Page 2 of Only if You Catch Me
My yoni had a mind of its’ own as it ached from the way I had caught Kastian staring at me. That man was too fine foranybody’s good. I was sure he put women through hell. There was no way his fine, rich, physically fit ass wasn’t super toxic. I told my girls goodbye then made the nineteen-minute drive to the four-bedroom home that I shared with David. He was out of town on business and wouldn’t be back until the next day. I was looking forward to going home, taking a shower, and curling up in bed with snacks and wine. Most women that dealt with street niggas knew that other women came with the territory. I had never caught David in anything but then again, I never looked. And I had to ask myself if it was because I trusted him or because I simply didn’t care.
The next day, I dressed in black leather pants, a sleeveless red bodysuit, a leopard print cardigan, and red pointy toe heels. It was funny to me that when I looked over my appointments the night before, I realized that the closing I had to go to was being held at Kastian’s real estate firm. My client was a buyer, and Kastian’s firm was representing the seller. I had been to Kastian’s firm several times before, and I’d never actually seen him there, so I doubted he’d be around that day. Seeing him up close and in person was a much different experience than seeing him in photos. He was fine in print but in real life…got damn.
I’d be willing to bet money that he was a womanizer and a hoe. But if all a woman cared about was a good time with a fine ass man, whoever was riding that ride was lucky as hell. I left out early enough to run and grab a smoothie and make it on time to Miller Realty Co. I had branched out on my own and started my own firm, and it was extremely small. I had one realtor under me, and she worked full-time as an esthetician doing real estate on the side. Some months she sold two houses and some monthsshe sold none. That was normal for any broker. I wanted to grow my business, but I knew it would take time.
Patience was something that I prayed for early on after getting my real estate license. It took me six months to sell my first house. No matter how frustrated I became, I refused to quit. I also took the initiative to get listings in other cities and not just in Diamond Cove. It was imperative that I had the same patience and consistency with my firm that I had with my career. It might take six months or even a year but one day, I’d have several agents working under me.
I arrived at my destination ten minutes before the set time. I had been to that particular building enough times to know that Kastian’s firm was on the thirteenth floor. Last I checked, he had about nine realtors working for him, and the lineup was quite impressive. As I entered the lobby the scent of spice flooded my nostrils. Almost like cinnamon but a little stronger. The elevator doors slid open causing the smell of tobacco and vanilla to infiltrate the air. My eyes widened just a bit as I noticed Kastian on the elevator. He looked much different than the day before. He was clad in chocolate slacks, a white shirt, and a chocolate double breasted jacket. On his feet were black loafers, and the watch that decorated his wrist more than likely cost the price of a small house. His scent dominated the air in the elevator making my pulse quicken, and my chest heave up and down. A slow smile inched across his face.
“So, we meet again.”
I smiled bashfully. “So, we do. I actually have a meeting with one of your agents. It’s closing day.” I was headed up to the man’s firm. There was no need to pretend like I didn’t know who he was.
Just as he had at the pool party, Kastian gave me a slow once over. My clit pulsated as his eyes dragged across my frame. “Real estate broker by day, life of the party in the evening. Good shit,”he gave a nod of approval as we reached the designated floor. “You have a nice day, Mrs?”
“Um, Brown. Persia Brown.”
“You have a nice day, Mrs. Brown,” he winked at me and ambled down the hall.
“Whew baby,” I breathed out slowly as I walked towards the conference room.
There had been a time when I wasn’t sure I could be successful running my own firm, and I had almost applied to work at Kastian’s firm. He had the connections and the reputation to handle luxury listings, and I knew the commission on those properties was phenomenal. But, I stepped out on faith, and I wasn’t mad at what my firm was accomplishing. It was a good thing I didn’t apply to work for Kastian because being around that kind of temptation on a daily basis would have been torture. Especially since he'd made me cream more in the past two days than my husband had in two months.
CHAPTER 2
Kastian
There wasn’t much that I feared, but as my loafers tapped the shiny linoleum floors of the hospital, each echo seemed to coincide with the thump of my heart. From the moment Toya called me crying, I knew nothing good was going to come of the day. Minutes after I secured a 1.2-million-dollar deal on a high-rise luxury condo, I got the call that the woman carrying my child was in the hospital for bleeding and cramping. She was eighteen weeks and while those things didn’t have to mean terrible news, Toya had already had two miscarriages in two years. This was the furthest she’d ever gotten with a pregnancy, and she’d finally started to breathe easier. Now, this bullshit.
