The Secrets of Their Souls (8 page)

“Also, Eddie called yesterday. He has finished the furniture samples you requested. Do you want to go see them this afternoon?” Holly asked, smiling and nodding her head up and down excitedly.

Zahra laughed. She loved it when her team got as excited about their work as she did. “Let’s do it!”

The women sat together in Holly’s office for another forty-five minutes discussing everything from blueprints to wallpaper. Seven high-rise developments on the go at once were pushing the limits of her team, but they would make it work—they had to. And Zahra would ensure every building was finished in her trademark perfection even if it killed her in the process. Her future forecast predicated early starts and late nights with the chance of a chaotic storm.

“All right, I’m going downstairs to get a coffee and then I’m going to find that color reference,” Zahra said, more to herself than to Holly, mentally organizing her mind. “Oh, by the way, do you know Olivia Tolley? Tohmatsu’s assistant? I thought I saw her out last Friday night with a very hot guy. Has she got a boyfriend?”

“I don’t know her all that well but I don’t think she’s got a boyfriend. Maybe she was just hooking up? He’s hot, though? Damn! Lucky girl.”

It was all a lie. Zahra even threw in the ‘hot guy’ just for fun and with the endless gossip generated at Mason this story would be lucky to get any air time. Regardless, she had no desire to be known as a gossiper and decided to kill the rumor as quickly as she had birthed it. Zahra shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, it might not even have been her. They were quite far away and it was dark.”

Zahra’s stomach growled as she waited impatiently for her latte. “How was your week, Lou?” she asked the master barista behind the counter.

“Busy,” she replied. The word meant little, but the saucy grin on her face told a much different story.

Zahra smiled. “Please do share.”

“We’ve been experiencing an unusual early morning rush. Mr. Tohmatsu has slipped into a morning routine of picking up breakfast here at seven. Let’s just say, that is now our peak rush of the day. I had to bring in three extra staff!”

After laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, Zahra wondered if she might be the most ridiculous of the lot. “Well, at least he’s good for business. Mason will have the lowest tardy rates in history.”

Nodding her head in agreement, Lou handed Zahra her latte and a green juice.

Back in her office, Zahra swept her eyes over her emails, looking for anything urgent, thankfully not seeing anything that couldn’t wait until that evening. Jayce had never emailed her, she realized, and she suspected that his assistant having access to his account might’ve been the reason why. Zahra took a large mouthful of her latte, the warm, caffeine-loaded liquid running through her veins while she opened up Google.

Jayce Tohmatsu

Pictures of Jayce flooded her screen and she chose a close-up. Using the eyedropper tool, she hovered it over the pixel color she wanted to identify and then sent the code to Holly. Reference problem solved.

The day had been long and when Zahra finally turned off her computer, it was 11:30 p.m. George Stavros was standing tall and alert when she arrived home. George was her doorman and had been ever since she’d moved into the building. He had broad shoulders and a looming height that would have been frightening if not for his dazzling smile. Zahra always made an effort to match his uplifting mood, even when all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed.

“Hey, George!”

“Evening, Miss Foster. You’re home late again. I hope that new boss isn’t driving you crazy.”

Zahra giggled. “He’s all right.” She shook his hand, “How is the family?”

George’s family were everything to him, and he was possibly the most selfless man she had ever met. Hard-working, caring and generous: a testament to the basic goodness of humankind.

“They are well. Marie’s busy baking her goodies—you know she sells them at four local bakeries now. She’s looking for a commercial site so she can expand her business.”

Marie was his wife and an equally kind woman. They had raised three children and it was nice to now see Marie doing something for herself, Zahra thought. And she could vouch for her cookies—they were damn fine. “She should be very proud,” Zahra said as he opened the door for her.

“Oh, I nearly forgot, a parcel arrived for you a few hours ago,” he said, smiling, as he walked up to the lobby desk and retrieved a FedEx package.

Zahra looked at it hesitantly. She never received packages at her home address.

“Uh, you gonna open it or you think it’s a bomb?”

Zahra smacked his shoulder and took the box from him. It was light and when she shook it, it didn’t make a sound. Interesting.

