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Jackson gestured with his hand for China to speak first. “No, everything looks great. Thank you,” she said, reaching for her utensils.
Jackson nodded his agreement and started cutting into his salad. “You were saying...”
China held up her right index finger, as she had just placed a forkful of food into her mouth. “Dating has never been a priority. I wanted to focus on my career. I guess I got that from my mother.”
“You didn’t share much about your family in your profile questionnaire. I know there’s more to your story than just being an only child raised by a single military mother,” Jackson said, giving her a knowing look.
China groaned. “Are you sure you want to hear my sad, yet not so sad, story?”
“We’re supposed to be getting to know each other, remember?” Jackson picked up his bread and took a bite.
“My parents met when they were in their twenties and stationed in Paris.”
“Sounds romantic.” He took a drink from his glass.
“According to my mom, it was, and very much forbidden.” China took another bite of her salad.
“Why, because they were a mixed couple?”
“No, because the military has rules against fraternizing, no matter what color you are,” she said, wiping her mouth with the extra napkins on the table. “They had a brief relationship before they were stationed in different parts of the world.”
“So, what happened? Your mother got pregnant and had to raise you on her own?” he incorrectly guessed.
“They both followed their dreams down very different paths. My father retired after providing twenty-five years of service and went into politics, while my mother went on to become a three-star general.”
“Wow, impressive parents.”
China nodded. “My mother was a very impressive woman.”
“Your father, too,” Jackson said as if she needed to be reminded.
“I guess.” China took another sip of her drink while she checked the time on her phone.
“You have someplace to be?” Jackson took a bite of his food.
“I have a press conference in about an hour.” China used her fingers to pop a piece of chicken into her mouth.
“When did you come into the picture?”
“Twenty years after they first met, they ran into each other again at a military conference. And—”
“Sparks flew and nine months later you were born,” he concluded.
He sure is a romantic. “Something like that, only having a kid so late in life wasn’t something either of them expected. My mother was thrilled because she didn’t think she’d ever have a child. My father, on the other hand, not so much.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, his brows furrowed. “Did you see him growing up?”
“No.” China had to fight back the sense of loss from not having a father in her life that tended to sneak up on her at the worst times. “He offered financial support but didn’t think contact was necessary. So it was just me and Mom. While it was hard sometimes, I loved every minute I had with her.”
“What do you mean ‘hard’?”
China picked up her phone, read the screen and sent Alexander’s second call to voice mail. China’s first instinct was to answer Alexander’s call like always and accept whatever ridiculous excuse he had for interrupting her lunch and run to his side. She wanted to do that more than ever but she knew she had to move forward.
“Mom had me in her late forties, making her much older than most of my friends’ parents. Between the physical aspect of her job taking a toll on her body and having to spend so much time in the harsh sun, my mother’s skin wrinkled...a lot. A number of times she was mistaken for my grandmother instead of my mother.” China’s mind flashed back to when she was fifteen and had made all types of excuses to her mother as to why she never had friends over or went to sleepovers herself. How she just found it easier to let people think she lived with an overprotective grandmother rather than deal with her own feelings of insecurity about her mother. China brushed away a lone tear.
“Are you okay?” Concern overtook his face.
“Yes. It’s been nearly eight years since she passed, and I still miss her so much.” China’s voice cracked.
“I understand,” Jackson said.
“Enough about me, your turn.” China took a final bite of her food.
“What do you want to know—more about my family or my dating life?” he asked, pushing his empty plate aside.
China glanced at her watch. “Well, since I’m going to have to leave for my press conference soon, how about you tell me a little more about your dating preferences?”
Jackson grinned. “Finding women to date has never been an issue. Finding the right one is another story.”
“What’s your definition of Miss Right?”
Jackson used his napkin to wipe his mouth before placing it on the table. He gifted her with a sexy smile and said, “She’s a strong and very beautiful woman. Fiercely independent and knows what she wants. Not to mention she loves chicken salad and Arnold Palmers.”
A slow smile spread across China’s face. I wonder what Alexander’s definition of Miss Right would be, if he even wanted one. Stop it! If you want this to work, you’ve got to move past these feelings for Alexander. “How about dinner tonight at my place?” she invited a grinning Jackson.
* * *
Alexander sat at his desk, reading over his statement for the press conference, but he was finding it hard to concentrate. He picked up his phone and called China’s number, only to be sent to voice mail a second time. “Dammit!”
“What’s wrong?” Brice asked, walking into Alexander’s office. “Or should I say, what else is wrong?”
“Nothing. Have you found the so-called pile of money I’m supposed to have saved and funneled off somewhere?” His anger was unmasked.
“Of course not,” Brice said, his eyebrows coming together. “A, you get that we all know you had nothing to do with any of this, right?”
“Have you figured out how we can prove that?” he snapped back.
“Not yet,” Brice said, crossing his arms.
“Then what the hell are you doing in here?” he asked. “Get back to work.”
Brice got up, walked to the door and closed it. He turned and faced his brother. “What the hell is wrong with you, and who do you think you’re talking to?”
Alexander stood and came from around his desk to stand toe-to-toe with Brice. “I’m talking to you...little brother.” His voice had a sharp edge to it.
“I’m not too little to kick your butt,” Brice said with a raised chin.
The two men stood staring each other down for several seconds. Alexander pushed out a breath and dropped his shoulders. He ran his right hand through his hair. “Sorry, man.” Alexander returned to his desk and sat down.
“What’s going on with you? This can’t just be about the EPA coming after us.” Brice took a seat in a chair across from his brother’s desk.
