Page 11 of Blurred Boundaries

“How much room?” Austin asks, still half draped over Roland in a way that makes me wonder how Roland is even breathing, but my best friend looks entirely unbothered. I’ve never seen him so smitten.

“Eight rooms across three floors. Plenty privacy to go round,” Taj says, pointedly glancing at me at that last bit.

Going to Taj’s house is not exactly how I should maintain professional boundaries. I’m not convinced I can be in close quarters with him and not lose my mind. Or worse, my self-control. This is torture. But my friend needs me, so here I am. I can only hope my remaining discipline is enough to resist Taj Badmus’s charm.

“I’m still hungry,” Austin whines.

“Is there an African restaurant we can stop at on the way?” Roland asks Taj.

“No need,” Taj says. “I have food at home.”

“Nigerian food?” Austin asks, perking up immediately.

“Yeah, the freezer is loaded. I like cooking,” Taj explains.

“Nice one, dude,” Austin quips. “When did you relocate to Czechia? I had no idea there were Nigerians here.”

Taj lets out a small laugh. “I was born here. And you would be surprised to know there’s a growing community of Nigerians here.”

“Do you speak the language?” I ask before I can stop myself.

“Yeah,” he replies. “I speak Yoruba fluently, too.”

“Wow,” Austin pipes up immediately. “Your parents really tried. I grew up in Lagos, and my Yoruba makes me ashamed.”

Taj chuckles a little as he drives. “Well, it was easy because I had my cousins here, both paternal and maternal. My aunt, whose house I’m staying in, has four kids. And my uncle on my dad’s side has two kids. You may actually know one of them. His name is Daniel, but you probably know him as Dani.”

“The artist?” Paul asks, and there is an immediate edge in his voice.

“The very one,” Taj confirms. “He was lucky to be picked up by a big record label and go global.” There’s clear pride in his tone. “I still can’t believe it. We were literally raised like brothers since I’m an only child. He used to pick me up from school and all because he’s older than me. Then he’ll take me for ice cream, and we’ll lie about it to our parents later.”

Paul snorts derisively, and Taj looks at him from the mirror. “Problem?”

“Your brother is annoying,” Paul says flatly.

“You’ve met him?” Taj sounds genuinely surprised.

“He’s my brother’s best friend.”

There’s a beat of silence, then Taj’s face changes. “Wait!” He breaks into a wide grin. “You’re Paulie? Prosper’s little brother?”

“My name is Paul!” he grits out through his teeth.

Taj ignores him. “Oh my God, Daniel never stops talking about you, it’s always Paulie this, Paulie that.”

“I swear to God, I’ll kill that big devil,” Paul mutters.

Taj laughs properly now. “Nah, this is too good. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

Paul only rolls his eyes. He leans back in his seat like Taj is background noise he has chosen to tolerate. He doesn’t even bother telling him not to mention anything to Daniel, which is interesting. If he truly hated the idea, I’m fairly sure he would have shut it down. Paul is many things, but being subtle when he’s annoyed is not one of them. Taj, encouraged by the lack of protest, or perhaps simply incapable of stopping once he gets going, carries on happily. He launches into a full account of all the hilarious things Daniel told him about Paul over the years.

The car fills with the easy sound of it, with Taj’s voice and Paul’s occasional grumble. By the time Taj finally turns into the drive of his aunt’s house, he’s midway through a story about Paul’s disastrous attempt at homemade cocktails, and even Paul looks too tired to argue.

Taj parks, kills the engine, and grins at us. “We’re here,” he declares.

“Whoa! This house is huge,” Austin says the second he climbs out of the car.

Huge does not even begin to cover it. Taj is parked on a wide circular drive with a stone fountain in the middle, the Mercedes is here with two other cars, but there’s still enough space for several more cars. The house rises in front of us, three floors of pale stone and glass, broad steps leading to double front doors, tall windows, and balconies running along the upper level.