He leaned back in his chair. “I still haven’t decided where I’ll be for Christmas but I’m game for New Year’s. And as far as when I’ll be returning to Charlotte, it will depend on how soon we can close the deal here. I hope to be back in Charlotte in a week.”
“And then you’re taking the rest of the month off, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. Z is coming home.”
Xavier sat up straight in his chair, surprised. “He is?”
“Yes. I talked to him last night.” Uriel chuckled. “He couldn’t tell Ellie no, so he’ll be here for Christmas and New Year’s.”
Xavier nodded. Of his five godbrothers, Zion was the youngest, at twenty-eight, and the most well-known because of the jewelry he designed. And he was the one who at the moment was going through some major issues. Before she died four years ago, his mother had revealed to him that she wasn’t sure that the man Zion thought was his father really was since she’d taken a lover during the earlier part of her marriage.
It was Zion’s secret, one he’d only shared with his godbrothers. Xavier figured it would be an easy enough thing to prove or disprove, but Zion didn’t want to risk his father ever finding out that the woman he’d loved so much had once been unfaithful to him. So instead of hanging around and letting something slip, Zion had escaped to Rome and built a home and an empire there. Xavier couldn’t help wondering if Z had finally figured you can’t run away from your problems and was now thinking about moving back to the States.
Moments later, Xavier was hanging up the phone and pulling a file off the huge stack of papers on his desk. His thoughts, however, shifted to Farrah, and he couldn’t help but remember what she’d said about not wanting to get hurt again. He knew how she felt. Wasn’t that the same reason he’d avoided serious involvement with women?
What he needed to do was prove they could enjoy themselves without getting all that serious. They had done so for close to a year, so there was no reason they couldn’t continue. After such a long separation, he was certain if they rekindled their affair, they would be mindful of the mistakes they had begun making the last time by getting too attached.
The thought of them falling in love was scary stuff. He knew that better than anyone. But he was just as certain it wouldn’t happen. There wasn’t a woman alive he would give his heart to. He had no intention of getting great sex confused with any emotions of the heart. Things didn’t work that way for him, and he was sure things wouldn’t work that way for her either.
Her ex had damaged her emotionally on the institution of marriage, so what was the problem? Why couldn’t two people who only wanted to enjoy off-the-chain sex do so without worrying about their hearts getting in the way?
It would be up to him to convince her that they could resume their no-strings-attached affair with no entanglements, and he intended to do just that.
“Mrs. Byers and Ms. Shaw, we’re here to bring about an acceptable resolution to the case pending before Judge Lewis Braille. Hopefully, we’ll reach an agreeable resolution so that we can avoid a costly court battle and—”
“Not unless that woman gives my wife her fair share of what is due to her.”
Farrah frowned at Mr. Byers’s outburst. She’d known the moment he’d walked into the room with his wife that he was bad news. For some reason, he thought he was calling the shots. He might very well do so in his marriage, but she had no intention of letting him take control of these proceedings.
“Mr. Byers, I need you to refrain from speaking out of turn. Doing so will not get us anywhere.”
“Please calm down, Rudolph,” Lori Byers whispered to her husband in a calm voice. “Please let Ms. Langley do her job so we won’t have to go to court.”
Other than a roll of her eyes, Kerrie Shaw didn’t say anything, although it was evident she was angry at what Rudolph Byers had said.
When the parties had entered the room, Farrah’s keen sense of observation had picked up on several points. Even with all this legal mess going on, it was plain to see that the two women had shared a very close friendship at one time, and if given the chance, without any outside interference, that friendship could be restored.
It was also quite obvious they still cared for each other. That was probably the reason Kerrie Shaw had refrained from speaking her mind a few moments ago when Mr. Byers had spoken out of line. Farrah figured she’d kept her mouth closed to spare Lori Byers’s feelings. That meant during the time they’d been friends, Kerrie had had the role of protector, and Lori had been the one more vulnerable and easily swayed and misled.
Farrah glanced over at Rudolph and quickly decided that was exactly what was taking place now. Lori allowed the man she had fallen in love with to come between her and her friend. Their close relationship had started in high school and continued in college and through Lori’s first marriage and birth of her two little girls. Lori had even named Kerrie as godmother for her two girls.
Both women were now thirty-four. Kerrie was engaged to be married and Lori’s first husband had been killed in a car accident a few years ago. She had met Rudolph on the internet, which didn’t say a whole lot to some, but definitely spoke volumes to Farrah. Not that all pickups from cyberspace were bad, but the one Farrah had landed a couple of years ago, Alvin Cornell, had made her want to toss him right back. He’d been such a jerk. She could only wonder if Alvin had an older brother by the name of Rudolph.
How two women who had been such good friends could let a man come between them was beyond Farrah. She couldn’t imagine any man or woman coming in and destroying her and Natalie’s friendship, which had been in existence since high school as well. After her breakup with Dustin, it had been Natalie who’d been there for her, to help her get through the worst time in her life. Natalie had known she would wallow in self-pity her first Christmas as a divorced woman and had flown into Charlotte from New Jersey to spend time with her so she wouldn’t be alone, and to make her see there was life after divorce.
