The buzzing of my cellphone drew me from those thoughts as I meandered through the hallway downstairs to my makeshift office. Pulling it from my back pocket, I groaned at the sight of my ex-wife’s number popping up.
“Yes, Heather?” I sighed into the phone.
“Greyyyy, baby!” she purred like a kitten sounding slightly drunk.
“What is it that you need this time, Heather?”
“Ohhh, don’t be like that, Grey baby. I’m going to be in town in a couple of weeks for a fashion shoot, and I wondered if I could crash at your place.”
That’s the last thing I needed in my life. Heather underfoot while I was handling business. She was a bigger babysitting job than Kent.
“Heather, the agency has always put you up before. What’s different now?”
“I’m not with the agency anymore. They didn’t renew my contract when it was up for renewal this year.” She sniffled. “Can you believe that? Anyway, I’m with this new and rising agency, you’ve probably heard of it, The McIntyre Club.”
Club? I wondered. What modeling agency used “club” in its name. Something about this didn’t sound right, but in the condition, Heather was in, I knew I couldn’t get an honest answer out of her.
“So, the club you’re with, they won’t provide housing while you’re on location?”
She sniffled a couple of times more and then giggled.
“Not just yet. I have to prove myself, and then it will come in time.”
“Heather, I’m not certain who this agency is you’re with, but I don’t think they’re looking out for your best interest. You’re a top runway model, who has an outstanding career and has graced the cover pages of Elle, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, and People. You’ve had contracts with Cover Girl makeup and Chanel. You were working on creating your own clothing line when we divorced. What happened to all that, Heather?”
I was a bit concerned and heartbroken that a beautiful career like hers that had so much potential might be washed up. I had heard the rumors but did not want to believe them.
She sniffled again, which prompted me to ask my next question.
“Heather?”
“Huh?”
“What happened? What’s going on right now? What went wrong with your clothing line?”
“Claude-Jean didn’t see eye to eye with the designers. He thought we could get a better deal elsewhere, so he nixed everything. They sued us for breach of contract, and we paid them off, but we’re still looking for a new deal. He’s gonna have another one soon.”
I listened as my ex-wife sniffled some more and giggled.
“Heather, are you on something?” I had never been one to beat around the bush, and I wasn’t about to start now.
“What’re you talking about, Grey, baby?”
Her voice was hoarse sounding, and the sniffling was coming more frequently.
“Who is this new agency you’re with? Let me guess someone Claude-Jean found?”
I couldn’t stand the man. Not only because I had found him and my ex-wife having sex in the pool of my home in LA, but because he seemed to be a leach who drug her down with him.
“Yes, actually, he did. When the Remington Agency refused to hire me on, he went right out and negotiated a contract for me with the McIntyre Club. After the photoshoot, that'll be my third by the way, they’re moving me up to doing movies.”
Movies? She had never wanted to be in movies before. She wasn’t that great of a liar, let alone actress. That raised a red flag.
“Heather, what kind of movies are they?”
She chuckled.
“Aww, that’s so adorable, Grey, baby. Are you worried about me?”
“No, just curious.”
“Mmm, just a few porn flicks is all.”
Precisely what I feared. My natural reaction was to protect Heather. After all, we had been married six years, and the first three had been blissful. The next year had been rocky, and I’d hung in thinking it would get better. But it hadn’t. It continued on a downward spiral until the day I returned home early from Bora Bora, overseeing a new resort and found my wife getting boned in the ass by some fake want-to-be French producer named Claude-Jean.
I had beat the crap out of him before throwing him out and sending her and her things swiftly behind him. When the cops showed up, there wasn’t much to be said. I don’t usually use my connections, but that was one night I was thankful for my father’s well-placed political connections and the constituents he had on the police force. The last thing I wanted was a police record, and if it had not been for my father, I would have had a domestic violence charge. Heather had shown up at the police station with a battered Claude-Jean, swearing I had abused her, too. She had red handprints on her arms to prove it. Too bad for her, they didn’t match mine.
Unfortunately for me, I always wanted to make people better. It seemed to be a weakness of mine, which people preyed on. I often felt bad that I was not able to protect Mitch from my father’s domineering ways. So, I helped others when I could. Which is why I extended my offer.
“Sure, Heather. Come on to my place when you get here.”
“Thanks, a mill, babe. I’ll see you in two weeks.”
I thought perhaps I could influence her to get the help she so desperately needed.
CHAPTER 8 – NICOLE
I had been extremely busy with The Greyson Manor project, spending countless hours with Greyson from sunrise to long after sunset. Now it was time to wind down with a little bit of fun on a Sunday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t looking forward to it. My sister Mady sat on my couch, painting her toes and glancing every now and then at me with an appraising smile.
“I don’t get what you’re so down about,” she said, twisting the cap back onto the pink polish.
“Well, I’ve been working since you arrived in town two days ago. The first free day I get, and I’m running off on a date with a man that I’m not really interested in,” I shared.
Mady sighed deeply, letting her shoulders slump and lips pout.
