Lila's Thunder: The Almeida Brothers, Book One (8 page)

“
They’re
not giving you the money, but somebody is.  An anonymous donation was made this morning.”  Grace stopped walking and clutched the multicolored folders in her hand to her chest.  “For twenty thousand dollars.”

Lila’s eyes almost bu
lged out of their sockets. “Twenty thousand dollars?!”

The smile Grace had been fighting ignited on her face and she nodded
her head.  “Yes, twenty thousand.”

“Oh my fucking
god
!”

“I know.”
  Grace’s nodding became vigorous.

“I could
kiss you right now.  I just—twenty thousand?”  Lila was unable to accept this.

“Yes.”
  Grace rolled her eyes.  “And thank god, because now I’ll have you off my back. If you find out who it was let me know so I can personally send them flowers.”

“Well that’s more than enough,”
 Lila said, throwing her hands out.  “We’ll even have some left over to give to the library and to the teachers for schools supplies and even to our sorry assed football team—“ Lila bit her tongue, coming to the realization of who she was talking to.

Grace was shaking her head no.
  “The donation very specifically stated that it was meant for your kids, and only your kids.”

Lila was in shock.

“I don’t know what you did, Lila, but you’ve got an angel out there.”  Grace winked at her before walking away, leaving Lila sputtering in shock.

---

Mrs. Jackson reached over the table in the bustling school cafeteria and stole some of Lila’s salad, pressing the forkful between her red lips and chewing vigorously.  With the stress of college applications and midterms, the two friends hadn’t had time to catch up with each other in weeks. As Lila watched Tracy chew she realized how much she’d missed her.

Swallowing, Mrs. Jackson—Tracy to Lila--gave her a look.
  “You said, ‘you’re my thunder’?” Lila’s coworker and best friend was highly confused. “Like you actually said those words? Those exact words?”

Lila stared at her.
“Yeah.”

Tracy winced. “Yikes.”

“I know.  As if his ego wasn’t already big enough.”

“There isn’t a door in the world that his giant head will fit through. Now here you come calling him your thunder?” Tracy shook her head,
as if trying to wake herself from a horrible nightmare. “Your thunder? Who even talks like that?”

“It just came out.” Lila shrugged, bewildered herself.
  “The entire thing was so unexpected, I was caught completely off guard.”

“So he just put his arms around you?” Tracy asked
, for the millionth time since they’d sat down for lunch.

Lila didn’t mind repeating herself, desperate to make sense of the events that had transpired over the last few days.
  “Yeah, he came to my door, I opened it, he looked at me and the next thing I know I’m pressed up against the closet door.”

Tracy was frozen in her seat, mouth agape. “But he didn’t kiss you?”

“No.”

“And he didn’t grab you?”

“No.”

“Not a boob, not an ass cheek, nothing?”

Lila thought for a while, then shook her head. “No.  Nothing remotely vulgar happened… but it was the most… intense…”  She couldn’t finish. “He caught me completely off guard,” she choked out, unable to say anything else.

Tracy lowered her voice to a whisper. “Did he have a…” She motioned to the zipper of her khaki pants.

As a blush tinged her cheeks Lila looked down into her lap in an attempt to hide it.

“
Reeeeeally?” A wicked smile took over Tracy’s porcelain face and she sat up a little straighter in her chair. “Rah-eeeally?”  A student approached the two of them and began to say something to Tracy.  “I’m on my lunch--I'm invisible,” she said, waving an imaginary wand over herself and giving the student a look as if he should know better, watching in annoyance as he walked off.  “Can’t get a moment of fucking peace in this place,” she muttered, tossing her jet black hair out of her eyes which had a slight tilt at the edges, a nice touch that she could thank her Asian father for.

Lila looked up at Tracy from under her eyelids.

“Well I guess it was only a matter of time before that night in Tahoe came back to bite you in the ass, right?”

“Yeah,”
Lila mumbled, her stomach tumbling. “Can we stop talking about this?”

Tracy continued on. “So after hearing that story I can say with absolute certainty that Jack is the one who donated that money. And we need to have a girl dinner.
  Stat.  Like tonight.”

“It had to be him, right?”
  Lila took her head from her hand, which she’d been cradling.  “The question is why.”  Her eyes jumped across the cafeteria and she caught Chase staring at her.  Without realizing it, she sat up a little taller and gave him a quick smile.  He didn’t return it, but instead gathered his food and belongings before leaving the cafeteria all together.  Lila itched to follow him, but she forced herself to sit still.

Tracy laughed, unaware of what was transpiring.
  “Jack’s really got it bad.”

