Page 16 of Seducing a Sagittarius
She smiled. “Can’t complain. Did you get it?”
“I did.”
“Ahh, she’s going to be so excited!” I chuckled. My moms was a real life valley girl.
“You know your dad is going to pay you back, right?”
“I don’t need to be compensated. It’s a graduation gift from me.”
“Yeah, but you do enough for the little spoiled princess. She goes to you because she’s impatient.”
“I’m already knowing,” I replied, placing the papers in my briefcase just as Layne poked her head through the door.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah. Ma, I gotta go. I’ll see you tomorrow at the ceremony.”
“Okay, Son. Talk to you later. I love you!”
“I love you more.” I ended the call then stood.
“I’m sorry for interrupting. I didn’t know you were on a call.”
“It’s fine. Would you mind reminding me of where we’re going again?”
“Bar hopping to score some entertainment for the party.”
“Oh, . . . right.” I had forgotten that quickly after all the meetings I had that I would accompany her to look for a band to play at the party. “Let’s roll.” I grabbed my briefcase and jacket as we headed out of the door. I made sure to lock up and relieve Liz as I escorted Layne out of the building to my ride.
“A Maserati . . . I like!” She observed as I opened the passenger door for her. The sleek black-on-black ride was my pride and joy.
Damn. Maybe I should have gotten her a Tesla.
Our matching cars were going to be a dead giveaway, because my ass wasn’t thinking.
“Thank you.” I closed her door then hopped inside, pulling out of the parking garage.
Our first stop wasAretha’s Jazz Cafè. We watched a few talents grace the stage, but most of them were poets or played an instrument. Nonetheless, the band was pretty dope. After theirset, we spoke with the leader of the band, and he agreed to do the party, which was a plus.
After leaving there, we headed over toEssence Bar & Grill. As soon as we walked in, the vibe instantly captured us. I saw Layne bobbing her head to the woman on stage, playing the guitar and singing a melody that captured even my attention. People were swaying to the beat and snapping their fingers. Laughs and jovial moods swam around the room as a host walked over to us.
“Hello! Welcome toEssence. Just two today?”
“Yes,” Layne answered, smiling. I stared at her profile wondering if she’d let her hair down and just vibe. I didn’t want to see her in professional mode since we weren’t in a professional setting. I wanted to see how she acted outside of the office. I wanted her to not think of this as work—although it was—but to just live in the moment.
The hostess led us to a table in the center of the room, and I pulled out Layne’s chair for her.
“A server will be right with you,” the hostess said then walked away.
“This is one of the places I googled. Every review I read gave four and five stars and even said they have occasional celebrities grace the stage.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm-hmm,” she replied, still smiling. And I loved it.
“That’ll be huge if we get a celeb to do the party.”
“It would.” The server approached our table and smiled.
