Close Quarters: A Novel (Zane Presents)

by Ray, Shamara

  Apologizing profusely, I bent down to help her pick up the spilt food. She reassured me that it was no problem as we tossed chicken satay skewers back onto the tray. Malik appeared next to me and joined in the cleanup.

  “Hey, girl. I asked Terrence where you were.”

  I thought Malik was going crazy. He just saw me gawking at him a few seconds ago. Then I realized he was talking to the woman with the tray.

  “You should have known I was in the kitchen,” she said, standing up with the tray of wasted hors d’oeuvres.

  Malik assisted me up from my crouching position. “Mel, this is Jade, Terrence’s sister. Jade, meet Mel—my roommate.”

  “I think we met when we collided, but it’s nice to finally put a face with the name,” Jade said.

  “I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t see you behind me.”

  “Not to worry. There’s plenty more in the kitchen.”

  Jade handed the platter to a waiter and told him to dispose of the skewers. He traipsed off in a hurry. Now that her hands were free, she hugged Malik. They exchanged mischievous glances, then burst into a fit of laughter. I laughed along with them, though I didn’t know what was funny.

  Jade put her arm around Malik’s waist. “Malik, you and Terrence have been keeping secrets. You never told me that Mel was so pretty.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yup. She’s gorgeous.”

  They both stood there admiring me like I was a piece of art in the museum.

  “In fact,” she said, looking at me with amused eyes, “I thought Mel was short for Melvin.”

  “Actually, my name is Melina,” I said with a smile of my own.

  “Well, Melina, I am pleasantly surprised to meet you. Forgive me if I seem a bit tickled, but whenever I see Malik, he never fails to amaze me.”

  “I live with him, so I know what you mean.”

  She eyed Malik. “That must be fun.”

  Malik jumped into the discussion. “So, Jade, what’s up with you? Are you still happily wrapped up with your man, what’s-his-name?”

  “Cain, his name is Cain. And, yes, we are marvelously happy.”

  A waiter came over and whispered in Jade’s ear.

  “Excuse me, but duty calls. Funny how I can’t even enjoy my brother’s party because I have to work. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

  Malik started talking a mile a minute. “Jade is a trip. She’s like a sister to me. Her man, Cain, owns a restaurant, too.”

  “Ironically, I know who he is. Cain Cadman. Owns Eden. Ellis and I eat there on occasion. What I don’t know is what you and Jade found so amusing.”

  “It had nothing to do with you.”

  “I think it did.”

  “Jade thinks it’s funny that my roommate is a woman. She was under the impression that I lived with a guy named Mel. I never told her you were female and I can only guess that she thinks there’s something between us.”

  “In other words, Jade’s familiar with your reputation.”

  “What reputation?” he said with a crooked smirk. Malik took me by the hand. “C’mon over and say hello to my brother and Lex.”

  I scooted between Amir and Lex on the sofa, feeling like a sheep in a wolf sandwich. Malik unbuttoned his jacket, then sat on the low cube-like table in front of us. The guys were talking about football season and which teams they would like to see make it to the Super Bowl. I half-listened to their musings, unintentionally tuning them out. Malik was making a case for the Jets. My eyes were drawn to his Adam’s apple—the way it moved up and down as he spoke. My gaze traveled to his lips. They were full and looked soft. He laughed and brightened the room with his perfect teeth. His nose was straight but not too slim, prominent but not overwhelming. I slowly looked up and found myself gazing directly into his eyes. Heat crept up my neck. Malik studied my face and then voyaged downward, lingering at my cleavage. I shifted in my seat, but it failed to distract him. My legs held his attention captive.

  Amir and Lex excused themselves, claiming to need a refill on drinks. They got up, leaving their half-filled glasses behind. Malik sat in Amir’s vacated spot on the sofa. His proximity made me fidgety and I wasn’t sure why.

  “Isn’t this better than staying home alone on a Saturday night?”

  I nodded. “It’s a nice affair.”

  “It could be.”

  “Malik—”

  “Come dance with me.”

  A few couples were dancing to a Sade tune on the other side of the room. I hesitated.

  “Don’t bother saying no. I’ll just drag you kickin’ and screamin’.”

  He stood up and held out his hand. I relented with a sigh. We located an open space amongst the other dancers and Malik stepped closer to me. He slipped his right arm around my waist, drawing me near to his body. I rested my left hand on his shoulder and placed my right in his. We moved to the rhythmic bass and Sade’s mellow voice. Malik was a good dancer. His cheek vibrated lightly against mine as he hummed along with the song. Malik tightened his hold on my waist, eliminating the ever-so-slight gap between our bodies. Though I should have, I didn’t protest. We danced to a few songs until the music was interrupted for a champagne toast.

  Friends and family toasted the happy couple. The future in-laws said things to Terrence and Dru that I knew I would never hear from Bebe. It made me feel sad that I would probably never have a good relationship with Ellis’s mother.

