City Vibes - Complete Series (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Romance) (3 page)

Chapter 4

Reese poured cold water on her face, rinsing off the layers of make-up, sweat and stress that had piled up over the course of her day, then patted it dry with a pink face towel. With this accomplished, she covered a toothbrush with Crest, then began to abuse her teeth with it as she darted about her room, unpacking her bag, filling her apron with more pens, and undressing her bed. As she passed her dresser, she caught sight of the business card she had received a couple nights ago. She picked it up with her free hand and stared at the name and the address for the third time that week. Reese pondered the idea of making a call, but then finding out that the man was, unfortunately, Pin-stripes. She wandered back into her bathroom and rinsed out her mouth. She stared at the card, rubbing the tips of her fingers against its sharp edges, then at herself in the mirror. At 25, she was already starting to look weary of life. Her drooping eyelids, and dark purple circles of insomnia told the story of a girl who didn't know how to relax. Her frizzy head of nappy hair screamed the fact that she had not been on an actual date for over two years. With a sigh, she jumped into her bed, grabbed her phone and dialed in the numbers.

It rang twice before, “Hello?”

Reese melted at the sound of that husky silk of a voice that belonged to Emerald Eyes. “D-daniel?” She mumbled.

She could hear the smile in his voice when he responded with, “Oh, it's you.”

“Yeah, who did you think I was?” She asked.

“Obviously someone less important.”

Reese's heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it in her ears. “Right.” She mumbled.

“So, how was your day?” He asked with a tone that suggested there was none of this was any bit out of the ordinary.

“Terrible.” The word flew out of Reese's mouth before she could stop it.

“Oh?” Daniel sounded taken-aback.

Reese couldn't help but laugh at this. “You expected me to say, 'fine,' didn't you?”

To Reese's relief, Daniel was laughing as well. “I didn't know what to expect. This is you we're talking about.”

“You say that like you know me.”

“I feel like I do.” Daniel replied with ease.

Reese couldn't decide if she was annoyed by his presumptions or dazzled by them. “Do you even remember my name?” She challenged.

“Of course. It's Reese.”

Reese's eyes went wide.

Daniel just filled the receiver with his laughter. “Don't be so surprised. You're difficult to forget.”

“What, because I'm unbelievably charming?” She asked sarcastically.

“No, because you don't even try.”

Reese cocked her head to one side. “What are you trying to say?” she demanded.

“That you don't ever try to be anything. You're unapologetically yourself and I like that.”

“You don't even know me.”

“You'd be surprised how much I know.”

“That's creepy as fuck.” Reese mumbled.

Daniel laughed again. “Relax. I'm just good at reading people. My job depends on it.”

Reese wasn't sure how she felt about being, 'read'. “And what job is that?” She asked.

“Stock broker.”

“Wall street?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh.”

“Don't sound so disappointed. We aren't all heartless predators.”

“Oh right of course not. You're the one saint.”

“Yes. I am... unless, you want me to be a predator?”

“You'd relinquish your moral character just for me?” Reese joked.

“I'd do anything for you.”

Reese gulped. He was flirting. Flirting. Flirting. And yet, she was at a complete loss of what to do about it. “So, how was your day?” She then asked.

“You never told me how yours was!” he replied.

Reese shrugged even though she knew he wouldn't see it, then responded with, “I know I didn't.”

There was a pause, and then, “I know this talking on the phone thing is a little unsatisfying.”

“Is it?”

“Well, are you?... satisfied?”

Reese sunk into her pillow, a mischievous smile stretching across her face. “No. Far from it.”

“Hmm... well, what would you find satisfying?” He asked.

“Coffee?” Reese replied in a voice that was a little too shaky for her liking.

Daniel laughed at this. “I must admit. That is lame.”

Reese joined him, her abdomen scrunching as she laughed with him. “Don't judge me I'm addicted.”

“All right. How about we meet at the Starbucks in Columbus circle on Monday. We can walk through central park and feed your addiction.”

“Okay.” Reese replied in a hollow voice. She hung up and buried her face into her pillow as one long, loud screech slipped through her lips. She shot up, winded and in complete disbelief of the fact that she had somehow landed a coffee date with an unbelievably gorgeous Wall Street Man.  She got up, turned her lamp off, then slipped back in bed, where she layed with eyes wide open, wrestling with her mind over what to wear for at least 45 minutes, before falling into a blissful slumber.