“Yes, let’s continue,” Farrah said in an authoritative voice, more so for Rudolph Byers’s benefit than for the two women. “As I was saying, my goal is to resolve the complaint and conflict informally. I’m impartial. I don’t know either of you, and have no ties, previous or present, to your company.”
Farrah paused and then looked back and forth at the women. “My concern is not who is right. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m here to work you through this, and in doing that you need to talk to me about why you think you were wronged and how we can resolve things and move forward. Are there any questions?”
“No,” both women said simultaneously.
Farrah noted Rudolph had clenched down on his lips to keep from answering, but the glare he gave her let her know he wanted to say something. Probably something he had no business saying.
“I hope we can work things out,” Lori said softly. “I don’t want anger between me and Kerrie.”
“Who cares if there’s anger between the two of you?” Rudolph butted in to say, evidently not able to keep quiet any longer. “I won’t let her sell that company without giving you every penny you deserve.”
Farrah drew in a deep breath and shifted her gaze to Kerrie. She could tell it was taking all Kerrie’s control to not lash out against Rudolph, and she knew why Kerrie was remaining silent. It was her way of protecting Lori’s feelings. These two women still cared for each other, and if Rudolph dropped off the face of the earth, Farrah had a feeling there would be no need for her services here today.
But Rudolph was alive and well and sitting across from her being a total jerk. Was greed the only factor motivating him? Farrah thought. Little did he know Farrah would be successful with this case because, whether they realized it or not, the two women’s friendship had always been solid as a rock. Now it was time for Farrah to remind them of that.
“So tell me, Ms. Byers. When did your friendship with Ms. Shaw begin?” Though the woman seemed surprised, Farrah knew why she’d aske
d the question. She intended to make them recall why they’d become friends in the first place, in hopes they’d realize their relationship was too important to give up.
Lori glanced over at Kerrie and smiled as if remembering. “It was my first year of high school. I was thirteen and the new kid in town since my parents had moved to the city over the summer. Kerrie lived on my block and invited me to walk home with her. We became best friends immediately, and—”
“Why are we rehashing all of that stuff?” Rudolph said in a snarl. “We need to be discussing the money and—”
“Rudolph, if you’re not happy with the way things are going here, you can leave!” Lori spoke up and said to her husband. It was apparent the man was surprised by his wife’s sharp statement, and like a spoiled child, he pushed his chair back and stormed from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Farrah waited a beat to see if Lori would run after him. Instead, the woman seemed to remain calm, and then after a few moments she continued the story of how she and Kerrie had met.
Farrah fought to hide her smile. Now she felt they would finally get somewhere.
Xavier glanced at his watch. It was close to three in the afternoon, and he hadn’t received a response yet from the text message he’d sent to Farrah earlier inviting her to a Broadway play tonight. He had decided against calling her since he hadn’t known the hours she would be tied up with the case she was mediating.
When his cell phone rang, he quickly picked it up and smiled when he saw the caller was Farrah. “Yes?”
“Xavier, it’s Farrah. Sorry I didn’t have time to text you back earlier, but I was in mediation sessions all day.”
“How did it go?”
“Rather well, actually. At least it did once the husband left. He was determined to cause problems. I spent most of the day reminding the two women why they became friends in the first place. I think another session will resolve things. That is if the wife doesn’t go home and let her husband’s manipulations undo all we’ve achieved today. He seems to have a lot of influence on her.”
Xavier nodded. “Are you still at work?”
“No, I just got back to the hotel and am about to take a long, leisurely bubble bath. I’m running the water as hot as I can stand it to unfreeze my bones. It’s still extremely cold outside.”
Xavier paused a moment and then asked, “Have you given any thought to joining me tonight for a Broadway play? The one I thought you’d enjoy is Hair. And I promise to keep you warm again if you do venture out.”
That’s what I’m afraid of, Farrah thought, sitting on the edge of her bed. The only reason she hadn’t swooned each and every time she’d thought of the kiss they’d shared in the car last night was because it had taken all of her time and energy getting Kerrie and Lori to stroll back down memory lane.
“Umm, I’ve always wanted to see Hair,” she said softly.
“Here’s your chance.”
Yes, here was her chance. Should she take it or should she let the opportunity drift in the wind because she didn’t trust herself around one particular man? Would he try kissing her again? She drew in a deep breath knowing he would and knowing she would be disappointed if he didn’t.
She had gone to bed last night with that hot and sizzling kiss on her mind and too many warm, touchyfeely emotions stirring in her heart. And she knew why. During the year she and Xavier had been bed partners, he’d had a way of making her feel special and had taken whatever time was needed to bring her as much pleasure as any one woman could possibly handle. He had been more attentive to her in that one year than Dustin had been during the four years of their marriage. She had missed Xavier’s attentiveness, his presence, his lovemaking and every single thing about him.
Now he was back, not in her life on a routine basis but just for the period of time she would be here in New York. When they returned to Charlotte, things would go back to normal, with him having his life and her having hers. Their paths would rarely cross, and on those occasions when they might run into each other, she was satisfied they’d know they could never become lovers again.
