Page 24 of The Heart of a Capricorn
The meeting was held in one of the hotel’s conference rooms.
Terrance and Daniel sat next to each other, while my boy Josh sat on the other side of me.
Josh leaned over and whispered, “I hope this shit don’t last too long because I have a chick in my room, and I hope she don’t rob me while I’m gone.”
I shook my head and laughed. “You just got here, and already you on your bullshit.”
“Hey.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how long we’re gonna have some free time, so I got the party started. Ain’t no sense in wasting time. I met her before anyway.”
“Be careful,” I told him just as my boss cleared his throat and got things started.
I heard everything he said, but I couldn’t help but think about Lyric the whole time. It had been four days since I last saw her, and I didn’t like that. She went back to avoiding me, even though she said she wouldn’t. I found it quite comical, and little did she know, it wasn’t going to last for much longer.
I had been pretty busy since my boss came, but I still tried to catch Lyric when I was free, but she was determined not to be caught. I even went by the office and was told she wasn’t there, even though I knew that wasn’t the case. I wasn’t going to force it, but if Lyric wanted me to leave her alone, she would have to open her mouth and tell me that. Ducking and dodging weren’t the way to do that. We were too old for that shit.
I could have spent my time doing other shit, but I wanted to give Lyric all the time I had. Shorty had my mind going, but I didn’t like the way she moved over the last few days.
“For now, things aren’t a major threat, but I need you guys to be on high alert. Go on with your day-to-day activities, because we don’t want to alert the suspect or the public, but be careful. Whatever y’all do, please don’t get into no bullshit.” He looked straight at Josh when he said that.
Josh held up his hands in mock surrender. “I don’t purposely get myself into shit.”
Me and the other guys laughed while my boss just shook his head. Josh was the wild card out of the group, but he was a good dude.
Terrance, Josh, Daniel, and I made up our group. They were the three main people I worked with, but occasionally, we would switch people out from the other groups.
“Anyway. Be diligent and be available at all times because you never know when I may call,” Ray reminded us.
“Yes, sir,” we all responded.
I guess my vacation was cut short, I thought as I stood from the chair. I wasn’t mad about it because I knew how this job got sometimes. Plus, my team was the best, so whenever something serious happened, we were the first ones called.
“Well, fellas. There’s a party tonight in case you guys want to check it out. I’m going to see what I can get into,” I mentioned to the guys.
I rubbed my hands together, but I knew the only thing I was getting into was Lyric. They didn’t need to know that yet.
We talked a few more minutes, then I headed out to see if I could catch Lyric.
I went to Lyric’s room and knocked on the door, but she didn’t answer. Like a weirdo, I put my ear to the door to see if I could hear anything, but I didn’t. I knew it was only a matter of time before she returned, so I sat on the floor and waited.
About twenty minutes or so, I heard the elevator door open, and Lyric’s floral scent greeted me first. I stood to my full height, and she froze when she noticed me.
It took her a second to register me being there, then she walked toward me. Her eyes darted everywhere but my face.
“Chauncey. Hi. Um.”
“What did we discuss the other day, Lyric?” I asked as I closed the small gap between us.
“We, um. We discussed me not avoiding you, and I haven’t been.”
I traced my finger down her arm, and she shivered, which caused me to smirk and my dick to jump.
“Is that right? What do you call it then?” I didn’t give her a chance to answer, because I knew she was going to have a bullshit excuse. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is, there’s a party tonight here, and you are going with me.”
She opened her mouth, but I cut her off. “No excuses, Lyric. I’ll be here at seven to pick you up.” I kissed her cheek, then walked away.
I wasn’t going to give her the chance to shoot me down. If I went to get her at seven and she wasn’t ready, or said she wasn’t going, I wasn’t going to force it. If that happened, I would fall all the way back from her. I believed in applying pressure when needed, but I knew when to leave people alone, too.
At five minutes to seven, I stood at Lyric’s door. The party started an hour ago, but I didn’t want to be too early, nor did I want us to get there too late.