  Malik and I spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking and conversing with his friends. It was the most fun I had had in a long time. Dru and I exchanged numbers and vowed to contact each other. Jade’s boyfriend Cain showed up later and was surprised to see me. I think he was even more surprised that I wasn’t with Ellis. He always chatted with us when we visited Eden. He unsuccessfully attempted to conceal his puzzlement as he looked from me to Malik. I commented that it was a small world, then explained that Malik was my roommate and his connection to Terrence. Jade finally finished in the kitchen and joined the party. Malik and I didn’t stumble out of Rituals until two-thirty in the morning.

  • • •

  I climbed the stairs to our apartment, holding onto the rail for balance. Six glasses of champagne and I was flying high as a kite. Malik held me by the elbow to make sure I didn’t tumble backward down the stairs. I tripped on the top step and started giggling. Malik shushed me, which made me laugh louder. He ushered me into the apartment and helped me take off my fur. I kicked off my shoes in the living room. We walked down the hallway, side by side, to our bedrooms. I leaned against the door, resting my head on the frame.

  Malik loitered in front of me. “We should do this more often,” he said.

  “You know where to find me. All you have to do is ask.”

  “Is that all it takes?” he whispered.

  I nodded. Malik glided to me, closing the distance between us. He positioned one hand above my head on the door and slowly leaned into me, his lips hovering dangerously close to mine. He moved closer. I closed my eyes. I could feel his breath on my face. The buzzer sounded. My eyes popped open. We peered at each other. It was as if time stopped. No one moved a muscle. We waited in silence. The buzzer rang again. Malik went to the intercom and buzzed the door open. A moment later there was a knock at the door. Malik went to answer it.

  Kai came through the door with a bundle of apologies and excuses. I slipped into my room and shut the door behind me. A few moments later I heard two sets of footsteps pass my door before Malik’s door closed behind them.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  MALIK

  Kai was sprawled across my queen-size bed in her bra and panties. Morning sunlight streamed through the open blinds. I was sitting up with my back pressed against the headboard. Kai showed up last night, copping a plea. Rattled off an intricate tale about a family emergency, a hospital visit and no cell phones allowed. She attempted to make atonement through oral means and I let her. I was mad, but I wasn’t a mad fool.

  “What’s your schedule l
ike tomorrow?” she asked.

  “Meetings in the morning, but my afternoon is open.”

  “I’m flying out to San Francisco on Tuesday. I thought we should try to finish as much as we can for the Sphere presentation before I go. Unless . . . ”

  “Unless what?”

  “Unless you care to join me in California.”

  I thought about it for a moment.

  She crawled up beside me. “If you come along, we wouldn’t have to rush the final product when I get back on Friday. It would give us the entire week to polish our pitch. I don’t want us to have to scramble over the weekend. Next Monday morning we meet with Gerry and then we’re meeting with Sphere Electronics the following week.”

  “Donner’s going to approve my joining you on a business trip?”

  “He wants this Sphere account. He’ll support whatever it takes to make it happen.”

  “All right. I’ll talk to him first thing in the morning.”

  “No, let me.”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  She quickly added, “If I tell him I need you in San Francisco for Sphere and to assist with my other meetings he can’t refuse.”

  “I hate corporate politics.”

  “Ahh, but you won’t have to deal with them for long. Once you start your own agency corporate politics will be a thing of the past.”

  “My deadline is eight months.”

  “That soon?”

  “I have an aggressive strategy. If I could do it sooner, I would.” I sprang from the bed and paced the room. “I get excited just thinking about my own agency. You know when you have a plan and you feel within your soul that it can’t fail? I already have ideas to woo some of the biggest companies out there, specifically in the automobile and cosmetics industries.”

  “But those are two of Newport and Donner’s primary markets.”

  “Newport and Donner can withstand the competition.”

  “Do you intend to lure away our clients?”

  “I’ll have the hottest ad agency in New York. I won’t need to lure anyone. Clients will be knocking at my door. I have concepts ready and waiting for Nissan, Revlon and a whole host of others.”

  “Malik, I would have never imagined that you had all of this going on.”

  “You know what they say . . .never underestimate the power of a black man.”

  I spent the majority of the morning showing Kai another source of my power. It was almost noon when I threw on some sweats and walked her outside to her car.

  Melina was in the kitchen making breakfast when I came back upstairs. She looked over her shoulder at me, then turned back to the sausage sizzling on the stove. “I had way too much champagne last night. I could barely get out of the bed.”

  I walked into the room and sat at the table. Melina rummaged through the refrigerator, pulling out an onion, green pepper, and a couple of red potatoes. A potato dropped from her hand and rolled across the floor near my foot. I leaned over and picked it up. I held it out to her. She grabbed it from my hand, avoiding my eyes.

  “Mel, we didn’t do anything.”

  “I know we didn’t.”

  “There’s no reason to start acting strange.”

  “I’m not.”

  “We both had a lot of drinks—”

  “Was that Kai I heard leaving? I think you two make such a cute couple.”

  Okay, so we were pretending like nothing had happened. Fine with me. It shouldn’t have been too difficult, since I really didn’t know what had happened other than, I almost kissed my roommate. It was a good thing Kai showed up when she did. In that instance, better late than never had never been more true.

  “Yeah, she just left.”

