Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) Read online

  He raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Now you’re talkin’. I would love that. Have your people call my people,” he joked.

  “We’ll chat,” Tiffany said and kissed him goodbye. Once the bill was squared away, she walked out of the salon with an extra swing in her step as she hailed a cab.

  She was supposed to meet up with Emily, who was also her attorney, along with her architect, Todd, at the warehouse in Harlem in the next hour. They were scheduled to discuss the last minute tweaks needed for the upcoming big fundraiser to be held in a few weeks. This fundraiser would be where they would officially introduce themselves to the neighborhood and to donors. Tiffany wanted to get to the warehouse a little earlier to go through some paperwork before the afternoon appointments.

  She arrived in Harlem several minutes later and climbed out of the cab to let herself into the building. Once settled, she took a turn throughout the space to admire how far it had come.

  The large cavernous warehouse was broken into several sections; a reception counter where parents could drop off their girls at the front, as well as a large gym mat area in the back for exercise and where Emily would teach Krav Maga. In addition to that, there were several classroom spaces available that were walled at the bottom, but had clear glass at the top allowing everyone to see in. They would be used by most of her friends who would be teaching various classes on disciplines or hobbies of which they were experts. Along one side of the building was a private enclosed space designed to be a lounge for the staff, as well as Tiffany’s office and an area where girls could lay down if they were ever sick or needed to rest. Finally, on the other side of the warehouse were locker rooms for the girls to store all of their belongings.

  But what made it truly an escape in the midst of Harlem was the design. She brimmed with excitement just looking at it. The building was a feast for the eyes. Because of the exterior stone facade of the structure, and the name of the foundation, Tiffany had visions of castles and fairy tales when she’d first seen the space. A huge fan of reading, she had always enjoyed escaping into the pages of a book set during another time.

  With those thoughts in mind, the interior design was all fashioned with imaginative faux stone work throughout, along with touches of whimsy bringing to mind otherworldly villages and surreal hamlets. Tiffany had Ryann to thank for much of the artistic aspects, since she had arranged to have some of her art students from the Institute help with the different mediums represented.

  When people first walked in, they would see the mosaic tiled front of the reception counter appearing like a moat teaming with fish and frogs. The entrance into the space past the counter had a little curved bridge so kids could cross over into the castle like area, and the art students would be finishing up other touches soon, like painting a happy goblin by the locker room entrance.

  Nestled in the corner of the exercise area stood a tall paper mâchéd tree the art students still needed to finish painting. The contractor would be hanging ropey vines from the ceiling over the gym area where the tree branches would intertwine with the ivy, making one feel as if they were frolicking in the forest. Each classroom exterior was made to look like a place to explore; the front of a cave, a tree house, or a comfortable and cozy cubbyhole.

  But her absolute favorite part was the dragon. Made from shimmery silver, green and purple taffetas and silks, the art students had sewn together a twenty foot dragon to fly over the locker room area. It had yet to be hoisted up, but she knew without a doubt the girls would love this land of imagination. It was sure to run amuck in this space, and Tiffany couldn’t be happier.

  In addition to the design elements and all of the meetings with contractors and painters, Tiffany had spent the last several months getting certified in CPR, background checked, and researching all of the necessary licenses for the warehouse to be deemed safe for young girls. She’d also interviewed several security firms so they could have a guard posted during their open hours to the public. It was her plan to start some classes in May and through the summer, and then be ready for the after school programs in the fall.

  A knock on the glass front door pulled her from her thoughts. She turned to see her architect, Todd Nielson, waving at her through the window. Tiffany smiled and went over to let him in.

  “Hey,” she said when she opened the door.

  “Hey yourself.” The thirty something, comfortably artsy man walked in and dropped his messenger bag on the reception counter. He had a ruffled handsome way about him, oozing confidence and a killer smile. His firm had been recommended to her through Emily’s other cousin, Mark, who was an architect in Boston. After running his hand through his dark blonde hair, Todd scratched at the scruff around his jaw and inspected her face and hair. “You got a haircut,” he stated with a smile. “It looks great,” he said sincerely.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” she bowed slightly and fluffed at her hair. “How are you doing?”

