Black House Inc is a large and successful conglomerate, and has been run by family for years. It’s even in the top S&P 500 Index and according to reports, has been raking in high revenues since its expansion from just a financial institution.
Now they own many companies, in different fields and sectors of the economy.
Gideon’s father, George Black, took the company to the main stream, making it public.
But it’s Gideon that really expanded the reach of the company. Making sure its footprint is found almost everywhere legitimate and profitable, worldwide.
Then they were hit with accusations of a Ponzi scheme.
I want to ask him more about it. I want to know what’s being said about the issue, what’s being done to regain full exoneration and absolution.
I know damn well that his company is innocent in all of this, it’s only a matter of getting the much needed evidence that will secure Black House’s reputation. I wonder if whatever is in the black box from Ben Roach will help.
Fred stands just outside the backdoor.
This time when I smile at him, he doesn’t return it.
Hmm, that is weird. Someone is moody today. And here I thought we were now best friends...
He opens the back door for me and I begin to rattle off the things I need to do before going over to the Martin’s house for that dreaded dinner Sam roped me into.
“Okay fellas, so I need to go to Whole Foods to pick up...” I’m cut off when I notice the man in front of me.
Seated exactly where he was when I met him, the day he dared me to come along for a ride around the building. Oozing unbridled power and magnetism, looking like he has all the time in the world.
My body freezes as I take in the domineering presence of him in the enclosed space as Fred closed the door after me.
Intense forest green emerald orbs are staring at me.
With so much intensity and concentration, my heart starts beating slower, a reaction that seems to only happen whenever I’m around him.
His gaze sucks me in, just like that first day we met.
I wonder then if he is also thinking of that day as he assesses me, taking me in with those gorgeous emerald eyes.
My breath stills in my lungs, I don’t know how to react, let alone what to say.
To him.
All I do is just stare, shocked to see him in front of me. His savage, breathless features are just... wow. They blow me away every time I look at him, even if it’s just from a picture.
Gideon Black is easily the most handsome, gorgeous and well-built man I have ever seen in my life.
He is hard and exquisite. With a kind of restless energy brewing within him and it drives me wild when he looks at me the way he is now.
When that bit of knowledge strikes me, I shake myself out of the vortex of desire around us and say the first thing that comes to mind.
The man has this strange, unusual, way of seducing me that I don’t understand. All I know is I can’t breathe properly, my heart rate is slower, my eyes taking him in as if starved, not having seen him for over a week now.
“I wasn’t aware that you would finally show.” I whisper, remembering he said he would come ‘get me’ once he got back to New York on Friday.
Friday was yesterday. Today is Saturday, I sure wasn’t expecting him today.
I was anticipating meeting him yesterday.
I had even splurged on this new fragrance in my preparation of seeing him again. Don’t ask me why I did that. It was my weakest moment which proved to be pointless since he never showed.
I didn’t even get any word from him. It was just radio silence everywhere.
I mean, I could have asked either Fred or John but I didn’t want to come across as eager. Or, God forbid, desperate for him. I wanted to hear from him, directly from him. I wanted to know if he is alright. Also, to have his deep, sensual voice wash over me.
Here is my answer however, in flesh and blood. Looking like a tall glass of refreshing mineral water on a hot July summer day.
“I wasn’t aware that you would act childish and ignore my calls.” He fires back, his voice calm and soft. Just like that, my temper rises.
We are back in the fighting ring. It’s his laid back, cool persona that he wears, making it feel as if he doesn’t care, that gets to me. I don’t know why.
“It wasn’t me who broke my word. Like a child.” I counter back, as I put my coat and bags on the seat beside me.
I had forgotten how much he infuriates me with his arrogance.
“I was actually waiting for you yesterday and thought you would have the common decency of informing the other person that you wouldn’t make it.” I sarcastically say as I remember how I wore another of my best outfits yesterday.
Urgh. Now I’m angry and feeling insulted.
“I got held up.” He explains as he presses the divide partition button, effectively separating us from John and Fred.
Gideon’s voice is still so sensual, I think I missed hearing it. But having him right there in front of me is an aphrodisiac all on its own.
I feel the chills break out my entire body, the goosebumps feeling alien on me amidst the heat of the space between Gideon and I.
I can’t believe the strength of my physical response to him. Let alone my psychological response.
“Why didn’t you tell me that then?” I question, my voice losing the heat of before.
“Because I didn’t have the opportunity to do so, I literally just landed a half hour ago.” He answers, and it’s only then that I take a good look at him. Really taking him in as a person, not as a god.
Though his voice is the same low, cultured timbre, I can’t help but detect some notes of fatigue and stress.
The fight I was gearing up for, leaves my body in one breathe. Leaving me with a feeling I only identify with when I’m around or thinking of the only family I have.
Concern.
“Is everything alright?” I don’t recognize my voice. I have no idea who is speaking in a low soft tone. I have no idea who that is and it surprises both of us when he hears my question.
