Rituals for Love (9781476761893)

by Ray, Shamara

  She smiled at me. “Not since dinner.”

  Beautiful and she made me laugh. “You’re beautiful.”

  “Thank you, baby. You make me feel beautiful.”

  “I can’t keep my eyes off of you.”

  “Maybe we should go the entire week without seeing each other more often.”

  “I don’t think so. My hectic schedule this week prevented me from spending time with my baby.”

  “Well, we have the rest of tonight and tomorrow to make up for it.”

  “Actually, I need to go to Eden tomorrow to finalize the preparations with my brother for the visiting chef residency. Our first chef arrives from Atlanta tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Jeremiah can’t handle that on his own?”

  “With the challenges I’m having at Eden2, I need to be hands-on. I want to make sure we’re selecting the right chef to spearhead the restaurant.”

  I was convinced that Jeremiah would be able to identify the best candidate for Eden2. Initially, when I realized there were issues, I thought about asking him if he would go to Atlanta for a few months to get the restaurant on par with our New York location. He would’ve done it if I asked, but he hadn’t offered. It wouldn’t be fair for me to ask him to uproot his life for my business. So, I came up with the next best solution, the residency. Two chefs. One week each. At the end of the residencies, I’d have a new head chef for Eden2. If I could get this right, I’d consider a third location for Eden—maybe in Miami or Houston. In two years, I’d revisit the possibility. My current focus was on Atlanta and launching Genesis.

  “With all of the businesses you have, do you still get a sense of excitement when starting a new one?”

  “Definitely. I love the thrill of taking a business from nothing to something successful. Genesis is your baby, but I’m still excited about the prospect of what it can be.”

  “What are your thoughts on the proposal Hal emailed over?”

  “It’s like I said on the phone. I think the figures are in line for what we’re looking for him to do. I will try to get him to come down on some of the materials costs. Otherwise, we need to give him the green light to get started ASAP.”

  “What’s the soonest he can begin?”

  “He promised a revised proposal by Monday afternoon at the latest. He can have a crew on-site Wednesday morning. All he needs is a check to begin. I’ll messenger him the check after we review the proposal.”

  Jade shifted in her seat. “Sounds good.”

  I kissed the back of her hand again. “As soon as he sends the proposal, you and I will go over it. If we agree, we’ll give him the okay to start.”

  She squeezed my hand. I navigated through the traffic to the tunnel. We chatted off and on during the drive back to Jade’s house. She mentioned that she was a little stiff from her run with Milan earlier in the day. I promised to give her a massage once we got home. I’d work out all the kinks on every inch of her body.

  I parked in her driveway. We went inside and directly upstairs to shower. I showered while Jade undressed and removed her makeup. I was waiting for her in the bedroom in a pair of pajama bottoms. Jade came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and her hair piled high atop her head. I had the massage oils on the nightstand beside the bed.

  “You can drop that towel.”

  She did as I asked. “Where do you want me?”

  I patted the bed. “Right here.”

  She sauntered across the room like a minx. Her body… I had to remind myself it was massage time and it wasn’t about me. She kissed my lips and then lay down across the bed on her stomach. I stroked the roundness of her ass.

  She lifted her head and glanced at me. “This is going to be a real massage, right?”

  I responded by positioning myself over her body and squirting oil into my hands. I firmly worked her shoulders while she moaned her approval. I worked my hands down her body, massaging her arms, back, legs, and feet.

  Her moans subsided as she drifted off. I turned off the lights, laid down alongside her, and drew her close to me, my arm wrapped around her waist. She backed her ass into me and snuggled closer. I closed my eyes and fell asleep listening to perfect silence.

  • • •

  JEREMIAH AND I WERE HUDDLED in the kitchen discussing our plan of action for the first chef starting on Monday morning.

  “He arrives this afternoon, so he may stop by this evening just to get a feel for the place,” I said.

  “Maybe he should’ve started today. I would have been able to put him to work for the Sunday gospel dinner.”

  “He’s going to be here Monday through next Sunday. He doesn’t leave until the evening. He’ll have an opportunity to see how it works tonight and next Sunday he can at least be here for the prep. If he shows up tonight, I won’t be here to meet him. I will be here first thing in the morning.”

  “It’s cool. I’ll show him around the kitchen and introduce him to the staff tonight. Just to be clear, you said he prefers to be called Lee?”

  “That’s what he told me. His name is Yeardley, but he goes by Lee.”

  “All right. We’ll see if Lee has what it takes for Eden.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  JADE

  I waited in the reception area at Omar’s midtown investment firm. I had been offered water, coffee and tea by more than one receptionist. The sprawling, posh office space screamed that deals were taking place and money was being made. A petite, middle-aged woman came from down the corridor and introduced herself as Omar’s secretary. She was going to take me to his office.

  I followed her through a maze of offices and cubicles to a corner office. I stepped inside Omar’s office and was instantly impressed—floor-to-ceiling windows, rich, dark carpet, a meeting area with a comfortable-looking couch and club chairs, a conference table with a retractable screen on the wall in front of it, and a small bar in the corner. I was immediately aware that Omar had understated his role with the firm.