“Nic, you’ve got to give some poor man a chance.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, searching my purse for my ruby red lipstick.
“The fact that Jocelyn, Michaela, and I work our asses off to set you up with these damned near perfect men, and you won’t give them the time of day after one or two dates. What is it that you’re looking for, Nic? I’m starting to think you’ve created this impossible list to keep you single forever.”
I rolled my eyes, plucked the lipstick from my purse, and applied it to my lips.
“See, that’s where you’re wrong at. I’m going out with Cooper tonight for the second time.” I shocked myself into thinking that I would much rather be spending the evening with Greyson.
“Mm-hmm, but that’s because he ran you down in a damned hardware store of all places. You felt guilted into a date with him,” Mady replied, throwing my story back in my face.
“Either way, I should be spending the day with you.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled my way. “It’s okay, we’ll still have time. Besides, I’m going to dinner this evening with Mom and Dad, and Zion, Zoe, Zay, and little Chloe are driving down to eat with us.”
I really felt jealousy increase in me now and wanted to cancel my plans more than ever. I loved my niece and nephew to pieces and often felt there wasn’t enough time with them. To think I was giving up on the opportunity to spend time with them for someone I wasn’t really interested in had me wanting to pick up the phone and cancel.
“Don’t even think about it!” Mady warned, pointing her finger at me with narrowed eyes. She knew her big sister all too well and had predicted what I was going to do.
I laughed and turned my back on her. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do,” I called over my shoulder, making my way to my bedroom.
“Unfortunately, I wish that were true. If I knew you well, I would hope you were going into that be
droom to pack a bag for some wild overnight sex to get you a little loose.”
“Loose?” I shouted back. “You act as if I’m a prude.”
“Uptight maybe, but not a prude. You just need someone to come along and wax that ass really good one time, and you’ll be fine.”
I looked down at my dress again, contemplating if I should change. Mady thought it was perfect, showing off my legs and the right amount of cleavage. I had to admit that I did look good in the fire engine red sexy number. I didn’t often show off my body like this and thought I might be giving the wrong impression to Cooper tonight. It was bad enough that I had selected Spice.
Just as I was preparing to walk into the closet to change, Mady entered my room with a ringing phone.
“Honey, your date is calling. I hope he isn’t canceling on you at the last moment.” She held out the phone to me, and I grimaced when I saw Cooper’s name and number on the screen. Why had I been hoping it was Greyson giving me a reason to cancel my plans?
“Hello?”
“Hey, uh, Nicole?”
“Hey, Cooper. Is everything okay?” I asked, detecting a note of urgency in his hushed voice.
“Um, yeah, everything’s fine. Look, I’m not going to be able to make it tonight.”
“Oh, okay. Well, thanks for catching me before I left home. Are you sure everything’s okay?” I asked again, hearing a rustling in his background as though he was hiding the phone.
“Cooper? Cooper?” I called his name twice before I heard what sounded like a tussle with the phone.
Then...
“Hello? Who is this?”
I could hear rapid breathing as a tussle went on.
“This is Nicole, who is this?”
“This is Ari! Nicole, I’m Cooper’s wife. Who are you?”
I was shocked and a little pleased at the same time, sad as it was to say.
“Well, I’m a friend of Cooper’s. We were set up on a blind date by my friend Michaela, and we were getting ready to go out on date number two. But I guess not.”
“You’re right. I guess not. Do yourself a favor and lose my husband’s number!” She yelled on the other end, where I could hear him commanding her to give the phone back.
Either she was stronger than him, or she was using some object to keep him away because he did not get that phone back.
“Do yourself a favor and erase my name and number from your husband’s phone. It’s not me you have to worry about sweetheart. I don’t do love triangles, and I don’t share men. I knew something wasn’t right about him, so thanks for calling. You two have a nice life now.”
I clicked off the phone, my mouth hanging in shock with a half-smile of disbelief etched on my face. Strangely enough, I felt rather pleased. I had dodged that bullet, and I was thankful.
“Soooo...tell me that I did not just hear what I thought I heard,” Mady said from behind me.
She had plopped down on my bed and pulled her knees up. She rested her elbows on her knees, her face in her palms, and looked at me expectantly.
Nodding my head, I dropped beside my little sister. “You did. He’s married, Mady. I knew something wasn’t right about that brother, but never could put a name to it.”
“Wow! Did he not wear a ring?”
Thinking back, I shook my head slowly. “Nope. Not even a tan line.” I noticed things like that.
“That’s an easy one. Most men in the construction industry don’t wear them for fear of an accident happening,” Mady stated.
“And here you were just a few moments before that call, pushing me to have sex with the brother. Glad I listen to my own instincts,” I said, pushing off the bed.
“What’re you doing?” she asked as I pulled the red dress over my head.
“Changing so I can get ready for dinner with you and the family tonight.”
Mady held a wicked gleam in her eyes. “You naughty heffa. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn you personally arranged this drama.”
“And what would be the purpose of that?” I asked, standing with my hands on my hips, turning to face my sister.
