“Your friends are cool, Ansley,” Davis said later when they were alone. “Even Simeon was chill tonight.” He was relieved that she hadn’t tried to cause any drama.
She chuckled. “She and Charles looked like they were quite cozy. I like him for her. They were giggling and fawning all over each other all night. It was cute.”
“He seems like a nice guy. “I’ll definitely check him out at the office before I leave there.”
“What do you mean leave?” Ansley asked. She turned off the water and began drying the last of the dishes.
“I’ve gotten a great offer from another company,” he said. “I thought I had mentioned it to you. Anyway, I think it’s a much better opportunity for me.”
“Oh okay. Is it high-rises or what kind of buildings?”
Davis shook his head. “No, not really. It’s smaller retail space or something,” he stifled a yawn, then said, “Man I’m beat. I think I’m going to head home.”
“You could always just sleep here…and I do mean sleep,” she said with a grin.
He threw up his hands in mock defense.
Together, they walked toward the bedroom.
Davis bit back his irritation. It seemed like every time he felt like he was moving ahead, something tried to pull him back down. It started with Simeon oversharing, telling Ansley about their tryst. He still felt as if he were waiting for the other shoe to drop—that Simeon might decide to tell Ansley about their most recent hookup in Chicago. He thought for a short time that Ansley’s ex would be another obstacle, but once he took control of the situation at the Compound, she hadn’t mentioned Ryan. He was going to have to say goodbye to his Lowell Myers cover before Charles innocently started asking questions which could expose his secret.
Truth is, Davis had not been working there or anywhere for that matter. He made his money through other means that Ansley would never understand. If Charles became a threat to his happiness, he would have to figure out a way to deal with that.
“Sweetie, are you planning on taking a bath or shower right now?” Davis inquired. “I’d love to get in, but will wait if you were about to go first.”
“Actually, I’m going to watch a bit of the late night news before I get in, so you can go ahead,” she said.
He walked over to the vanity where she was sitting, and kissed her forehead before padding barefoot into the bathroom.
Davis turned on the water and waited until he heard her turn the television on before reaching in his pants pocket for his cellphone. Hoping the water and television combined would muffle his voice, he returned a missed call from Beau.
“What’s up?” Davis knew if his cousin was calling, it was not going to be good.
“I need you to go back to Chicago,” Beau commanded.
Davis ran his hand across the top of his head. “I don’t know about that. There was almost a situation last time. Dude pulled a gun and then—”
“Aye man, remember the rules. Less is more on the phone, you got me?” Beau barked.
“My bad, but Beau—you never mentioned that someone could get killed. I’m not down with that type of work. So I’m not going to be able to do this again. Anything else and I got you.”
“Man up, D. When you work fo’ me, things can get messy. Besides, it’s not like your soft behind stepped up to handle bid’ness anyway.” He let out a sinister laugh.
“I’ll handle money transfers, but I’m not a killer.” Davis paused when Beau didn’t respond. “I appreciate everything, but I’m done. I’ll find another way to pay you back.”
“You done? You still owe me, which means I own you. When I call you for something, you best be ready,” Beau snarled before hanging up.
Davis stood there, taking a moment to reflect on his current situation. He never expected his life to be this way. He was from Chicago Heights, a suburban town right outside of the city.
Growing up, Davis tried to do things the right way, but everyone assumed the worse, wanting to box him in with his family lineage of ex-cons. Even with his ex-girlfriend Bree; Davis tried to be a good man, but she didn’t appreciate him. She always accused him of being a dog like Beau, who was a blatant womanizer.
There was a point in his life where he loved Bree beyond words, but she chose to make him feel irrelevant, so he became the man she wanted—a scumbag.
Once they called it quits, Davis decided to start fresh and find a way to be happy again, and so he moved to Georgia.
Having Ansley in his life restored his hope for the kind of life he desired. She made him want to be better, be more than what the world, his mother, and Bree tried to say he was. Then Simeon presented a piece of his past to Ansley on a silver platter hoping to steal his newfound joy.
There was a chance that Bree was working her way to Georgia to find him. He couldn’t let that happen. Davis knew that Bree felt that he owed her something. He wished her well and hoped she would just move on and let him live his life.
All the years of lies and scheming were beginning to take a toll on him. He didn’t want to wait until it was too late to make some changes. He had to start somewhere.
Davis stepped into the shower and prayed that the water would wash away all of his dirt and when he stepped out that he would truly be clean.