Almost Perfect: A BWWM Billionaire Single Parent Romance (4 page)

The
law was laid down for Kimberly and she followed it to the letter.
Granny was not going to let another one slip through the cracks of
the ghetto and her grandmother was more proud than Kimberly when she
was called to The Bar. Young, black and a lawyer. Surely Jenna had
raised a rose among the thorns of the streets. Redeemed, she died a
happy woman.

*****

Jasmine
was home. She was happy because her mother had gotten her a new easel
for her painting and it was her priority to check it out. Her kiss to
her father was customary, but somewhat more abrupt than usual as she
rushed up the stairs, following the butler who had gone before her.

Richard
stared after his daughter with a hint of sadness in his eye. His
little girl was growing up and soon thoughts of boys and parties
would fill her head. What would her old lonely father do all by
himself when she went off? Stop it Richard, he though. Life is not
over. You act like the world is coming to an end. Sufficiently
chastised, his hands drifted over the paper where he tried to
concentrate on his writing.

This
was his second year on this book and he was growing frustrated with
the characters. The main man was on a quest to his destiny around the
world and Richard had him stuck in China simply because his mind
wouldn’t generate anymore interesting adventures for him after
the monastery visit he last wrote.

For
the second time today, he found himself thinking about the woman he
had hired on impromptu. They were not professional thoughts and that
was what bothered him. Kimberly’s references had checked out.
The law firm she worked for had said she was a diligent worker with
great standards and a brilliant work ethic. He had of course spoken
to her supervisor who was a friend. Shelly Deer knew of Kimberly’s
dramatic exit from the company and felt it justified. She had tried
time and time again to tell the partners that were shoveling extra
work on Kimberly unnecessarily, and one of the ole boys made a quip
about color and servitude. It was then that Shelly knew there would
be no chance of equality for her friend and was more than happy she
had told the boss to shove it. Shelly’s friends called her a
liberal. She called herself a human and inside her white skin, she
deeply believed there was hope for mankind.

Kimberly
would be starting in the morning and even though he wasn’t due
to go into work, Richard would be there. Making certain she settled
in was going to be a personal point of his. He hoped the greeting
wouldn’t appear too eager.

There
was a strange stiffening in his pants as he stood observing her in
the office and it caught him off guard. In his former days, he dated
exclusively white women and only after his visit to Asia did he
venture outside of a western woman. The sudden stirring movement
below his belt in the presence of Kimberly was unusual and foreign.
Richard didn’t know how he felt about it and decided to leave
it alone. Only when he awoke around three am covered in sweat from an
almost wet dream did he realize he was smitten.

*****

The
building of Tabletop industries was glass on the interior for a good
degree. The escalators were encased in glass and so were the cubicle
sections. Only the offices of management had solid wood doors, but
Richard was satisfied that the glassy image communicated the
transparency he wanted the company to depict.

He
was chatting to the receptionist when Richard spotted Kimberly
setting foot on the escalator on the lower level. From there, she
would cross the lobby and enter the elevator where he would be
waiting for her. He was the boss. Richard decided that he wouldn’t
worry if someone deemed his escort of her overzealous.

With
the ping of the elevator doors, Kimberly stepped into the foyer of
her new place of work, ready to face the day of orientation. Richard
stuck out his hand and offered her a welcome handshake which she
returned with vigor. Why the hell was this man waiting for her at the
elevator? Did they change their mind about hiring her?

Suspiciously,
Kimberly followed him down the hallway she had walked before. This
time they approached another elevator and went up another two floors.
Like the escalators, this one too was transparent and gave a view of
the busy street below. Kimberly reminded herself to take the stairs
back down.

She
is so short, Richard thought to himself. Kimberly wore pink today.
The dress ended just above her knees and fit her hips perfectly.
Height offered him a vantage point of her breasts that seemed to be
heaving as the elevator ascended and the small owl pendant around her
neck quivered. The top of the dress was abstract with pastel colors
that only accentuated her skin that seemed to glow as the sun and
artificial light mixed together, streaming into the moving box. The
familiar braid at the back of her head hung loosely, but not a hair
was out of place.

On
the walk to his office, Kimberly pointed out that she wouldn’t
be taking the elevator back down and Richard resisted the urge to
laugh at her silly fright. Her heels were dangerously high, but she
balanced with the poise of a lady, never stumbling, only gliding.
Opening the door, Kimberly accepted his invitation inside and Richard
found that he was making a habit of watching her ass, which was much
more ample than he was accustomed to. Suddenly aware of the half
eaten sandwich on his desk, he swept it aside nervously and sat
without speaking. When Kim cleared her throat, he remembered that he
was the boss and he invited her here, so he was going to be the one
doing most of the talking.

“
Once
again Ms. Walsh, let me welcome you to Tabletop and encourage you to
approach anyone of the senior staff for assistance. Everyone has been
briefed on your position and will be more than willing to help you
with anything you need.”

“
The
pleasure is all mine. I can’t wait to delve into whatever you
need. I am a hard worker and I don’t quit until the task is
complete, so bring it on.”

That
she spoke with such ease and candidness was pleasing to Richard who
had become accustomed to half answers and diverted eyes when people
talked to him. Kimberly maintained eye contact as she responded and
this made Richard like her even more. Nodding enthusiastically at her
positive response he continued.

“
Now,
I suspect that working here will be a bit different from working at a
law firm. You won’t have any external clients and your main
responsibility is to keep me... Well, the company rather, happy and
legally protected. Other things like contracts and patents will fall
under your portfolio and whenever we open a plant or retail store,
you will be the one to make certain we follow the letter of the law.”

