"When Dexter took me to DC for my birthday a couple of months ago, remember? That's when I knew I had to give young blood a second look. A man who can go from a hole-in-the-wall club in the Bronx to a tour of the White House – now that's my kind of man."
"I didn't know you did a tour of the White House? And you talk about him like you're some kind of cougar. You're barely a year older than he is."
"I know. But I'm used to dating guys who are five to ten years older than me, so he seems young. I mean, he's still in his twenties Bria?"
"He's twenty-nine Maya; thirty will be here soon enough."
"I can't wait. Every time I have to say his age, I cringe inside a little. ... Don't look at me like that," Maya said at Bria's surprised look. "I'd much rather have me a handsome forty-something-year-old. Like your Mr. Shelby."
"How do you know what he looks like?" Bria asked.
"I googled him when you sent me that long-ass text last night."
"I sent you that long-ass text because you didn't pick up your phone. Where were you at one o'clock in the morning?"
"With my man, handling my business. A better question is, where were you and were you handling some long overdue business?"
"Shush," Bria said. "This is a professional environment," she couldn't help but smile.
"Then let's get out of here. I want all the dirty details. And from that smile, it seems like I'm in for a real treat."
"I was handling some business," Bria quipped.
"Oooooh," Maya squealed. "Are you standing here telling me you let the green-eyed heart throb get the cobwebs off your panties?"
Both women swirled at the sound of an exaggerated clearing of a throat.
Bria's mouth gaped in horror.
Maya clasped one hand over her mouth in surprise.
A pair of forest-green eyes positively exploded in laughter.
Maya was the first to recover. "I'll just wait for you out here," she said, exiting Bria's office.
"Afternoon," Carrington said, slightly bowing his head as Maya closed the door to Bria's office.
Bria legs gave out, forcing her to sit. She wished that she could continue lower, sinking into a magical hole in the floor that would close as soon as she was inside.
Carrington folded his arms across his broad chest. "Are you going to look at me?" he asked.
"Not if I can help it," Bria said, mortified.
"Well then I guess it's going to be your loss," Carrington said.
"What's going to be my loss?" Bria asked, her head snapping up.
"This," he said, holding out two tickets.
"What's this?" Bria asked.
"I know you can read because you're an attorney," he smiled.
"Hamilton tickets. These are front row center," Bria marveled, gaping at the info on the ticket to make sure she'd gotten it right.
"I hope so. Otherwise, my secretary is fired."
"I took a chance that you'd say yes to spending another evening with me."
"I don't know what to say. After last night ..."
"After last night, I knew I had to see you again," Carrington said, stepping directly in front of her. The woodsy smell of him blanketed her, taking her back to the cocoon of his arms from a few hours ago.
"Really?" Bria asked, a school-girl twinkle coating her voice.
"Really," Carrington said, his emerald-green eyes glazing over.
"Why?"
"I think you know why Beautiful Bria," he said, his lips zeroing in on her.
Chapter 14
"ALRIGHT. I KNOW, I know. I owe you big time," Maya babbled. "I'm sorry Bria. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that. But I didn't know he was standing there. I swear. Isn't he supposed to knock or something before coming into your office?"
"In case you forgot, he’s one of the owners. I think that kinda gives him a pass to do what the hell he wants."
"Well it's not my fault that he's cat-footed. Jesus!" Maya said as they hailed a cab to get some lunch.
"Cat feet or not, you're still not off the hook. We're going to Xtopia, you're paying and I'm having a big, fat steak with all the trimmings," Bria said.
"That's going to cost me a couple of hundred bucks!" Maya moaned, thinking of the prices of the upscale steakhouse.
"You can afford it, and as you so brilliantly said, you owe me – big time."
"Dammit!" Maya pouted. "There goes that Fe Noel belt I wanted."
"Serves you right!"
"Well if I'm springing for a two-hundred dollar lunch, I want all the nitty gritty details about last night. Every. Last. One," Maya emphasized, pointing a blood-red nail at Bria.
