Page 26 of Love Delayed
I raced to meet Zamora in the lobby and walked her into the lounge. After helping her onto a seat at the bar, I asked her to give me ten minutes to finish up, and she obliged. I told my bartender that she was my guest and to give her whatever she wanted. Then I excused myself. When I made it back to the front desk to head to my office, Eliana was walking out.
“Babe, I asked you to wait in my office,” I said, wondering why it was so difficult for her to do as told sometimes.
“Like you at times, your office is boring,” she said, then moved to the trash can and tossed the package. “Eat whatever you like. Just make sure I’m your sole beneficiary,” she added before walking off. Before exiting the lobby, she made a dramatic stop and turned back to me. “I hope to see you later, fiancé,” she spat and bounced out the door.
I turned to my staff, who turned their heads in a different direction as if they were not all up in my business. I let out a deep breath, rushed to my office, and headed straight for my wet bar. One ball of ice and whiskey like my father. Then, I got myself together to show Zamora to her temporary home.
Chapter Eleven
Zamora
As I sipped my wine while sitting at the bar, I begged my aching heart to stop racing. Seeing Marcus again made my stomach flutter, and I started having second thoughts about allowing him to put me up. I took a gulp, swallowed, and released a long breath to get my hormones and nerves in check. I focused on the beautiful jazz playing and the smooth Pinot Noir I was sipping on. Scanning the room, I observed couples who clearly loved each other. Or maybe they were just feeling each other for that night. The women wore bright smiles, and the men displayed looks of loving lust. It was good to see. I thought about when I would be out at a restaurant watching couples who didn’t even talk to each other while having dinner.
I’ve catered some events where I wanted to yell at people to put their damn phones down and socialize in the flesh. I have been to beautiful upscale homes where the husband or wife did their best to connect with their mate, only for things to turn into a full-blown argument because the unwilling partner would find something wrong with the person putting in the effort to make it work. It would always break my heart because most of the time, the person always trying typically ends up hurting the most in the end, such as with Evan and me. During our marriage, I thought I gave myself to him the same way I had given myself to Marcus. So why didn’t my efforts have the same good effect on Evan?The answeris because he ain’t me, Zee,I heard my mind say in Marcus’s voice.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh yeah…I’m sorry,” I answered, snapping out of my thoughts.
“You good, Zee?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I didn’t see you approach,” I said, then polished off the rest of my wine and placed my empty glass on the bar.
“It’s all good,” he replied, sitting on the bar stool next to me. “Are you ready to see your place?”
I smiled. “I am, but maybe you should give me the rate first so I can make sure I can afford to stay here. I have a new business, and when I started it, I didn’t know I would be getting a divorce and on my own,” I expressed, fighting back my tears.
“I’m sure. Look, you don’t have to worry about rates because I’m not taking a dime from you. Now come on, beautiful. Let’s go check out your new place,” he said, pulling me off the stool.
I thanked the bartender and followed Marcus to the elevators. After we stepped inside, he put the key in the slot and hit the button. I kept it together as we rode up to a familiar place. I had been on that elevator countless times when we were together. Finally, we stopped, and I already knew we were on the penthouse floor. I had chilled, danced, and watched more movies there than I could count––all with Marcus.
“Come on,” he said with an outstretched hand.
Placing my hand in his, I said, “Marcus, no, no, no. I need a room. I just need a corner…you know, a tiny space to regroup.”
“I will not take no for an answer, Zee. This place has been sitting empty for some time now, and it is yours for as long as you need it.”
“Marc, no,” I said again, looking around. “This is too much.”
Every shade was open, the beautiful view greeting me. Being there felt like a dream.
“As I said, no charge,” he added.
“Absolutely not. I have to pay something,” I countered.
“I have an idea,” he said, smiling.
“What’s that?”
“Teach my staff some new mouthwatering dishes. Oh, and help them with making over-easy eggs. Please, baby, please,” he said, playfully doing a scene fromDo the Right Thingwhile chuckling.
“Over-easy eggs? If they can’t make that, they all need to be fired,” I returned with a little laugh.
“Exactly! I had to listen to a guest for damn near a half hour about how their eggs weren’t prepared right. So, revamp my menu with some five-star dishes, and your stay is rent-free.”
“I’ll agree to that if you can keep in mind that I have a catering business to run.”
“Zee, I’d never want you to put your business on the back burner. It’s no rush, just in your spare time. It’s time to improve the restaurant, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to trust to get the job done. So, do we have a deal?” he asked, both palms pressed together in front of his face like he was praying for me to answer yes.