THREE DAYS LATER
Obviously, I had proven myself to Camilla because she accepted a second date.
I wasn’t a man who chased after women. I never had to, even in my grinding years.
Yet, there was something about this woman that called out to my spirit.
I couldn’t just walk away and pretend that she was just another woman.
I wasn’t sure what her purpose in my life was, but I knew she had one.
I wasn’t even sure if it would last, or if she was here to serve a specific short-term purpose and move on.
As much as I wanted her in my bed, I felt it was more than just sex between us.
I was willing to bide my time until I knew what the purpose was.
“Jabari, the restaurant is closed,” Camilla observed when we stepped out of the car.
“They’re not closed.”
“The sign says they are,” she countered, pointing to the sign on the door.
I smiled at her as the doors immediately opened the moment we stopped in front of them.
“Welcome to 5Church Midtown, Mr. Blackwood. Your table is waiting. If you will just follow me,” the petite young lady, whose hair was dyed jet black and royal purple, stated. She wore her hair pulled back in a bun, but the highlights gleamed underneath the lights.
When we arrived at the rooftop bar, which was called Virtue Rooftop, we were seated at a small table in front of a fire pit.
“Did you pay to have this restaurant closed down for our date, Jabari?”
“I did. Do you have a problem with that?”
“I don’t. I will say that you didn’t need to go through all of that for me, but thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for giving you what you deserve.”
“You think I deserve closed restaurants and private dinners?”
“And so much more.”
She smiled and tilted her head as though she were trying to get a read on me. “What makes you think I deserve those things?”
“You work hard. You believe in others and are instrumental in helping people get jobs, stories told, and dreams made. Why wouldn’t you deserve it?”
“Plenty of people do those same things.”
“And they’re not you. You’re the woman I’m interested in. That take-no-bullshit attitude, ready to call anyone out at a moment’s notice, and your aura draws me in, Camilla.”
“You’re pretty alluring yourself, Jabari.”
We placed our dinner and cocktail orders and made small talk. By the time our meal arrived, she was more relaxed than before thanks to the cocktails she had been sipping on.
“What made you decide to start a magazine?”
“The newspaper I was working for failed, and I was at a crossroads. It was always something in my heart, but that door closing was the one thing I needed to push me in this direction. When I was a child, I loved the beautiful glossy pictures in magazines, loved seeing my mother on the covers, and I loved sitting in a corner listening to her be interviewed.”
“Were you intrigued with the answers?”
“No. Just the way the journalist posed the questions, how their mind churned her answers and allowed them to generate more questions. It seemed as if their voracious appetite for knowledge was never satiated.”
“Why CEOs?”
“My father. He was always too busy for us, and I wondered what drove him. I couldn’t get the answers from him, so I decided to interview CEOs, hoping they would give a peek inside their brains and their lives. I wanted to believe it might satiate my curiosity about my father.”
“Did it?”
“Not yet. What made you go into the business you’re in?”
I suspected, with the way she changed the subject and the solemn look on her face, that she’d had enough of talking about her parents. I wondered what the issues between them were, but I wasn’t prepared to talk about mine, so I didn’t push.
“Why not? If it makes money, it makes sense. I love making decisions, controlling the narrative, and helping people accomplish their dreams.”
“Which business are you most passionate about of all your businesses?”
“I love them equally. There’s not one I’m more passionate about.”
“Why didn’t I know that you owned the office building I’m working out of?”
“That particular building is under another company I own: Premier Realty Group.”
“Why is that under a different group, and how long has it been in operation?”
Premier Realty Group, or PRG, was a real estate business I started in my earlier years before I made major changes to my life to distance myself from my past. I didn’t care to go down that path, so I looked at my watch, stood, and stated, “It’s time for us to head to our next venue, or we’ll be late for the performance. ”
PRG was the first big business I purchased, and the money tied to it was dirty. Everything I’ve done since has been clean. If the government wanted to take everything I owned, they couldn’t, except that one.
“Why are you always dodging my questions?” She stood and faced me.
I stared into her eyes and asked, “Are you interviewing me, Camilla, or dating me?”
Her eyes widened, and then she lowered her gaze, but she followed me out of the restaurant without asking another question. As much as I wanted to get closer to her, my intuition warned me to tread carefully, especially considering her reporter background and natural inquisitive nature.
***
“You keep blowing my damn mind,” Camilla stated, laughing as we danced on the stage at the Fox Theater.
Not only had I rented it out for the evening, but I had hired the orchestra to play all of her favorite artists: Gerald Albright, Najee, Norman Brown, Lindsey Webster, Pete Belasco, Marcus Johnson, Mindi Abair, and Boney James.
We slow danced, and she rested her head on my chest. The woman felt good in my arms, and though I knew I needed to be patient, I wanted her in my bed.
I couldn’t wait to feel how she moved underneath me, wrapped around me, and was dominated by me.
I wanted so desperately to taste her, and I wasn’t sure that I would make it through the night without trying.
I knew that messing with the woman was like playing with fire, but damn, she was so hot that I wanted her to singe me.
“You’ve got some smooth moves for a billionaire,” she stated after she lifted her head and smiled at me.
“Damn. So, is it a requirement that if you’ve got money, you can’t know how to dance too?”
“No. I don’t know why I said that. Must be my nerves,” she replied, covering her face and shaking her head.
“Your nerves? I make you nervous, Camilla?”
“Sometimes, you do.”
“Why?”
“I’ve never dated a man like you before, someone with so much power and presence. I don’t know—there’s something else there that I can’t put my finger on.”
“It must be that black heritage that I couldn’t hide if I wanted to.”
“Why would you want to?”
“I don’t.”
“Are you hiding anything?”
“Are you?” I countered.
Something in her gaze shut down. I took her chin between my fingers, tipped her head back, and covered her mouth in the most sensual kiss.
I could feel her body come alive with fire as I dragged my hand down her bare back and rested it just above her ass. She squirmed against me with every touch; moans leaked from her lips as I deepened the kiss, and her nipples hardened against my chest.
I pulled back from the kiss and stared into her eyes; they appeared hypnotized.
I could tell she was gradually falling under my spell, no matter how much she tried to fight it.
I wanted her desperately, but not enough to take her to bed just yet.
I was determined to break the wall down that she hid behind.
I wouldn’t be satisfied until she was not only in my bed, but screaming my name, obeying my commands and submitting to me.
I wouldn’t be satisfied until she was saying, “Yes, Mr. Blackwood,” to everything I asked of her.