The elevator slowly climbed up until it stopped at the seventh floor, Zahra’s floor. She unlocked the door and dumped everything down onto her dining table. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and slid it around the edges of the box. “What the hell?” Zahra said under her breath. Inside was a white envelope with a red ribbon. Pulling one end, the silk bow unraveled and with trembling hands she ripped open the envelope.

Do you trust me?

Four words printed on a ‘Mason
With Compliments’
slip. Behind the slip was a ticket, printed off the Internet: Trapeze School New York.
Only Jayce
, Zahra thought. It was late, but she knew he would still be at the office so she called his cell.

“I was just thinking about you.”

She grinned, holding the ticket in her hand. “Well, I just received your delivery. Are we really going trapeze flying?”

“Yes, but only if you want to, of course. You’re a brave woman so I thought it would be right up your alley.”

“I see. And are you going to catch me, or let me fall?”

“Definitely let you fall,” he said with a laugh. “No, seriously though, I’ve never done it before but it does look fun. What do you think? We could do it this Saturday if you’re not busy.”

She had already made up her mind but she let him sweat it out for a few seconds. “I think it’s a brilliant idea. I’m in, so Saturday it is.”

“That’s my girl. Bring a change of clothes and we’ll go out for dinner afterward.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Get some sleep, Zahra.”

“Are you still at the office?”

“For a few more hours.”

Zahra heard him shift in his chair, a barely audible sigh escaping his lips. Lips she wanted to kiss. “Good night, Jayce.”

The hours couldn’t pass fast enough but finally, as it always did, the week came to an end. When he arrived at Zahra’s apartment, he was greeted by the doorman, who introduced himself as George. He looked over Jayce carefully, much like a father looks over his daughter’s date. He was protective of Zahra, that much was obvious, and Jayce felt George’s eyes on him until he stepped into the elevator.

Zahra opened her door and the only clothes she wore were black leggings and a white sports bra. Her hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail and her lips were masked in red—she’d achieved everything she’d set out to: he stood there speechless.

“Do you want to come in?” The smile on her lips was sly.

He wanted to but then he knew he wouldn’t be able to leave. “No,” he said, pulling himself together. “We’ll be very late if I do.” He wrapped his hands around her small waist and she cradled his face in her hands, guiding his mouth to hers. She brushed her breasts against his chest and he inhaled sharply and then pushed her away. “That’s not fair, Zahra.”

She batted her eyelashes and shrugged her shoulders. “Have it your way,” she said. She put on a thin sweater and grabbed her bag, locking the door behind her. Jayce entwined his fingers with hers and led her down to the waiting car, nodding at George as they passed by.

“I love it when you wear your hair up like this,” he muttered, kissing the hollow behind her ear. “The first day I saw you, all I could think about was doing this.” It was part truth, part lie.

Zahra’s hand was on his leg and she reflexively squeezed it as he kissed her. Time ceased to exist and he was surprised when they arrived at their destination so quickly. He tugged playfully on her ponytail as they got out of the car. “Are you ready?”

“I’m warning you, Jayce Tohmatsu, I’m about to blow your mind.”

She was already blowing his mind, but he would never admit that to her.

They were greeted by Boriss, a man of Latvian descent with a strong Texan accent. Jayce introduced himself and his girlfriend, making sure to emphasize the girlfriend part, not because he was threatened by the man but because Zahra had deliberately worn a cleavage-enhancing top that would have tempted any straight man. After Boriss gave them the low down and fitted their safety belts, they walked over to the trapeze. The sun had set and the lights shone down on them from above.

Jayce began to climb up the ladder and Zahra followed behind him. They stood together on the platform with Boriss coming up the rear and a spotter on the ground, standing by the net. They were higher up than he realized and one look at Zahra’s face told him she was thinking the same thing. Miss Bravado wasn’t looking quite so confident anymore.

“Okay, who is going first?” Boriss asked, already hooking the safety attachments to Jayce’s belt. He had intended to go first and didn’t need Boriss to make the decision for him, but he brushed aside his irritation for the sake of not ruining their night.

