Rituals for Love (9781476761893) (24 page)

I picked up the phone and RSVP'd for two to attend the event on Saturday night. Zaire's administrative assistant provided me with additional information about the charity and emailed me their brochure. She also informed me that they were requesting a ten thousand-dollar contribution to be included as a charity and event sponsor. I told her to count me in, and I'd bring my checkbook with me.

I went back into the kitchen to let Riley know I had RSVP'd for the both of us. “Did you take care of your tire or will you need a ride to the event?”

“I had it changed this morning and I actually have a spare in the trunk.” She chuckled. “Thanks for checking. I can meet you there.”

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow night.”

T
he doorbell rang for the second time. I hurried and washed my hands, drying them on the way to answer the door. I checked the peephole. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Bria came in and handed me my car keys. I led her into the kitchen where I was experimenting with a variety of recipes for Genesis. The countertop was covered with cutting boards with chopped vegetables and herbs, utensils, and note cards. She sat at the island. I placed a dish of ginger salmon in front of her and resumed slicing shallots.

My hair was tied up in a scarf; I had on a pair of cut-off shorts and a cropped tee. Once I finally rid myself of the headache, I was famished. I showered and decided to stay home and work on my recipes. I had been nibbling while cooking.

“A phone call would have been nice,” she said.

“I know.”

“Can I have a fork?”

“You know where they are.”

She got up and grabbed one from the utensil drawer. “Don't think feeding me excuses you from standing me up for lunch.”

“I don't. My head was hurting so bad when we got off the phone. I passed out on the couch for a few hours. When I got up, it was way past lunchtime.”

“You couldn't call to say that?”

“I was just in a quiet space. I came in the kitchen to cook, which is where I do some of my best thinking, and got absorbed in the moment.”

“That, I get. Cooking does the same thing for me. After all these years, it still provides a source of refuge.”

“That's exactly it.”

I had been in my own private sanctuary in the kitchen, alone with my recipes. I had been mulling over what I wanted to say to Cain and what I thought he might say to me. I hadn't called back since getting his voicemail earlier in the day.

“The salmon is delicious.”

“Is there anything missing?”

“It's perfect. What will you serve with it?”

“I'm thinking a wilted spinach salad.”

“Maybe consider a bok choy slaw.”

I turned to face her. “Oh, that could be good, too.”

“What else are you making over there?”

“Pomegranate chicken.”

“That's different. You are truly in the lab.”

“It's really a pomegranate sauce. You can let me know what you think when it's done.” The doorbell rang and I looked up at Bria. “Can you get that?”

She returned moments later with Milan in tow. “Hey, Ms. Tipsy,” Milan said in a sing-song tone.

“Who invited you over?”

“I didn't know if you were going to answer the door or not. Milan is my ride home since you decided to inconvenience everyone with your antics last night.”

“What were you going to do with my keys?”

“Leave them in the mailbox.”

“So someone could steal my car?”

“Getting drunk has its repercussions,” Milan added. They both had a laugh at my expense.

“Bria, you asked why I didn't call? Now you know.”

“Okay, okay. We'll cut you some slack. Milan, Jade is in the lab and needs to maintain her creative energy. We can taunt her next time we get together.”

“Feed me and the taunting ceases.” I handed Milan a fork and a dish with stuffed tomato caprese salad. “Knife, please.”

Anything to get the yammering to stop. I also handed Bria a knife. “Give me your initial thoughts on if you think something is missing or if there's an off note.”

“I don't know about all of that. I can tell you if it's good or not good. Bria can give you the chef's critique.”

“I'll take whatever you can offer, Lan.”

“I do have one question, though. What's going on with you and Omar? The last time we spoke you mentioned having business to conduct. How did that turn into getting drunk together?”

“Thanks, Bria.”

“Don't mention it.”

“Don't blame Bria. She had to put context around why she had your car and needed a ride. Now I'm asking for context on your hanging out with a man that clearly is interested in you.”

“We can't help who's attracted to us.”

“Right. But you can limit the access that person has to you.”

“You don't honestly think that none of your male friends are attracted to you.”

“I'm not saying that. However, Omar is very open and flirtatious with you. There's a difference. He is coloring outside of the lines.
He wants to be more than friends and you may be giving him the wrong impression.”

“How can I be, Lan? I tell him I have a man. Hell, he knows I have a man. And what both of you seem to forget is that I'm not going to act on any advances from Omar.”

“So he is making advances?” Bria finally chimed in.

“You two are going to drive me crazy. Since when am I in need of all of this counsel? Is this supposed to be an intervention?” I started laughing.

“If you need it to be,” Bria replied.

“I don't
need
to have this conversation. What I would
like
is to be able to continue to experiment with my recipes in peace and quiet.”

“Are you throwing us out?” Milan asked, holding a fork halfway between her plate and her mouth.

“Not if you stop talking about Omar,” I said, with saccharine sweetness.

She looked at Bria. “I don't have anything else to add.”

“I have one more thing. When I called Ernest after I dropped you off last night, he said Omar thinks you're
the one.
Maybe that's okay with you, but it sounds like you need to set him straight.”

I didn't bother to remind Bria that we already discussed that Omar thinks I'm his ideal woman. That's probably the same thing he told Ernest. That didn't make me the one. If he found a woman with the same characteristics he felt I possessed, he would be just as content.

“Thank you for the intervention. I can appreciate the gesture, but let's not do it again.”

