Chapter Twenty
Xavier
“You’re sure he’s out of the country?” I questioned Quincy over the phone as I sat on my bed, half-dressed.
“Positive. Ethan hasn’t been back since he left Florida two days after you beat his ass. And I found out more on his whereabouts over the last few years. After Chanel left him, it seems his life took a downward spiral. Drinking, gambling, women, et cetera. About a year and a half later, he was accused of attacking a woman, left her with a couple of broken bones. To keep her from pressing charges, his father paid her off as well as some higher-ups, but he was required to go to a treatment facility for six months. That was about three years ago. He relapsed a couple of times after that, it looks like, because he was in and out of different facilities, but by all accounts, he’s been clean and sober for almost two years now. It looks like him coming back to apologize to Chanel was part of his recovery process. I think it’s one of the steps. Anyway, for the last year, he’s been traveling back and forth between the states and Central America doing some freelance legal work and carpentry or building furniture.”
“Furniture?”
“Yeah, apparently he’s good with his hands and has been making and selling some pieces here and there. He’s mainly been living off his trust fund, though he’s not spending excessively.”
“So you’re saying he’s not a threat.”
“Nah, Ethan is no longer a threat to Chanel from what I can tell. Of course, if you want, I’ll keep an eye on him, but I think he’s moved on with his life.”
“Yeah, I still want you to. Thanks, Quincy.”
“No problem. Good luck in Vegas this weekend. Congratulations.”
“Thanks, bruh.”
I hung up, feeling more comforted after my conversation with Quincy. I could cross Ethan off the list of things I needed to worry about. That was a good thing, since I had such a huge weekend ahead of me. My Vegas restaurants were having their grand openings, and Chanel and I were heading up there in just a few hours.
“Who was on the phone?” Chanel questioned around a yawn as she emerged from the bathroom. I licked my lips at the sight of her wrapped in only a towel, her skin glistening from the coconut oil she used after getting out of the shower.
“You’re tired?” I asked, frowning. She’d seemed sluggish lately.
She waved her hand. “I’m fine. Just the extra hours at work.”
“Come here.” My voice came out deeper than usual. When she was within arm’s distance, I pulled her onto my lap, inhaling the fresh scent of the body wash she used. “That was a security expert and private investigator I hired.”
“Security expert? Why?” She pulled back, looking worried.
“Everything’s fine. I hired Quincy after I found out the truth about your ex.”
Her brows wrinkled.
“You remember what I told you about my aunt, right?”
“Of course.”
“Yeah, so, I wasn’t going to let a man hurt another woman I loved. Even though we were going through our separation or whatever. I hired Quincy to track him down and figure out his motives.”
“And?”
“When you left, he went off the deep end for a while. Drinking and gambling, using and abusing women. Ended up in a treatment facility and it took time, but it seems he got clean and has been living off his trust fund, freelancing work and selling furniture. Bouncing back and forth between the states and Central America. Quincy says his apology was probably part of his recovery treatment.”
“And what was he doing in Miami?”
I shrugged. “He happened to be staying there at the time, according to Quincy. Came into the club because one of his clients was there, but ran into me instead. Anyway, it wasn’t intentional on his part.”
“So, do you regret what you did to him?”
“Hell, no.” I looked at her like she was crazy. “I can’t even guarantee that I wouldn’t do the same shit again if we came across one another. But now I feel a little less worried, knowing he’s not trying to fuck with you.”
Chanel cupped the sides of my face. “I love you,” she whispered against my lips. “Now, we can forget about him and focus on your big weekend.”
“Oh, yeah?”
She yelped when I flipped her onto her back on the bed and straddled her. “Nooo,” she yelled and swatted my hand away when I tried to unwrap her towel. “We have to finish packing and leave to catch our flight. We don’t have time for that.”
“I’ll be quick,” I moaned, nuzzling her ear.
“No! You’re never quick, and we don’t have time. Put your shirt on and get the coffee I started for you in the kitchen. It’s probably cold by now.”
I groaned like a schoolboy, deprived of his daily milk and cookies, causing her to giggle.
“We can get to that later. I promise. Go.”
I sucked my teeth as I rose, knowing she was right. We had less than twenty minutes until our driver was supposed to be picking us up. I was only half-dressed and she’d just gotten out of the shower, plus not everything we needed was packed. We were taking extra luggage since we’d be in Vegas for five days, and then we were flying back to Houston only to head straight to Galveston to meet our weeklong cruise. I’d asked a few of my managers if they wanted the tickets but all had plans. Then I forgot about them for a while until my mother reminded me. After our therapy session, I brought up the cruise to Chanel, and she agreed, so I called and had the tickets upgraded and booked our trip.