Chapter 5

On Monday, Reese sat down at her desk in her lab with a shot of espresso in one hand and the monstrous binder that held her research proposal sitting in front of her. She had pondered it all weekend and had come to nothing conclusive. The first problem was the money and how, according to Alexis, there wasn't enough of it. Yet, Reese believed that New York University was the only way she could get her needed funding because, well, because of the second problem: she didn't think it was good enough to inspire funding from an outside source, which isn't surprising, considering that's the same thing Alexis said. Reese pursed her lips as she cracked it open and stared at the first few sentences. Once she got to the third sentence, she checked her phone. It told her that it was 11:30 and time to get going if she was going to get to Columbus circle on time.

As Reese stepped on the “N,” train, she wondered at why Daniel would ask to meet in the middle of a weekday. She didn't know much about wall-street, but from what she could tell from movies and 60 Minutes episodes, it didn't seem feasible to get away from work on a Monday. The train screeched to a stop at her station, so she darted out onto the platform, up the stairs and across the busy pavement. As she got closer and closer to the Starbucks, it dawned on her that, not only was this her first date in like a million years, but it was with a man who is obviously well off and definitely very good looking. Then, as the Starbucks slowly wavered into view, her nerves stood on edge. Her muscles tensed, her mind flooded with thoughts of how she should greet him, whether she should talk about her research, even what drink she should order. The last worry seemed like the easiest one to deal with, so she tackled it first. After mentally going over the list of beverages standard at any Starbucks, her mind wavered on the idea of a venti Americano.

However, when Reese yanked the glass door open and her eyes fell on the image of Daniel, she was surprised to find that her reveling on what to drink had been a waste of time, because he held not one, but two venti-sized drinks. She took one look at his perfectly trimmed frame, his chiseled chin, his well-kept hair, and his white button-down, with rolled up cuffs that revealed his defined forearms.

“Hey.” He greeted her with a soft kiss on her cheek.

Reese's eyes fluttered as she struggled to reassemble the thoughts in her head well-enough to respond with, “Hi, I see you took some initiative.” She gestured at the two drinks in his hand.

He shrugged and handed one to her. “Venti Americano?”

Reese's jaw dropped. “How did you even...” She started, but her voice trailed off as he led her out of the cafe and onto the busy circus that was Columbus Circle.

“You just seemed like that kind of girl.”

Reese was again, torn between being impressed at his intuition and annoyed that he was characterizing her. “How can you be so sure about these things?” She asked as they crossed the street and entered central park.

“I'm a confident person.” He replied. “And you said you were addicted, so I knew you weren't going to want some over-priced watered down coffee and milk mixture.”

Reese sucked in a deep breath. He was exactly right. “I'm completely beside myself.”

His lips twisted into a crooked smile. “Yes well, I like pleasantly surprising you.”

She ignored this comment. “How did you get out of work?”

He shrugged. “I just skipped a lunch meeting.”

Reese grimaced. “Can you do that?”

He shrugged. “I don't see why not. How did you get out of work?”

“I don't work during the day.” She answered.

He cocked his head to one side. “So, what do you do all day?” He asked as he gestured at a particularly comfortable looked patch of grass just off the path.

Reese followed him onto the damp vegetation and sat indian style, taking generous sips of her coffee. “I'm working on my pHD at NYU.”

He raised an eyebrow. “So that explains it then.”

“What?”

He set his coffee down next to him, then leaned back on to the tree, an action that brought him closer to Reese. She held his penetrating gaze with an even stare as he replied with, “You're confident in yourself, you work nights at a restaurant surrounded by people who are undoubtedly your mental inferiors, and I could tell by the way that you pretended to write down our orders, when really you memorized them without any effort, and your impeccable wine presentation that you're capable of so much more than being a waitress at a four-star restaurant.”

Reese couldn't help but look away. Her heart was swelling in its cage as she felt overwhelmed by his assessment of her. She had never met anyone who paid that much attention to her, or thought about her to that extent. Her dating career had been filled with wannabe gangsters and fake thugs until she decided enough was enough, and stopped dating for almost two years to focus on her education.

