Risking It All (9 page)

Michael’s voice from upstairs confirmed he was
in the bedroom. When she walked in,
he was on his cell phone. What really concerned her was seeing
his suitcase opened on the bed. Was he packing?
What was going on? Was he upset about her not having dinner on the table?

She turned the corner and spotted him in
the walk-
in closet, cell phone in one hand, clothes
hangers
in the other.

“I have no idea, Teddy…Yeah…seven
a.m.
…too many problems, just too many…alright.”

Seeing that he was occupied, s
he sat on the bed beside the suitcase
and waited
.

“We’
ll talk later.” Michael dismissed the person on the other end, and then turned around. He didn’t look
surprised to see her.

“Honey, what’s going on? Why are you packing?”

“Julissa, what usual happens next when people pack their bags.” He strolled over to the bed with no expression on his face and began folding the garments neatly into the suitcase.

“Are you going somewhere? Don’t tell me you’re mad. What did I do this time?”

Michael looked at her and lifted one eyebrow. “You’re quick to think I’m mad because you’ve
been doing something wrong. So
have you done something wrong?”

“No. I have dinner downstairs. I thought you wanted to eat early tonight.”

“I’ve been home since three, Julissa.”

“What happened to getting off at five?”

“So, I got off early.
I’m going on a business trip. My flight leaves early tomorrow morning.”

“What
! For how long? Why so sudden?” Julissa was surprised. Usually, Michael told her weeks ahead of time that he would be going out of town on business. That way, she would be prepared to be left home alone.

“Sometimes, it’s just like that with this job.”

Julissa watched him as he went back into the closet to grab his garment bag.

“Do you mind packing a few suits in this bag for me?”
he asked.

“Sure. Where are you going?”

“New York City.”

“Again? You just returned from New York only a few weeks ago. When
—
”

Before she could finish, he answered. “I should be back Friday afternoon. Also, the clients didn’t seal the deal that week.
The bid they accepted fell through.
They’re interested now and we need to make anoth
er trip there to seal the deal
.”

Maybe she could finally catch up on wo
rk and her me-time.
The last couple weeks had been really exhausting.
“I have dinner ready downstairs, if you’re hungry.”

“I’ve been hungry since earlier this a
fternoon.
That’s why I was a bit angry that no lunch or dinner was ready for me when I got here this afternoon. Go and set the table, and I’ll be down in a sec
.
”

Julissa didn’t know if she was happy or disappointed that Michael was going out of town for several days, leaving her alone, yet again, in this big empty house. She remembered in the past when he would invite her along on his business trips. That was when their relationship had just gotten started.

Now, as she ate across the table from him, she could see the wrinkles and worr
ies on his forehead
.
Did the anxiety have something to do with the business trip ahead or the fact that she’d serve him Mexican take-out?

After taking Michael to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, Julissa was now sitting at her desk at work preparing to interview Jenna Barnes for the new position of realtor. She carefully reviewed the girl
’
s resume and application to get an idea of what kind of candidate she was and why Martha had chosen her to interview for the position. As if on cue, the phone on her desk rang. She pressed the button for speakerphone. “This is Julissa.”

“Julissa. Jenna is here to see you. She’s waiting in the reception. Sh
ould I send her back?” Bertha, the receptionist, asked.

“Thank you, Bertha
. I’m reviewing her resume. I’
ll be out
in a few minutes
.”

Julissa printed the interview questions that Martha had emailed to her late last night, grabbed her portfolio, and was on her way out the door when her cell phone rang. She stopped and removed the cell phone from the clip on her belt. “Julissa Lorenzo.”

“Hello, Beautiful.” It was Quinton.

“Hey, Q.” She smiled into the cell phone.

“How’s your morning going?”

“So far, so good. I had a few things to do at the office, but I should be headed out here pretty soon.” She walked back over to her desk and thumbed through her notes. “Q, I would like to email you some information on that property that you liked so much. Maybe that will help you make you
r
decision.”

“Okay, great. Can you send it by this afternoon? I have a phone conference with some people down in Florida at three and I wanted to make sure I can fill them in correctly.”

“Sure, I have to interview someone in a few minutes, but I should have that to you in an hour or so. What’s your email address?” Julissa grabbed a pen.

Quinton rattled off his email address as she wrote.

“So, what are you doing
tonight?” he asked.

Julissa was taken off guar
d by his questions. How many ways could she say nothing at all
. Dood
ling on the paper
, she said, “Depends.”

“On what?”

“
On w
hat I feel like doing?”

“How do you feel like being invited to dinner? I have some ideas about what direction I want my business to go in, but I wanted to get your take on it. You’ve been in real estate longer than I have and I wanted an expert opinion.”

“Q, I don’t know.” Michael was out of town. Christina was out on honeymoon. Shanice was dating a guy that she met at the wedding. And she didn’t have a thing to do but sit in front of the television and watch Lifetime movies and eat Chinese takeout and ice cream.

“You don’t know if you feel like being invited to dinner? What about drinks and a little music? There’s this place a few blocks from the hotel that someone recommended as a good place to unwind.”