"I ought not to tell you a darn thing and still make you pay for lunch."
"You wouldn't," Maya said. "That would be too cruel," she almost panicked, as they entered the back of a yellow cab.
Maya did love her gossip. Bria knew it was killing her not to know what had transpired between her and Carrington last evening. She smiled at her friend's torture; a small victory for now.
"SO SPILL. YOU OBVIOUSLY let him in the panties. How was it?" Maya said, no sooner than they'd claimed their booth at the restaurant.
"I didn't say that, and must you be so crass?" Bria responded as she sipped on her lemon water.
"Yes. I must. This is me. Maya. Your best friend. Crass and ratchetness is my middle name, remember? Now spill. Did you sleep with him or not?"
"Well first I have to say, you were right about how cute the cater waiters tended to be at fancy functions. The one behind the bar was ffff – ffff – fine," Bria described. "But alas, he was too young."
"Yeah, yeah," Maya waved. "The panties."
"But before I even got there, the Uber driver – he was adorable too. I'm like, two fine men in the span of a half hour. My head truly has been buried in the sands of marriage."
"Bria!" Maya screeched.
"You wanna spring for another two-hundred dollar lunch? Your screeches aren't exactly quiet," Bria said, her eyes widening.
Maya looked around at a few stares coming their way. "Alright, but you're torturing me and you know it," she whispered fiercely. "Did you sleep with him, or not? I couldn't get a read on any tell-tale signals from him."
"You wouldn't. He's not easy to read, unless he wants you to know something."
"And yet, you seem to know how to read him a bit already," Maya noted. "Hmmmm, the plot thickens."
"We did spend the evening together," Bria noted.
"So you did sleep with him?" Maya asked for the umpteenth time.
"I told you, I didn't say that."
"But you didn't not say it either," Maya countered. "Dammit Bria, put me out of my misery or have someone shoot me already!"
"Alright," Bria said, figuring she'd tortured her friend enough.
"Excuse me," the server inquired. "I forgot to ask how you wanted your steak," she said to Bria, who almost laughed out loud at the perfectly timed interruption. Served Maya right. Let her wait a few more minutes.
"Crap!" Maya said in frustration.
"Medium well," Bria said, smiling at the confused-looking server.
"Thank you, and sorry about the interruption," the young server said as she left their table.
"No problem," Maya said quickly.
"Before you take one bite of that expensive-ass carcass I'm paying for, you will spill!" Maya commanded.
"It's not a straightforward yes or no," Bria said.
"That's like being a little bit pregnant. Either you had sex with him or you didn't," Maya murmured fiercely. "So which is it for God's sake?!"
"Well then the answer is no, I didn't have sex with him."
"So what did happen?" Maya asked. "And why was he in your office today?"
"Let me start from the beginning," Bria said, "because if the truth be told, I'm not quite sure what happened last night."
"What do you mean you're not sure? Don't you remember?" Maya asked. "Did you drink too much? Did you pass out? Oh God Bria, did he drug you?" she continued, her
eyes as big as saucers.
"I have to take this," Bria said, noting the number on her phone. ... "Tell him I'll meet him in his office in a half hour," she said to her secretary.
"Who was that?" Maya asked.
"I gotta go," Bria said.
"But you can't," Maya protested. "You didn't give me any of the details yet."
"I know, and I swear I'm not trying to string you along this time. But when the big dawgs call, you gotta run. And what makes you think I was drugged? Your imagination is in overdrive."
"I can't help it. I love you. We're women. I worry."
"Yet you're the one who told me to go out and get my groove on."
"Yeah, but with caution," Maya said peevishly. "Call me tonight. I still want the details," she said as the server dropped the check – and their food in to-go containers – on the table.
"Can't tonight. I have a date," Bria said.
"With him?" Maya asked.
"Who else?" Bria responded.
