His Betrayal Her Lies (19 page)

“Hey, Mister.”

Kalon turned to glance down at her.

“Do you want to share?” She scooted over in
the seat to make room for him.

Any other time, he wouldn’t have passed up a
chance to share a cab with this beauty because he knew what would
happen but this time he found himself declining the offer. “No,
thank you. I’ll catch another one.” Disappointment was in her eyes,
but she rolled the window back up and the taxi pulled off.

All Kalon had done for the past couple of
days was think about Taylor. He had dialed her number a few times
and hung up before pressing send, telling himself to get it
together. This girl had become his addiction and he needed to go to
rehab. The best therapy would be finding a new girl to bed as soon
as he got back home.

Another taxi pulled up. Kalon jumped in
quickly before another fine woman could materialize and take it
from him. He told the driver to take him to the W hotel. Traffic
was brutal but he got there in enough time to shower, change
clothes, and be early for his eight o’clock dinner reservation with
his mother. She had called him that morning and said she wanted to
meet at Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

The doorman told Kalon that the restaurant
was only six blocks away. With a little time to spare, he decided
to walk instead of going through the rigmarole of getting another
taxi in the downtown Manhattan traffic. It was a quarter to eight
when he arrived at the restaurant.

Spotting his mother wasn’t difficult. When he
saw a booth surrounded by a small group of people, he knew that’s
where she was sitting. He walked up and she waved him forward at
the same time she dismissed the flock of admirers. “Excuse me
everyone. I will give you my autograph later. My son just
arrived.”

Kalon was in shock. His mother never gave him
much notice when business was on her mind—and it was always on her
mind. The crowd disbursed with moans of disappointment.

“Hello, Faith,” Kalon said as he embraced his
mother. Since he was a small child, his mother had preferred for
him to address her as Faith and not Mom. Faith had aged since the
last time he had seen her. Her short bob had a light spritz of salt
and pepper color. She always dressed in her latest fashions. She
was wearing a blue one-button blazer, blue, fitted, tight-legged
dress pants, and a pair of black four-inch Christian Louboutin red
bottoms. Her clothes appealed to the average working women in their
fifties.

“Hi, Kalon.” They both took their seats,
facing one another. Kalon picked up the menu from the table at the
same time the waitress came over.

“Can I get you something to drink, sir?”

“I’ll have a Kitty cocktail.”

The young lady smiled and lingered at the
table longer. “Is that it, sir?”

Kalon looked up at her. “Yes, that’s all for
now.”

His mother watched with amusement. When the
waitress left, she said, “I see you have a way with women just like
your dad did.”

Not sure how to respond, Kalon kept
quiet.

There was a moment of awkward silence before
his mother spoke again. “How have you been, son?”

Kalon looked over the top of his menu. “I’ve
been good, and you?” The conversation was strained at best.

“I’ve been good; all this traveling is just
taking a toll on my body. I’ve been thinking about selling the
brand.”

That caught Kalon’s attention and he put his
menu down. “You’re thinking about selling your name?”

“Yes. I will always be Faith Flare. Nobody
can take that away from me.” She got a faraway look in her eyes. “I
just missed out on so many other opportunities, like being a mother
to you for one.”

Kalon folded his arms and listened to the
mother he wished he had so many years ago.

“I know I can’t go back and redo the past. I
was just so career-focused and I had dreamed of being a big fashion
designer ever since I was eight years old so when the opportunity
presented itself I just ran with it. I didn’t realize that I was
turning my back on the most precious gift God could have ever given
me, my son.”

Tears started to form in his eyes. He didn’t
come here for this. He thought he would have a nice dinner about
business and that’s all. He did not expect Faith to bare her soul.
She reached across the table for his hand. He placed his hands in
hers.

“I’m sorry, Kalon, for not being the mother
you needed.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thanks, Faith. I
accept your apology.”

“Okay, enough of this.” She wiped the fallen
tear from her eye. “So, you look well and I see you have that
Mohawk men are wearing now.”

