“Quinn!” I caught up with her quickly and pulled her back into the area that connected the upstairs, basement, restaurant and back exit. She tried to open the door to get upstairs, but I backed her up against the door, frowning as she glared at me. “Quinn, what in the world is your problem? What was that all about earlier?”
“Like you don’t know.” She scoffed.
“Idon’tknow!” I growled. “What the hell is your issue?”
“My issue is, I saw you screwing your receptionist earlier today when I stopped by your office!”
“What?” I raised my brows.
“Don’t try to play dumb now. I went to take you some lunch, and I caught you right in the act. Isawyou having sex with her with my own two eyes!”
“I don’t know who you saw, but it wasn’t me.” I shook my head in confusion. “I was out of the office all day finalizing a contract.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? I have proof!” She glared. “I saw your tattoo.”
I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the annoyance that was building up and threatening to bubble over. “A tattoo isn’t exactly solid evidence, Quinn. It doesn’t prove anything. Eddie has that exact same tattoo in the exact same spot!
I could tell that she was about to argue, but she faltered, glancing away from me for a moment. “He does?”
“Yeah.” I glared. “He does. If you believed it was me, why not confront me while in the act? You know, you could have just asked me about what you saw instead of accusing me. You didn’t even give me the chance to explain anything before you went off on me.”
“Don’t act like you wouldn’t have reacted the same way.” She scowled. “If you’d seen some man on top of a woman inside my office, you would have assumed that it was me and–”
“And I would have barged in there and kick his ass before hauling you away from that jerk!” I sent her a look before sighing. “Why is it difficult to trust me? Haven’t I proven myself to you? Why can’t you ever give me the benefit of the doubt?”
“It’s easier said than done,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I guess it is.” I let out a sardonic chuckle as I backed away from her. “I’m not sure what else I can do to gain your trust. Maybe it’s best that we don’t see each other for a while.”
“Jasper–”
“Jasper!” the little voice called loudly from the top of the stairs, dragging my attention away from Quinn. Janiyah came running down the stairs, smiling widely as she practically jumped into my arms. I held her close, sighing quietly as she squeezed my neck. It seemed as if it might be the last hug that we’d get to share for a while, and that thought had the smile I wore for her threatening to falter. I would miss her sweet innocence, and Jamal’s quiet company, too.
“Are you gonna eat with us tonight?” she asked excitedly. “Gran said we were gonna have jambalaya, since it’s your favorite!”
I could practically feel my heart cracking into pieces as I shook my head. “No, I won’t be able to join you guys tonight. I don’t think… I don’t think I’ll be able to see you for a while.”
“Jasper, listen, you don’t need to–” Quinn started.
“Tell Gran I said thank you for thinking of me.” I smiled at the little girl before turning to look at Quinn. I pulled a few folded-up documents out of my back pocket, along with a key, and handed them to her. “Quinn, I don’t know who you saw in my office earlier–It was probably Eddie. I don’t know, but what I do know is that it wasn’t me. I was out for most of the day with one of my other lawyers, finalizing the transfer of a deed to one of my properties to you.”
“What?” she whispered, frowning at the papers.
“It’s a five-bedroom, one-story house, and I thought it’d be perfect for Gran... your grandmother. That way, she won’t have to walk up and down the stairs of the apartment. The house has a nice backyard for Janiyah and Jamal to play in, and a jacuzzi that I thought you might enjoy too.”
“Jasper, I–I can’t accept this! You shouldn’t have!” I avoided looking at the tears that had formed in her eyes and stepped away, shaking my head as she attempted to hug me.
Kissing Janiyah’s brown cheeks, I gently laid her down on the floor.
“Everything has been finalized, and it’s yours now. Do whatever you want with it. Keep it, sell it, tear it down. I don’t care. It’s yours,” I murmured before turning towards the back exit. I ignored her as she called after me, my heart throbbing as I stepped outside the building’s doors.
Quinn
“You’ve been down here for half an eternity, Qwinny.” Gran slowly descended the basement steps, and I threw myself out of the covers to help her. I hadn’t heard the door open, too busy watching Jasper’s favorite episode of Smallville.
“Gran, you know you aren’t supposed to be walking up and down the stairs if you don’t absolutely need to!”
“Well, of course I needed to,” she huffed, letting go of my hand once she’d made it down the final step. “Like I said, you’ve been down here for half an eternity. I wasn’t sure you still even lived in the apartment since I haven’t been seeing you around.”
