Jason

Since I liked to show up early for everything and since Keyshia still wasn't ready, I told her to meet me over there.

Breakfast was being served in the formal dining room. The cooks had just about every type of breakfast food you could imagine. My mouth began to water by simply looking at the broad selection. Auntie Kat, being the kind woman she is, helped the butlers and maids set the table. I think she also accompanied them in making the food. She was the only person there, besides me of course.

“Good morning early bird. Glad to see you decided to show up” she beamed, after noticing me.

“Morning.”

“How did the rest of your night go?”

I looked at her with a somewhat confused facial expression. I’m surprised Carter hadn’t said anything to her about what happened. With my family, things spread faster than a blazing wildfire. So I just answered with “fine”. Not a lie, and not the complete truth.

“Great. Now help me finish setting the table.”

“Isn’t that what the maids are for?”

“Yes…but the process will go a lot faster if two people who are perfectly capable of setting a table…you know, actually help.”

 I smiled at her and gave him. This was one of those many times when Auntie Kat made me help her with these kinds of things. According to her, it’s her way of “making me humble.” I silently thanked her for that though. I never want the fame to get to me.

About twenty minutes later, everyone was in the dining room seated. Everyone except Keyshia. Right when I was about to get up and check on her, she walked in.

Literally everyone in the room looked up from their plates and glued their eyes on her. I must admit. I had to stare too.

Keyshia sported a pair of navy blue shorts and a tight white camisole. Her long beautiful legs were showing and her smooth chocolate skin glowed. Jesus Christ. It took some sort of superhuman strength not to slap the shit out of every man at the table who looked at her with a foam at the mouth type of lust; especially Carter’s ass.

Keyshia walked further inside the room and took a seat beside me, one that I saved for her as soon as people started to pour in.

“Did you have to wear that?” I whispered, leaning over to her as soon as she sat down.

“What’s wrong with what I have on?”

“Look around. I’m surprised we’re not drowning in drool right now.”

She took a quick look around at the lingering gazes and blushed. I laughed a little and gave her right thigh a comforting rub. Her blushing continued when she realized what I had just did.

“Stop making me blush” Keyshia quietly demanded as she grabbed a plate full of breakfast sausages.

“You look beautiful.”

She gave me a death glare and nudged her elbow against mines. “Stop it.”

My smile vanished just as soon as I caught Carter staring at her. He looked and me and immediately looked down towards his lap as if he were intimidated. Did he not learn his lesson last night?

“I saw that” Keyshia said while chewing her food.

“He knows what the deal is.”

“Remember. No fighting.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She looked up and waved at Auntie Kat. It’s funny how most of the relatives on my dad’s side actually showed up and the only ones to acknowledge Keyshia were Auntie Kat and Carter. All my dad did was continue to look at her like she was a piece of shit.

“Mm, this food is so delicious” Keyshia moaned, savoring her food.

Another thing I love about this woman is that she isn’t afraid to eat in front of me. I mean she can really throw down. Models I’ve previously dated would only eat a leaf of lettuce and call it day. That’s one thing I don't understand about women. How could you be in a successful relationship when you’re scared to eat in front of your man?

“What are we doing after this?” she asked, still chowing down.

“Horseback riding.”

Keyshia nearly spit out her food and widened her eyes. “Horse what?”

“It’ll be fun. Trust me.”

I gave her a quick wink and continued to eat my breakfast. She had a nervous/worried look going on. And I loved it.

Keyshia

An hour after eating breakfast, I told Jason that I was going to meet him at the barn because I had to go back to the guesthouse for something. I actually found Carter and pulled him into the main kitchen to talk.

“Did you tell your boyfriend that you’re talking to me?”

I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth, annoyed that he started off the conversation with that. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“I ought to beat his ass for what he did to me last night. I was caught of guard.”

“Carter, you don't have to prove anything. Really. I just want to make it clear that that kiss meant absolutely nothing.”

“Yeah. I understand that. You two belong together.”

“Seriously, please stop.”

He lightly chuckled and continued to stare at me. I cleared my throat and pushed myself away from the counter. “Are you joining us out back?”