Kalon rubbed his hands through the strip of
hair running down the center of his head. “Yeah, I’m just trying
something new.”

“It looks good, son.”

They ate their steaks, talking about his
company and the success that he had over the years. “How is your
friend doing?” She started snapping her fingers, trying to remember
his name.

“Oh, Ephraim?”

“Yeah, Ephraim. Is he married yet?”

“Oh no, not Ephraim. He’s dating someone,
though. I think it’s serious.”

She took a sip of her wine. “So who is that
special someone in your life?”

Kalon took his napkin off his lap and dapped
at his mouth.

“I’m not in a relationship.”

His mother sat back and crossed her arms over
her chest. “Why not? You’re a handsome, successful man.”

This topic always seemed to come up. “I’m not
looking for anything serious with anyone. I just date around from
time to time.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “So you’re a
player?”

Exasperated, Kalon blew out a deep breath.
“No, I’m not. Players lead women on to think there’s more. I don’t
do that. I let them know up front that I’m not looking for anything
serious. I’m still young and I’m just selective.”

“Let me lay it on the line, my
selective
son. You are scared of commitment and I might have
played a part in your phobia but don’t let your past define you.
Don’t be afraid to open up your heart. When you experience love, it
can be the most beautiful thing.” She formed her hands in a circle
to bring emphasis to her words. “Don’t base your relationships off
what happened between your dad and me. Despite it all, he and I
truly did love each other. It was just that we grew apart and
wanted different things in life.”

The waitress came and placed the check on the
table. “No rush; pay when you’re ready.” Kalon pulled out his
wallet and placed his black American express card on the table.
“You can take it now.” She smiled and left.

Since his mother had brought up her
relationship with his dad, he decided there was no harm, no foul if
he dug a little deeper into it. “I need to ask you a question about
what happened between you and my dad. You can choose not to
answer.”

“You want to know why we divorced?”

“Yes.” He placed his folded hands on the
table.

Faith looked a little uncomfortable, but she
opened up to him. “Like I said earlier, there are so many things I
wish I would have devoted more of myself to. You, for one, and my
marriage. I know it’s too late for your dad and me. My career had
taken off and I wanted to travel and see the world. Your dad wanted
a stay-at-home wife. I just didn’t know how to be that for him so I
chose my career and walked away.” She reached across the table and
sat a hand on his. “I don’t want that for you, Kalon. Take time out
for love.”

These were not things he ever expected to
hear out of his mother’s mouth. She had put a lot on his mind.
After a little more small talk, Kalon kissed her goodbye and
promised to stop by before leaving New York.

Back in his hotel, he laid in bed thinking
about what she had said to him. The relationship he had with his
mother played a part in how he conducted his personal life; he had
always known that. Fear of being abandoned made it impossible for
him to trust a woman. For one split second he thought about what
would happen if he opened his heart up to Taylor and she left him.
That was too painful to imagine. It was a big leap for him. He
decided to take baby steps.

Taking his iPhone off the nightstand, he sent
a text to Taylor. “Thinking of you, beautiful.” He pressed the send
button, rolled over, and let sleep consume him.

* * *

Taylor awoke the next morning to a loud
lawnmower outside cutting her eight-acre lawn. She had tossed and
turned in her sleep all night as visions of Kalon’s body titillated
her. Sitting up on the side of her bed, she ran her hands through
her tangled soft curls. “I need a touch-up,” she said to
herself.

The cell phone was right beside her on the
nightstand. She picked it up and pressed the on button to see the
time. There was a text message. Pushing the view button, she saw
that Kalon had finally reached out after four days. She had told
herself that after Kalon left for New York she wouldn’t see him
again. When he hadn’t called, she wanted to move on with her life
and figure out what to do about her marriage. Now here she was
staring down at a text message from him saying he was thinking of
her.

