Teach Me (The Gems & Gents Series)

by Bolling, Iris

  “Celeste!” Xavier wanted to explode. “Don’t tell me you let that woman back into your life.” He turned away from his brother, ready to hit something then turned back. “What, is her stuff lined in gold or something? Because it can’t possibly be her sterling manipulative personality that has you acting like an ass!”

  Zack ran his hand down his face. “It wasn’t…” he began then stopped. How in the hell could he explain this. Sitting back he just started at the beginning of the day.

  After hearing the events of the evening Xavier was certain they would not get Diamond back. The one thing he knew about his friend was that she was a proud woman who did not allow any man to make a fool out of her. And from what Zack just described to him, he was sure that was what Diamond was thinking. Zack had just played her. He blew out a long sigh as he stared at his brother. “I’m sure you did not set out to seduce Diamond in the office then return to another woman in the restaurant simply because she was there with another man. But in Diamond’s eyes that’s what she saw.” He shook his head, “I have no idea how or if you can fix this. But from where I stand you have two options. You can let Grant have a chance at making her happy or you can find her and crawl on your hands and knees begging for her forgiveness. However, I think right now, finding Diamond should be the least of your concerns.”

  “Nothing is more important than finding Diamond right now.”

  “I beg to differ,” Joshua stated from the entrance into the office.

  Xavier looked from Joshua to Zack. “Normally I would have your back, but on this, I would probably help him kick your ass.” He walked towards Joshua as he spoke. “Don’t kill him. He’s the only family I have.”

  Joshua continued to stare at Zack, who had not moved from his seat. “You may want to answer the door.”

  The doorbell sounded, as Xavier just shook his head. “You have some weird friends Zack.” He opened the door to allow Samuel inside. “Only one of you can knock him out, not both.” Xavier followed Samuel to the office. As much as he would like to, he couldn’t leave his brother without some type of back up.

  Zack may not have paid Joshua any attention, but when Samuel walked into the room he stood. “I can explain.”

  “Really! You can explain why I was called by my mother to restrain my father from coming over here to kick your ass. You can explain why my wife has been bitching at me all night about the way you treated my sister. You can explain why I just spent hours consoling my Diamond because of your actions with Celeste! You can explain all of this!” Samuel yelled as his right fist connected with Zackary’s jaw.

  Joshua and Xavier took a step back from the office and closed the double doors, for they both knew what was coming. They had witnessed it so many times before. “Whose turn is it to win?” Joshua asked Xavier.

  “I believe its Zack’s turn.” He shook his head, “But I don’t think he has the strength to even fight Samuel back.” He walked towards the kitchen. “You want some coffee?”

  They heard the first crash as both of them looked back at the door. “Black,” Joshua replied as he pushed Xavier forward. “You don’t want any part of that.”

  About thirty minutes later, the destructive sounds that were coming from the office died down. “Shall we,” Joshua said as he rinsed his coffee cup.

  “So what happened to Redbone?” Xavier asked about the woman from the story Joshua was telling him.

  “I had to dispense some of my magic,” Joshua replied as he opened the doors to the office. Sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace in the disheveled room, Zack and Samuel were sharing a bottle of Tequila. Both were bloody all over, but neither seemed seriously hurt.

  “I could have killed you.” Samuel passed the bottle “I kill people for a living.”

  “I know you do.” Zack took a drink and sighed. “You know I’m in love with her.”

  “Hell, I know and she loves you. That’s the only reason I didn’t kill you.” Samuel said as he took the bottle from Zack. “So how in the hell are you going to fix this?”

  “I need to talk to her to fix it.” Zack explained as he touched the bruise around his eye.

  Samuel shook his head. “It’s not going to happen no time soon.”

  “You’re not going to tell me where she is?”

  “Nope.”

  Zack punched Samuel in the jaw with his left fist.

  Samuel didn’t flinch. He took a drink then sat the bottle on the floor. “You’re not tired yet?”

