After our night together, I had soul searching to do. I had vowed to spend time enjoying the single life with the return of my maiden name, Destiny Baker. I planned to take some much needed time off from the thing so many people called love.
And I was good without love. I had a fulfilling job, beautiful home, dependable car and two charming kids. I was newly divorced, and my ex-husband was an awesome co-parent. With all things considered, I had it all.
But as each day and night passed by, since the day I met Jacob, it was so hard for me to breathe when I wasn’t with him.
CHAPTER THREE
JACOB
Standing in the Gap
"That will be all, Henry. I'm going to stay here tonight," I said to my driver as he pulled up in front of Justine's condo. It had been a month since I invited Destiny back to my hotel and made the sweetest love of my life. I missed her. I yearned to see her again, but, as a man in charge of a massive enterprise, many working nights and days flew by at the speed of light.
"Okay sir. I will see you in the morning, unless you call before then," Henry said with a tilt of his hat.
I exited the Bentley and Henry drove off. I walked up to my dear friend’s doorstep. Justine called me earlier sounding like she had been in a train wreck. I was in the middle of a meeting and couldn’t talk, but, when she said she felt like she wanted to commit suicide, I immediately dropped everything and came to her house.
I could’ve called her parents or an ambulance, but I knew she would freak out if I didn’t show up in person. Therefore, I cut my meeting short and rushed over to check on her.
I was no fool, though. She probably just wanted me to spend the night. She wanted me to make love to her. She wanted our relationship to be the way it was before I broke things off, when I realized that I loved her, but only as a friend.
In the last month, I attended hundreds of meetings about offices opening in Wyoming and Delaware, which were the only two states Turner Enterprises didn’t have a local office. It had been busy time for me with lots of activities going on at Turner, so I didn’t have time to talk to Justine. That was probably why she was in meltdown mode.
I preferred to finish my business for the day, but I had to be sure Justine was safe before I dismissed her suicide claim as just another one of her tricks to spend time with me. I didn’t know what to expect when she opened the door.
"How are you, Justine?" I asked as I stepped upon the doorstep.
"Better, now that you are here," she said, showing a glimpse of her flawless smile. "Come in."
She turned and walked away. I followed her into the living room that the best fashion designer in Miami crafted for the two of us, when we were a couple. A blend of white and beige colors matched Justine's regal personality. A splash of red and orange in a floral portrait over the fireplace fit her sometimes eccentric behavior perfectly.
"Justine, you called me like you had an emergency. What's going on?" I asked.
She sat down on the sofa and stared off into space.
"Talk to me, Justine!"
"Do you want something to drink?" she gestured toward two wine glasses and a bottle of Henri Jayer sitting on chill in the middle of the coffee table.
My mouth watered for my favorite wine, but I shook my head. "No, thanks. I don’t want anything to drink."
She lit a candle in the middle of the coffee table.
"Will you tell me what the matter with you is? You were in tears and saying you wanted to kill yourself when you called me, and that's why I’m here," I got straight to the point.
"You left me alone, Jacob. I can’t survive like this," she cried, tears welling up in her sky-blue eyes. "How could you just up and leave after all we shared? If nothing else, we were friends...and you…you," she wept as her words caught in her throat.
I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed.
I sat down beside her on the sofa.
"I didn't just up and leave you, Justine. We started out as friends and we will always be friends."
She sprang from her seat and wagged her finger in my face. "I don’t want to be just your friend! How can we just be friends, after what we shared? I gave you all of me and you left me alone!"
I stood up and looked at her anguished face. I loved her dearly and respected our friendship, but I didn’t have time to spare on this type of stress. If she had been anyone else, I would have had Henry double back so fast that her head would be spinning.
Justine meant something to me, though. She had been my best friend since kindergarten. She defended me when other kids picked on me, and she added acceptance to my life before I understood dividends and assets.
"Justine, stop crying." I hugged her close. "I’ll always be here for you. I love you, girl."
A sparkle of hope gleamed in her eyes. "If you love me, why are you treating me like this?”
She tilted her neck, and I knew she wanted a kiss. I gave it to her—a more than friendly kiss on her lips, then pulled away and kissed her forehead. I thought of the best way to tell her I was falling for another woman.
"I don't want to see you hurt like this. It's just that…"
"What, Jacob?" she asked as her light eyes darkened.
"You know what, it’s not important. Go get yourself all dressed up and we’re going to go do something fun. Like back in our college days," I said, unable to bring myself to crush her when she was already so fragile.
"Like old times?" she asked, as she grinded her thin body against mine.
"Justine, go get dressed." I sighed. I hated the feeling that I was giving her false hope. I had to find a way to let her know it was over romantically, and to get my friend back.
"It won't take me that long to get dressed." She shrank away from me and pranced toward her bedroom. “Thanks for spending time with me, Jacob,” she turned around and said humbly.
“No problem, Justine. Now, go get dressed.”
Giggling, she ran off to her room, leaving me to figure out how we got to this place.