“Of course. Come on. Let’s get to walking before someone suspects something.”

I smirked and followed him outside. We walked into the barn where some of Jason’s family members were tending to their horses and conversing with one another. Jason was brushing an all black horse and talking to it. A smile appeared upon my face as I left Carter’s side and walked over to him.

“What are you doing with him?” Jason asked, staring past me at Carter.

“We had a little talk.” Changing the subject, I nodded my head to the horse and asked “Is it a he or a she?”

Jason softly caressed the animal and smoothed its coat back and forth. “Her name is Allison. She’s my baby. I’ve had her since she was born.”

“She’s so beautiful. May I pet her?”

“Yeah. Feel free.”

I hesitatingly reached up, rubbed Allison’s thick black mane, and made my way down her smooth back. “You’re gonna ride her?”

“We’re going to ride her, yeah. Now. Ready?”

I answered quickly with a “no”.

“Why?”

“I have to change right?”

“There’s some boots in the cabinet over there. There should be a pair in your size. Socks are in a cupboard…and I think that’s all you need.”

I nodded and walked towards the cabinet. After finding a pair in my size, I took my sandals off and slipped them on. Lord knows I was scared out of my mind to get on that horse. Since I’m from New York City, I’ve only seen the huge beast of an animal in Central Park or on TV. I’ve never seen them up close.

When I looked up, Jason was already situated on top of the horse. They were making their way out of the barn.

“I’ll be outside. Ready when you are” Jason stated before riding out. Carter was right behind him with a gigantic brown horse. He looked down at me and gave me this dark intense gaze. I have absolutely no idea why a deep blush took over my face. Before his horse trotted after Jason, I noticed that he held an arrogant smirk. I rubbed my cheeks and ran out of the barn in order to catch up with Jason.

I stopped in front of the horse and looked up at him. How the hell was I supposed to get up there?

“Ready?”

“…I’m scared. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Jason held his hand out for me to take. “C’mon. I’ll help you up.”

I tightly gripped his right hand and he effortlessly lifted me up onto Allison. My hands immediately wrapped themselves around his waist. Carter’s horse walked up behind us and he continued to stare at me.

“Try to keep up” Jason mumbled, catching Carter’s gaze.

Before I had time to even realize what he meant by that, Allison took off running. My head flew back while my arms held a tighter grip around his waist. I couldn’t help but to scream “OH MY GOD!”

Jason laughed as if he were actually amused by my screams of horror. “Are you okay back there?”

“I hate you!”

He let out a hearty laugh as he forced the stallion to accelerate her speed. I looked behind us and Carter was close, but still behind.

“Hold on tight baby.”

Baby?

Jason took a spur of the moment left turn towards an open field. “He’s not going to catch up. I’ll show you my secret hiding spot.”

I hugged him a little tighter and laid my head on his strong back. In a few minutes, the horse slowed down in front of a rather secluded shed. The shed itself was kept in nice shape and it had a grayish color to it.

Allison stopped right in front of the shed and Jason hopped off of her like it was nothing. I almost started to freak out because of the sudden absence of his muscular body.’

“Just step on the foot holder thing and you’ll get off fine” Jason said, looking up at me struggling to maintain my balance.

“It doesn’t look that simple. I don’t wanna fall.”

“Put your right foot in the holder and sling your left foot over.”

I slowly nodded my head and attempted to do exactly what he said. I felt the holder with my foot, slipped my foot into it, and swung my leg over Allison’s back. Right when I was about to make the next move, I felt myself falling. A loud screamed echoed through the field as I prepared myself for the oncoming impact.

A pair of strong arms caught me midair, bridal style. Jason looked down at me with worried eyes and proceeded to brush the loose hairs out of my face. “Are you okay?”

“…yeah. I am now.”

We continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before he put me down. “Let me tie her up and uh…I’ll show you what it looks like inside.”

After Jason tied the horse up to the barn, he took out a set of keys and opened the door to the shed. I grabbed the hand he held out for me and followed him in.

The first thing I noticed was the California king sized bed on the floor…and that was the only thing in there, beside a few candles and a huge map of the world stationed over the bed.