Sharing a kiss wasn’t so bad, and the way he’d given attention to her breasts wasn’t a sin and a shame either. But she couldn’t share a bed with him. That would be her ultimate downfall. If he ever went inside her body again she would be tempted to never, ever let him out. She could possibly get hooked back on what it had taken six months to wean herself from.
Could she handle his presence, his closeness and his heat without temptation pushing her on her back with him on top of her? She nibbled on her bottom lip while thinking, yes, she would handle it, even if it almost killed her. All she would have to do was close her eyes and see Dustin’s face to remember why such a thing was necessary. “Farrah?”
She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, I’d love to go see Hair with you. What time does the show begin?”
“Eight. I’ll be there to pick you up around seven if that’s okay with you.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby.”
She hung up the phone knowing she needed to build up her resolve that no matter what, she would not be sharing a bed with Xavier while she was in New York.
Chapter 6
“Circle around the block a few times, Jules. I should be back out in a few minutes.”
“Yes, Mr. Kane.”
Xavier tightened the coat around him as he made his way toward the hotel’s entrance. He was early, intentionally so, and that meant Farrah would not be in the lobby waiting on him, ready to go. He would let her know he’d arrived and ask if he could come up to her hotel room.
He was a man who usually didn’t like playing games; however, under these circumstances, he wasn’t averse to having a game plan. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought of all the things Cameron had done to win Vanessa over. For Xavier, it wasn’t that kind of party, definitely not one that serious. All he wanted was his bed partner back, not a woman to make his wife. So he wouldn’t go to the extremes as Cam had done.
However, he knew the key to winning a woman over was to discover her weakness and use it against her. He had no problem doing that if it meant getting his libido back on track. He needed to use the same tactic Farrah had mentioned she’d used on the two women with whom she was holding mediation sessions. He would force Farrah to remember what they once had and why it was way too good to give up.
He glanced around the lobby before pulling out his cell phone. He swiped his finger across Farrah’s name that was already programmed in his iPhone. She picked up immediately. “Yes?”
“I arrived a little early. If you’re not ready I can come up and wait.”
“No need. I’m ready.”
He was surprised. “You are?”
“Yes,” she said, and he could swear he heard a smile in her voice. “For some reason I figured you might be early.”
He lifted a brow. “Did you?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Was she on to him and his game plan? Hell, he hoped not. “Well, I’m here.”
“And I’ll be right down, Xavier.”
She clicked off the phone, and Xavier was about to return the phone to his pocket when it rang. He hoped it was Farrah saying she’d changed her mind, and he could come up to her room anyway. Instead, it was York.
“Yes, Y?”
“What are you doing tonight? How about coming over for a beer and to shoot some pool?”
York, a former officer for the NYPD who now owned his own security firm in Queens, loved to play pool and was pretty damn good at it. There was a time he used to participate in tournaments around the country.
“Sorry, I have a date.”
He could hear York’s chuckle. “Hell, you don’t go out on dates, X. All you do is make booty calls. That’s been your M.O. for years.”
Xavier frowned. Had it? Come to think of it, yes, it had been. After Dionne, he’d made sure no other woman got close to his heart, although th
ey’d been more than welcome to share a bed with him, preferably theirs. What he would do was select a woman, get to know her well enough to suit him and then begin showing up at her place with a bottle of wine determined to get just one thing. He’d operated that way with every woman he’d slept with.
Including Farrah.
Why did the thought of grouping Farrah with all his other bed partners leave a bad taste in his mouth? Probably for the same reason he’d stayed with her longer than the others. For him, eleven months was a long time to sleep with the same woman. Hell, normally something like that could get downright boring. But there hadn’t been a damn boring thing about Farrah. She had made her bed one of the most exciting places to be. But, like the others, he’d never invited her over to his place to share his bed. Umm, he would have to remedy that one day.
“So, who is she, X?”
He couldn’t very well say she wasn’t someone York knew since Xavier had introduced Farrah to all five of his godbrothers at Donovan and Natalie’s wedding in June. But what he could do was be evasive as hell, which wouldn’t be the first time. “Why do you want to know? And aren’t you supposed to be checking out Ellie’s friend Darcy?”
He smiled as he could actually hear York growling through the cell phone. “Hell, don’t mess with me like that, X. The woman and I don’t get along. I’m convinced she hates my guts.”
Xavier laughed. Bad blood had developed between the two when, during Darcy’s first week of moving to New York, she’d encountered a burglar who’d broken into her home while she slept. By the time the police had arrived, Darcy Owens had already administered her own brand of punishment to the unsuspecting criminal, who hadn’t known she had a black belt in karate.
Ellie had gotten York out of bed to go across town to check on her friend. When he’d gotten there and discovered what had happened, he’d raked Darcy over the coals for placing her life in danger instead of letting the NYPD handle it. Darcy evidently hadn’t appreciated York’s attitude, and the two hadn’t been exactly bosom buddies since. Frankly, Xavier had a feeling York liked Darcy more than he was letting on.
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