Chapter 9
Chapter
Nine
Karina
Ihad cum at least four times before we landed.
Walking from the tarmac to the inside of the airport proved difficult for legs that felt like they were made of licorice.
I didn’t want to admit it to Kareem, but he was the only man I’d ever been with.
My first time with him on prom night was also the last. I didn’t think I was waiting for him intentionally.
In fact, the thought had never crossed my mind.
I was simply running for what could have been.
Getting myself into the same situation with someone new would be an act of insanity.
I was not a woman who would put myself in the same positions and wonder why I kept getting the same outcomes.
That was why I hadn’t been with anyone intimately since him.
That and the fact that none of the men I dated got me to the point where I even wanted to drop my panties for them.
The dating pool had literal trash in it, and I refused to dumpster dive.
“I need to run to the bathroom to… um… clean up.” I whispered so only Kareem could hear me.
We had just walked into his Paris location, and I could see the board already convening in the room made of glass. The entire building was as immaculate as the one in Vegas, but it gave off a more luxurious feel.
Being in Paris was one thing, but being in the city of love with the only man who ever truly had your heart was something totally different, especially after he’d spent the entire flight over giving you one orgasm after another.
“Okay. I’ll hold them up until you come in.”
“No need. You guys can get started, and I will pick right up when I come in.”
I turned to find the bathroom, but Kareem pulled me right back to his side.
He then grabbed my face, tilting my head until we were eye to eye.
Once he had my attention, he pulled my lips to his, and I didn’t hesitate to oblige.
We kissed like we were the only two people in the room when we clearly weren’t.
There were at least fifteen other people here with us that I didn’t fully notice until we disconnected. I was in a haze of Kareem that I wasn’t in a rush to come out of. This week had started like a whirlwind, and the further we got into it, the more I knew my life would change after this.
When Kareem finally released me, he tapped my ass as I walked away. I smiled on the inside as I made my way to the bathroom. Thankfully, I always kept a personal hygiene bag with me no matter where I went, so I cleaned up quickly, changed my underwear, and got back out there as fast as I could.
I slipped into the conference room undetected since they were already wrapped up in whatever they were talking about. These were the high-value roundtable meetings that women like me wrote about but were never actually present at. Today, I was in the room, and that felt so good.
“Listen, this deal is on the table, but it could be snatched by our competitors just as fast. If we do things the way the board is proposing, we could shave three months off testing and still meet compliance requirements.”
“Listen, Bill. Can I call you Bill?”
The entire room seemed to shift to Kareem when he spoke. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was strong, about as strong as his arms looked filling out his suit. Kareem’s presence garnered the attention he deserved.
“Sure, man. You can call me whatever you want if you agree to this.”
That’s what I hated about men like Bill. They would agree to anything if the money looked right. I was hoping Kareem wasn’t one of those men.
It was clear that he had made a lot of money over the years. I hoped that money wasn’t made by jeopardizing human lives. I moved closer to Kareem so I could get a clean shot of that side profile I loved so much.
“Bill, the money is always good, but you know what’s not good? Burying men and women who willingly signed up to serve this country.”
“Hey, man. All I am saying is that we need to consider this. I’m not saying sacrifice soldiers.”
“That’s exactly what you are saying. Shaving three months off testing puts those soldiers’ lives at risk, and I am not willing to put my brand above human life.”
“The impact this invention will make on the world of defense has never been seen before, Mr. Sheffield. We cannot let this opportunity slip through our grasp. You have to understand that.”
“I understand perfectly, Bill, and I am still saying no. The deal is supposed to be signed within forty-eight hours of our landing in New York. That means you have until then to bring me a better plan, or K&K Solutions will bow out gracefully.” Kareem stood from his seat and walked out.
Even watching him through the small lens of my camera had me feral. Listening to the way he stood up for the men and women serving our country not only turned me on, but it reminded me why I fell in love with Kareem in high school.
He was always the most selfless person I knew. That is what made caring about him more than I cared about myself so easy. It was also what made walking away from him so hard.
“You got everything you needed?” Kareem asked as soon as I walked into the office with his name on it.
Realizing he had an office in a place I’d always dreamed of coming, a place we even talked about traveling to together made me so proud of him. Kareem was living the life we talked about.
“Um, yeah. Thank you for remembering the little people. It was hard to listen to those men show a complete disregard for the very people they are supposed to be supplying with weapons. Isn’t our being able to prevail in wartime the whole point, or is money the only thing these weapon companies care about? ”
“Yes, the United States walking away with minimal casualties is the whole point. I’ve been to war and have watched men and women die all around me. I refuse to contribute to that number just to make a quick buck. You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Well, I’m going to do it anyway. A billion dollars is a lot to walk away from.”
“That won’t be the last billion I am offered. I’m confident in what I do, and I know that K&K is the only company that can do it at this level. I don’t need to cut corners to succeed.”
“You know… you may have grown up, but you haven’t changed much.”
“Is that a good or bad thing?”
“Definitely good. You’ve always been a man of the people.”
“A man of the people? Get the fuck out of here.” We both laughed. I was being dramatic, but I was also serious.
“No, I’m for real, Kareem. In high school, not many people cared about me, and I knew that. At times, I even felt like my grandparents only loved me out of obligation, but you? I never doubted how much you cared about me, not for a second.”
Kareem got up from his desk and came around to the side where I was sitting.
Sitting on the corner, he stretched his legs out so that the chair I was sitting in was between them.
I got the impression that he used this sitting-on-the-corner-of-the-desk thing as a tactic to have me completely wrapped up in whatever he was about to say.
“What do you have planned for the rest of your day? Any sightseeing?”
“Honestly, I didn’t know if we would have any downtime, so I didn’t plan anything.”
“Lucky for you. I did.”
“And you just knew I would say yes to this?”
“Yeah. I definitely didn’t imagine you telling me no. I try not to let negative shit enter my mind.”
The smirk Kareem had on his face was so damn sexy. One of his curls had fallen just above his brow, which made him look even more delicious. This whole assignment was dangerous at this point. Still, I was all in.
“I got a few things I need to finish up here, but I’ll knock on your door a little later.”
“And how do you know where I am staying before I do?”
“I told them to give you the room across from mine. You don’t have to sleep there if you don’t want to. My bed is big enough for both of us.”
“I’ll see you later, Kareem. I still need a shower from the condition you left me in earlier.”
“Hey, how was I supposed to know your body needed me the way it did?”