Jason lit all of the candles and closed the door to the shed, setting the perfect atmosphere. There was one window and he opened it to let air in, but put the shade down. I stood there in a semi state of shock. It warmed my heart to see this powerful rich man have such a simple, random, intimate, average spot that he obviously loved.

“Make yourself comfortable. The bed is really cozy” Jason suggested while he took off his riding boots.

I fell back onto the fluffy bed and sighed. “Ah…this is amazing. Tell me all about this spot.”

He smiled and crouched down at the end of the bed near my feet. ”Well…” Jason started, slipping one of my boots off. “Ever since I was little, we’ve had to come here for this “get together”. I was always the black sheep of the family, even though they knew what I was going to be when I got older. It was always a running joke about my mixture. The word ‘mutt’ seemed like it would never leave their vocabulary.” After he finished that sentence, he took my other boot off for me.

I leaned up on my elbows and gazed directly at him. “You know they’re jealous of you.”

“That’s not how I saw it. My Aunt Mary, Carter’s mother, tried her fucking hardest to convince my father that Carter was supposed to be in my position. He’s 100% white, why not? He’s also older.”

“So what happened?”

“The family contract states that it’s supposed to be the firstborn son of the inheritor who takes over the company.”

“One of the many reason to why he hates you, huh?”

“I guess…but anyways, every time I’ve felt the need to get away from my family I come here. I thought that it was going to be temporary, but over the years things have gotten nothing but worse.”

Jason gently climbed into the bed after me and laid right beside me, even though there was plenty of room for him to have a spot on the other side of the bed.

“How did you discover it?” I asked, genuinely interested.

“Riding around.”

“It doesn’t look like it belongs on you guys’ property. Sorta seems out of place to be honest.”

“It doesn’t belong. We purchased the land from a farmer and this was the only thing that wasn’t destroyed. None of my family members know about it.”

Simultaneously, we faced each other. I rested my hand on the side of my head in order to give it some support.

“Do you like it?” Jason asked.

I smiled a nodded my head. “I love everything about this place. It’s so cozy and simple. Something I never would have expected to see from you.”

“You’re actually the first person I’m showing this to.”

“Really? So you mean to tell me that you’ve never bought any special girls here?” I inquired with a playful tone in my voice.

“Nope. The girls I’ve brought to meet my family would have hated it here. They expect so much out of me. Everything that I have to show them would need to be either luxurious or painfully expensive. You’re also the only one to ride Allison.”

“Well…your ex-girlfriends, besides me, sucked” I said through a yawn.

Jason chuckled “You’re right about that.”

Jason

I couldn’t help but to watch her as she let out another yawn. Her tight little body stretched out like a kitten preparing herself to fall asleep. Keyshia look ravishing in the candlelight. All I really wanted to do was grab her into my arms and never let go. If I had the opportunity to make love to her again, I would kiss every inch of her beautiful mocha skin, savoring the always-present coconut scent and the silky smooth texture.

Her fascination with my secret spot added to the list of why I love her ass. I knew it was genuine and sincere…and I loved it.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked, noticing her yawn for the fourth time.

Keyshia yawned again with her hand over her mouth. “A few hours. Sorry for the yawning.”

“We should be leaving for Los Angeles in approximately…” I glanced at my wristwatch to check the time. “three hours. You can take a nap if you want. I’d hate for you to experience LA while you’re tired.”

She got more comfortable and laid on her stomach. “Thank you Jason…for everything.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart.”

“Before I fall asleep, let me ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Tell me what’s really going on with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The possessive behavior, the pet names, the…the…um…you know, the affection.”

 So it was that obvious, huh? She was catching on. How was I supposed to get out of this?

“Oh…well, I care about you for one. I don’t want to see you get hurt so I protect you.”

“I don’t need protection Jason. And if you’re jealous about that whole Carter thing, nothing is going to ever happen between us again.”

“I’m not jealous.”

In a sleepy voice Keyshia responded with “Whatever your say…just stop with the shenanigans.”

Directly after she said that, her eyelids fluttered shut and she fell asleep.

