The Arrogant Architect Read online

  “Hey, Dad,” I respond as we walk in.

  “Hi.” He stands up from his cluttered desk that is covered in a hundred different antiques and all their parts and gives me a hug.

  He and King shake hands a little awkwardly. That connection they once had now a bit tarnished. “Whatcha working on?” I ask him.

  “Another clock, for Galinda.” King peeks over his shoulder at the item in front of him and says, “I remember that clock from when I was a kid.”

  “Yeah?” he asks.

  “Uh huh, there’s a little red bird that chirps out of the top and it used to scare the crap out of me.”

  My dad lifts it up and makes the clock chime. King flinches and says, “Yup, that’s him, still gives me the willies.”

  “How are you feeling?” my dad asks him.

  “Good, surprisingly. A little vertigo every once in a while, but other than that, not too bad.”

  My phone rings again – it’s Ross. I’ve been ignoring him since I bailed the day King went missing, and King says, “You might want to answer it.”

  “I really don’t want to.”

  “Go.” King urges me on, and I know it’s not only to handle my phone call, but also so he and my dad can have some alone time. “I’ll be right back,” I tell them and answer the phone walking to the front porch.

  “Hello?”

  “Finally. Where the hell are you, Ever?” Ross yells and it puts me right in defense mode.

  “I had an emergency, don’t you remember?”

  “Well, your shift started here this morning and I have no one to cover for you.”

  “I’m sorry, Ross, but my boyfriend almost died. I’m going to need to take a few days.”

  He huffs into the phone. “Emilio is already off this week for a family reunion, can you take some time next week?”

  “No,” I tell him outraged.

  “No?” He repeats it back to me, like he didn’t hear me correctly.

  “No, I’m sorry, I can’t. Didn’t you hear what I said?”

  “I heard you and I warned you that this was your last straw. Don’t bother coming back in here at all, Ever,” he barks and hangs up.

  I look down at my phone as the call disconnects. Did he really fire me? Sitting on the porch so King and my dad can have time to hash things out, I’m a little shell-shocked. After all that I did for him and that restaurant. I put a solid four years into that place, and he’s going to just fire me over needing a few days off?

  A text chimes through my phone from Mistee and she says, What in the world did you do to Ross?

  Nothing, I told him I needed a few days to be with King and he fired me.

  Shut up. I’m sure he wasn’t serious.

  Reading her words, even if he wasn’t, I don’t want to work for someone like him any longer. It was bound to happen. I’ve got more important things to worry about.

  Okay, sweetie, I’ll miss you here. Take care of yourself and let me know if you need anything…at all.

  Mistee has been so awesome. Through everything with King, she’s been texting me worried and wanting to help with anything I needed.

  “Everything okay?” King asks me, coming out front and sitting next to me on the porch.

  I chuckle and rest my head on his arm as I say, “If you consider getting fired being okay. Then yeah, I’m fan-fucking-tastic.”

  “He fired you?”

  “Yup.”

  “I’m so sorry, I know how much that place meant to you.”

  “It’s okay, babe. I guess…it wasn’t meant to be. He was never nice to me.”

  “Why did you stay then?”

  “I wanted to prove to him that I could be his head chef. I don’t know…maybe I should’ve gone and worked for Lorenzo.”

  “And you still can. But don’t have regrets, babe. I’ll hire you; I need a private chef.”

  “Shut up.” I hit him and he kisses the top of my hair holding me snugly.

  “How did things with my dad go?”

  “Pretty good.”

  “Yeah?” I ask a little shocked.

  “Yeah, he said it was hard to read the letters and a shock of course that I did that, but now that he’s had some time to think about it, he’s happy to know what all she had to say. Life’s short, baby. I think we all forget that more often than not. Hell, I almost died the other day and your dad made a good point. What if the lady sending the letters to you guys died and then you’d never have known what your mom left for you?”

  “Who did you get them from?” I ask, still not knowing.