  “Couldn’t be better. But ready for spring, that’s for sure,” he said good-naturedly. Winter had hit the Northeast with a vengeance that year and it had seemed that spring would never get there.

  “I hear ya,” she commiserated. “So, should we take a final look around and see what else needs to be addressed? I think we just have the special built in combo locks on the lockers to get, and finish this door over here, then we should almost be done, right?”

  “I’m pretty sure. Let’s walk around,” he said, casually taking her elbow and leading her through the partitioned rooms while they talked shop. Several minutes later at the end of their discussion on the punch list, he turned to look at her. “It looks incredible. What kid isn’t going to love being here? Hell, I love being here. It makes me want to be a ten year old again. I wish we had stuff that looked like this when I was growing up. There’s so much to look at.” He turned to her. “You gettin’ excited?”

  She nodded, smiling.

  “Nervous?” he asked.

  “I don’t know that I would say nervous,” she joked. “Definitely anxious, but in a good way. After all of the research and thought that went into it, I’m just really looking forward to seeing it finally come together.”

  “Well, you should be proud. It will be a great addition to the neighborhood.” Like an old pal, he playfully bumped shoulders with her. “We should go out for a drink and celebrate.”

  She looked at him trying to hide her surprise. She’d never gotten the vibe from him before, but maybe since she was still nursing old wounds and trying to figure out her feelings for Drew, she wasn’t at her best in gauging whether his ‘ask’ was as a colleague or potential love interest.

  She decided to play it casually. “That would be great,” she said, giving him a genuine smile. “We should get Emily to come, too. We’ve all put in a lot of hours with this.”

  His smile faltered only slightly.

  Hm. Definitely not an ‘ask’ of the colleague variety.

  She heard a knock on the door and turned to see Emily at the glass.

  “Speak of the devil,” Tiffany said, and walked over to let her friend and attorney in. “Hey,” she smiled and hugged her friend.

  Emily was a cute and petite powerhouse who had street smarts galore given her Boston upbringing. With dirty blonde hair and brown bedroom eyes, no casual bystander would ever think she could wipe the floor with any man twice her size due to her diminutive stature. She’d gotten Mike Callahan by laying him flat on his back months earlier in a self-defense class, and that was all it had taken for him to be a goner.

  “Hey! Your hair looks fahckin’ awesome,” Emily beamed while touching the back of Tiffany’s haircut and making her twirl around. Tiffany chuckled. Whenever Emily cursed, her Boston accent came out. “God, this place is amazing,” she stared in awe all around. “I can’t wait to see the faces on those little girls. They’re going to love this.” Finally realizing they weren’t alone, she turned to Todd. “Hey, Todd. I didn’t mean to ignore you. I just can’t stop looking around,” she smil
ed. “How’s it goin’?”

  “No need to apologize. I was just saying the same thing to Tiffany. How are you doing?” he said with a polite smile.

  “Good, good. So, Tiff, I just need you to sign a few more papers and I need to go over some legalese with you.” Emily chuckled and made a face. “Shall we go into the tree house?”

  Tiffany laughed.

  “I’m going to leave you guys to it, then,” Todd said and walked over to them. When Tiffany made eye contact with him, she smiled and got ready to say goodbye, but instead, Todd leaned over and kissed her on the cheek unexpectedly. “I’ll call you,” he said with promise and with clear intent in his gaze. After giving her a lopsided grin, he said goodbye to both of them and walked out.

  Emily made a show of watching him leave, her eyebrows up in the stratosphere, then turned back to Tiffany. “What the hell was that all about, Tiffany Daniels? Are you holding out on us?” she asked.

  “Oh, stop,” Tiffany said casually, waving her hand to wipe away Emily’s implication. “He asked me to go out for drinks before you got here. He just wants to celebrate the completion of the project.”