I entered the stark white room and saw Toya with her face in her hands sobbing. Her mother had one arm wrapped around her daughter’s shoulder, and her father stood off to the side with worry lines creasing his forehead. Selfishly, I knew that Mr. Moore was disappointed for all the wrong reasons. His head whipped in my direction, and I could see the fear in his eyes. He took a step toward me. “Let’s ste”
“Not now,” I cut him off abruptly making Toya uncover her face. I hadn’t even been able to attempt to console her before her father wanted to start running game and making promises that he couldn’t keep.
When Toya’s irises met mine, she began to cry even harder. “Can we have some privacy?” I asked her mother in a non-confrontational tone.
With her lips set in a hard line, she gave a curt nod and walked toward the door with her husband on her heels.
“I lost the baby. I’m sorry,” Toya sobbed, and I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Maybe this child was Toya and her parents’ lifeline. Maybe they were correct in assuming that I wouldn’t deal with her if she couldn’t give me a child but got damn, mourn the child and not the circumstances for at least a little while.
“Why are you apologizing to me for something that you can’t control?” I asked with a slight frown. “Stop doing that shit.” I didn’t mean to curse at her, but I was irritated. “How are you feeling?” I asked as I sat down in the chair beside her bed.
“Like shit.” Toya sniffed and placed her head on the pillow. Staring up at the ceiling she was quiet for a few minutes before speaking again. “What the fuck is wrong with me? My cousin has eight kids, and I can’t even carry one. She probably should have stopped at number three but yet, God keeps blessing her and punishing me.”
I didn’t know what to say because honestly, the shit wasn’t fair. There were women that got pregnant daily that didn’t want kids, and Toya kept enduring heartbreak after heartbreak. Each time I watched her lose one of our babies, I saw it break her a little more. In my opinion, she needed to take a break from trying to conceive, but Toya was determined to have a child with me. She was deathly afraid that if she couldn’t give me a child, someone else would. Toya wasn’t exactly my girlfriend. As a mantechnically, I had more time to have kids. Even though I kept myself in shape, nothing was guaranteed.
At thirty-one years old, I was ready for a child. If I hadn’t met a woman and fallen in love by now, maybe it wouldn’t happen. This wasn’t back in the day. I didn’t have to put a ring on a woman’s finger and give her my last name to have kids with her. I knew men and women in loveless marriages all because getting married and having kids were what they were supposed to do. I couldn’t promise a woman forever, but I could promise her that if she had my child, she’d be taken care of. For any woman whose biological clock was ticking, it was a win win situation. They got to have the child they wanted by a rich ass man that would make sure she didn’t want for anything.
Toya was cool, but I wasn’t in love with her. Her father wanted her to marry me desperately, and he’d been putting her bid in for years. Toya was pretty, smart, well-educated, and she was decent in the bedroom. While I couldn’t point out anything that was terribly wrong with her, I wasn’t fucked up ‘bout her either. A woman didn’t have to have money, certain familial ties, or her own status to be an asset to my life. I wanted heirs. I wanted to build and leave behind a legacy. The mother of my child could stay at home and raise the kids, or she could help me to run my businesses. Whether love was in the equation or not, I knew having the right woman on my team would only add to what was already a very successful empire. It didn’t matter if she was on my team with the title of wife or baby mama.
Maybe it was fucked up of me, but while I was willing to deal with a woman that I didn’t love, I wasn’t willing to solely deal with a woman that couldn’t give me babies. I had even suggested using a surrogate, but Toya wanted to carry her own children. I couldn’t blame her for that, but I didn’t want to keep waiting either. I was more than certain; she didn’t love me the same way I didn’t love her. Having my child would have her set for life ifshe played her cards right. Any kind of relationship between us would be way more beneficial to her than it would be to me, so it was my way or no way. Toya knew I dated other women, and she knew she wasn’t the only woman that I was sleeping with. That alone told me she was in it for the money. There was no way in hell I’d share the woman that I loved under any circumstances.
“When can you go home?” My back rested against the seat. Studying Toya’s cinnamon-colored skin and doe shaped eyes, it dawned on me that I couldn’t keep doing this to her. I was sure she wanted children also, but she was hell bent on having my child, with hopes that I would propose to her.
I didn’t want her to feel pressured to give me a child and risk her sanity. Maybe it was too late. She’d already gotten her hopes up, and she’d feel less than if I chose not to have a child with her, but she knew what it was from day one. I wasn’t looking for love. If I didn’t love her, and she couldn’t give me what I needed, what would be the point in dealing with her? I wasn’t going to just discard her like trash, but I wasn’t going to deviate from my plan either. We’d already been trying for two years.
“In the morning.” Her voice was small. “My mother is hell bent on spending the night. Give me six months, Kastian. I’m going to talk to a specia”
