Page 45

DAVINA

By the time Monday rolled around, I felt like a new woman.

I walked into my office with a burst of energy and a pep in my step. It was as if the thick gray cloud that once hovered above my head and blocked my vision was slowly lifting. And as the cloud lifted higher and higher, it soon began to drift, so I could witness the world before me again.

I could see that things weren’t all so bad and that I could live my life despite all I’d been through.

I wanted to attribute most of it to Deke, but it wasn’t just him who checked on me, brought me out of a funk, and made sure I was okay. I had my sister, my best friend, and even some of my employees, who checked in whenever they caught me in the warehouse.

It was nice knowing there were people who cared and people who accepted me for who I was. No one tried rushing me into a happy place. They all just let me be what I needed to be in the moment and embraced it. I was shocked Deke did too.

I sat behind my desk, completely zoned out as I thought about my time with him. We’d eventually found the will to leave the hotel room and sit at the hotel bar, where we sipped on those waters I had rain checked him for. It was his turn not to drink that night. He had team training coming up and wanted to keep his mind and body clear.

It was amazing how disciplined he was, and I was curious who’d instilled that discipline in him, because a man like Deke Bishop wasn’t just born. He was raised and molded to be the person he was. Though a part of him was clearly damaged (something he never talked about), he still seemed like a good man with good morals and hella patience.

It made me feel bad that what I had with him would only be temporary. I knew one day he’d grow tired of seeing me for brunches. He’d find another woman to catch his eye, and I’d hear less and less from him.

That was fine. In fact, I was preparing myself mentally to not be disappointed by it. The last thing I’d expected was for him to stick to only sleeping with me ... but then I’d see the look in his eyes—the longing, as if he wanted more than just brunch and kisses.

It was as if he wanted me to wrap him in my arms so I could caress the flat waves in his hair while he listened to my heartbeat. Both of us would be in complete silence, enjoying one another’s company. Holding on tight because it would feel safe ...

I shook my head and sat up in my chair. It was a nice thought, but it wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t ... could it? I was nowhere near prepared for something that deep. What we had now was good. It was safe—one foot in and one foot out, just in case.

There was a knock at my office door, and Tish popped her head in. “Don’t forget about that meeting with Cassie Lee.”

My brows dipped. “Who?”

Tish stepped deeper into the office, checking her phone. “Says here you have a meeting with Cassie Lee. She’s a rep for a small storefront. You said it was fine to see her today at eleven.”

“Oh. Right.” I remembered now and also remembered thinking it was very strange that anyone wanted to schedule a meeting with me. The only in-person meetings I ever had were with Chester or, on the rare occasion, Deke. The rest were done via Zoom, or I had to travel for them.

“She’ll likely be here in the next couple of minutes,” Tish added before she left the office.

I glanced at the time on my computer screen. Shit. Time was flying. I straightened my desk and stuffed my feet back into my shoes, and right on cue, there was another knock at the door.

This time, Tish walked in without a trace of a smile. Her eyes were wide—panicked, almost—and my smile collapsed as a tall bronzed woman sauntered in behind her.

She wore high heels and a tan blazer over a skintight white dress, and her hair was so polished and silky it seemed unreal. But it wasn’t. That hair was hers, and this was no Cassie Lee. This was Giselle Grace, Deke’s past fling.

“Should I cancel this appointment?” Tish asked, looking between us with her arms folded. Her defensive side was coming out.

“No,” I murmured, standing taller and raising my chin. “I’ll take it.”

Tish cleared her throat and walked past Giselle, who pressed her lips as my best friend went by. “Let me know if you need me,” Tish called, and when she left, she didn’t close the door like she often did. She left it cracked open.

I inhaled through my nose and released the air through my mouth as Giselle’s almond-green eyes looked me up and down. She walked in the opposite direction of me, her heels clicking with each step, her gaze sweeping the area thoroughly. What was up with people bringing beef to my office?

“I assume you know who I am,” Giselle said, facing me again. She had a mild accent. Caribbean.

I folded my arms, keeping my chin raised. “I do.”

“Yeah, I bet Deke’s told you all about me.”

I held back a grimace when she said his name, and by the smirk on her lips and the fierceness in her eyes, I knew exactly what this was. She wasn’t just here to see the woman who now had Deke’s attention. She was here to strike discouragement, to intimidate.

