Chapter Nine
“LOVELY TO SEE you here, Vanya.”
No. There is no way.
My eyes slowly left the face of my date and landed on the grinning, arrogant, diabolically handsome face of Xerxes. Next to him was a man I didn’t recognize but I could tell exuded a calm authority that was the opposite of the passionate control that Xerxes had. Next to him was a woman with a bright smile on her face, as though this date were something she’d seen before. Or she found this situation utterly entertaining.
“Hello, Mr. Cannon. I hope you and your guests enjoy your meal tonight.”
My smile was tight, my body tense and I felt like a kid who’d gotten caught doing something they shouldn’t have. Which was stupid, but I couldn’t shake the feeling no matter how confident I tried to look.
After we’d dealt with the issue that Frankie had, she’d gone back to Carolina Falls and I’d gone home. There was no long drawn out conversation on what had happened. The next day, we’d gone to pick up several of the light fixtures that I’d picked out for the house. The way I’d easily gone on with what had happened and thought nothing of it was what led me to tonight.
Needing to feel something that was somehow akin to normal, I’d agreed to go out on a date with a man who’d been casually pursuing me for months. I called it casual because nothing could ever rival the way Xerxes had placed himself within my orbit the last month. In person, this man was nothing like he’d been on the phone and I had already begun to regret coming before the object of my desires walked in looking like sin. Now it was only increased tenfold.
“My cousin, Midas. And zhis is his lovely wife, Nevaeh.” He kept his eyes focused on me as he nodded toward the people with him. To keep myself from appearing rude, I stood up causing his eyes to rake in the details of my outfit, before I reached over to shake Nevaeh’s hand and then her husband’s.
“Very pleased to meet you.”
“You as well! I can already tell I like you.” She leaned over and gave me a hug, squeezing me as she did. “I can see why he’s so gone over you. You are absolutely gorgeous.”
When she leaned back, her smile was even broader and I could feel the heat creeping up my neck, flushing my entire face. I hated to blush or to be put on the spot. I ended up looking like a giant orangey-red ball of skin.
“Thank you.”
It was wild how she just gave me a compliment and I felt like she was sincere. She is what I thought of when I thought of beauty. She had smooth, freckle-less skin that was the color of deep honey. Her hair was in big coils that she wore out proudly and she looked and smelled expensive. Not like she was dressed in millions of dollars worth of diamonds, but she looked extremely luxurious. Like her clothes were of the highest quality and well tailored to her frame despite how simple they were. It wasn’t the understated luxury bullshit where everyone walked around looking like an anti-color palate of boring beige. She had a style all her own and was incredibly beautiful. And warm. Her spirit practically glowed.
“Are you giving away secrets, soeur ?”
Never had I thought hearing French coming out of a southern man with a slight Middle Eastern accent would be so…spine-tingling. I shifted on my feet as my thighs clenched together, because something really had to be wrong with me.
The restaurant was located in Uptown and wasn’t a location that I thought would’ve been too casual for him. It was inside of a beautiful hotel, but many people frequented this restaurant. In my mind, it wasn’t exclusive enough for him. The place was nice and not cheap, but I assumed he would be more into private dining. Or flying me out-of-state like he’d suggested when we’d closed on his home.
“Never that. Just showing a beautiful woman appreciation for her being so beautiful.”
“An act I’m sure befalls you multiple times a day.” Their banter was playful so I didn’t feel at all jealous of him calling her beautiful.
“Bruh, stop flirting with my damn wife.” The man that was with them, Midas, turned to me after playfully shoving Xerxes. “Forgive my cousin. He lacks manners, which is why we don’t allow him to hang out with us that often. My wife and I were looking to purchase property in the area and we were told that you were the person to see. We will be calling your office for an appointment soon.”
“I have an exclusivity contract with your cousin. I’m not sure—”
“He doesn’t have a problem with family intruding. Hell, it might help his Blarasian ass get his shit together.”
My mouth dropped open and Xerxes only shook his head. “Blarasian… that’s new.”
“You think of anything that fits his ass better? Black, Arab and Persian: Blarasian.”
“Vanya has plenty of choice vords for me. None zhat are as kind as Blarasian. I’m sure she vill be shocked vhen she learns zhat Persians are not Arabs but zhat’s a story for another day. But I am not the only one being rude. Vanya, who is your guest?” His eyes flitted to the table behind me, and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I knew the skin on my neck had to be deep red now because I’d completely forgotten I was here with someone. When I turned, my date looked completely unbothered by any aspect of the conversation and was playing some game on his phone. That was the issue with him all night. He seemed so focused on his phone that he hardly paid attention to me. I tried to chalk it up to nerves, but he didn’t really seem interested in me at all. As it was, I’d been trying to excuse myself.
“Ummm, this is my date, Patrick. We met at the library.” Patrick barely said a word to them and gave a quick wave of his fingers that could’ve been seen as dismissive. I had to wonder if he was just an extreme introvert and unsure of how to act around other people. I was offended by his rudeness but was going to encourage him to say something but a staying hand was put on mine.