  He was seated behind his hulking mahogany desk. I glanced back at the door and his name was definitely on it. His secretary excused herself and closed the door behind me.

  “This is a surprise,” he said. He came from behind his desk and hugged me.

  “I’m sorry for dropping in on you. I was at Genesis to take more pictures before the work begins this week.”

  He waved his hand. “No apology necessary. It’s nice to see you. I need surprises like this more often. Come, sit.”

  He directed me to the club chairs. “I came by because I wanted to discuss whether you had an opportunity to review the business plan for Genesis.”

  “I did and I shared it with a few of my clients. I was waiting to hear back from them before I reached out to you. I can tell you one thing, there’s no way they won’t want to invest. You’ve got something here.”

  “When we had dinner, I was exploring my options, but I think I’d like to move forward.”

  “What made you decide to pull the trigger?”

  “A six-figure proposal to renovate the space.”

  “Okay. Let me work my magic and see what we can come up with.”

  I leaned forward in my chair. “Omar, I’m still working out a few things on my end. I can’t stress enough how important discretion is to me.”

  “Jade, my job requires the utmost discretion. I understand and you don’t need to be concerned.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “You know,” he said with a smirk, “I can be discreet about a lot of other things, too.”

  “Is that right?”

  “That’s right. I can show you just how discreet I can be.”

  “You’re a mess.” I laughed, shaking my head. “Let’s stick to the one request.”

  “I get it. You want me to prove myself. Okay.”

  I got up to leave. “Yes, prove yourself, and if I’m impressed with your discretion with my finances, we can revisit other things in Neveruary.”

  Omar
walked me to the door. “Never say never. At least that’s what they say.”

  “Who’s they?”

  “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

  I left Omar standing in his office door watching me walk out. I chuckled to myself. He had better find a new girlfriend soon or he was going to drive me crazy.

  I hurried back to Long Island. Bria was waiting for me and I was an hour late. I called her from the car to tell her I was on my way and if she needed to start the meeting to go ahead without me. We were meeting with local soup kitchen to discuss how we could provide leftover food from Rituals.

  I rushed into the dining room to find Bria seated at the bar. “You can slow down. The meeting is over.”

  “I’m sorry, Bria. I tried to get back here as fast as I could.”

  “What happened?”

  “I had a meeting in the city with a friend that ran late.”

  “A friend?”

  “Yes, I do have those, you know. My meeting went longer than I expected and I apologize.” I recognized I was being vague. Bria and I had been friends since we were kids and she pretty much knew all of my friends, if not personally, at least by name.

  She studied my face. “Don’t worry about it. But what are you going to do once the spa is open? Run back and forth like a chicken with its head cut off?”

  “It’ll be a little crazy for a while. Once I get my staff where they need to be, I’ll be fine.”

  “I hear you, but you need to be realistic. That process may not be as seamless as you’re hoping it will be. Remember some of the problems we had to tackle when we first opened? Equipment not working properly, staff not showing up for shifts, suppliers sending the wrong orders.”

  “I remember and I’ve learned from those glitches. I know it’ll be tough for a while, and I can’t thank you enough for picking up my slack.”

  “We don’t even know the scope of the slack I’m going to have to pick up.” She laughed. “We’ll see if I’m still understanding once Genesis is open for business. I know who better have complimentary spa services at all times.”

  “That goes without saying.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Let me hear you say it.”

  “Bria, you are entitled to anything you want at Genesis. Free of charge. Anytime you want.”

  “That’s music to my ears.”

  “Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what happened in the meeting?”

  “It was straightforward. They were very interested in partnering with us. Based on the amount of donations they already receive, they want to work with us twice a week. We need to settle on which days of the week would be best for both of us. They were especially interested in Saturday because they have a lot of people coming in for Sunday dinner. I told them we’d be in touch after I had the chance to discuss it with you.”

  “We should do it. Saturday is fine and maybe we donate on Tuesdays as well. That’s a heavy leftover day for us.”

  “I’ll close the loop with them tomorrow.”

  “I can call if you want.”

  She shook her head. “You know I’ll tell you if I need anything.”

  “How are you doing? I feel like we haven’t caught up in while. How are things with Ernest?”

  “We are good.”

  “He puts a smile on your face and that’s what I like to see.”

  “He is the most unpretentious, generous man I have ever met.”

  “I would have never thought that big teddy bear would have stolen your heart.”

  “Neither would I, but I’m glad he did. You’re one of the few people that know I didn’t believe healthy relationships existed.”

  “I remember the days well,” I said.

  “I’m thankful I met this man that showed me something completely different than I was used to experiencing.”

  “Do you think you’ll marry him?”

  “We’ve talked about it.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised.”