“He can’t have it bad.
  We’re not even together.  He grew up in a rich family and you know how rich people are.  He probably thinks he can buy me, or something.”

“Can’t he?
  For twenty thousand dollars I might give him a second look.”

“Tracy.
  You’re a married woman.”

“Are you getting to th
e part where I give a shit soon,” Tracy mumbled under her breath.

Lila made a determined face.
  “You know what?  I’m going to call him.”  She pulled her phone out of her bag.  “Who the hell does he think he is giving me this money? Of course he's going to expect something.”

Tracy pointed her fork at Lila.
  “After you’re done making that call I’m going to explain to you the proper way for a lady to accept twenty thousand dollars.  Let’s just say it involves your knees and your tongue.”

“You’re right.
  I can’t call him.  I don’t even know for sure if he’s the person who gave the kids that money.”

Tracy stared off absently. “Maybe you should just sleep with him.” She watched as Lila nearly choked on her salad and stifled a laugh.
  “Honestly, Lila.  It’s going to happen, eventually, why not just cut out the middle man and do it?”

Silence passed between the two as they ate their lunches and Lila did her best to let it go.
  She couldn’t. “Tracy, you and I both know what that would do to Chase.  Outside of that midterm, he’s been doing so well this year; accepted to Harvard, making friends, the only thing missing is his complete lack of a relationship with Jack.  If those two could just work things out then I would finally be convinced that the hundreds and thousands of dollars in student loans I’ve been paying off haven’t been a complete and utter waste.”

“How can you say that?
  You’re the Associate Director of Counseling at one of the top private schools in Manhattan. Not only are you the first African-American woman to hold that position but also the first person under thirty. I’d say you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”

“Yeah,”
Lila mumbled, absently. “I just want Chase to be happy.”

“Look, Lila.
  I’ve known you for a long time, and I know that everyone around you is just giving it to you halfway.  I’m going to give it to you straight.”  Tracy leaned in. “Chase will never be happy until he has you.  Chase will never have you.  Therefore…”

“Chase will never be happy...” Lila trailed off, her eyes falling.

“Bingo.” Tracy winked, pointing her fork. “There’s that PhD.”

Lila rolled her eyes.

“Listen. Chase will be fine in the long run, especially once he goes off to college, but what about you, huh? Jack’s not a bad looking guy…” Tracy threw down her fork.  “Who the hell am I kidding? Jack is
fine—
and if you don’t take advantage of that situation he’s been throwing at you for the last five years then I might have to give Columbia the side eye because they graduated a lunatic.”

“He only wants me because he can’t have me.”

“He wants you because every man wants you, Lila, you are gorgeous.”

“I’m twenty-eight years old, Kris.”
  Lila said. “Which means I’m officially ten years too old for Jack Almeida.”

“That may be true.”
  Tracy nodded. “But you’ll never know until you try. And I’m asking you to try, for all our sakes…  And report back.”

Chapter 5

Five Years Earlier

Jack Almeida spoke quietly to the beautiful brunette that he’d been talking up all
night.  At twenty-four, the bat mitzfah that his parents had forced him and Chase to attend was the last place Jack would have ever wanted to be. The party was in full swing at The Plaza Hotel and, though he’d been dreading it, it had turned out to be wildly successful.  Who knew that a children’s party would be teeming with so many hot women, ripe for the picking.  The one he’d been speaking to for the better part of the hour, the birthday girl’s older sister, was easily the best looking woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

“What did you say your major was, again?” Jack asked
her, silently wondering just how much effort it would take to pull apart the complicated looking neckline of her slinky evening gown.

His beautiful company went to answer, but she was cut short when thirteen year old Chase Almeida stepped in between them, panting.

Jack’s eyes caught fire as he looked down at his extremely rude brother in shock.  “Chase…”  He feined happiness because he knew his company was watching, but lowered his voice to a whisper just for Chase. “Get lost, now,” he said, through gritted teeth.

Chase was unaffected by the a
nger in his brother’s eyes.  “You have to talk to Dad.  He’s trying to make me give him the keys to the Porsche but he’s drunk.”

“Why do you have his keys in the first place?”

“I lied and told him that I left my headphones in the car.  I just said that so he’d give me the keys.  Now he wants to leave and he wants them back.  He really is wasted beyond belief, Jack.”

Jack he
ld his hands out. “He’s always wasted beyond belief.  Give him the damn keys.  Or give Mom the keys.”

“You know he’
d never let Mom drive that car.  Besides, she’s trashed, too,” Chase reasoned.  He threw the woman standing behind him a quick look, before looking back to Jack.

“Chase I’m not doing
this right now.  Please.”  Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him off. “Just give him the god damn keys.  He’ll be fine.”