We spent twelve years at St. Mary's Catholic School. We attended sleepovers, family dinners, and parties through elementary and high school. I consoled her, after a creep that was supposed to be her soul mate left her at the altar. I stood in the gap that her fiancé, Rick, left wide open. One thing led to another after I gave her a ride home from the chapel that day. By nightfall, Justine and I melded into one, releasing deep tensions our past lovers left behind.
Soon things were hot and heavy between us. Our parents were happy, and even though our romantic relationship had been a rebound affair, she was safe for me. She had been by my side since kindergarten. She wasn’t just another chick trying to get the Turner name, and that was good enough for me, until Destiny walked into my life, stole my attention, and demanded my affection.
Destiny’s beautiful smile lit a fire inside of me. Her sensual moans awakened every part of me. I had been a one woman's man, but something about Destiny made me want more than a safety net. She made me want to walk on the dark side of love, where only my heart guided me. I didn't want a best friend; I wanted burning passion. It would crush me if Justine ended her life because I followed my heart. I didn’t want to let a part of me die on the inside, either.
I stared at Justine’s closed bedroom door and thought about how I would tell her that it was over for us. I planned to take her to hang out and then come back and sleep on her sofa. It would be a night out amongst friends, something she would have to get used to. Then, I would tell her everything in the morning.
My vibrating cell brought me out of my thoughts.
My heart leapt in my chest as I answered.
CHAPTER FOUR
DESTINY
Crave
I walked with a high stride, when I stepped off flight 1087 in Miami, Florida. I claimed my bags from baggage claim, retrieved my rental car from Avis, and was on the highway headed to my hotel within thirty minutes. Just knowing I was in the same city
as Jacob made me all giddy. I dialed his number.
"Hello," he answered on the third ring.
"Hey babe. Are you busy?"
"Not too busy for you. What's up?" he asked.
"I bet you can’t guess where I am. I just bet you can’t," I beamed, as the big ole country grin on my face caused a driver passing by to smile, as well.
"In Miami?" he asked with not quite as much enthusiasm as I would have expected. Given our heated phone call the night before, I thought he would be turning corners already, since we had a chance to see each other in the flesh.
"Yeah…" I answered slowly, gauging his response, "I'm meeting a Miami client tomorrow, so I thought I would surprise you."
"You thought you would surprise me?" he said as more of a question.
“Yeah, but if you’re busy this weekend, I definitely understand.”
"You are just full of surprises, aren’t you, Ms. Destiny?"
“I try to keep things popping," I said with a laugh.
"You definitely do that. Who do you have a meeting with?" he asked.
"Susie Alexander from Museum of Contemporary Art? I’m hoping to start doing some marketing for them."
"Oh, yeah. Susie is a good person. Do you want me to call and put in a word?"
"No thanks, sweetheart. You’ve done enough by introducing us. I can handle her on my own from here," I said, thankful for his willingness to help. "But… I do want you to come and put in a good night's work with me," I teased, smiling from ear to ear.
"Destiny…" he began to speak, but I was so excited I continued to talk.
"You can meet me at the Embassy Suites at the Airport. It's not a presidential suite or anything like that, but I really want to see you."
There was a long pause on the line, as if he was thinking about whether he wanted to spend the night with me.
"That’s okay, if tonight is not a good time for you."
"Yeah, it's bad timing. I have a lot going on," he finally admitted in a dry tone.
“I need to get rested up tonight, anyway,” I said, and it took everything in me to not sound disappointed.
"How about I take you to lunch after you meet with Susie tomorrow?"
"Lunch will be fine," I said as the wind deflated from my chest. A long, drawn out pause loomed over the line.
"Sorry Destiny."
An apology wasn’t enough to ease the unexplainable feeling of rejection that came over me. He had nicked my ego, but I would be fine. I steered into the hotel's parking lot and found a parking space. "No, it's okay, Jacob. Tomorrow is fine. I'll see you then."
After late night texting, X-rated phone calls, and fantasizing about what we would do if we were in each other’s arms again, we were only a few miles away and he had something more important to do. I tried to understand that he was the brains and brawn for his family's beloved company. But, he had hundreds of employees at his disposal. He should be able to get any of his qualified workers to free him up for one night. I couldn’t think of one logical reason why he couldn’t make time for me.
"I'll be there as soon as you get out of your meeting tomorrow, Destiny," he promised.
"Sure, you will."
"Destiny?"
"Yes," I said, ready to hang up the phone, take a hot shower, and sink into the comfort of my hotel bed. At least, the bed would be there to hold me tight, all night.
"I'll make this up to you," he said with his voice low, as if he were whispering his words directly to my heart. "I hope you understand."
"I understand," I told him, and part of me did understand. He couldn’t stop his life just because I popped into town – never mind that I arranged a business meeting almost eight hundred miles away from home two weeks before Christmas, just to see him. I was used to men putting work ahead of me. My ex-husband Montie did it for years.
Me being in Miami was obviously nothing extraordinary. Jacob was a powerful executive, with many willing women at his disposal. Hell, we'd had sex on our first night.
