Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
K ori.
I changed my mind nothing short of a dozen times but decided I had nothing to be ashamed of. I had a job and was trying to do better for myself. Who the hell cared that my job was cleaning houses?
I was a college educated woman who had a lot of potential and even more to offer the world, if I could just figure out what my thing was. So no, I wasn’t ashamed of my current situation. I wasn’t necessarily proud of where I was in life, but I hadn’t just said fuck it and given up.
Fast forward, so now, here I was on my way to the kitchen to sit with the man I had been avoiding all day. Even if I didn’t have to try hard because he had been hiding away in his studio. Maybe he was avoiding me.
Either way there was currently a herd of butterflies—no, elephants—stampeding in my stomach and my heart rate was at a tachycardic level. When I reached the kitchen, I caught him seated in the same spot he was last night, a full plate sitting between his corded forearms resting on the island.
He had his food but was evidently waiting on me.
I smiled internally but managed to keep the reaction from being exposed on my face.
“You didn’t have to wait, Eccentric, ” I muttered, sliding into the space across from him. He reached for a wine glass which I hadn’t noticed and filled it for me, resting his fingers on the base as he pushed it across the marbled island.
“ E .”
“Right, because that makes perfect sense to call you E, not Ezren or Eccentric. As if you need to be any more complicated than you already are.”
“What nicknames make sense though? A linebacker-built guy named Tiny or a barely four-foot, hundred pound guy named Big Lou.”
“Okay, so maybe those don’t, but I was referring to the fact that your nickname has a nickname, E. ”
He grinned, shaking his head. “A debate for another day and it was no problem waiting. I’m not the eat alone type.” He motioned to my wine glass with his head. “Drink, you look like you need it.”
I opened my mouth to respond but gently closed it when he bowed his head and silently blessed his food. When I had his eyes again, he didn’t speak, only lifted his glass, swallowing a few gulps and like the obsessed person I’d somehow become, I studied his lips first, then his throat, enjoying the way his Adam’s apple slid down each time he swallowed.
When the sound of him clearing his throat snapped me out of my inappropriate staring, I quickly lifted my glass and slipped slowly, fearful that I’d choke if I didn’t because my nerves had my throat and chest feeling constricted.
“You work for a cleaning service?”
“Elite, yes, and there’s nothing wrong with cleaning as an occupation. It’s a noble job.” I lifted my chin defensively and he simply stared while shoving his fork into the chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole. Another one of his mother’s recipes. Ironically enough, she had been sending them every so often which I was sure was intentional and not about me .
“I agree. There’s nothing wrong with cleaning as a career choice and every job is noble, no matter how menial it may seem from one person to the next, collectively we all have to do our part.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Even sex workers.”
“Are you considering switching to pussy for hire?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe. Would you consider that noble as well?”
He smiled mischievously. “Hell yeah. It’s one of the most noble jobs I can think of. I, for one, appreciate their service.”
“Of course you do and I’m certain we have two very different definitions of the word noble if you think pussy for hire qualifies as such.”
“Having or showing fine personal qualities. Of excellence or superior quality. I know some women who charge for their services and are truly excellent and of superior quality even if they never charge me .” He winked and that cocky grin of his had me rolling my eyes. However, I couldn’t help but admire the way he rattled off the definition of noble like he was stating the weather. I never assumed he wasn’t smart or a thinker but I also didn’t expect him to have definitions readily available. But then again, not just anyone graduated with honors.
“You’re reaching.”
“Am I? I could show proof if you’d like.” He grabbed at his phone but I threw my hand up.
“Don’t, please. I believe you.”
He chuckled, shoving another forkful into his mouth. “You got something against prostitutes, Ri?”
“No, absolutely not. I respect their ability to completely expose themselves the way they do and dealing with men like you isn’t for the meek. It requires resilience and a fortitude that I damn sure don’t have.” I shrugged. “I wouldn’t last a minute if required to service and keep my thoughts to myself around that type of arrogance.
His eyes crawled slowly over my body and I felt the heat of them before he mumbled, “Don’t count it out. I have a feeling you’d do okay.”
“Can we please move on from this topic?”
“Sure.’’ He paused, drinking a little more wine before asking, “As noble as cleaning may be, I have to assume it’s not your first choice of careers.”
