Chapter 10 Rooftops and Shadows
Rooftops and Shadows
Isaw little of Raymond after that. He went from an eager office boy showing up every morning with coffee in hand to keeping his distance.
Every time I came into work, Natalie reported how I’d just missed him.
Each time, she would have coffee, and I wouldn’t.
I never mentioned it. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I wanted the damn stuff.
But he got his point across, and after the first two days of his conditioned absence, I realized he was right.
I’d never been the type to go back and forth on a decision, especially when it came to men.
It shouldn’t have been any different with Raymond.
Yes, I found him attractive, and yes, I wanted more of him, but I knew the best course of action was to steer clear.
“That man had the nerve to ask me to wait for him while he was in prison!” Natalie burst into my office, eyes red, as if she had been crying. If I asked, she would blame it on allergies.
“What?” I looked up from my phone and stared at Natalie, who stood by the couch beneath the window. She peered through it as if waiting for someone.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” She turned to me and put her hands on her hips. “I’ve just been wasting my breath, haven’t I?”
“Sorry, distracted.” I frowned; I could have sworn she’d only just come into my office. “Who's going to jail?”
“Caleb. The guy I was talking to. Our third date, and he ended it by asking if I would wait for him. ‘It’s only four years.’ That’s what he said to me. As if I would give up four years of my life waiting for a guy I’ve known for less than a month!”
“How do you keep finding these men?” I stood from my desk and walked over to her. “We need to reevaluate your process.”
“Dating apps.” She pulled the phone from her pocket and waved it at me. “I’m on seven of them.”
“Natalie. I say this with love: it’s time to log off!” I laughed. “You’ve encountered the worst men on those apps.”
“How else am I going to meet someone?” She rolled her neck. “You don’t know how hard it is out there.”
“Why are you so concerned with men?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be alone. I want someone who chooses me every day like I choose them,” she said. “The problem is being chosen by the right one.”
“That’s your problem right there. You need to change your way of thinking.
” I sighed and gently lifted her chin with a hooked finger until she looked me in the eye.
“Girl, ain’t nothing special about a man!
You’re the one who chooses! Look at you!
You’re beautiful, intelligent, and successful.
You’ve given them the power. They’re animals.
They can smell it on you. You wanting them so much smells like desperation, and that only attracts mama’s boys and jailbirds—neither of which deserve any of your time. ”
“I just need to be more like you. You have guys so worked up over you, they’ll drink bath water to prove how much they want to be with you!”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” I rolled my eyes.
“Besides, what you’re describing isn’t what I have.
The men I deal with are here for a good time, not a long time.
They aren’t the kind you marry. That’s the problem with comparing yourself to someone else.
You only see what is presented, not what’s behind the curtain.
I choose men I can dispose of because I don’t want a long-term commitment. ”
“Well, maybe I’ll spend a few years doing that. I’m flexible, and you said you would teach me your ways, but you haven’t. Come to think of it, you haven’t even mentioned a man since the bathwater guy.”
“It’s the new contract,” I offered as a quick explanation. “I’m giving my energy to things that matter and will benefit me. Right now, that’s not a man. I want things to go well, and that means putting my focus where it matters.”
While Natalie looked at me in admiration, I crossed my fingers behind my back.
I couldn’t tell her a big part of the reason she hadn’t heard me talk about any other man was because of a man I wasn’t supposed to like.
How could I? She looked up to me. I couldn’t let her know I apparently also had a weakness, and that weakness came with green eyes and tatted sleeves.
“You could always give more work to me. It would free you up and give me something else to do with my energy.” She sighed. “I mean, maybe you don’t want to date, but you have other interests, right?”
“You’ve been talking to Raymond, haven’t you?” I shook my head. “All those mornings he came in early, he was just getting in your head, wasn’t he?”
“Maybe.” She winked. “By the way, he will be here soon, so you two can ride to the venue together. Von said there is only one confirmed parking spot for you two to use.”
“Perfect.” I moved to sit back at the desk.
