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Desiree’s voice came from inside the closet. “Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. They named him Royce Junior, of course. Poor kid.”
Montez lifted a gold belt from the bed and examined it. “Despite him working so hard, he made time to start a family. You ever think about that—a family, kids?”
Desiree came out of the closet and placed a blazer on a hanger. “Sometimes. That’s not a priority right now with everything I have going on. But one day, you know… maybe.” She walked into the closet with a stack of clothes.
“Maybe?” That didn’t sound very encouraging.
She returned to the room and looked at him with curious eyes. “What’s going on? Why are you asking me these questions?”
It was Montez’s turn to shrug. “I just want to know. We talk about a lot of stuff but never about that. The future, marriage, kids. I know it’s early yet, but are we on the same page?”
The conversation with Jet and Drevon earlier, plus running into Royce, had him thinking a lot about the future—particularly a future with Desiree. Tension filled him all of a sudden.
“I think we are,” she said carefully, “but I can’t do any of that right now, and it’s different for me as a woman. Getting married might be no big deal, but kids could derail my career.”
“Maybe in a typical company, but Mark made it clear that family and relationships are important to him, as part of his mother’s legacy.”
“Are you saying you know my boss better than I do now?” Desiree asked with amusement.
Montez let out a little laugh. “I know how that sounds, but to be honest, I think you’re being unnecessarily pessimistic, that’s all.”
The smile died on her face. “Oh really? Well, I disagree. I’m not being pessimistic, I’m being realistic. I don’t have your privilege. I’m not a man, and I don’t work for the family business.”
Montez bristled at her tone and what she was implying. “Working for my family’s business doesn’t mean my life is easy,” he said evenly.
“But you have security, Montez, which I don’t. I know very well how companies can turn on loyal employees. It happened to my dad.”
Montez took a moment to parse his words carefully because he didn’t want to offend her. “What happened to your parents was terrible, but you can’t spend the rest of your life basing all your actions on what happened in the past. You have to live your own life and make decisions independent of those events.”
“Are you serious?” Desiree asked, voice elevated.
“Yes. All I’m saying is, your fixation on what happened isn’t healthy.”
“My fixation…” Resting her hands on her hips, Desiree burst out laughing and slowly shook her head.
“What is so funny?”
“You. You’re talking about my fixation, but what about yours?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Montez demanded.
She closed her eyes for several seconds as if counting backward in her head. “You claim the reason you haven’t been in a serious relationship is because you keep running into the same women, butyouapproach those types of women. Ever asked yourself why? Because with them, there’s less chance you’ll get your feelings hurt. A couple of girls back in high school hurt you, and now women who date you until the end of time only get a piece of you.”
He had shared his feelings in confidence, and what she said felt like a slap, particularly since he’d given her all of himself and opened up to her in ways he hadn’t with other women.
“Royce might be a jerk, but he was right about one thing. You have a very narrow focus, which is your career and its advancement. Keep that up, and you’re going to end up alone.”
Desiree’s eyebrows flew higher, and her face hardened. “The usual threat that men toss around. I’m going to end up alone. Oh, how awful for me! Guess what? I’d rather be alone—and therefore happy—than with a man who doesn’t appreciate me or wants to put me in a box. Get out of my apartment!”
Startled, Montez stared at Desiree in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. Leave!”
She marched past him, and he followed more slowly and walked to where she stood holding the door wide open.
“You’re overreacting,” Montez said through tight lips.
Her eyes flashed angrily at him. “No, I’m not. I put up with that foolishness from Royce and learned my lesson the hard way. I’m not going to put up with it from you. If you can’t understand how important my career is to me, especially after I explained why, then there’s nothing else for us to say to each other.”
