Falling For Mr. Nice Guy

by Nia Arthurs

  Maybe Adam was the man who would change her mind. Maybe he wasn’t. It was too early to tell.

  “Alright, Jada. Let’s focus now.” She tapped the computer desk and focused on her article. Men would come and go, but this opportunity would slip through her fingers if she didn’t pay attention.

  Cracking her knuckles, she leaned in and typed away.

  ***

  Adam rubbed his temple as he picked the phone from the cradle and put it to his ear. It was Friday morning and way too early to start his weekend off on such a wrong foot.

  “Boy, if I call you and you miss it, the least you could do is call back. I could have been sick and dying on the floor.”

  “If you were sick and dying on the floor, you would have called Robert or one of your other sons who actually live near you.”

  “It’s nice to know you care.”

  “I do care, Dad,” he sighed. “What’s this about?”

  “How did the Convention dinner go? Did you make the proper introductions?”

  “I did,” Adam said. Winston’s accusation that Dad had sent him as a precursor to his takeover of the company echoed in his mind. “Dad?”

  “What?”

  “Were you really caught up with something or did you send me there on purpose?”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “Dad?”

  “Does it matter, Adam? It was a success. You stepped in where I couldn’t, and that’s the way it should be. Eventually, you’ll be the chairman of the company and—”

  “You know I have no interest in that position and if your plan is to sneakily transfer all responsibilities to me, I’d like that thought to end here. I have too much to do with the launching and AINSTAIN.”

  “Don’t be ungrateful, boy. Do you know how many people would love to be in your position?”

  “I do know,” Adam paused. “Win is here.”

  “Win?” His father sounded genuinely surprised. “In Belize?”

  “He’s actually staying at my place.”

  “That’s… unexpected.”

  “I’ve never said it outright, but Dad, Win’s been keeping his nose clean while he’s been here. I think he’s changed for the better. Why don’t you give him a chance?”

  “When you’re a father, you’ll understand.”

  “Dad…”

  “I didn’t come to argue with you. We’re both busy. I’ll check in another time.”

  “But…”

  “Oh yeah,” his father’s voice returned strong over the line. “How was the escort?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Gus mentioned some legal trouble and that you’d rushed in to her aid. Is this true?”

  Adam shuffled in his seat. “You really shouldn’t be following in Gus’s footsteps, Dad. His extra-curricular activities are shady at best.”

  “Is it true about the girl?”

  Adam ‘hemmed’ and ‘hawed’, eager to change the subject, but his father would not be moved.

  “It must be. Mm, this is interesting.”

  “I’m very busy today, Dad. It was great chatting with you. Have a good one.” Adam stoned the phone into the cradle and ran his hands through his hair. Had he thrown his father off the scent? What would he do if Dad reached out to Jada, still believing her an escort, and asked for her services?

  He groaned. The thought was too horrible to even contemplate. Adam straightened his shoulders and inhaled a deep breath. If he warned Jada, he could keep her from being surprised if his father made such a move.

  Adam brightened. He’d call her for strictly platonic purposes. It meant nothing else.

  ***

  Jada hauled the trash out the backdoor of the café and heaved it into the heavy duty garbage box in the alley. Sweat dripped down her forehead and stung her eyes. The pungent scent of waste wafted up from her palms.

  She wiped the dirt on the back of her jeans and looked up at the sky. The sun shined brilliantly down on her as if it had put all its energy into one beam. She shaded her eyes and glanced to the left.

  Few people used this alley, but every so often, a stray cat breezed by to raid the trash and beg for milk at the door. Instead of a feline, Jada spotted five large figures in the distance. They wore black suits and in this heat, it was immediately suspicious.

  Against her better judgment, Jada crept closer, hiding behind the trash that littered the alleyway. Unfortunately, they were talking in such low tones that she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

  About to give up and creep away, Jada spotted someone in the middle of the throng. She rubbed her eyes and blinked harder, sure the late afternoon sun was baking her brain and causing her to hallucinate.

  The man in the middle of a ring of gangsters was none other than Winston Lockwood. She watched as he swung his hands to and fro in exaggerated gestures and pointed to a place just beyond her.

  Jada ducked her head as her heart beat out of time. Why was the wealthy and sophisticated Lockwood son standing amidst such questionable characters? Her mind immediately captured the plot line of her favorite dramas.

  Was Winston planning to hurt Adam? Were the men surrounding him the hired goons tasked with bringing Adam to his knees?

  She covered her mouth before a gasp revealed her hiding place. Surely, she was overreacting. This was real life, after all, not her favorite soap opera. No matter how many differences Winston and Adam had, it wasn’t at a point of violence.

  The thugs nodded toward Winston and left. Jada cowered behind the trash cans as they passed through the alley. Winston turned on his heels, looking left and right over his shoulders before walking behind them.

  Unable to hold back her curiosity, Jada waited five seconds and chased after him. When they had cleared the alley and were in plain sight on the pedestrian-filled sidewalk, she raised her voice.

  “Hey!”

  Adam’s brother swung around and looked quizzically at her. For a moment, she wondered if he would remember her face. A sudden smile brightened his features and he loped toward her, wiggling his finger.