  “Did she explain what happened to her last night?” she asked, dicing her vegetables.

  “Family emergency.”

  “I see.”

  “What are you making?”

  “An omelet. Are you hungry?”

  “I’ll take one.”

  I made small talk while Melina cooked. She concentrated on the frying pans as if her life depended on it. I went to the fridge to pour myself a glass of juice and she stepped to the side, giving me more room than necessary. “I’m going to San Francisco on Tuesday for business.”

  Relief washed over her face. It was definitely a perfect time for me to go out of town. My being away would give Melina a chance to realize that nothing had happened between us.

  “When will you be back?”

  “Friday or Saturday. Kai’s going, too.”

  “Wow. Taking business trips together . . . ”

  “It ain’t like that. Kai and I have a lot of work to do for our presentation.”

  “Mmm hmm.”

  “I’ll take my omelet without the side of cynicism.”

  • • •

  After breakfast I went to lie down. What did happen last night? One minute I was about to kiss Melina, the next I was with Kai. Maybe it was the alcohol that made me react to Melina that way. I wanted to kiss her. I could taste her on my tongue even though I hadn’t touched her. What baffled me more was knowing that Melina wanted to kiss me back. Although, she did have a lot of champagne. It was divine intervention. That was the only way to explain what had transpired last night.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MELINA

  Caroline led me into the study to wait. Bebe thought it would be better if we had lunch at her penthouse. I was hoping that this meeting would be quick and painless—I needed to get back to the office.

  Bebe sashayed into the study, wearing a pair of black wide-leg pants and a flouncy cream blouse with a double strand of pearls. She came over and air-kissed both of my cheeks. Her perfume was so strong and floral, it gave me an instant headache. Her cheeks were accented with rose-colored blush that didn’t quite match her pale skin tone. Ellis and Daniella got their beautiful bronze complexions from their father.

  She sat in the leather club chair across from me. The inspection process was underway. Bebe took in my tweed pencil skirt and matching jacket, my brown leather boots and even my purse sitting on the table. Her icy smile cooled the room. She rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, pressing her finger to her temple. “Let me start off by saying that being a Harlow comes with a wealth of responsibility. I have to believe that my son chose you for a reason.”

  I gritted my teeth, and took a deep breath, while trying to maintain a neutral expression.

  “Everything you do,” she continued, “from this point forward is a reflection of this family. I beseech you to conduct yourself in a manner suitable of the Harlow name. I realize you may find it a tad difficult living up to the standards of someone of Ellison’s caliber, but you must find the resolve within yourself to make it so.”

  I leaned forward. “Well, let me say this—”

  “Lunch is served, Mrs. Harlow,” Caroline said from the doorway.

  “Come, dear, we don’t want the lobster bisque to get cold.”

  Bebe waited for me to get up from my chair. I sat for a moment, eyeing her in disbelief. The audacity of this woman. I slowly rose up, straightened my jacket and then followed her to the dining room. The long table was set for two. One setting at the head of the table, the other to the left. I sat and spread my napkin across my lap. Wesley, the Harlow family butler, ladled bisque into our gold-etched bowls. I studied the way Bebe dipped her spoon in her bisque and stiffly brought it to her lips. I scrutinized the baubles on her fingers and her well-manicured hands. This woman wasn’t living in the same world as I was. In her mind, she owned the world.

  “Have you given any thought to when we’ll have this wedding?”

  “Not as of yet.”

  “Fine. An April wedding will be perfect. Of course you will get married in my church on Fifth Avenue.”

  “I’d like to discuss it with Ellis before I commit to anything.”

  “Ellison has already agreed, dear.”

  “Oh, he has? He’s made no mention of it to me.”


  “I plan to make this as effortless for you as possible. Your wedding will be the crème de la crème. Leave everything to me.”

  “Bebe, I would like to make the decisions of when and where my wedding will take place. I may want to get married in Maryland, where I was raised.”

  “Maryland?”

  She uttered Maryland as if I said I wanted to get married in the depths of hell.

  I nodded. “My family is in Maryland. My mother and I will most likely plan to—”

  “I will not hear of it,” she said, waving me off. “Maryland is unequivocally out of the question.”

  I wanted to strangle Ellis. How could he tell his mother that she had free rein over my wedding? Now I had to do battle with this titan and he wasn’t around to have my back. I wasn’t even sure if Ellis would have my back. At that moment it certainly seemed that his mother had his support.

  “Bebe, this is all so new. I need a moment to decide what I would like to do. We both want the wedding to be perfect and we have time—”

  “We will not have a thrown-together affair that reeks of shabbiness. What we will have is a wedding in April in New York. It will be a grand affair in the customary Harlow tradition.”

  I could barely swallow my soup. Ellis’s mother was infuriating. Wesley entered the dining room with two plates covered with silver lids. He placed my dish in front of me and uncovered it. Filet mignon, baby carrots and potato galette. I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to endure another minute with Bebe. All I wanted was for lunch to be over.

  Bebe cut into her steak. “Who will be in your wedding party? Besides Daniella, of course.”

  “My two best friends. Though, I just found out that one is pregnant.”