Jason

After Keyshia left, I took time to think about what happened between the two of us. I’ve never done anything like that before. It’s like I have to have her…but why?

I pondered that question while I sat in my private jet on the way to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is where the original site of Jameson Suites is located. The reason why I needed to go there is because I wanted to introduce my idea of building more hotels around the world, but more specifically in New York City. I wanted one to be in each borough.

Ever since I was school age, I’ve been learning about the hospitality industry and I basically had no choice but to become a business man. I mean, who cared if I wanted to go to school to become a doctor or a lawyer?

I flinched a little when the vibration of my iPhone knocked me out of my thoughts. “Hello?” I answered to the call.

“Jason it’s your father.” Shit, what now? Every time he calls, something’s always up.

“Good afternoon dad.”

He sighed before he began to talk. “When are you going to get a damn publicist?”

“I don’t need one. Why do you have to bring that up every time we speak?”

“Because I saw a picture of you last night…with a…” He paused. “A black woman. I made sure that it was gone by the time you woke up.”

“Wait. What?” When did this happen? From what I remember, there were no photographers or paparazzi around me last night. I made sure to I kept a low profile by not speaking to many people, taking a cab, and leaving out of the back entrance of the club.

My dad continued to speak. “A black woman. Who the hell was she? You had your arms wrapped around her…and then it was shown that you took her up to your condo.”

“Her name is Keyshia, dad. She’s a friend.” I rubbed the back of my neck.

“You fucked her, didn’t you?” I could tell he had a smirk on his face.

Instead of making a big deal out of what he just said, I let out a frustrated sigh and decided to end the call. “I’m about to land. I’ll be sure to call when I finish doing what I have to do.”

“Okay. I Have nothing else to say to you but that I am thoroughly disappointed. And that you better make sure whatever phase you’re going through disappears…or you will be financially cut off.” I didn’t even get a chance to protest before he hung up on me.

I threw my head back, closed my eyes, and smirked. Was he really going to do this to me? Was it really that serious? First of all, there’s no way I could forget about her and move on with my life. Just like that. No way, there’s no way.

But what would that make me look like? A pussy-whipped guy that would give up his family’s business to be with some chick he’s only spent a night with.

My dad obviously wasn’t too fond of the idea of me being with a woman of another race…partially because of his own mistakes.

My mother, Alessandra, is Brazilian. At the tender age of twenty one, also the age in which he started running a part of the business on his own, my dad met her. He was on a business trip, hoping to plant a hotel in Rio de Janeiro. She was an ordinary village woman that bumped into him while he was taking a tour of the city. According to him, he was immediately enamored by her beauty…her being only 19.

Behind his father’s back, he started seeing her and they fell head over heels for each other. He wanted to marry her and bring her back to the states with him. When he finally told my grandfather about his wishes, he said the same thing my dad told me “If you continue to see her, you’ll be cut off.”

Grandfather wasn’t going to allow it. He wanted every person in our family to be 100% white because to him “The white man is what sells. The 100% white man is what brings in all of the money.”

So I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he thought when Dad told him that my mother was pregnant with me. He was probably ready to ring his neck. But all he told my dad was “He’ll be the one who inherits. Drop her. She’s no good for the family.

So that’s what my father did. Somehow, he convinced my mother to give him full custody of me and he left Rio without turning back. Every year when I was little, he would cry on her birthday and on Mother’s Day…thinking that I was nowhere around to hear his sorrow. He never contacted, or made an attempt to contact her after he left. It was hard for him. He said that he had to make a story up about her death so that people wouldn’t “bother” him about it.

And I don’t believe my dad’s ever fallen in love since then. He puts all of his emotions into his job and makes sure that I don’t make the same mistakes as him.

At fifteen, I decided to teach myself Portuguese so that when I finally get the chance to meet my mother, I’ll be able to communicate with her without any problems..

Keyshia

For nearly half an hour, I stared at Jason’s number and contemplated calling it. I mean, I really wanted to call him as soon as I found his number but he didn’t need to know that I missed him already.

It was so damn hard trying to conceal that perfect night that we shared. I had to tell somebody…but then again, I was at the point in which I could trust no one.

A few weeks passed and I used a small portion of the money to pay all of my bills off. Jason gave me enough to buy a car and then some, but I saved the rest I didn’t use to give it back to him.

So anyways, I took the bus into the city and caught a cab to his condominium complex. It was around two in the afternoon but it was still cold. I think the weatherman said something about it being twenty degrees. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to New York’s harsh winters”, I thought as I wrapped my leather coat tightly around me and walked towards the fancy building.

Now that I’m actually seeing the building in daylight, I’m even more amazed. It wasn’t too flashy, but you could tell that you had to have lots of money to stay here. All types of people came in and out of the entrance, so I followed a small Asian woman and walked through the lobby. A few people gave me a look that said “you don’t belong here”, but I continued to make my way towards the receptionist’s desk.