“Thank you for staying on top of everything, and I promise, I will hand more over to you soon. Not because of Raymond, but because you deserve the opportunity to learn and grow in the company. If we continue to expand, I won’t be able to keep up with everything. ”
“You’ve been saying that for well over a year now, but I appreciate the consideration,” she called me out.
“That bad?” I frowned. I could have been mad, but I appreciated the honesty. That was the kind of person I wanted in my corner, and honestly, it was refreshing to see her stand up for herself.
“I still love you anyway!” She smiled.
“You better.” I chuckled. “Head on home. I’ll see you Monday.”
Half an hour after Natalie took off, Raymond arrived.
He knocked on my office door, pulling my attention from the new contract I’d just gotten from the lawyers.
Business was expanding faster than I thought it would.
Word was, another company was going under, and that sent clients preemptively searching for replacement providers.
“You ready to go?” Raymond asked.
I turned the computer off, and grabbed my jacket from the back of the chair as I stood. “Yes, but I’m driving. I’m not showing up in your flashy car.”
“Of course you are,” he muttered and headed out. Raymond waited outside while I locked up, and when I came out, he stood by the passenger door. “Ready when you are.”
We drove for nearly forty-five minutes in silence, only talking when it came to the details of the evening. It was simple enough: a three-hour dinner with the top seven executives, and one person only named “X”. Whoever this X was, they were the reason for the security detail.
They’d booked a suite in the hotel where X would be staying for the night to eliminate any additional travel. There was a private chef with a team of three who would serve because X didn’t want to eat the food from the hotel and needed a controlled source.
We were to stand outside the room where they met and complete a perimeter check every half hour. It surprised me that they only requested two people, but from what I gathered, it was a direct request from X, who wanted to keep a low profile.
When I asked for more information about the mystery guest, Von made it clear it was information I didn’t need to know. They had deep pockets and were looking to invest, and that was all that mattered.
“Were you able to find out anything else about this X person?” Raymond asked as we arrived.
“No, but I don’t think it matters. This is a one-time event. Von made it sound like once this is done, this X won’t be back.”
“Works for me.”
“You run the initial perimeter check, and I’ll meet with Von to check in. We have an hour before they’re supposed to start.” I handed him the black bag from the back seat. “These are the cams. Try to get as many angles of the entrances as possible.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted me and jumped out of the car.
Raymond headed off to check the area while I went inside. I already had the keycard for the elevator that led to the top floor. Once inside, I took a deep breath to clear my head, and by the time the doors slid open to reveal Von waiting by the door, I was ready to work.
“Jericha, it's good to see you again.” Von seemed cheerful yet nervous.
“You as well.” I nodded, holding my hand out to shake hers.
“Where is Raymond?” She looked in the elevator behind me as if the man would materialize.
“He’s doing a quick check at ground level before we begin. We’ll keep our presence up top, but he’s also placing some visual aids for us to use remotely.”
“Visual aids?”
“They’re for temporary footage. Once we’re done here, we will remove it. But you didn’t want extra bodies, so this way, one of us can keep an eye on the ground should something happen.”
“Smart thinking.”
“It’s what you pay me for.” I smiled.
Von led me into the suite, and I took a quick walk around, checking all internal access points, noting the balcony that led outside the main room and the one off the bedroom.
There was a large dining room with massive windows, which could be a threat if X was the type of person to have snipers after them. I hoped that wasn’t the case.
Other than that obvious threat, which I pointed out to Von, everything looked fine. The chef and their team were already working on the meal. Von insisted there was no need to check them, as they were X’s team.
I nodded and headed out of the space. Soon, the execs would arrive, and I didn’t want to be in the way. By the time I stepped back outside the room, Raymond was already there.
“That was fast.”
He held up the tablet and swiped through the screens showing the working cameras. “We’re all set. All the cameras are up and running, and I swept the grounds. There are no obvious threats.”
“Good.” I took the tablet from him, wondering how the hell he’d done that so fast.