Higher Love

by Alexandria House

  “Hi, thanks,” I said. “Um, has the movie already started?”

  “No, Ms. Kennedy. They’ve been waiting for you to arrive.”

  “What?” How’d he know my name?

  Before he could answer me, another usher appeared and offered me his arm. “Right this way, Ms. Kennedy.”

  I took his arm, too bewildered to do or say anything else.

  He led me into the huge theater. The house lights were on, and I could see two people seated near the front. And there, standing on the stage before the wide, empty screen wearing a black tuxedo and holding a single red rose, was Derek.

  My plan worked out perfectly, and to say she was surprised would be an understatement. I wasn’t sure if she was more excited to see me or to meet Will and Jada. It paid to have connections in high places. We had featured Jada in Sable Woman magazine a few months earlier, and I was fortunate enough to be present for the photo shoot. We’d kept in touch, and when I contacted her with my plan, she had quickly jumped on board and brought her husband along with her. The four of us watched the movie together, and afterwards, Greer and I took a limo to a restaurant in Manhattan for a late dinner. After that, we headed to her hotel room.

  Something had changed between us, or maybe a better way of putting it is there was a shift in our relationship. Our lovemaking that night was much more urgent and there was a deepened intensity to every touch, every sensation we shared. There was an ache inside of me that only left when I was with her, me in her arms and her in mine. At that moment, in that hotel room, I fully realized that Greer had transitioned from a want to a need. A great need. So when I reached the top of the mountain while holding her tightly to my body, I roared the words, “I love you!”

  And it was a relief to hear her echo my words while clutching me and kissing my neck: “I love you, too…”

  26

  I was naked, bending over trying to make food appear in Derek’s refrigerator when I heard, “Now that’s the best sight I’ve ever seen in this kitchen.”

  I closed the door and placed my hands on my hips. “It took you forever to let me see this place, which means you had ample time to stock the kitchen, and lo and behold, you need groceries.”

  “There’ll be food at the party.”

  “I know, but I wanted a snack. You’re gonna have to do better with the food if I’m going to be spending time here.”

  “Glad you feel at home enough to make demands.” Wearing a towel and a smile, he approached me, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me to his wet chest.

  I kissed it and gazed up at him.

  “And how much time are you planning to spend here anyway?” he asked.

  “As much as you want me to.”

  “I want you to move in.”

  I backed out of his arms. “Are you serious?”

  “Very.”

  “Wow, um...”

  “You don’t have to decide right now. I know you have friends in Dallas and you’ve lived there all your life, but I love you, Greer, and I’m not myself unless I’m with you. I want you with me. Just think about it.”

  I leaned against the granite-top island and said, “I love you, too. I’ll think about it.”

  The Sable Inc. annual Christmas party was held in the ballroom at Houston’s historic Newmont Hotel. It was a black-tie affair, and I was so happy to be there with Derek, I nearly floated into the room in my flowing, beaded burgundy gown. Derek wore a black tuxedo with a white shirt and burgundy bow tie. We looked so good together, a matching set of melanated perfection, and I couldn’t have been prouder to be on his arm. I had voiced my misgivings about being his date at first, because our business partnership was common knowledge amongst the employees. His response was, “Baby, I run the company. No one is going to check me, and they sure as hell better not even try to check you if they want to keep their job.”

  Well, that put my mind at ease. If he wasn’t concerned, I wouldn’t be either. I was going to eat, drink, dance, and be merry with the man I loved more than I knew I could love anyone.

  We’d barely made it into the ballroom when we were approached by a couple I recognized as his brother and sister-in-law. He wore a white tuxedo. His wife wore a gorgeous red gown with a full skirt.

  His brother, who on closer inspection greatly resembled Derek, smiled widely as he greeted me with, “I finally get to meet the famed Nubian Nomad. I’m Brandon Hill, and this is my beautiful wife, Vanessa.”

  I shook hands with both of them. “It’s great to finally meet you.”

  “Same here,” Brandon said. “And I want to personally congratulate you on the success of the Sable Jets partnership. We’ve booked nearly a dozen charter trips that listed the referral source as your blog.”

  “Wow, really?!” I gushed. This was definitely exciting news. I nudged Derek. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I thought I did. Can’t seem to think around you, baby.”

  I rolled my eyes and Brandon and Vanessa both laughed. “Well, we’re going to make the rounds. Enjoy your night, Greer. And thanks for keeping this knucklehead in line.”

  They left and I asked, “Do you need to be kept in line, Mr. Hill?”

  He shook his head, leaned in, and whispered, “Not since I met you. You whipped me into shape real quick with that piece of Heaven between your legs. As a matter of fact, I want to find a bathroom, take you in there, lift up this dress, and bend you over a sink right now.”

  Sister girl down there started throbbing again, but my growling stomach took precedence. “Feed me and I might just make that wish come true.”

  He smiled as he led me to the buffet tables set up on the far side of the room.