I turned and saw Xerxes give a slight shake of his head.
“The last thing you want to do is give him a reason to cut up. He says the wrong thing and then we have to provide a multi-million dollar pay out for the damage he’ll do to him and this restaurant because he has no off switch with disrespect. If you get tired of where you are, you’re more than welcome to enjoy dinner with us.” Midas was smiling while Xerxes’ eyes were now trained on Patrick. He was studying his features in a way that worried me. Like he was cataloging everything about him that he could. The air seemed to get heavier, like his actions were foreshadowing something I couldn’t understand.
Please don’t let us cause a scene in this restaurant. I have a reputation to uphold and lies to distance myself away from.
“It’s fine, Midas. I wouldn’t want to intrude. But thank you all for the invitation. Xerxes, I’ll have another list of properties for the stables for you to view in the morning. Mr. And Mrs. Cannon, I will be more than happy to assist you with whatever you need.”
Nevaeh reached out to shake my hand the same welcoming smile on her face. “Warren. Midas and Nevaeh Savadogo Warren.”
My brain almost short-circuited when I realized whose hand I was shaking. I tried to keep my face steady but it was clear they realized that I recognized them.
“My apologies, Mr and Mrs. Warren. But the words still stand. Xerxes has my contact information and I’ll be happy to help find whatever it is you need.”
They said their goodbyes and they walked ahead of Xerxes who lingered behind. We were staring at one another silently before he dipped his head slightly and walked away.
“You don’t think you were being rude?”
I felt embarrassed as people I knew I would enjoy spending time with walked away and I was left with my date. His head was still buried into his phone and I didn’t know if he was reading or holding a conversation with someone else. I’d attempted to bring him into the conversation, but he’d wanted to be antisocial and complain later.
He kept looking at me like I was the one who was wrong when it was clear he was.
“To who? The random people that stopped at the table? No. If anything, you were rude to sit here and speak with them while I was here and not ask if it were okay.”
I slow blinked as though it would help change the bullshit that had come from his mouth. When I was met with continued silence instead of a recanting of said bullshit, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut any longer.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious. I’m trying to see why you thought it was a good idea to speak to them while you were clearly here with me. And I’m wondering if the rumors I hear about you are true.” His face was frowned up and he looked as though I’d betrayed him. Patrick was okay looking. About my complexion and probably what would be considered a pretty boy. But he didn’t have any confidence about himself. Something about his presence screamed beta, which is why I’d even given him my number.
“I’m sorry, rumors?” I wanted him to elaborate because I was sure what he meant. I just needed to hear him say it.
“Yeah. Your ex-husband said that you only get the type of clients that you get because you are sleeping with them. You and that man seem far too comfortable around each other for you to just be friends.” He looked over to where Xerxes and his people had gone. It was laughable how he didn’t realize how bad of an idea that was.
I smirked at him and decided that he didn’t deserve my respect or a second more of my time. “As a matter of fact, we are.”
He looked vindicated, as though his poor treatment was because of some hearsay. But now he felt justified in basically ignoring me for the last twenty minutes. “Oh, so—”
“We are because my best friend is married to his best friend. So we have had the opportunity to spend time together. You heard me address him as Mr. Cannon but that doesn’t seem to be what you wanted to hear. Instead, you wanted to be loud and wrong about what I was doing like you can control any of my actions. I gave you the respect of being introduced into the conversation but you were too busy ignoring everyone to care. But that’s fine. I thought you were a nice guy, which is why I agreed to dinner. Clearly I was wrong and we should just end this here now.”
I stood up from my chair but he immediately reached across the table to stop me.
I could almost feel the anger radiating at my back from wherever Xerxes was sitting in this restaurant.
“That’s my fault. I’m just nervous. I’ve wanted to take you out for a minute now and I’m not trying to fuck that up.” Him having any connection to the people that had hurt me the most meant he wasn’t a safe person. I had no desire to have him any closer to me because of his behavior, but his connection to them sealed the end to this before it began.
I snatched my arm back and shook my head. “Too bad you just did. Lose my number.”
I turned to walk away, and I could hear Patrick stand up to follow me. I braced myself for impact but heard him grunt instead. When I glanced back, I saw him on the ground and a muscular, wide shouldered, bald black man attempting to help him up. Only he wasn’t helping him. He was literally getting in his way every time Patrick tried to get up and make a move. My eyes darted around until they landed on Xerxes at his table. With his eyes glued on me, he gave me a small and a playful wink before he went back to what he was doing.
Taking his interference with gratitude, I made my way to the front of the restaurant and to valet to get a ride. The last thing I wanted was Patrick following me back home or worse yet catching up with me in this parking lot. When I made it out of the front door, a man with a plain white keffiyeh and agal was waiting with the back door of an expensive SUV open.
“Ms. Vanya?”