After taking a deep gulp to swallow the growing lump in my throat, I disconnected the call, threw my cell phone into my purse, and attempted to remove the huge dagger that hung from my chest.
CHAPTER FIVE
DESTINY
I'm in Love
Instead of sitting around sulking, I called my cousin, Tasha, who lived on the upper east side of Miami. She had been asking me to come to Miami so we could hang out. Maybe she could show me a little bit of the city where the magic happens, since my plans to be with Jacob were a bust.
"Hey Tasha," I feigned excitement when she answered on the first ring. It wasn’t that I wasn’t happy to talk to her; I was just let down by Jacob.
"Hey girlie!" Tasha beamed through the phone. I could hear the love and surprise in her voice, at once. "To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to my favorite cousin this evening?"
"Well, earlier when I was breezing through the streets of Miami, headed toward the Embassy Suites, I thought I'd give my bestie cousin a call and see what we could get into."
"You've got to be kidding me right now! Who, what, when, where, and how did you end up in Miami?"
I laughed at her silly butt. "You’re still a mess. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was coming to town, but I’m most definitely here. I have a meeting tomorrow, but I'm free to have a good time tonight."
If things had gone my way, I had no intentions of coming up for air the entire weekend, much less hanging out with Tasha. Yet as I talked to her, I couldn’t imagine coming to her city and not hanging out with my cousin.
"So…you came all the way to Florida, and conveniently forgot to tell me you were coming? What’s really going on?" she asked with a playful attitude.
"I have some business to handle with MOCA, and that’s why I’m here. In the meantime, we can get together and have a few drinks.”
“Did you say drinks? I can definitely use a drink, after the week I’ve had,” she said.
“Can you meet me at the Embassy Suites by the airport at six?"
"Embassy Suites at six. Yes, ma’am. You already know I'm there. They have that free happy hour, too... I am so there. Where are my shoes?" I heard her snap her fingers for emphasis.
I imagined Tasha frantically searching for her shoes and shook my head. My kinfolks were something else.
"Ha. See you then, girl. Love you," I said.
"Love you too, sis," she replied before disconnecting the call.
I entered the hotel and checked into my room. The first thing I did was go to the bathroom, freshen up, and put on something comfortable.
As soon as Tasha arrived at six, we headed down to the bar area. I was so happy to see her, but I had to force a smile when I thought about the fact that it should have been Jacob with me. Once Tasha and I had our first round of drinks in hand, we found a table to sit and relax for a while. It was then that she gave me a suspicious once-over.
"So, are you going to tell me about this guy, or what?" She shot me a “and don’t lie” look.
"What are you talking about?" I almost choked on my drink.
"I’m talking about this guy that has my cousin a thousand miles from home on a Friday night, acting uptight and, if I could call it, a bit sad at the moment."
"What do you mean, Tasha?"
"Look, I know that you love me. I also know you didn’t travel into town a day early for a Saturday meeting, just to surprise me with free drinks at your hotel. You're a planner and you’re cheap. You would have called me to stay at my house, unless you had other plans."
"You think you know me, huh?"
"Like a book. You plan your business so that every minute is accounted. If you wanted to hang with me tonight, we would have had a game plan. You might as well go ahead and spill your guts. You sounded a bit pathetic when you called me, too." Tasha tilted her wine glass toward me and continued. "Go ahead and give it up. Give up the who, what, when, where, and how about this gentleman. If my gut feel
ings are correct, you may need a coochie intervention."
"A coochie intervention? You know what; I'm not even going to chase that one." I ran my fingers around the rim of my glass, while deciding what I wanted to share with Tasha. I could have lied and said there was no man involved, but what was the use? We grew up in the same house, like sisters. Tasha knew when my emotions were all over the place, even though I was trying to hold it together.
I remembered when I was a little girl and I took my first five-finger discount. It was a bag of chips from Red and White’s grocery store. She looked at me with crumbs all over my face and said, "You didn’t have no money for that."
I finished off the chips and threw the bag in the trash.
"Yes, I did! Grandma gave it to me," I answered, before swiping my tiny hand across my lips to wipe away the crumbs.
"‘Who, what, when, where, and how did Grandma give you money and not give me any? I'm gonna go ask her. And you better not be stealing." Tasha stomped back to Grandma's house, just as aware then, as she was sitting across from me at the bar, of what was going on with me. Whenever I was messing up, she would say who, what, when, where and how. I hated that her second-grade teacher taught her the five "Ws."
"Well…" I looked around the serene dining area. I had to give her answers, but how could I admit my situation? My heart swelled, and a tear threatened to roll down my cheek. "I think I'm in love."
CHAPTER SIX
DESTINY
Opposing Magnets
After telling Tasha how Jacob made me feel alive, I told her about his family business, the fact that he was a very affluent white man, how we met and continued to communicate for the past month. In Tasha, I had an outlet. She didn’t judge me. Eventually, she would give me her honest thoughts and keep it real, but she simply listened.
“Is he at least fine?" she asked, and my eyes glazed over thinking about how sexy Jacob was.