** Dominic- Ricky Whittle**
I was trying not to snort in amusement when my dad tried to trick me into thinking driving me to work was my idea. All the tell-tale signs were there so even without getting a heads up from Alexa, I would have figured something was up.
He had skipped reading the morning paper at breakfast. First warning sign.
He chose not to do his mandatory thirty minute workout with the rowing machine like he did every weekday. Aunt Jamila did not insist on him doing so either. Amber alert!
We got into his prized Mercedes Benz that he loved to call 'Peaches' much to the annoyance of us all.
I was just waiting for him to ask about Damien but he stalled and tried to play it cool.
"Dad just ask already. I know you are dying to know" I burst out laughing when he began to tap on the steering wheel to the song playing on the radio.
"Why, was I that obvious?" He grinned and glanced at me briefly, "What did Damien do? The poor kid has been avoiding me. The other partners are even beginning to notice"
"Dad, it is between Damien and me. Someday I might tell you " I told him simply.
"I'm not getting any younger" He really wanted to know but I knew better than to unleash the crazy father side of my dad on Damien. I rolled my eyes and he pinched my forearm.
"Dad!"
"Don't roll your eyes at me"
I begun twiddling my thumbs and then reached out to change the radio station. My dad swatted my hand away.
"My car, my radio, my choice of what we listen to"
"Well I wish I had my own car" I muttered under my breath.
"Did you say something Kerry?"
I wanted to ask him so badly but the thought of betraying my resolve not to depend so much on my dad for certain privileges. I was desperate. Alexa could not keep driving me around and those late night bus rides were getting to me.
"I know I said I would not need a car but I am only now beginning to realize that you were right after all-" I started to say quickly.
"Done" he cut me off.
"What?"
"You want a new car. You would get one. How does this Saturday sound?"
It was too easy.
"Dad, I'm not taking advantage of our recent situation to guilt trip you into buying me a car" I felt sick all of a sudden.
"Oh Kerry. Can I not buy my daughter a car simply because she needs one? Besides Sumaya and I made a bet. Looks like she won. She predicted you would cave in the next month"
"You two are the very worst, you know that?" I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. He had a satisfied grin on his face. He had seen this coming.
"Saturday, you and me. Breakfast then car shopping. I know someone in the car business who has been dying to give me a great offer" he actually reached out and patted me on the head like a dog.
"So how long did you bet I would eventually ask?"
"Three months. I overestimated how stubborn you are"
"Was aunt Jamila in on this bet too?"
"Nope. Your mother was. She bet you would ask in a year. Kerington women are independent women. Ha. You have Effah blood running through you too. Effah women know when to depend on others for help"
"Would you and mum quit debating over whose side of the family I truly got my traits from?"
"No darling. You got her looks but you got my mind, heart and soul" he said as though reciting lyrics from an RnB song.
"Whatever" I was glad to see the Chase Men building come into view. What I had not expected was Dom standing at the entrance and witnessing my dad drop me off at work.
"Wow. Daddy's girl. The real deal too. Tell me you're having car problems" he smirked as we walked in together. I had tried to walk past him without having to say a word.
"I don't have a car"
"Benjamin Effah's daughter doesn't have a car?"
"Yes, so?"
He quirked up an eyebrow at my rather candid response.
He was about to say something when Paba came rushing through the doors.
"Kerry!" She called out and Dom simply stalked off.
I was watching him walk away that I had not even noticed when Paba stood right next to me.
"You two should seriously do something about this attraction thing you've got going on" she gestured with her fingers pointing at me then Dom then me again.
"He is my boss. I don't date guys I work for"
"You couldn't even deny the attraction. You are right though. The fraternization policy is to keep female employees off the Chase List"
"The Chase List?"
We were in the elevator now riding up to the top floor.
"You know, all the countless women Dominic, Christopher and Nicholas toy around with. In here, we call that the Chase List. Chased, bedded and on to the next one" Paba explained.