He placed a gentle hand on her chin and guided her gaze back up to him. Reese could feel the heat radiating from the two of them like they were a couple of space heaters, and not a scientist and stock broker sitting under a tree at Central Park. “It's those eyes. They're so... knowing.”

Reese couldn't help but smile at the compliment and the fact that, “That is the most cliché thing anyone has ever said to me.” She teased.

Daniel laughed. “If calling you beautiful is cliché, then so be it...” His voice trailed off as he leaned in and kissed her. Reese's eyes flickered close as she found herself melting into him. Their soft lips moved together with an accuracy that suggested they were meant for each other. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as goosebumps sprouted on her arms and sighed as he slid his hand to the back of her head and intertwined his fingers with her hair. She trailed her fingers across his freshly shaved cheek, then wrapped her arms around his neck; all the while his intoxicating aftershave filled her nose and lungs.

He broke away and stared at her with eyes hungry and intense, and suddenly it was as if gravity didn't hold Reese to the earth, but Emerald Eyes did, and suddenly her mind had been cleared of all the thoughts that cluttered it every minute of every day, and suddenly she found herself experiencing a blissful silence; a clarity.

Daniel sighed, “You are beautiful.” 

Reese giggled and kissed him again.

Chapter 6

The next evening, Reese could not stop herself from smiling as she stepped off of the subway, skipped down the necessary two blocks and finally arrived at the locked, doors of Per Se. She wrapped on the heavy wood with a strength that was beyond her. Frank swiftly shifted his gaze from the restaurant reservation book that he was examining. Through the thick glass, Reese could see the look of bewilderment on his face as he came around the hostess stand and unlocked the door. “Did you get layed?” He asked with an invasive tone.

Reese grimaced and pushed past him into the empty restaurant. “No. Why would you say that?”

He shrugged as he returned to his perch in front of the books. “Because you're
glowing.”

She furrowed her brow in confusion, but couldn't help but feel flattered in spite of herself. It was true, in the last two weeks since she had started dating Daniel, she found herself waking up in the morning and actually being excited about the day ahead. She had been taking extra care to put on make-up in the morning and sometimes even took a straightener to her uncontrollable hair. The heavy weight that was her failure to gain funding for her project had been lifted and replaced with perseverance and hope that she would eventually find another way to make the dream of her research proposal come true. Reese couldn't really place it, but she felt lighter, like, somehow life for her was so much easier with Daniel. And even thinking things that way scared her because she had only known him for a couple of weeks anyway, and they came from such different worlds. Him a well to do Caucasian male, who was given every advantage in life since birth, from the best private school education to a massive network of connections. And her, a strong black woman, who had to struggle and work several side jobs to be able to put herself through school and make a better life for herself. Yet, the fact of the matter was that with him, she felt more like herself than she had ever. “I'm sorry, is that a bad thing?” She asked.

Frank rolled his eyes. “Go start your cut work. We're opening in like thirty minutes.”

Reese shrugged and hopped down the back hallway and into the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the kitchen. By the time she had gotten half way through cutting lemon wedges, Maria skipped into the kitchen, her long, freshly blown out hair flying about her air-brushed-looking face. “Hey girl! How ya been?” She asked, her ruby red lips stretching into a smile.

Reese shrugged, barely able to contain her own excitement. “I've been... good.”  She said as she shifted her gaze to the lemons and pursed her lips to prevent herself from smiling wider than a jack-in-the-box.

Maria snatched a knife from the shelf above Reese then nudged her playfully. “I can see right through your beautiful caramel skin, honey.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Reese murmured.

“Oh come on!” Maria pressed. She then leaned into Reese and whispered into her ear.  “Did you have sex with him yet?”

Reese flinched at this unwelcome allusion to her sex life. “I don't even know who you're talking about!” She exclaimed.

Maria tossed a lemon at Reese, who barely dodged out of the way. “What the hell!”

“Don't lie to me, Reese!” She exclaimed. “I know you called the number on that business card. It's so obvious.”

Reese glowered at her. “And I suppose you then found it necessary to shove citrus in my face.”