Keyshia

I have no idea how long I was asleep, but when I woke up, I was in a very compromising position. I could barely move because Jason’s arms were tightly wrapped around me.

He was lying on his back and I was lying right on top of him. Each time I made an attempt to get out of his arms, the hold he had on me got even tighter; like a boa constrictor.

“Jason” I whispered. “Please let me go.”

He let out a low groan and changed his position in the bed so that we were facing each other another way on our sides.

“Jason!” I whispered a little louder.

He blinked his eyes open and realized that we were literally closer than two peas in a pod. In a groggy, slow tone, he said “Oh…shit…”

“Yeah. Sooo not boss/assistant behavior. Let me go.”

I felt the synchronized feeling of relief and sadness as he loosened the tight grip he had on me. For a short second, I craved for them to be back around me. Before any other words were said, I scrambled to the other side of the bed.

“I apologize. I guess I let myself get too comfortable.”

“It’s alright” I yawned, stretching myself out.

Jason sat up and stepped out of the bed. “What time is it? I hope we didn’t oversleep.”

“We have thirty minutes” I said after checking my phone.

Jason

When we got back to the guesthouse, I changed into a pair of jeans and a striped scoop neck tank top. Keyshia walked out of her bedroom with yet another pair of tantalizing shorts and a loose fitting peach racerback tank top. The shorts were khaki. Her long hair was pulled back into a cute ponytail.

“Is this outfit fine? I put on a pair of Vans because I don’t want my feet to be hurting.”

“….y-yeah” I began to stumble on my words. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks” she said, adjusting the purse that slung across her shoulder.

“No problem. Let’s get going. The car is probably waiting for us.”

She nodded and made her way towards the door. I followed behind her and closed it.

Aunt Katherine was the first person we saw and she was headed our way. “She’s coming with us” she said with a no nonsense tone.

“What?”

“You heard what I said son. You’ve been hogging her up the whole time since you’ve been here. It’s time you give her a rest from yourself.”

“I want her to be with me in case something happens.”

“What could possibly go wrong? I promise you that she’ll be safe with us.”

I sighed and looked down at Keyshia. “Are you fine with this?”

“Hm, I thought you’d never ask. Yeah, of course I’m fine with it” she answered with a smile.

Auntie Kat wrapped her arm around Keyshia’s and brought her closer to her. “See?” She noticed the concerned look in my eyes and a half smile appeared on her face.” Um…Keyshia. Sweetheart, the car is the third one in the driveway. Mary’s in the passenger seat and my daughter is in the backseat. You can sit beside her. “

I started at her for a while as she walked towards the cars. The need to hug her before she left overwhelmed me.

“You’re such a dead giveaway.”

“If anything happens to her Auntie Kat…I swear to God…”

“Nothing’s going to happen to her. We’re just going shopping. She needs to have some girl time.”

“Okay. When you’re out, take her to the most expensive spa there is. I’ll pay for everything she buys. Make sure she gets whatever her heart desires. Okay?”

Auntie Kat smiled, touched my cheek, and cocked her head to the side. “I’ll make sure she’s taken good care of. So what are you and the other men doing?”

“Taking care of some business as far as I know. Is your phone on? I’ll be calling to check up.”

“Yes Jason” she grinned, pretending to act annoyed by rolling her eyes.

I bent down and kissed her soft cheek. “Okay. See you later.”

Keyshia

It was beyond awkward having to sit in the black Range Rover with Jason’s other aunt and Ms. Katherine’s daughter. Mary just stared straight forward, completely ignoring me and the daughter couldn’t keep her eyes off of me. Thank God Ms. Katherine came back when she did because I would have had to step out.

She started the engine and looked at her daughter through the rearview mirror. “Anna, did you introduce yourself to Keyshia?”

“I didn’t know I had to.”

“Keyshia, this is Anna, my oldest child. And Anna, this is Keyshia, Jason’s friend.”

The young girl looked to be at least thirteen years old. I couldn’t figure out if she was going through that ‘I hate everyone’ teenage phase or if she just didn’t like me.

“It’s nice to meet you Anna.”