  “Nope,” Zachary replied.

  Samuel exhaled. “Close the door Joshua. I’m going to whip your ass again just for keeping me away from my wife and the ass kicking I’m going to get when my father finds out I didn’t kill you.” He stood and grabbed Zack from the floor just as Xavier and Joshua reclosed the door.

  “So, I was telling you about Redbone, but did I tell you about her mother,” Joshua said as the two walked back towards the kitchen.

  L

  Ann sat at the breakfast bar waiting for Diamond to appear. She thought it was time to tell her about the person she’s been watching on the property. The last thing she wanted was for anything to happen to her friend. It wasn’t clear what the person was up to, but someone sneaking around at night like that was definitely up to no good. Her number one priority was to make sure Diamond was aware of the person so she could tell Zack or Reese to add a little more protection on the site.

  She liked Diamond. Any person that would feed and leave a door open for a stranger had a good heart. Looking out the kitchen she saw the sun rising and knew it was getting late. Diamond was normally there before seven, but the sun was up and she still wasn’t there. A smile graced her face as the thought that Diamond could be with Zackary crossed her mind. Wouldn’t that be something? She had been watching those two and could feel the attraction between them. Yep, that Diamond would be a good woman for Zack. That was important to her. She may not have been the best mother, back in the day, but that didn’t mean she loved her children any less then the next mother. She just had issues. But just like any other mother she wanted to see her children happy. And she was certain Diamond could make Zachary very happy. Now the only thing she wanted was to see her youngest son. When she left home, Xavier had been no more than three. He wouldn’t even recognize her, but she would know him anywhere. He was the spitting image of his father, bowlegs and all. She smiled. Her husband was a good, hardworking man. He just picked the wrong woman. She had problems long before they married. King didn’t care, he loved her anyway and for a while that was enough. But then the children came and she was just overwhelmed. It was too much with King working two jobs, leaving her home with the boys alone. It was just too much. But that’s neither here nor there, it’s the past, there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. With Diamond in Zack’s life, now her only wish was to be able to spend time talking to Xavier.

  Both of her sons were handsome, successful men. King did a good job with them and Zack, she had to give him credit, did a good job with Xavier. But, she just wanted a chance to talk with him to see what kind of man he was inside. Seeing him out and about was one thing, but you never really get to know a person until you could sit down and have a conversation to see what’s on their mind. That’s what she longed to do with Xavier, just talk with him.

  Hearing the chime on the front door, Ann walked over to the counter, and began to pour a cup of coffee for her friend. “You’re late missy. Now, that’s not like you. So have a seat and tell me all about it.” She froze when she turned to see Xavier walking into the kitchen.

  “I’m pretty sure I’m not the person you were expecting.” He said as he stood on the other side of the room looking at her. The woman looked as if she was going to faint. He quickly walked over and took the cup of coffee out of her hand and took a sip. “Hmm, you have no idea how much I needed a good cup of coffee this morning.” He looked over the rim of the cup as he took another sip and the woman still looked like she had seen a ghost. She looked f
amiliar, but working on no sleep, he wasn’t sure if he knew her or not.

  Ann could not believe he was standing there. Her baby boy was standing there talking to her. As she continued to stare into his eyes, she saw a bit of sadness there. Was he okay? Did someone hurt him? What was he sad about? Could she help him in any way? Was he in love and some girl broke his heart? There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but nothing came out. Zack would have a fit if he knew she was there with Xavier. But she understood his need to protect his little brother from her. He had been doing it all his life. Then something dawned on her. “Where is Diamond?” He turned his back, but not before she saw the sadness intensify.

  “She is no longer with us.” He walked over to the office that was adjacent to the kitchen, then sat the coffee cup on the desk.

  Ann frowned, “What do you mean; she’s no longer with us? Did something happen to her?”

  “Did you have an appointment with her this morning?” He asked, not wanting to share personal information about Diamond with a stranger.

