Standing up from my chair and walking to the window with a cup of coffee, I look out and take in the scene before me. Many cars are trying to beat traffic and make it to work in the city of Austin. A crowd of people swarms the sidewalk heading towards the various buildings in the center of the city. I take a deep breath as the morning sun shines on my face. A ring sounds, snapping me out of my thoughts. Setting my coffee mug on the table, I pick up my phone. The caller ID reads Daddy with a crown emoji beside it.
“Hello, Dad,” I say, answering the phone.
“How are you, Delilah? Are we still on for lunch today?”
“You saw me before I went to work this morning,” I reply, shaking my head and smiling. I can’t believe he’s worried about how I’m doing.
“It doesn’t matter. A lot can happen in an hour or two.”
“Really, Dad?” He’s nothing if not protective. If the man had his way, I wouldn’t work at all, but it hasn’t always been like this. We only became close after my mom died and I moved to the states from Nigeria to live with him. My parents were divorced, so I lived in Nigeria with my mom until she passed when I was fourteen. But once I was here, my dad quickly made up for lost time, and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
“Yes, really.” He chuckles before continuing, “But did you still want to meet for lunch? I forgot to ask you before you left the house this morning. I need to know if I should reschedule my meetings or not.” Dad works as a mechanical engineer and sits on the board of Tesla, so he’s able to adjust his schedule.
“If you can make it work, I’d still like to meet. I want to discuss my proposal with you before meeting the investors later.” A group of investors are coming into my office today. With the help of my dad and my best friend, I have managed to build a successful architectural firm in just three years. Now, my plan is to expand my business into real estate development. As an architect, I only design houses; I don’t build them. I want to develop and sell. It won’t be easy, but it’s possible with the right set of investors. And I’m up for the challenge.
“No problem, dear. I’ll have Jeremy pick you up from your office.”
“No need to send your driver; I’ll meet you there.”
“Alright, see you later dear, bye,” he says, hanging up the phone.
Despite myself, I can’t help the smile stretching across my face as I look through my proposal once more. This is going to be a huge step, both for the company and for myself. Something big is going to happen today, I can feel it. And I can’t wait.
***
I finally make it back to the office after spending more time than I meant to at lunch with Dad. I was so focused on pitching my proposal to him I forgot I also had to be on time for the actual meeting. I rush into the room, hoping the investors might be late and my absence won’t be why the discussion hasn’t started.
“Oh, thank God. They haven’t arrived,” I say, walking into the mostly empty boardroom.
“You are fortunate,” Camila—my best friend and partner—says, turning around in her seat as I enter. I’d met Camila in college, and shortly after graduating when we were twenty-two, we’d started our company— D&C Inc. She’s my partner, but her skillset is altogether different. Camila is an engineer, and a brilliant one at that. I couldn’t imagine working without her. Though we both bring something different to our company, we always make a point to sit side-by-side during any meetings to show our level of authority is equal.
Getting comfortable in the chair beside hers, I notice how she’s adjusting her appearance, using her phone’s front-camera to see herself.. Her hand fluffs her black hair and she lightly pinches her cheeks making them rosy before smacking her lips against each other to spread her light pink lipstick.
“Why are you checking yourself out, Camila? We are about to have a business meeting, not a double date.”
“I know, but have you seen the man coming to negotiate? He’s hot. I have to look my best, and so do you.” Camila tries to undo a few of my top buttons.
“Why are you trying to show off my cleavage?” I slap her hands away from my blouse.
“If I can’t win his heart, maybe you can. It’s long overdue for you to get a boyfriend,” she says, moving to fix my hair.
“Don’t you have a boyfriend? And besides, there is no way I would date one of our investors. It wouldn’t be professional.”
“Danny and I broke up last night.” A hint of sadness seeps into her tone.
“Again?” I ask, frowning.
“Yeah.”
“How long has it been this time?” Camila and her boyfriend never stay broken up for more than a few days. It’s an endless cycle of breaking up and getting back together. I don’t know why my beautiful friend wastes her love on such an idiot. I hate Danny with a passion. He’s an arrogant bully who takes my friend’s feelings for granted. I wish she would see that he is not worth her time and leave him for good one day.
“It’s only been a day, but I believe we’re truly done this time.”
“Yeah, and I am fair-skinned,” I say, rolling my eyes and gesturing towards my obviously dark complexion.
“What’s that supposed to mean? I’m serious; we broke up for real this time. I am not going back to him, even if he begs me.”
“Whatever,” I huff.
“I am ser—”
“Miss Stephen,” my assistant interrupts, poking her head through the door.
“Yes?”
“They’re here, ma’am.”