Zahra bit her lip when Jayce gripped onto the bar and he winked at her before he jumped off, flying through the air, back and forth. It was so exhilarating, it was intoxicating. He let go and bounced onto the safety net, looking up at Zahra. Her hands were clasped under her chin as she nodded at Boriss. The spotter unhooked Jayce and he jumped down, ready to see her take flight.

For a moment, Zahra hesitated but then her feet left the platform and she sailed through the air, squealing like a little girl. Jayce chuckled alongside the spotter, who also couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

When Zahra let go, Jayce was beside the net, ready to help her down. He had never seen her smile so brilliantly.

“Oh, my gosh!” She climbed into his arms and he kissed her, his body still rushing with adrenaline.

“Ready to go again?”

She nodded, not a doubt in her mind.

By the fifth fly, they had their knees up and on the sixth fly they mastered a knee hang catch. Jayce didn’t let her fall, holding on to her with everything he had.

Back on the ground again, he sweetly kissed her forehead. “I like you.”

Surprise flooded her face. “I like you too, Jayce Tohmatsu.”

After an hour on the trapeze, they were ready for dinner. They changed into dinner-wear and then walked the three blocks to the restaurant with a table waiting for Tohmatsu.

Sitting opposite at the table, Jayce enjoyed the view in front of him. “Have you decided?” he asked, gesturing to the menu.

“I will have the watermelon salad and the Risotto del Giorno, please.”

Jayce blinked. “No meat. You’re vegetarian?”

“Yes. You seem surprised?”

Jayce shook his head. “I just didn’t realize. When did you go vegetarian?”

“When I was seventeen… I think it’s inhumane to eat anything with a face,” Zahra said, looking at him squarely, “but that’s a personal decision. You order whatever you want. I’m accustomed to eating with carnivores. Jemma likes her meat still bleeding.”

He scrunched his nose up, smiling. “That’s kinda gross.”

“I completely agree,” Zahra said with a laugh.

The waiter came and took their order. Jayce ordered steak, medium-well. A few minutes later the same waiter came back with a bottle of wine, and they toasted their glasses. ‘To flying.’

He watched her lips as she drank the champagne; she was so tempting. “I didn’t see you in the office today?”

“No, I dialed in from home… less distractions,” she responded, shrugging her shoulders casually.

Jayce looked at her for a moment. There was something about the way she said it, almost too casually, and it made him question it but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Pushing the thought aside, he continued. “What else did you do today?”

“I went for a run, Jemma came over this afternoon, and then I worked for a bit. What did you do today?”

He smiled. “I worked, I went to a business lunch, and then I worked some more… speaking of—” He paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his vibrating cell phone. “I have to take this call.”

Zahra nodded and her face transformed when he began to speak in Japanese. He ended the call as quickly as possible.

“Sorry—that was my father. He likes daily progress updates and he does not like it when I don’t answer.”

“I see. Was he impressed by your update?”

His lips turned up at the corners. “No, actually, he wasn’t. I told him I was at dinner with a girl, but he thinks I should be in the office working. He is very displeased with his prodigal son.”

“You must be such a disappointment to him, Jayce,” she said teasingly.

“It’s okay, I’ll get back in his good books tomorrow.” He leaned forward and took her hands, energy pulsating through him. His eyes swept over the other diners watching them and he wondered if their sexual tension was that obvious. Jayce cleared his throat. “I think there should be no touching for the rest of dinner.”

Conversation flowed easily between them, like old friends catching up after a long absence. Their childhoods were remarkably different but the qualities they were raised to respect were not. Zahra and Jemma had had the idyllic upbringing in a loving, nurturing family who worked hard and had made a good life.

“Ready?”

“Sure.” Zahra stood up and tucked her chair in behind the table. She took Jayce’s hand as they walked out of the restaurant and into the waiting car.

“Thank you, for tonight,” she said.

He leaned forward, cradling her face between his hands. “You’re welcome. Thank you.” He bit gently on her bottom lip and a low groan escaped his throat. “You taste so fucking good.”

Zahra closed her eyes and submitted to his kiss.