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At her desolate age, I knew she probably only wanted to talk to me as a way of clearing her conscience. Valerie wasn’t getting any younger, hell, she probably thought she needed to right her wrongs so her prissy ass could make it past those pearly gates. She could keep any form of apology that she was trying to give me. The time for her to apologize had passed ten years ago. I was fucking good.
“Law?” Talitha called out impishly.
Stepping out of my bedroom, I leaned against the door frame while watching her standing there fidgeting with the back of her dress.
“Need some help?” I finally asked.
“Please,” she breathed. “I can’t get it zipped.”
Stepping closer to her, I motioned for her to turn around. Moving her hair to the side, I tossed it over her shoulder and grabbed the sides of her dress. Bringing them together, I tugged the zipper up in place. When I trailed my hand up her bare back, her breathing became choppy. Tugging at the crisscross straps of the dress I adjusted them in place. Running my hands down the side of her arm, I leaned in and placed a kiss on the back of her neck before pulling back.
When she felt me backing away, she spun in my direction. Our eyes fanned each other’s face while I walked backwards to my room. My gaze remained on her until I had the courage to close my bedroom door. It wasn’t until the door was shut that I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding. My feelings were still reeling a little bit from the conversation we had earlierand this was our first-time laying eyes on each other since that awkward encounter.
Checking the time on my watch, I busied myself with getting dressed. When I finished, I spritzed on some cologne and tossed my suit jacket over my arm before hitting the lights in the room. As I exited the room, Talitha’s loud laughter echoed throughout the space.
She was standing by the window, looking down over the city while chatting it up with her grandmother. I couldn’t hear what Gema said on the other side of the phone, but Talitha gulped.
“Gema, I am not telling him that.” The way she tossed her head back and laughed, made my heart smile.
My eyes did their usual perusal of her body. The black dress clung to her frame like a second skin, accentuating her curves. When I helped her zip it up, her hair was down. She had somehow thrown the mass of curls up on the top of her head. There were a few ringlets hanging down in the back. The teardrop diamond earrings she wore hung so low, they damn near scraped her shoulders.
She kept her ensemble simple. Outside of the earrings, the only other piece of jewelry she wore was her everyday Rolex. Her makeup was light, but the red lipstick coating her lips was the star of the show.
“Ready?” I asked after she finally noticed me standing there ogling her.
“I am.” Craning her head to the side, she stared at me before a wide smile broke out on her face.
“Yes, Gema. I was talking to him.” Covering the receiver she hummed, “Gema said ‘hey handsome.’”
“Tell my gorgeous lady I said, good evening.”
Talitha rolled her eyes before repeating what I had said to Gema. “That is enough young lady.” She laughed. “Make me put a call into Heaven to tell Papa Joe about you.”
Whatever Gema rebutted with had Talitha shaking her head. “Lady get off my phone. If we make it back to the hotel before you go to bed, I’ll call you. If not, I’ll dial you up in the morning.”
“I know. I love you too. Okay... I will.” She nodded. “Tell Mrs. Jessie I said, good night.” Once she ended the call, she pulled this triangle type of clutch off her arm and placed her phone in it. “Gema says to have fun tonight.”
“We will. You got everything you need?”
“I do,” she confirmed.
“We can go then.” I held my hand out for her. Advancing toward me, her eyes dropped down to my hand. Narrowing her spine, she brushed me off and strutted past me.
That little rejection would cost her later, but for now I would let her have it. Catching up to her, I placed my hand in the small of her back. “I love a good cat and mouse game, Talitha. Just remember Ineverlose,” I declared in her ear as I pulled the door of the room open.
The two of us made our way to the elevator and eventually out of the hotel to the awaiting limousine. When the driver rushed to help her get in, I shooed him away and let him know I had it.
The ballroom where the gala was taking place was a five-minute drive from the hotel. After we were seated in the car, it took no time for the driver to arrive at our destination.
“I didn’t know the media would be here,” Talitha mumbled when the limo rolled to a stop. The way things worked in my world, when we pulled up to the event, the person hired to run the outside was notified. We were made to sit in the car until it was time for me to walk the red carpet. With a few minutes to spare, I decided to put her up on game.
“Ever heard of Joseph Pellayo?”
“The famous black hotelier? Of course, I have.”
“This is his event for his twins.”
“I didn’t know he had kids.”