  We shared a laugh. It was nice that we could laugh together about love and relationships. We both had relationships in the past that weren’t laughing matters. Overcoming heartbreak and being able flourish on the other side was a wondrous blessing. I acknowledged it. Every time I thought about where I could have been with Bryce, I acknowledged it. Every time I thought about how much I loved Cain, I acknowledged it.

  “Ernest has been good for you. I couldn’t ask for a better brother-in-law.”

  “I don’t have the ring yet.”

  “It’s going to happen.”

  “When the time is right. Nothing happens before it’s time.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CAIN

  Jeremiah came into my office with a scowl on his face. I knew the cause before he said a word. He sat down and I waited for him to confirm what I already knew.

  “I’m going to say one thing. If you hire this guy, you can forget about Eden2 doing anything other than tanking.”

  “Lee isn’t working out. What exactly is the problem?”

  “He’s slow. His skills aren’t up to snuff. He’s clumsy. He doesn’t know how to delegate. Do I need to continue?”

  “This is only his third day. Do you think it’s nerves?”

  “No, I think it’s what I said.”

  “Are you hovering?”

  “Nah, man. I gave him more than enough space to do what I typically do. He can’t hack it.”

  “I hear you. This may be more of an inconvenience to you, but I want him to finish out the week.”

  “Hell yeah, keeping this guy in my kitchen is extremely inconvenient.”

  “I understand, but I need it to be painfully obvious to him why he didn’t get the job. As long as his performance isn’t having an impact on what happens in my dining room, I need you to humor me on this.”

  “This has been a long-ass week and it’s only Wednesday. You’re going to owe big time, bro.”

  “I got you, don’t worry.”

  Jeremiah left the office annoyed with Lee and me. I hadn’t been at Eden since I met Lee on Monday morning, so I hadn’t seen firsthand what Jeremiah was complaining about. If Lee’s performance was affecting the quality of the food or my customer satisfaction, then we could have terminated his residency immediately. However, his airfare, hotel, car rental and stipend had all been paid. Since he was here for the week on my dime, he would most definitely be working for me while here.

  I’d make amends with my brother with some Giants tickets. He couldn’t stay angry if I handed over fifty yard line seats. In fact, I had better get tickets for two games, in case the next chef pissed him off, too.

  I hit the speaker button on the phone and dialed Jade.

  “Hey, babe,” she answered.

  “Hey. I emailed you a link to a company that designs innovative spa furniture. Take a look when you get a chance.”

  “I’ll check it out tonight.”

  “Also, we’re meeting Hal tomorrow morning at Genesis. They’re starting the work and he wants to go over a few details with us. I’m going to pick you up at nine.”

  “All right, honey. I have to get back to work. Talk to you later.”

  I had my own work to do outside of Eden. I logged off my computer and left the restaurant. I wanted to get to my corporate offices. I had other companies that needed my attention.

  • • •

  WE WERE GREETED BY HEAVY dust hanging in the air and the sounds of banging and buzz saws. Some walls had already been knocked down. “What time did you get started?”

  “The crew has been here since five this morning.” Hal walked us through the site to a makeshift office in the back. Heavy plastic was draped from the ceiling blocking the entrance. We stepped inside. It could’ve been a large supply closet; it probably was for the clothier.

  “This will be your temporary office space. I have the guys working now on your permanent office.” Hal turn
ed to Jade. “Cain informed me that you’ll be on-site often. We’ll get your office done as soon as possible.” Jade smiled and he continued. “For now, this space will have to do. It’s noisy and dusty as hell, but you can set up shop here. I just ask that with number of workers I have on-site, you try to stay out of the way as much as possible. We don’t need anyone getting hurt.”

  “We got it, Hal,” I replied. “Let’s go over the specs you wanted to discuss and we’ll leave you to your work.”

  Hal inquired about the spa lounge and verified the layout for the private group waiting area within the lounge. He asked a string of questions about the kitchen and dining room. Jade was excited about the entire project, yet she lit up when discussing the kitchen. She was exceedingly precise about the specs and ensured that Hal understood exactly what she wanted. He left us in the office and Jade sat in the solitary chair in the room.

  “What do you think?” I folded my arms across my chest. “Is there anything else you want to let Hal know?”

  “I think we addressed everything. Besides, I plan to be here a few times a week. I can let him know of any changes.”

  “Let’s try to keep any modifications to a minimum. The last thing we want is cost overruns. It’s easy to start making changes and the next thing you know we’re over budget.”

  “I know that, Cain.”

  “I know you do. I have a rule about coming in at or below budget for any of my businesses. I’ve never come in over and I don’t want Genesis to break my streak.”

  “It won’t. However, if it does, I’ll be responsible for the additional capital.”

  “We’ve already discussed this. That’s not going to happen.”

  “There’s no way to know if an unforeseen situation will arise to cause us to exceed our budget.”

  “The capital is taken care of, Jade.”

  “So, I don’t have a say?”

  “Of course you do. We both do. But our best strategy is to meet with Hal regularly and keep an eye on his progress. We’ve both committed to this project, so I don’t imagine we’ll have any issues.”

  “That’s why I said unforeseen—”