“Forget it?” I was dismayed at the thought. “Since when do you give up?” I touched her arm. “You can’t expect him to fall after one encounter. You have to put pressure on him. Remind him of what it was he had when he was with you.”
Emily’s green eyes lifted to mine.
“Look at you,” I said. I pushed a blond lock from her face. “You’re beautiful, Emily. Do you really think Dylan doesn’t notice it when he looks at you? Do you really think he doesn’t remember the times you spent together? You can’t forget it,” I pressed her. “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
The anxiety on her face waned and her shoulders relaxed. Once I was satisfied that I’d boosted her resolve, I eased away from her.
“Try again,” I encouraged her.
She nodded. “Maybe I can meet up with him tonight,” she said, low. “It’s Thursday night, so he normally goes to LIV with his friend, Stefan. I’m sure you remember him.”
“Of course.” I frowned and tugged the hair on my chin. Stefan was a cockblocker. He was the one who’d told Dylan about my brief affair with Emily, and no doubt, he’d be the one encouraging Dylan to give Emily the cold shoulder.
Suddenly, a flash of brilliance sparked in my mind. I looked at Sasha, who was still standing in the corner of the room. “Tonight, when you go to LIV, take Sasha with you,” I suggested.
Sasha balked. “Me?”
Emily’s expression indicated that she concurred with Sasha’s sentiment. “I don’t understand,” she admitted. “If I need a crew, I can easily take one of my friends. No offence, Sasha, but I don’t know you like that.”
Sasha turned her lip up. “Trust me, none taken.” Sasha turned her focus on me. “What exactly is the point of me going with her, Michael? There are a million other ways for me to spend my precious time.”
“If Dylan’s friend Stefan is going to be there, you’d make a lovely distraction. I need something that will keep him occupied while Emily reconnects with Dylan.”
“Are you serious?” She pointed at me. “What is this, some kind of select-a-hoe service? Michael – ”
“Do you really think I’d sacrifice you like that?” I barked back at her.
“After the goddamn conversation we just had? Of course I do!”
Emily’s eyes darted between me and Sasha.
“Obviously, you didn’t hear a thing I said to you during that conversation,” I blamed her. “But we’ll talk about it later. Tonight...” I let the suggestion hang like mistletoe. “I need you to do this for me, Sasha. And I need you to trust me.” I looked at Emily. “Both of you.”
Sasha rolled her eyes and stormed out of the room.
Emily turned to look at me. “I’ll try again,” she confirmed, and I nodded.
“Good.”
Sixteen
Dylan
‘Strong Black Woman’
Stefan and I passed through the velvet ropes and into the VIP area of our favorite after hours hang out and were escorted to our private box. A waitress appeared with a drink menu, and I ordered a bottle of Bordeaux. Stefan ordered a tray of escargot. The music pumping from the floor below muted itself outside of walls of our soundproof booth, but I could still feel the bass thumping next to my heart.
“Did you come up with anything?”
“Yes and no,” Stefan said, pulling his leather messenger bag onto the glass table that was set between us. “You were right. Something is going on, but I’m still not certain what it is. I put two of my boys on the case. One trailed Carter, but he’s clean. Carter has your back. A few hours of shadowing him revealed that much. The real snake is some guy named Brenneman.”
“I told you that much.” My eyes narrowed. “Joseph Brenneman. He’s one of my Board members, but he’s not just any board member; he’s the one who owned the most shares, aside from me, of course. What did you get on him?”
Stefan opened the bag and put a tape-recorder on the table. When he pressed play, Brenneman’s voice emitted into the air.
‘Your call is timely. We’re desirous of new leadership; someone who’s aggressive like Dylan used to be, but more focused.’
Brenneman’s voice faded away, and I assumed he was listening to the person on the other end of the phone. The din of passing traffic resounded in the background. He was driving.
‘Your proposal sounds promising... Yes, I think the Board will be intrigued. We all agree that something needs to change... well, most of us agree. But it doesn’t matter. The most important people, the ones who make up the majority, are on the same page. Bringing you on would be like killing two birds with one stone. Of course we’d need to meet and have a face-to-face discussion...’
The recording ended.
I tried to quell the searing heat percolating in my core. I pinned my eyes on Stefan. “Who the hell was he talking to?” I demanded. “And what does he mean, killing two birds with one stone?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out now,” Stefan said, “but whoever it was, it sounds like the person is primed and ready to take your position.”
I scowled, not satisfied with the lack of information Stefan had provided. It was useless. I might as well have still been in the dark about what was going on.
The waitress returned with our food and drink, and when she left, Stefan leaned in. “Are you sure you don’t want me to follow Michael Sawyer?” he asked again.
I swirled the deep red beverage around and watched it cling to the glass. “I told you, I’m not worried about him or Laila.”
Stefan pressed his lips together as my phone buzzed. “I have a feeling there’s more to this than just Laila,” he supposed.
“What makes you think that?” I looked at my phone and cursed.
“What is it?”
“Emily,” I answered, and I cursed again. “What the hell is up with her?”