“No, not exactly, but at the time I didn’t have a lot of options, so…” I swallowed a few more gulps of my wine which emptied the glass. I gave it a gentle shove and he immediately refilled the glass almost to the brim and sent it back toward me.
“Then what’s next?”
I grunted, wrapping my fingers around the stem of the glass but this time my swallows weren’t careful. “I have no idea.”
“None at all?” He arched his brow in question.
“No, none at all. Since before I knew what life goals were, mine was to be an educator. Even if it was decided by my parents, it was still the plan, and all I focused on. When that was no longer the plan and I was on my own, my priorities shifted from a happily ever after as an educator to figuring out how I was going to pay all my bills and still have enough money to feed myself. Trust me, that was utterly exhausting and didn’t leave much room for dreaming about what my life plans were. I considered it a win if I could figure out a cost-efficient dinner menu for the week.”
“And I’m sure worrying about a boyfriend who was cheating on you in your own bed didn’t make things any easier.”
Ouch.
My eyes shot up to his and his stare remained steady, unapologetic, and almost angry.
“I didn’t tell you that to throw it back in my face. I didn’t mean to tell you at all.”
“I’m not throwing it in your face, Ri. Just trying to get a better understanding of who you are.”
“On why I’m here or why I had sex with you?”
“Both actually.”
“I’m here because after leaving my cheating boyfriend, which was something I hadn’t been planning, I didn’t have any savings or support from my family. I got behind on my rent and my landlord decided he wanted money not my excuses. I was hired to clean this house and knew you were out of the country so I figured what the hell, they’ll never know. The plan was to stay the weekend, do my job, and be gone, but…”
“My mother showed up and offered you a place to stay...”
“Yes. Do you want me to leave?” I squared my shoulders, waiting.
“No, but you can tell me why you said yes?”
No?
He wants me to stay…
“Because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Not why you stayed, why you had sex with me.”
Because it felt right.
You felt right…
“Maybe I wanted to be the first woman that inspired you who demanded my cut of the royalties. I could use the extra cash.”
He laughed hard, like I had said the funniest thing in the world.
“You’re full of shit, but cool. We’ll leave it at that…for now.”
He lowered his eyes to his plate and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had inspired him. So I asked.
“Did I?”
“What?”
“Inspire you? You said I did but you might have been lying.”
“I don’t lie about my music.” His eyes were intense, cautious even. “You inspired me, but not after we had sex, before .”
I frowned, trying to make sense of what he was saying and then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
The songs he was performing in the recording booth after our blow up in the kitchen last night.
I’m so damn confused, but it feels so right,
Fell into your arms in the dead of night.
Like a storm rollin’ in, unexpected and wild,
Caught me off guard, like an unknowing child.
How did I fall? I don’t even know,
But when I’m with you, I can’t let go.
“Oh, well I feel cheated. If I didn’t inspire you after our little situation then maybe I need to try again.”
He chuckled. “Maybe you should.”
“I was kidding.”
“I wasn’t.”
And there it was. The open-ended invitation was placed on the table, but I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to take that risk because the man offering was surely going to complicate my life in ways I wasn’t prepared to handle being complicated.
The next morning, I received a call from Chantel stating that my job had been completed and the client gave rave reviews along with a very substantial tip. I grinned, knowing this was all Gwendolyn Shaw. When I pulled up the app to see what my next assignment would be, I noticed I had two other locations in this neighborhood but there was also a block from Friday to Sunday where I was scheduled at the Grand Diamond property. The other two jobs were Tuesdays and Thursday from twelve to four.
I marched myself right down the hall, pushing open Ezren’s bedroom door, only to find his bed untouched and empty. My eyes swept the space before I moved on to my next location. His studio. When I pushed through the door, a jazzy melody with heavy bass slapped me in the face. It was insane to me how standing outside the door, you couldn’t hear a thing but inside the music was a few decibels away from permanently damaging your hearing.
My exploration was instantly paused when the deep sultry sound of Ezren’s voice flowed over the track playing.