  “Hello, you.”

  Tensing beneath his flirtatious manner, she lifted her chin. “Winston Lockwood, we meet again.”

  “Ah,” he grinned harder, “is that any way to greet your biggest fan?”

  “My… fan?”

  “I’ve been intrigued by Adam’s mystery girl since our first meeting.” He grabbed her hand and looked deeply into her eyes. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. Jada slipped her hand out of his grasp and struggled to find a way to bring the thugs into the conversation. “How are you enjoying Belize?”

  “The waters are breathtaking; the food is to die for; the people are friendly,” he eyed her, “most of the people.”

  “You haven’t run into any trouble while you’ve been here?”

  “Trouble?”

  “That would put you in bad company?” She arched her eyebrows, wondering if she was being too obvious. If Winston had hired a bunch of criminals to off his brother, she couldn’t afford to tip her hand.

  “Present company excluded?”

  “Forget it.”

  He grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away. “I’m only joking. What are you doing right now?”

  She flung her hand down. “I’m working.”

  “When do you get off?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  He flashed a charming grin. “Come somewhere with me.”

  “You’re not my type.”

  He popped his collar. “I’m everyone’s type.”

  Jada eyed him seriously. Just a few moments before, she’d seen Winston cavorting with dangerous looking men. Despite his relation to Adam, she didn’t know him and didn’t trust him either.

  “I’m busy.” She began to walk away and heard his voice behind her.

  “I guess you prefer Adam?”

  Jada froze.

  Sensing he’d gotten her attention, Winston spoke
with confidence. “That nice guy act he has… it gets real old, real fast. He’s a carefully constructed robot. You’ll have more fun with me.”

  Anger tugged at her heart like a petulant child and she swung her head around. Many times she’d found herself thinking that Adam was too good to be true, that he was either hiding something very dark or living with the guilt of something very heavy.

  Yet, the more she learned of him, the more she compared him to others, the more she wanted to trust him, trust in him.

  “I’ll see you around, Winston.” Jada stormed toward the café and closed the door resolutely behind her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Her cell phone rang, the bright tones piercing in the bus, and Jada answered it absently. It had been a long day and the vision of Winston Lockwood’s secret meeting refused to leave her alone. Since spying on him early that afternoon, her concern for Adam’s safety had multiplied.

  “Jada?” The caller said.

  She straightened. Was this a dream or was Adam really on the other end of the line?

  “Hello?”

  “Are you busy?”

  “No!” she shouted and glanced around, realizing the outburst had garnered some looks. Quietly, she spoke into her phone. “No, I’m not busy.”

  “Oh.”

  When silence reigned, Jada spoke. “I just finished my shift at the bookstore so I’m heading home now.”

  “At this hour?”

  Jada glanced at the time on her watch. “It’s only seven o’clock.”

  “It’s dark out.”

  “Adam,” she laughed, “I’ve done this a million times. Relax.”

  “Hold on. How far do you have to walk from the bus stop to the apartment?”

  “I don’t know. A couple blocks?”

  “I’ll meet you at the bus stop.”

  “What? Adam—”

  “See you in a few.”

  She tried to protest again, but the dial tone sounded in her ear. Jada crinkled her nose and glanced at the phone screen. What just happened? Was Adam really going to drive all the way here?

  She snorted. He would never make it in time. The bus would arrive in less than ten minutes. Adam lived on the opposite side of town.

  Even though she truly believed he wouldn’t be able to make it, Jada still stuck her nose against the glass as soon as they neared the bus stop. She saw vehicles lined up on the street, but didn’t recognize Adam anywhere.

  Sighing and cursing herself for uselessly hoping, Jada stood and slowly made her way off the bus. The bus driver honked and rumbled off. She turned in the direction of the apartments, prepared for her stroll home.

  “Jada!”

  She swung and spotted Adam leaning against his fancy Lexus, his arms crossed and his expression completely calm for the truck he was driving and the hood he was in. She ducked her head and fast-walked to him.

  “What are you doing out of the car?”

  He seemed stunned by her aggression. “I wasn’t sure if you remembered how the vehicle looked, and I didn’t want to miss you.”

  “Quick!” She grabbed his wrist and tugged him to the driver’s side. “Get back in.”

  He dug his heels in and refused to budge. Instead, Adam quickly overpowered her and used his own strength to tug her back to the passenger’s side.

  “You first.”

  Knowing it was useless to argue with him, Jada said nothing more and climbed in. Adam jogged around the hood of his car and joined her inside. She studied him, wondering how he’d gotten here so quickly.

  “How fast were you driving?”

  He smiled as he turned the key in the ignition. “Fast enough.”

  “You didn’t have to do this. I was perfectly safe.”

  Adam’s eyebrows rose. “Not according to the news.”

  “The news exaggerates. Were you working?”

  “I was.” He cleared his throat. “We’re preparing to launch the software I sold to AINSTAIN group in San Pedro.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Would you like to come?”

  Jada’s heart flew to her throat. “As… your date?”

