His Betrayal Her Lies (15 page)

The valet pulled up in Taylor’s BMW and she
got into the car and put on her seat belt. Kalon stood there,
holding her car door wide open. He looked like he was battling with
something in his mind. He reached over and kissed her on the cheek.
“Good night, Taylor, and drive safe.” He closed her car door.

Taylor sat there for a few minutes trying to
figure out what just happened. It was a little too much for her to
digest right then. She put her car in drive and went home.

Chapter 12

Taylor sat at Maxwell on Michigan Avenue. She
came to that bar often when she wanted to think and be alone.
Taking a sip of her glass of Moscato, she looked out the window at
the busy downtown traffic. It was three o’clock in the afternoon.
People moved around like they had their lives in order, like they
had purpose. Minutes ticked by while Taylor sat and people-watched.
So many of them seemed content while she was on the edge of a
divorce and thinking heavily about committing adultery, both of
which went against her morals and faith.

She couldn’t escape the thought of her psycho
stalker, either. William had contacted her earlier that day to give
her some disturbing news. According to his informant, Maci—born as
Maci Anne Drummer—was twenty–three years old, born to a crackhead,
and put in foster care at birth. Never adopted, she bounced around
to different foster families until the age of eighteen. She
attended therapy sessions while in the system for being raped by
one of her foster parents. The report also said she lived in the
streets for a while, robbing older men. She spent two months in
Cook County Jail for theft.

Taylor felt bad about Maci’s messed up
childhood but she believed anyone could change their life around if
they truly wanted to.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” the
bartender asked.

Taylor looked up. “Yes, please,” She
whispered.

The bartender nodded and filled her glass.
“This one is on the house. Handing her a small stack of cocktail
napkins, he added, “I don’t want to be out of line but it seems you
need this.”

Taylor gave the handsome bartender a lazy
smile and responded, “Thanks.” He looked as if he was in his early
twenties. He went on his way helping other customers at the
bar.

Going home to a big, empty house was
something Taylor was avoiding. Ari was still on kicked-out status.
He called at least ten times a day and Taylor always let his calls
go to voicemail.

She wanted to call on her girls but they
weren’t around. Libby had been distant lately. Maybe she was dating
someone and for some reason keeping it a secret from Taylor.
Whatever Libby had going on, she had kept Taylor out of the loop.
Pam’s mom fell ill in Memphis and she had hopped on the first plane
to be with her mother, telling her friends that she would be out
there for awhile. Taylor’s sister, Toni, had never been good at
listening so she didn’t bother calling her.

It had been a week and she still hadn’t
called Kalon for another date. She wasn’t sure if she was strong
enough to resist him if he tried something.

Her blackberry sat on the counter right
beside her drink. She fingered it and scrolled down to Kalon’s
phone number. Once she pushed that button, there would be no going
back. She knew what Kalon wanted from her was not the same thing
she wanted. She needed to feel loved and he definitely didn’t love
her but she could pretend he did, even if only for one night.

Her need overruled her good senses. She
pushed the button. Kalon picked up on the third ring.

“Hey, beautiful. I’m glad you finally
called.”

“Me too. Can I see you tonight?”

“You can see me anytime you want.” He sounded
luscious.

Not wanting to beat around the bush this time
around, she said, “Okay, I really don’t want to go out. Can I come
over?”

Kalon was stunned at how straightforward
Taylor was. “Yes. I’ll text you my address.” As an afterthought, he
added, “Are you allergic to seafood?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

“I wanted to cook you one of my favorite
dishes.”

Taylor liked the sound of that. She needed to
be pampered and it seemed that Kalon knew how to take care of a
woman’s needs. “How about seven o’clock?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s cool.”

Taylor finished the rest of her drink,
knowing inside that she had just opened Pandora’s box.

* * *

At a little past seven o’clock, Taylor
arrived at Kalon’s Lake Shore Drive loft. Her Burberry fitted
halter dress and her Burberry pumps with the tan, red, and blue
pattern made her look sexy but not scandalous. She let her straight
coppery hair flow across her shoulders. She hadn’t felt like
curling it. Light makeup to her lips and eyes brought out her
natural beauty.