  Ann laughed. “Do I look like I can afford one of these houses?”

  Xavier looked her over, “Of course you do,” he shrugged his shoulder. “We make them affordable.”

  She smiled at her son, it was clear he did not have a pretentious bone in his body. Then a thought occurred to her. “Did Zackary hurt her again?”

  Surprised by the question, he asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t get your name.”

  “I didn’t give it.” Ann replied.

  Xavier almost laughed at the sassy woman, standing there all of 5’5”, maybe 110 lbs staring him down. “Well, who are you?” he asked as he tried to open the file cabinet and found it locked.

  “A friend,” she replied as she walked over to the file cabinet, reached behind it and pulled the key from the hook.

  “Thank you,” he said as she gave him the key.

  “Diamond is not the type to just up and quit. She’s too dedicated for that. So either you fired her, which I doubt or Zackary hurt her real bad. Now, if I was a gambling woman, which I’m not, I would put my money on that stubborn Zack.”

  Xavier was half listening to the woman while he searched for the password to the computer. Ann picked up the jar of marbles then handed him the slip of paper underneath. “Thank you,” he said wondering who the woman was. “Do you know the password?”

  Ann reached over him, keyed in the user name and password then looked at him. “Where is she? What did he do? Did he do something with the snotty-toddy that was here the other day?”

  “Who are you?” Xavier just stared at the woman.

  “I told you, I’m a friend of Diamond’s. Now, if you tell me what you are looking for I could probably tell you what you need to know.”

  “I need to know if she had any appointments today and if so with whom.”

  “No, because she sold all the lots last week, with the exception of the one Zack said he wanted for himself. I actually thought the fool was planning on building a home for him and Diamond, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “I don’t know.” Xavier ran his hand down his face. “I hope he can straighten things out with her. But for now, I have to pull double duty.”

  “Oh, I can look out for the place for you.” She pulled a folder from the middle desk drawer causing Xavier to move back. “This is the folder that contains the potential buyers for the Towers. She normally makes calls in the mornings, then reviews financial reports in the afternoon. On Wednesdays she meets with or touches base with the media to make sure Davenport Estates stays in the forefront of their minds. What else do you want to know?”

  Xavier was stunned how much this woman knew about the business. “Do you want a job?”

  “Son, I haven’t worked in twenty years. And ain’t starting now. But if you need me to look after the place, I will until you sell it. But I want something in return.”

  “Name it,” Xavier quickly stated.

  “It ain’t that simple.”

  “Try me.”

  “Stay and talk with me for an hour. Tell me about your life and how you’re doing.”

  “Me? You want to know about me.”

  “Yeah.”

  Identical eyes held each other’s stare. “I’ll do it on one condition. Tell me your name.”

  “Okay, Friend.”

  Xavier looked at her, and then burst out laughing. It was clear she was not going to tell him her name. “Okay—Friend, I’ll hang out with you for a while. To be honest I can use a good laugh or two right about now.”

  L

  Now that the plans were clearly defined, it was easy to rest. Watching Davenport with that woman and child stripped the last bit of remorse that may have slipped in. Hell, he even moved them into a five star hotel. That was the last straw. There was now nothing left. No reason not to carry out the plan. Just remembering all the times in the past, Zackary Davenport was on top, stirred the longing to see him fall from grace. Once this was done it would be easy to return to my normal life knowing it was me that brought him to his knees. With eyes closed and smile in place, sleep came easy.

  Chapter 25

  Joshua’s home was always an oasis in Diamond’s opinion. The single level, four bedroom, three bath home, was nestled away on four acres of land in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Only forty-five minutes from Richmond or Washington, DC. Views of the river could be seen from many of the rooms in the home. There was always a calming effect whenever the family visited. She thought this was exactly what Joshua needed in a home. A place like this could very well offset his high-strung nature.

