Page 53 of Heightened Assurance
I glanced down at the denim skirt that went to my ankles but had a slit all the way up to my thighs. I really liked this skirt, because it was sexy. “Good thing I wasn’t around you for most of the day.”
He chortled. “But you around me now and I’m way ahead of the curve on this. It’s nothing for me to get you fed, so you can slide in there and feed me.”
“Cute, and very tempting, but no. I came by to ask why you have yet to tell me who my stalker is, but you have spoken to my brother. Or maybe brothers, since I still don’t know.” I moved from by the door into his space.
“Because you don’t need to carry it.”
“Says who?” I moved toward him, loving the sight of him doing what he loved. He had resumed cutting the salmon.
“Your man. The nigga making sure your headstrong ass is straight at all points.”
I couldn’t hide my smile. He and my brothers kept calling me headstrong; I didn’t see it. Then again, maybe they were right. I didn’t see the need to call them about every situation in my life. Shit, I hadn’t even told my brothers about the vandalizing of my condo and car.
“At all points?” I tilted my head to the side, now leaned against the other side of the counter behind him.
“All of them. I ain’t no street nigga, but to handle mine and make sure you and my daughter are good, I don’t have to be.”
I bit into my bottom lip, swooning at his words. “Understood.”
“Good, now did you bring your fine ass through here to question me or because you missed me?”
“A little bit of both. Is that okay?”
Once again, he was grinning. “Depends on if you intend to ride the rest of this night out with me. Kinga is picking up Aja,and I’ma pick her up when we leave here, cause now she acts like she can’t spend a night at her uncle’s spot.”
I laughed. “She loves being with you.”
“Yeah, whatever. Are you going to ride this out or no?”
I spoke just before my phone started ringing. “Um, as long as I can take over your office and you make sure to bring me a plate of whatever you’re cooking.” When I glanced down, I was already ready to be irritated but saw it was Ava. Immediately, relief washed over my being. “I need to take this. Do we have a deal?”
“Yeah, I’ll be in there to mess with you in a few.”
I answered the phone, moving toward his office. “Yes, Ava?”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to respond. I had to walk your little incontinent ass dog. Every time I look up, he has to pee.” She laughed.
I immediately felt sad, missing my baby. When we were at Oden’s house, he spent most of his time under Aja, then as soon as we came back to the city he was back with Ava. I missed being in my own spot with my baby. My place was perfect because though he spent so much time with Ava, she always dropped him off back home for me to come home to.
“I’m sorry he kind of fell into your lap. Once this grand opening is over, I’ll be looking for a more stable and suitable living arr?—”
“Um no, he’s fine. That’s my little hungry bestie. Take your time. But anyways, I need you to check your email. There are some pieces from Sahara’s new line I feel you may want to stock.”
“Okay, one sec.” I set my bag down and had my computer open in seconds. Once I connected to the public Wi-Fi, I was able to pull up the email she’d sent. “Oh, this whole line is fire. Let her know we’re interested. I also want to revisit your idea of possibly having a shoe tree with monthly exclusives. I thinkthat’s a flavorful idea and I want you to run with it. I mean, since you are the shoe person.” I laughed.
“Really?” She sounded so shocked.
“Uh, yes. Your idea, your vision. I trust you. I’d also like you to implement that idea into The Loop location as well. It’s up to you whether you want both locations to stock the same shoes, like we do accessories, or if you want to stress the exclusivity of the shoe lines that’ll be stocked at each location.”
“Understood. Would it be too much to request originals and exclusivity either way? Meaning if the shoe is stocked with us for however long, can we request that it only be stocked with us for the duration of that season?”
I shrugged, hearing the door opening behind me. When I turned around, Oden’s handsome features had me stuck momentarily before I had to catch my footing. “I don’t see why not. It’s us guaranteeing we’ll stock their product for an entire season. We are, in turn, taking all the risk.”
My eyes relished this man while he moved toward me with a black plate in his hand.Chef was here to chef.
“Cool. I’ll email you estimates and who I believe could be a part of this. I’ll be checking in with the painters as well about completion of the fitting room and the company we ordered the fixtures and things from. I’ll have a full update when I see you tomorrow.” Ava was speaking but my attention had long since left her. It was on the man who had me cornered between his body and his desk.
“Okay,” I responded, now seated back on his desk while he stood between my legs.