She waited at the front desk for Kalon to
come down, and hearing “ding” from the elevator made her look in
that direction. He stepped out looking better than any Ebony
Magazine model and just as good as Idris Elba.

Weak knees made Taylor lean against the chair
next to her. Kalon’s goatee had grown in fully. He was gorgeous. He
licked his lips and showed those straight white teeth. When he
opened his arms, she walked right into them and the smell of Gucci
cologne intoxicated her. She was an expert at perfumes.

Kalon took her by the hand and they stepped
into the elevators. “You look beautiful.”

Taylor felt herself blush. When the elevator
door opened, he kissed her on the neck. “Dang, you are a beautiful
woman.”

“Thanks but you said that already and you
look nice, too.” Kalon wore a black V-neck Akoo shirt and a pair of
True Religion jeans. She liked his urban fashion style of
dressing.

Walking hand and hand to his loft, he pulled
back the long steel door.

She walked through the foyer and into the
most beautiful custom kitchen ever. It was simple and modern,
decorated in black and white. Taylor could tell he liked expensive
items. The loft had glass windows all around and exposed bricks.
She walked over to look out. The lake and Navy Pier were lit up.
“This view is amazing,” she uttered in awe.

Kalon smiled and walked over to a pot cooking
on the stove, stirring and tasting.

“Are you hungry, Taylor?”

“Yes, I can eat.” They both laughed. Taylor
walked over and took a whiff. “Hmm that smells good. What are you
cooking?”

“Gumbo.”

Her eyes lit up. “I love gumbo. Is there
anything I can do?”

“Yes, you can go over there and look pretty.”
He waved her toward the table.

She smiled. “Okay, give me something I can
actually do.”

Kalon looked around his kitchen. “Since you
just have to do something, you can set the table.”

Kalon had glass cabinets, so she could see
where everything was. She grabbed two bowls from the cabinets and
two wineglasses off the bar.

Carrying the pot from the stove, Kalon walked
over to the table and poured soup in each bowl.

“Do you mind if I say grace, Kalon?”

She couldn’t be sure but he seemed impressed.
“No woman I ever dated has asked to say grace. I usually say grace
to myself and watch them dig in without giving thanks. So this is a
welcome surprise.”

She took his hand across the table. “God,
please bless this food we are about to eat and the cook that
prepared it. Amen.”

Kalon sat expectantly while Taylor took her
first taste.

She blew on the spoonful of gumbo, put it in
her mouth, then closed her eyes and licked her lips. It had all the
right spices.
I could definitely get used to a man cooking for
me. Ari never cooked.
She hurriedly pushed Ari to the back of
her mind.

Looking up from her bowl, she saw Kalon
staring like he was that night she went out with him to Ohio
Street. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He got up and took the bottle of wine out the
refrigerator to pour them each a glass. “I don’t know why I look at
you so much, Taylor. Maybe because I really like you and want to
know you better. Not to mention the fact that you are just such a
beautiful woman.”

Falling for his lines might be what other
women did but she didn’t intend to go down that easily. “I know you
have dated plenty of beautiful women before, Kalon. I heard you’ve
been with actresses and singers.”

“Yes but you are the most beautiful one
because you have inner and outer beauty. Most of those women were
beautiful on the outside but ugly inside.”

Taylor didn’t have a response to that, so she
changed the subject. “Do you have any siblings?”

“No, I’m the only child.”

She knew that changing the subject so
abruptly told him of her discomfort with the topic they had been
discussing but she was grateful that he went along with it. She
asked more about his background. “Where are your parents?”

“My mother and father divorced when I was
really young. I was sent to boarding school. My mom lives in New
York and my dad lives here in Chicago with his new wife of fifteen
years.”

“Oh, do you get to see them often?”

He took a bite off a piece of shrimp. “I see
my mom maybe once every two years. She is a fashion designer so her
job takes her all across the world.”

