I huffed out an annoyed breath. “Good and bad. Good, because I have all the programming geared up, and the art I got back is fantastic. You know, I’ve been working with a few undergrads who are majoring in graphic design. When I pitched the game to them, they offered to help with the graphics.”
“That’s what’s up! Now, why bad?”
“Bad because I cannot get this damn storyline together. I have the main character on a dangerous quest, so there’s plenty of action and adventure, but something is missing from the plot. Like the story feels flat.”
“Hmm,” Ricky contemplated while rubbing his chin. “How about you meet up with my sister?”
I choked on my drink. “Huh?
“She loves to read, and she owns her own bookstore. She’ll be able to help you with what’s missing from the story.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I don’t want to intrude. I’ll keep at it a little longer, and if nothing shakes, then I’ll have you ask her. Besides, I think it’s because of the situation with my parents. I had planned to come clean the morning after graduation, but I was preoccupied.”
Ricky burst out into a fit of laughter before his phone started to ring. He said he’d be right back as he took the phone call. I leaned back in my seat and cursed. Technically, I wasn’t lying. The guilt of not coming clean to my parents weighed heavily in my heart and affected my sleep, but now Natalie has stepped into this world that I was hiding. As much as I tried to get her out of my mind, the memory of her kept knocking at the door, and my brain gladly let her in.
She was off-limits, though. I mean, Ricky never said I couldn’t talk to his sister, but at the same time, that was considered an unspoken rule. Hell, if he had known it was his sister I was hugged up with at the club, I’m sure he wouldn’t have been encouraging me to bring her back to my place. Damn it, how was I supposed to get her out of my system? The mere memory of how she tasted had me licking my lips.
“Bro, you straight?” Ricky asked, sitting back down, causing me to jump.
“Huh? Yeah, yeah. I’m good,” I stammered, taking another sip of my drink. “Enough about me, what are your plans?”
Ricky rubbed his hands together as a wide smile spread across his face. “I’m going to be shadowing Black at his company next week. He’s thinking about stepping away from Red Spades.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Damn, for real? I thought he loved it there.”
Ricky shrugged. “He said he’s ready for a change of scenery since no one is appealing to him anymore.”
I shook my head in shock as I sat back in my seat. Red Spades was Leonard’s underground ‘lifestyle’ club, or in layman’s terms, his sex club. I didn’t know too much about it, but Black told Ricky and me all about it. Hell, when we turned twenty-one, he permitted us to come check it out. I wasn’t interested, but Ricky found it fascinating. He never went during business hours to participate but helped behind the scenes. The fact that Ricky got his degree in Business with a concentration in hospitality proved how invested he was in the company. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he shadowed his older brother.
“Speaking of which, are you really going to work at your parents’ tech firm?”
“Not at all,” I said with a shake of my head. “But I have a plan.”
“Does it involve coming clean to your folks?”
I briefly gave him a blank stare before I ignored his question. “I got George covering for me, and he’s going to tell my parents that I’m going to start in the lower IT department. That should please them because while they can get me into a higher department, I’m choosing to work hard and work my way up the chain.”
I beamed, folding my arms across my chest. It was the perfect plan and would definitely keep my folks preoccupied enough not to question my career.
Ricky exhaled a long sigh. “Why are all the people that I care about so damn secretive? Leonard, Nat, and now you.”
I tapped my fingers on top of my laptop as my leg slightly bounced. What did he mean, Nat? What secrets was she hiding? I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to express too much emotion about his sister. Hell, I almost slipped up when he told me about that muthafucka from the club.
Checking his watch, Ricky downed his drink and stood up. “C’mon, man. I’m trying to get a few games in at the rec beforeI head back to my side of town. We have our monthly family dinner, and I cannot be late. Say, listen. I’m going to tell you the same things I told my two knuckle-headed siblings. Remember what John chapter eight, verse thirty-two says in the great book. The truth will set you free!”
“Bro, that’s not what the whole verse says.” I huffed, gathering my belongings.
“True, but still. You know I’m speaking facts.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
I would come clean. It may not be the whole truth, but what Ricky and my parents didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt them.
Natalie
If we schedulean interview time for 9 a.m., then I’d expect you to be here at that time. Glancing down at my watch, I saw it was now thirty minutes past, and the first interview I had lined up was a no-show. I rubbed my temples and huffed out a frustrated breath.
“Note to self: look for a new staffing agency,” I grumbled.
