I crossed my arms. “What do you want me to explain?”
“Is it true?” he asked, looking me directly in the eye. Jason looked so much like my father that it almost felt like I was speaking to him as well. And I pretty much was, since whatever I told Jason, I knew would get back to my father. The two were that tight; they told each other just about everything.
“Yes.”
His head fell as if he’d been hoping the article was somehow made up, police records falsified and the pictures of my bruised face and body somehow altered or Photoshopped. No. That part of the article was true. So, I decided to focus on what wasn’t true.
“But I’d never let my history impact how I handled a case. Everything revealed about Jacob Wyatt was true, both he and Michele admitted. He owned up to putting his hands on his wife. I was not some bitter attorney seeking revenge against all men.” I needed to make that clear. My brother looked up at me as if I had two heads.
“Nel, I know that,” he responded, using the nickname he used to call me when we were children. “You don’t have to convince me of your professionalism. I always knew you’d make a great attorney.”
That shocked the hell out of me.
“You did?”
“Hell yeah, it’s in your blood.” He cracked a smile. “I remember watching as you used to debate with Ma why you shouldn’t be made to do some chore around the house, or learning to cook instead of joining the debate club.” We both grinned. “But I will say, you shouldn’t be going to clients’ homes and giving out your private cell number to try and rescue them in the dead of night. That wasn’t professional. Not to mention, dangerous as hell.”
I sighed loudly. Jason and I had never spoken about that night at Anne Marie’s. “I know. That was my fault and trust me, my bosses came down hard on me for that after what happened to Anne Marie.”
“As they should’ve. That’s not only a liability waiting to happen; you could’ve gotten killed!”
“I know, all right? It won’t happen again.” Why did I feel like a scolded school child? How had this conversation shifted?
It got quiet. Awkwardly so. I knew Jason’s mind had gone back to that article. He wanted me to reveal more about Ethan and what happened between him and me, but I wasn’t ready to go there. So, I did what I normally do when shit gets too deep. I decided it was time to make my exit.
“Jay, I’ll give Tori a call later this week to come over for dinner or something, all right?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You know this discussion is far from over, right? I mean, I haven’t even brought up Xavier yet, who I’ve barely seen in three weeks since all this happened.”
Again. He just had to mention Xavier. That familiar ache in my chest began whenever I pictured those coffee colored eyes.
“I’m not even going there. I have to get to work.”
“And that’s another discussion we need to have. When are you coming to work for Combs and Combs?”
I sighed. “Are you serious? How can I come and work for Combs and Combs after everything that’s happened in the last few weeks?”
“Why not? Robert’s bitch ass doesn’t work here anymore.”
The venom in my brother’s voice at the mention of Robert surprised me.
I shook my head. “We’ll talk later, Jay.”
He stared at me for a few heartbeats before finally answering. “All right, but like I said, this discussion is not over.”
I didn’t bother responding. I simply allowed Jason to pull me into a hug. He held on for longer than our usual parting hugs. I squeezed him around the waist before he finally withdrew. I gave him a half-smile before turning to leave. Just as my hand touched the doorknob, he stated, “You know he’d never do that to you, right? Dad, I mean.”
I paused, remembering my dream from this morning, then looked over my shoulder. “He wasn’t the same father to me that he was to you, Jay.”
Jason nodded, running his hand over his closely shaved head. “I know, Nel.”
I finally exited my brother’s office. In the hallway, I paused, looking down to my father’s office. A piece of me wanted to go back and speak with my father. To apologize for the way I stormed into his office, but pride is a bitch. Instead, I turned and walked out the main door.
Chapter Two
Chanel
I hurried into the sushi restaurant Gabby chose for us to have an early dinner. I was running about fifteen minutes late. At the entrance, I greeted the young hostess.
“Hi, I’m meeting—oh, there she is, right there. Thank you,” I added, a bit out of breath from speed-walking from my car. Gabby was waving. I gave her a smile as I took in the big curly mane she was rocking that day, and her black body suit.
“Decided to go natural today, huh?” I greeted as she stood from the table. I pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Yeah, letting the curls breathe a little,” she answered, fluffing her already sizable hair. “Anyway, it’s about time your ass showed up. Thought I was going to have to send out a search party.”
I shook my head, grinning. Gabby could be so dramatic. “I’m only fifteen minutes late. And I sent you a text telling you I was on the way. I had a phone meeting with a new client and it ran over.” I’d tried to get out of work a little early to meet Gabby for our five-thirty dinner date, but duty called.
“That’s because you’re a workaholic and can’t even leave work ten minutes early to meet your best friend for dinner.”
I tilted my head. “Seriously? You’re starting in on me before we’ve even ordered our—” Just as I was finishing my retort, a handsome young waiter came over to our table.
“A gin and tonic for you, and the amaretto sour is for you, I presume.” He smiled at me with his hazel eyes gleaming as he placed my drink in front of me.
“My name is Jonathan; I’ll be your server for the evening. I’ll let you two lovely ladies settle in and take a look at the menu for a minute before I come to take your order.” He nodded and left us to peruse the menus on the table.
“You were saying?”
