Chapter Three
Charmaine
The city looked beautiful from the rooftop. From twenty stories up, the flashing police lights, crowded intersections, and rundown neighborhoods disappeared beneath a blanket of glowing skylines and expensive high-rises. Everything looked clean from a distance. Ronald wished life worked that way.
He adjusted the cuffs on his white linen shirt as he stepped onto the rooftop patio. Music floated through hidden speakers while servers carried silver trays filled with champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Women laughed beneath strands of hanging lights, and businessmen pretended not to recognize street legends standing across the room. Money had a funny way of making strangers family. Ronald wasn’t invited because he belonged. He was invited because people liked being close to people who were becoming successful. The envelope Nate had given him the day before was still sitting in his apartment. Untouched.
His life was about to change.
Tonight was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something bigger was waiting for him. He accepted a glass of Hennessy from the bartender and leaned against the railing overlooking the city. “You already shopping for a penthouse?” Nate asked, appearing beside him. Ronald laughed.
“I’m just seeing what my future looks like.” Nate smiled.
“Careful.”
“Sometimes what shines the brightest costs the most.” Before Ronald could answer, his attention drifted across the rooftop. Everything else disappeared.
She stood near the far corner overlooking the skyline, laughing with two friends. She wasn’t trying to be the prettiest woman at the party. She simply was.
She wore a fitted black dress that complemented her figure without begging for attention. Her natural curls danced every time the wind caught them. She laughed freely, throwing her head back without worrying who was watching. Most women entered a room hoping to be noticed. She looked like she couldn’t care less. Ronald found himself staring.
Nate noticed.
“Oh…”
He laughed quietly.
“There it is.”
“There what is?”
“The look.”
Ronald kept watching her.
“What look?”
“The one you get right before you make a bad decision.” Ronald smirked.
“You know her?”
“Charmaine.”
“Nurse.”
“Smart.”
“Independent.”
“And way too good for your nonsense.” Ronald grinned.
“So she’s single?”
Nate laughed.
“You heard everything except the warning.” ?
Ronald crossed the rooftop.
Every woman he’d ever approached usually smiled before he even spoke. Charmaine didn’t.
She noticed him coming and calmly took another sip from her sparkling water. Not champagne.
Not liquor.
Water.
That alone intrigued him.
“Mind if I interrupt?” Ronald asked. She looked at him for a second before answering. “I think you already did.”
He smiled.
“I’m Ronald.”
“I know.”
That caught him off guard.
“You do?”
“You’ve been walking around introducing yourself to half the party.” He laughed.
“I guess my reputation got here before I did.” “It usually does.”
There wasn’t an ounce of flirtation in her voice. Only observation.
Ronald loved it.
“So what’s your name?”
She hesitated just long enough to make him wonder if she planned to answer. “Charmaine.”
He repeated it softly.
“Beautiful name.”
She smiled politely.
“I figured that line was coming.”
“You hear it a lot?”
“I hear every line a lot.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“You’re making this harder than I’m used to.” “I know.”
For the first time all evening…
She smiled.
It wasn’t big.
It wasn’t dramatic.
But it was real.
?
“So…” Ronald asked.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a nurse.”
“That explains it.”
She folded her arms.
“Explains what?”
“You’ve been diagnosing me since I walked over.” She laughed.
“No.”
“I’ve just been observing.”
“And?”
“And you’re charming.”
“I appreciate that.”
“You also know you’re charming.”
He smiled.
“Guilty.”
“You use confidence like armor.”
Ronald blinked.
“What?”
“You smile before anyone can ask real questions.” “You joke when conversations get serious.” “You make people laugh so they never notice when you’re uncomfortable.” The smile slowly disappeared from Ronald’s face. Nobody…
Nobody had ever read him that quickly.
“You don’t even know me.”
“I don’t.”
She nodded.
“But I know men.”
“And I know the difference between confidence and performance.” Silence settled between them.
For the first time in years…
Ronald didn’t know what to say.
?
“I owe you an apology,” he finally admitted. “For what?”
“I came over here thinking I was gonna impress you.” “And?”
“I’m starting to think you’re the interesting one.” Charmaine laughed again.
“That’s better.”
“So…”
“You gonna let me buy you dinner sometime?” She tilted her head.
“Why?”
“Because I want to know you.”
“No.”
He frowned.
“No?”
“I want to know why.”
She stepped closer.
“Every woman here has smiled at you tonight.” “I watched it.”
“So why me?”
Ronald opened his mouth…
…then closed it again.
He honestly didn’t know.
Finally he answered.
“Because they all looked at me.”
“And you looked through me.”
For the first time all night…
Charmaine looked surprised.
She studied him for several quiet seconds. Maybe he wasn’t exactly who she thought he was. Maybe he was.
She still wasn’t sure.
?
Her phone buzzed.
“I’ve got an early shift.”
She slipped it into her purse.
“It was nice meeting you, Ronald.”
She started walking toward the elevator. “Wait.”
She turned.
“I know you probably don’t give your number to random men.” “I don’t.”
“I figured.”
She smiled.
“But…”
She reached into her purse, found a pen, and wrote ten digits on a cocktail napkin. She handed it to him.
“One phone call.”
He looked up.
“One?”
“If you waste it…”
“There won’t be another.”
He folded the napkin carefully and slipped it into his wallet instead of his pocket. She noticed.
“So I guess I’ll hear from you.”
“You definitely will.”
She smiled one last time.
“We’ll see.”
The elevator doors closed.
Ronald stood there longer than he cared to admit. Nate walked over, shaking his head.
“You got her number?”
Ronald nodded.
“I did.”
“You know what that means?”
“What?”
Nate looked toward the elevator.
“It means life just gave you two roads.” Ronald frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Nate smiled without answering.
“You’ll figure it out.”
?
Later that night, Ronald lay awake in bed. Three women had texted him.
Two had called.
One had left a voicemail.
He ignored every one of them.
Instead, he pulled the cocktail napkin from his wallet. He looked at the handwritten number.
He smiled to himself.
For the first time in years…
The hunger inside him wasn’t for money. Or sex.
Or status.
It was curiosity.
And curiosity…
Was far more dangerous.
End of Chapter Three