Page 18 of Perfect Rhythm

SHADE

I shouldn’t have been nervous, but I was.

“Mr. Shade,” My chef said as she stepped into the living room. “Dinner is almost ready.”

“Great. Thank you.”

Although having dinner hadn’t been discussed, I felt that it was necessary. I was pretty sure Nyx didn’t want to talk business on an empty stomach.

“Well, this is new,” Trace said as he met me near the window.

“What?”

“You’re nervous.”

Damn, is it that obvious ?

I took in a deep breath and counted to ten. I needed to get my shit together before Nyx got here. It was one thing for her to know that I was feeling her, but it was another for her to know that she had control over my emotions.

“Trust me, I wish I could explain it, but I can’t.”

“Oh, I know you can’t. But don’t you think this is a dangerous game you’re playing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re trying to get your hooks into someone else’s woman. If another nigga tried to do that shit to you, you would be ready to kill his ass.”

“You damn right. But I would have every right to.”

Trace let out a hearty laugh, his gaze focusing even more on me. “Really? Please explain.”

“For starters, I’m not a self-absorbed asshole, and before you give me some lecture on me not knowing anything about that lame ass nigga she’s with, just know that I know enough. He doesn’t deserve her, and he doesn’t support what she does.”

“Hmm...interesting. So the shit she does with you on stage, you would be cool with her doing with someone else?”

I shrugged. “I don’t see what the issue is. She’s doing what she’s paid to do. Now, the lap dance, that’s another story. But shit like that wouldn’t happen if she was getting what she needed, and that’s a problem I’m prepared to fix.”

He nodded slowly, seeming to somewhat accept the explanation I’d given him.

But I knew Trace. He was a man of logic and reason.

He didn’t make a habit of stepping into someone else’s territory.

He was big on respecting others, but if he felt like he wasn’t getting the same thing in return, that nice guy shit was a wrap.

Trace glanced down at his phone. “Well, it looks like your little guest has arrived. You want me to send her up?”

I looked around my penthouse, making sure nothing was out of place. “Yeah, it’s cool.”

Trace nodded and walked toward the private elevator.

Realizing that Jassi and Xandie should’ve arrived at the party by now, I grabbed the remote from the armrest of my couch and aimed it at the cabinet that blended into the wall.

One press of the green button, and the panels slid apart, exposing several screens.

Each one flickered on, showing my sister and her friend as they got out of the car.

I frowned, irritated by the attire my sister had chosen for the evening. Although her legs were fully covered, her damn stomach wasn’t. She was wearing a long-sleeve crop top with high-waisted jeans.

“When the fuck did she get a belly ring?” I questioned, my eyes bulging from their sockets.

“Oh, so this is what you do in your free time?” I turned around, the sound of Nyx’s voice soothing my insides and freeing me from the infuriating thought of random ass niggas seeing Jassi’s belly button. “You use your security team to spy on random women at parties?”

A smirk tugged at my lips. “First of all, they’re not just random women. That’s my sister and her best friend. Second, I don’t like to call it spying. I prefer to call it looking out.”

“Hmm...okay. It definitely looks like spying, though.”

“Well, clearly, we don’t share the same perception.”

“No, I guess we don’t. But I’m sure your sister would see it my way. Does she know about your little televised event?”

My grin widened, pleasantly surprised by her line of questioning. “Some things she’s better off not knowing.”

“If you say so.” Nyx shrugged, then walked around my living room. “This is nice. I must say, I thought you would be in a house by the water or something.”

“I am. But only in the summer months. The penthouse is where I like to spend my time in the winter. I enjoy the breeze and a balcony view when it’s cold outside.”

She nodded. “I can understand that. It’s one of my favorite things about my place. Of course, that’s nothing in comparison to this.”

I examined her curvy frame, which she thought she was hiding in her baggy sweats.

“So, about these ideas...”

“Actually,” I stopped her. “I thought we could eat before we got into all of that.”

She sucked her teeth, her hand slamming against her hip. “Shade, I agreed to come to your place. I didn’t say anything about going out to eat.”