The truth is, I needed it too. The cruise would be one trip that was not work-related. And Chanel had already made me promise not to bring more than my cell phone and tablet in case of emergencies. I, in turn, made her promise the same thing. Try as she might, I knew I wasn’t the only one who could let work consume me.
“You ready?” I asked on the kitchen intercom, pressing the button for our bedroom.
“Yeah, I’ll just bring down my—”
“You’ll leave it right there and bring your ass down these steps. Either the driver or I will get the bags.” I released the button, shaking my head. She knew better than that.
I heard footsteps making their way to the kitchen. She rounded the hallways and gave me a mean mug.
“I can carry my bags.”
“But you don’t have to,” I returned, handing her one of the paper cups full of coffee with a lid on it.
The bell buzzed.
“There’s the driver.”
Ten minutes later, we were on our way to the airport to head to Vegas. This dream had been years in the making, and I was happy to be sharing the moment with the woman next to me. My mother was scheduled to fly in with her date for the weekend in two days, and even Jay and Tori were coming for the weekend as well. All the people I loved most in the world were going to be sharing the weekend with me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
****
Chanel
“I want to show you something,” Xavier said low in my ear.
Goosebumps formed on my shoulders and arms due to his closeness as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. He walked me over to the huge floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the Vegas strip. The sun was just beginning to set and Vegas’s true beauty was on display.
“I’ve always wanted this.”
“What?” I asked, angling my head to look up at him.
“The feeling of leaving my mark in a city like Vegas and having the woman I love by my side as I do it.”
I had to cover my belly to calm the fluttering.
“And to think it was almost taken away from me. I lost a lot of faith in myself after what happened with Rossi all those years ago. I doubted whether this was my calling and if I was strong enough to make it work.”
“But you’ve never been a quitter,” I stated, turning in his embrace to face him.
“Never that. I doubted myself but then picked myself up and took it as a lesson learned.”
“And you’re here, and he’s somewhere?” I questioned.
“Last my sources told me, he’s living in upstate New York with his only daughter and her family. See that building over there?” He pointed.
I turned to look out the window again.
“The red brick one, lower than all the other buildings. It’s a few blocks from the strip.”
“Yeah, I see it.”
“That was Rossi’s old office. The same one I walked into a few months ago. I own it now,” he finished with satisfaction in his voice.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Don’t know yet. I might convert it into apartment lofts, sell it, or demolish it. I don’t care, honestly. I got what I wanted.”
“Mmm,” I moaned and tilted my head, and he leaned down and kissed my neck. “I have to finish getting dressed,” I whispered when he continued to pepper kisses along my neckline.
“We can be late,” he retorted.
“No, we cannot.” Somehow, I found the mental strength to step from his grasp. I stepped back and admired him in his Tom Ford black and white tux. I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up at him. “I’m so proud of you. You deserve every good thing that happens tonight.” I lifted on my tiptoes, and he leaned down, allowing me access to his lips.
“Thank you. Now finish getting dressed before I’m overwhelmed with the temptation to strip you down naked and take your ass on this bed...again.”
I shivered as I remembered the quickie we’d indulged in earlier that morning.
“Sure thing.” I stepped around him to retrieve the dress I was wearing for the evening from the closet and undid the zipper to step in.
“Can you zip this up for me?”
“You’re such a damn tease,” he growled.
“You love it though.”
He sighed. “I do,” he responded at the same time he gathered the lower back of my dress and zipped me up. My dress was a sleeveless, black shimmery number that went all the way down to the floor, but the slit on the left side ran up to mid-thigh. I decided on this one to match Xavier’s black and white tuxedo.
“We look good together,” he said behind me as we stared into the mirror. I agreed. I was almost stunned by how perfectly we seemed to complement one another. Instead of speaking, I reached up to undo a couple of pin curls in the front of my hair, letting them fall to frame my face while the rest of my hair was pinned up at the back. Xavier dropped a kiss on my bare shoulder.
“Ready?” He held out an arm.
I wrapped my arm around his and grabbed my clutch with my free hand. “Ready.”
We stepped off the elevator and were greeted by Isaac. He worked for Xavier and had been the main overseer of the Vegas restaurants while Xavier was out of town.
“Looking good, boss man. Chanel, lovely as usual. Ready for the big event?” He rubbed his hands together.
“We are. After you,” Xavier told me, holding out his hand for me to make my way into the restaurant.
“We’re good, Annie,” Isaac told the hostess who’d begun to approach us.
