Page 16 of Continuum

I rubbed my hands together. “Let’s hear it.”

“A few years ago, Eli and I went to secure a contract in Atlanta,” he started. “It went well, so we went out to celebrate. We met some women, and it was a good night.”

My eyebrow quirked and I gave a solitary nod.

He laughed. “I remember that look. Don’t judge me!”

“I’m not judging you,” I exclaimed, amusement raising my voice an octave.

“You’re going to tell me you’ve never had a one-night stand or sex on the first date?”

I shook my head. “I’ve never had a one-night stand and I’ve never had sex on the first date.”

Kwame leaned forward. “Really? Tell me more about that.”

I nodded. “Really. But just because that’s not how I get down doesn’t mean I’m judging you.” I waved my hand at him. “But don’t try to turn this around on me, tell me what happened after you and Eli tag teamed those Atlanta women.”

“Tag team?” He snickered. “Why would you say some shit like that? That’s not what happened! We had separate rooms and I went back to my room with my guest, and he went back to his room with his guest.”

I lifted my hands. “No judgement.”

His eyes crinkled and his voice broke with amusement as he carried on. “So later, Eli had sex with the woman he was with and after they were finished, he asked her if she could go home so he could get some sleep. She got mad and cussed him out. They started yelling in the hallway talking all types of shit. My room was across the hall and I heard them. Before I could get up and tell them to be quiet, she was banging on my door looking for her friend. Her friend got her stuff and they both left.” He sighed before he continued. “The next day we were meeting with the company’s legal team and who walks through the door? The woman Eli kicked out.”

My jaw dropped. “Wowwwwww…” I dragged the word out. “That’s wild!”

“Yeah, and surprise surprise, the deal fell through and we went back to Chicago empty-handed.”

“That’s…wow.” I didn’t know where to start. “I have so many questions. But first, is that your thing? You celebrate a good meeting with a random one-night stand?”

“Nah, that’s not my thing. I’ve had a couple one-night stands before. But I celebrate a good meeting by letting off steam. That could be getting a drink, listening to music, hitting the gym…whatever feels good at the time. That was the first and last time I had a one-night stand on a business trip. Eli can risk fucking with his money if he wants to. I won’t.”

I nodded. “You said you worked for Simmons… that’s Eli’s last name, right? He’s not your boss, is he?”

“No, he’s not.”

I let out a little laugh. “That’s a relief. I have a whole pamphlet on hownotto socialize with your coworkers and employees and he pretty much did all of them in the seven minutes I met him.”

“Yeah, Eli is…interesting. I mean, he’s cool and he knows his shit. But he’s all over the place. And because his father is Elliot Simmons, the CEO, he gets away with being…Eli.”

I noticed how his thick eyebrows drew together forming a deep line between them. I didn’t want to pry, but I could tell something was up. I opened my mouth to say something, but he beat me to it.

“Enough about me,” Kwame declared, the dark emotion that haunted his features gone. “I want to know about you. What are you doing now?”

“I’m an HR consultant,” I answered. “I stayed at Hamilton to get my master’s and then I worked with a big corporation downtown for a while. I decided that I wanted to do my own thing and opened my own consulting company a few years ago. I now assist Human Resources departments within companies. I collect data and use that information to help them with retention, employee satisfaction, and overall morale. I take the numbers and I’m able to”—I shook my head and laughed— “I don’t want to bore you with the details.”

“I’m not bored. Not in the slightest.”

I bit my lip. “Well, long story short, I use my skills to help improve employer-employee relations.”

“I’m impressed. No”—he leaned forward— “you are impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“Have you ever thought of leaving Richland?”

“It crossed my mind in my twenties, but I never made the move. I never really considered it after that. My business roots are here.” I made a face. “So probably not. Would you ever leave Chicago since you travel so much?”

“For me, moving would mean switching jobs and starting over in my career.” He shook his head. “Until I’m a partner, it doesn’t make any financial sense to switch jobs.”

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