Page 47 of What She Deserves
Layla entered the condo and tossed the envelope on a table in the living room. Then she took her bags into the bedroom and started getting ready.
When Rashad arrived, she was already dressed in a royal blue long-sleeved dress, hair swept to one side and held in place with a gold clip, but walking around barefoot in her stockings. When she heard the door open, she rushed into the living room.
“Finally, you’re here. I was going to leave if you didn’t show up soon. Could you zip me up?” She presented her back to him.
“How were you going to leave with your dress undone?” Rashad teased. He pulled up the zipper and then twisted her around for a kiss, which she’d grown accustomed to since spending so much time at his place. The kiss greeting had become one of her favorite acts of affection.
“I was going to ask Liam to zip me up.”
“Like hell,” Rashad muttered, heading toward the bedroom.
She loved teasing him, and he indulged her vanity by acting jealous every time she mentioned the possibility of another man taking his place for any reason.
“Hurry up. You have fifteen minutes to get ready,” Layla said, following.
Rashad stopped. “Fifteen minutes? You know what, I’ll go in what I’m wearing and shower when I get back. How long do you think we’ll be out?”
“Probably for the rest of the night. After the ceremony, we’re going for drinks to do a little additional celebrating.”
“Oh right, I forgot. I don’t want to make you late, I’ll go like this.”
Most days Rashad wore a suit to work, often in flashy, attention-getting colors, and today was no different. He wore a dark red suit with a black shirt and black tie. What looked tacky on other men was the perfect attire for his personality, and his dark skin was the ideal backdrop for dramatic colors.
“You look nice, so you don’t have to worry about being underdressed. If you’re going like that, then you’re ready. I need to put on my shoes and we can leave.”
Layla bypassed him to the doorway and then paused. “By the way, there’s a package for you over there on the table. Liam handed it to me as I was coming up. It’s addressed to someone named Deshawn.”
His head swung sharply in her direction. “Did you open it?”
“No, of course not.” His question surprised her. She’d never invade his privacy like that. She watched him walk over to the table and pick up the stuffed envelope. “Who’s Deshawn?”
Rashad kept his gaze on the package. “I don’t know,” he said in such a low voice, she barely heard him.
Confused by his response, Layla padded over to where he was standing and placed a hand on his arm. Rashad started, as if she’d yanked him from a dream. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Liam said you’ve gotten packages for this person before, so you must know who he is.”
“I don’t know what Liam is talking about. It’s clearly a mistake.”
“I can’t believe Liam would make a mistake like that,” Layla said quietly.
“Well, he did,” Rashad insisted.
He looked her right in the eyes, and she knew without a doubt that he was lying. Who was Deshawn Reddick, and why didn’t he want her to know about him?
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
That sense of unease she used to experience with Rashad returned—as if he was holding something back and erecting an invisible fence of privacy between them. They’d been so close recently that the feeling was particularly distressing.
“Everything is fine. I’ll deal with that when I get back.” He dropped the envelope on the table and took two steps away. Then he circled back and picked up the package, tucking it under his arm as he went into the kitchen.
Dumbfounded, Layla stared after him. Rashad was clearly lying to her, but why?
* * *
The hallsoutside the campus auditorium buzzed with people who’d arrived for the ceremony. According to the program, the event should last about two hours and included a distribution of awards to instructors in five departments.
Layla happened to see Omar almost as soon as they arrived, which wasn’t hard, considering his height and size. She waved to get his attention and rushed over.
“Hey, how’re you doing?” She gave him a quick hug and an air kiss.