Anna mumbled under her breath and looked out the car window. “Nice to meet you too.”

She looked like the typical bratty teenager. Taking after her mom, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. A tight pair of white skinny jeans covered her willowy legs and she wore a hot pink cropped top. Her long hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.

“Mary…” Katherine started to say, looking at her sister-in-law.

“What?” Mary snapped, still gazing out of her window.

“Introduce yourself please.”

“I’m pretty sure she heard you say my name. It would be unnecessary to repeat.”

Before Katherine could chew her out, I interrupted. “It’s really nice to meet you Miss Mary.”

She smirked as Katherine drove off. I wonder how she would have reacted if I had told her about what happened between her son and I. She’d pass out. I’m sure.

During the car ride, everyone but Mary talked to me. She still carried that hideous constipated facial expression.

An hour later, I saw the Los Angeles welcome sign. Gazing out of the window with wide eyes and a huge grin, I know I looked like all of the annoying tourists who came to New York.

“We’re here!” Katherine shouted in a sing songy voice. “Are there any places in particular you’d like to go ladies?”

Anna leaned her body towards the front of the car, close to her mom’s ear. “Ooo…mom. Can we please go shopping on Rodeo Drive? Oh! Or the fashion district? Please please please!?!”

Rodeo drive…fashion district…isn’t that where people spend thousands of dollars on a pair of shoes? Where would I get that kind of money?

“What about you Keyshia? Anywhere in particular?” Miss Katherine asked as she stopped at a red light.

“Um…uh…”

I’m the thrift store type of person and usually, in big cities like this one, people put the best stuff in there. But damn, I’m almost too embarrassed to ask.

“A-are there any good…uh, thrift stores here?”

Mary, the first to react, shot her head around and busted out laughing, right in my face. Anna followed in her footsteps.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, with a cocked eyebrow.

“Thrift store? You seriously want to go to a thrift store?” Mary questioned, as if what I said was a joke.

“What’s a thrift store?” Anna chimed in, looking thoroughly perplexed. That made me even more confused because why the hell was she laughing earlier if she didn’t know what the fuck a thrift store was in the first place?

Miss Katherine barged in and stuck up for me. “Leave her alone. I like to go to them also. Some people’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

Anna stuck her nose up and frowned. “Trash? So what is it? You buy other people’s…trash?”

“In a sense. But you can find really good things in there” Katherine responded, driving through the green light.

Mary pursed her ugly red stained lips together and shook her head. “I refuse to be seen in one. Drop me off in Hollywood. Please.”

“Me too!” Anna shouted. “I want to do some real shopping.”

I slipped down in my seat, feeling like I was being ridiculed.  “Okay...um…we can go to wherever. But um, this is kind of embarrassing. I only bought six hundred dollars with me. It’s my fault for assuming that it was enough.”

“Yeah, enough to buy a good quality shirt” Mary mumbled under her breath.

Auntie Kat looked at me through the mirror and smiled. “Keyshia, honey…do you really think Jason’s going to leave you hanging?”

I held in a smirk at her choice of vocabulary.

“Just get whatever you want. Everything’s taken care of.”

“No…I can’t do that to him.”

“I can’t force you to spend his money. But trust me, that man brings in so much money a year that this will only be a dent in his pocket.”

“I don’t like using him…”

Anna looked at me through slanted eyes and softly touched my arm. “If I had a boyfriend like Jason, I would soooo keep him! He’d have to take me shopping everyday!”

“But he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh…psh, I know that. I was just saying-“

I gave her a curious, yet offended expression. “How are you so sure?”

“Because the guys in this family aren’t allowed to date girls like you.”

“Anna Michelle Jameson! You better apologize right now!!” Katherine yelled, turning bright red.

“But mom! C’mon…you know it’s true!”

All I heard for the next few seconds were muffled voices because I sort of tuned them out. I mean, what she said was true, right? And I already knew that. So why the hell was I so butt hurt about it? This time it really hit home.

“You’re not getting a single thing while we’re out!”

Miss Katherine seemed to be more offended than I was. Her face was red as an apple and I could tell she was fuming.