“Yep. Still at work. I get off in an hour….”The blond haired girl continued to yap on the phone, completely ignoring me while I tried to get her attention.

“Excuse me” I said, losing my patience.

“Hold on Randy. Some lady is at my desk…okay. It’ll be a few seconds.” She put her cell phone down on the table and looked me up in down while smacking on a piece of gum. Judging by the way she acted so far, I could tell she was stuck up.

“May I help you?”

“Yes. I need to get up to Jason Jameson’s apartment.”

After blowing and popping a bubble, she smirked. “Yeah. Right. The orientation for housekeepers is around the corner on 3rd Avenue.”

I smiled, trying not to lose my cool. “Good one. I’m serious though. I need to talk to him.”

“Do you know who you’re asking for? Look at you.” She made a shooing motion with her hand and turned her nose up. “I would say he’s too good for you.”

“Look, nobody asked you all of that. Can you just let me up?”

“Jason has a list of regulars that usually go up to see him…and I’m pretty sure you aren’t up there. I’ve never seen you in my life.”

“I’ve been here. Check.”

“Name?”

“Keyshia Reynolds.”

“Nope. Not up here” she responded, not taking her eyes off me or even attempting to look at this so called “list of regulars”.

“You didn’t even check!”

“I don’t have to check. It’s always the little people like you that come up here trying to see our residents. How did you get in here anyway?”

“Excuse me? People like me? Meaning what?” I said with a little volume to my voice, but not enough to draw attention.

“Hm.” She gave me a blue eyed stare and shook her head. “African –Americans…black, niggers.”

Okay. That made me lose it. “Why the hell are you so fucking ignorant!”

Her face held a half-smile, letting me know that’s exactly what she wanted out of me. “Security!” she screamed.

“Okay. Shit. I’ll leave.” I turned on my heels and made my way towards the entrance before any more people gave me crazy looks. Before I could get out of the door, I ran into something hard.

“Keyshia! My my my…what a surprise. Coming to visit me?” Jason said, with a huge smile on his face.

I backed away from him, enough for me to see his full body. “…something like that” I mumbled, attempting to walk past him. “Now I’m leaving.”

He grabbed my arm and swiftly pulled me back to him. “Is everything okay?”

My eyes stared at the white marble floor while I answered him. “New people need to be hired in this place.”

“And by that you mean?”

I nodded my head to the desk where the blonde girl sat. “Your friend over there wouldn’t let me up to your apartment because of my skin color.”

“What?! Who?!” I looked up at him and his face had turned deep red. Jason was instantly enraged looking around to see where I had pointed my head to.

“Know what? Never mind. Just forget about it. It’s okay. Shit happens.”

“No. Tell me who it was.” He gazed into my eyes, searching them. “Please.”

Jason had a pair of fitted navy blue jeans, a black North Face jacket, and a pair of beige shoes on. The woodsy scent of his cologne made me want to hug him and forget about everything that just happened. Aside from the leather jacket I had on, I wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and black Vans.

“Blondie at the receptionist desk in the middle” I finally responded.

He took my hand in his and we walked over to her desk. I tried to remove my hands from his because I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea about us, but his hold got even stronger.

The previously rude receptionist had to do a double take when she looked up. “Mr. Jameson!”

“What is this about you not letting my friend in?”

“I’ve never seen her before…so-“

“Were you exhibiting racial discrimination?”

“What? No. Of course not!”

“So how come she told me you were?”

She rolled her eyes, speechless. “I’d really hate to fire you over this” Jason said, giving her this intense stare.

“What makes you think I’m a racist? C’mon Jason, you know me better than that. How can you believe her over me!?”

Jason shook his head and guided me over to the elevator. Her sigh of relief from almost getting fired was all loud and exaggerated.

“Oh…” Jason said, letting go of my hand and turning around to face her. “Make sure your belongings are gone by the end of the day.”

We got on the elevator before she could react. I drifted to the back corner and crossed my arms over my chest. Jason followed after pressing the number to his floor and stood in front of me while the doors closed.

“I didn’t mean for her to get fired.”

“She had it coming. I do not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind in my presence. And I will not have people working for me that say such things. It’s disturbing and immature.”

“Oh” was all I could say. Oh was all that I really had on my mind besides the realization that he owned the building.

“You look beautiful” he whispered, pressing his body against mines and softly touching one of my facial dimples.

“Thank you.”

“I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t come back. God knows I’ve been missing you.”

I smiled and embraced him into a hug. My hands wrapped around his back and I let my head rest on his chest. Jason kissed the side of my neck and he ran his hands through my hair.

The sound of the elevator doors opening startled the both of us, making me sort of push Jason away from me. An elderly white man walked in and gave us a look of disgust. What is it with these people?

Jason spoke up. “How are you doing today sir?”

The old man ignored him and stared at the doors. Thank God we got off before him because it was a bit awkward.

I followed Jason into his condominium and the first thing he did was take his shoes off and put his keys down on a coffee table. “Get comfortable” he said, about to walk into the kitchen.