  “Uh, huh,” Emily said. “Are you gonna go?”

  “Probably.” Tiffany sighed then gave Emily a direct look. “But listen. I wanted to tell you something.”

  “Okay.” Emily’s brow tilted down. “This sounds serious. What is it?”

  She took a deep breath, then said, “I’m going to call Drew.”

  There. She’d said it. She’d put it out there and wasn’t taking it back. She had finally decided to go after the man, fears be damned.

  “Um. Okay.” Emily cleared her throat. “What does that mean, exactly?”

  Tiffany let out a sound of exasperation and laughed lightly. “It means exactly what you think it means. I’ve finally decided to make my intentions known.” Tiffany crossed her arms with determination.

  “Well, shit,” Emily sighed, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose under her smart dark framed glasses.

  Tiffany unfolded her arms and immediately grabbed her stomach which had just been hit with a bout of nervousness. “What? What happened? Did something happen to him?”

  “Okay, look. Just sit down for a sec so we can talk.” Emily grabbed her arm and dragged her to a chair in the office area. Once Tiffany was plopped down, Emily stood in front of her, wringing her hands.

  “Spit it out, Em.”

  “He’s seeing someone,” Emily blurted.

  Tiffany blinked as if she’d heard her wrong. Then she blinked again. “Huh?”

  “He’s seeing someone, Tiff,” she said sympathetically.

  Tiffany felt her stomach dip. “Since when?”

  “I talked to him at Jonathan and Ayanna’s engagement party when we were all together. Right before Mike and I were leaving.”

  Tiffany let out a shaky breath and looked off to the side. Shit. Why didn’t I have the guts to talk to him about something other than the weather that night? Shit and double shit.

  Emily continued. “Truth be told, I think he’d rather be dating you,” she said dryly. “But it’s some woman who works with him at the Medical Center. She’s in the marketing department there.”

  Tiffany gulped and looked up at Emily. “What did he say to you? How did it come up?”

  Emily sighed. “I asked him how things were going. I think he knew I was referring to you. He said, and I quote, ‘things are going the way they always go.’ He didn’t look happy about it, just resigned.”

  “Oh,” Tiffany groaned and leaned forward clutching her stomach. “What the hell is wrong with me, Em?” She could feel the tears beginning to prick her eyes. “I waited too long.”

  Emily hunched down in front of her and put her hands on Tiffany’s knees. “Hey. He’s just seeing someone. It’s not like he’s married or anything. Maybe if you finally bite the bullet and let him know you’re interested, things can change. And you can finally move past that douchebag of an ex.” Emily shook Tiffany’s knee to get her attention. “Call him,” she said when Tiffany looked at her, Tiffany’s eyes swimming with tears.

  Tiffany swiped furiously at her eyes, getting a hold of herself. “What else did he say?”

  Emily finally sat down next to her. “He kind of looked like he wasn’t sure if he should tell me about the woman he was seeing from the hospital. I made a face once he told me but, well, I understood where he was coming from, you know? And I told him I was happy for him. Sorry,” she mumbled.

  Tiffany grabbed Emily’s hand. “He’s your friend too. And you have nothing to be sorry for. It’s my own stupid fault.”

  “I still think you should call him.”

  Tiffany took a cleansing breath.

  “I’m serious, Tiff.”

  She finally looked at Emily, then dropped her head back until it hit the back of the office chair. “I think I will. I need to start practicing overcoming my fears, right?” She turned her head to make eye contact with her girlfriend.

  Emily gave her a poignant smile. “You told me to overcome my fears with Mike. I’m just giving you back the same advice you gave to me.”

  Before admitting her love to the charming playboy, Michael Callahan, Emily had had her own demons to exorcise. All of the girls, including Tiffany, had encouraged her to be honest with him about her feelings. As a result, they were now going strong, living happily together.

  “You’re right. I should call him. I’ll call him,” Tiffany repeated, but stared off into space. She took Emily’s hand. “Thank you for telling me. I’m so glad I said something to you. At least now I’m prepared.”

