She opened the refrigerator to find small individual containers with tuna, chicken, shrimp, and caprese salads. There was also a larger container filled with mixed greens. A shelf was filled with bottled water, juice, and small jars of labeled salad dressings.
“I didn’t know what you wanted to eat for lunch, so I decided to order a little something from the kitchen to tide you over until we have dinner with Tonya and Hannah tonight,” Jasmine said, as Nydia closed the refrigerator door.
She smiled at her friend. “You’re the best. Are we going out to eat?”
Jasmine shook her head. “Not tonight. I reserved one of the smaller private dining rooms here at the hotel. The owner just hired a new chef to oversee the kitchen, and he’s quite talented.”
“Is he better than Tonya’s in-laws?”
Jasmine shook her head again. “Not quite. There’s something about the food from Chez Toussaints that’s indescribable. That’s why I told Cameron I wanted Eustace and Gage to cater our wedding.”
“You have to remember that Tonya’s no slouch when it comes to throwing down in the kitchen,” Nydia reminded Jasmine.
She turned and made her way down a narrow hallway, peering into a half bath before entering the bedroom that also included an ensuite spa-bath. Yards of diaphanous white sheers draped a California-king mahogany four-poster bed and wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows. A seating area with a brocade cream-colored chaise, a small mahogany round table with two pullup chairs, and a bookcase filled with hardcover and paperback books and magazines provided a space to sit and while away the hours. The heavy, dark furniture was the perfect contrast to the off-white furnishings.
“Coño,mija,” Nydia drawled. “You really hooked me up.”
“It’s the least I could do foruna princesa puertorriqueña.”
Nydia couldn’t stop laughing. She’d occasionally referred to herself as a Puerto Rican princess. Other than family members, Jasmine was the only one with whom she occasionally spoke Spanish. Her friend had learned the language from her mother and Tagalog from her grandparents whenever she’d visited the Philippines.
Jasmine followed Nydia into the living room and sat on the love seat, while Nydia sat on the sofa. “I knew you would like the bridal suite.”
Nydia sobered and gave Jasmine an incredulous stare. “You put me in the bridal suite?”
“Yes. It’s one of the nicest ones in the hotel. If you’re going to live here for a month, then you should have the best amenities. Other than the connecting suite where Cameron and I stay, all of the others only have minibars and microwaves. And it’s the least I could do for my maid of honor. And if you hadn’t strong-armed me into going out with Cameron, I never would’ve been given the chance to become a romance novel heroine and experience a happily ever after.”
“I didn’t strong-arm you, Jazz. I said you had nothing to lose by having one dinner date with the man.”
Jasmine patted her belly over the sundress. “And look what it got me.”
“It got you what you’ve always wanted: a baby and a husband who doesn’t need your money. Cameron is nothing like that slug you married who not only parked his shoes under another woman’s bed and got her pregnant, but subsequently snipped his cheating-ass dick and denied you a child. And on top of that the slimeball tried to pimp you out of a business you’d shed blood, sweat, and tears to make a success. Fast-forward a few years and you meet Cameron Singleton, who’d professed he didn’t want to marry or father children and boom! He takes one look at Ms. Jasmine Washington and folds up like an accordion.” She pressed her first two fingers to her lips, and then pantomimed dropping a mic. “Santiago out.”
Jasmine laughed until her sides hurt. “You know you missed your calling. You should’ve become a stand-up comedienne instead of an accountant.”
Nydia shook her head, and a mane of loose, dark-brown curls moved around her small, round face as if taking on a life of their own. “I’d never be able to come up with enough jokes to earn a living, and I’m not about to recreate stories about some of my crazy family members or people I grew up with, because that would be dangerous to my health. They’d know immediately who I was talking about. Some of the dudes in my old neighborhood have street names like Loco Carlos or Diablo Flacito and are walking billboards of ink advertising drugs, murder, and prison.”
Jasmine stopped laughing. “Talk about earning a living, have you given any further thought about investing in Hannah’s DuPont Inn? You know she’s expecting you to be her CFO.” Nydia had become the last holdout when it came to investing in Hannah’s new project to turn her ancestral home into an inn. Although Nydia found the offer quite tempting, she still wasn’t certain whether she wanted to relocate. Her family was in New York, and the opportunity to secure a position with a company looking for a certified public accountant with a salary commensurate with her education and experience had kept her from committing to becoming an innkeeper.
“I have thought about it. It is very enticing.”
“If that’s the case, then what’s stopping you,chica? And if you tell me you’re seeing Danny again I’m going to go, as you say, ape-shit.”
A slight frown marred Nydia’s youthful-looking features. She’d recently celebrated her thirty-third birthday, yet she was still mistaken for a college coed and carded whenever she ordered alcohol. And with her recent weight loss of more than ten pounds her petite frame could ill afford to lose, she appeared even younger.
“I told you before, I’m done with Danny. You know I was angry with Wakefield Hamilton because they’d fired us without warning, but now that I look back I know it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. If not, I still would’ve been renting a furnished apartment in my nosy landlady’s house and hoping, wishing, and praying for Danny to get his act together. Once Tonya told me I could sublet her apartment and I moved in, I was able to experience what it meant to be in complete control of my life for the first time since moving out on my own, because I don’t have someone clocking who’s coming and going in and out of the apartment. And one of the many perks in living in the renovated building is the security. Closed-circuit cameras are integrated within the intercom system, which allows me to see who is ringing my bell. So, even if Danny does happen to find out where I live, I don’t have to let him in.”
“I know you’re living out Tonya’s renewal lease until next year, but what are you going to do once it expires? Are you going to take it over under your name?”
Nydia exhaled an audible breath. Jasmine was asking a question she’d asked herself over and over the closer it got to the lease’s expiration date. “Lately I’m not sure. I know if I had a permanent position with a company I would definitely consider it. I gave Tonya the entire year’s rent in advance from my savings, and while I’m doing the books for several restaurateurs, I earn enough to cover nearly three-quarters of the monthly rent, which means with the new lease I’d have to dip into my savings to make up the difference and pay for utilities and buy groceries.”
“Have you begun looking for something permanent?” Jasmine asked.
“Not yet. I’ve decided to wait until after Labor Day to begin a job search. My brother’s friend who is an intelligence analyst for the FBI has been urging me to apply to the Bureau as an accounting and finance special agent.” Nydia knew she had shocked Jasmine with this disclosure when her jaw dropped.
“Why the FBI?” Jasmine questioned.
“Because I have the qualifications: bachelor’s degree in forensic accounting, an MBA and CPA.”
