by Rhonda Bowen
Tonight, it was just another date with Asha. She was still attractive. Every man in Portia’s home would take at least one good look at all Asha had on display, but that wouldn’t make Khai feel special. And it definitely wouldn’t take away the restlessness.
He held back a sigh as she took his hand. He lead her up the walk to the front door. Two knocks and he was looking at Milo.
“Hey, Khai. I didn’t know you were...oh. Wow.”
“Hey, Milo.”
But the woman was no longer looking at him. Milo was looking at Asha who was busy smoothing out the fur trim on her coat. Khai frowned as he noticed the look of shock on Milo’s face. She was still staring at Asha.
Khai cleared his throat. “Milo, this is Asha. Asha, this is Milo. She works with the host of the party.”
Asha smiled and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Milo shook her hand and nodded. Then a slow smile slid onto her face. “Naw, girl. It is nice to meet you.”
Milo gave a little laugh. She glanced at Khai, then back at Asha and laughed again. “Wow. Well, you guys should come up. Everyone else is already here.”
Asha shot Khai a questioning look as they followed Milo upstairs.
“Do you know her?” he mouthed to Asha.
She shook her head and mouthed back, “Weird.”
The swell of Christmas music increased as they reached the top of the stairs and was interrupted only by the sound of laughter and chatter. Milo had been right. Everyone else was already there. Morgan and a couple other women were at the kitchen counter. Derek and a couple of guys stood near the tree, looking over a handful of decorations. A few other people sat chatting together on the couches. It wasn’t a huge group, just close family and friends.
But Khai barely noticed as he looked around the home itself. He smiled. Portia had done quite a bit of work since Sunday when he’d been there last. There was holly trimming the crown molding of the living room and holiday wreaths on the walls. He suspected she had spent many late nights putting it all together. Now, all that was left to decorate was the tree.
He was still noting details when he felt Asha’s nails dig into his arm. “Oh my God, is that Jordan Lennox? His dad was the governor of New York. He’s running for city council. And that’s...Khai, that’s Brady Semple! He just got picked up by the Mets. Now I see why you wanted to come here instead of the cruise. I totally get it.”
Khai let out the sigh he had been holding back. He looked over into the kitchen where Portia stole glances at him while pretending to listen to Brady, who was standing with his arms around her waist. She wore a green blouse in the same shade of green as the dress she had worn on their date. She looked amazing. He swallowed hard.
Asha didn’t get it. She definitely did not get it.
And it was probably a good thing.
“Come and meet the host.” With a hand on her back, Khai turned Asha towards the kitchen area.
“Brady, Buddy. Merry Christmas!” Khai slapped fives with the man, giving him a half embrace. “Ladies, good to see you. You all look amazing, as always.”
“Hey, Khai.” Morgan shot him an odd look before embracing him slightly. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you too,” he returned the embrace. “I’d like you all to meet Asha. Asha, this is Brady, Morgan, Naomi and Portia.”
“Nice to meet you,” Asha nodded at the others.
“Thanks for coming to my party.” Portia glanced at Khai a second, a smirk on her lips. “I was beginning to think Khai made you up.”
Asha laughed. “No, I’m real. Aren’t I, babe?”
Asha tipped up and dropped a quick kiss on his lips after her question.
He made himself smile. “That you are.”
“Hey, you guys better not damage my tree over there.” Portia called out.
All eyes turned to look at the three men standing near the tree, one with his hand on the trunk.
“See this exact same thing happened when Jordan put up the tree at home last weekend. There were branches all over the floor when they were done.” Naomi shook her head. “Anytime I see those three men together, I worry. Khai, Brady, can you go make sure they don’t destroy the tree?”
“Uh-uh, Brady is off tree duty,” Portia leaned into his side. “After he put up all this trim for me this week, he gets a free pass. Let those office-job boys over there handle it.”
“Khai, what about you?” Morgan teased.
