in the chair with her head in her knees.
Kalil made his way up the steps and knelt beside her as he lifted her head gently. âHere, let me see your lip,â he said softly as he dabbed her face with the wet paper towels.
London looked toward the ceiling as Kalil removed the traces of blood from the corners of her lip. She grimaced when he touched her face.
âSsh, Iâm not gonâ hurt you, ma,â he said as he tried his best to clean her up. As he touched her face, he examined the beauty of the woman sitting before him. She was gorgeous, and he couldnât believe that any man would want to bring harm to her.
London finally looked Kalil in his eyes and was about to speak when they both heard the clanging of the auditorium doors as they opened.
Jada came running in. âDaddy, are you ready yet? Mommy gonâ be mad if you take me home late.â
London turned her head away from Jada. âI donât want her to see me like this,â she stated softly. As Kalil never removed his hands from her face, London grabbed his hand with hers and hid behind it as Jada came near.
âJada, go and wait in the hallway. Iâll be right out. Just let me finish talking to Ms. London, okay?â
âOkay.â Jada hesitated then let out a sigh.
âIâm sorry,â London said, once Jada had left the room.
âDonât apologize. Are you okay?â Kalil rubbed the side of her face. He used a gentleness that he only shared with his daughter, and it made her force a smile.
She nodded her head. âIâll be fine, thank you.â
Kalil reluctantly got up to leave. He didnât want to leave her alone, but he had to make sure that he got Jada home. He dropped his daughter off and then decided to call it a night.
Kalil couldnât get the thought of London out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her deep, dark brown eyes staring back at him. He knew that there was something about her that intrigued him, but he also knew that she was married. He wondered if she knew exactly how beautiful she was. Her smooth skin and exotic features were uncommon in the hood. Her perfect face looked like a creation of some famous painter.
He tossed and turned the entire night as thoughts of her raced through his mind. He was anxious for the morning to come, because he knew that he would get to see her again.
Chapter Six
The next day, after the storm had eased, Kalil went back to work for Mr. Moretti. Kalil wasnât the only black man that worked there, but they were all treated the sameâlike trash. It seemed like if you werenât full-blooded Italian, then Mr. Moretti had no respect for you. The only reason he even hired his black workers was because he knew that he could get away with paying them less money than advertised.
âKelly!â one of the project managers yelled, calling Kalil by his last name, âgo tell Mr. Moretti that we have another shipment coming in!â
Kalil was grateful for the break. He dropped what he was doing and went to relay the message. He walked into the room without knocking, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the pile of hundred-dollar bills on his bossâs desk.
Mr. Moretti and the group of Italian men who stood around the desk immediately tried to cover up the pile of money.
âWhat the fuck is wrong with you? Are you fucking stupid or something? Close the fucking door!â Moretti slammed the door in Kalilâs face.
Kalil quickly made his way back to his work area. What the fuck they got going on up in this muâfucka? This construction shit got to be a cover-up for something. It had to be about fifty stacks on that table, Kalil thought as he continued to work. His mind was split between the money and Jadaâs dance teacher, and by the time his shift ended he was exhausted.
When Kalil got to Jadaâs school, she was the only student still waiting to be picked up. He stepped into the
Kalil made his way up the steps and knelt beside her as he lifted her head gently. âHere, let me see your lip,â he said softly as he dabbed her face with the wet paper towels.
London looked toward the ceiling as Kalil removed the traces of blood from the corners of her lip. She grimaced when he touched her face.
âSsh, Iâm not gonâ hurt you, ma,â he said as he tried his best to clean her up. As he touched her face, he examined the beauty of the woman sitting before him. She was gorgeous, and he couldnât believe that any man would want to bring harm to her.
London finally looked Kalil in his eyes and was about to speak when they both heard the clanging of the auditorium doors as they opened.
Jada came running in. âDaddy, are you ready yet? Mommy gonâ be mad if you take me home late.â
London turned her head away from Jada. âI donât want her to see me like this,â she stated softly. As Kalil never removed his hands from her face, London grabbed his hand with hers and hid behind it as Jada came near.
âJada, go and wait in the hallway. Iâll be right out. Just let me finish talking to Ms. London, okay?â
âOkay.â Jada hesitated then let out a sigh.
âIâm sorry,â London said, once Jada had left the room.
âDonât apologize. Are you okay?â Kalil rubbed the side of her face. He used a gentleness that he only shared with his daughter, and it made her force a smile.
She nodded her head. âIâll be fine, thank you.â
Kalil reluctantly got up to leave. He didnât want to leave her alone, but he had to make sure that he got Jada home. He dropped his daughter off and then decided to call it a night.
Kalil couldnât get the thought of London out of his head. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her deep, dark brown eyes staring back at him. He knew that there was something about her that intrigued him, but he also knew that she was married. He wondered if she knew exactly how beautiful she was. Her smooth skin and exotic features were uncommon in the hood. Her perfect face looked like a creation of some famous painter.
He tossed and turned the entire night as thoughts of her raced through his mind. He was anxious for the morning to come, because he knew that he would get to see her again.
Chapter Six
The next day, after the storm had eased, Kalil went back to work for Mr. Moretti. Kalil wasnât the only black man that worked there, but they were all treated the sameâlike trash. It seemed like if you werenât full-blooded Italian, then Mr. Moretti had no respect for you. The only reason he even hired his black workers was because he knew that he could get away with paying them less money than advertised.
âKelly!â one of the project managers yelled, calling Kalil by his last name, âgo tell Mr. Moretti that we have another shipment coming in!â
Kalil was grateful for the break. He dropped what he was doing and went to relay the message. He walked into the room without knocking, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the pile of hundred-dollar bills on his bossâs desk.
Mr. Moretti and the group of Italian men who stood around the desk immediately tried to cover up the pile of money.
âWhat the fuck is wrong with you? Are you fucking stupid or something? Close the fucking door!â Moretti slammed the door in Kalilâs face.
Kalil quickly made his way back to his work area. What the fuck they got going on up in this muâfucka? This construction shit got to be a cover-up for something. It had to be about fifty stacks on that table, Kalil thought as he continued to work. His mind was split between the money and Jadaâs dance teacher, and by the time his shift ended he was exhausted.
When Kalil got to Jadaâs school, she was the only student still waiting to be picked up. He stepped into the
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