ONE WEEK LATER
“Aww, look at the hummingbirds.” I pointed to the tiny birds hovering near the flowers of the same name.
“Where?”
“Right there,” I declared, pointing again.
“Damn. They move so fast, and they’re so little it’s hard to see them.”
I looked at Jabari. “Do you wear glasses?”
“No. I have perfect vision.”
“Mhm.”
“What? I do.”
“I’m just saying that you didn’t see those birds, and there are quite a few of them.”
“Come on. They’re tiny.”
“I saw them.”
He side-eyed me and shook his head with a tiny smirk, making his handsome features even more appealing. “Whatever.”
“You know, you might look sexy in a pair of glasses. Maybe just some readers. I can see it now, you in a pair of pajama pants, a cigar jacket, with a cigar tucked in your mouth, some glasses perched on your nose, and you reading a book.”
“You can’t see that.”
“Why not?”
“’Cause I don’t even see that.”
We laughed, and he took my hand as we worked our way past the Gainesville Event Lawn at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.
He had brought me here for another date, and I had enjoyed myself so far.
The date nights that Jabari made were creative and thoughtful.
Each date made me anticipate the next one even more.
I looked forward to spending time with him, although I knew I shouldn’t.
We were becoming too personal, and a little too close for my comfort.
He now texted me to check on me in the middle of the day or at night, and I did the same.
He sent cute little messages telling me to have a good day, don’t work too hard, or he was just thinking about me.
Each one made me a little giddier. The worst part was that I knew why I was supposed to be dating him, but I didn’t want to do the cover story on him now.
I just wanted to get to know him better.
I also knew that the funding from Sullivan Investments was at stake if I didn’t do the story, and I needed and wanted to grow my magazine.
We traveled through the Cascades Garden, where I marveled at the Earth Goddess and the fact that she was made of over 18,000 plants, and she was over twenty-five feet tall. Jabari took several pictures of me in front of her before we moved on.
I inhaled the fragrant aroma of the gardenias, jasmine, and Southern magnolia perfuming the air as we strolled through the gardens. We took the candlelit path through the Fuqua Orchid Center and sampled rare vintage champagnes from a private sommelier.
I was surprised again by his refined palate as he identified the various notes in each champagne.
Jabari was definitely knowledgeable about worldly things, and he was a man of great wealth.
Yet, there was a certain edginess about him that, if I didn’t know any better, I would think it came from the streets.
When we finished, we continued walking until we came to the Levy Parterre.
“What’s this?” I asked. A small table was set up on the walk just in front of the fountain, and several small candles lit the path.
“This is our dessert and wine,” he explained.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked.
“I would never want you drunk, beautiful. You need to be aware of everything that I do to your body when I do it. I don’t want you to miss a single touch or tease. You should be fine, though, because I’ve paired it with a good dessert,” he replied before he dropped a sensual kiss on my lips.
“Camilla, this is Janine Sterling, and Janine, this is my lady friend, Camilla Valentine,” he introduced, pointing to the brunette woman who served our dessert.
“I know who she is!” I exclaimed with a large grin as I shook hands with the world-famous chef.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she greeted.
“The pleasure is all mine. How do you know a world-famous chef?” I asked Jabari.
He chuckled and replied, “I’ve met a few people in my life.”
She chatted with us about the dessert he had chosen: a dulce de leche lava cake and a homemade caramel walnut ice cream. It was paired with caramel apple martinis, and although it may have sounded like too much, it was perfect.
“Tell me one thing about you that should be good but can easily become bad when not managed,” he demanded.
“Responsibility. Sometimes I have a hard time delegating things to other people, and if I’m not careful it turns into control issues.
Also, opening up to people because of how my relationship with my parents is.
I have a hard time feeling close to anyone, and because of that I can come off as aloof or frigid. ”
“Is it that way with your friends?”
“The only friend I have is my best friend, Shana, from college, and she’s used to me. She knows what to expect and not place any expectations on me. I’m also close to my sister, who is a lot like me. What about you? Who are you close to?”
“I have three people that I deem are my friends, and we’re close. I trust them with my life.”
“Who are they?”
“Jett, Regent, and Kanaan.”
I recognized their names immediately. “Wait, are you talking about Jett Barter, the insurance magnate of Barter Regent Knight, the lumber hotshot from Knight Atlantic Industries; and Kanaan Fields of the logistics company that dominates air, land, and water, Fields Supply Chain? Those are your friends?”
“Yeah.” He chuckled and smirked.
“I thought those men in the lobby looked familiar that day. I guess the rich and famous really do keep a close-knit circle and only rub elbows with people whose money looks like theirs.”
My mind was blown that he was friends with those men. If I could get in with Jabari the way I truly wanted to and get the story Sullivan Investments wanted, then I could get his friends to do a feature story too.
Being among America’s black elite was something special, and those men were nothing short of black royalty.
“It just so happens that we’re friends. We know people who aren’t on the same level we are.”
“Mm. I’ll bet. Like your maids, gardeners, personal chefs—you mean those types of people?”
“Nah. You’re tripping,” he replied with a light chuckle.
“Well, are you close to your family?” I asked, biting into another slice of cake as he sipped his martini.
I noticed that his open look suddenly turned hooded and drawn, like someone had pulled the shades down over his eyes.
I hated that he never talked about his personal life anyway. He always managed to find a way to distract me from that line of conversation. I wouldn’t continue being deterred, though.
When I kept staring at him and didn’t back down, he spoke up.
“My mother passed when I was younger. My father is—out there somewhere, and it’s just him, no other family.”
“Did you grow up with money?”
He bobbed his head and pulled his fingers through his beard as he watched me closely before he narrowed his gaze.
“What?” I asked.
“Am I the subject of a story you’re working on?”
“No. Why would you ask that?”
His voice took on a deeper, warning tone as he answered. “You’re asking really personal questions.”
“I’m just trying to get to know you better, the same way you’ve done me. Would you be averse to being the subject of an article in my magazine though?”
“Hell. Yeah.”
This time his tone took me aback. “Why?”
“I keep people out not just because I value my privacy, but to protect my empire and those who I do allow close to me. When people feel they know you, they think they have an advantage. I’ll never give anyone the upper hand.”
“Well, it’s a good thing that I’m not doing a story on you. I’m trying to get to know you even better.”
“I’ve got other ways we can make that happen.”
I couldn’t believe the thought popped up in my mind, but sleeping with him could unlock the doors I wanted and needed and allow him to trust me more. I needed to get inside of his home and his head.
I replied, “It depends on what you’re talking about.”
“I want you, Camilla. I want to know what you feel and taste like. I want to know your limitations, and if you moan or scream.”
A shiver of intrigue ran through me that had my thighs clenching—and it had nothing to do with the article feature I wanted either.
“What makes you think I have limitations?” I asked and pulled my martini glass to my lips. I eyed him closely over the rim as I took a little more liquid courage to keep playing the game that might get me burned in the end.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“I’m ready.”