  “A coworker of hers. I found an email exchange between them when I was looking for pictures, and she’s pretty old.”

  “Dinner’s served,” my dad says and peeks his head out the screen door. As King and I go inside, I guess I never thought of it like that. Had the person sending the letters suddenly passed, then what? It’s not like my parents are wealthy and my mom hired some attorneys to take care of it for her. I’d assumed it was a friend, but I didn’t know who, or want to know for that fact.

  Looking in the spot where I left my letters, they are gone. I’m sure my dad has them. We haven’t talked about it, and quite frankly…I don’t think he needs to. As my parent, he’ll do what he thinks is right.

  Chapter 31

  King

  Sweating from my head to my toes, I’m nervous about tonight. These events are a lot on me, the scrutiny of all eyes looking in my direction. My mind wondering if they know my secret, and now after the accident, I can’t help but wonder if some of these people question me and don’t believe what’s been told. My biggest fear is that they will think I’m a mockery to the Architectural Society.

  “How’s the Architect of the Year doing?” Ever asks me, coming down the stairs, dressed so fucking gorgeously in a long red dress. Her necklace gleams in the low light of the room.

  “I’m fuckin’ amazing now,” I nod and stand as she struts to me. “You look beautiful,” I tell her and kiss her cheek, her soft skin under my lips making my cock twitch.

  “Thank you,” she says and pulls back, looking into my eyes, studying me the way she does, but now, now that she knows everything, she can read me so fuckin’ well.

  “You’re not okay,” she says and I exhale, knowing I can’t lie to her.

  Wiping my sweaty hands on my pants, I sit back on the couch and she does the same. “You nervous?” she asks me.

  “Uh huh.” my throat is parched and my forehead is clammy. She touches my cheek with the back of her hand and then walks to the kitchen and grabs me a bottle of water. “Here, take a sip.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You know you have nothing to worry about, right?” She leans over and looks into my eyes. I hear her words, but have a hard time believing them. The noise inside my head is particularly loud tonight. “That’s easy for you to say, beautiful.”

  “It’s the truth…that’s why. You are the most amazing man. You are sexy and talented, and about to get the most prestigious award in your line of work, and I’ll be sitting front row, with the biggest smile on my face as you accept it. Still trying to understand, out of all the women in the world, why did you choose me?”

  “I could ask you that same thing.” She smiles and I tell her, “I chose you, because you’re my soul mate.”

  “And you’re mine, so who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks tonight? It’s just you and me, okay?”

  “Okay,” I tell her and she kisses me, putting so much love into it that my anxiety settles.

  “While you’re on stage, imagine me naked,” she says.

  “I might not be able to keep my cock down now that you’ve got me thinking about it.”

  She takes my hand in hers; the feeling is the best. With our goofy banter back to how it was, she’s right – who cares what anyone else thinks? As long as she and I are good, that’s the only thing that matters to me.

  Walking out of my house, we get situated in the car and my phone rings. Answering i
t on the Bluetooth over the car I say, “Hello?”

  “Mr. Lennox, it’s Sara.”

  “Hi Sara, you’re on speaker,” I warn her and she knows why. She’s been helping me with a surprise for Ever, and I’m hoping that she has the news I’ve been waiting for.

  “Everything is all taken care of, the courthouse released the lien today.”

  “That’s great, I’ll see you shortly,” I tell her and hang up.

  “What was that all about?” Ever asks me.

  “A new deal that I bid on.”

  “And you got it?”

  “Yeah, baby…I got it.”

  Holding her hand in mine, I focus on getting through tonight, finding comfort in her, in us. She calms me in a way no other person has my entire life, and I’ve become dependent upon it so much. More than I knew was humanly possible. For a person with bipolar disorder, it can be managed, and I learned to deal with it the best that I could for years. But meeting Ever gave me something new, a spark of hope that I never had before. I have this feeling with her by my side that I can get through the days easier and enjoy life more.

