I’ve been in a relationship with a man that claimed to want more from me, and he couldn’t tell me what my favorite ice cream was. Caring had always been an illusion, a trick that men used to make a woman fall for them.
In my world, it was never real for me.
When I stared at Gerald, I could tell that he cared, and this wasn’t fake. It wasn’t an illusion to him. He wanted to know as much as he could about me.
Figure me out.
Not because he would have a one up on me. He wanted to figure me out because he wanted to find a way to heal me. Make me into a version that I craved to be, however, was too scared to become.
Trusting a man with everything, allowing him to pull down my walls one piece at a time, required a special set of skills, and I could tell Gerald Wraithe had them. Based off his actions, words, and the way he commanded a room.
He was a leader.
Even knowing all of that, I was still terrified of getting the short end of the stick.
Fear always won.
“Time… don’t have much time to do the things I would like.” I replied honestly.
Time felt like it was always working against me. The money was never the issue; it was always the time. As much as I would have loved to sneak away and spend a week in Ashbourne, I never had the time. There was always court, a client, or just the lack of energy to do something for me.
After giving myself to my clients all day, I didn’t have the energy to pour into myself at times. With Bando, I mustered up the energy when I came through the door. He was always excited to see me, so I mustered up the baby talk and gave him the love he deserved. It wasn’t his fault that I had a long day at work or was too mentally depleted to hold a conversation.
“Life is too short, Boobie.”
“Tell me about it,” I scoffed, and stole a piece of bacon from the plate, while staring at him.
His eyes were still on me as I slowly chewed the bacon. “Too short for us not to live it… you can afford to slow down on work.”
“Not really. Preston Vance added me to his defense team.”
“Thought Kora told you to drop it?”
I rolled my eyes. “I am a grown woman. My brother and sister can suggest things, but they cannot tell me what to do with my career.”
“Why you so fucking hard headed, Zoya?”
“Because I’m the only one that has to deal with it… if you brought me here to convince me to drop the case, then you can take me home.”
I could tell he was biting the inside of his cheek as he stared at me, never backing down. Sigel always looked away when I got into a stare down with him. This time, I was the first to look away, but I felt his glare burning a hole in the side of my face.
“You a straight shooter, right?”
“In more ways than one.” I replied, folding my arms.
He slightly chuckled and leaned on the back counter. “Tell me if I’m wasting my time?”
“Why? You want to go and talk to the chick from your mom’s block?”
Gerald continued to stare at me. “Answer the fucking question.”
“Don’t curse at me.”
“Answer it.” He corrected himself.
I was scared to answer the question. “I’m here, right?”
He removed himself from the counter and came around until he was standing in front of me. Removing the second stool, he stood in its place and stared down at me.