Chase blinked back to reality, having gotten lost in his thoughts as he looked back on that fateful day so many years ago.  He focused on the heavyset woman sitting across from him as she said, “I’m sorry, doll, you’re adorable but no way in hell anyone in their right mind is going to rent you an apartment in New York City.”

Chase
tried to ignore the smell of curry coming from the kitchen downstairs.  “And why the hell not?  With all due respect Miss this isn’t exactly a five diamond establishment you’re running.”  He almost leapt out of his seat when a roach the size of a quarter raced across his foot.  “Shit!”  He screamed, kicking it off.

“Sorry sugar, but in order to r
ent an apartment you have to be…” The landlord began ticking off on her fingers. “One, eighteen.  Two, employed.  And three, able to prove you’re employed with six months of back pay.  Three luxuries that you don’t got and three luxuries that even this shithole can’t afford to cut corners on.”

“Actually I’ll be eighteen in approximately…”
  Chase checked his watch.  “Twenty-four hours.”

“Not good enough, doll face.”

Chase scoffed and raised his hands before slamming them down on the chair.  “Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

She studied his perfectly pressed jeans and the red shirt that even a slumlord like her immediatel
y recognized as as Gucci classic.  “I suggest you go back to where you came from, sugar.”  She smacked her gum.  “And quick.”

---

The next day at 12 noon Chase was at Lavo Restaurant on Madison and 59th, thankful when the person he was looking for was already at the hostess stand at the front door.  Eli Levesque was giving hell to the hostess who appeared to be near tears but when he looked up and saw Chase his angry face collapsed into a smile. 

“Well I’ll be damned,”
 he beamed, slamming down whatever object he’d been shaking at the hostess before circling the stand with his arms open.  “Chase, my boy!”

Chase accepted Eli’s hug gratefully, laughing as the old man gripped him with all his might.
  “How ‘bout it, Eli?  It’s been a long time.”

“Too long, son, much
too long.  How you doing?  You hungry? “

“
Naw, I’m good.  Just ate.”  Chase jammed his hands in his pockets and his eyes narrowed to the hostess, who was watching him closely. She dropped her eyes to the menu the moment he’d caught her.  He smiled softly as she began studying the menu like her life depended on it.

“Well how are you?”
  Eli asked, his perfectly styled, jet black hair making his blue eyes nearly leap from his face.

“I’m good.”
  Chase nodded.  “Got into Harvard…”

“That’s fantastic,” Eli cried.
  “How’s Jacky-boy?  Is he here?”

Chase’s jaw tightened.

Eli sensed the tension and caught Chase out of the corner of his eyes.  “You looking for a job kid?”

Chase blushed.
  “I hate to be so predictable but.”  He frowned in embarrassment.  “I was hoping since you and my dad were so close…”

“Stop right there. Your father was my family so his family is my family.
  How old are you now? Seventeen?”

“Eighteen, sir, eighteen today.”

“Any big birthday plans?”

Chase shrugged.
  “Not really.”

“Then you start today.” Eli came up next to Chase and patted him on the back. “It just so happens that a position just opened up.”
  As Eli led Chase into the restaurant he nodded to the hostess. “Tell Dean he’s fired.”

Chase and the hostess shared expressions of wide eyed concern for whoever ‘Dean’ was, but he was too thankful for the job opportunity to dwell on it for very long, allowing Eli to give him the grand tour of
Lavo Restaurant.   For the next six hours Chase went through his first round of training and his phone vibrated in his pocket the entire time.

---

Jack was going crazy.  It had been two days since he and Lila had shared their first civil morning together and he could no longer focus.  He’d been sitting in his office for the last twelve hours. He was sure that he’d made about a million phone calls and filled even more paperwork, but everything was a blur.  He couldn’t keep his mind off of her.

Placing his elbows on the desk, he threw his head in his hands and groaned.
  He couldn’t feel this way about her.  He just couldn’t.  If he went after Lila, he knew that Chase would just assume that he’d only fired her to get her all to himself. Apart of him wondered if Chase would even be wrong to feel that way.  Would he? Jack was afraid to think about it.

His eyes went to the phone.
  Where the hell
was
Chase?  His little brother had always been good at avoiding Jack at every turn, but this was just ridiculous.  When Jack woke up in the morning Chase was already gone, when he came home at night Chase was already asleep.  They hadn’t spoken a word to each other since the confrontation they’d had in that very office.  Even when they were on good terms they didn’t talk much, but Jack missed
seeing
him, he even missed his angry face.

Jack slowly picked up the phone and dialed his brother’s number, rolling his eyes when he was sen
t straight to his voicemail. 

