Chapter 3
“I saw your girl yesterday smiling all in some corny looking nigga face.”
“My girl who?” I questioned as I leaned forward and placed my arms on my desk.
Jacoby laughed. “Tamika.”
“Get the fuck out of here. She ain’t my girl, and I cut shit off with her anyway.”
“What happened?”
I was on the phone with my best friend, Jacoby, just shooting the shit.
We hadn’t had a chance to catch up in a few days, so I told him about the situation with Tamika the last time I was at her house.
She’d been blowing my phone up since then, but I had nothing for her.
I ended up having to block her. Obviously, she wasn’t too concerned about me cutting her off if she was already smiling in the next man’s face.
Hopefully, he stuck around so she could leave me alone.
Blocked or not, I had a feeling she would pop up on my ass one of these days.
It wasn’t like I was hard to find. I lived and worked in the hotel, so unless I was with my family, I was at the hotel.
“I don’t think she’s going to give up that easy. How was the family dinner? I know my baby, K, was looking good.”
“Aye, don’t get fucked up. You know my sister is off fucking limits.”
Jacoby chuckled because he knew that shit got under my skin every time he mentioned my sister.
“Calm ya britches, nigga,” he joked. “You know I’m just fucking with you. I’m already knowing that if that were even an option, I would have to come correct. We both know I’m not on that type of time.”
Jacoby had this crush on my sister for years, but he already knew that wasn’t something that would ever happen. I loved him like a brother, but I would kill him before I allowed him to break her heart.
“She ain’t thinking about your ass anyway. As far as dinner, it was cool. You know I love my people. Karisma is getting so big, and my brother is happy. My mom is on her bullshit, though. Talking about it’s time for me to settle down because Kairo has.”
I leaned back in my chair and looked around my office.
There were multiple pictures of my family placed around the office as well as different plaques of all the accolades the hotel and restaurant had gotten over the years.
I, along with the staff, consistently put a lot into the hotel.
The Bishop Sunrise Hotel would be around for decades, even when I was long gone from this Earth, and I wanted to always remain at the top of everyone’s list. I was very hands-on with everything.
“She must don’t know who her son is.” Jacoby laughed, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I laughed along with him because he wasn’t lying. My mom didn’t know about half the shit I did, and she would have a fit if she ever found out.
“I’m not going to lie; it did have me thinking if that were something I could see myself doing.” I took my glasses off and placed them on the desk before I ran my hand down my face.
I’d been up since before the sun rose, and sleepiness had been creeping in for the last few hours.
I went on a walk near the beach and watched the sunrise as I talked to my brother.
He was on his morning walk as his girls slept.
He was so happy to be getting married and being a father, and it made me wonder if that was something I could do.
I still hadn’t figured it out, and I knew I wouldn’t rush anything because of anyone else.
“I don’t see you settling down, but I can see why you would feel like that. You’ve been surrounded by love your whole life. Me, on the other hand, that shit ain’t a thought. I never saw a healthy relationship besides your folks. We both know mine ain’t shit.”
Jacoby grew up in an abusive household. It wasn’t just his father that was the abuser either; sometimes his mom would do shit to his father, and they would fight, and by the end of the day, they were fucking.
It was an ugly and vicious cycle that affected the way Jacoby lived.
His grandma helped raise him, and that was where he got calm ya britches from.
That was something she used to say to us as kids.
She did the best she could, but she was a widow, so she couldn’t show him what a real relationship looked like.
She taught him as much as she could before she died when we were sixteen, but by then, he had seen so much shit with his parents that nothing his grandma said really registered.
He wasn’t abusive at all, but he didn’t do relationships. He was honest about his shit like I was, but it was always one who didn’t want to listen.
“Even though you didn’t have great examples, you still turned out to be a good dude, for the most part,” I teased. “I do think if the right chick comes along, you’ll change.”
“And on that note, I’m hanging up.”
I heard the beep of him hanging up, and laughed, because he didn’t even give me a chance to respond. We both had been doing what we did, but it wasn’t impossible for either of us to find something real one day.
My stomach growled, so I knew it was time for me to leave the office. I shut down my computer and grabbed my things before exiting. I made sure the door was locked, then headed down to the restaurant.
As I rode the elevator down to the lobby, I thought about all the things I needed to get done during the weekend.
If I could find some time, I’d go by my brother’s to see Karisma.
I loved spending time with her, and it gave her parents a break.
Both families chipped in and helped out.
I never mentioned it to my brother, but when he first mentioned Mycah, I thought our relationship would change, and it did, but not that much.
We still had our family group chat, but we added Mycah to it.
She turned out to be a great addition to our family.