Khai rubbed his jaw and considered his options. Hanging out with Derek, who he already knew was not his biggest fan, or staying with the women?
“That is unless you want to go back and pick out another one,” Portia added.
Khai straightened up. “Let me go see what I can do.”
“Khai, good to see you.” Jordan nodded towards him as he got closer. “You the one that put up this tree?”
Khai looked over at the tree then back to Jordan. “Yeah. Why?”
“Because you put it right in front of a heating vent,” Derek said. “Ever heard of fire hazards?”
“Ever met your sister?” Khai asked. “I told her that, several times, and she insisted that I put it here. Said it was here last year and the year before and that she closed the vent anyway.”
“You put up your date’s tree too?” Derek asked, shooting a look Khai’s way. “I mean, seeing as you’re putting up trees all over town and what not.”
Khai rolled his shoulders back and held his gaze on Derek. “Asha doesn’t put up a tree. Her place is too small for one and she spends the holidays with her parents anyway.”
“Alright, alright. Now that everyone’s peed on their territory, can we get to the part where we move this tree away from the vent?”
Khai looked over at the unfamiliar tall brother appreciatively. “Don’t think I’ve met you. I’m Khai.”
“Malcolm,” the man and Khai slapped fives, which turned into a handshake. “I went to school with these two clowns and I’m actually related to this one over here.”
He nodded towards Jordan.
Khai’s forehead wrinkled as he considered them. “Wow, you guys are a tight bunch.”
“It’s a friends and family thing,” Jordan said squatting to examine the base of the tree. “We’ve all known each other for years.”
Khai glanced over at the women by the kitchen. Asha was now sitting on a stool looking right at home as she chatted and laughed with the others. They were getting along well. Maybe too well. Now they would all want to be friends, which would make this all a lot more challenging for Khai.
More complications. What else was new?
He turned back to the men. “Alright, if we’re gonna do this, we need to do it fast before she notices and has time to protest.”
Derek slapped a hand on Khai’s shoulder. “Man, that might have been the wisest thing you’ve said thus far.”
Khai nodded, relieved the tension had been broken. He was on neutral ground with Portia’s brother, for now at least. And for some reason, to him that was very very important.
“Portia, I think we’re out of those butter cookies. You should come restock them.”
Portia looked at Milo. The woman was smiling at her across the counter, but Portia knew that look. She also knew that tone of voice.
“Uh, yeah sure,” Portia said. “Let me grab a tray and then you can help me.”
Milo gave her a knowing smile and waited while Portia grabbed a fresh tray of butter cookies from the set cooling on the counter and brought them over to the treat table. They were barely out of earshot of the women at the counter, when Milo grabbed her arm.
“Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness,” Milo hissed, her eyes wide and dancing.
“Okay,” Portia moved her hand away before Milo’s excitement caused her to drop the tray. “I know my cookies are good, but I didn’t know they were that good.”
“Did you see her?” Milo glanced back at the kitchen. “Can you believe he brought her here?”
> “Who, Asha?”
“Yes, Asha!”
“Well of course I can believe it, I told him to bring her.” Portia frowned as she used the spatula to transfer the cookies from the baking tray to the basket on the table.
She had to admit, she really thought Khai had made Asha up. And it had been a comforting thought up until the moment the stunning woman walked into her home. And boy was she stunning. Slim, but curvy with a rack you could serve drinks on, caramel skin, deep hazel eyes, cheekbones you could ski-jump off of and flowing shoulder length hair that wasn’t a weave. And Portia knew, because she had leaned in to look at the woman’s edges.
“But, Portia, don’t you see it?”
Portia continued transferring the cookies, keeping her eyes on the tray. “See what?”
“She looks just like you!”
Portia glanced at Milo quickly. “No, she doesn’t.”
Milo’s mouth fell open. “You can’t be serious. You can’t tell me looking at her is not like looking in the mirror. You guys are about the same size, same height, same skin tone. Sure, she’s got the boobs but you got the booty and I think that gives you more points. My goodness, it’s even the same shade of red hair.”