He looks at me as if trying to figure something about me. Hell, I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the chemical imbalances in my head.
First with Sofia Demetri and now him. I have always been aware of how everything about me is different whenever I’m around him.
My senses are much sharper than ever, more on edge, if I must admit.
But in all of that, I have never once let it slip just how much he affects me. I don’t know how he will react and I don’t want to find out. The silence in the car is now overbearing as he continues to study me, as if seeing me for the first time.
“It’s alright now.” There is a gruffness to his voice as he speaks.
As if he is also frazzled by whatever is going on between us.
Our eyes hold and lock. I don’t look away and neither does he. I wonder what’s going on through his head. I wonder what he thinks of me. I wonder what he is feeling in this moment.
So, I ask.
“Are you alright?” My voice comes out a little above a whisper but I know he heard me.
He leans into his seat and takes a deep sigh, the vibrations in his chest reaching me until I feel them in my stomach; but he never breaks the connection of our gazes.
“I’ll be fine. I feel much better already.” He says earnestly.
I don’t want to start analyzing what he means by that so I just take it in stride and throw overthinking to the wind.
“I’m glad.” I respond as I turn away from him.
I can’t handle the molten heat coming from his eyes. I don’t know what to do in this situation.
I’m not Sam or any other woman out there. Flirting doesn’t come easy for me. I’m awkward and at times don’t have a lot to say so I just, shut down, so to speak. I don’t have any experience with a man, which might explain why I don’t know what to do with the attraction I
have with this man.
“I’m sorry I didn’t inform you about my sudden change of plans. I really wasn’t able to call you.” He explains sincerely.
“It’s okay I guess.”
There is nothing I can do about the disappointment I felt yesterday. For having gone through all that trouble for nothing, but in this moment, I just... I don’t want to fight or argue with him. I just want to bask in this mutual understanding we have.
“And how was your week? Did that bastard try anything?” His words come out clipped and rough at the end as if it makes him angry to think that I work for his worst mortal enemy.
“He is my enemy too so I have to keep him close.” I say in amusement.
I proceed to fill him in on the peculiar details of this week. How Stefan’s mood has been really bad since coming back from D.C, his drinking habits, the phone call from the other day, his frazzled appearance. His upcoming trip to Chicago.
“Something is in the works Gideon” I conclude, worried.
“I agree, and whatever it is, it’s not in his favor” He agrees as he mules over the details I gave him.
“Who did you say tried to see him but he refused?” He asks
“There were quite a lot of people. I mean there was his wife, his mistresses also dropped by but he turned them all away and there was a man called Lawrence Harvey who called to talk to Stefan.
I don’t know him and have never seen him at our office before but as soon as I told Stefan his name, he literally panicked and couldn’t form a coherent statement.”
Now as I recount the details, I find that reaction strange and out of character for a man like Stefan who prides himself as a confident, know-it-all asshole.
“Lawrence Harvey is a well-known man in the streets. He is that type of man that shapes the news but you never hear his name on the news. He is all over politics and commerce. He is actually a good guy.” Gideon explains off the top of his head. His intelligence is really sexy.
“He sounds like an important person. Why would he be in communication with Stefan?.” I question
Next thing I know, Gideon is on the phone, talking to who I assume is Max, telling him the information I just shared. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the mood in the car turns sober in an instant when I mention this Lawrence Harvey guy.
As I look out my window, I notice the familiar underground road the car goes through. I think we are back at Gideon’s building.
I glance at my wristwatch and notice that I’m running out of time. I need to go to the store and pick up a few things for dinner, then dash to Sam’s place so we can go together to her parent’s estate.
“I can’t stay. I have a dinner engagement.” I explain to Gideon when he hangs up the phone. His reaction surprises me as his faces turns gloomy and dark in an instant..
“Dinner with who?” He asks quietly, softly, his nose flaring a bit. If I didn’t know better, I would say he is slightly jealous and acting a tad bit proprietary of me. There is a possessive gleam in his eyes, or I’m not seeing clearly?
But I do know better. I know he wants my undivided attention and commitment to the huge task at hand.
“Dinner with my best friend Sam and her family.” I inform as I raise my eyebrow.
I know damn well that Gideon knows who exactly Sam is. After all he has been surveilling my life for a while now. Invading my privacy like he is entitled to do so.
“Oh. That’s alright I guess.” He says, unapologetic. As if he is giving me permission to proceed with my plans. This is crazy.
“So, we can talk later about the contents of the box?” I ask as my phone vibrates in my bag, distracting me.
That must be Sam, calling to make sure I bring her favorite Monterey jack cheese. I’m busy looking for my phone and I don’t notice the heated, sexy gaze Gideon sends my way. But I feel it.
My body tenses up, I feel a gush of liquid warmth in my southern regions.
I stop looking for the phone and turn around to look at him. I don’t know why I react so strongly to him or why my body responds to him so, sharply. It confuses me to no small degree.