“Thank you. I needed this.” I sighed before I pulled the straw between my lips and took a sip of my drink.
“I bet you did. You’re still not sleeping, I see.” Her pink tinted lips turned into a frown as she stared at me, observing the bags under my eyes, which I’d tried to cover with makeup.
“Damn, I don’t look that bad, do I?” I asked, pulling a compact out of my purse.
“Nah, not to someone who doesn’t know you. But I do know you, and even your forty dollar MAC foundation and concealer aren't enough to cover everything I see just by looking at you.”
I pulled another sip of my drink as my stomach dropped. “Can we at least order our dinner before you start in on me again?”
She had the audacity to grin at me. “Sure thing.”
I picked up my menu and quickly decided on the spicy tuna roll and seaweed salad for my meal. Gabby opted for the uchi salad, pumpkin tempura, and cauliflower tempura. Jonathan returned a minute later to take our orders, and promised to return shortly to refill our drinks.
“He’s cute. I wonder what time he gets off.” Gabby eyed our waiter as he walked away from us.
“Gabby.”
“What? It was just a question.” She shrugged, laughing.
We began a light banter after I asked her about her day. She’d taken a half a day from the doctor’s office she worked at as an esthetician and massage therapist to volunteer at the women’s shelter she and I both volunteered at, and to look at some spaces to consider renting for the salon she planned on opening.
“You know the women there are usually so hesitant to see me, but afterward I can see how grateful they are,” she stated, discussing her time at the shelter.
I nodded. “Yeah, many haven’t felt a friendly touch in God knows how long. I’m glad you can give that to them. Speaking of, did you check out the spaces you were supposed to look at?”
Her dark brown eyes becam
e nearly covered by her lids as she looked downward, and she picked up her gin and tonic, taking a sip before answering.
“Gabby.”
“I know, okay?” she interjected before I could fully express my admonishment. “I just got caught up at the shelter, and you know me, once I’m there it’s so hard to leave. I end up giving out makeup tips and styling advice, interview information…”
Her many excuses trailed off as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A wave of awareness shot through my body. I knew this feeling. It only happened when one person was around. My eyes frantically searched, looking at the dining patrons, until they finally found him.
Eyes the color of perfectly brewed coffee.
Smooth, chestnut skin that always made my mouth water.
New facial hair that’d grown in over the last month.
I briefly wondered if the new beard covered his dimple when he smiled. But he wasn’t smiling just then. He was doing the same thing I was. Assessing me.
I felt the air leave my lungs as we stared one another down. The ache in my chest that’d been there for a month grew, urging me to stand up and go to him. In my periphery, I could see he was standing with two other men. I don’t know how long we remained transfixed like that. Me staring at him, and his eyes trained on me, but I felt every second of it. Our connection was far from broken. Four weeks apart had done little to sever the love I’d felt for that man.
“Yeah, it’s over between you two, all right,” Gabby stated sarcastically, looking over her shoulder.
Even her words didn’t cause me to break from Xavier’s gaze. It wasn’t until one of his dinner companions grabbed his attention and he was forced to look away that I finally pulled my eyes back to my best friend.
“Goddamn! Everyone in this restaurant felt the intensity of that stare down.”
I reached for my drink, remaining silent. I ignored my shaking hand as I brought the straw to my mouth.
Gabby raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at me. “Just a look between you two has me ready to take a cold shower. What you two have is far from over. I don’t give a damn what you say,” she added, raising her hand to cut off my protests.
I placed my hand on the table, covering the compact I’d taken out earlier and remembered the bags I had under my eyes. He probably thinks I look terrible.
“No, I think it’s over, Gab.” I tried to ignore the way my voice quaked on that confession. I stared at his back, as he and his dinner companions were escorted to a private room in the back.
****
Xavier
Damn, she looked beautiful. That was my first reaction when my eyes landed on Chanel sitting with her friend, Gabby, in the restaurant. As soon as I stepped into the restaurant, I felt a pull that I hadn’t felt in weeks. When I looked around the dining space, my gaze quickly zeroed in on the woman I hadn’t seen in twenty-nine days. Just over four weeks.
She didn’t notice me at first, which gave me time to observe her. I took in the brown short-sleeve top she wore and the bob she styled her hair in, with a deep part on the right. Her hair had grown about a half an inch or more in the time we’d been apart, now just grazing her shoulders. I also noticed her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t been sleeping well. A pang of guilt and the need to comfort her ran through my belly at the thought of her not sleeping and not taking care of herself.
“Xavier, did you hear me?”
I turned my attention to the man sitting across from me. “My bad, Isaac. What were you saying?”
Isaac was a longtime employee of mine. He was like my right hand, especially on my current project. We’d had this business dinner set up for two weeks. I’d been out of town ever since the day I left Chanel’s condo. I needed to put distance between myself and her. I was in D.C. for two weeks checking up on my businesses there, and then I spent the last two weeks working in Las Vegas. My Vegas project was a venture I’d been preparing for years and it needed my undivided attention. I tried to remember that as I sat across from Isaac, but my thoughts kept floating back to the look in Chanel’s eyes.
