ChapterTwo
Asher:
It’s well into the morning by the time I make it home, thankfully even though I live with my brothers and their wives, we all have separate entrances, so I was able to get to my wing of the house without meeting anyone. I wanted to get back to the club, but I have been up for over twenty-four hours, and I need to wash off the night and get some rest. As soon as I walk through the doors of my suite, I felt my shoulders relax, and for the first time, realize just how tense I’ve been since Antonia was found dead at the club. I strip out of my clothes and place them in either the in-closet dry cleaner or in the hamper as I head into my bathroom. Its fully voice integrated so, as I bark for a shower, the bathroom lights up. The shower turns on as well as the heated floors and towel warmer. I brush my teeth—cause my mouth feels like I have been chewing on garbage—then get in the shower. The entire ceiling is retractable glass and the shower looks like a natural waterfall complete with a bench and tub built out of the stone that makes up the rock face. Walking in is like being in a rainforest. Yeah, it’s over the top but I’m an architect and I love to challenge myself with my designs. I also have a regular shower on the other side of my closet. Why do I have two bathrooms? Why not? I take a seat on the bench under the flow of water from the waterfall and reflect on the night, trying to recall anything out of place; nothing comes to mind. I’m startled awake, still in the shower, and can’t recall when I fell asleep. I finish washing, cut the shower off, wrap up in a warmed towel, and faceplant on my bed.
I woke up six hours later starving, and in the exact same spot and position, I fell asleep. I check my phone to discover that it's dead since I never put it on the charger. I set it on the table to charge and go to the bathroom to take care of my morning hygiene. By the time I make it back to my phone I am dressed in shorts, a button-up, and Tom Ford sandals, I throw my hair up in a bun, put my shades on, grab my phone and head down to the main part of the house. As soon as I turn my phone on it explodes with notifications. All that shit has to wait, as I pull sandwich fixings out of the fridge. I sectioned the bread that Jaasiel made, added turkey, capocollo, and provolone cheese, place them on a baking sheet and tossed it in the oven to toast. I grab the rest of the ingredients and make a quick grinder salad, slice a few tomatoes, and grab some chips. By the time I pour a glass of Savvy’s peach lemonade, the sandwiches are ready to come out of the oven and I assemble them with the rest of the ingredients, take a seat and dig in. Before I realized it, I’ve eaten the whole loaf of Jaasiel’s focaccia bread and I’m ready to lay back down, but duty calls.
I check my phone to see Ms. St. Claire has called, along with Cole and my brothers, and I have notifications from all of them. Brothers first, then Cole, and last but certainly not least my lawyer. Just thinking about her has my dick hard. But until this bullshit is cleared up it would be a conflict of interest and unprofessional for me to fuck her. Would she like the type of sex I like? She is obviously used to taking charge, but when you are in my bed, I am the one in control. No exceptions. The thought of bending her to my will, of putting her under my control and protection excites me. She gives orders so well, but how well would she take them?
I call Josh to let him know I was good, then I make the call to Cole who lets me know he hasn’t gotten any information on Antonia’s family and that the club is closed down indefinitely. Lastly, I finally make the call to Ms. St. Claire.
“Mr. Gideon if you are available, I would like for us to meet so we can go over what I just discovered, and you can give me your side of the story.” she says without preamble.
“I am free now if you are, I can meet you at my offices.” She agrees and I rattle off the address and end the call. Moving quickly, I set the kitchen back in order, so Jaasiel doesn’t cuss me out, and head out even though it’s only a fifteen-minute drive. The office of the club is at a separate location. Membership is exclusive and elusive and it’s a top priority to keep who is on the membership confidential. I pull up to the office and notice Cole is already here. I walk in and find him in his office. I take a seat in front of his desk and he doesn’t give me a chance to get settled before he is talking. Antonia’s body was taken by the medical examiner shortly before the cops literally ripped the club apart. I end up telling him to take the week off with pay along with the rest of the staff since the club is closed and that I will call him if I need him. I leave him in his office making calls to the staff and head to my office. By the time I take my seat my office door opens and in walks Carla. Hmm, when this is all over, I am going to take pleasure in teaching her a few manners.
“We need to make a game plan. If what I hear is correct, you are the only and primary suspect for the murder. So, I need you to tell me everything.”
For the next few hours, we talk about what happened at the club. I explained to her that Antonia is a favorite playmate of mine, and we had a session that night. It was a normal session and when I walked away, she was very much alive. I explain to her that I don’t know if someone else came into the room after me but there was more than enough time from when I walked out to when her body was discovered. I also explain that my DNA will definitely be on her body even though I used a condom. We strategized on what my defense will be if or when I get called back to the station.
