Page 44 of The Enemy

To think I had her pressed against me, that I got to touch those curves, even if it was only for a moment.

“Yo, my man, you’ve been back and you didn’t bother to hit us up!”

Tatum walked in, holding a bottle of champagne, followed by Wes. He raised a brow at me once our gazes clashed, and I knew it was because I had probably glared at Tatum.

I hadn’t been the only one with Lou’s curves pressed against me.

“I’ve been busy,” I told him. “How did you get in?”

“I have a key,” Wes reminded me.

“We have to celebrate. My father told me about the trip. He’s sure his team and yours will find a profitable solution for all of us.”

As much as I wanted to kick him out, I forced myself to smile at him.

“Yeah, it’s going to make headlines. Don’t you worry about that.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” He put the bottle on my desk, then came and patted my back. I froze as he touched me, but forced myself to take a deep breath and willed myself to calm down. He reached for something on my desk, and I thought he would inquire about my siblings, but instead he picked up the invitation.

“Damn, you just got back and you’re invited to the Whitmore ball? I’ve been trying to land one of these for years.”

It wasn’t hard to get one. You just had to be a part of the game. Tatum was content letting his father do all the hard work. He did nothing for others, so they never extended an invitation in return. If you wanted a good time and a party, he was your guy, and if you wanted connections, he was useless.

“Who are you taking?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I told them. “I’m only going there for one reason.”

I had some questions I wanted answers to, and that ball was the only place I could get them without raising suspicion.

THIRTEEN

LOURDES

“Ow, Clove,me duele,”I hissed in pain as she pulled my hair for the tenth time in the last three minutes.

“Blame Martin, not me. I’m not the group’s hairstylist.”

I snorted.

“Hey, we all like this guy. He deserves to be with someone nice, and he’s really cute. I wasn’t going to make him cancel on him to come work on my hair.”

“He could have seen him the next time he came into town,” Clove mumbled.

The four of us were still close, even though it was harder to see Evangeline now that she had been inducted into the motherhood club. I know the three of us were glad she and her husband had worked out. I'm not saying I didn’t think arranged marriages weren’t archaic and because hers worked out it meant it was okay, I was just happy she was happy.

Martin had come out to his parents after he found viral success and his brand took off. He was no longer financially chained to his parents, so he was happy to be his authentic self. We were all happy for him, even if his success meant we didn’t see him as much as we wanted.

“Had I known this would have happened, we could have gone to the salon,” I joked.

“Omigod, we could have gone to the one on the north side, the one that gives you those tiny little charcuterie boards with champagne while you wait,” she exclaimed.

“Let’s see if they can take us on Sunday. I’m going to need a blowout for Monday.”

“I’m in,” she said as she finished sleeking back my high pony. She added more hairspray and a bit of volume to the hair she had straightened.

“I miss your hair. I don’t think I’ve seen your natural waves in a while.”

Her comment was said offhandedly, but it took me off guard.

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