Maria shrugged. “I needed to get a confession.” She laughed, as she placed the last handful of lemon wedges in a large bucket. Reese grabbed the bucket and stowed it away in the fridge, but came back to find Maria still standing there, hands on her hip, waiting for an explanation.

“I don't know what you're expecting to hear.” Reese muttered as she pulled a rack of clean silver-wear out of the bottom shelf of the line.

Maria grabbed a stack of napkins from the end of the line and joined her, a deliberate frown on her face. “I don't know... an explanation as to what possessed you to call a business card.” She demanded.

Reese rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Maria. He wasn't looking for a companion.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?” She retorted, “So which one was it? Pin-Stripes? Or the one who wouldn't stop staring at your ass?”

Reese whipped her head around. “Which one was looking at my ass?” She hissed.

Maria grimaced. “The one who wasn't committing a fashion crime?”

Reese tossed her finished roll of silver-wear into the basket. “Well, it was neither of the old men. It was the one with the eyes.” She replied.

Maria's eyes went wide. “Whaaaaat?”

Reese nodded. “He sounds even better on the phone.” She replied.

At that moment, Frank rounded the corner, his loud whistling preceding him. “Oh how sweet!” He exclaimed pressing himself in between Reese and Maria and wrapping his arms around each of their shoulders. “The two of you actually doing your cut work together...” When neither Reese, nor Maria replied to him, he continued with, “There's a two-top. One of you can take it, I don't care which.”

“Nose-goes on that one, Frank. I'm not mentally prepared to deal with people yet.” Maria replied.

Reese sucked in a deep breath and slipped out of Frank's grip. She emerged into the dining room to find the sun setting, it's crimson light streaming through the large tinted windows. In the midst of its warm glow was a an older couple. Reese could tell from the way the woman stared straight into the man's eyes and the man stared straight into her cleavage that they must have been on a first date... second date tops. She plastered a smile on her face, took their wine orders, but turned to find Maria waiting for her by the computers, a mischievous smile on her face.

“So, what did you two talk about?” She asked as Reese punched in an order for two glasses of Parducci.

Reese shrugged. “I don't know. A lot of stuff.” She muttered, leaning against the table on which the computer sat.

Maria shifted so that she was standing right next to her. “Have you been on a date with him yet?”

Reese nodded slowly. “Oh yes. We've been on many dates.”

Maria gasped, then playfully slapped her arm. “Well! What's he like?”

Reese couldn't help but laugh too, in spite of herself. “Like Prince Charming.” she sighed.

“Oh please.” Maria retorted. “Prince Charming doesn't exist.” She then bounded into action, hopping into the dining room to attend to the people who had just sat in her section. After that, three more servers walked in for their shift and the dining room slowly, but surely filled to its maximum capacity. Seven tables and $200 later, Reese was leaning against the computers trying to catch a quick breath when Maria appeared yet again.

“Tell me about your dates.” She demanded.

Reese rolled her eyes and shifted her gaze to the four tables she had at the moment. They were all at some point in the middle of consuming their entres so she had a good ten minutes before anyone needed anything. “We've been on like four. We got coffee once,” Reese smiled at the memory of making out with Daniel in the middle of central park, “then he took me to this tapas place one night, and then we saw a movie last Saturday, and the other day we went to an exhibit at MOMA.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Is he actually artistic? Or is he just pretending to be because he knows you are.”

“Oh please. Don't be silly.”

“Reese.” Maria ducked her head. “You are literally the most quirky, crazy, creative person I know.”

Reese nodded. “Right, and Daniel is pretending to be something he's not to impress me.”

“Well, are you trying to impress him?” Maria demanded.

She glowered at her. “I don't think that's even possible.”

Maria laughed humorously. “You don't think he expects you to be someone you're not?”

“Well, I'm not gonna be someone other than me, so I don't know why that would even come up.”

Maria cocked her head to one side. “Come on, Reese. You two are too different from each other.”

“I'm sorry!” Reese retorted. “I didn't realize you were born in 1832. You know we have a black president now right?” She replied.

Maria sighed. “Don't be like that.” She placed a reassuring hand on Reese's shoulder. “Just think about it. You hate money and he's a stock broker. You've seen the sleazy fucks he works with.”

