Page 42 of Beautiful Noise
“Not a fan of rich people, I take it.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because most are entitled and arrogant. And selfish.Andmean.” She frowned as if trying extremely hard to think of another insult but she surprised me when she whispered, “Nothing like the person I saw today.”
I was amused and couldn’t let that go. Nope, because I was an asshole most days. “What person, Ri?”
She cut her eyes my way, not wanting to say but eventually she gave in. “You. The way you were with those kids was…a nice surprise.”
I chuckled. “Even Lucifer was a fallen angel. Everyone has layers.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I showed you mine. You gonna show me yours?”
She frowned hard and I smiled at how easily it was to irritate her. This friendship arrangement might not be so terrible after all. At least I’d get some entertainment dealing with Kori. “I have no idea what that means, but it sounds extremely inappropriate, which is not my job.”
“Being inappropriate with me isn’t part of your job? Damn, I need to get a copy of whatever contract you signed with Elite. My mother knows me better than anyone. I’m sure she has something in there about you and me being inappropriate with each other.”
Kori snorted but kept her focus straight ahead which irritated me just a little. I wasn’t sure what it was about this woman that allowed her to get under my skin so easily, but she did and I didn’t like how that felt.
“I only meant…”
“I don’t care what you meant. I’m not here to provide you with extras. My only job is to make sure you don’t overdose on take out and ruin that perfect R&B body of yours. That’sit. Anything else you’re thinking, count me out. We’re friends,Ezren.”
“Good to know because neither am I. It’s why you got the job, Ri. My mother knows my type and you’re not it. Not even fucking close, which made you a good business decision.”
That was a lie, but I was annoyed that she was sticking to this “friend who feeds me” thing.
Her head whipped in my direction and for a split second I noticed what appeared to be a brief moment of vulnerability. I’d hurt her feelings and that had me incredibly uncomfortable. Women never made me uncomfortable and I wasn’t one who necessarily cared about their feelings. But knowing I’d hurt Kori’s…
Well fuck.
And to complicate things just a bit more, I wanted to fix it.
“Since I disrupted your day, how about I treat you to dinner? It’s late…”
“I can make something simple, so being late is not an issue. I have ajobto do, remember?” she muttered, cutting me off.
“You could, but I’m offering an alternative. You good with seafood?”
“Yep.”
I smirked, shaking my head. “I apologize for saying you’re not my type, we both know that’s a lie. I’m just trying my best to remain in the box you forced me in,friend.”
“By insulting me?”
“Yeah, it’s either insult you to try and trick my mind into not wanting you or it’s fuck this friend shit and Ifuckyou. You decide.”
In my peripheral I caught the slight roll of her eyes and the ghost of a smile that stole her expression. I accepted both as a truce and instead of heading to the house, I drove us to Vulture.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kori.
Ezren escorted me into Vulture, a trendy Asian fusion restaurant in Midtown I had been dying to try. The minute we were through the door I realized who I was with. Spending time in the privacy of his home kept us excluded from the reality of Ezren being Eccentric, but the way all eyes were on him when we moved through the building was a very loud reality check.