“Please, that’s a very common shade.”
“I bet if you ask her it will be the same brand as yours.” Milo glanced over at the woman shaking her head. “Wow. If I didn’t know you and Derek were already twins, I would wonder if there was a separated at birth thing going on. Dang, the resemblance...dang.”
Portia put the last cookie in the basket and turned to her friend. “Milo, you’re exaggerating. Sure, both of us have red hair. But beyond that...”
“You can’t tell me Brady didn’t notice.”
She glanced over at Brady who was now lounging on the couch, chatting with some of her other friends. She had noticed the slightest frown on his face when Khai walked in with Asha, but otherwise there had been nothing.
“He didn’t say anything because there was nothing to notice.”
But Milo was too busy staring at Asha. She suddenly laughed. “He couldn’t have you, so he went out and found himself a duplicate. Man, this is juicy stuff.”
Portia walked away from Milo. She made it back to the kitchen and tried to rejoin the girls. But with Milo’s words ringing in her ears, she couldn’t help but stare at Asha.
Okay, so maybe there was a tiny resemblance. But it was mostly the hair. And the skin tone. And the shape of their eyes. But that was all. Nothing else. Portia didn’t think she was as pretty as Asha. Not even on her best make-up day.
She sighed. It was just as well that she and Khai couldn’t date. If that was his standard of women, it was unlikely she would measure up. Just the idea of being compared to Asha made her fidgety. She headed over to the Christmas tree, which the men had successfully moved three feet over from its original spot.
“Doesn’t it look so much better here?” Derek offered, dropping his arm around her shoulders.
She made a face. “I liked it where it was before.”
“Yeah, and I like not worrying about dying in my sleep from a house fire,” Derek said dryly.
She looked around. “Where’s Brady and Khai?”
“Went to Brady’s ride to get some ribbon thing you made him buy that matches the tree.” Malcolm shook his head. “Speaking of matching...”
Malcolm grinned as he stepped closer. “That your other twin over there by the kitchen?”
“Oh, Malcolm, not you too.”
He laughed. “Me too? So you noticed that your friend’s girl looks just like you?”
“She does not look like me,” Portia protested. “You and Milo are crazy. Tell them, Derek.”
Her brother looked at the ceiling. Portia slapped him on the chest. “Derek!”
He shrugged. “Sorry, sis, but I gotta say, she does kinda looks like a Portia double.”
Portia groaned.
“I mean, if you weren’t around and I needed someone to stand in for my sister.” Derek nodded towards the kitchen. “I would pick her.”
Portia shook her head. “You guys are crazy.”
“Nope,” Malcolm leaned back against the wall and crossed his ankles. “What’s crazy is that your boy’s dating a knock off of you, which leads me to think he was feelin’ you, but you weren’t having it.”
“He’s not a Christian, Malcolm.”
“Ahh, now it makes sense.”
Did it? Because as Portia looked over at Asha and then at Khai who had just returned to the room, she realized that for her, it was making less and less sense by the moment.
Chapter 16
Khai stood on the roof of the forty story office building, trying to avoid looking at the street below. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he really didn’t see the need to test his tenacity. Especially since he had a job to do and developing a sudden attack of vertigo would make it near impossible.
It was barely sunrise, but he could already see people moving about in the building directly across from him. In the distance, the early morning sun glinted off the coastal waters, welcoming in the day. He inhaled a deep cleansing breath. He loved this city. Loved the water and the sun. Loved the feel of the surf underneath his board and the sand under his feet. He was a California kid through and through. But of late, he had been spending more time in New York and the LA side of his business was suffering for it. The NY side, however, was growing steadily, to the point where he had decided to stop working out of his home in White Plains and rent office space and a more permanent employee than his virtual assistant whom he was currently overworking.
