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“Does that really matter? I didn’t know shit about Cress before I married her. At least not the woman she had become. A few interactions when we were in high school and college where she wasn’t on my radar didn’t give me insight into who my wife was. She changed, I changed, and when our paths crossed again things were different. The minute I laid eyes on her I knew she was mine. The rest didn’t fucking matter.”
“You two are the exception.”
“Maybe not. Bring her tomorrow night.”
“Why?” I answered, my eyes on my brother and he smiled smugly.
“I want to meet the person who has my brother cowering like a pussy. Never thought I’d see the day.”
I threw my head back and laughed. His smile expanded. “Am I wrong?”
He wasn’t wrong but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Yeah, muthafucker you are.”
Elias stood. “Come on, you’re buying me lunch.”
“How am I buying you lunch when you pulled up on me?”
“I just gave you advice. That’s worth a meal.”
“You call that advice?”
“Yeah, I do, let's go.”
My brother being home was the one good thing The Collective forced my hand on. Had he never married Cress, Lucas might not have been the only brother I lost.
nine
Jhorie.
My heels clicked against the pristine marble floors as I walked beside Ezekiel though the entrance of Liberté Abstraite (Abstract Freedom) which was owned by Kenneth Shilo with Christian Devereaux as a silent partner. Christian had shelled out an ungodly amount of money on the theatre to ensure his sister’s dreams would never be disrupted.
Yet another reminder I was playing in the sandbox with people I could not compete with, at least financially. As we moved down the hall I took in photos of investors lining the hall in antique gold frames with brass plates noting their position in the benefactor hierarchy. The Omari family were Diamond investors. I remained silent, taking it all in as I struggled to keep up with his long, confident strides while we moved toward where his sister-in-law would be performing.
I wasn’t supposed to be here, had argued every logical reason why I shouldn’t, but Ezekiel won. His rebuttal that we would be leaving directly from the theatre, heading straight to the airport to catch a flight on his private jet to LA for some last-minute business meeting was the deciding factor.
Here I was, at the ballet to watch Cress Omari dance her first performance after having her second child. A beautiful baby girl whose pictures I gushed over when Ezekiel pulled her up on his phone along with her older brother.
She was beautiful but he was adorable with the way he spoke about his niece and nephew. The smile on his face was one I hadn’t experienced before. There was a certain contentment and happiness they brought him which showed in his expression.
Tonight, he’d scheduled a driver, so he sat next to me in the back of a SUV which held my luggage for our short stay in LA. I was so damn anxious about catching a flight with Ezekiel and spending the next couple days alone with him. He promised I would have my own space, but I was still overthinking.
Things had been awkward since the night at McCall’s but it wasn’t him, it was me. I was treading lightly around Ezekiel. My brain was in overload. He said we were good together but what did that mean? There was no way he was insinuating we could be a thing… or maybe he was. I refused to embarrass myself requesting clarification on whether he wanted us to be a casual fling or date. Neither felt like a smart choice for us.
He was newly divorced and I didn’t know of many situations where newly divorced men were ready to dive into something serious seconds after the ink dried on their divorce decrees. Ezekiel was wealthy, unfairly sexy, and a very busy, powerful man.
If I had to guess there were women lined up to be whatever he wanted them to be. I also felt, with certainty, that a wife and mother of his children were not on the list of things he dreamt of those women being. I wanted both. Life was flying by and I desperately wanted to work toward something meaningful and lasting. So I had no interest in casual sex, which was why I was nervous about tonight and the days that would follow.
“You look amazing, stop fidgeting.”
We paused outside of two large, architectural wooden doors that stood out against the blank pale gray backdrop of the walls.
My hands stilled as they brushed over the sides of my wine-colored, ruched, midi dress. It hugged all the right places and was made of semi sheer lace with double paneling, offering a peek of what was underneath but remaining chic and classy. It also just happened to pair perfectly with the black on black Ezekiel wore.
“I’m not fidgeting.”
He smiled, devilishly handsome, and pulled the door. “You are and for no reason. You look perfect.” His gaze swept me from the top of my head down to the black, suede, open-toed Jimmy Choos on my feet.