They both savored another spoonful of gumbo.
When both of them said ummm at the same time, they broke out in
laughter.

Kalon told her more about his family. “My
mother is Faith Flare.”

“Oh my God! Faith Flare is your mom? She is
one of my favorite designers.”

Kalon wiped his hand on his napkin and smiled
at Taylor. “I can’t believe I told you all that. I never let a
woman into my personal life. And I have never
ever
told a
woman that my mother is a famous designer. She’s probably the
reason I can appreciate the finer things in a woman like you.”

She cut him off before he went back to
talking about what he liked in her. “What about your dad?”

“Oh, he owns his own construction business.
“Maybe you’ve heard of it—Knight Construction.”

Taylor frowned. “Nope, sorry. I haven’t heard
of him.” She continued her little interview. “So I read your bio on
how you got started with your company and what motivated you
growing up. I really admire you, Kalon.”

“So maybe I’m not as bad as people say.”

He earned a smile for that. “They didn’t say
you were bad. It was just that you were a player.”

She could see that he was the one who wanted
to change the subject now. They engaged in more conversation about
his business and her business. Their meal was slow and relaxing.
When they finally finished eating, she helped him clean up the
kitchen. Then they both grabbed their wine glasses and plopped down
on the sofa in front of the window overlooking the water.

“So why did it take you a week to call
me?”

He had to go there, she thought to herself.
She stared straight ahead. “I was really stressed and had a lot
going on. Believe me when I say you don’t want to be around me when
I’m like that.”

He played the rejection card. “I thought you
didn’t like me or maybe you thought I wasn’t attractive.”

Hell naw. I thought you was fine as
hell
. Taylor grunted.

Kalon sat his wine glass down on the coaster
and took her glass out of her hand. “If you’re stressed, remember I
can be your stress reliever, if only you would let me.”

Taylor got lost in his words. He leaned
forward and kissed her. It started as a few soft pecks and then the
kiss became aggressive. He took her mouth greedily and held it
hostage. He swept his tongue all over her mouth and sucked on her
bottom lip. Taylor released her mouth to him to do with it as he
pleased. It seemed like kissing was his specialty and she never
wanted him to stop.

Ari’s face crept up in her mind. He did this
to her. He was the reason why she was here now trying to find
comfort in another man’s arms.

She felt Kalon’s hand move to her breast. He
pulled her halter dress down and her 34-Cs spilled out. He took one
nipple for his dessert, then the other. Taylor let out loud moans,
flinging her head back on the sofa.

Not again
, she thought when she felt
him pull away
.
She was a willing participant this time and
she didn’t want him to stop. He pulled her dress back up to cover
her breasts and guided her to her feet. Leading her by the hand,
they walked down a long hallway until they reached his bathroom. A
tub the size of Lake Michigan sat grandly in the middle of the
room.

She was as hot as the red décor.

He bent over the tub and started to run
water. Turning toward Taylor, he asked, “You seem tense. Do you
want to take a hot bath?”

“I didn’t bring any clothes to change
into.”

“I’ve got something you can wear if you
decide to spend the night. My assistant can get some clothes
delivered to you tomorrow.”

Taylor never thought about spending the night
but she quickly remembered that she had no one at home waiting on
her. She didn’t want to be alone tonight. Kalon was such a
gentlemen and she had never experienced this type of thoughtfulness
from a man. She had only read about it in her many romance
novels.

“Okay. I think a hot bath would take the edge
off.”

The bath filled to capacity and Kalon turned
the water off. He left the room so Taylor could undress. She did it
quickly and submerged herself in the hot water. Bubbles floated
around when she hit the jet button; peace enveloped her inside and
out. After a few minutes, she heard a subtle knock at the door.

“Come in.”

Kalon came into the bathroom with his shirt
off but his pants still on. Six-pack abs were on display. Taylor
took it all in and wanted nothing more than to reach over and run
her hands over his ripped muscles. She looked away instead. She
didn’t want him to see the desire she had for him.