Page 49 of Rich and Rotten

If Bloom loved me, she would call right this second and give me a reason to avoid this conversation, I thought to myself. It’s one thing to have this type of conversation with my best friend, but I certainly don’t want to have it with Jonah.

“Yalina,” he said, speaking even softer this time.

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, studying me as if he could see the cracks in my foundation. I couldn’t look up at him because the dam would break, and I would look foolish. Jonah never got to see this side of me. He saw the woman who helped Tatiana run her entire life––the woman who was quick on her feet and a hard worker, determined to prove to her best friend that she was grateful for all the opportunities she had given her.

“I promise I’m alright, Jonah,” I lied.

He towered over me, and I refused to look up because I knew I’d have to lie to him, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I felt a dip in the bed as I kept staring at my phone, pretending I was doing anything to avoid having to look into his eyes. The lump in my throat continued to grow, and I nearly choked myself trying to push it back down.

Jonah didn’t say anything or try to force anything out of me. Instead, he remained seated on my side of the bed, still wrapped in his towel. The heat continued to rise from his skin, as if he had used all of the hot water the hotel offered while showering. He was close enough that I could feel him. So close that if I leaned slightly, I would fall right into him.

For a while neither of us said anything. We just remained quiet, only soft breaths being heard between the both of us. Jonah held space for me to come to him if I wanted to. I hated how much I wanted to be in his space and how much my hands trembled as I set my phone on the nightstand.

His eyes roamed to my hand, watching as I placed my phone down. Then he slowly reached for me and gently pulled me closer to him. His hand graced the side of my thigh as he stared in my eyes. He was asking me a silent question, and I had granted him silent permission. No words were needed because we both could read each other’s mind in this moment. His eyes were low with temptation as he held me.

I don’t know if I was overly tired, or Tatiana’s voice was echoing in my ears, or just the way this man saw me. He truly saw me when I didn’t want to be seen. It was a gift not many people had, but he did.

Leaning into him, I pressed my forehead into his shoulder and broke down sobbing. He wrapped his arms around me without hesitation. He didn’t need to ask any questions or try to fix the problem right then. He only wanted to comfort me.

His big, steady arm wrapped around my body, pulling me into his warmth. Jonah was patient, not rushing me. He was just here, allowing me to get everything out without asking a million questions. His hand slid up my back, rubbing it slowly, the way you would calm somebody who didn’t know how to fall apart properly.

“You don’t always have to be the strong one, mama,” he mumbled into my shoulder, his voice low and rough against my skin. “Never with me.”

Though his words were meant to comfort me, they caused me to break down even more. Because for the first time in a long time, I believed it.

Chapter Fourteen

Tatiana

My breath caught in my chest when I closed my eyes, visualizing Nazir standing behind me in the kitchen a few days ago. I wanted to spin around, press my lips to his, and let his hands explore my entire body. Nazir always knew my spots without me ever needing to tell him. One look from me, and he was ready to flip me over and make me scream his name.

Stroke his ego.

Because he knew exactly what he was doing when it came to his way around a woman’s body––my body.

I straightened myself up in the meeting and continued to listen to every reason we should consider adding a Hush location in The Valora. Ricky Valora was pulling out all the stops, especially since Jonah had given him an earful this morning about his room being overbooked. To make up for it, he offered his apologies and put both Yaya and Jonah in a two-bedroom suite with the same view I had in my suite.

He wanted Hush in his hotel more than he wanted to wear that tacky gold watch he sported on his tanned wrist. My facial expression stayed neutral, never giving him too much. I smiled at the presentation and the numbers he projected we would make. The money was great, but I had learned that all money wasn’t good money. The money wouldn’t be worth shit if the partnership wasn’t shit.

I watched Jonah sitting with dark sunglasses on, Yaya beside him. There was something different between the two of them. They hadn’t had sex, because I would have been able to sniff that out a mile away. It was something different that I couldn’t put my finger on.

Yaya glanced over at me briefly before she went back to taking notes and listening to whatever Ricky was talking about.

We were supposed to fly in the day before, have the meeting the next day, and then decide whether to move forward before flying back home that same day. Instead, we were going to end up staying a full weekend due to the wellness conference. Every spa attended this conference annually, which made it funny that The Valora was hosting the conference this year.

“If everything checks out on your end, I think it would be a good idea for us to make the announcement this weekend,” Ricky suggested.

“Why the fuck would we make the announcement this weekend? That would be jumping the gun, no?”

Ricky sat down and looked at Jonah. “This would be a great move for both of us. Our hotel is the only six-star hotel in Las Vegas. Adding Hush to our location would only further build the small brand’s name.”

A hand pushed a chilled glass of water in front of me, and I looked up. My eyes locked with Nazir, as his facial expression remained stoic.

“Thanks.”

He nodded and returned to the door where he had been standing for most of this meeting. I took a sip of the water and watched as Ricky and Jonah went back and forth.

“Small brand?” Yaya snorted, like she had just processed what he had said.