"But Dom has Aoki, Christopher has Almara and Nicholas had Dom's mum till she died"
"The Chase list is not made up of the women who have these men's hearts, no. It is made up of the women they used trying to forget the love of their lives. Trust me. The Chase men are good men but you, my dear, deserve so much more than to be a number on that list"
Now that Paba spoke of Dom's love life, I could not help feeling a slight twinge of jealousy. I was suddenly wondering what Aoki felt like having Dom still coming back to her days, weeks or even months after they took a break or seemingly split up. I could just see Aoki with her striking Asian facial features, long legs and slim figure laugh every time some woman was spotted with Dom. She knew she had no competition. I was overcome with a craving of knowing such power. I had a long way to go to catch up with women like Aoki especially since I had just recently lost my virginity and was foolish enough to forget protection.
I shook the power-hungry thoughts out of my head and focused on the day ahead. All I had to do was keep a safe distance between Dom and me. How hard could that be?
We rode up the elevator quietly and we had barely made it to our desks when Dom summoned us to the conference room.We strutted in, bags in hand and phones buzzing with emails filling up our inboxes.
"Good morning, ladies. Sorry to spring this on you but today Kerry is with me-" he leaned against the large oval dark wood table with his back to the projector screen.
"Why?" I blurted out cutting him off.
"I was just getting to that bit, Kerry. My uncle has some prior family engagement and I am needed across town for an informal meeting with an old client. Paba, I need you here to keep things under control."
Paba nodded and I fidgeted with the strap of my handbag. Actually it was Sumaya's bag I had had my eye on for a while. I was wondering how I would survive spending time alone with the man I knew was clearly off limits but I was attracted to all the same. I had not noticed that the two other people I was with were leaving till Paba's voice interrupted my thoughts, "You coming?"
"Yes. Yes" I said repeatedly and lifted my head only to meet a teasing expression on Dom's face. It almost felt like he could read my thoughts and was mocking me. I was not going to let him win. I was not going to feature on that stupid Chase list!
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting in a company vehicle with Dom on our way to a meeting held somewhere with someone and it was going to take however long before I came back. I had tried to get in the front seat but the stoic driver had simply shook his head at me and prompted me to sit in the back seat with Dom. Now I was sitting so close to the door, I was almost one with the door.
Dom was engrossed in whatever he was reading on his iPad. I snuck a glance at him and regretted because he looked up at that very moment and caught me staring.
"Kerry, something on your mind?" His amused grin was unmistakable especially since I had so quickly looked away when I had been caught red-handed.
"Just hoping for a few details" I managed to say.
"Details of what?" He asked, setting down the iPad and giving me his full attention.
I took a deep breath then said as composed as I could, "You are taking me to your meeting with some client somewhere for how long, I just wanted to know details of the meeting"
He picked up his iPad once more and scooted closer to me. I made no move to get any closer. I might as well have hugged the car door at this point.
"Draw closer. I want to show you something" he gestured with his hand for me to scoot over.
I drew closer but left enough space between us that another person could sit comfortably between us. Then he did the unimaginable, he pushed closer and the side of his thigh rubbed against mine, shooting sparks from the point of contact to the rest of my body. I almost shivered in response. I could also smell his cologne. Goodness, it was spell-binding.
"It's Unforgivable" I heard Dom say.
"What?" I snapped back to reality and saw him look at me, observing me like I was a case he was studying.
"My cologne, it's Unforgivable"
I stared at him blankly, expecting more of an explanation.
"I could tell you were smelling me"
I backed away, grateful for my black skin as my cheeks going red went unnoticed.
"Don't be shy now. I get it. Women appreciate men who smell good" he smiled and then held out the iPad so I had a good view of what was on the screen. He began to explain what I was looking at and honestly, between the occasional thigh graze and the cologne unforgivably devouring my senses, all I got from the short lecture was that we were meeting a man who was creating a new design for monogrammed buttons that would go on every Chase Men clothing made. All the details in between got lost.
When he scooted back to his original position, my thigh felt abandoned and my nose felt deprived. My body was not handling the distance well in spite of all the reasons my heart and mind gave for why the distance was safe.
We finally arrived at a brick house in a quiet town almost an hour away from the city. I quickly got out of the car and smoothed over the skirt of the sleeveless navy blue dress I had chosen to wear today. My red sling-back one-inch heels made me feel good about my outfit. Alexa always said a pop of color was good for your mood.
