Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
Jada
The hot water rained down on me, pelting my back. I let it knead the muscles that were taut with stress.
The water rolled down the drain and I wished it could take me with it. At least until I could make sense of my life. I didn’t want to run—not like I did after the divorce. I just wanted an escape. I needed a reprieve from the confusion and frustration that found me the same day I met Cane.
I jumped out of the shower, threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and went to the kitchen. Max had his arms wrapped around Kari from behind, his head bent into the hollow of her neck.
“You better tell me you got me something to eat,” I warned, catching them off guard.
“That was the deal. I’m a man of my word.” Max motioned toward the table and at a bag of takeout … and a bottle of Bacardi.
“I could kiss your faces right now,” I said, catching myself. “Well, not you, Max.”
“Hey.” Max smiled, holding his hands up. “If that’s what y’all are into …”
Kari smacked his chest and he pulled her back into him, making her giggle.
I grabbed a seat and unpacked the contents of the bag, my stomach rumbling. The hot, greasy smell was way more appetizing than it should have been.
“Flowers? What’s up with this?” Kari asked curiously, spotting the vase of tulips that I had set by the sink. She walked over and picked up the note, a silly smile on her face.
“Cane sent you flowers?” she gushed. “How sweet.”
I set my burger down, my appetite beginning to wane. “No—Lucy sent me flowers. He was very clear about that.”
Kari looked as confused as I felt. “This card is very sweet, Jada. And very personal. This doesn’t sound like something he would have Lucy say. And who is Lucy, by the way?” She laughed at her own question.
“His secretary,” I sighed, glancing up at Max who was taking everything in. “What’s up with your friend, Max? Has he always been such a dick?”
Max slowly walked over to the table and sat down, his face not giving anything away. “What did he say?”
“Nothing. Abso-freaking-lutely nothing. I thanked him and he said he would tell Lucy she did a good job.” I raised my eyebrows, challenging Max to a response.
Max shook his head, a small smile playing at his lips. He leaned back in his chair looking amused. “Look, Cane is—”
“An asshat?” Kari cut in.
“No. Cane is complicated.”
“Good for him. I’m not. I’m simple,” I said.
“Jada, I don’t want to say too much and I won’t put words into my man’s mouth. But Cane has never sent a woman flowers. Ever.” He held his hand up to stop my forthcoming interruption. “Not even through Lucy.”
“Great. Fine. He didn’t have to do that or have her do that or what-the-fuck-ever.
I just want him to go away.” I looked Max in the eye, giving him my best intimidating look.
When he failed to react, I let out a breath, feeling defeated.
“So why did you trick me into meeting Cane at Solomon Place? I would have never gone to the building the first time if I had thought I was meeting him and not you.”
“You tricked her?” Kari asked incredulously. “Max!”
Max chuckled. “No,” he began, but seeing the look on my face, he switched tactics quickly. “Yes, in a way. But not really.”
“Can either of you just be transparent?” I leaned back in my chair in disbelief. “You two are like watching trickery in motion.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Max laughed.
“I don’t even know. I’m just so frustrated.”
“I did plan on being there. Maybe not alone, but I did plan on being there. As fate would have it, I got called out to another job site and you ended up alone with Cane.”
“I liked you until now, you know.”
Max smiled as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Speak of the devil. Should I tell him you said hello?” he asked cheekily.
“Yes. Tell him I said hello and that Lucy deserves a big raise.”
Max shook his head, answering the call as he walked into the other room.
Kari sipped a glass of wine as I finished my dinner. I knew that she wanted answers to what was going on with Cane, but I remained silent.
How can I explain something to her that I can’t explain to myself?
All I knew for certain was that I was wiped out—completely and utterly spent. I just wanted soft sheets and maybe some wine.
Just as I started to get up, we heard Max’s voice raise slightly from the living room. “Cane—no. That’s not what I’m saying …” Silence again. “I handled it, man. We’re back at the house. Everything is under control.”
Kari bit her lip as Max’s voice lowered, barely audible. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said.
My stomach knotted. “After the day I’ve had and your boyfriend in there—doing whatever it is he’s doing—I really think I need a drink.”
“First of all, he’s not my boyfriend. Second of all, I will never turn down wine.”
“What’s going on with you and Max anyway?
” I asked as I watched my sister get up from the table and make her way to the kitchen.
She began to pour our drinks. “He looks at you like you’re his and you seem sure you’re not,” I observed, taking a sip of the cool pink liquid after it was handed to me.
“One glass of wine and then I’m starting on the Bacardi. ”
“She’s just a pain in the ass. That’s what she is,” Max rumbled from the doorway, irritation written all over his face. “And so is Cane.” He moved his eyes to me and I could see the underlying hesitation in them.
I struggled to swallow the moscato. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re saying that for a reason?”
“Because I am.” Max took a deep breath. “Cane is on his way over here.”