“I was saying, you’ve got at least ten other restaurants we could’ve eaten at and you chose this one?”
I grinned. “It’s been a while since I had sushi. I needed to check up on this place anyway.” Unlike most of my restaurants in the city of Houston, I was only a partial owner of this one. I have thirty percent equity while the remaining seventy percent was split between two other partners.
“Whatever,” Isaac grumbled. He wasn’t a fan of sushi. “But I was getting to the fact that this venture is going to be a tricky one. We need to get all the vendors and the surrounding businesses on board.”
I lifted an eyebrow and simply stared at Isaac, at the same time the waitress brought our drinks out. Once she sat them down and told us she’d return in a few minutes for our orders, I started. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve been in Vegas for two weeks shoring up support for this venture. Speaking with vendors and getting contracts signed. We’ve already got contractors giving us dates they can start.” I took a sip of my scotch.
Isaac nodded. “I’m aware. I just wanted to make sure your head was in this. You’ve seemed—and pardon me for saying this, but you’ve seemed a little out of it the last few weeks. As if your head was somewhere else.”
Isaac was one of the few employees I’d had since I owned my first sit-down restaurant. He’d been an invaluable employee when it came to scoping out business opportunities. I trusted his instincts. His honesty told me just how much I’d been off my game in the last few weeks.
“You don’t think I’m up for the challenge?”
“On the contrary. I know you’ve been waiting years to pull this off. An opportunity to finally have two of your restaurants on the Vegas strip and get back at that fucker, Ross. I just want to make sure you’re all in.”
I nodded and took another sip of my drink. “I’m all in. Don’t worry about me,” I assured him. “Now, tell me about the permits.”
We spent the remainder of our dinner discussing the necessary permits to open my restaurants on the Vegas strip and where they were in the process for approval. There was nothing that was going to stop me from getting these restaurants off the ground. However, even as I tried to focus on my conversation with Isaac, my thoughts continued to stray to the image of Chanel’s face the day I’d walked out of her condo. That, and the look on her face out in the dining area of the restaurant. I tried to search her out again once Isaac and I parted ways, but she’d already left.
As I drove home, thoughts of Chanel held my attention. The dull yearning I’d been able to push to the background while I was away came back to grip me tenfold, now that I’d seen her in person.
Chapter Three
Xavier
I sighed as I pushed the door to the luxury gym open. I’d been avoiding this moment for weeks. I hadn’t seen my best friend, Jason, in over a month since I was traveling for work. I figured he’d have questions about what happened between his sister and me, and I had no answers for him. Hell, I didn’t even know what happened between us. It was like one moment, we were golden, waking up to one another in bed, and the next I was storming out of her place, angry as hell.
To be honest, I still couldn’t even pinpoint what it was that made me so angry at Chanel. All I knew was, seeing her face bruised like that by her ex made me want to do things I’d never considered before. Not even when my ex-girlfriend cheated on me with a friend had I felt the urge to murder anyone. But Chanel brought out every protective instinct I had, and that shit scared the hell out of me. Maybe that’s why I left. Who knows?
“What up? Long time no see,” Jason greeted me as I entered the weight room of the two-story gym.
“What up?” I responded, as we gave the one-arm handshake and pulled one another into a side hug.
“How you been?” Jay asked cautiously.
I ran my hand down the side of my face, feeling the scruffiness of the beard I’d been growing
in. “Busy as hell.”
“So I see.”
We made small talk as we warmed up and stretched a little before our intense workout. I could feel the tension, though. I knew it was inevitable that the elephant in the room was brought up. It didn’t slip past my memory that this was the same room where, about five months ago, I’d spoken to Jason about wanting to take his sister out.
“How was Vegas?” he asked as I spotted him on the bench press machine.
“Vegas was cool. Got a lot of shit done that I needed to handle. If all goes well, the restaurants should be ready to open at the end of this year.”
“Wow, that fast, huh?”
“Yeah, you know I’ve been working on this for a while now.”
“True, true,” Jason nodded.
We switched positions and he stood over me, spotting while I took my turn at bench presses. For a long while, the only conversation between us was my grunting and Jason’s counting.
“Let’s go, one more rep,” he encouraged.
I grunted hard, pushing the bar up on my final rep. The clicking of metal as it lowered onto the stand that held it was like music to my ears. I blew out a deep breath at the instant physical relief and sat up on the bench. I wiped the sweat from around my face and neck as Jay came from behind the bar and sat on the bench across from me.
“You know Chanel came storming into our father’s office?” Jason started, out of nowhere.
I peered up at him. “Oh, yeah? When?”
“About a week and a half ago. She’d been avoiding us for weeks after everything went down. Then outta nowhere, she appears in Pop’s office, asking him if he was the one behind that article.”
My head tilted in surprise. “She didn’t believe that, did she?”
Jay inclined his head. “She seemed to. I walked in on her yelling at Pops in his office.”
“Shit. How ugly did it get?”
“Not too bad, once I explained it was Robert’s ass who’d gone off the deep end and had her followed by a PI. Pops explained that Robert had been fired as a result. She calmed down a little after that.”
Safe Space II: The Finale Page 2