“…sorry Keyshia. I should have thought about it before I said it.”

“It’s-“

Before I could fully accept her apology, Mary cut me off. “Katherine. Don’t make the girl apologize. What she said is the truth. Apparently, she’s the only one who has the balls to say anything. Jack Senior is absolutely disgusted with the idea of mixed breed kids. Why piss him off by reproducing with someone of another race? How hard is it to keep your little ‘fetishes’ to yourself? It’s always good to stay on his good side, trust me.”

An elongated silence filled the car as soon as she finished her little monologue. This family seriously has some issues.

Katherine put the car in park and turned around to face me. “Keyshia, I am terribly sorry on behalf of the way my family has been treating you. They can be extremely rude.” She stopped talking for a second and looked at Mary as if she were calling her rude. “Why don’t we forget about everything and shop until our feet fall off?”

I smiled at her and nodded my head. “I’m perfectly fine with that.”

Three hours later and my feet were on fire. I had bags from just about all of the stores in one of the high-end malls we visited. 99% of the clerks gave me a hard time because they couldn’t believe that I was using Jason’s black American Express Card.

The six pairs of Louboutins I purchased were already my most prized possession. Along with those, I bought loads of new work outfits, jeans, blouses, and accessories. So basically, a new wardrobe. Miss Katherine stayed true to her word by not buying Anna anything…and Miss Mary only purchased a few items. The way she dressed and looked was so dull. She wore all black and gray. Her tall slender body was hidden under such baggy clothes. What a shame.

We made our way into another mall for our final shopping trip. All after passing by the Hollywood sign, seeing the Walk of Fame, and riding past the Kodak Theater.

Since I was through with shopping for the day, I followed Mary into a store and noticed her walk straight towards a rack full of black slacks. I walked up to her and leaned against the rack. “You should try brighter outfits…or mix and match light with dark.”

“What’s wrong with what I wear?” Mary asked, looking at me with a blank expression.

“I know you have an amazing body under all of those clothes. You should flaunt it.”

“….flaunt? What does that even mean? Flaunt for who?”

“Don’t you want to impress your husband?”

“There’s nothing to impress. Our marriage has been dead for years.”

I looked at her and observed that her face seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown. She just looked so unhappy about life.

“Do you think he’s still in love with you?”

“I’m sure he’s never loved me in the first place.”

“What makes you think that?”

“He’s only with me because of my family.”

In a way, I felt bad for her. I couldn’t imagine being stuck in a marriage for so long with a person who isn’t in love with me.

“I’m so sorry” I sighed.

“It’s alright. You did nothing. No need to apologize.”

For the next hour or so, I helped her find outfits and shoes to make up a whole new wardrobe. She had to be in her mid forties and she had long straight hair. Mary kept it in a tight ponytail at the back of her head. I made it my goal to return her to her “husband” as a brand new woman.

After checking out at the cash register, we left and the next place we pulled up to was a spa. But not just any spa, probably the most luxurious spa I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

“This is the best spa in Los Angeles. I make sure that I come here every time we come to California,”

I looked at the intricate details of the beautiful exterior and my mouth fell slightly open. “Looks expensive.”

“My feet hurt. Let’s go in” Mary complained.

Anna wrapped her arms around Katherine’s and hugged her. “Mom, can we eat something. Please?”

“Keyshia, dear, it’s extremely expensive. But it’s all worth it. And Anna, we’ll find something to eat inside.”

At the entrance, Katherine showed them her membership card and guided the rest of us in after her card was cleared.

The first thing I noticed about the place was the exquisite choice of marble. The floors, the tables, and the chairs were all made from some type of marble. All of the employees were Asian and the atmosphere was so relaxing. One of the employees walked up to us with an all black outfit on.

“Hello, welcome to Seoul Day Spa. Is there anything in particular you’d like us to help you with? We offer many services.”

“Everything. Pedicures, manicures, whole body massages, waxing, makeovers, hair styling….you name it. Oh, and we’re hungry. So whatever food you have to offer sounds great. “

The small Asian women smiled a huge bright smile and guided us towards the back of the spa. Katherine leaned over to whisper to me. “You’ll have to give my nephew a big kiss for paying for all of this.”