I liked the bond she had with my sister, outside of Kairo.
My siblings and I still spent time together, with and without everyone else.
Occasionally, I would go to Kairo’s and walk the dogs with him just so we could get some bro time.
“Hey, Koda. Do you want your usual?” Lisa asked me when I entered the restaurant.
“Of course I do.” I smiled, then went to check on the staff.
Every Friday night, unless I was going somewhere, I had steak, potatoes, and broccoli. I also only ate certain things because I had an allergy to eggs, and the chef made sure to take extra precautions when she made my food.
Chef Malia was a beast in the kitchen. I prayed she never left because she was one of the main reasons why our restaurant was so popular.
Yeah, the wait staff was nice, but a restaurant wasn’t shit without a good-ass cook, and that was Malia.
She was beautiful, too, but she let it be known from the beginning that she didn’t play where she worked, and I respected that.
After that, we became good friends. I wasn’t as close to her as I was with my sister, but I would always have her back if she needed me to.
After I made sure the staff was good, I went to sit at the bar to wait for my food.
I responded to a few text messages, then looked around at everyone in the restaurant.
I took notice of the different couples and groups of friends.
There were a few people that were alone, but there was one that stood out to me.
She didn’t look in my direction, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her.
I had to get closer, even if it were just to see how she looked.
“If my food comes out before I get back over here, just leave it. I’ll grab it on my way out,” I told Miranda, the bartender, never taking my eyes off that table.
“Got you, boss.”
I stood, then walked over to the chick. She had her head down as she pushed the food around on her plate.
The closer I got to the table, the more nervous I got. That’s different. I didn’t feel nervous in the sense of being scared to talk to her; it was more like her aura screamed she didn’t tolerate bullshit, and I wasn’t used to that.
My confidence wavered a little when I got to the table. She still had her head down, but I could already tell she was beautiful.
“Is the food not good enough?”
When her head popped up and she looked at me with sad onyx black eyes, my heart stammered. She was a fucking sight for sore eyes. She had smooth mocha skin, with full lips. Her long lashes blinked when she realized I was talking to her.
“It’s good. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Her sultry ass voice was like melted chocolate—warm and captivating, and it made my dick twitch. I felt bad that my body reacted like that toward her because clearly something was bothering her. Even her tone was sad. I wanted to pry, but at the same time, I didn’t.
“I’m sorry you aren’t having a good day . . .” I trailed off because I didn’t know her name.
“Avalon.” Even the way she said her name was sultry.
“Like the car?”
“Yes, like the car.” She smiled and giggled, and I wanted to hear it again.
“There it is. I just wanted to see that beautiful smile, and now I feel accomplished.”
Her cheeks flushed despite the sadness in her eyes. I could even feel that shit radiating off her, and I wanted to find the person who made her sad and do something to them.
“Thank you. Are you going to tell me your name?”
“Koda.”
“It was nice meeting you, Koda.”
I liked that she didn’t know who I was, or it just didn’t faze her. That wasn’t to say that everyone had to know me, but I’d had plenty of women come through the hotel to try and get my attention. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
“Nice to meet you as well.”
She nodded and offered me a small smile. Silence fell over us. I wanted to say something else to keep her talking, but she looked like she wasn’t in the mood for company. Plus, I noticed my food at the bar, so I needed to get it before it got cold.
“Well, Ms. Avalon, I hope your day gets better and that the food is to your liking. Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Thank you. You as well.”
We stared at each other for a few seconds, before I could tear myself away from her.
I grabbed my food, and before I left, I took one last glance at Avalon, and she had her head down again. That same sad expression covered her face. Whatever was on her mind was heavy.
When I got to the elevator, I pressed the button and rode up to my penthouse.
After I finished eating my dinner, I showered and relaxed as I read a book.
Sometimes I liked listening to books while I walked, but when I was home or at my office, I liked to read a physical book.
My preferred choices were mysteries and biographies.
Every once in a while, I picked up a romance book.
I realized those books gave the cheat code on how to treat women.
I already knew how to be a gentleman and romantic, because my father never hesitated to romance my mother on a regular basis.
My current read was Adversity for Sale by Jeezey, and it was interesting.
Unfortunately, I had trouble focusing on it because visions of Avalon kept popping into my head.
I had never been that concerned with a stranger’s sadness, but the look in Avalon’s eyes really bothered me.
She was too damn pretty to be looking as sad as she was.
I thought about finding out if she was staying at the hotel and doing something for her.
I wasn’t sure what I would do, or even how she would perceive it, so I gave up on that idea.
If she was a guest at the hotel, I would surely see her again. Since I was no longer interested in reading, I closed the book and went to sleep.