Inside,
she was jumping for joy. This would be a cake walk compared to the
sweatshop of Goldman & Parks. Just one client. Kimberly was
positive she would nail it.

Glancing
around the office, she observed that, though the office was well
decorated, it lacked warmth. The pictures that usually filled the
walls of the well accomplished stood bare and the mantle above the
unused fireplace was devoid of plaques of trophies. Either Richard
didn’t have anything to shout about or he didn’t spend
much time here-maybe it was both.

Assessing
that he was a bachelor without children was mostly correct on
Kimberly’s part, but she didn’t dare ask personal
questions. As she awoke from her mental ramblings, she found Richard
pondering her face and she was immediately conscious.

“
Is
there something on my face?” She asked while looking around for
a tissue to clean any blemish that may have suddenly landed on her.
Richard turned into a deep shade of pink as he stammered and
reassured her that she was fine.

Maybe
he should have used a different word but fine was very appropriate.
Kimberly was attractive and it was getting in the way of his
concentration. Her eyes were doleful and innocent but when she
blinked her dark eyes became hooded with mystery and this added to
her alluring persona.

“
I
apologize for staring,” he laughed. “I get lost in my own
little world sometimes.”

Straightening
his jacket and shifting uncomfortably, he made note of the legal
issues that would arise from sexually harassing an employee- a lawyer
at that. He needed to focus on the job at hand not how her mouth
closed into a pout when she finished speaking or how her chest heaved
when she was excited. Richard didn’t miss the fleck of fire in
her eyes when she passionately expressed her admiration of their
company motto. He had found a keeper-in more ways than one.

Now
it was time for the dirty work. Tabletop industries were being sued
for negligence. A chair they had manufactured was allegedly
responsible for the death of a customer and consequently, a recall of
the entire batch of chairs leaving the facility around the same time
was issued. Millions in revenue were lost and when the case hit the
airwaves, they could expect a further impact.

Millie
Thomas was an old lady in the Suburbs who was gaining weight steadily
and had ignored the threshold warning for the chair. Ballooning at
six hundred pounds, she had flopped down into the chair after a brief
walk to the mailbox. Hitting her head as she went, she became
unconscious and was still, to this day, in a coma at a hospice for
the terminally ill. She was not expected to recover.

As
he recounted the story to Kimberly, she became quiet and pensive.
Having dealt with these types of matters before, she was confident
that it could be resolved out of court and stated this to Richard but
he had more news.

Initially,
the family had accepted the out of court deal of a quarter of a
million dollars, but then, Millie’s vulnerable daughter was
approached by a group who targets large manufacturers and the feeding
frenzy had started. The Citizens With a Say had hired a lawyer on the
behalf of the family and had filed the suit a year earlier. CWS
didn’t gain much traction in the media and only a few small
newspapers had reported the matter. Richard himself had read such an
article near the obituaries just over the ad for chicken at ninety
cents per pound. It bothered him all the same.

Kimberly
reclined in her chair as she listened to the layman version of the
story, knowing full well she would have to look over the files
herself to draw her own professional opinion. Crossing her legs at
the knees, she tilted her chin pensively and Richard did all he could
not to stare at the exposed legs on display before him. His wife had
been a thin woman and it was a look he thought he enjoyed. Lately, he
had been feeling quite different.

Kimberly’s
were solid. The knee fanned out into a smooth thigh and disappeared
under her skirt to meet her wide hips. He was looking directly ahead
and listening to her views on the situation, but his focus was not on
company business-it was all personal.

She
had finished a while and was now glancing around at the bare walls
bored. Announcing that she should get to work and standing, abruptly
cutting his view short, she paused expecting him to escort her back
to the elevator at least. Instead, Richard simply leaned over and
shook her hand as he wished her a good day leaving Kimberly perplexed
by the sudden dismissal. Clicking the door closed after she swayed
though it, Richard exhaled and wiped his brow. As a gentleman, he
should have walked her out, but he could not. His smaller head was
talking and arguing with his brain to ask Kimberly out. Looking for
attention, it stood erect under his desk.

The
lawn was lit with tea lights and the stage was set for a smashing
party. The people smiled and made small talk with others that they
didn’t really care about. This was all these affairs were
about-pomp pageantry and status. Women were in attendance and this
troubled Richard immensely. He knew that the vultures would be out
for young, fresh meat and he happened to be the latest one to be left
bleeding and wounded from the battle of divorce. Willing to lick the
wounds of the injured, they dressed more scantily than pin up nurses
and their potential bedside manner was not inviting to Richard.

Unlike
most of the people here who would never dream of arriving in nothing
less than a chauffeur driven limo, Richard chose to drive his Hummer.
A billionaire in a Hummer was not astonishing, but dressed in formal
dinner wear it was a sight. Unfortunately, he arrived just as a bevy
of anorexic beauties with breasts straight from the factory were
filing out of a stretch. A rugged vehicle driven by a single rich
bachelor stirred the heat of each woman there, drawn into the semi
bad boy image he exuded. The blood was in the water and the sharks
were on the trail.

The
charity event was hosted yearly in aid of the private sector’s
environmental awareness campaign. As a leader in the manufacturing
industry who had successfully reduced his plant’s emissions by
eighty five percent, and had succeeded at becoming almost one hundred
percent paperless, Richard was expected to attend. His mother was
there, inside waiting for him and he was not looking forward to it.
Rejecting the family name after the divorce, Ms. Lena Charles was a
lady in every regard, but privately, a demon. Fearless and lethal,
she always got what she wanted- always.