I stopped in my tracks as they made their way deeper into the spa. Before, I had noticed the price of a full body massage at $500. Hm, I might have to give him more than a kiss because this shit is fucking expensive.

We ate delicious Caesar salads, received massages, had our toes and nails done, got a few body parts waxed, and sat in the sauna before we got our “makeovers”.

Katherine got a simple hair washing and conditioning and made sure her wavy hair was pin straight, knocking a few years off of her appearance.

Mary was the one who got the most drastic change. I convinced her to cut her hair into a layered bob and to wear a better shade of lipstick. With such a small change, she looked absolutely beautiful. I could tell that she was content with her makeover because she smiled for the first time today. A real genuine smile.

While I was getting layers added to my hair, my phone began to buzz. The caller ID read ‘Jason’. I rolled my eyes and placed it back into my pocket. He called every five minutes. I had already answered most of his calls, but this was getting pretty ridiculous.

Katherine noticed that I had a phone call and smiled. I guess she knew who it was. “Who’s that? My nephew again?”

“Yep.”

“He’s just worried about you.”

“There’s a difference between being worried and straight up annoying.”

As soon as I finished my sentence, her phone started to ring. Damn you Jason Jameson.

“I’m guessing that’s him?” I looked at her, shaking my head.

“Yep…” she answered it and beamed into the phone. “Hello? Oh hey! She’s with me…and everything is going great. The same thing is happening. You know, since you called a few minutes ago…don’t worry honey. I’ll bring her back to you safe and sound. Okay. Bye. Love you.”

I started to speak to her after she hung her phone up. “Why in the world is he being so protective now? I mean, he’s always been a little protective, but this thing now…oh no. It has to stop.”

“Maybe it’s because you guys are in a totally different state and he feels responsible for you.”

“I’m not a child Miss Katherine.”

Anna jumped into our conversation with a ‘joke’. “Maybe he’s in love with you.”

“No! He’s not. I swear we don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“You don’t have to try and prove that to us. Even a blind man can tell that the two of you have something going on” Mary added in.

A blush burned my cheeks and I placed my hand over my mouth in an attempt to cover it up. “Okay, we used to date…and I guess the chemistry is still there.”

“I knew it!” Anna boasted. “Didn’t I tell you mom?”

“I’ve known for a little while” Katherine responded, with a proud expression.

Mary looked at me and leaned back into her chair. “Why did you two break up?”

“Because I’m working for him now and we didn’t want things to get complicated.”

“Did Jack know about this?”

“Nope…and if he did, Jason never told me.”

“So are you in love with him?” she asked, without blinking.

“Mary!!” Katherine shouted, face turning red all over again.

“What? I want to know.”

“It’s none of your business!”

If I had been drinking a cup of something, I would have surely spit that shit out. I’ve never had to run into this question. I’ve never had to think about it. Am I in love with Jason?

“Look, I’m only saying this because I care about my nephew and because you’re such a lovely girl. If the two of you get together, get married, and have a baby, my brother will lose all of his shit. I hate to say this to you hun, but Jason’s inheritance is quite fragile and it can be taken away within the blink of an eye.”

Hmph. Just when I thought I was warming up to this woman…

“Mary, please be quiet. Keyshia didn’t come all the way to California to hear this” Miss Katherine said with a sigh.

In a quiet voice, I responded. “It’s okay. She’s just trying to save me from getting hurt.”

“So…” Anna began to say, totally jumping into a conversation she should have stayed out of. “Is this one of those forbidden love kinda things? Because if it is, I want to be updated on everything that happens.”

By this time, I hadn’t yet noticed that my bottom lip started to tremble. “Um, is everyone finished up here?” I lifted myself out of the chair and nervously tugged on my shirt. “I’m ready to go.”

Before Katherine had the chance to give me comforting words, I ran out of the spa and to the car. Panic attacks have never happened to me, but I felt one coming on.

Jason

During the time the ladies were in Los Angeles, me, my father, my grandfather, and Carter were there doing business with a few gentlemen in East LA.