“Oh,” I say, standing as she opens the door further to usher everyone inside.
Camila also stands, and we approach the door together, but my skirt snags on something as I’m walking. Bending down, I try to remove it without causing the fabric to rip. I successfully untangle my skirt from the edge of the table without ruining it, thankfully. It’s high time I get new boardroom tables.
I lift my head, my hand stretching out to greet the investor but stop moving mid-way. Blinking rapidly to make sure my eyes are working correctly, I look at the man in front of me, and all I can think is what a sick joke the universe is playing on me right now. Anyone else among the billions of people on this earth could be here today, but it just had to be him. Are you kidding me?
His stunning gray eyes light up as Camila speaks to him. I watch as a smile spreads across his face the more Camila tries to make him comfortable. His dimples begin to show even with the slightest curve of his lips. A wave of pain goes through my heart the more I look at him. He hasn’t changed one bit. His eyelashes are still the longest and fullest I have ever seen in my life, and the way they fan his face—Oh, Lord. He finally notices me, and I watch his plump, red lips pull into a smirk once they take in the shocked expression on my face. He steps closer, moving past Camila, but I can’t move an inch. I just stand in place, waiting for him to get to me.
“Hello, darlin’, it’s been ages. Did you miss me?” He asks, filling the room with that broad southern accent of his.
When I hear his voice, the feelings I’ve held at bay in my heart all these years come back in full force, and without thinking, I lift my hand and almost land it hard across his face. Tears of anger build in my eyes as he holds my right hand in the air.
“Still feisty as before. I’m not surprised,” he says, the smirk on his face growing wider.
“Get out.” I pull my hand from his grasp and point toward the door.
“Ch—”
“Don’t you dare call me that.” I cut him off before the word leaves his mouth.
“Lilah, what are you doing?” Camila asks, rushing to my side. I’m sure she must be wondering why in God’s name I would speak to our investor like this when I know we need him to make our dream a reality.
“I’ll explain later, but right now, he needs to leave.”
“Why? Do you know him? Did he do something to you?” She asks, looking between us, confused.
“Did he do something to me?” I repeat, laughing dryly. “I think I should let Mr. Beau Williams answer that himself.”
“Mr. Williams,” Camila says, turning around to face him.
“I forgot to mention during our meeting that I am Delilah’s ex-boyfriend.”
Camila’s eyes widen, and she meets my gaze. “He’s that Beau?”
“Yes, let me introduce you. Meet Beau Williams, my ex-boyfriend,” I say, glaring at him. I can’t believe he showed his face after what he did. I feel like killing him right now.
I pace up and down my office, thinking about ways to murder Beau. It felt so surreal seeing him after all this time. The nerve of him to show up today as an investor. Did he expect me to smile and welcome him? He must be on something to think I would forget what he did to me. Seven years have passed, but it doesn't mean I would open my arms wide and welcome him as if nothing had happened. It’s going to take longer than that for me to forgive him."Lilah, you need to calm down. You look like you’re about to kill someone," Camila says, sounding worried as she watches me."That's because I want to, or rather I need to." I say, fuming with anger."I’m very sorry I invited him. I swear if I knew it was the same Beau who broke your heart years ago. I would’ve never picked him to be our investor. I’m so sorry." Beau and I started dating when I was sixteen and broke up before I went to college, so Camila never met him. But she’d heard the stories."I know. You don't have to apologize. I’m sur
TWO WEEKS LATER“Morning, Lilah,” Camila says when I enter her office, her gaze staying focused on the papers in front of her.“How did you know it was me without taking your eyes off the papers in front of you?” I sit on one of the chairs in front of her desk.“You are the only person in this building who would enter my office before I say, ‘come in’.”“Oh.” I knocked but didn’t wait for her to let me in.“I know why you’re here, but unfortunately, I don’t have good news.” She finally tears her eyes away from the pile of papers in front of her, taking off her glasses. The look in her eyes only increases my worry tenfold.“Why is it suddenly so hard to find an investor?” I ask, exasperated. Camila has been trying for the past two weeks to find someone other than Beau to invest in our company, but so far, she has had no luck. I know it was hard to find Beau originally, but I don’t understand why it seems more challenging to find someone else this time around.“I don’t know, but I have
I ask the waiter to refill my glass again while waiting for Beau to arrive at the restaurant. It's been 30 minutes since I got here and no trace of Beau yet. I'm starting to think he's not coming, but I also don't think he would pass up the opportunity to have dinner with me. I'm confident that my threat will work, and Beau will back off because of where I'm from. I was born and spent some of my youth in Nigeria. His mother always hated me because of the color of my skin and didn't try to hide it. She looks down on Africans. If the bitch had her way, Africans would still be her slaves.I watch as the clock in the restaurant strikes nine o'clock, which means an hour has passed and still no sign of Beau. I can't believe he’s standing me up."Ma'am, would you like to order now?" The waiter asks for—if I’m not wrong—the tenth time tonight."No, but I would like a bottle of whatever you have been filling my glass with.""Alright, ma'am."The anger I’m feeling is all consuming, the best thi