Love blooms in the strangest of ways
Tryna speak your existence into my space
Tell me if it’s too much
I’ll chill, I won’t rush
And I’ll trust
Every word that you’re speaking
Playing through my mind frequent
The way you walk
The way you talk
In love with no order
Your aura is gorgeous
If you give me time I’ll show you love
If you give me time, I’ll show you trust
Listening to him sing, so many emotions flooded me all at once. His voice, his talent, his intensity. Was this about me or someone else? My mind went spiraling. Complications I didn’t need.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I forced my feet to move, crossing through the lounge area of his studio until I reached the production area. Ezren had his back to me while his face was lifted to the ceiling—eyes closed, expression pulled tight like he was concentrating on every note, lyric, and vocal. I shamelessly pulled up the camera app on my phone and captured a few shots of him before I crossed the room and placed my hand on his shoulder.
His eyes slowly peeled open and the tight expression he was sporting moments before relaxed. A smile ghosted his lips when his eyes appreciatively traveled down the length of my body.
Shit.
I’d stormed down here without dressing properly which meant I was only in a T-shirt that landed right at my upper thighs, thong, and no bra
“You really aren’t fucking with clothes, are you?”
My face heated and I rolled my eyes. “I can go change…”
He extended an arm which hooked my waist and brought me down onto his wide spread legs. I shifted and adjusted, trying not to make our position worse than it was.
“Nah, you’re good. I’m damn sure not complaining. Just trying to figure out what your beef is with them shits.” He smirked and brushed his fingers over my exposed thigh.
“I just got up and who sleeps in pants? I hope I wasn’t interrupting…” I glanced at the soundboard and he shook his head.
“You’re good, what’s up?”
“This…” I swiped out of my camera app and pulled up the Elite site which I held up for him to see. He frowned, scanned the screen, and lifted his eyes.
“I’m not sure what I’m looking at?”
“My schedule. I have two days with another client and the weekends here.”
“Okay?” He frowned more.
I exhaled a sigh. “I appreciate you wanting to help, but I also don’t want a handout. Regardless of my situation I want to work for what I have, so it’s truly mine. I already feel bad enough about accepting your mother’s offer for me to stay here…”
He raised his brow and nodded at my phone. “You think that’s me?”
“Isn’t it?”
He slowly shook his head. “It’s not. That’s all Gwendolyn. If you have a problem with the schedule then take that up with my mother.”
“Are you sure this wasn’t you?”
“Positive. You already know she has her own agenda for you being here. Not that I’m complaining because you being here has been a good look so far…” His hand slipped between my thighs and I groaned when the pads of his fingers brushed across the seat of my panties. Before I allowed myself to get caught up, I pushed away and stumbled off his lap.
“What we did was fun but with the chaos in my life right now the last thing I need is you as a distraction or complication. I’m trying to wrap my brain around what’s next.”
“Damn you just hit me with distraction and complication . That’s a first.”
I grinned and shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve heard worse, but in order for me to make sense of what I’m doing, I think it’s best if we keep this platonic.”
“You want to be my friend?” He frowned and I nodded.
“After you let me put my tongue and my dick in you, you want us to be platonic?”
“You’re saying that like it’s unheard of.”
“For me, it is. I’ve never had a female friend I wanted to fuck. That I have fucked. It’s counterproductive.”
The look of distress on his face made me laugh. When he frowned at me like I was offending him, I rolled my eyes. “You’ve never had a female friend before, have you?”
“No, and I’m not trying to start now. Especially not when you don’t know what the fuck clothes are.”
I grinned. “Then I’ll do better about wearing clothes if you promise to accept that right now, I don’t need this…” I waved my hand in his direction. “Distracting me from figuring out my life.”
“I can’t do that.”
I frowned at his stoic expression. “You’re refusing to be my friend?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Okay then, roommate.”
He shook his head. “Can’t do that shit either.”
“ Ezren …why not?”
He angled his head to the side while his eyes crawled down my body. “Do you want me to repeat the reason why? While your ass is standing in front of me not properly dressed?”
I tugged at the hem of my shirt but it didn’t do much good.
“That’s really not fair and for the record, I don’t do casual sex. I’m a relationship kind of girl. I know you assume I’m not because of last night but…”
“I’m not assuming shit just because we had sex. I’m not a fucking misogynist, Ri. Women can do what they want with their bodies, same as men can. Hell, I wish more women got out of their fucking heads enough to explore sexual freedom. It would make my life a lot easier.”