We don’t usually do business on vacation, but it was all my idea to start building more hotels on the west coast since we’ve been successful. Surprisingly, they agreed with one of my ideas. The Brazilian hotel idea is on the backburner for now and that’s the only thing I really want to put into action.

So anyways, I made it my mission to call Keyshia as much as I could. It may have been annoying through her eyes, but she needed to know that I was honestly worried about her.

She didn’t know this and probably never will, but I’ve received all sorts of anonymous emails and fan letters about wanting to kill her. Crazy females and a few males really want it out for her because they think we’re together. I hired bodyguards to follow her around without her knowing so that she could never encounter any sort of danger. I’d never forgive myself if something bad happens to her.

Since we’re in another state and my bodyguards aren’t with us, I felt like I needed to take their place and be around her at all times. Auntie Kat is trustworthy, but still. Anything could happen. Mary’s around her. Crazy Aunt Mary. The woman who wanted me to die just so her “all-deserving” son could be next in line. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did something to hurt Keyshia…but then I’d have to kill her.

Keyshia belongs to me and anybody who feels the need to hurt her will have to come through me first.

We got back to the house at around midnight and the ladies arrived shortly after. I ran out to their car and opened the door to the backseats. Keyshia’s head rested on the window to the other door while Anna’s head laid in her lap. The both of them were knocked out cold. When did they get so close?

Auntie Kat stepped out of the car and walked over to me. “You may need some help. There are lots of bags in the back and I don’t want to wake these two.”

“Carter’s on the way…and I’ll take Keyshia.”

She tried to hide her obvious smile as I slid Keyshia from under Anna’s head and held her in my arms. She moaned and unconsciously wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I’ll be right back” I whispered to my aunt.

When I got back inside the guesthouse, I walked to her room and gently placed her on the bed. I tried my hardest not to stare at her. She didn’t need to have all of that makeup caked on her face or plastic surgery to be beautiful; that shit came natural for her.

I fought back the urge to reach out and caress her smooth face. Keyshia fluttered her slanted eyes open and let out a low moan. Fuck.

My cock twitched at the seductive sound, making me have to adjust my stance.

“Where am I? What’s going on?” she asked, slightly confused.

I took a seat on the bed and struggled to deal with my sudden erection. “You fell asleep in the car and I carried you in.”

“If you woke me up, I could’ve walked myself.”

It wasn’t a problem, really.”

Before she said anything else, I slid the sneakers off of her feet and exposed her perfectly manicured toes. “How was the spa trip?”

Keyshia yawned and watched me as I took her shoes off. “Amazing…thank you so much for everything. I’ll pay you back eventually.”

“No that’s cool. Think of it as a gift.”

If she were to really pay me back, judging by the amount of bags I saw, she’d be spending the rest of her life doing so.

“Okay…I’m too tired to fuss about this…and your aunt told me to give you something.”

“What?”

Keyshia leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. It took everything in me not to snatch her back and steal a few more kisses from her. I need to get rid of this painful hard on and if she said the right word, I would jump on her so fast that she wouldn’t even have time to think.

I cleared my throat and got off of her bed. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

“Pass me a some pajamas before you leave.”

I spotted the nearest t-shirt and tossed it to her. “Is this fine?”

“…thanks…” Keyshia tiredly said, slowly falling back to sleep.

“No problem.”

I tried to get out of the room as fast as I could, but she just had to call me back. “…please help me. I’m too tired to change.”

“Keyshia, I’m not helping you take your clothes off” I stated, swallowing a huge gulp.

“Why not?”

“It’s inappropriate.”

“You’ve already seen me naked, so what’s the problem?”

I took a step towards her, trying to control myself with a calm and collected tone to my voice. “Baby, I’m your boss….” I paused and shook my head. “That’s the fucking problem.”

Of course that sentence had multiple meanings.

Keyshia rolled her eyes and sighed. “Okay…whatever.”

“I’m going to bring your bags in in a few. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“…mmhm…”

Before I had the chance to fully get out of the room, she had fallen back to sleep. I frowned and quietly shut the door. Fuck.