I
closed the spreadsheet I was working on and opened the calendar. I stared at the screen and sighed. The next week was full of interviews and supplier meetings. It was difficult to be excited while inundated with minutiae. I saw a shadow from the corner of my eye and jerked my head toward the doorway. Those now familiar dimples greeted me and I returned the sentiment. He leaned against the doorframe and started typing on his phone. My phone vibrated on the desk. I laughed and then picked up my cell.

Hello.

You're so crazy.

Crazy for you. You look nice today.

So do you. That's a sharp suit.

I had a meeting in the area and decided to drop in. Hope you don't mind.

I needed a distraction.

Is that what I am? A distraction?

A welcome one, yes.

That made my visit worthwhile. What time are you leaving today?

About an hour.

Okay, I'll see you later.

He pushed away from the wall and left me staring at an empty doorway. I shook my head and laughed. This was the reason why I wasn't concerned about Omar. He was funny, silly and harmless.
His little visit took my mind off of the escalating stress I was feeling about the upcoming week. I closed the calendar and stopped stressing over it. I could only take one day at a time.

I switched gears to the products we would be using in the spa. I had multiple options and was trying to narrow them down to the best two or three. Representatives had been sending samples, videos, and testimonials. A few wanted to come perform demonstrations with the products. It was a good idea. I planned to schedule the demos once the treatment rooms were completed, which would be any day now.

I felt like I was being pulled in so many directions and there were loose strings everywhere. I was thankful for Hal and his teams. They were skilled and efficient. The headway they made since beginning the project was astounding. The kitchen was almost completed. Once the new chandelier was installed, only minor additions needed to be made in the dining room. The spa was on track to look every bit as luxurious as designed.

There was a rap on the door. A delivery man entered with a bouquet of roses. My eyes lit up. I pulled out my wallet and handed him a tip. He wished me a nice weekend and left my flowers sitting on the desk. I walked around to the front of the bouquet and read the small card affixed to the arrangement.

Enjoy!

–Your Welcome Distraction

What was I going to do with Omar? I could imagine what the girls would have to say about him sending me flowers. I could hear them saying flowers are more than innocent flirtation. Bria would probably liken it to a marriage proposal. She already said he wanted to get me in bed. They certainly wouldn't understand him showing up at my office and not uttering a word. I wasn't sure
I understood. My first impression was that he was having fun. Who texts someone they're standing right in front of? Those didn't sound like the actions of a man that was taking himself too seriously. He was in the area and he stopped by. He didn't go out of his way or make a special trip. And I was flattered by the thought. I could at least admit that much. He obviously saw something special in me. I could appreciate that and wouldn't knock him for it. Maybe he missed doting on someone since he broke up with Damaris. He obviously had time on his hands. It wasn't always easy to transition from being a couple to being a single person. There was an adjustment period. He may not have been with her very long, but he said he cared about her. There had to be things he missed about her.

When he was with Damaris, he didn't blatantly flirt with me. In fact, it was subtle—a compliment here or there and never anything sexual. His problem was probably that he needed to get laid. Everyone may have been looking good to him. There was no reason for me to believe that I was the only one he was flirting with.

I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a picture of the flowers. I sent a copy to Omar with a message.

Thank you. They're beautiful.

I wasn't going to get much more done for the evening and it was Friday. I collected my laptop, files that I wanted to take home and left the office. I had a quick debrief with Hal on the upcoming week and told the guys that were still working to have a great weekend. I exited the building and a black car was at the curb.

The window rolled down and Omar stuck his head out. “Get in.”

I walked over to the curb and he pushed open the door. I slipped into the car, closed the door and the driver pulled off.

I
scrolled through page after page of invoices for Genesis. Hal's secretary had scanned and emailed them along with a spreadsheet of the status report. The report outlined the level of completion for every facet of the project and the associated costs. I was pleased with the progress, but not so much with the invoices. The costs were trending higher than expected. There were a few changes in materials and specs for the treatment rooms that were driving the increases. If my projections were correct, the changes could add twenty percent to the budget and I wasn't happy about it.

I immediately wondered whether the changes were absolutely necessary. I didn't like cost overruns or unnecessary modifications. I had explained that to Jade at the inception of the build-out. I picked up the phone to call in order to get to the root of the additional spend. I was about to dial, but I decided that should not be our first conversation since the argument. In fact, it could possibly lead to yet another one. I put the phone down. I'd wait until I got home to figure out what was going on with Genesis.

T
here was room after room of furniture. Omar and I perused the showrooms of designer spa furniture and equipment. One of his clients owned the company and greeted us when we arrived. The showroom was closing soon, but he told us to take as long as we wanted. We were looking at different massage tables, guest seating, workstations, as well as, manicure and pedicure furniture. There was even a showroom for spa essentials—candles, diffusers, pillows, linens, robes and slippers. It was the ultimate destination for everything spa related.

He wouldn't tell me where we were going when I got in the car, only that it was someplace I needed to see. He was right. I ushered him into the next showroom and was overwhelmed by the lighting options. The room was filled with sconces, chandeliers, floor lamps, table lamps, even tables with lighting. I walked over to a section with partition lamps and marveled at the various shimmering designs.

“I wish you would have brought me here sooner. I see so many things that would have been perfect for Genesis.”

“It's not too late, is it?”

“I've ordered most of this stuff already. Especially the larger items like the massage tables, furniture for facials, manis and pedis. There isn't much more that I need to order. However, I loved one of the massage tables we were looking at a moment ago. It actually
would have been a better fit than the style I ordered for the treatment rooms.”