Chapter One Hundred and Fifty
Kelley remained seated at the table and he watched Sylvie as she walked out of the door, clutching his business card in her hand. He already knew he'd have her in bed by the end of the night if he wanted to. Maybe Arlo was right, he needed to move on and forget about Milana. Technically, they were separated since she'd left the marriage bed. He was an abandoned husband, the thought made him chuckle as Sylvie glanced at him through the glass windows before disappearing from view.
A tallish, gangly teen sat down across from Kelley. His hair was long and unkempt, his clothes giving away his age. “Dude, how did you do that? It was amazing to watch, like, seriously, you gave that chick one smile and she was ready to go home with you!”
Kelley looked at the boy in front of him and leaned back in his seat. “It’s the scar.”
“The scar? Seriously?” The boy looked at him in disbelief but in awe as well.
“Stop saying ‘seriously’ in answer to everything. Gain some weight, turn it into muscle, wear a suit and cut your hair. No man refers to a woman as a chick and scores,” Kelley said as he stood up from the table, buttoned his suit jacket and left the coffee shop.
Kelley sat in the passenger seat of his Escalade as Connor drove back to his house with a rare smile on his face. Connor raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as Kelley took the stairs up to his study.
He hadn't felt excited about anything since concluding the truce meeting with Marcus Holt, not until now. Sylvie was like a breath of fresh air in his otherwise stuffy life, which consisted of work and more work.
Mason and Lee had also told him to move on. They'd harassed him for three weeks to pull his head out of his ass and to find his wife. They'd nearly had a screaming match over it and then they'd changed tactics, trying to get a rise out of him by telling him to move on.
He worked until six when his phone rang and he looked at Mason's name displayed on the screen. He rubbed his hand over his face and answered his phone. “Mason.”
“Hey, Kelley, you still working?” Mason sounded relaxed and it made Kelley smile again.
“Just finishing up, why?”
“Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? Gracie’s been asking when you’re coming over again,” Mason said.
“I can’t,” Kelley said.
“It’s not healthy to bury yourself in work. You have to get out,” Mason said.
Kelley laughed. “I have a date, Mason.”
“A date?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” Kelley asked him.
“No, I mean, you’re a catch and all that jazz but … I … you know what, I’m happy for you. It’s a good thing. Who’s the woman?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Kelley said and chuckled.
“Why? Who is it?” Mason asked.
“Sylvie Carlisle.”
“Who the hell is Sylvie Carlisle?” Kelley could almost see Mason frowning and the gears in his mind working.
Kelley laughed loudly and shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. “Fatty Patty.”
“What the fuck, man? Fatty Patty? Why would you go on a date with her?”
“I’ll send you a picture later and if you call her fatty Patty again, I’ll kick your ass,” Kelley said.
"Uh huh, kick my ass, you say. Remember to take your black card for dinner, that's the one with no limit, right? Fatty Patty might be hungry," Mason said.
"Piss off, Mason," Kelley said with a smile. Mason would have to eat his words once he realized what she looked like now.
“Wash your balls!” Mason yelled and ended the call.
Kelley closed up shop for the day and headed to his room as he started undoing his tie. He checked the time again and got into the shower. He laughed out loud as he dutifully washed his balls and got out. He dressed in another suit but left his tie off.
For once Connor didn't argue when Kelley said he was going out, he just asked if he was armed to which Kelley held up his middle finger and left the house.
Sylvie’s house was in the middle class section of Yorkdare Bay and the sold sticker was still on the ‘House for sale’ sign. The house wasn’t overly large, it was a single story with a double garage attached to it. The garden was neatly maintained and he could see that the property was well taken care of. Kelley parked in the driveway and walked up to her front door.
The door opened just as he was about to knock and he looked at the vision that was Sylvie. She was dressed in a wrap dress that showed off her figure and her hair was loose. Her makeup was subtle and Kelley liked that. She looked beautiful but it also gave the illusion that she wasn't trying too hard, that she dressed like that regularly.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
She closed the door behind her and locked it. She took Kelley’s arm and he led her down the paved walkway to his car. Once they were both in the car, he turned to look at her. “You look very beautiful.”
“Thank you, Kelley. You look nice too,” she said with a smile.
“Good, because Mason’s still the pretty one,” Kelley said as he drove away from her house.
Sylvie laughed and any tension between them evaporated. “You’re still friends with Mason?”
“We’re brothers, me, Mason and Lee. We’re in business together too,” Kelley said as he kept his eyes on the road.
“That’s really great. Not everyone stays friends after college.”
“What about you?” Kelley asked.
“I stay in touch with a few,” she answered.
“That’s good,” Kelley said as he parked in front of a restaurant and a valet opened her door.
“Going all out, huh,” Sylvie said as Kelley handed his keys to the valet and took her hand.
He led her into the upscale restaurant that had a hostess who greeted them with a smile. The restaurant screamed class, privacy and money and Sylvie seemed nervous. Kelley squeezed her hand and gave her a smile.
“Mr Alexander, you’re table is ready,” the hostess said and Sylvie glanced at Kelley as they followed the woman through the restaurant. He hadn't even said a word to her which meant that he was either a regular or very well known in Yorkdare Bay, perhaps even both.
