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Aaliyah.
What a perfect name for her. It was very fitting and beautiful. She was beautiful, even more so than two years before. Her long, now ombre hair was in microbraids and had golden string woven throughout. She wore a skintight black satin dress with a high slit highlighting her long brown legs with her gold high heels. With those heels, we were almost eye to eye with one another.
Her eyes…
Still as powerful as they were back then.
“Did you hear me?” Jason asked, patting me on the back.
I broke my stare away from Aaliyah and turned to take the drink from Jason. The smile I hadn’t even known I was wearing as I stared at Aaliyah evaporated once I looked at him.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” I asked even though I didn’t care. I wanted my stare to move back to her. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to ask how she’d been. I wanted to ask her why out of seven billion humans on the planet, she’d chosen him.
“I said did you notice the bombshell to your left wearing the blue dress?” he said, nodding in that direction.
I turned to spot the person he was looking at, and the minute my eyes landed on her, I wanted to claw my eyes out. “That’s Rose, my new intern, and she’s only nineteen. She’s barely of age.”
“But she is of age.” He smirked and nudged me in the arm. “I gotta tell you, old Jason would’ve been all over that woman if he had the chance.”
“She’s a girl, not a woman. A bit young in age, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “I’ve dated younger.” He paused and tossed his hands up in the air. “They were always at least eighteen. I’m not some creep.”
Could have fooled me.
“Besides, I wasn’t pointing her out for me. I’m a happily taken man. I was pointing her out for you, big guy. Plus, with her being your intern, I bet she’d do anything to please you.” He nudged me again, and I wanted to slam my fist into his face.
God, Red. Why him?
I rolled my eyes and looked away from Rose. “That’s disgusting, unprofessional, and completely out of line, Jason. And I hope you don’t plan on running the company in that manner when you get out west.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy there, buddy. I was just joking with you. From the rumors, it appears you don’t date much. I was just trying to be your wingman.”
He was drunk, already stumbling a bit, and I could tell that with a few more drinks in, he’d be his normal mess of a self.
“I’m good, Jason.”
He tossed his hands up in surrender. “All right. Suit yourself.” He glanced once more in the direction of Rose, and I watched as his eyes moved up and down her figure. What a piece of scum. He caught me watching him, and he smirked. “Just looking, not touching.”
He walked away, and the second he turned away from me, my stare moved back to Aaliyah—at least where she had been, but now she was gone. I looked around the space, on a mission to spot her, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Looking for someone?” a voice said, breaking me away from my search. I turned to see Walter approaching me with a smile on his face. Since Walter and Marie had adopted Jason, they shared none of his facial characteristics, which I was thankful for. If Walter had looked like his son, I’d have wanted to punch him on the regular.
“No. Just surveying the event. Seems to be going well.”
“I’m just thankful the photographs were taken before Jason got hammered.”
I snickered. “You noticed, too, huh?”
“I always do. I don’t want you to think this is any representation of how he’ll perform once he’s in California. After hours, he’s a mess at times, but during business, he’s levelheaded.”
I wasn’t sure who Walter was trying to convince—me or himself.
Instead of commenting on how incorrect Walter was about his son, I smiled and lied. “I’m not too worried.”
“Good. Plus, after the wedding, I’m sure he’ll settle down from his old habits, be the husband Aaliyah deserves.”
The wedding.
