5 – CAMILLA
“I still can’t believe that you inadvertently met the man you’ve been chasing. Is he everything you thought he would be?” Shana asked.
I was having brunch at G.R.I.T.S. in Decatur with Shana and Courtney.
“Girl, he’s worse than I expected. I can’t believe he had the nerve to treat me that way.”
“At least he took you home when your car service canceled on you.”
“It was the way that he did it. He could have gotten out and introduced himself. Instead, he had his driver to get out and convince me to take the ride because building management wanted to ensure I got home safely. He never told me that building management was Mr. Blackwood. I climbed my ass in that car, and who’s the first person I saw? ”
“That fine Mr. Blackwood?” Shana asked.
I sucked my teeth. “Yeah,” I mumbled.
“All I want to know is, is the man as fine as I’ve heard he is?” Courtney asked, propping her elbows on the table and leaning forward.
My sister was all for the juicy gossip, and she loved details.
“I’m telling you how this man behaved badly, misled me, was rude to me, and that’s all you have to ask? Is he fine? Can we be serious for one moment, please?”
Courtney sighed. “Fine. Seriously, is he fine and single?”
I rolled my eyes, dropped my fork and knife, and gripped the edge of the table before I replied, “Yes, he’s fine. The man smells good, and he dresses like a million bucks. He’s got a deep sexy voice, and charm and sarcasm oozes from him. Is that what you want to hear?”
I thought about the custom suits he wore both times I encountered him and the designer Italian leather shoes.
I noticed that he didn’t wear ties, and his shirt was always unbuttoned either one or two buttons.
I hadn’t seen it the first night because it was so dark, but the night he took me home, I saw the single silver chain with a capsule holding what appeared to be ashes. I didn’t tell them any of that though.
“Quit being like Mom, Cami.” Courtney narrowed her gaze and stared at me.
“How am I being like Mom, Court?” Our mother was a famous actress who had starred in several movies. She had made her name from acting in a long-standing daytime drama during the late seventies, eighties, and nineties.
“You’re being dramatic, like you’re starring in a movie,” Courtney explained. She waved her hand to call our waiter.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” I replied and turned my gaze to my best friend who chose that moment to snicker.
“Can we please get more mimosas?” Courtney asked the waiter when he showed up at our table seconds later.
“Sure. Do you need anything else refreshed?” he asked, low-key flirting with my sister based on the way he kept smiling at her and showing her all his attention.
“No thank you, honey. Just the mimosas,” Courtney stated.
I waited until he walked away to speak. “Someone has a crush on you. Look at you, got these little high school boys drooling over you.”
“Chile, please. Ain’t nobody thinking about that child. Besides, he’s at least a college junior.”
Shana and I both guffawed. Courtney covered her mouth and giggled too. When we finished, I asked, “Now, where were we?”
Shana answered, “The dramatics like your mom.”
“Yeah, I don’t get it. How am I acting like her?”
“You might wanna try letting go of the table edge. Next time, don’t throw your fork and knife down,” Shana explained.
“You guys, I’m being serious. I have a real issue here,” I whined.
“And what’s that?” Courtney asked.
“The man owns the freaking building I’ve leased, I need the space, and my landlord is an arrogant, pompous jerk.”
“Or could it be that he thinks you take yourself too seriously, and he’s challenging you the way you challenge everyone else?” Courtney asked.
“I think you’ve found the answer to your problems, but you’re so busy being offended at the man that you don’t see it clearly looking you in the face,” Shana stated.
“What answer? What problem?” Courtney asked.
She looked between the two of us, and her face scrunched up.
My sister didn’t like being left out of any details, and there was a lot I hadn’t shared with her.
My omission wasn’t intentional, but we both had busy schedules, and we seldom had time to visit and talk.
Shana, on the other hand, often popped up at the magazine office.
“Your sister is looking for her next breakthrough story that will launch the magazine to a national level. She needs Sullivan Investments to invest in her, but she’s got to prove that she’s a contender with some of the bigger magazines.
The only way she can do that is by hosting community events, workshops, panels, and conferences.
She needs to be able to leverage her digital platform and create a mobile app for her users,” Shana explained.
“And I need more competitive staff who can get out there and get the stories the people want to read about. Right now, there are only two full-time reporters and a handful of freelance reporters, columnists, and photographers, who I can barely afford to pay. Not to mention, my binding machine needs to be replaced, and other equipment need to be upgraded. I’m not in a good financial place, Court.
