted teeth.
Giving him the same annoying smile I’d given his sister earlier, I muttered, “Sure.”
I followed him down the hall and into the dimly lit living room where he slammed me into a dark corner, right off of the marble path of the corridor.
“I don’t know what in the hell you and Candice are up to, but whatever it is, it’s disrupted my meeting,” Jackson hissed centimeters from my face.
His roughness alarmed me, but not in a threatening way. While my mind felt I should be in flight mode, my body felt it familiar to my interactions with Jackson a few weeks ago. He’d had me pinned against a wall before, only this time my legs were not wrapped around his narrow waist. But I could smell his intoxicating fragrance and feel his warm minty breath blowing on my face.
His left arm was above me, holding his solid frame. Pings of pleasure radiated in my core as a response to his proximity. I hated it, every moment my body curved at his presence. I couldn’t let him know. I had to be in control. Always.
“I’m feeling threatened here,” I murmured with a soft cunning smile to façade my unraveling.
Jackson hiked his eyebrows and his jaw dropped in disbelief. After a beat, he brought it back in and muttered, “There’s no need. All I’m saying is that you don’t have to put up with my infuriating little sister to appease me. Whatever the fuck she has cooking up, I’ll take care of it.”
“I see arrogance runs in your blood. Your sister has inherited the gene as well.”
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I don’t need to appease you or her. Would it be so hard to believe that I’ve taken an instant liking to the young filly? I told you, I don’t need anything from you.”
“Filly?” He grimaced.
I knew that term would throw him.
“Filly. It’s how some Europeans refer to young girls.” I shook my head, suddenly remembering I had a sick Candice to check on. “Anyway, unless you have something important to say, there are people waiting on us.”
Jackson’s face was no longer rigid from anger. It was now ruminative with contemplation. His eyes roved my upper body, rapidly turning hooded. He was slipping into predatory mode. Jackson pushed his chest into my frame, expelling air from my lungs through my mouth and cupped my jaws with his hands. His mouth dropped to mine. He was close. Extremely close to the point of our noses meeting. That instantly, I wanted Jackson. That desire of wanting his lips all over me had arrived again. I could have gone for it, could have moved half an inch and fell into his mouth. But I didn’t. Instead, I widened my lips into a smile.
“Jackson, I don’t know what type of game you’re playing here,” I whispered into his handsome face. “…but I so happen to know you don’t kiss women.”
The thought came in a rush, it was hardly premeditated. I would have loved nothing more than to taste him, to have felt the movement of his tongue against mine. I’d only heard the rumor once from Marie, but it never left my mind because he had, in fact, kissed me that night. I recalled how skilled he was and to this very moment, couldn’t understand how someone could be so great at it and be known not to do it.
“Maybe I do.” Jackson’s eyes slanted as his lips twitched into a smile, and my belly quivered. “I’ve kissed you.”
“Yeah, that part I haven’t been able to quite work out yet,” I quipped, fighting hard as hell to keep my breathing under control.
“Neither have I.”
He dropped his arms to his sides, releasing me from the wall. I watched as Jackson brooded over our exchange. Deep down inside I questioned why this young man was so intense. Why didn’t he possess the carefree, fuck-the-world attitude his contemporaries did. Even if I were that bold I couldn’t ask him. I had a wasted teen upstairs I needed to check in on.
Regrettably, I headed toward the stairs. “I’ll be back in five.”
“We are in the middle of a meeting, Elle. I’m sure Candice can wait.” He stood at the foot of the stairs and watched me hop up the steps. While he was still playing the boss, his tone was tempered.
“Yeah, about Dale. I haven’t wrapped my brain around that yet.”
“Around what?” Jackson asked, causing me to stop near the top of the steps.
“I haven’t been able to understand why a man would have such an affinity to older women. I don’t get the psyche.”
“Perhaps you should ask him. I can arrange for a meeting.” Although I was sure it could be arranged, I knew Jackson was being coy.
“Perhaps I should.” I peered down to him.
“I’ll dismiss the meeting. Please understand that your behavior this evening was inappropriate and cannot happen again. I don’t care if she is my sister. This is work that just so happens to be at my home.”
I could have easily jab him with a rebuttal, but he was right and any other employer would have had a harsher correction. I nodded and watched him amble back into the den. Sexily.
Fuck!
As I approached the bathroom I noticed the door was open, so Candice must have finished her shower. I walked over to her bedroom and knocked. Through muffled cries, she said to come in.
When I opened the door, I was taken by the energy of the room that was various hues of purple from the violet carpet to the lavender walls. The ivory crown molding was striking as were the vibrant artworks spread throughout the room. It was a setting fit for a princess, even if the princess was a troubled pain in the ass.
Candice sat at the edge of the bed with her back to the door. She peered over her shoulder and I could see how the whites in her brilliant hazels had reddened even more. I hated these moments, they were paralyzing. All too familiar.
I closed the door behind me as I padded over to her.
“We can either talk about it or I can just m
ake sure you’re not going to die of alcohol poisoning and give you some room.”
She sniffled as she tried to calm her breathing to speak. Candice looked all of a seven year-old. I couldn’t help myself. I sat down next to her slowly and…patted her shoulder cordially.
Ewwwww! Am I really embracing someone?
We sat there for a few seconds. Candice, I was sure, was trying to make sense of her actions; and me, reminiscing over my past transgressions and unfolding weak justifications for similar reckless behaviors. You don’t know what regret truly feels like unless you’ve sat in its arena for at least half your life.
There was a knock at the door. Candice didn’t move and I didn’t know what to do; it wasn’t my privacy, bedroom or home to react. The door clicked open and Jackson craned his neck in with an impassive expression. I’m sure the last thing his curious mind expected to find his pesky little sister and me doing was being peaceable.
He cleared his voice before saying, “Marie is downstairs offering you a ride into the City. What should I tell her?”
“Tell her I’ll catch a cab to the subway,” I murmured. She was supposed to be headed to Brooklyn anyway. I didn’t want to alter her plans.
I noticed his face relaxed before nodding, turning away and closing the door.
Candice and I sat in that same position for nearly an hour, she cried during most of that period. When I thought she was done, I had her get into the bed. Her spirit was broken; she didn’t have to say for me to know, and I didn’t have to see whatever sent her into this downward spiral in order to appreciate it. I preferred the silence; it kept the bandages on my own aching wounds.
When I reached for the door, Candice called out, “Please don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone.”
Her words caused a sharp pain to zap through me. I couldn’t stay, but couldn’t say no. This was a very difficult situation for me. I was in a strange place with a girl I hadn’t met until a few short hours ago, and although I felt a strange pull to her, I also had an awkward relationship with her brother.