"If I don't hear from you tomorrow Bria Michaels, I swear, I'm gonna—"
"Do nothing but wait," Bria laughed, as her phone rang again. "Jesus, Grand Central station on this thing today," she said, looking at her phone at the unknown number.
"Hello," she answered as she pushed the strap of her leather bag up on her right arm. Bria never screened, because it could be work related.
"Is this Bria Michaels?"a voice on the other end asked.
"Yes. Who's this?" Bria asked.
"Marla."
Bria pulled the phone away from her ear to stare at it. "Hello. Hello," a voice on the other end said.
"Bria this is Marla," the voice repeated. "Are you still there?"
Maya could hear the voice through the phone.
"Yes," Bria said.
"WAS THAT WHO I THINK it was?" Maya said as Bria hung up the phone, her turn to be almost speechless.
"Yes," Bria answered as she continued to stare at her phone. "That was none other than my ex-husband's baby mama."
Chapter 15
TALK ABOUT A ROLLER coaster of a day, Bria thought as she leaned and rolled her head around on her neck. She looked out her office window and marveled at how one twenty-four hour period could bring so many changes.
From the highs of a new man in her life, to the lows of being reminded of one of the worst times in her life. Also, throw in another ‘career maker' of a case to cover the professional – it added up to one doozy of a day. She felt like a yo-yo; yanked from one extreme emotion to the next, all at the flip of the universe's wrist.
"Come in," she said in response to a soft knock on her office door.
"Hi," Carrington said, stepping in. "Your secretary wasn't there so I figured I'd knock in case you were in the middle of another, ah, conversation," he smiled.
Bria smiled. "I will never live that down," Bria said, blushing at the remembrance of what he'd overheard her best friend saying earlier that day.
Carrington chuckled. "I'm quite flattered,' he said, smiling. "So did you spill the beans on our enchanted evening?" he asked.
Bria's worries suddenly took a backseat as she caught the twinkle in his too-green eyes. "Not exactly," she responded.
"I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but what I am sure of is that we have two and a half hours before curtain time," he said, looking at his watch. "There's no time for dinner before the show, so I thought we'd grab a late supper after."
"Sounds divine," Bria said. "I rarely eat before nine anyway."
"Perfect. Neither do I. I'll be in front of your building in two hours," he said. "Or rather, I'll be in a car in front of your building."
"Not taking the Bugatti tonight?"
"You remember?"
"How could I forget such a beauty?" Bria said playfully. "She positively upstaged me last night?"
"Nothing or no one could do that Beautiful Bria," Carrington said, crossing the office to stand before her.
"I beg to differ," Bria laughed.
"Then let me prove to you just how wrong you are," Carrington said, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. His palms felt warm and safe. He brushed the pad of one thumb along a defined cheekbone. "So very beautiful," he declared, pulling her to him, his lips grazing hers softly, taking his time to work his tongue into her mouth.
Bria flowed like liquid into the hotness of his kiss, her lips flowering open of their own free will.
His manhood hardened at her softness against him; the staccato beat of her heart prompting him to pull her closer. The taste of her was far more potent than he remembered from the night before, as the promises of that unfulfilled evening increased his desire for her.
As much as she knew he'd wanted to fully consummate attraction last night, he'd given her something much more valuable – intimacy. They'd spent the evening talking into the wee hours of the morning. And then, he'd tasted her – fully. But she'd pulled back. In spite of how much she wanted him, she instinctively knew that the time wasn't right, and he'd respected that. He'd held her all night, and Bria couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so peacefully.
Remembering his gentleness from last night, and lost in the magic of the feelings he incited in her with his current kiss, Bria cupped the back of his neck and invited him in deeper – her need raw and urgent for him.
"Dear God woman, what are you trying to do to me?" he said, his hands easing down to cup her perfectly rounded buttocks.
His voice penetrated the spell of passion Bria was wound tightly in.
"Huh?" she whispered, her fingers drumming on the throbbing of her bottom lip. "I ... I don't know—," Bria declared, pulling away from him. "It frightens me how attracted I am to you," she admitted candidly.