Reese leaned in to Maria, her heart pounding in frustration. “You're a waitress. Yet no one's going to call you a failure at life because of it.”

Maria grimaced. “Damn, bitch. The claws come out.”

“I have no tolerance for people as judgmental as you.” Reese pushed herself off the table and made to leave.

However Maria grabbed her arm. “You're five years younger than him and in a completely different socio-economic situation. You're kidding yourself if you think, for one moment, that he cares more about you than he does his money, or that you're more to him than just a token beautiful black girl to parade around.”

Reese tried to rip her arm out of Maria's grip, but failed. “You're a jealous bitch.” She hissed.

Maria raised an eyebrow, completely unphased by Reese's insult. “I'm just trying to protect you.” She replied in a matter of fact.

Reese was finally able to tear herself away from her. She sauntered down the back hallway that lead to the kitchen, her face flushing and her blood boiling hotter and hotter. She couldn't believe Maria had said all of those things to her. I mean how dare she? If the roles had been switched Reese would have been nothing but supportive of her. What was it about Reese that made her romance with Daniel so unbelievable? Who cared about the money, and "status",  because Daniel obviously did not. So what about the age difference? Couldn't an older man find a younger mind attractive? And Race? C'mon this was New York City, interracial couples were more common than bed bugs. What, did Maria just think that Reese couldn't possibly be smart enough to captivate someone like her? God, what kind of friend was she anyways? She was supposed to hold Reese up, not pick apart every one of her accomplishments. It wasn't fair for Maria to make her doubt herself like this. Because that was just it: she was making her doubt herself.

Once under the harsh lights of the kitchen, Reese went straight for the ice box and pressed her entire body inside of it. Her eyes were stinging with the beginnings of tears as she thought about all the time she had gone out in public with Daniel and was finding it harder and harder to convince herself that everyone that saw them wasn't thinking the same thing Maria was. As Reese thought of the admittedly logical assumptions that someone like Daniel could never find someone like Reese mentally or economically impressive she couldn't help but feel sick to her stomach. The overwhelming realization that she lost in the fight with his money on his list of priorities made her want to quit right there.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Frank yanked the freezer door open. His jaw dropped at the sight of Reese curled into a ball on the semi-frozen ground. “What the-”

“Yes?” She replied in a wavering voice.

He gestured with his thumb behind him, “I just had to drop off half of your checkbooks for you. What the hell are you doing in here?”

Reese shook her head slowly. “I just needed some air.” She replied.

Frank let out one dry chuckle. “You are so needy.” He wrapped his large hands around her wrists and helped her up. “You've still got a shift to finish.”

Reese nodded and stepped out of the ice box.

“Oh, and someone is waiting for you at the bar.” Frank added as he locked the door behind her.

Reese cleared out her last two tables and crossed the slight threshold that separated the dining room from the bar to find Daniel waiting for her, a chilled glass filled with beer in his left hand and his iPhone in his right. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his hair, tousled by a full day of work, his tie loosened and his lips pursed as he concentrated on whatever text message or email he was drafting.

“Hey.” She murmured when she was just within ear shot of him.

He straightened up at the sound of her voice and placed his phone on the marble bar. He then stood up, holding his arms slightly open for a hug. When Reese eagerly obliged, he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I came to visit you.” He murmured.

“I can see that.” Reese replied.

He furrowed his brow as he stared intently into her eyes. His perfect lips folded into a deep frown. “Is everything all right?”

Reese's eyes went wide as she realized how bad she must have looked. Not only had she just finished a four-hour waitress shift, but she had literally just stopped sobbing in the freezer. Her hands flew to her face as she struggled to swiped the smeared eyeliner from under eyes and put her hair back together. “Yeah. I'm just... uhm tired.”

“Well, that's too bad.” He replied lightheartedly. “Because I was going to invite you to stay at my place tonight.”

Reese gulped. There was nothing she wanted more right now than to spend the entire night with Daniel. “Oh. Well, I'll be fine. I'm just... I just really want to be done here.”

A crooked smile brightened his face. “I thought so.” He then glanced over her shoulder at the dwindling dining room. “So how long do you think you will be?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I don't know. I only have one table left. So, maybe... thirty minutes?”