Page 90 of A King’s Obsession

She adjusted her glasses. I looked at her legs, then her face.

How the fuck she roll out of bed looking like that?

She hadn’t done a damn thing but wake up, and I was already thinking about canceling appointments.

“Ezra?” Simone called, dragging my attention back to the phone still pressed against my ear.

I remembered the phone against my ear.

“Bitch, stop calling my phone.” I ended the call before she could say another word, then switched back to Malachi.

“Call you later,” I told him, already reaching to end that conversation too.

“Hold up, who—”

I ended that call too. Too many motherfuckers asking questions before breakfast.

Jru folded her arms, shifting her weight onto one leg while she watched me. “Who was that?”

“Nobody.” I set my phone down, already knowing she wasn't going to accept that answer.

Her eyebrow lifted. “Nobody had a good afternoon with you?” She tilted her head, and I could tell she'd heard enough of that conversation to put some shit together.

“Somebody from before you. Somebody I just told not to call me again.” I held her gaze, making it clear I wasn't entertaining that woman or anybody else.

She watched me for another second. I closed my laptop and walked over, catching her hand before she could tuck it back beneath her arm.

“Come eat.” I tugged gently at her fingers, trying to get her moving toward the table.

“That’s your answer?” She stayed where she was, looking up at me like she was deciding whether to start an argument before breakfast.

“That’s my answer. Asking again ain’t getting you a different one.” I wasn't about to spend my morning discussing some woman who didn't mean shit to me.

She let me lead her to the table, but I could tell she hadn’t liked hearing that call. Then she noticed the flowers beside her plate and stopped.

“These for me?” Her eyes moved from the arrangement to my face, and some of that attitude she'd walked downstairs with started slipping.

“Nah. Chef been doing a hell of a job.” I kept my face straight, enjoying the way she cut her eyes at me.

She cut her eyes at me before leaning closer to smell them. I pulled out her chair, watching the smile she tried to hide.

“Thank you,” she said as she sat, looking up at me with a softer expression than she'd had a minute ago.

“You welcome.” I pushed her chair in before taking my seat.

Once the food came out, I told her what we had lined up. After breakfast, we’d finalize the building paperwork and meet the contractor to go over the restaurant work. Yara had the appointments organized, and Jru needed to be there to approve what she wanted done.

Halfway through her French toast, she was making notes on her phone about the kitchen and bar.

I watched her talk with syrup on the corner of her mouth, then reached across and wiped it with my thumb.

“Finish eating first, woman. Building ain’t going nowhere.” I nodded toward her plate, watching her glance down at the food before giving me one of those looks.

By ten that night, I was upstairs at Vice reviewing paperwork while Jru worked downstairs.

We’d handled the building paperwork and met with the contractor earlier. With the restaurant a few weeks to a month away from being ready, Jru had time to train the new manager. I hadn’t wanted her back at Vice, but this motherfucker was already struggling to run the floor. Somebody needed to show his ass what to do before he ran my club into the fucking ground. Might as well be the woman who knew how it was supposed to run.

A knock pulled my attention from the desk.