  Pulling up to the hotel that’s hosting the event, the valet opens our doors and we walk inside. My eyes are on Ever, her laugh keeps me grounded, and the security of her hand is my guidance.

  “There he is,” James Reynolds, a famous New York City Architect, shouts walking up to Ever and I.

  “Hey, James,” I shake his hand and introduce him to Ever.

  “How have you been, man? I heard about your incident.” My angst spikes a little and Ever gives my hand a tug.

  “I’ve been great.” I put on the well-placed mask that I’ve lived behind for years and jokingly say, “What better way to stimulate the mind with new design ideas than a day and a half in the Atlantic?” I wink and he laughs at my comment. And I’m the crazy one.

  “I didn’t think of it like that. I might have to try that out.” He raises his glass to me and I look at Ever as she so softly sips on a glass of champagne. “So, what’s next for you?”

  I’m not sure. I’ve got to finish up the Rawlings Building and then I was thinking of working on something with Ever, if she’s willing.”

  “Me?” she questions me and places her hand over her chest, surprised.

  “Of course.”

  “Well, I’d…I’d love to.”

  “Good.” I kiss her cheek.

  As he’s getting called away James says, “It was so nice to meet you, Ever. King, I’ll call you after my dip in the Atlantic.”

  Shaking his hand, Ever whispers into my ear, “That was so fucking bizarre.” He walks off dancing, and I couldn’t agree more.

  Glancing over at Ever as she is gazing up at me I ask her, “What?”

  “Nothing, just thinking.”

  “About?”

  She whispers in my ear, “You fucking me.” And I drag her away from the party.

  Chapter 32

  “We did it, baby,” Ever says as I drive away from the event.

  “Yeah, we did. Thank you for getting me through it.”

  “Of course, are you kidding me? You did awesome, really awesome,” she says.

  “Thinking of you naked helped me to only focus on you.” She smirks as I check my pocket, making sure I still have the key Sara gave to me.

  “Whatcha looking for in there?” Ever asks and reaches for my pocket.

  “Nothing, would you stay out of there?”

  She frowns as I near our destination. I can see she’s starting to wonder as this is not the way to either of our places. “Where are we going?” she asks with uncertainty mixed in her voice.

  “I have to stop by a project.”

  “At this time of night?”

  “Yes, baby, at this time of night.”

  Shutting the car off as we are parked in front of the huge rundown waterfront building, I look out my windshield admiring the potential and then say to Ever, “Do you want to come in with me real quick?”

  “Sure,” she responds and we get out of the car. Walking up to the door, I unlock it and let her in ahead of me. “Be careful,” I say, as I flip on all the lights for the lower level, watching her every move.

  “Are you restoring this?” she asks.

  “Maybe.”

  Taking her hand in mine, I lead her through the open lower level and towards the back.

  “Why did you bid on it then?” she asks me.

  Opening the door to the shell of the kitchen, I cover her eyes with one hand and then turn the light on with my other. “King?” she questions me and I slowly pull it away.

  She looks around at the remnants of what’s left and then gets wide eyed. “Don’t look at me like that,” I tell her.

  She blinks and I ask her, “Could you imagine yourself cooking in here?”

  “Did you buy this for me?” she swallows and I begin to panic, the events of what we’ve gone through in the past pouring down on me, and I remember to keep calm and explain everything to her.

  “When I first looked at this place it was for restoration, honest to God. But… when I saw the size of this kitchen and the location, I couldn’t help but picture this being your restaurant.” Taking the key from my pocket, I dangle it out in front of her and she does a three-sixty look inside of the room.

  “King, I don’t even know what to say.”

  “You told me after we went on our first hike that if I wanted to buy you something it could be a restaurant…so here you go.” I hand her the key and she clenches it in her palm as I open my sketchbook and begin to draw a rough shape of the room. “Let’s plan it out. Tell me what you want and I’ll make a model of it for you and then you can decide if this is the place.”