Alexander gave his head a slow shake. “No. It has nothing to do with the EPA.”
“Then what? Talk to me before you lose it in front of someone you shouldn’t, like our mother.”
Alexander met his brother’s gaze. “I slept with China on Friday night and she’s acting like it didn’t happen. Like it meant nothing and nothing has changed. She says she doesn’t want it to ruin our friendship.”
“Wait, you slept with China...China Edwards, your best friend?” Brice asked, scratching the side of his head.
“Yes! How many Chinas do you know, man?” Alexander questioned, looking at his brother like he’d never seen him before.
“Okay, just confirming what I heard was correct. Wow, you finally hit that.”
Alexander’s lips drew back in a snarl and he rose so fast he sent his chair flying backward. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” he said through gritted teeth, pointing his right index finger at his brother.
Brice held up both hands in surrender. “Chill, man, damn. I was just trying to see how real this was.”
Alexander took a deep breath and released it slowly. He picked up his chair and sat back down. “Sorry.”
“You have got to pull it together.”
“Yeah I do. It’s just...” Alexander turned and stared out the window.
“It’s just sleeping with China has you all messed up. You didn’t realize how deep your feelings went and now she is acting as if it didn’t even matter...that you don’t matter.”
Alexander turned to face his brother. “Damn, man, you sound like you were there.”
Brice dropped his head for several moments before he lifted it to meet his brother’s inquisitive gaze. “I have been there. Hell, I’m still there...remember.”
“Sorry, man. I keep forgetting.” Alexander could see the pain in his brother’s eyes.
“Wish I could. Enough about my failed marriage and pending divorce, that’s another story. The question is, what do you want? No disrespect, A, but China’s not really your type.”
Alexander’s brows knitted together. “What do you mean?”
“Her beauty isn’t in question, and when it comes to business, she’s you but in a nicer suit. Now, while your women are notably striking and smart, they’re also temporary. We all know China’s looking for more. She doesn’t want to be another conquest.”
“But she’s not.”
“How does she know that? Remember who we’re talking about. China knows you—hell, she knows all of us as well as we know each other,” Brice reminded his brother, shaking his head; China was family to them all.
Alexander nodded. “True. So what do I do?”
“What do you want...really?”
“I don’t know yet. I guess I wanted a chance to figure that out,” Alexander admitted.
“Well, she’s told you what she wants.” Brice shrugged. “Give it to her.”
“What?” Alexander frowned.
“Keep being her best friend—”
“But—”
“Let me finish.” Brice sat forward in his chair. “What’s the best part of your relationship?”
Several big and small moments he’d spent with China flashed through his mind and he couldn’t help but smile. Alexander sighed. “She gets me. We just have fun together.”
“Then keep doing that. Show her that the sex hasn’t changed anything,” he offered.
“But it has.”
Brice nodded. “And it has for her, too. Just make it easy for her to admit it to herself.”
“What if that doesn’t work?” Alexander’s heart started racing, and his hands fisted on the desk.
“You’ll still have your friend. More importantly, you have got to keep that possessive behavior thing you got going on right now under control.”
“You’re right. Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.” Brice walked to the door. “Besides, I wasn’t looking forward to explaining to our mother why I had to beat you down in your own office.”
Alexander reared back in his chair, clapped his hands and laughed. “Now you got jokes.”
After his brother left, Alexander turned in his chair and stared at the photo of himself and China. “This isn’t over...far from it.” Alexander’s cell phone rang and he viewed the screen, thinking it had to be China finally calling him back, only to be disappointed. He sent the caller to voice mail. The beautiful face that appeared on his phone was an unwanted interruption.
He stood and headed for the door.
Chapter 5 (#u93864a0c-b2bd-5e15-bfce-7d37258b9b2b)
Alexander walked into the windowless executive conference room to find China standing across the room, next to his mother and cousin Kristen; they appeared to be deep in conversation. The blue suit and stiletto heels China wore showcased her body perfectly, and Alexander was having a hard time keeping his eyes away from parts of her body that his body desperately wanted to revisit.
Alexander started to make his way over to China, but stopped when he felt a slap on his back. “Nice job at the press conference, big bro,” Brice said, entering the conference room.
“Great job, A,” Morgan seconded, following Brice.
“Thanks,” Alexander replied with a nod.
“Oh, good, everyone’s here.” Victoria walked up to her children with her arms extended and offered her cheek for a more appropriate greeting. All three hugged and kissed their mother before taking seats at the six-seat oval mahogany table with red-leather wingback chairs around it. China stood in the corner of the room, next to a full glass bar, holding a tablet at her chest.
Victoria reached for one of the bottles of water that had been placed in the center of the table. She cracked the seal, sat in the chair at the head of the table and said, “Before China brings us up to speed on the EPA’s claim and our response, I’d like to take a moment to salute the excellent job everyone did at the press conference.” Victoria’s eyes scanned the room. “I know we’re in for a difficult few months, but I think getting out in front of these ridiculous accusations and proclaiming our innocence, promising to get to the bottom of these unsubstantiated charges, was the only way to control the story. Now, China, please tell us where we are on our response to the EPA.”
“Yes, Victoria.” China moved closer to the table, where she and Alexander reached at the same time for a controller that sat at the end of the table. His hand grazed the top of hers and their eyes met. China quickly pulled her hand back. “Sorry,” she said, breaking eye contact.
“No problem.” Alexander picked up the remote and handed it to her.
“Thanks...”