“Who said anything about going out? I had my chef prepare a meal for us to enjoy right here.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, if that’s okay with you. I didn’t want to invite you over and not feed you.”

I definitely wanted to feed her something. But that was an offering for another day.

“Um, yeah, that’s cool. I am a little hungry.”

Just as she said those words, her stomach let out a loud growl. “Sounds like you’re more than a little hungry.”

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, then followed me into the kitchen.

I didn’t want to make things too formal, so I had my chef set everything up on the island instead of the dinner table. “You good with eating right here?”

“Yeah, this is fine. What are we having?”

I pulled her out a chair and watched as she sat down. “Nothing too crazy. I know you like Caesar salad, so I figured we could have that, steak, a loaded baked potato, and some asparagus.”

“Mm, sounds good. Wait, how did you know what I would like?”

“I remembered what you ordered when I treated everyone to a steakhouse dinner before our first show.”

“But you weren’t even there.”

“No, I wasn’t. But I have ways of finding out what I need to.”

She tilted her head, clearly impressed. But she didn’t let me see that side of her for too long. “Well, I hope the steak isn’t well done. I’m not trying to break a tooth tonight.”

Laughing, I sat down in the chair next to her. “I made sure it’s medium well.”

“Oh.” Her brow lifted. “You really did remember everything, huh?”

“Yeah, I did.”

She nodded slowly, then changed the subject. “So, what party did your sister go to tonight?”

“Some shit that’s being hosted by FDL.”

“Oh, really? I’m surprised she was able to get in there. I thought that was for journalists and bloggers.”

“Yeah, well, apparently, it’s also for those that want to get their foot in the door too. She’s studying journalism, so she really wanted to go, and Xandie’s new fling has connections.”

“Oh, okay.”

I looked away from my plate and glanced over at the screen.

A flash of irritation surged through me as I noticed an eye on Jassi that I didn’t want to see.

“Excuse me,” I told Nyx as I stood up and walked over to the flat screens to get a better look.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

I glanced over at Trace, who was posted by the front door. “Am I tripping, or is that Enzo over there in the corner?”

He leaned forward to get a better look. “Nah, you're not tripping. That’s him.”

“And is his punk ass staring at my sister?”

“Don’t trip. I’m already on it,” Trace replied, knowing I was about to lose my shit. Within seconds, his phone was against his ear, and he barked out orders to the person on the other end. “Hey, Roc, block all access to Jassi when it comes to Enzo. Do it now!”

I kept my gaze on the screens for a few seconds longer, making sure movements were made to let me know that they got the message. When one of the guys moved closer in the direction of Jassi and blocked Enzo’s view of her, I stepped away.

“Okay, so I guess it’s safe to say that you’re not a fan of Enzo,” Nyx said.

“No, I’m not. Are you?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never worked with him. I’ve only heard things about him.”

“Yeah, well, usually, I would say don’t believe everything you hear. But in his case, believe every damn thing.”

“Oh...okay. How well do you know him?”

“Well enough to know that no one in their right mind should fuck with him.”

“Got it.” She took a few more bites of her salad, then grabbed the strawberry lemonade that I’d made sure was freshly made just for her. A soft moan escaped her lips. “This is delicious.”

“I thought you would like it.”

She tilted her head. “Now I’m starting to think your sister isn’t the only one you’re stalking. Did you have someone follow me around while we were on tour?”

I chuckled. “Nah, I just paid attention whenever I could. Does your man not do that kind of shit?”

Smiling, she dabbed the corners of her mouth. “Nice try.”

“What?”

“Once again, you’re trying to inch your way in.”

I lifted my shoulders. “It was just a simple question.”

“It wasn’t simple at all.”

My eyes flicked back to the monitors. Jassi was on her feet, and so was Enzo, staring her down like a fucking predator.

I glanced at Trace. He was already on the phone, making sure his boys were keeping a close eye on shit.

But that wasn’t enough. Knowing that Enzo was in the same room as Jassi was a problem for me.

Standing, I grabbed Nyx’s hand. “Come on.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“To handle some shit.”