We look at each other for a long, maybe short, minute. Then he reaches over the threshold of the car and tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.
He does it so softly, I feel the soft zap of electricity over my ear. I shiver at his touch.
I want to reach up and cover my ear, over the spot where his soft touch grazed my ear.
Maybe that will stop me from reaching over to touch him. Because God knows, I’m dying to get my hands on me.
“I’m glad you are alright.” I whisper sincerely.
I missed him this past week. I won’t lie to myself but I won’t admit it to him either.
I missed his intensity and the way he focuses all his attention on me as if he genuinely cares about me and wants to know as much about me as possible.
The way he studies me. The way he seems to understand the direction of my thoughts at times, as if we are on the same wavelength and frequency. No one has ever made me feel this way before, no one has ever given me their utmost, undivided attention.
I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. The fact that he looks at me like that. But I do know one thing; this is dangerous. Whatever this is won’t end well.
“So am I.” He responds, to which I look confused till he clarifies softly, “About you.”
And with that, he opens the car door and swiftly gets out.
Taking his magnetic energy and raw power with him. Leaving me wanting more of him. Leaving me oddly bereft.
Yet grateful for the foreign emotion swirling within me. Because it makes me feel feminine.
Chapter 15
Chloe
“I’M TELLING YOU, SHE is going to shred my patience to pieces tonight!” Sam exclaims. “She always does that, asking me questions that I don’t want to hear. And frankly, I don’t want to answer them.” She huffs
We are in the car that Sam’s mother sent for us. We are almost to the estate and Sam is just... well not in a good mood. She has been complaining about the near future; or more specifically, her ‘reunion’ with her mother.
It’s been like that the whole drive over and I know Sam. It’s best to let her vent off some steam now than to have her stuff it all in.
That will all go to hell the moment her mother, the sweet and genteel, Margaret Barker Martin, starts inquiring about her daughter’s life. I’ve been around before as mother and daughter went at each other. It wasn’t pretty and well back chatting to a black woman has never been a good idea since the beginning of time.
“I mean Chloe, how do I answer the ‘when are you going to make me a mother-in-law?’ question? Doesn’t she know that all the good, faithful men are taken and the ones left can’t be bothered to be faithful to one cologne what more one partner.” She goes on.
You see, Sam is a romantic.
She is a flirt yes and she is drop dead gorgeous but she is looking for romance in her life.
Not that cheap, ‘I’ll do it like the movies’ kind of romance. No. Sam wants authentic, raw and a bit old fashioned romance. Hell, I don’t know where she expects to get it from. But I’m rooting for her!
“Why don’t you tell her that then.” I question curiously.
One day, Sam will have to make the decision talk to her mother about all the pent-up emotions she has inside. My mother is long gone but she always said talking about an issue is much better than keeping it stuffed inside. Because even glass bottles explode under the right pressure.
Then again, I don’t blame Margaret. Sam’s introduction to the world was rather strained and not the kind of conditions any mother would want to bring her child into.
They lived in one of the worst ghettos of west Philadelphia.
Sam’s father was a drug abuser, alcoholic and a woman abuser. From what Sam told me, it seems like her birth was as a result of her mother being raped by her then boyfriend and then she immediately got pregna
nt.
Margaret had a hard, hard time with it all. Her mother refused to care for her when she found out that her straight A’s child was pregnant and that it was as a result of her rape.
Her mother didn’t believe her because well, Margaret and Danny were dating at the time but Margaret had no intention of taking their relationship to the ‘next level.’
I’m not sure about the whole story but I think at the time, Margaret was in college on student loans and scholarships.
The scholarships renewed each semester if she had good credit in all her classes. So, when she got pregnant, her academic life took a tumble for the worse. Being kicked out of the house by her mother, she only had one choice.
She went to live with a friend but the word came out that she was pregnant and well, Danny knew it was his and so he demanded that she come live with him or else he would kill Margaret’s friend.
So, with no choice but to do as instructed, she moved in with the man that robbed her of her innocence and pride as a woman. But Danny took much more than that, he took away a well planned future that Margaret had in mind of being a lawyer. They lived in his small, dingy apartment where crime was the norm. He would abuse her even more, with no one being the wiser.
Then Samantha Barker was born and things changed then. Margaret made a decision to be a better mother. She found a job during her pregnancy and was able to purchase the essentials she needed and what little else she could manage with the small, irregular paychecks.
But raising a child in a home infested with drugs, alcohol and abuse was a hard limit for Margaret.
She took a fourteen-month old Sam, bundled her up. Grabbed the packed bags that she had hid and ran for her life as well as the life of an innocent sweet baby while Danny was passed out in the sorry excuse of a bedroom.
She never looked back.
I think Margaret somehow feels guilty and responsible for the way Sam was conceived but I see the tremendous love shining in Margaret’s eyes whenever she looks at her daughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous Chloe, you know I can’t tell mama that.” Sam says incredulously.
The Billion Dollar Plan: Incongruity Series Book 1 Page 11