DELILAHI move closer to the intoxicating scent around me. It smells so familiar, but I can't place where I’ve smelled it before. It smells so good that I don't even want to open my eyes to check where it’s coming from. It calms my heart and makes me want to spend the whole day wrapped around it. I let out a sigh and feel my breath bounce back against my face. That's odd; why did that happen? I slowly open my eyes to find out what's wrong. My eyes widen as I come face to face with a rock-hard chest. I quickly check my body to ensure I didn't do what I think I might have done. I know I drank a lot last night, but I am not one to have a drunken one-night stand. A breath of relief escapes me once I see I am fully clothed. Thank God, I didn't have a one-night stand.I tear my eyes away from my body and look up to see the owner of the magnificent chest in front of me. Every finger is itching to rub my hands all over this beautiful man's chest, but I stop myself because I need to know who i
"Lilah, what are you doing here so early?" Tamara asks once she opens the front door."Where do I start?" I walk past her into the house."Maybe you can start by explaining why you are wearing a dinner dress so early in the morning.""I spent the night out." I sink into one of the couches in her living room."You spent the night out! Oh my God, it's been so long. I have to ask, with whom?" Tamara asks, getting more excited by the minute. I didn't date much after Beau, so it is no surprise that Tamara is eager to hear about a date."Beau.""You had sex with Beau?" Tamara asks, wide-eyed."Of course not; I just spent the night over at his place.""How did that happen?""I don't know, but I guess he was called to the restaurant after I passed out.""You passed out at a restaurant?""Yeah," I say, staring at Tamara's TV screen."Why are you looking at the TV? It's switched off. Is something on your mind?""Beau kissed me.""He did what?""He kissed me." My hands automatically touch my lip
Once Camila walks back into her office after seeing Beau off, she says something that makes even me consider accepting his offer."If Beau is really planning on becoming an investor so he can ruin the company, remember he is the one who will lose a lot of money, so there is no way that is why he’s doing it."After she says this, I take a minute to digest her words."You're right. If anyone suffers a huge loss, it would be Beau, not us.""Exactly, so let's not dwell on the past. Instead, let’s focus on making good use of his money. We don't really have a choice if we want our dream to come true. Beau has left us no other options.""Is he truly the only choice?""Unfortunately, yes.""Give me the day to think about it.""No problem. Let me know what you decide before tomorrow," Camila agrees."I will." I leave her office and spend the rest of the day wishing a very slow, painful death on Beau Williams.***The following day, Beau and his lawyers arrive early for the contract signing. I
I glare at Beau as we walk into the boardroom. Unfortunately, there’s only two side-by-side seats left. Taking my seat beside Camila, I nod at my assistant to start. As the meeting begins, something presses against my thigh. I try to move it away, but my hand gets caught in something—or by someone. Turning to my left towards Beau, I shoot him a questioning look. One I hope no one else will notice.Beau gets the message but ignores it. He smirks that devilish smirk of his and continues to hold my hand, interlacing our fingers as he leans over to whisper in my ear. "Don't they look perfect together?" he asks huskily, his hot breath fanning across my neck.Swallowing the lump in my throat, I try to ignore the warmth seeping into my hand and attempt gently tugging my hand out of his without drawing attention to what’s going on, but Beau’s hold only tightens. He smiles, showing off his beautiful dimples. I give up and try to concentrate on what's being said in the meeting, and Beau instan
Saturday comes as quickly as I had hoped. I’ve spent all day getting ready, so now I just need to add a few finishing touches to my face. Luckily, I’m very skilled with makeup, so I was able to do my own, and Tamara had helped me to style my hair in a sexy updo a few hours ago. Once I am done applying my red lipstick, I close the tube and admire how the color accents my skin. Now all that’s left is to put on the dress. Camila had helped me lay it out on my bed earlier. She and Tamara are also coming to the party, so they’ll have a front row seat for what I have in store for Beau. I smile as I look at the dress. Beau is absolutely going to hate it. It’s a sleeveless, nude tulle gown with black flowers, sequins, applique, and a deep V-neck. The back is also open in the same style as the front, with a slit on the side exposing my leg. A thrill of anticipation runs through me as I put it on. I slip on my black heels and then walk to the full-length mirror to take a look at the full ense