I narrowed my eyes and he grinned, offering a lazy shrug. “I’m being honest. Women want to fuck a lot more than they admit. They just don’t like being judged, which means I have to spend time convincing them that I won’t.”
“Which brings me back to my main point. I’m a relationship person. You clearly are not. I don’t want casual sex and not because I care about being judged. When I figure out my life, I want to invest in a man I see a future with. You and I are not in the same space with our expectations for the future. One and done, that’s all I have to offer, but considering that’s your usual m.o. I don’t see why you can’t agree that friends or roommates are all we should be.”
He stared at me for a long moment and I half-expected him to tell me to get the hell out of his studio but he closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this shit.”
When he looked at me again, his eyes traveled over my body once more before he said, “Okay… friends. But with one stipulation.”
“Okay?” I frowned.
“You hang out with me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I’ve never done the friend thing and since you’re offering to be my test subject, you have to actually be my friend. Friends hang out. They do shit together…”
“Without sex.”
He smirked. “I’m not asking you to be my friend with benefits but I also won’t say no if that’s what you have in mind…”
“It’s not.”
“Aight, then. Just friends, no sex, but we hang out and do friend shit.”
I arched my brow. “Do you know what friend shit is?”
“Yeah, man. I have friends, Ri. They just know to wear pants around me which is good because I have no interest whatsoever in seeing them naked.”
“Shake on it?”
His eyes were on me again. “You’ll just have to accept my word for now because if you come over here to shake my hand…”
“Your word is good enough. I’m going to get dressed. You been up all night?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then I’ll make breakfast and you should probably get some sleep.”
He smirked. “You telling me what I need to do.”
“Nope, just being a good friend.” I smiled and left his studio, knowing I was setting myself up for failure but Ezren wasn’t looking for anything serious and I wasn’t looking to waste my time with a man who had no intention of giving me his all. Friends would have to be enough.
When I made it back to my room, I slipped on the bed and dialed Gwendolyn. She didn’t answer but before I could lock my phone, she was ringing me back.
“Hello, dear. Is everything okay?”
“Yep, everything is perfect but I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot…”
“Elite has me on the schedule here for the weekends.”
“Would you prefer other days? I can change the request.”
“No, it’s not that. This house is brand new. I’ve cleaned every inch of it but really there wasn’t much to do. I can’t imagine your son will barrel through here like a tornado creating more work. He spends most of his time asleep or in the studio. It’s not beneficial for me to be scheduled to clean every weekend and definitely not the entire weekend. I appreciate that you’re trying to help but…”
“I thought we agreed that you would use this time to figure out your life.”
“We did but you’ve already made sure I’m not homeless. Paying to clean a house that doesn’t need to be cleaned is a bit much.”
“Then how about you just make sure the fridge is stocked and my son doesn’t survive on only takeout. You cook right?”
“I do but Elite doesn’t offer in-house chefs. It’s a cleaning company. And I don’t know that I cook well enough to be classified as an in-house chef.” I frowned.
“You said you do enough to survive. That’s all I’m asking for now and Ezren texted me saying that you didn’t mess up my grilled steak recipe. You’re not terrible in the kitchen. You don’t want a handout and I don’t want my son wasting money on takeout. It seems we have both a problem and a solution.”
“But Elite…”
“Doesn’t have to know what you’re doing while you’re there. I would assume that as long as you’re scheduled and not getting complaints they won’t care one way or the other. The only way Dior will know how you spend your time is if you tell her. So do we have a deal?”
I smiled, shaking my head. “We have a deal.”
“Perfect because I would have hated to leave a terrible review or demand that she fire you so I could properly hire you myself.” I dropped my mouth open and she added, “I’m a very determined woman, Kori. I get what I want.”
“So I’ve heard,” I mumbled and she laughed.
“Now that that’s settled, is there anything else?”
“Nope. I guess we’re all set.”
“Glad to hear it. I’ll text you some recipes to try. He’s a bit spoiled with what he eats. That’s my fault but he’s my only child so I indulged. You two have fun and play nice,” she sang, then ended the call.