“You’d better be. You make too much money not to enjoy it.”
“Well, if my favorite girl would let me splurge on her a little more often, I could enjoy it a little more.” I raised an eyebrow accusingly.
“Boy,” she waved her hand. “I make more than enough money to splurge on myself.”
“You wouldn’t have to if you’d just retire or, better yet, come work for me, part-time. I’d double the salary you’re making now.” I was dead serious too. My mother made well into six figures at her current job, but I had no problem doubling it if she were to retire right then or come work for me on a part-time basis.
“And do what with all my free time? Itwouldbe a better deal if I had some grandbabies I could play with.”
“Here we go.” I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t ‘here we go’ me. I’m just saying, I’m getting up there in age, and it’d be nice to have some grandchildren to spoil rotten.”
“See, that’s why you don’t need any grandchildren. How’re you gonna spoil my kids rotten?”
Her eyes got wide with excitement. “Oh, I’d spoil the mess out of my grandbabies and then send ’em back home to you to deal with their tantrums.”
We both laughed.
“That’s messed up, Ma.”
“It’s what grandmothers do,” she shrugged. “So….speaking of grandchildren...”
Shit!I knew this would come up eventually.
“Chanel is looking lovely these days.” Her voice had taken on a weird note.
“She is,” I agreed.
“And this is the first time I’ve seen you bring a woman home. Not that I’m in your business or anything.” She held up her hands defensively.
My mother was right. This was the first time I’d brought a woman to my home. I kept a condo closer to downtown where I entertained most of my female companions. It didn’t feel right taking Chanel there, although it had been closer to the gala last Friday night. But I didn’t feel the need to reveal all of that to my mother.
“You like her?” Her question was hesitant, and that wasn’t like my mother at all.
“Maybe,” I equivocated, turning from my suitcase to face her. I notice something contemplative in her eyes. “You okay?”
“Who, me? Boy, I’m fine. I was just wondering if you’ve thought about what a relationship with Chanel would mean for your friendship with Jason. That is his younger sister and, well, you’re not exactly the commitment type.”
“Damn, Ma. I could commit if I wanted to. I just haven’t been inspired as of late. And I’ve already spoken with Jason. He was a little taken aback by it, but he’s cool.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I raised an eyebrow but returned to my packing as I didn’t even want to get into that conversation with my mother. Chanel and I had been on one date, although she claimed it wasn’t, and I was still working on trying to get her to agree to a second.
“My car will be here in about ten minutes to take me to the airport.”
“All right, baby. Have a safe trip.” She kissed me on the cheek.
Later, as my bags were loaded into the town car, I replayed the conversation I’d had with my mother. There was something off in her tone and gaze when she discussed Chanel and me. I thought back on their past interactions, which were pretty rare, considering how much Chanel had stayed away over the years, but as far as I knew, they’d never had any clashes and my mom loved Jason like he was her second son—scratch that,thirdson—after her beloved Pumpkin.As we pulled off for the airport, I pulled out my tablet to focus on the work I needed to get done on the trip.
Chapter Eight
Chanel
“Knock, knock.”
I glanced up at the familiar male voice coming from the doorway of my office entrance. Immediately, I frowned at the unwanted intrusion. It was Robert, an attorney at my father’s law firm.
