Page 10 of Lemon Drop

“Ki!”

“Paz, stop playing like you ain’t closed your eyes while you fucking Adam and imagined that chocolate god of a boss you got.”

Stunned, I hung up on her. I didn’t know what else to do, she’d offended me so bad. I ignored the fact that, if I were being honest, I’d have to admit I took offense not because she was wrong, but because the heffa knew me all too well.

Adam had other plans. My man was a little bit of a workaholic, determined to make junior partner at the law firm of Montgomery, Knowles, and Patterson by the end of next year. I couldn’t blame him. I was soaking up everything I could from Saadiq Masters before I embarked on my own journey into asset management. I was so well paid and, despite how difficult he could be, Saadiq was so thrilling to work for that I had to remind myself to keep my eyes on the larger prize sometimes.

The way Adam turned me down had me feeling some type of way. It was bad enough that it took him three rings to answer, and when he did, I could barely hear him. When I offered to bring him food from Turner’s after dinner, he rejected the idea so quickly I stared at my phone. Not his greedy ass!

“I’m working this weekend, remember, bae? I won’t be out of the office by then,” he’d explained. “I’m meeting with Patterson and some potential clients. It’ll probably go late.”

On a Saturday? I thought, then remembered my own boss. “Oh. Okay.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

He’d hung up before either of us said “bye,” much less expressed anything sweeter. I consoled myself with the idea that that wasn’t completely unheard of. Adam and I weren’t an overly sentimental couple. We were both busy, practical people. At least, that was what I told myself as I stared at my phone. Eventually, I put it down and started getting dressed.

I arrived at Turner’s at six fifty-two PM because arriving at seven for a seven o’clock reservation was late to me. I had been raised to believe being on time was a reflection of character. You wouldn’t believe Kiana had been raised in the same house, I thought, smiling. The smile dimmed a little when another thought intruded; you wouldn’t believe my older brother Jerod had, either. Anyway, running into a building at the last minute made my skin crawl. I was never late.

I walked beneath the black-and-gold awning outside Turner’s and into the restaurant, then gave KiKi’s name to the hostess. The restaurant was nice, all dark wood, amber lighting, and white tablecloths. Live piano music drifted from somewhere beyond the entrance to the dining room. The air smelled like spices and Wagyu steaks.

The hostess offered to seat me, but I declined. Demon would talk shit if he found me sitting alone at the table. I could hear him saying, “Look at this girl, thinking she the queen bee,” or some shit, and I didn’t feel like hearing his mouth. Of course, Demon would talk shit to me anyway. Dream claimed that was how she could tell he liked me. I guess.

Since the rest of my party hadn’t arrived, I moved away from the podium to wait. At exactly 7:03 PM, the front doors opened. Kiana swept in wearing a baby blue wrap dress and a pretty smile. Demon and Dream followed her. Dream saw me first.

“Topaz!”

Her face brightened as she crossed the floor toward me, and I was sure mine did the same. I met her halfway, accepting the warm hug she gave me.

“Hey, beautiful. It’s so good to see you.”

“You, too. Look at you,” she said, leaning back to admire my sleeveless white dress. “You look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. So do you.”

She did, too. Dream had the kind of beauty that didn’t require a lot of effort or extra stuff. Tonight, she was lovely in soft green, her hair falling around her shoulders. She looked a little tired—I imagined having a toddler, a pre-schooler, and your own business would do that—but her joy was evident in that pretty smile. Say what you want about his rude ass; Damien Montana made his wife happy.

Speaking of him, he stopped beside his wife, looking me over with the same enthusiasm most people had for dentist’s visits.

“Topaz.”

“Damien.”

His eyes narrowed. He hated when I used his government name, which was exactly why I did it every chance I got.

“I know Masters pays you good, but calling me Damien is still above your pay grade,” he observed.

I kissed my teeth. “You above my pay grade and still ain’t bought a personality?”

Dream covered a laugh with a cough. Demon frowned at her. “You supposed to be on my side.”

“I am, baby,” she soothed him.

“Why you laughing, then?”

Kiana kissed my cheek before grinning at her brother. “You started it,” she told him.

He glared at her. “All I did was speak to her ass.”