As we talk, I find myself perusing her, from the top of her head to her feet—I keep getting that feeling that I have seen her somewhere before and not just at Peter’s wedding, but as I go through my mental Rolodex I can’t pinpoint when or where. I trust my gut though; it kept me alive more times than I care to count. I will figure out when and where I have seen her before. We end our meeting, set up another time to meet, and I walk her to her car. As soon as I get back to my office my phone rings. I look at the caller ID and it’s Josh. I answer the call before he comes looking for me.
“Hello?”
“Where the fuck are you?” I hear bellowed in my ear.
“Hello to you too Josh,” I say in return.
“I swear, y’all can still act like fucking five-year-old. You are supposed to be at T’Aundrea’s baby shower, remember? And you have the group gift, you asshole! Pull yourself together and get here with that gift now!” Josh says before hanging up on me. Damn! I forgot that today is her baby shower. I rush back to the house to grab the gift and head to the venue... driving my SUV to accommodate the gifts for T and Angie. I pull the RR Cullen to the door, lower the back row seat, put the gifts in, and head to Peter’s hotel. T’Aundrea or T as everyone calls her, and her wife have become family even before Joyce became Joseph’s wife. They finally were able to get pregnant shortly after moving here and of course, Joyce, Joseph, and the women took it upon themselves to give her a baby shower and gender reveal. When they realized they were having a boy they were very excited since that is what they wanted anyway. I was secretly hoping for a little girl since I’ve been surrounded by boys my whole life. The only girls we are have are Skai, Alayna and little Sarai, and they are all spoiled beyond belief.
“Took you long enough. You look like hell.” Joseph says as he looks me up and down.
“Gee, thanks,” I deadpanned. “It just started a few minutes ago; you guys act like I’m hours late.”
“I mean you are the one that is usually thirty minutes early to everything,” he says.
And I have to nod in agreement.
“I overslept.” he raises an eyebrow at me. “It happens,” I tell him. “Help me bring the stuff in.” We work together to bring everything in and place them with the other gifts. I find T looking beautiful in an all-black dress, her hair is pulled up showing off all her tattoos and piercings but more importantly how beautiful she looks pregnant. She is radiant and looks so happy.
“Ash! I thought you weren’t going to make it,” she says as I pull her into a hug, well as much as her belly will allow.
“Nonsense. I wouldn’t miss today for the world.” I tell her. The song that was playing ended, and Music Soulchild’s So Beautiful comes on and I begin dancing with T. Her wife walks by us shaking her head as she heads over to where the rest of my brothers are sitting.
“You know if you ever get tired of Angie, I would be more than willing to marry you and adopt your son,” I tell her as I pull her closer to me.
“You’re incorrigible, you know that right. I could never get tired of her, she is everything I prayed for,” she says as she gazes over at her wife.
“Then why are you here in my arms?” I say wiggling my eyebrows down at her, and she throws her head back with a laugh that gets everyone's attention.
“Because Angie won’t dance in public that’s why, and you know it. Now shut up and dance,” she orders me and that is exactly what I do. The song is appropriate because she is a very beautiful woman inside and out. I am grateful she and Angie became part of our family with Joyce, like a package deal. The song ends and we take our seats. Both of their families are there, along with all of us and the wives, Peter and Lennox, and some friends. It turns into a classic Gideon event even. Even though T and Angie aren’t Gideons, but Morrisons, that’s just semantics. Once the games begin all decorum goes out the window. Peter wins a game when he yells out “MY WATER BROKE!” All eyes swing in his direction, clearly confused and concerned. It takes us a second to remember we are playing a game and we all burst out laughing, wiping away tears, as Peter preens, holding his newly born baby. Next, all the men find themselves at a table with a baby doll and diaper-changing supplies in front of them. Brooklyn is nearby doing a little shimmy dance while holding a stopwatch. I don’t even have to look at my brother to know his eyes are glued to her. Once we are all set up at our respective table, she says... “Ready, set, GO!!!” We each race to change our baby first, being mindful that we can’t manhandle them, we must treat them like real babies. I unsnap the sleeper on my baby and pull it off, unsnap the onesie tee-shirt and pull open the diaper and stop.
“There’s shit in this diaper!” I yell out.
“Um, language! There are kids present.”
“Please, do you know who the parents are? No one said it was going to be an actual dirty diaper!”
“It’s not poop, it’s peas baby food. You have to use the wipes, powder, and new diaper and redress the baby to win.”