“
Typical.,” he grumbled, slamming the phone down. The stress of work and his brother hating his guts was sending Jack into an emotional overdrive that he wasn’t prepared to handle.  He needed to get his mind off of everything.  He needed a drink, and preferably someone to share it with.

Without another thought, Jack snatched up the phone on his desk and dialed the number he hadn’t even realized he knew by heart.

“Hello?”  Her voice was low and soft.

Jack’s heart
seized. “Hi.”  He loosened his tie. “It’s Jack.”

“I know who it is.”

He heard the amusement in her voice and it relaxed him.  “I was, uh…. How are you?”

“I’m
good.  Just doing some paperwork.”

“Late night?”
  His eyes flew to the clock.  It was six-thirty.

“Something
like that.”

He couldn’t take it, anymore.
  The pleasantries.  The bullshit.  “Will you have dinner tonight?”  He reached out and wrapped his fingers around the pens and pencils in the holder on his desk, bracing himself.

“I’d like that.”

Jack shot up from his chair, pumping his fist into the air before falling back into his seat and adjusting his loosened tie. He tilted his head and whispered into the receiver, “yeah?”

“Yeah,”
he laughed, again.

He was officially afraid to talk now, fearing he would say something stupid.
  “Okay.  I was thinking Sushi Tyme, they have this spicy tuna roll that’s unbelievab--”

“I don’t like sushi.”

“I hate sushi,” Jack said, quickly.  “Hate it…”

She was now openly laughing on the other end of the phone.
  “Why don’t you pick me up from the school when you’re off, and we’ll play it by ear?”

A large smile crossed his face.
  “Great.”  His eyes scanned the paperwork scattered across his desk.  It would take him at least six hours to finish it all by his deadline tonight.  Even with a weeks’ worth of work on his shoulders, he still wasn’t quite ready to hang up the phone.  “I’ll be off in half an hour.”

“I’ll be here.
  And Jack?”

“
Hm?”

“Did you wish Chase a Happy Birthday today?”

“Trying, but he’s not my biggest fan at the moment.”

“So I guess I was wrong to assume this dinner was a celebration for him.”
  Her voice was laced with disappointment.

Jack’s heart fell.
  “No.”

“Then I have to take back m
y acceptance.” Lila paused. “I don’t think dinner is a good idea.”

He jammed his eyes shut. “How long are we going to make all of our decisions based on the opinion of a seventeen year old?
Chase hates my guts, Lila.  Okay? He doesn’t want me around for his birthday.  Why subject everyone to a dinner that’s just going to be laced with awkwardness and, quite possibly, attempted murder?”

“Jack, it’s his
birthday
.”

He gritted his teeth and leaned forward in his chair, his mind racing for a way out.

“And he doesn’t hate you,” Lila whispered. “He loves you very much.”

“You might be able to take reality and wrap it up in a pretty bow for the kids at school
, but I’m a grown man, Lila.”  Jack told himself to bite his tongue, but he couldn’t stop.  “Maybe you should start expressing the same honesty that you constantly demand of them.”

“And what the hell does
that
mean?”

“I think you know what it means.”
  He was now upset. “It’s always going to be something, isn’t it?  There’s always going to be a reason because then you’ll never have to be honest with yourself.  When are you ever going to face up to anything?”  Jack jammed his eyes shut.

“So there must be something wrong with me because I don’t want to have dinner with you tonight? Damn, the ego has
landed,”  Lila fumed.  “You know it’s really funny that you all of a sudden have time to buy me dinner on your
brother’s birthday,
when all along I’ve been under the impression that you barely had time to fit in a good tooth brushing, Mr. Partner-at-a-Law-Firm.  What a treat that you were able to clear your schedule long enough to fit in a three course meal tonight! Very impressive.  Do me a favor and use that time to make memories with your brother.  Goodnight.”
She disconnected the call before he could say another word.

Jack listened to the dial tone on the other end of the line before cringing and falling back into his seat.
  It took everything he had not to send the phone flying at the wall.

Just hearing her voice over the phone had brought him to a different level entirely.
  Even though they’d spent more than half of the conversation fighting, he still felt ten times more clear-headed than he had before he’d called her.  He couldn’t remember the last time any woman—or any person for that matter—had made him feel as good as he did when she’d answered his call, and as furious as he did when she’d ended it.

Two seconds later, his phone blared to life.
  Chase’s name lit up the screen.

Jack scrambled to snatch up the phone, shocked at the sudden and unexpected re
sponse from his brother.

“Hey,” he breathed, having all but sl
ammed the phone against his ear. “Hi.”