  We made plates and sat at Derek’s reserved table, which was situated on the edge of the huge dancefloor and provided a good view of the stage where a band was playing old school R&B. The food was good, and the atmosphere was light. Several employees stopped by the table to greet Derek, who must’ve been tired of introducing me but never failed to do so. Once we were full and satisfied, we hit the dancefloor and tore it up! I’d never seen Derek move to an up-tempo song the way he did that night. The man was smooth, and I did my best to match his performance with one of my own. I knew I could dance, and judging from the approving look he gave me, Derek was impressed with my skills.

  We took a break after about six songs and headed to our table. Derek left me long enough to get us some drinks, and shortly after he returned, handed me my drink and planted a long, lingering kiss on my lips. A voice interrupted our moment.

  “Excuse me. I don’t mean to disturb you, but I’ve been trying to find your table since I arrived.”

  My body stiffened from head to toe, and I snatched myself away from Derek and looked up at the body that held that voice.

  Lloyd.

  What the entire hell is he doing here?!

  Derek gave me a confused look before turning his attention to Lloyd, who was gawking at me open-mouthed. “Oh, you made it? Great,” Derek said.

  He knew Lloyd? How? Why? What was going on?

  “Greer, this is Lloyd Robinson, our new head of marketing. He comes to us from Adventure Airlines. Lloyd, this is the love of my life, Greer Kennedy.”

  My stomach dropped and threatened to eject every morsel of food I’d eaten. “Uh...” was all I managed to say.

  “Wow, love of your life? Those are strong words.” Lloyd proffered his hand to me.

  I took it for exactly a nanosecond before pulling away from him. “Um, excuse me,” I mumbled. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  As I grabbed my clutch and stood to leave, Derek stood and gently grasped my arm, whispered, “You okay, baby?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I think I might’ve eaten too much. Be right back.”

  He cupped the sides of my face with his hands and kissed my lips. “Hurry back.”

  “I will.”

  I left, glancing back in time to see Lloyd take a seat at our table.

  27


  I ducked into the ladies’ room and sat on a padded bench near the door. Derek had no idea who Lloyd was. I was sure of that, because I had never mentioned his name. I’d never even told him the circumstances of our break-up and he’d never asked. If I told him now he might feel obligated to fire him, which would easily set him up for a lawsuit as he really wouldn’t have any grounds to fire him other than “he screwed over my woman.” If I didn’t tell him, I could look forward to a future of working with Lloyd since he was over marketing. That thought made me feel like vomiting again. I wasn’t angry at Lloyd, nor did I hate him, but I damn sure wasn’t trying to work that closely with him.

  What was I supposed to do?

  Maybe he’d quit. Surely he’d quit. He couldn’t be looking forward to working with me any more than I was to working with him. Yes, he would quit. Maybe he already had!

  I checked myself in a mirror before leaving the restroom and returning to the table to find that not only was Lloyd still there, but he’d been joined by Tami.

  Well, shit.

  I reclaimed my seat and leaned into Derek when he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. He kissed my cheek and asked, “You all right?”

  I nodded as I crossed my legs and placed a hand on his knee. “I’m fine.”

  “Missed you.”

  “Missed you, too.”

  “Oh, baby, this is Lloyd’s wife, Tami. Tami, this is my gorgeous, breathtaking lady and a Sable Inc. business partner, Greer Kennedy.”

  Wearing a strained expression on her puffy face, she offered me a weak hi.

  “Hi,” I said. “Wow, how far along are you?”

  She looked uncomfortable as she replied. “I’m due in six weeks.”

  I shifted my eyes from her to Lloyd. “Congratulations.”

  They mumbled, “Thanks,” almost in unison.

  “You ready to hit the dancefloor again?” Derek asked.

  “More than ready,” I declared, as I hopped to my feet. Upon my urging, we stayed out on that dancefloor so long my feet were pulsating by the time we made it back to Derek’s house, but I didn’t care if they fell off as long as I didn’t have to sit at that table with the Robinsons.

  *****

  “What happened to Millie?” I asked, as I rested in his arms later that night.

  “She left a couple of weeks ago to start her own PR firm.”

  “Well, why’d you let her go?”

  “I don’t believe in holding people back, baby.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “I think you’ll like Lloyd. He’s smart and he’s excited about our partnership with your blog, thinks it’s an ingenious idea.”

  I bet, since he rejected my proposal.

  “We were really fortunate he was looking to make the move to Houston right now. He has some great ideas to further our marketing reach. He brings a lot to the table with his experience working at Adventure.”

  I nodded against his chest. I couldn’t argue with any of that. Lloyd was smart and a hard worker. “I wonder what made him want to leave Adventure,” I thought aloud.

  “Why? You think Sable Jets is not reputable enough for someone like him?”

  I raised my head and looked him in the eye. “No, of course not, but it’s a huge leap to go from that company to Sable Jets.”

  “He said he wanted to make a fresh start, and he was excited about working for a black-owned company.”

  “Hmm...”

  “Damn, you sure are curious about this guy. Should I be concerned?”

  I sat up and flicked on the bedside lamp. “Derek, I think I need to tell you something about Lloyd Robinson.”

  With his eyes piercing mine, he said, “He’s your ex?”

  I literally gasped. “You already knew? What the hell kind of game are you trying to play? You hired my damn ex on purpose?” I stood and snatched on my panties.

