Chapter 13 #2
Looking at my phone for the time, I decided to stop by Celeste’s favorite Chinese restaurant to get her lunch.
From our past conversations, she informed me that she didn’t always have time to step away and eat.
She was busy getting things ready for the new location, so I figured I’d task myself with making sure she had food in her system.
As expected, the restaurant was busy from the lunch rush.
Once I had our food, I headed to Luxe Addiction.
When the sound of the door alarm went off, I was met with two pairs of eyes.
“Hello, welcome in,” the man I knew as Erick greeted.
This would be my first time meeting him, but I knew of him since he was Celeste’s only employee outside of her best friend.
“It’s okay, Erick. He’s here for me,” Celeste said as she approached.
“What’s good, beautiful? I figured you haven’t gone out to lunch, so I brought you a little something.”
She tried to hide her smile, but I’d already caught it. Pulling her in with my free hand, I hugged her and kissed her lips before letting her free.
“Thank you, baby. I was just telling Erick I needed to find something to eat. It’s been a busy day,” she expressed before introducing us.
The first time I came into Luxe Addiction, when I’d brought my mother, I honestly hadn’t paid too much attention to the items since I was stuck on reminding my mother that I wasn’t trying to be in the same store for too long.
Now that I was back, I was able to take everything in.
Everything about the store gave high quality.
The name was a perfect fit. She’d informed me that she designed the shoe selection herself and I was fucking with it.
Although the shoes weren’t name brand, they were made of such good materials that I had to do a few double takes.
Before we reached her office, we passed a room that held inventory.
When I saw a woman standing in front of a computer, I knew this had to be Celeste’s best friend. When she felt our presence, she looked up.
“Well, hello.”
From the way she and Celeste grinned at one another, I knew Jade was probably well aware of who I was. If she was smiling, I assumed whatever Celeste had told her about me was good.
“How you doing, Jade? My lady talks about you all the time. I appreciate you for working with her. Most friends wouldn’t be able to handle a boss and employee relationship, but you do it with ease,” I admitted.
“I’d do anything in the world for Celeste. This girl is like my sister. Helping her build her dream wasn’t even a second thought. As long as she knows I won’t be clocked in until ten at the earliest, we’ll never have any issues,” Jade joked.
From our exchange, I could tell why they had been friends for so long. Celeste was headstrong and so was Jade. She gave me the vibe that she was a woman who held her own. After a few more words, Jade got back to what she was doing and Celeste and I were finally in her office.
“I like the vibe in here. The three of you seem to work well together,” I said as I set the food on her desk.
“We do. I was so hesitant about hiring someone else, but Erick is a really good fit. I’m getting used to working with him, but I need to hire someone else to help with online orders. Jade does what she can and gets a good number of orders out in a day, but it’s still too much for only her.”
“How many orders are you getting? Is it in your budget to hire another person?”
“Now that Allen is back in the media, I’ve been averaging about a thousand orders a day. Whenever my name isn’t on social media, it’s less, but still enough to where I should get someone in here.”
“That’s a blessing, baby. I bet if you get someone in here to help, you’ll see an increase in orders. If customers realize shipping times have been cut by even a little bit, they’ll continue to order and will scream to the high heavens about Luxe Addiction. People hate waiting.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about. I have the photoshoot tomorrow for the next collection, but after that I’ll be intentional about getting another person in here. Now, where is my sweet and sour chicken,” she said as she reached for the bag.
“Damn, girl. The food isn’t going anywhere.”
“I told you I was hungry.”
Conversation was minimal as we ate for the first time today. Spending time like this was one of the reasons I couldn’t let Celeste go. We didn’t have to be doing much and still enjoyed each other’s company. I simply liked her as a person.
“How was work? I thought you said you were gonna be at the studio well into the evening.”
“I was supposed to be, but I didn’t end up taking on the project they wanted me to be part of.”
“Why not? I thought you were taking as many artists as you could?”
“I am. This one wasn’t my speed though.”
“Can I ask who the artist is?”
“It was Serenity,” I admitted without hesitation.
When her fork slipped from her hand and she started to cough, I knew I’d caught her off guard. Once she had gotten herself together, she pushed her food away and tried to stand.
“Celeste, sit down and finish eating,” I said as I firmly pressed her thigh.
“I’m good. I need to get back on the floor anyway.”
“No. We’re not about to do this. You’re not about to go days without talking to me over a situation that didn’t happen.”
“Yeah but it could’ve happened. You know firsthand how she indirectly caused my last relationship to fail—”
“That’s why I didn’t bring it to you, Celeste.
I was asked to work with her weeks ago, but I never brought it to you because I was on the fence myself.
From a professional standpoint, I don’t think Serenity and I connect musically.
Secondly, I wasn’t about to sit in this woman’s face for hours at a time knowing she’d caused pain to a person I care about.
Had the meeting gone any other way and I took on the project, I would’ve come to you and talked about it.
At the end of the day, I’m not Spinna. There wouldn’t have been anything under the sun she could’ve said to me that would’ve made us cross lines.
“If you would’ve told me you weren’t comfortable, the answer still would’ve been no. I’m not putting anything over your feelings. That includes money. That’s just how much I care about you. So like I said, sit yo’ ass back down and finish eating,” I stated sternly.
With an eye roll, Celeste sat and picked her fork up.
I’d already prepared myself for the knee-jerk reaction, which was why I didn’t hesitate when I told her who the artist was.
Lying wouldn’t have done me any good anyway.
Sooner or later, Celeste would’ve heard about the encounter between me and Spinna.
To top it off, I would never leave room for any person to have one up on my woman.
Celeste was slowly starting to become an extension of me.
I was hoping this situation wouldn’t linger between us for longer than it should.
Celeste had more than enough going on in her life right now.
The last thing I needed was her unsure of me and my intentions.
Leaning over, I placed a kiss on her temple before going back to my meal. The world would be a better place when Celeste realized there was no ridding herself of me.