“Sounds nice, but I don’t think it would be right.” It was one thing to be accepting Quinton as a client without telling Michael, but it was another thing to go out alone with Quinton while Michael was away on business.

“What wouldn’t be righ
t about it?” Quinton seemed
conf
used
.

“Well, you know that I’m involved…”

“Yeah, I know.” Quinton was silent on the other end for a little while, and then he said, “We can meet to talk business, can’t we? I want to work with you, Julissa. I like your style and you are very successful at what you do.”

Julissa sighed. “Okay, Q.” She wondered if she was only agreeing because she knew that she wouldn’t have to answer to Michael about why she was going out.

“Great! So, shall we do light dinner, drinks, and a little music or would you like a formal dinner?”

“A light dinner sounds nice.”

“
I’ll make a reservation.
Where should I pick you up
and what time
?”

“We’ll meet at the hotel. Will eight work for you?”

“Sure, I’ll see you at eight.”

When they hung up, Julissa looked down at the pad
that she was doodling on
. She star
ed at the little hearts
around his email address. She dropped the pen
instantly. She hadn’t drawn
such foolishness since she was in high school.

Quickly dismissing any ideas, she scratched through the hearts, stuck the post it on the LCD screen of her laptop and once again headed toward the receptionist area to interview Jenna.

**

Julissa also couldn’t remember the last time she had taken more than hour to get ready for anything. From the moment she arrived home, which was five that evening, was the moment she started gett
ing herself ready for the date—no—
meeting with Quinton. The short, black, balloon dress she wore was form-fitting, simple, but elegant.
A party dress.
The heels and handbag she chose as an accessory to her outfit were a shiny gold. The gold earrings and necklace were a gift from her mother. Ironically, she wore her hair in Michael’s favorite way. Flat-ironed, bone straight down her back, with blunt cut bangs. Too bad he was too busy in New York to see it. When she called him after she arrived home, they talked for about five minutes before he rushed her off the phone, claiming he was still extremely busy with the proposal they were working on.

Julissa parked in the same section as yesterday and dialed Quinton’s cell phone.

“Hey, baby, you here already?”

“Yes, directly in front of valet.”

“I’ll be down in a second to come get you. I’ll be the driver tonight.”

Quinton looked stunning, as always, in casual dress pants and dress shirt that looked like they were just
recently
bought from the department store or just picked up from the dry cleaners. Hands in his pockets, he strutted towards her
Lexus
.

She exited her
vehicle and waited for him to f
all in step beside her.

“You look lovely.” His eyes wandered slowly, taking in her appearance.

“You look good yourself.” Julissa grabbed her handbag and Quinton led her further through the parking lot to his car. They stopped in front of a Range Rover and he opened the door for her. Julissa was kind of surprised at the type of vehicle he drove. She expected something like a Mercedes or Lexus, something sporty or classy to fit his lifestyle as a business and career man.

“Nice
,” Julissa commented when he was inside the car. Everything was black from the outside to the black leather seats and interior.

“Thanks. I bought this baby brand new. Had her for over a year now. She’s a gas guzzler, but I wouldn’t trade her in for the world.”

“I agree SUVs feel much more roomier despite the low gas mileage. Plus, I can see with you in real estate, how you would need more room to carry stuff around. Speaking from a realtor
whose
trunk is considered a third office.”

He chuckled. She loved the way he laughed.

A
s they headed to their destination, the
y made small talk about how he’d
been coping in Atlanta by himself.

The upscale restaurant was in the heart of downtown Atlanta and near all the excitement of the nigh
t life. Even on a Tuesday night,
the side
walks, restaurants, and bars were
still well-occupied. Not as occupied as they would be on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, but the nightlife was existent in Atlanta always 365 days a year.

When they arrived, the server confirmed their reservations and seated them at a booth table near the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere was calm and the lights were dimly lit with light R&B and Jazz music playing in the background. As they were taking their seats, Quinton did the weirdest thing…or at least she thought it was weird. Instead of sitting in the booth seat facing her, Quinton sat on the same side with her. In all her twenty seven years and many dates with other men including Michael, none had ever been as unique as Quinton was now proving to be.

The waitress gave them menus and left.

“This place has an i
mpressive drink menu. I was here
last Sunday and ha
d a hard time making up my mind.
” Quinton held the menu up in front of him and looked as if he was contemplating hard about what he wanted to drink.

“So, you seem to be making it around Atlanta on your own just fine.”

“Well, Ed, Tracey, and Leroy invited me out for a drink. Ed and Tracey are my cousins. Leroy is one of Richard’s friends. Besides out for drinks every now and then, we haven’t really been anywhere.”

“How is it that you are the only one out of your cousins who don’t live in Georgia?”

“I did live in Atlanta with my mother and father when I was younger. We went to the same middle school together until it was time for my family to relocate to Florida. We visited often for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all the family reunions, but it was always back to Florida after that. I think I’m beginning to fall in love with Atlanta all over again.” He stole a glance a
t her
.