Page 27 of The Heart of a Capricorn
We stayed outside talking for hours, then headed back inside. We completely missed dinner and the rest of the party, but neither of us seemed concerned.
Lyric opened up a little, but I could tell she still had her guard up. It was okay with me because I was determined to knock all her walls down.
I wanted to end the night with her, but she told me she had to work early.
“I had a good night. Thanks.” She stood in front of her room door.
I kept a little distance between us, because if I didn’t, I would try to convince her to let me in her room for a nightcap.
“It was my pleasure. I’ll talk to you soon.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Lyric.”
“Good night.” She pulled her room key out of her purse and opened the door.
I stood back with my hands in my pockets, making sure she got inside safely. Once I heard her lock the door, I walked to the elevator and went to my room.
There hadn’t been any updates from my boss, so I would reach out to Lyric to see if she wanted to grab lunch.
I undressed and showered with a smile on my face. It was only a matter of time before I wore Lyric down.
“Good morning, ladies.”I greeted everyone as I walked into the conference room. In one hand, I had my favorite mug, in the other was everything I needed to get through the meeting.
“Good morning.” The majority of the ladies spoke back.
I caught Addie’s eye roll as I sat down, but I didn’t address it. I got that she was mad about Chauncey not wanting to entertain her. That wasn’t my problem, and the sooner she got over that, the better off she’d be. I was certain there were plenty of single men walking around that she could have talked to. She wasn’t an ugly girl, so she shouldn’t have had no problem. Chauncey was off-limits, though. At least in my mind, he was. I still hadn’t told him anything about us spending time outside of our little bubble in Vegas.
A huge part of me wanted to, but I was still scared. Here, everything flowed so naturally, but at home could be different. I wasn’t prepared for anything to go wrong between us, and there was no way I would be prepared for something to happen to him.
I pushed him to the back of my mind so I could get the meeting started.
“Okay, ladies. How has everyone been doing? Does anybody have any fun adventures or places they want to share?”
Everyone took a turn talking about their trip so far and the different things they’d done. A couple of them mentioned going to a strip club and how they met a group of guys. They kept it PG, but I could tell by the looks on their faces that it was anything but.
Once everyone had a turn, they all focused on me.
“What about you?” Kim asked. I almost choked on my coffee as I looked up into all their eyes. I wasn’t sure how much to tell them about Chauncey and me because of Ciara. I wasn’t sure how she would feel about it, but she couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t like he worked for the company, but it still felt like something I needed to have a conversation with her about.
“Yeah, we’ve seen you with Ciara’s brother,” Addie spoke up.
I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear and couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. No matter what I told Chauncey, he wasn’t letting up, and I liked that about him. Each day that we spent together, I became more and more okay with the idea of us seeing where this could go.
“Ooh, look at the smile on her face. I haven’t seen you smile like that . . . in forever,” Shelly teased.
“I’ve known Chauncey since college, but we have been spending time together.” There was no point in lying since multiple people had seen us. “Enough about me. Let’s get down to business.”
If I didn’t steer things in the right direction, they would ask me questions about Chauncey that I wasn’t ready to answer. I didn’t have the answers myself.
Addie wore a scowl the whole time, but when it was her turn to give her updates, she was professional. Her dirty looks didn’t mean anything to me as long as the work was done.
As the meeting continued, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I peeked to make sure it wasn’t anyone important, and a smile broke out when Chauncey’s name flashed across my screen. I couldn’t answer, so I declined the call and slipped my phone back inside.
A few seconds later, the phone vibrated again, and I thought he was calling back, but he left a message.
Chauncey:I’m going to assume you are busy and not dodging me. I wanted to see if you had time for lunch or dinner.
Me:LOL. No, not dodging you. In the middle of a meeting. Dinner is fine. That way I won’t have to rush.
Chauncey:Aight, sweetheart. Enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll see you later.