He hadn’t planned it this way. New York was only supposed to be a one time stint. Then Brady had that issue with his brother-in-law that Khai had to deal with. Then Morgan had asked him to work on that situation for Derek Wynters. Then he had met Portia and things changed. Now, he was actively seeking work in New York so that he had a legitimate reason to stick around.
But he hadn’t stuck around for long after Portia’s Christmas party. After Morgan cornered him during the party and called him out on dating Asha just because she looked like Portia, he decided he needed a break from the Big Apple. It wasn’t that he thought Morgan was right. She wasn’t. Asha didn’t look like Portia. Not really. Sure, there was the hair, and the eyes, but Portia was light years more beautiful. Anyone could see that. Plus, they were completely different personality-wise. But, he could see that this Portia thing was becoming a bigger issue than he anticipated and he decided to put some distance between them.
He hoped coming to LA would take his mind off her, but it hadn’t worked. Instead, it just left him thinking a lot more about what Mandy said at Thanksgiving. And then, there was that night at the Christmas service with Portia that he couldn’t get out of his head.
The part about things not happening the way we expect had really gotten to him. It was the perfect description of his life so far. Things definitely did not happen the way he expected. He was supposed to be a big trader by now. He had been in line for the top. But his stint in jail had changed that. Even though he’d been exonerated, there was still a black mark on him that wouldn’t go away. As far as the financial industry went, he was as good as done. He had done nothing wrong, but his career was ruined. Where was the blessing in that?
The click and slam of a metal door brought him out of his thoughts. He turned away from the low retaining wall circling the roof and accepted the cup of coffee Max handed to him.
“You’re late,” Khai opened the lid and confirmed that it was black like he liked it.
Max yawned and squatted down, placing the laptop he carried on the ground. “Nah, you’re just early. It’s barely six-thirty.”
“Yeah. In twenty minutes, we’ll be about as inconspicuous as a dinosaur in Times Square,” Khai unzipped his bag and pulled out several items, including a tripod and a scope. “You ready?”
Max flipped on the laptop. “Give me five minutes.”
That worked
fine for Khai. By the time he finished setting up his gear, Max would be ready. Usually he would do this kind of job alone, but he needed Max’s eyes inside the building they were watching while Khai had his own eyes in the target office. On days like this, it was good to have a security hacker on your side.
“Did you do it?”
Khai fitted the legs of the tripod into place. “Yup.”
“How much did he lose?”
“About 200.”
Max froze and looked at Khai. “Two hundred thousand?”
Khai set up the scope on the tripod.
“That’s a lot of money.”
Khai shrugged. “He’ll make it back. Besides, he’s still got money left.”
“Yeah, but the man has kids.” Max rubbed a hand over his head. “Don’t you think...?”
Khai cut his eyes at Max. “Don’t I think what?”
Max leaned back. “Listen, I know this guy messed you up...”
Khai glared at Max. “But?”
Max turned back to his laptop and resumed typing. “Nothing. Let’s just get back to work. We have actual jobs, paying jobs, that we need to work on.”
Khai watched Max, but his head was down, eyes on the screen. It was the first time Max had voiced an objection to a job. It was a strange feeling. And the tension that it caused hung in the air like LA smog.
Khai added the scope to the end of his apparatus. In moments, he was looking inside a corner suite of the office building across from them. They were there for about an hour before either of them spoke again.
Gravel shifted as Max eased up from his position on the ground to get a better look at his computer screen. “He’s entering the building and getting on the elevator.”
“Our guy just answered the phone. Probably got the call that he’s on the way up.” Khai continued watching. The door to the office suite opened. Three other men joined the one he’d been watching. He sighed. “Don’t you just hate it when your Mayor is lying to you?”
“Not really,” Max said. “Since I kind of expect it anyway. You took the shot yet?”
Khai focused the scope a little, and then pressed down. He took a dozen silent photos in quick succession. “Got it.”