  Derek sat up straight. “Wait, Greer, wait! I only figured it out tonight.”

  “Right. You probably checked his social media before you hired him and saw my dumb ass in some of his pictures. I told you I don’t like games, Derek. I told you—”

  He jumped out of bed and rushed to me in all his naked glory, placed his hands on my arms, and said, “With all due respect, I’m the damn CEO. I don’t check social media accounts. I don’t do background checks or anything similar to that. I have people hired to do that. I put two and two together based on your reaction to seeing him, his reaction to seeing you, and his wife’s reaction to both of you. Plus, she was wearing the same cheap-ass ring you had on when I first met you.”

  “My ring wasn’t cheap.”

  “It was, baby. When I give you one, you’ll see the difference. Now calm down and come back to bed.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because...because I feel stupid.”

  “Don’t. Just come back to bed.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t work with him, Derek.”

  “I take it he cheated on you with Tami, got her pregnant in the process?”

  I nodded as I let him lead me to the bed. “Then he broke up with me by blocking me on social media and replacing me with Tami as his fiancé unbeknownst to me.”

  “Shit...”

  “I know. Look, I’m not mad. I never really was all that hurt. I love you and what we have together, Derek. I really do, but you can’t blame me for not wanting to work with him.”

  He lay back in bed and pulled me to him. “No, I get it. I really do. I wouldn’t want to work with any of my exes. I tell you what, I’ll handle everything with your deal personally.”

  “No, I know you don’t have time for that. You have other things to be concerned about.”

  “Nothing is more important to me than you. I’m angry about how he treated you, but I’m grateful at the same time. But for his stupidity, you wouldn’t be mine. But look, if his working for Sable Jets is going to make trouble for us, I’ll fire his ass in a heartbeat.”

  “No...if you’re sure you can handle the extra work...”

  “How many times do I have to tell you I’m the CEO? It’s my company, named after my mother. I can always delegate something else to make room for your deal. Don’t worry about me. I’m a big boy.”

  “Oh, I’m well aware of that.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You keep talking like that, you’re gonna get something started.”

  “Hell, I hope so.”

  He rolled over, stretching his body over mine and kissing me deeply. “I love you, Greer Kennedy.”

  “I love you, too, Derek Hill.”

  28

  “Ladies, that concludes the FaceTime tour of the Hill Mansion,” I said, as I walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. Denise’s and Trevia’s smiling faces filled the screen of my phone.

  “Girl, that’s a nice house! No wonder you moved in with him,” Trevia said.

  “Hell, all those bedrooms up in there, I might be at your doorstep in a few minutes,” Denise joked...or maybe she wasn’t joking.

  “I didn’t technically move in here. I mean, all of my stuff is still in my apartment. I just kind of came with my one little suitcase and never left.”

  With pursed lips, Denise shook her head. “Umph! That is some kinda penis he got on him. Sheeeit, you were with Lloyd way longer than this and you never played house with him.”

  I grinned. “Number one, Lloyd is no Derek. Number two, he does have an excellent penis, a superb penis, an astronomical penis!”

  Trevia clamped a hand over her mouth and let out a muffled laugh. “You are so crazy! That doesn’t even make sense!”

  “For real, it’s so good, I’m sitting here tryna figure out how there wasn’t already some woman up in here. These Houston heifers are slipping. And get this, his last girlfriend cheated on him!”

  “Girl, as good as you say he is in bed, I’d be afraid to meet the man she cheated with,” Denise said.

  “Me,
too!” I shouted. “Denise, how’s my apartment doing?”

  “It’s fine. I’ve been going by there checking on it every day.”

  “Why don’t you just stay there for now? Make things easier for yourself.”

  “For real? Oh, thank you! I’m about one click from strangling my mama! You saved me from getting arrested.”

  I chuckled. “No problem at all. It’s been sitting there unoccupied for three weeks now, and the lease won’t be up for another few months.”

  “What do I owe you? I can’t afford much, but I’m willing to pay.”

  “Don’t worry about it right now. Just get your credit together so you can eventually take over the lease for me.”

  “I sure will! Well, we’ll let you go. I know you’re supposed to be meeting Mr. Hill for lunch,” Denise said.

  “Wait!” Trevia yelled. “You’ve been in a relationship with this man for months and now you’re living with him. When do we get to meet him?”

  “Yeah! Shit, hop on one of those jets and come get us,” Denise added.

  “It’s not a car, ‘Nise. But I’ll find a way to introduce you guys to him. You’re gonna love him!”

  With a dreamy look on her face, Trevia said, “As happy as he’s making you, we already do.”

  I exited the car Derek sent for me and appraised my appearance in the mirrored side of the building before entering it. I smiled at the fit of my black pencil skirt and red silk tank under a black leather jacket. We were having lunch in Derek’s office, and with any luck, my skirt would be rolled up around my waist before the end of the date.

  I rubbed my hand over my waist-length box braids and finally entered the building, snaking my way through the crowd of people in the lobby to the elevator bank. As I stood with several other people waiting for an elevator, a text message came through.