Page 22 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis
“I’ll choose the location. Sunday at ten. I’ll text you the address.”
I hung up before he could respond, then immediately regretted agreeing to see him at all. But that was Gerald’s gift, making me feel guilty for protecting myself, making me feel responsible for problems I didn’t create.
I was distracted for the rest of the afternoon. By the time I locked up the office and headed home, the sun was setting behind a bank of gray clouds. It would rain before morning.
My condo was a sophisticated representation of me, immaculate yet empty. I poured myself a glass of wine and settled on the sofa, staring at the coffee table.
I reached for my phone and scrolled to Christian’s contact information. My thumb hovered over his name, and I remembered the photo from this morning. Those wine glasses. That lipstick stain.
Maybe I was imagining connections that weren’t there. Maybe last night had just been dinner and a movie, nothing more meaningful than any other Wednesday in our arrangement.
“This is a normal Wednesday. Not much of a celebration.”
“All of our Wednesdays are a celebration to me.”
I set the phone aside without calling, and still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a fundamental shift between us happening and I held the keys to unlocking what that was.
Chapter
Four
CHRISTIAN
I shookhands with each member of my team as they packed up their laptops and legal briefs and left the conference room. The Davidson deal had officially closed an hour ago, and a sense of accomplishment had filled the space.
As the office emptied and I retreated to my private elevator, I realized I didn’t have plans. Not real ones, anyway. Tonight was not one for Naomi and I which meant I was going home to an empty penthouse, and for some reason, that felt unbearable.
The wind cut through my suit jacket as I walked to the parking garage. These days the weather could shift from warm to bitter in a matter of hours, and tonight’s wind was gearing up for the first real cold snap. I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Xander’s number and sent a text.
“Let’s get drinks tonight.”
The response came back almost immediately:“It’s about time. Meet me at Soulful in an hour.”
Soulful was our aunts’ soul food restaurant on the Central West End. If I was going to talk to anyone about the mess in my head, it would be my brother.
I found Xander in the back courtyard, already nursing a glass of Brandy and puffing on a Cuban cigar. The space was warm regardless to the chill in the air, heated by tall gas lamps that cast everything in golden light. Bare-branched trees were strung with Edison bulbs, and the aroma of barbecue smoke mixed with autumn leaves.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be able to pull you out of your zone,” Xander said, standing to embrace me. At six-foot-three, he was shorter than my six-five frame but built like the soccer player he used to be with an extra added layer of muscle and quick reflexes. His beard was trimmed, and his dark brown eyes held the same mischief that had gotten us both in trouble as kids.
“Don’t start,” I said, settling into the chair across from him. “Where’s my niece?”
“With her grandmother. I can’t seem to pull them two away from each other very long.”
“And I don’t know why you expect to.”
“Because I’m her father, and I’m jealous.”
I laughed. “You have no reason to be jealous. Mom is most likely taking Sade under her wing because she has no mother. She’s needs a mother figure in her life.”
“I know, I know.”
I stared at him for a moment when his eyes drifted off.
“You okay, man?”
He blinked and focused back on me. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Whatever it is you know you can talk to me about it, right?”
