Page 51 of Rich and Rotten

As soon as the driver opened the door, I swung my purse onto my arm and headed inside the hotel. The doors seemed to open as if I were a genie, making them slide open with just a blink of the eye. Nazir followed behind me, making sure everyone knew he was my security. Before I could even scan the keycard to head up to the suite, his hand extended and scanned the card for the elevator.

The ride up to the suite was quiet, and I welcomed the silence. It was better than trying to figure out what to say or do, especially since he didn’t owe me an explanation. I wanted to make that clear to him. What we had was in the past, and we could forget it ever happened. He could pretend Nazira didn’t exist and continue on with his life.

Once we made it inside, I went straight to my room to shower and change for dinner.

Alora was a very expensive and fancy restaurant, and there were always celebrities dining there. Reservations were hard to get, which made me wonder how Nazir managed to get one. I knew I couldn’t dress down in my favorite sweats and oversized hoodies. Imagine someone snapping a picture of a celebrity, and I’m in the back, stuffing my face with a messy bun.

I quickly showered and rubbed on my favorite combination of santal oil and Jo Malone Beach Blossom. While I allowed my scent to settle before applying more oil and perfume, I curled my hair and put it in pin curls before doing my makeup.

A FaceTime call came through. It was my baby’s name. I slid my finger across the screen to answer while I tended to applying my makeup.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hi, Mom. What are you doing? I can’t see you.”

Her face was fully in the camera while I was doing my least favorite part of makeup–– my eyeliner.

Guiding that pen across the rim of your eyelid was absolute torture; however, I had been doing it since high school, so I didn’t think I could stop. My makeup felt incomplete without this step.

“Doing makeup, Zira.”

“Man, I can’t wait until I’m able to wear makeup.”

She sulked, and I laughed because this had been a conversation in our home since she was five. Nazira always watched me do my makeup whenever she was home, and I loved seeing her expressions as I painted my face like I was performing magic right before her eyes. In a way, I was. These dark circles and marks weren’t going to hide themselves, and I didn’t get enough sleep to go into meetings without concealer.

“I don’t know why you want to wear makeup when your skin is already amazing,” I replied, finishing my makeup and propping up my phone.

“You look beautiful, Mom.”

“Thanks, baby.” I blushed at my daughter’s compliment.

Nazira was someone who made me feel good. Anytime she saw me dressed up, she made it a point to compliment me. I always made sure to tell her how beautiful she was, and I think that’s where she got it from.

“Where’s Nazir?”

I looked at the phone, but she was looking at something on the counter, so she didn’t see my alarmed facial expression.

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere…protecting the space.”

“Oh, okay. I like that he has the same name as me.”

I smiled. “Yeah, that is pretty cool. Aja hasn’t come to pick you up yet?”

Nazira popped a grape into her mouth and shook her head no. “She’s on her way.”

“Is everything all packed and ready?”

“Yes, Mommy. I can’t wait to swim in the pool and hang out with everyone,” she said, excited to be around girls her age.

Aja’s great niece was around her age, so I couldn’t wait for her to come home and tell me all about it.

“You look beautiful. Where are you headed?” Bloom took the phone as Nazira hurried off to grab something she forgot.

Bloom propped the phone up on the counter and looked at me.

“Dinner with Nazir…I think. He said he made reservations but didn’t say if he would be joining me.”

“Hmm, dinner. That’s a step in the right direction,” she teased, knowing I would roll my eyes and wave her off.