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His eyes twinkled, and a smile laced with mischief graced his masculine face. “You know what that means, don’t you?”
“No, what?”
“We have to celebrate.” He drew her in. His gruff voice whispered, “All… night… long…”
When Jaden and Claudia made it back to Chicago, Claudia had him drop her off at S&M Financial Advisory.
“Can I bother you for lunch?” he asked.
“Of course.”
Jaden leaned in for a kiss and Claudia met him halfway.
“Your lips are always a delicious treat for me,” he said.
Claudia blushed. “That’s good to know,” she winked.
His cell phone buzzed, and they both glanced down to the middle console where it sat. Cassie’s face covered the screen, and Jaden silenced the phone.
“Do you need to get that?”
“It’s not important.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at one, then.”
Jaden exited his vehicle, and Claudia watched his long strides carry him around to the passenger door. Upon opening, he held out his hand, and she delightfully took it. “I’ll see you at one, chérie.”
He left a kiss on her cheek and waited until she disappeared inside the building before reclaiming his seat and pulling away.
Claudia was on cloud nine. She pretty much skipped her way inside the building. The way she was feeling, Claudia could’ve taken the stairs two at a time. But she waited patiently with a smile on her face for the elevator doors to open.
It was nine a.m., and Claudia had gotten a little nap on their flight from Vegas to Chicago. When the doors opened, she stepped in.
“Hold the doors, please!”
Octavia ran down the hallway and glided into the elevator just as the doors shut. “Right on time,” Claudia said.
Octavia blew out a breath. “Barely. It seemed as if it was one thing after another this morning.”
“What happened?”
“For starters, my toilet clogged and it wasn’t something I could fix with a simple plunger. I had to call a plumber. What’s worst is, you know that early morning pee is a must, girl I had to run to my neighbor’s house. You should’ve seen the way she scowled at me when I asked to use her bathroom. Like I’d woke her up… standing there with rollers in her head and a crooked nightgown. Maybe if she got a job like regular folks, she wouldn’t be so bothered with getting up so early.”
Claudia laughed.
“I’m standing there bouncing up and down. Damn near had piss running down my leg.”
“Oh my God! That’s too much information!”
“Well,” Octavia said shrugging, “It might be, but I had to give you that tidbit so you could feel my whole story.”
The elevator doors dinged and parted. The ladies strutted into the office building headed straight for the café machine.
“That ain’t even the half of it; then my car didn’t start,” Octavia shook her head. “I had to take an Uber to work. That’s why I’m running through the doors late.”
“Hey, I know something about that,” Claudia added. “My car is in the shop right now, but I need to go pick it up. Should be fixed by now, but the mechanic hasn’t called.”
“Maybe someone could call if you’d had your phone on,” came a voice behind Claudia.