I almost choked on a laugh at the thought. If only she knew I was hardly ever intimidated by anyone. She had no idea the shit I’d gone through in my life to be where I was.

“What do you want?” I asked, keeping my voice level.

“I keep seeing news on BOBBLE. Everyone has been trying to figure out what it is about this new woman Deke Bishop has been seen with on multiple occasions. First at a restaurant and then at a hotel bar.” She trailed the pad of a manicured finger over one of my lamps. “I had to see this woman for myself. In person.”

“So you booked an appointment under a fake name just to see me?”

She didn’t answer that and instead peered out the windows. “All of this is very nice, what you have here. Why risk letting it drown for him?”

“You don’t know what kind of relationship I have with him.”

“Hmm ... well, he broke it off with me without much of a reason and lost complete interest way before that. I could only assume another woman had stolen that from me.”

I scoffed, my brows shooting to my forehead. “Stolen?”

“I can also assume he’s fucking you now.” She narrowed her eyes at me, and I sighed.

“Is this why you came here? For me to admit that we’re sleeping together?”

“No,” she said, and she steeled her jaw, glowering. “I came here to tell you that Deke is not who you think he is. He’s a user and a manipulator. He makes you believe that he cares because he’s so nice and charming and always has the right things to say, but it is all false. The truth is that he is a loner who will only hurt you because he knows he’s a shitty human inside. Being with him is a mistake .”

Her words made my heart stutter. Deke wasn’t perfect, I knew this, but there was no way he was a manipulator, a user. Why would he use me when he had everything?

I swallowed thickly. “Is that all?” I asked.

“You don’t belong in his world, Davina Klein. Or should I say Davina Klein- Roberts . Didn’t your husband die last year? It’s none of my business, but how are you even okay with this? Sneaking around with a basketball player, knowing people will find out more about you and start sniffing around your husband’s grave. Because you know they will do that, right? These people, they don’t care. I’m not sure what he’s using you for, but I’ll tell you now. When I was with him, there was no love inside him, no romance— nothing . He’s empty inside. Everything is just a game to him, and right now you’re no different than the ball he dribbles. Whatever it is you’re looking for in him, you won’t find it. He’ll let you down before you even get the chance to ask why.”

I blinked quickly, fighting the stupid urge to cry. I didn’t have the urge because I was sad to hear this but because I was angry and trying to swallow it all down and hold my ground. Lew was a sensitive subject for me, and I was pissed she knew about it.

“If that’s the case, why do you care?” I asked. “Why do you want him back? Because that’s what you’re implying, right? That you want me to leave him alone so you can have him to yourself again?”

She looked me all over. “I’m used to men like him. And though he’s a shitty person and a lousy date, I made a great living by having him in my back pocket. My career blew up.”

“So, remind me again who the user is?”

At that, her mouth pinched tight, and her nostrils flared. It was shocking, really, how the whole world thought she was this beautiful, ethnic, untouchable woman, yet up close she wasn’t all they made her out to be. Hell, I thought she was stunning in the photos, but up close, behind the heavy makeup, designer clothes, polished hair, and filters, she was just a regular woman. A bitter, ladder-climbing woman.

I dropped my arms and walked to the door, pulling it open wider. “Thank you for the knowledge, Giselle, but I’m a grown woman who can make decisions for herself. You can leave now.”

I remained by the door as she glared at me. Then she lifted her expensive leather purse and walked to me with a sheet of paper in hand. When she was closer, I realized it was a check made out to me for $60,000.

“I will give you this if you stop seeing him,” she said in a lowered voice. I looked from the paper to her face, and her glossed bottom lip was slightly trembling.

Sixty grand? Was she serious? My company made twice that in two weeks. Many people would’ve been grateful for a check that size, but I didn’t want or need her damn money, and this was clearly an insult—not only to me, because she thought I’d be shallow enough to take it, but to Deke as well.

I gently pushed her hand down. “Is that really all he’s worth to you?” I asked in an even lower voice.

I know she heard me clearly, because her eyes expanded and she yanked her hand back. Stepping away, she whirled around and slammed the check on my desk.

“When you come to your senses, cash the check and walk away. Leave him where he belongs.” She stormed out of my office, the click-clack of her heels growing faint the farther she was away from me.

When she was gone, my shoulders sagged, and I released the shaky breath trapped inside me.