“Um…” I held my purse up. “I just wanted to come by and drop the rest of your money off.”

“It’s yours to keep.”

“I paid my bills off and I don’t need all of this money.” I had to laugh at myself in my head because I was telling a huge lie. Of course I needed that money.

“Keep it. I want you to have it. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for you to receive gifts from other people.”

“Well I don’t like being greedy.”

He smiled a wide smile. “It’s not being greedy. Trust me.”

After Jason hung the both of our jackets up, I shook my head and sat down on the nearest couch. He walked over and took a seat beside me.

“I really want to be in a relationship with you” Jason bluntly stated, removing the purse from my hands and sitting in on the other side of him.

I faced him and looked him in the eyes. His grey eyes always make me swoon for some reason.

“It’ll never work.” I replied.

“Stop saying that” he said in a calm tone. “I like you…and I know you like me too.”

With a smile on my face, I said “How pompous of you.”

“I’m serious.” He held a serious expression.

“Okay…after one night? You barely know me.”

“And that’s just it. I want to get to know you…what makes you smile, what pisses you off, what movies make you cry. Give me a chance.”

“Why do you care about me so much? What is it? I’m nothing special…and..”

“And what?”

“I’m black.”

“Yeah. I know you’re black. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your family…”

He looked at me like he was actually surprised that I looked him up. “My family?”

I sat silent for a few seconds because I didn’t want to tell him what I learned from Wikipedia; One of the most unreliable sources.

“You looked me up didn’t you?”

“Pft. Uh…no.”

“Yes you did” he said with amusement in his voice.

“…okay. You caught me. I took a little peek.”

“Why’d you do it?”

“Because I was curious. It’s not every day that I’m with a guy that has fans asking for his autograph.”

“You’re not gonna let that go, huh?”

“Nope.” I smiled and stared at his lips.

Jason moved closer to me, backed me up against the edge of the couch and started to lay kisses on my neck. I ran my hand through the back of his thick black hair and moved my face so that our lips could meet. My lips parted in invitation as he slid his tongue inside my mouth. I moaned while he lifted my legs up into a laying position of the couch. Jason wrapped my arms around his neck and proceeded to go deeper into the kiss. It was like his tongue was making passionate love to my mouth. “My God this man can kiss” I thought as he drew my bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it.

As soon as his large hand crept into my shirt and cupped my left breast, I knew there was no turning back. Things could only escalate from here. But of course, with my bad luck, he dropped a bomb. “We’re not going to have sex.”

“What?” I said, breaking the kiss.

“We should get to know each other.”

“Yeah. Because now’s the best time to say that.”

“I’m serious Keyshia” he said while be both tried to catch our breaths.

After a few seconds, I replied. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll give this whole relationship thing a try…but under one condition.”

“Anything…” he breathed out.

“I don’t want to be famous. I don’t want that life.”

“I’ll make sure that happens…but..”

“But?”

“Nothing” He leaned his forehead against mines and smiled. “I’ll do whatever I need to do in order to protect you.”

His cell phone vibrated, completely ruining the intimate moment we were sharing.

“Hello? Yeah…uh huh…” a frown appeared upon his face before he climbed off of me and sat normally on the couch. “Shit. I’ll be there in thirty…tell her to call me. Bye.”

A confused expression crossed my face as he placed the phone back in his pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Gotta take care of some business.” He stood up and adjusted his clothes. “It should only take an hour or so. I’d like you to stay here.”

Jason gave me a quick peck on the lips, put his coat and shoes back on, grabbed his keys, and left.

After the door closed, I lifted myself up from the couch and walked around. I never really got a good look at his condo. Since none of his cooks, maids, or servants were there, his house seemed more comfortable. When I saw a line of pictures on the wall of the hallway, I almost changed my mind about that. I guess they were pictures of the different generations of the leading men in his family. They must have been taken while they were young because they all looked somewhat alike and had similar features…all except for Jason. There was something different about him.

Geez, I wonder what his mom looked like. The condo had three other rooms aside from his and each of the rooms had their own bathrooms. What did he need them for though?

I walked into his bedroom where we made-I mean, had sex in.

It was so big and luxurious. His room consisted of a fire place, a walk in closet, a huge king-sized bed, a wooden chest at the end of the bed, a patio that looked over the city, and a 100-inch flat screen TV over the fire place.

I walked out onto the patio and looked at the city for a few minutes. After realizing how high I was, I took a few steps back and walked back into the house.

A chaise lounge was placed beside the French doors and I noticed a pile of magazines lying on top of it. I picked up the first one, Men’s Health, and he was on the cover of it. He looked perfect. Why the hell was he so perfect?

While he was gone, I took the time to go through all of the magazines that he was featured in. I still don’t know why I’ve never heard of him. I guess that was a good thing?

Anyways, hours passed and I laid in his bed and watched TV, absolutely bored. I mean, he was taking forever. Good Lord…

At around 10 o’clock, six hours later, I fell asleep.