ONE OF THE CHARACTERtraits I respected most in Kemar was his decisiveness. He didn't waste time once we decided how the rented space would be utilized and the optimal pieces of equipment we needed. We were well on the way to putting meat on the bones of his dreams and creating a top-of-the-line service geared toward customers who could, and would, pay for what he was offering.
He'd been dropping hints about me coming back to the island and I hadn't been here a full week yet. I avoided his questions about Gina, but he could be persistent when he tried. He turned from the huge, glass windows that gave us a view of the busy street below. "So, how long have you been seeing Gina?"
One side of my mouth twisted as I tried not to smile. "Is that part of your business?"
"It is, if it determines whether you come back sooner or later."
I joined him at the window, watching the traffic below. "She lives in Florida."
"Will that be a problem for us?"
Frowning, I said, "I don't know what you mean."
"What if I asked you to make Jamaica your base?"
I didn't see Gina living here given her circumstances, but it was early days for any kind of decision making.
"These things take time. I couldn't give you an answer now, as you probably know already."
"You can't blame a man for trying." He laughed and moved his eyebrows up and down. "I was just thinking that you being with Gina might ease things along in my favor. We haven't seen you for dinner once since you've been here."
The smile that came when I thought about Gina betrayed me. "Gina's been taking care of things."
Kemar laughed as if I said something hilarious. "I'll bet."
"Are we done for the day?"
"Just about," Kemar said. "Tomorrow morning, we can pick up where were left off today. I have some workmen coming in, so I'll be here early. You can take your time with Miss Chin."
My response was automatic because I thought he was snooping. "That's not her name."
Slapping me on the back, Kemar laughed again. "You'll learn that to a Jamaican, every woman with strong Chinese genes is Miss Chin."
It didn't make a lot of sense to me, but when put like that his comment was funny.
I'd called Gina a few minutes before, so I gathered my things and walked outside to wait for her. While I did, I scrolled through my messages. I had updates from three clients and a query from another about her diet. The Mark X pulled up to the sidewalk the moment I finished reading the messages.
Gina had a bright smile for me, but I wondered what was going on in her mind. At a glance, it was hard to tell because she kept so much inside. She stayed at the cottage today, saying she had jobs to complete, but I still wondered about her mental state. My suspicion that everything wasn’t as they should be only came from her vibe, but I had no hard evidence of anything being wrong with her.
After our talk last night, Gina had worked me over in a good way to the point where I marveled at her energy level. A quick assessment while we were resting led me to believe she was exorcising her demons. I could have told her they wouldn't go away through sexual stimulation and physical exhaustion, but I didn't. By now, she must have realized that as the truth.
I got into the car and kissed her cheek. "Everything okay, Miss Chin?"
"Not you too?" She cocked one eyebrow and smiled reluctantly. "I bet Kemar let you in on that one."
I laughed. "Of course. Talk about stereotyping people."
She nodded. "Yeah, it comes back to what I was telling you about Mom. Different, but kind of the same."
"Yes." I waited until she moved from the stoplight before asking how her day had gone.
"I did get some stuff done. I have a client who wanted to update her logo and I thought we'd never finalize it, but we did."
"Good job. Any thoughts about what I said last night?"
She glanced sideways at me. "You mean about talking with my mother?"
"Nope. Anything at all. I said many things."