Dom led us up the walkway to the front door. He pressed the doorbell once. The door pulled opened and a much older man in shorts and a tee shirt stood before us.
"Well well well. I never thought I'd see the day you finally show up for marriage counseling" the older man grinned at us. I paled. The blood that should have been rushing to my cheeks drained from my face.
"Actually, we are here about your other business, pastor" Dom chuckled.
"You can relax now darling. I do this to all the women I see him with. I'm Pastor Jonah" the older man laughed as he ushered us in.
"Welcome to my humble abode. I'm a Pastor on Sunday's and Wednesday nights and a button-designer and maker every other day"
"I am Kerington. Dom's assistant for the day. Nice to meet you" I said softly, holding out my hand which he shook warmly.
"Interesting name. You should tell me about it before Dominic here gets all business-y on us"
"Another day. It's a long story" I replied meekly.
"Good. Another chance for us to meet again" he smiled kindly at me. He turned to face Dom, "When am I meeting your fiancée?"
I almost choked on my own saliva, remembering how tingly my body had felt the whole ride here and only now finding out that Dom was engaged. I needed to sit down and calm myself else maybe I might just seize the moment and ask the good pastor for a counseling session on the lust of the flesh.
The meeting went on for what felt like hours. Probably because each time I stole a glance at Dom or even remembered how he smelt, I would kick myself and remind myself that he was engaged.
Pastor Jonah had such amazing skill which was evident through his slide by slide detailed report on every detail of three different monogrammed buttons he had created. This was my first time paying such attention to buttons and I was pretty excited hearing Pastor Jonah talk of his work. The man could have been talking about gardening and I would find myself in a store the next day buying gardening tools.
The meeting was finally over but Pastor Jonah insisted on us eating something before we leave. My stomach was just starting to make a fuss because I had just munched on a cookie with my cup of tea.
Dom excused himself to the bathroom and I went wandering about the living room, looking at photos and paintings up on the walls and on the table surfaces. There were photos of Pastor Jonah with his family, with his church and on vacation but two photos stood out. I picked up the bronze frame and stared at a photo of the pastor with the Chase family. Everyone wore white in the photo and they were smiling, showing off their pearly whites. Two women in the photo I did not recognize. A much older lady, she must be Dom's grandmother and the matriarch of the Chase family and a younger woman who had a warm smile and had her arms wrapped around a much younger looking Dom. She had Dom's black piercing eyes, pointed nose, silky milk chocolate complexion and smile that could warm even the ice queen's heart. The resemblance was amazing, Dom looked more like his mum than his dad.
I had not heard the footsteps approaching as I set down the first photo of interest and picked up the second one. The minute my mind put together what I was seeing, my hands shook a little as I set it down.
"Finished snooping?" A familiar voice said and made me jump a little. My hand flew to my chest as my pulse quickened in pace. I turned to face him and saw him walking towards me.
He picked up the photo I had just held, "Surprised to see I volunteer?"
I simply nodded even though I knew that was not the surprise awaiting me in the photo.
"You look a little shook up. You okay?" A look of concern crossed his face.
"Tell me about the photo" I managed to say in a strangled voice.
"It was my first year in college. Pastor Jonah got me to volunteer at a rehab facility for teen addicts. Dr. Abbey started the program for these young kids with drug problems. She is pretty amazing"
I could feel all color draining from my face. The Dr. Abbey he spoke of was the same Dr. Abbey Sumaya had sent me to for private sessions nine years ago. Sumaya had gotten money to pay for sessions by renting out one room of the apartment to another medical student without my dad's knowledge.
"Are you okay?" Dom set the photo down and held me by the hand, taking me into the kitchen where Pastor Jonah was busying himself with putting together options of pastries and beverages.
He sat me down and got me a bottle of water from the fridge. I took a long gulp and felt a little better. He pulled Pastor Jonah aside and I could hear some of their whispers but said nothing.
"Someone close to her must have gotten help at the facility" I heard Dom whisper to Pastor Jonah. If only he knew the truth.
One more reason I needed to stay away from Dom Chase. I was broken.