If something doesn’t change soon, . . . I’ll be out of business. ”
“What does this have to do with Mr. Blackwood?”
“Sullivan Investments wants a story on him. They’re willing to invest in us, if we can highlight him in our magazine. They believe that will allow us to compete on a national level with some of the larger magazines. If I can’t get the story, then I likely won’t get the investment,” I explained.
“Why don’t you just go to Mom and Dad for a loan?”
“That’s the last thing that I want to do. You know that I’ll never hear the end of it, and Dad will just want me to come and work for his communications firm. That’s not why I went to school all those years.”
“You’re right; but it might be worth it if it helps you accomplish your long-term goals,” Courtney declared.
“Yeah, but who wants to be up under them when they scarcely wanted to be around us?” I muttered.
She reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
I gave hers a little squeeze and cast a weary smile her way.
My sister and I were only a year apart, and both of us were sent off to boarding school no sooner than we turned ten.
It was difficult, but it was our lives. Rather than having holidays at home with our parents, we spent the holidays with my mother’s parents.
“I still say that your prayers have been answered,” Shana spoke after Courtney and I had our kumbaya moment.
“How?” Courtney and I asked at once.
“You need that one big story to prove to Sullivan Investments you’re worth them funding you. It dropped into your lap.”
I shook my head, still clueless.
“Damn, girl. Do I have to spell everything out for you? Jabari Blackwood. That’s the story you’ve been wanting. He’s almost begging you to go out with him, so go,” Shana declared.
“She’s right, sis,” Courtney replied, pulling her hand from mine. She rested her elbow on the table and placed her chin in the palm of her hand. She looked dreamily at me and remarked, “All you have to do is accept a date with him—get him to trust you, and he’ll tell you his secrets.”
Somehow, I didn’t think it would be as easy as Courtney made it sound, but I had never backed down from a challenge.
My attorney had just notified me this week that my divorce from Nick was finalized.
I was free to do what I wanted, and what I wanted was to climb the Mt. Everest known as Mr. Jabari Blackwood.
***
Although I had promised myself and my sister I wouldn’t work unusually late anymore, I chose to do it tonight. I had come in late after having brunch with Shana and Courtney, and I decided to put some extra hours in.
I glanced up at the clock and noticed it was a few minutes after nine.
I decided to try my luck and head upstairs to the rooftop.
I had seen Mr. Blackwood coming in this afternoon when I arrived.
He was with a group of men who were equally as fine as he was.
They were chatting and laughing in the lobby, and he had caught my gaze.
His laughter halted briefly before he returned his attention to the group of men.
Feeling as if I had been released from his spell, I rushed to the elevator and hopped on.
When we had dinner a few nights ago, he mentioned that he often went to the rooftop around nine or ten to think.
He said he generally stayed there for a few hours.
I wondered if he was dropping that nugget in hopes that I would use that in the future.
Whatever the reason was, I was glad he had shared it. I was going to visit him now. I needed to implement a plan. When I arrived, I smelled the exotic scents of oud and tonka bean, mixed in with the sweet fragrance of his cigar.
I found him sitting in the same area he had been the last time, only this time the lights were still on. He was having drinks, and he waved me over.
“I was hoping you would come by.”
“I figured that was why you dropped that piece of information about when you choose to visit up here.”
“Would you like something to drink?” His gaze was heavy, suggesting he already had a couple of drinks in him.
“Sure. I’ll take a rum and coke.”
He nodded and walked to the bar. I watched as he expertly prepared a drink for me and brought it over. “Not only do you have a talent for making lots of money and building successful corporations, but you also make a nice drink,” I replied after taking a couple of sips.
He flashed a brilliant smile at me as he slowly took his seat. “I try.”
“I won’t waste your time. I just came up here to let you know that I’ve been thinking about your offer. I will go out with you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“There’s only one condition,” I stated, stopping him in his tracks.
“I don’t know if I like that, Camilla. I’m usually the one dictating the terms and conditions of a contract.”
“Consider this a lesson in business arrangements, because this will be different.”
“What’s the condition?”
“You have to prove that you’re not the arrogant asshole you came off as, or I will cut you off so quickly.”
“That’s fair. What made you change your mind?”
“I thought long and hard about it, and I decided maybe you have the potential to be romantic. It was thoughtful what you did, saving me a few days ago when I didn’t have a ride.”
He smiled, and I swore there was something in his smile that warned me he wasn’t who I thought he was, and I should proceed with caution. The problem with that was, I never backed down from a challenge, and I was ready to dig into this mission with both heels.