I paused as a man spoke my name and almost walked back inside. Remembering what was waiting, I took a cautious step forward.
“Yes.” The city was lit up and traffic was bustling so I wasn’t too concerned. But I was still going to make sure I protected myself.
“Compliments of Mr. Cannon. He told me to take you vherever it vas you vished to go.” When he turned I saw it was Shoaib and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I glanced back toward the restaurant as my phone rang. Fumbling in my bag I pulled it out and smiled at the name on the screen.
“Yes?”
“Go wiz Shoaib, zibā. He is perfectly safe.” I didn’t want either of them to think I was afraid of Shoaib because he was a sweetheart. But I knew that man had a job and it wasn’t protecting me.
“I know this but he’s normally with you…”
“Because I would forfeit my life before I ever allowed anyone to harm yours. Please, go with him before I have to stand up. I’m doing my best to show you what you need. If you no longer care…”
I walked closer to the car because I knew exactly what he meant. “I’m going! Please stay with your cousin. Although I feel he thinks of a multi-million dollar payout as the cost of entertainment for the night.”
He chuckled softly and I adored the way it made me feel inside. “And somehow you think his pockets are deeper than mine? I’m offended.”
I couldn’t help but grin but the last thing I wanted to do was give him ammunition to act up. “Goodnight, Xerxes.”
“Goodnight.”
I hung up the phone and looked at a patient Shoaib who had no issue with my verifying anything with his boss.
“Satisfied? I would never harm a sayyida .”
I accepted his hand as he helped me into the back of the SUV. “I know, I didn’t want you to leave him unprotected.”
Shoaib looked surprised at how honest I’d been and I wasn’t sure why. “Your honesty brings gladness to my heart. I vould elaborate but I vill need to do so vhen zhe time is right. Let’s get you home.”
I sat up in a cold sweat.
Looking around, I could tell, even though I was groggy, that my dreams hadn’t woken me. The issue with Patrick hadn’t triggered my memories and I’d been enjoying my dream. I’d been smiling, enjoying dinner with Xerxes and his cousin and wife. It was almost like I was living in a different timeline of the night that had gone so badly. Something had snatched me away from the beautiful scene with them and back into reality.
There was a muffling noise coming from the front of my apartment.
The fuck was that?
I threw the sheet off of me, easing out of the bed, keeping my eyes trained on the door to my room. Out of habit, I always kept it locked and now I felt as though that was my saving grace to whatever was on the other side of the door. I fumbled around on my nightstand for the gun I kept there, clutching it in my hand as it shook.
You’re fine. It’s just random noises. Stop tripping.
I swallowed deeply trying to keep the nerves down but they were bubbling in my stomach like a cauldron over a fire. I thanked God for the thick carpet that covered the floor of my room and tried to move soundlessly toward the door. When I reached it, I pressed my ear to it and waited to hear something else.
I waited and wondered if I’d imagined it all when I heard that muffled sound again. I didn’t want to be like the crazy white girl just trapped in the room waiting to die, but I also didn’t want to open the door and the killer to be right there. I dropped to my knees to see if I could see feet beneath my door and prayed I wouldn’t be met with the eyes of a madman. There was no one there, but a bright light that wasn’t on when I went to bed was now shining brightly in my living room.
What in the hell?
The gun gave me strength I shouldn’t have had and I slowly opened the door to my bedroom. The air felt heavier as soon as I did. As though the door was keeping out something oppressive, a heavy spirit from my sanctuary. And I’d just unleashed it my haven.
“It is alright, Vanya. It is me.” That voice had me completely thrown off because I didn’t understand how in the hell he got in my apartment.
“Xerxes? What the fuck are you doing in my house!?” I kept the gun at my side and took two steps forward but that weight of something heavy kept me from rushing up the hallway.
“I know it seems like zhis is bad—”
I paused before I reached the front of the hallway because he had to be delusional. “Seems? I should call the police—”
“Do not. I am trying my hardest to protect you but you are not making zhis easy at all. Please, zibā. Trust me. You know I would never harm you. Go back into your room.”
He was right. I did trust him. It didn’t make any sense for him to allow his driver to bring me home instead of taking me somewhere else that he had more access to me. Of course, I didn’t know this man could break into my apartment.
Did you really think a locked door would stop him, though?
“You don’t want me to come out there, but you think that I should stay in this room unaware of what is going on?”
“Yes.”
I peered toward the direction of his voice wondering why it sounded so strained. “How does that make—”
“We discovered somezing too late to prevent zhe start of somezing bad. I am here attempting to keep you safe.” The urgency was clear but the desperation in it was something new.
“What happened?” I hated him feeling this need to constantly intervene on my behalf. The feeling of being too weak drove me to take another step closer.
“If you come out here, I need you to promise you will not overreact.”
His voice was entirely too damn calm and I had to wonder what the hell I was about to agree to. “This sounds impossible.”
“You are stronger zhan you zhink, Vanya. Tap into zhat and zhen come to me.”