My nose was hit with the delicious smells throughout the restaurant. The ambiance was the second thing I noticed. The low lighting set the mood for the tan-yellow color of the chairs and booths and wooden tables. In the middle of the dining space were large aquariums extending from the floor to the ceiling, filled with saltwater and all types of tropical fish. Patrons were already filling the dining area as they marveled at the beautiful interior. Xavier and his staff had created a welcoming space that gave off the exotic feel of Vegas but still felt inviting.
My stomach growled, reminding me that I’d skipped lunch in favor of getting in a little alone time with the man of the hour.
“You okay?” Xavier leaned down to ask, seeing me press my hand to my stomach.
“Yeah, I kinda skipped lunch.” I smiled up at him.
A knowing smirk spread over his face, and he winked at me. “I guess you did, huh?”
We arrived at a long table that was in a closed off part of the restaurant. A bevy of family, friends, and business associates greeted us. Xavier’s mother and Todd were the first to greet us. Next, Tori and Jason welcomed us, with Jason clapping Xavier on the back in congratulations. My father and Marjorie were there as well. While there were a few awkward glances between my father and Wanda, everyone else was too happy for Xavier to take notice.
“We’re still stuffed from lunch, but I’ll try and make room for dessert at least. I’ll just have to add a couple of hours to my workouts this week,” Tori laughed. She and Jason had gone to Xavier’s other restaurant, a seafood spot that was just one block over from this restaurant for lunch.
As we settled into our seats to order our food, the laughter and animated conversations kept going, aided by the constant flow of alcohol.
“The Chanel, for you, ma’am,” the waiter stated as he placed my drink in front of me.
“What?”
“The Chanel, that’s the name of the drink,” the waiter answered.
“Thank you,” I took a sip of the drink and smiled at the familiar taste of the amaretto sour. He’d named the drink after me.
I glanced at Xavier who sat to my left but was engaged in conversation with Isaac. I quietly picked up my drink, smiling in the knowledge that, once again, even in the midst of all this craziness and working, he’d thought of me. I became so engaged in a conversation with Tori, seated to my right, that it seemed like no time before our food was being brought out to us. I inhaled as my plate of roasted asparagus, lobster tail, and grilled steak was placed in front of me. I wasn’t sure if I could finish it all, but my growling stomach told me I’d be a fool not to try.
Before we began eating, Xavier stood to make a toast, thanking everyone who came out to join him. He thanked Isaac for his hard work and willingness to uproot his life to move to Las Vegas, after which, in front of everyone, he offered Isaac the role of staying on in Vegas as the general manager of both restaurants. I couldn’t be certain, but I think I saw Isaac blink a couple of times to keep the tears at bay. The rest of the room applauded the announcement and Xavier went on to thank some more key players, including the owners of the hotel, who were also present. He thanked Jason as his best friend since high school, who was one of the first to also lend him money to help open his first restaurant—something I never knew. But my eyes glossed over at his last statement.
“And to my leading lady tonight, thank you for giving me someone to share all of this with, and a vision of my future. Cheers,” he held up his champagne flute, and everyone cheered.
I could barely get the word out because of the huge lump stuck in my throat. It’d been a simple statement but one that held so much meaning. So much anticipation for the future. In the past, that would’ve sent a current of fear through me, but as I sat back in my seat, I realized all I felt was gratitude and love.
***
Xavier
“They look so sweet,” Chanel stated beside me as we watched my mother and her date.
I looked at my mother standing side-by-side with Todd, his arm draped over her shoulder, her arm around his waist. My mother looked lovely in her off-the-shoulder navy blue dress that fell well below her knees. But what got me was the smile on her face. I’ve seen my mother’s proud smile, her excitement over a huge accomplishment or promotion at work smile, and her genuine ‘I’m happy to see you’ smile whenever she saw me, but this smile was…
“I think she’s in love.” Chanel summed it up. “I’d recognize that look anywhere. I see it most mornings when I look in the mirror. A feeling of being safe and in love.”
I peeled my eyes from my mother and lowered them to meet Chanel’s chocolate brown gaze. I cupped her face in my hands.
“I’m pretty sure we’re ready to go upstairs.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Grant,” she purred and yup, my dick jumped in my pants when she slyly grazed her palm across the front of them.
“Shit, we might not make it to the elevator if you keep that up.”
Her response was an enticing giggle.
“Isaac,” I called over my shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“The owners have left. The staff is winding down. You okay overseeing the rest of the cleanup?”
Isaac looked between Chanel and me, and grinned. “Not a problem.”
“Cool.”
I gave him a few last parting words and exchanged goodbyes with Jay, Tori, my mother, Todd, Elliott and Marjorie before leading Chanel to the elevators that would carry us to our room. Her zipper was down, and my hands were releasing her bra strap before the elevator doors opened to our room.