"Give in to it. I swear you won't regret it," he declared, those electrifying green eyes promising things that she didn't dare dream existed.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Bria said as he reached for her again.
Chapter 16
"WHERE WERE YOU JUST now?" Carrington asked. "You've been distracted all evening. Didn't you enjoy the show?"
"I'm sorry," Bria said. "It's impossible not to enjoy Hamilton. It was better than all the rave reviews. And what made it extra special was the company. Thank you for taking me."
"Hmmm, the show wasn't lacking, and apparently neither was the company. So where were you a few minutes ago?"
"What do you mean?" Bria breathed, buying time in hopes that he'd cease his probing.
"I've been staring at you for at least a minute. You're here with me, but only in physical form. Your mind has traveled a million miles away," he noted.
"I thought you were in the kitchen of this cavernous place," Bria deflected. "It would easily take you at least two minutes to walk down that hall," she laughed nervously.
"I was in the kitchen," he smiled, as he took a seat beside her on the couch. "But apparently you didn't hear me enter the room. If I didn't feel something between us, I might have been offended," he said, reaching for her hand. "So tell me, what goes on in that lovely head of yours that takes you away from me?"
Bria smiled thinking about what his reaction would be if she told him what was really on her mind. Yeah, that would heat things up between them real quick. Not! she thought.
"Trust me, it's nothing you'd be interested in."
"Anything that captures your attention so completely interests me," he said, squeezing her hand.
"Sweet talker," Bria smiled.
"Is it working?" Carrington smiled back.
"Maybe," Bria said, smiling back at him.
"The last time you were here, I asked you if you knew why I brought you here, remember?"
"I remember," Bria said, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. "And?"
"And my original intent has changed?"
"Why?"
"The original intent is still there. Let's be clear about that," Carrington said. "Last night was an interesting start, but I can't wait to fully bed you. It's been a constant thought ever sinc
e I saw your exposed back in that dress last night. I made up my mind then and there that I was going to have you."
"There's nothing overly confident about you is there?" Bria teased.
Carrington chuckled. "I could see in your eyes that you wanted the same thing. Please don't do us a disservice by denying that."
"I'm not," Bria said, suddenly shy. "So now that we've cleared that up, what is your new intent?"
"I find myself wanting to know you outside the confines of a bed," he admitted honestly.
"You don't say," Bria said, warmly surprised.
"So let's start with what were you thinking a few minutes ago," Carrington said, bringing their conversation full circle. "It obviously haunts you?"
"You are persistent," Bria said.
"One of my many flaws," Carrington smiled.
"Do you really want to know?"
"I do," Carrington said, his finger rubbing a circle in one of her upturned palms.
"I was thinking about a call I received from my ex-husband's mistress earlier today. She asked me something and I'm not quite sure how to handle it."
Chapter 17
EARLIER THAT DAY
Bria stood rooted to the spot while Maya took care of the bill.
She hung up the phone. She hadn't meant to, at least she didn't think she had. Her hands trembled and the back of her throat burned.
Maya rushed her to the ladies room.
Bria's phone rang again. She looked down at it and groaned.
"It's her again?" Maya asked.
Still shaking, Bria shook her head.
"Do you want me to answer it?"
"No. No," Bria said, instinctively punching the answer button. This was something she had to do herself.
"Bria?" the voice on the other end said.
"Yes," Bria confirmed. "We got cut off."
Maya could hear a deep breath on the other end of the line.
"Can we meet?" Marla asked.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES she want?" Maya asked as soon as Bria hung up the phone.
"I don't know," Bria said, biting her thumbnail.
"But you want to know, don't you?"
"Is that bad? I know I shouldn't want to, but I do. It's been killing me wondering what she looks like, acts like, talks like – who she is as a woman and what she has that I don't."
Love after Betrayal: An Interracial, Billionaire Romance Page 8