  “Baby, I trust your design skills, it’s not that…it’s…this is so much.”

  “It’s nothing, really.”

  “I’m sure it costs a fortune.”

  “Not to me.” I feel her slipping from my grasp, not liking the idea, and I ask her, “Is this kitchen big enough?”

  “Of course, it’s huge.”

  “Awesome baby, what do you see on this wall?” I ask and point to it. I can see the wheels inside her head spinning, imagining the potential in here, the same way I did. Then she says, “This is onlya design, and you’ll talk to me before deciding anything else?”

  “I promise.”

  Her hands are locked together covering her mouth, and then she says, “I’d start with this wall. It has to go, that way, this walkout could be doubled in size.” I take meticulous notes, like my life depends on them. Listening to her every word as each idea turns into another and another and another. There is a smile spread across her face and I love it.

  The translation of her vision is clear in my mind, like a painting and I can see that she wants this. Our visions blend together as she tells me everything she wants, and page after page after page is filled with notes and drawings. We are vibing off each other, creating a space, together. And when she finally stops talking, I finish what I was last writing and then glance up at her. Her dress is pooled in a pile of fabric at her feet and she’s chewing her bottom lip. Dropping my pencil and notebook to the floor, she sets the key down and I grab her, lifting her in my arms, kissing her with all I have as we stumble backwards, finally landing with her back pressed against the wall.

  My cock throbs wanting to be inside her, especially after watching her get so passionate about the art of design and creating. “Fuck me, King,” she begs, rubbing her pussy against me. My pants and her underwear are separating us, angering me that I can’t just slide in.

  Freeing my cock, she removes her underwear and then steps to me. My throbbing shaft is in the grip of my hand, my mind screaming one thing and one thing only, to claim her and fuck her until she comes.

  She lifts her leg and I hold it up, nudging my way inside her. Once she fully surrounds me, I move like a machine, sending chills through my body. She cries out in pleasure as my fingers dig into her thigh. My balls slap her ass as
I pump myself inside her, waiting on pins and needles for the moment she comes. Her hands are wound in my hair and for the first time being with her, the noise stops. The silence catches me off guard and I slow my movements to be sure of it. I’ve never found this solitude with anyone; my brain is consistently yelling harder, faster, more. She looks at me wide-eyed and asks, “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing, just enjoying you.” Gently I kiss her neck, nuzzling as I nip her skin, swimming in a sea of silence. Then slowly I begin to pump my hips, and her moans are like that of an angel, and all that I hear. I grunt, joining in the ecstasy as her tight pussy clenches me, pulling my orgasm out of me, without my control.

  Cum shoots from my balls pouring inside her and her nails dig into my neck, shaking and whimpering as she comes right after me. My chest is heaving for air, the adrenaline rush she gives me is unlike anything I’ve ever known.

  And I’m grateful after all I’ve been through, to have found Ever. She accepts me for who I am – she completes me – she makes my life whole.

  Epilogue

  Ever

  Standing in the middle of the kitchen…my kitchen, of my restaurant…it still doesn’t feel real and I’m quite sure it never will. “Where do you want these?” King asks me, walking in with a huge box in his hands. I peek inside at its contents and open the door to the walkout. He sets it on one of the shelves and wipes his hands dry on his pants. He’s been busting his ass getting ready for the grand opening tomorrow, and I couldn’t be more grateful. He’s turned down multiple jobs, resulting in what I’m sure would be millions of dollars lost, but he’s said that he wants us to do this together.

  “What else is on the list, baby?” he asks me as I go through everything that needs to be done tonight.

  I think I hear a knock on the door, and I look at King and ask him, “Did you hear that?” Setting my notebook on the prep counter in the kitchen, we walk out and spot my dad and his aunt peering through the glass. “Did you know they were coming?” I ask, not feeling quite ready to show them the place yet.

  “No.”

  “Hey, guys,” I respond, opening the door, and they come right in.