If she was completely honest with herself,
she did miss him and his sex. His lovemaking was flawless and she
could see why women were hypnotized by his long strokes, sweet
gentle kisses, and magnificent body. The way she responded to him
every time they were together was shocking. Normally, it would take
nipple sucking, a few kisses, and rubs for her to become wet and
ready. But with Kalon, her pussy automatically responded on cue at
the very sight of him. All the man had to do was breathe and she
was wet. And let’s not think about if he touched her in any small
way—she was ready to rip off her clothes.

Ari never made her feel that way. She had
chalked it up to her having a low sex drive. Evidently Pam was
right when she told her a long time ago that maybe Ari just didn’t
do it for her. In her words, “If Ari isn’t hitting the spot, then
he ain’t the one.” According to Pam, every woman had an untamed
beast in her, patiently waiting for the right man to unleash it.
Taylor had never given that much thought until now.

“Thinking of you, too.” She hit the send
button and got up off the bed to take a shower.

* * *

Kalon powered on his phone after the
three-hour flight from New York to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. After
meeting with his clients that morning and signing the documents to
close his deal, he had lunch with his mother at her estate before
flying out. As they strolled the grounds of her property after
lunch, she promised to call more and he promised to visit more.
Although he was happy that his mom made amends with him, he
couldn’t shake the last thing she said before he walked out the
door. “Don’t forget what I told you at dinner last night. Make time
for love, and when you come back to visit, I want you to bring
someone with you—but only if she means the world to you. Not any of
those women you just have sex with. I want to see
the
one.”

He took the escalator down to baggage claim,
and for a change, his bag was the first one to come out on the
carousel. He had to squeeze by a couple of people to pluck it off
the conveyor belt before it took another trip around the loop. He
was headed toward the exit when his text message alert sounded. A
lopsided grin spread across his face when he saw it was from
Taylor.
Hmm, she’s thinking of me.

His response was, “I want to see you tonight.
My place, eight p.m. Don’t be late.” Tonight he wasn’t going to
take no for an answer. It was time for him to make some changes in
his life. He wanted to get to know the real Taylor and give this
relationship thing a try.

Chapter 15

Taylor sat at her desk, feeling exhausted.
Kalon had been back from his trip for two weeks and she had been
spending her days at the office and her nights with him. Sex lasted
until the wee hours of the morning. She couldn’t get enough of him
and apparently he felt the same way.

She had noticed a change in him after he
returned from New York. He was more compassionate and attentive,
and he wanted all her time. But the idea of them becoming even
closer frightened Taylor.

It had been awhile since she slept in her own
bed, and frankly she needed a good night’s sleep so she decided not
to see Kalon tonight. Just before she reached for the phone to call
him, Libby and Pam came into her office carrying binders and stacks
of papers. “Girl, this new assistant you got is on point,” Pam
exclaimed. “She is definitely better than that last little girl you
had in here, looking like she should still be on breast milk.” The
three of them laughed out loud as they sat down.

“Alright, give me the good news first,”
Taylor ordered.

Libby slid a binder to Taylor. “These are the
numbers for the third quarter close. As you can see, I did a
comparison from the 2011 third quarter. Our cost is down compared
to the previous third quarter.” She flipped the page and waited for
Pam and Taylor to do the same before she proceeded. “Here is a
profit and loss statement, and the 2013 budget.” Pointing at the
number on Taylor’s books, Libby continued. “If you turn to page
fifteen, you will find the financial statements. Everything looks
good.”

Taylor closed the binder. “Sounds great. Pam,
what’s going on in your department?”

The women went over the company’s advertising
strategy and the potential cost of hiring more employees. The
company was rapidly growing, and that meant more revenue.

After two hours of business talk, Libby eased
into a different topic. “So, Tay, why have you been so tired at
work? I know it’s not Ari because I ran into him the other day at
the coffee shop on Madison and Clark. He looked rough, like he
hasn’t slept in months. He gave me a half-ass wave and I turned my
back like I didn’t see him.”