“So, you didn’t have to give up that milkshake tonight. Speaking of, put on some damned clothes, why don’t you? Don’t nobody wanna see those big ole titties all over the place,” she screeched, covering her eyes as I began shaking them all over the place.
“You’re just jealous, dear sis, because unlike you, I don’t belong to the IBTC.”
That had been a running tease between Mady and I. For some reason, I had been bestowed with a gorgeous set of girls, which came from my mom’s side. Mady, on the other hand, was as flat as a bird, in her barely-there B size, she inherited from Dad’s side.
Stepping into my closet, I looked for something more casual to wear to dinner tonight with my family. I was thankful that the bullet that almost hit me had missed. Narrowly, but still.
CHAPTER 9 - GREYSON
“We have to quit meeting like this, Miss,” I said in a dark voice as she bumped into me coming from the ladies’ room.
I took in her gold halter-top sundress. It clung to her curves, her cleavage spilling forth with a tiny emerald resting just on top, hanging from a gold chain. The skirt swished gently about her bronze thighs, giving a nice glimpse of legs that ran for miles to cascade down into gold strappy sandals.
Nicole had the most beautiful feet I had ever seen, and I was not by nature, a footman. But I imagined bowing before her, worshiping at her feet and even kissing them just before making love to her.
“Greyson!” she called out in delighted surprise.
“Here with someone,” I asked, hoping her answer would be no.
“Um, yes...actually, I am.”
Sorrow filled my heart once more. Why did I keep missing out on my opportunity?
“Oh, well, maybe I’ll see you at the site this week,” I said, eager to leave. I did not want someone else to approach. Not because I feared any man, but because I did not think I could control my actions if I saw another man touch her in any intimate form. And in the dress she was wearing, it would be hard for any man to keep his hands to himself.
“I’d love for you to have dinner with us if you don’t have other plans,” she suggested.
What kind of date was this? I had just finished drinks with a couple of business constituents. We were at Haro’s, a popular seafood and steak eatery that had just opened last year. It was hard to get reservations here unless you knew someone or had placed them far in advance.
I hadn’t eaten, but I did not think I could stomach eating with Nicole and her date.
“Um, don’t you think that might be a bit awkward?” I asked.
My eyes kept going to her hair. She had it pulled back into a French braid. Little emerald earrings nestled in her hair.
“No,” she said frowning. “Look, Greyson. We left the kiss behind. I thought we agreed we could still get along and keep things professional. Just come on, it’s only dinner,” she said, tugging at my hand.
Nicole tugged my hand before I could offer up another denial. Before long, we were weaving our way through tables, and I saw the face of a man light up before we approached his table. He pulled his hands across his short haircut before stroking his fingers through his beard. His skin was as dark as onyx in the low lighting of the restaurant.
Although he appeared happy at the moment, I had a feeling that would change the moment Nicole announced I would be having dinner with them.
As we drew near the table, she kept walking and skirted around it. I turned to glance over my shoulder, and the man had risen, hugging some other woman instead, whom I had not noticed walking behind us.
Turning back around, I was shocked when Nicole stopped at a long rectangular table. Going around the table, she made introductions, catching me off guard. Surprisingly, she was out with her family.
“Greyson, this is my mom, Angie, my father, Eddie, and my sister, Mady, who flew in from New York, my brother Zion, and his wife, Zoe.
And here is little Xavier, who’s three, and the cutie pie in Zoe’s arms is baby Chloe. She’s just eighteen months.”
I shook hands with each one as we moved about the table. Nicole’s father and brother stood to greet me, and the ladies accepted a sweet kiss on the cheek. Each one of them smelled lovely and was truly beautiful, like Nicole. Not just beautiful for the sake of beauty, but something good radiated from each of them and shone above any artificial or superficial beauty most women contrived.
The cute little baby girl had a shiny, curly afro. She fisted her little mahogany hand into her mouth and grinned shyly at me. The little boy, she had introduced as Xavier, eyed me carefully, while chewing what appeared to be macaroni. The rest of the family, including the men, were warm and welcoming.
“So, this is the Mady you bragged so much about,” I teased, after pulling up a chair to sit beside Nicole.
“Stop that! You’re going to give her a big head. She’s already full of herself,” Nicole teased.
Mady laughed from across the table at us. “I don’t need a big head, sister, dear. Just admit sheer perfection and grace when it’s in your presence. I don’t know why you try so hard to deny what the world sees.”
I laughed at her easygoing manner as she speared her asparagus and begin chewing on it. Her mother and father sat back, seemingly enjoying the camaraderie of their middle and youngest children. Her brother was focused on getting his daughter to eat the food his wife was attempting to feed her.
“So, Greyson, how do you and my daughter know one another?” Eddie’s voice boomed from across the table.
That was natural. Nicole’s father was interested in the strange man, his daughter had randomly brought to dinner.
“She is the contractor that I hired to do the design of the new boutique hotel we’re building down on West Bay.”
Her father nodded slightly, and her mother’s eyes seemed to brighten with recognition.
“Oh, so you’re on the development team of Black construction?” Mrs. Angie Cabot asked.
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