  Unfortunately, the calming water views, the twenty-seat state of the art theater room, the indoor heated pool, not even the one-hundred and twenty pound Chow Rottweiler mix, lovable pooch Commando could ease the hurt she was experiencing. Nothing she did would clear her mind of Zackary. It was now Wednesday and she was just tired of crying. At this point it seemed she was just pathetic with the tears. Poor Ms. Lucy, Joshua’s housekeeper was beside herself with worry. Even Commando had learned to read the signs of tears about to break through. He would move from his place of lying with his head in her lap, to the table to pick up the tissues, then trotted back over to the window seat where she sat with her books.

  “You need to stop reading those sappy love stories.” Ms. Lucy huffed as she brought in another cup of tea for Diamond. It was nothing for her to be awakened at all hours of the night with the hours Joshua kept. But on this night it wasn’t Joshua, but Samuel and Diamond coming through the door. Normally, it would be a joy to see Joshua’s family, but in this instance it was torture. “If you don’t eat something today, I’m calling your mother. And I mean it.” She turned her petite five-three, maybe one hundred ten pounds wet body, and yelled as she walked away. “You turned my man-eater into a sappy hound! I’m bringing food back and you are going to eat!”

  Commando looked up at her with angry eyes, as if he knew what Ms. Lucy had just called him. “She didn’t mean it. She knows you’re not sappy.” Diamond rubbed under his chin. Commando in turn, licked her cheek. A tear dropped on his nose and he audibly sighed and placed his head back in her lap. “I have to get out of this house.” She stood as she wiped yet another tear away. “Let’s go for a run boy.” Commando jumped right up, ready. “I’ll go change my clothes.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Diamond and Commando were running along the riverbank. They began with a slow jog, then increased to a brisk run. It appeared to Diamond that Commando was used to the exercise and apparently the trail. About twenty minutes into the run, Diamond decided to cut through the woods to return back to the house. As she ran between trees, Commando would bump against her also causing her to lose her footing. “Hey, you want to share this trail buddy,” she joked with the dog. He looked up at her and barked as he blocked her yet again. “What is wrong with you Commando, move over.” The dog barked again as she ran by him. Commando ran in front of her again, but this time she jumped over him. The moment her foot
touched the ground, Commando jumped on top of her covering her entire body. He placed his big paws over her face and tucked his head on top of hers. “What the hell…..” before she could get the words out of her mouth, an explosion rocketed through the air. She could hear something wiz over her head for several minutes after the explosion. Commando’s weight did not allow her any movement. Once things died down Commando shifted his weight off of her and sat on his hind legs waiting for her to move. Diamond slowly sat up, shaken at what had happened. Commando had an expression of irritation on his face, but then a second later he leaned over and licked her arm, then her face. He walked around as if he were surveying the area then sat back down with one paw on her leg as if to hold her in place. Diamond looked around to see a gaping hole where trees were a moment ago. Funny but there was no smoke or fire. She looked at Commando, “Are you okay boy?” She rubbed his head and over his body. She could have sworn she saw him roll his eyes and heard him groan. A few minutes later an SUV pulled up and Ms. Lucy stepped out. She had a handheld device with her. “Stay still until I get to you.” She pushed a button and the wooded area seemed to light up. She pushed another button and the lights went out. With hands on hips, Ms. Lucy just stared at her sitting on the ground. “So now you’re trying to kill yourself.” She shook her head. “I don’t know this Zackary character, but he can’t be worth all of that. You can get up now.” Commando moved his paws and waited for Diamond to stand. As she did she wiped the dirt from the jogging pants and looked at Ms. Lucy. “What in the hell happened?”

  “You ran into a mine field. Didn’t Commando try to stop you?”

  She looked at Commando, who was now walking towards Ms. Lucy as he looked back over his shoulder at her. “I thought he was just clumsy when he kept running into me.” She swore, Commando snapped his head back at her and barked. For a moment, she wondered if she offended him. “Why does Joshua have a mine field around his house? Isn’t that something they do in enemy territory?”