Page 12 of Reckless Forever
“You really want me to believe it’s nothing there?” He doubled down.
“I said ain’t nothing happen.”
He shook his head and picked up a piece of the sausage and bit into it.
“I mean, if we gotta die at least the food ain’t nasty,” He laughed as he cut through the French toast.
I chuckled at him and looked down at my phone just as Ivy texted me.
Ivy: I think we should take a break from seeing each other tonight. There is an attraction, and that’s not what I wanted.
Me: Aight, I’ll see you later. I miss them lips already.
I laughed as I sent the text and put my phone down. Jax looked over at me and shook his head.
“You got a lot of shit going on,” he said with a mouth full of food.
Ivy responded to my message, but I didn’t even want to hear what she had to say. I wanted her, and I wasn’t concerned with the rules at the moment. Soon enough, she wouldn’t be either.
CHAPTER 4
Ivy
“Now, we’ll give the floor to our Emergency Management Specialist. Miss Ivy Montana will be giving us a proper action plan for the response to this crisis.” The FaceTime connected just in time. I set the phone beside the laptop and turned on my camera. Judah had been saying all week that he wanted to see exactly what I do for a living. When I told him that I would be on a panel, he said he wanted to see it in action.
The phone connected, and his face came into view.
“Thank you, Mr. Cordova.” I smiled at the panel members before presenting the course of action plan that I had been preparing over the last week. I focused on preparedness, response, recovery, and communication.
I made the mistake of glancing at Judah while I was speaking. I could barely hold it together. He was on the other end of the phone, making love faces at me. I couldn’t do anything but blush and push through. I gave the speech once in English and then translated it into Spanish for the non-English speaking board members. Judah may have been funny, but it actually felt good for someone to think that what I did was interesting and want to know more about it.
Being a meteorologist is a pretty boring career, and nobody ever inquires about it. Mostly because they don’t understand it anyway, but I loved the fact that he wanted to know more about it. To know it was to know me. I loved everything about my career, and I had never felt more fulfilled.
“Thank you, Miss Montana, that was a very thorough action plan. That’s the kind of clarity that we need right now. Let’s ensure that all government agencies are on the same page and ready to proceed. Please send us that plan via email. We appreciate your time and expertise.” He said.
“Thank you for having me. I will be available should you have any questions,” I said as I logged off the meeting and looked at Judah.
The expression on his face made me burst into laughter. I had never met a funnier man than him. It seems like in just two short weeks, I had really met a good friend, and it was so crazy that it happened by chance.
“That’s dope as fuck, what if you had said they don’t need to do shit?” He questioned, and I almost fell out of the chair that I was sitting in.
“Then I never would’ve gotten invited back. I show up with solutions.”
“Me too, baby,” he said as he bit his lip and smiled at me.
“Goodbye, Judah,” I chuckled as I pressed the button on him to end the video call.
I sighed; Judah was literally perfect as far as I could see. He was handsome, seemed nice, funny, and successful, but he was off-limits.
I had seen way too many things happen when a member of the Cartel was crossed, and I wanted to protect him from that. They spared nothing, and no one was safe. I didn’t know much about the Mafia, but I didn’t want to be the woman who came into anyone’s life and flipped it upside down. Or putting theirlives at risk. But a bigger part of me than I cared to admit wanted to act on the attraction. It was mutual since the day we first met, and it only intensified last night when he kissed me.
That kiss had been living rent-free in my head for the last couple of hours. Judah was going to be a problem.
Once the call ended, I took off my button-up shirt and pulled on my tank top again. That was my usual work-from-home uniform: business up top, party from the waist down. Just as I settled in, a knock came at the door.
I threw on a robe and tied it before walking over to the door and pulling it open. It was my godfather on the other side. I stepped to the side to invite him in. He walked in slowly and looked around my room, a look of worry etched in his face.
“¿Qué tienes en mente?” (What’s on your mind?) I asked as he took a seat on the couch in the corner of the room.