  Emily squeezed her hand and looked at her tenderly. “So. What are you gonna say to him?”

  Tiffany made a raspberry sound with her lips, then dropped her head forward. “I need to think on that. I was such a confident woman before Richard,” she grumbled. “I’m finding that woman again, though. She’s in there, clawing her way out.”

  “I’m proud of you for doing this. Don’t wait too long. Call today, maybe tomorrow. The longer you wait, the harder it’s gonna be.”

  “Yeah.” Tiffany sighed and nodded, taking a moment before looking at her friend to continue her thought. “I finally got a gynecologist since moving down here and my appointment is tomorrow. It’s a doctor from the Medical Center. Maybe I’ll see if Drew wants to have coffee or something while I’m over there.”

  Emily perked up. “That sounds good. Are you finally having the piercings removed, or is this just a pap smear?”

  “Both. I’m definitely having the,” she paused. “Geez, I can’t even say it.”

  While married to her husband, he had convinced her five years earlier to have her nipples and clitoris pierced. She hadn’t wanted to do it and had adamantly told him so, but he hadn’t listened, making her feel like she was a horrible wife if she didn’t do it for him. She had been convinced that by doing as he asked, their relationship would be more fulfilling, sexier. After years of hearing he needed more in bed, she’d finally relented, feeling like it would be a necessary sacrifice for the marriage.

  Richard had been talking about, and dabbling in, light bondage and S&M with her at the beginning of their marriage, and then when the mommy porn books had come out, he was even more into it. He was an amateur at best and an asshole at worst, not being well versed in the correct ways of bringing pleasure to his partner in those ways; just awkwardness and humiliation. Not to mention the pain.

  She’d hated the piercing procedure, and had felt extremely vulnerable and resentful as a result. And it hadn’t stopped the cheating.

  “You’re getting them all removed?” Emily pressed. Tiffany had shared with the girls her feelings about the piercings, her shame and embarrassment with them especially since she hadn’t wanted them. They’d been trying to encourage her to get them removed, but she’d been putting it off because she didn’t even want a new doctor to see them. They made her feel cheap and tawdry.

  “I don’t th
ink I’ll remove the nipple ones just yet. Just the other one. I hate that thing. It gets in the way of everything down there.” They both looked at each other and after a beat of silence started laughing. “Can you even believe this conversation?”

  Emily smiled. “So you’re not getting the nipple ones removed? You slut,” she joked.

  Tiffany chuckled. Three months earlier she would’ve taken offense at the joke, but her girlfriends had taught her to laugh about her ridiculous insecurities over the piercings. “If I’m going to be honest, the nipple ones aren’t so bad. Maybe if I was having kids, I would get them removed. You know, if I had to breast feed, but,” she shrugged. “It’s funny. I hated them when Richard told me to get them, and hated them even more whenever we had sex and stuff. But now? When I think of Drew,” she paused again. “The nipple ones don’t seem so bad.”

  Emily barked out a loud snort. “You are a slut!”

  They both had a good laugh.

  “Alright, you little hussy. Let’s get some papers signed, then you can call the good doctor and get that ball rolling.”

  Tiffany let go of a cleansing breath and felt a new lease on life. She was ready. “Let’s do it,” she said with a smile. And they did, spending the next half hour signing papers and going over some final details.

  The rest of her day was spent doing errands and building up her nerve to contact Drew. Now, a couple of hours later, Tiffany sat in her apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan toying with her phone resting in her palm. She let go of a fortifying breath, then texted Drew’s number.

  TIFF: Hi stranger. I’m sorry it’s been so long since we’ve talked. I’m going to be in your neck of the woods tomorrow afternoon. Do u want to get some coffee or something?

  She twirled her hair and bit her lip while she waited. A minute passed. Then two minutes. Then five. Ten. She got up to walk around because she couldn’t sit still.

  Maybe he’s in surgery.

  Or, she cringed, maybe he doesn’t want to talk to you.