Page 4 of Kandi's Crush: A BWWM Sweet Billionaire Romance

“Goody, did they put you up to this? What about you, Pop-Pop?”

My dear, sweet grandparents both laughed and held their glasses up, “Salut!”

I raised my glass and whispered, “Salut.”

In December, I would graduate with a Bachelor of Finance from the University of Florida. Desperate to have me closer to home, my mother had offered to pay my rent, bought me a new car, and provided a job at Scrub-A-Dub. I was to be the first Director of Operations, an inflated title for the simple job of handling all the administrative efforts for the company. I’d accepted the position as a method of repayment for my mother’s years of sacrifice to give me a better life.

For the past three years, I’d been a full-time Floridian, opting to return to New Orleans for holidays and family events. I’d chosen year-round class schedules to avoid my family’s manipulation tactics, not to mention their interference in my life.

I attended classes for the last two summers, focusing on my studies by taking the maximum course load of classes each semester. While my friends drank until they fell on their asses and dated almost any guy who showed interest, I concentrated on maintaining a three-point-five grade point average and performed service projects with my sorority.

I’d worked hard all three years of college and needed a break. My goals were to spend the summer exploring my creative side, dating, and relaxing. Working for Chadwick St. Clair was not on my agenda.

The last time I’d laid eyes on him was the summer before I’d started college. His parents had been away on holiday, and Chadwick was in the middle of studying for his LSATs. He’d moved in to take advantage of the quiet, empty house and spent every waking moment eating, sleeping, and breathing the exam.

I’d been cleaning the kitchen when he’d stumbled out of the study to grab his hundredth cup of coffee and knocked right into me.

“Excuse me, miss. I didn’t mean to bump into you,” he apologized.

“Chadwick. It’s me,” I’d giggled. He’d studied my face and blinked in surprise.

“Kandi? Is that you?”

“The one and only. Sorry, I didn’t alert you to my presence. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

The Chadwick I’d remembered was tall and all boy. He’d always had a ball in his hand and a perpetual scowl plastered on his face. That day, Chadwick looked like he’d pulled an all-nighter, but even through the bloodshot eyes and thick stubble, he had still been breathtaking.

After years of not speaking to me or even looking my way, he’d spent three months listening to my angst-filled musings about college life. He’d been patient and had at least pretended to be interested. That was the summer I’d learned that underneath the façade of cool arrogance lay a charming and well-mannered guy.

For the first time in my life, I’d had a willing listener who hadn’t judged or tried to convince me that my opinions were wrong. Some days, we talked for hours about pop culture and current events, and other days, I expressed nervousness about the next stage of my life.

He’d calmed my nerves as I talked about my fear that I hadn’t selected the right major. I had teared up when I talked about moving to a new city where I had no family or friends. He didn’t tease me., he always offered the right words to soothe me.

My attraction had grown with each passing day. I had taken extra care in making sure that my hair had the appropriate amount of curl and tinting my lips in raspberry colored lipstick.

On my last day before packing up and moving to Gainesville, he’d pulled me in for a hug. I had wrapped my arms around his chest and innocently pressed my body against his. His body was steel, and he smelled like sandalwood.

He’d whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry. You got this,” before he kissed the top of my head.

To some women, a kiss on the top of the head is nothing, but this kiss meant everything to me. He’d kissed me! This was the first time Chadwick’s lips had touched any part of me, and there was nothing brotherly about that hug. I doubted that Chadwick went around kissing the top of every woman’s head.

If we’d had more time, who knows what could have happened? Maybe we would have shared a deeply passionate relationship. Maybe we would still be together.

I often thought of the kiss and his words of inspiration. I looked back on that moment fondly. I knew of his reputation, but that little moment had shown me that, at his core, Chadwick St. Clair was a sweet guy.

Kandace

Groaning as I swiped at the bead of sweat trickling down my cleavage, I adjusted the vents to direct the cool air toward my face. It was early May, and the city was already a festering cauldron of steam and heat. My fingers bumped over my gold Saint Zita medal that hung loosely from my neck. I prayed to the patron saint of cleanliness for the strength to get through the heat and my first day at work.

Spending my summer working was a disappointment. Working for Chadwick made it a little more tolerable. The last time we spoke was my first semester of college, and I’d never stopped keeping tabs on him. Thanks to Google Alerts, I received real-time updates of new photos and articles. After our time together, he’d moved to Washington D. C. He had spent the first year working for a shipping industry lobbyist. By all accounts, he’d spent the next year and a half attending Georgetown Law school by day and allegedly fucking socialites at night.

Now that I thought about it, the last six months, I hadn’t received any alerts notifying me of new web pages, newspaper articles, or blogs on Chadwick. Why did he move back to New Orleans?

I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of his playboy lifestyle, but Chadwick St. Clair had always enjoyed the company of women. And they fell under his spell at the snap of his fingers. The combination of his cool confidence and beautiful, steely blue eyes made him every woman’s wet dream.

I arrived at the brick and steel façade building thirty minutes early. I parked the minivan with the Scrub-A-Dub logo plastered on the side into the first available parking space. The building originally housed the operations for a clothing manufacturer, but the previous owners had converted to apartments a few years ago. Chadwick was renovating the building into high-end condominiums.

My hands trembled at the memory of Chadwick’s warm eyes and deep voice, and I took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm my nerves. I adjusted the rearview mirror to inspect my hair and makeup. Not quite satisfied, I unbuttoned the top three buttons of my white polo before grabbing my backpack. I groaned when I stepped into the damp, sticky air before I began a slow trek to the lobby.

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