“What do you think is up with her?” he asked picking up a snail. “She wants her man back.” He grunted out a laugh. “Did you really think she’d let you dump her that easily?”
“I haven’t heard from her in almost a year,” I said through a groan. “I was sure she’d moved on by now.”
My cell phone dinged and another message slid across my screen.
I clicked the side, rendering it black.
“So you’re just gonna ignore her?”
“Hell yes.”
“And you really think that’s gonna make her go away?” he asked, raising a sarcastic eyebrow.
“I’d do anything to make her go away,” I huffed. “I already changed my number and that didn’t work.”
“How about you talk to her,” Stefan suggested.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Tell her, in no uncertain terms, that it’s over and there’s no way you’d even consider being with her again.”
“I did that,” I whined. “And it didn’t work.”
“Then tell her again. Shit. I’ll tell her if you want me to.”
I looked down at the last message she’d left.
Unknown Number: I’m at LIV.
I scratched my jaw. “She’s here,” I informed Stefan.
Stefan snapped his fingers and the waitress appeared as if she’d been on standby. He whispered in her ear, and she nodded, exiting the booth.
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her to bring Emily up,” he said with a nonchalant shrug.
“Are you crazy?” I whispered. “Why would you do something like that? You know how she is. The last thing I need is for her to think she had a special invitation up here. You give her an inch, she takes a mile – that’s how she is.”
“Ain’t nobody gonna be takin’ no inches or miles around here,” Stefan asserted confidently, setting his glass down so hard I thought it would shatter. “Tonight’s the night. If she can’t get it through her spoiled skull after this, it’s no longer your problem.”
“It’s not my problem now,” I contested.
Stefan wagged
his finger at me. “Don’t be too sure about that,” he warned me. “With a woman like Emily, you never know how far she’d go to get you back.”
Stefan’s words struck a disturbing chord, but before I could say anything, she was parting the royal-blue curtains of my private booth. Her eyes were fixed on me, and Stefan’s words disintegrated as he took in a leggy woman who’d accompanied Emily. Both of them were wearing cocktail dresses that left little to the imagination, and already, I sensed Stefan’s determination fading into oblivion.
I muttered a curse.
The waitress escorted the women deeper into the booth.
I threw the remainder of my wine against the back of my throat and reached for the bottle to refill my glass, but Stefan had already accosted it.
Emily’s eyes sparkled. It was probably the lighting, but it didn’t matter. There was no way I was willing to entertain her, even the slightest bit.
When I didn’t say anything, she frowned, but spoke up. “Thanks for inviting us up,” she said, forcing a smile. “This is my friend, Sasha. Sasha, this is Dylan.”
Sasha waved, and I offered her a tight smile, wondering why she looked vaguely familiar.
Stefan cleared his throat and Emily turned to acknowledge him. “And of course, this is Stefan, Dylan’s best friend.”
“Hey,” Stefan said. His voice was suddenly deeper than I’d ever heard it before. I rubbed my brow, realizing that he was down for the count.
Emily squeezed herself between me and Stefan and I scooted over, making sure we didn’t connect. Sasha sat on the other side of Stefan and he immediately engaged her in conversation. I couldn’t help but notice Sasha’s response to Stefan. He had a way with women, that much I knew, but even this instant connection made me curious.
“Just to be clear, I didn’t invite you,” I said. “Stefan did.”
“Well, I’m glad he thought enough of me to do so, since clearly you’re not the gentleman I remember you to be.”
I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore her comment, and peered down onto the floor below. People were dancing to the thumping beat, and I took in the scene, all the while trying to avoid Emily’s intense presence.
“I’m glad I caught up with you,” she said, intruding on my solitude.
“You’ve been catching up to me for the last couple of days,” I commented. “I would ask how you knew I’d be here, but I have a feeling I know the answer.”
“This is your spot, Dylan. Besides, it’s Thursday night. You and Stefan always come here for drinks after work.”
“It seems as though I’ll need to change my routine,” I considered taking a sip of my wine.
The music filled what would have been silence.
“So... how are the wedding plans going?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s none of your business, Emily.”
“Dylan, I’m only trying to – ”
“Trying to what?” I cut her off, staring into her face. “Trying to be friends? I told you, there’s no room for that. I’m involved in a serious relationship,” I reminded her, “and us maintaining any kind of a relationship is inappropriate.”
Her mouth snapped shut and she retracted. “You’re acting as if our breakup was a bad one,” she whispered. “As if we weren’t in love once.”
My mouth twitched and I took another swig of my wine.
“All I want is some closure, Dylan. I want to know why I wasn’t good enough and why that intern of yours was.”
“I have no answer for that, other than because she completes me,” I informed her. My tone was chilly. I tried to warm it up a little. For her sake. “We’d run our course, Emily. I tried to be honest with you. I tried to do the right thing by ending our relationship before either of us got hurt.”
“I got hurt,” she whispered.
My eyes fluttered. “That wasn’t my intention.”
“It might not have been your intention, but that’s what happened. You say you love this woman, but you hardly know her. And to talk about marriage...” She ripped her eyes off me, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “She’s not who you think she is, Dylan...”
My eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?” I asked.
She didn’t say anything, and I wanted to grab her and shake a response out of her. But that was what she wanted, I realized. I knew the way she operated. She would say anything to get a reaction or rise out of me. I wasn’t about to play her game. Those days had come to an end.
My phone buzzed and I looked down. Laila was calling me.
“That’s her,” I mumbled lifting myself off the red, velvet couch. “I need to take this call.”
Emily’s eyes rose with me as I stepped out of the booth and answered the call.
“Sweetheart...”
“Hey baby, where are you?” she asked. Her voice filled me with all kinds of pleasure, but Emily’s nagging words rolled in the back of my mind like tumbleweed.
“I’m at the club with Stefan,” I answered. “I’ll be home soon.” I paused. “Where are you?”
“Still at the office,” she said through a sigh.
My body tensed. “Alone? It’s late, sweetheart.”
“Michael is here,” she answered.
A curtain of red dropped over my eyes.
Laila continued, oblivious to my impending rage. “We had a meeting this afternoon and we stayed late to go over the details.”
Silence.
“He wants me to take on a few new clients and we’re using today’s presentation as a prototype.”
“I see,” I muttered. I inhaled, unable to keep my spiraling thoughts to myself. I shoved my tongue into my cheek, trying to select words that would prevent a quarrel.
“Sweetheart, I’m not entirely comfortable with you being at the office so late. And especially not with him.”
She sighed, frustrated. “Oh my god... Dylan – ”
“You know how I feel about him, Lai. I’ve told you a million times that I don’t trust him.” I paused, analyzing her silence on the other end of the phone. “Please head home, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon. In fact, I’ll leave LIV now.”
Silence.
“I love you...”
She exhaled. “I love you more,” she responded. “Baby?”
“Yes?”
“This isn’t about Michael, you know. I told you I would figure everything out. This is about me.”
“Sweetheart, I know but – ”
“It’s about me being good at what I do. It’s about you trusting me and understanding what I need, physically and emotionally. As a strong black woman...” She paused. “You get that, right?”
My breath hitched and I swallowed, confused by her question. “Of course.” I wanted to say more, but it was the only thing to come out.
A terse, undefined silence loomed over the telephone connection.
“I’ll see you at home,” she said, and she hung up.
I held the phone against my face, even though there was no one on the other end. Suddenly, I turned around, irritated to see that Emily had peeked through the curtain and was watching me, listening to my conversation.
“Is everything okay?” she inquired. Genuine concern marked her face. Still, her presence irritated me beyond measure.
“Everything is fine,” I mumbled. I walked back into the booth and grabbed my jacket. “I have to go.” I turned to Stefan who, by now, was merry on wine and in the process of obtaining Sasha’s details.
“Let’s go,” I barked shoving my arms into my blazer.
Stefan looked up and then hopped off the couch.
I turned to Emily. “You ladies feel free to enjoy yourselves for the rest of the night. Everything is on me.”
Sasha frowned. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Woman troubles,” I heard Stefan whisper to her.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Stef...” I hated when he was drunk.
Sasha scrutinized me, her eyebrows congregating over her expres
sive eyes.
Stefan took Sasha’s hand and placed his lips on it. “I’ll call you,” he assured her.
Her eyes fluttered, and she blushed as he followed me out of the booth.
We trotted down the steps and headed for the valet.
“So what happened?” Stefan asked. His words were slightly slurred. “Did you tell her?”
“Tell who?”
“Emily,” he said, as if that was the only woman on my mind. Emily was the last woman on my mind.
“Yeah,” I grunted. “We’re on the same page.”
I hopped into the driver’s seat and a text message buzzed through on my phone. It was Emily.
Unknown Number: Energy and persistence conquer all things. I’m not letting you go, Dylan. Not until I’m satisfied that she’s the one you really want.
Seventeen
Laila
‘The Right Decision’
I slipped the metallic dress Dylan had bought me for Michael’s event over my head, and it slid over my body like water in a shower. I stood in the mirror, admiring the way it dripped off my body and flirted with my thighs. It was slinky and seductive, and I knew exactly why he’d bought it for me.
Dylan peered at me from the confines of a seventy-five-inch monitor, which was posted on the wall of our home office. He was stuck in his office at Hamilton Associates, and if we couldn’t physically be together, this was the next best thing. His elbow was propped up on his desk as he pulled at his chin, examining my appearance.
“Mmm,” he hummed. He twirled his finger. “Let me see the back.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled at him before turning slowly. I waited patiently for his assessment, tipping my head to the side, making my ponytail swing, and putting my hands on my hips.
He hummed again, but this time it was more aggressive.
I bit back a laugh.
“I’ll be damned if I don’t know how to dress my woman,” he growled. “Certain things – the way they fit your body – they turn me on.”
Silence.
I glanced at him over my shoulder.
“Do something for me,” he requested gravely. I could already tell from the bass in his voice and his hooded eyes that it would be something naughty.
Coup: A BWWM Romance (The French Connection Book 2) Page 9