  “I mean… yeah. If you want to. It’s Saturday night and we can come right back Sunday.”

  “It’s an overnight trip?”

  His ears turned red. “We’ll have separate rooms. I promise.”

  “That’s not what I meant.” As flattered as she was by the invitation, Jada didn’t want to be so far from Papi for the fear that something happened while she was away. “My grandfather’s in the hospital and I want to be in the city in case he… just in case.”

  “I had no idea,” Adam said.

  Jada explained Papi’s condition, finding that speaking of something so close to her heart felt natural and easy with Adam. He nodded his head at the right times and made grunts of understanding and concern.

  It wasn’t until she closed her mouth and glanced around that she realized they were parked outside of her apartment building. Ducking her eyes in embarrassment, Jada apologized.

  “I didn’t know we’d arrived.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No,” she shook her head, “you were working, and you have to get back. I went on and on without thinking.”

  He smiled. “I enjoyed talking to you.”

  “Me too.” She bit on her bottom lip and wondered if she should bring up what she had seen of Winston this afternoon. “Adam…”

  At that moment, his phone rang. He picked up and spoke sternly to the person on the other end. She listened to the confident tone of his voice, realizing that—despite his shyness—when it came to his work and the things he cared about, Adam was as assured as anyone.

  When he hung up, he looked at her. “I’m sorry, Jada. That was my colleague at the AINSTAIN office. I have to go.”

  “Of course.” She climbed out of the car and waved at him. “I guess we’ll just talk about that other thing later.”

  “Goodnight,” he said. “I actually had something to tell you too, but I’ll save it for another time.”

  “That’s fine. Goodbye!”

  She planned on standing on the sidewalk until he drove away, but Adam urged her to go and only left when she had crested the stairs and was out of sight.

  “I’m home,” Jada announced as she opened the door to the cramped apartment.

  “Hey.” Chelsea came into view. She was wearing stretchy gym shorts and a white vest. “What took you so long? I was just about to call you.”

  “Adam dropped me home and we talked for a few minutes in the car.”

  Chelsea’s jaw dropped and she hauled Jada by her shoulders, throwing her into the couch. With a crazed gleam in her eyes, she pointed a finger in her cousin’s face.

  “Say that again?”

  “Adam drove me home.”

  “Are you kidding me? That’s great. How did it happen?”

  Jada explained his call and his offer to get her safely to the apartment. When she was done, Chelsea flopped against the sofa and fanned her face.

  “Lord, is it possible for such a perfect man to exist?”

  “Settle down there, Chels. He was just being nice.”

  “Don’t.” Chelsea glared at Jada. “Don’t lie to yourself. Not when someone as wonderful as Adam is just waiting to be snapped up.”

  “This is huge one-eighty. That time when Adam came over for lunch… weren’t you telling me to forget him.”

  “That was then. This is now. A girl’s allowed to change her mind right?” Chelsea preened. “Can’t you tell that he’s interested in you? You really think it’s all platonic?”

  “I do!” She hesitated. “But…”

  “But?”

  “He did invite me to a party in San Pedro. Do you think it means something?”

  “San Pedro? As in La Isla Bonita. As in sandy stretches beside blue waves and bright sunshine San Pedro?”

  “I guess…”

  “You said ‘yes’, right? When are you guys leaving
? We should go shopping. When was the last time you wore a swimsuit? There are some great suits downtown—”

  “I told him I couldn’t go,” Jada said.

  “Why?” Chelsea whined. “Because you’d feel uncomfortable?”

  “No, he said we’d stay in separate rooms, but I couldn’t leave Papi for so long.”

  “Gyal,” Chelsea broke into Creole, “you di tiad me. I’ll look after Papi, and it’s not like you’re going to Canada. San Pedro is an hour away.”

  “The boats stop running at nine.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to Papi.”

  Jada wasn’t so convinced.

  “Fine,” Chelsea softened her tone, “think about it this way. When he wakes up, do you think Papi will be happy to hear that his granddaughter gave up all these fun opportunities for his sake? Don’t you think he’d want you to go out and enjoy yourself a little bit?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “You work so hard, Jada. I’d hate to see you give up on this chance. What is it? Do you just not like Adam like that?”

  “I think Adam’s great...”

  “But the chemistry isn’t there,” Chelsea finished. “Well, that’s that. It’s best you don’t lead him on.”

  Jada slumped down and closed her eyes. She didn’t know what she felt for Adam. It had never occurred to her that their relationship might blossom any more than it had. She enjoyed spending time with him and was excited when he reached out first, but was that enough to build a lasting relationship?

  She just didn’t know.

  “It’s not just that,” Jada mused. “We started out with him thinking I was an escort and me thinking he was someone who employed them. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

  “Embarrassing?” Chelsea scrunched her nose. “The only person who can make you feel embarrassed is you.”

  “Yeah, you can say that.”

  Chelsea sighed. “Don’t live your life being obsessed with other people’s opinions.”

  “I’m not obsessed—”

  “The guy says you’ll be in separate rooms. He won’t expect anything of you. Plus, he’s already proven that you can trust him. What more do you want?”

  “I don’t know.”