Everything But Perfect Read Online Free Page B

she
practically dove inside.
    “Take me to…”
    Suddenly, there was another
person trying to steal her cab. He shut the door and started giving out
directions.
    “East Eighty-third.”
    “What the hell do you think you
are doing? This is my cab!”
    He smiled then corrected this
assumption. “No, it’s for those who live in New York. I don’t think it has your
name on it.”
    “It may not have my name on it, asshole,
but I was here first. Get out!”
    He completely ignored her and
sent his remaining demands to the man in the front seat, who was staring at
them in the rearview mirror, amused.
    “Look here…” she started, glaring
at his face. The rest he subdued by a hint of hostility in his eyes.
    Still, she resigned to having the
last word. “You can’t have this cab, Mr. Lavede.”
    “I can have whatever I like,
sweetheart.”
    “Not this cab!”
    “Is that so?”
    “Yes. Get your own.”
    “If this one isn’t mine, then why
is the driver taking me to my destination?”
    She hadn’t even felt the cab
moving, until he mentioned this.
    “I really don’t have time for
this. I’m late for an appointment. My ride is missing, for reasons unknown. And
you, my dear, have pushed my last straw, pissing me off more than once,” he
continued.
    “ I’m pissing you off?” she inquired vehemently.
    “I will pay for your ride, sweetheart,
if you just shut up and leave me in peace.”
    “I—I…” She was too flabbergasted
to continue. And yes, her freezing hauteur did little to combat the rapidly
beating heart in her chest.
    She clenched her fists into a
ball and fell silent. Taking a quelling breath, and letting it out slowly, she did
eventually dare to say, “Do you always get your way?”
    When he did not answer, she
added, “Fine, pay for my ride. It’ll cost you more than you bargained for.”
    Finally, his eyes reached hers.
“Lady, since meeting you, I’ve dealt with a lot more than I bargained for. Say
what you will, but get it out of your system because I am sharing this ride,
and I do believe by the wheels of the vehicle still turning, this fact has been
proven in spades.”
    “Well, I never…”
    “That might be your problem.
Perhaps you should. Most women who do aren’t as sour as a bowl of lemons.”
    The cab driver found their
exchange amusing, pulling to the curb with a huge smile on his face.
    Mitch opened the door, stepped
out, and handed the man a hundred dollar bill. He then walked into the fanciest
restaurant in all of New York.
    That was it? No goodbye? No ‘have
a nice life’ ? Nothing. Just hand a man one hundred dollars and disappear?
    Cheyanne smiled for the first
time since leaving Africa. She shared a plane, a cab, and heated words, but the
powerful Mitch. Lavede still had no clue of her identity. If or when he found
this out, he would then know the woman who made his mocha eyes turn black, his blood
pressure likely rise, and his ability to be of a civil tongue, was none other
than an heiress to an empire.
    She leaned back in her seat and
started to laugh. A set of wary eyes scanned her in the rearview mirror as
though she had finally lost her mind.
    Mitch snubbed her and infuriated
her, but he could not touch the soul of one of the richest women in America.

 
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
     
    Rosa ran out the door to greet Cheyanne,
who had already climbed the marble front steps with duffel in hand.
    “Little Rose…you are home!” she
screamed.
    It felt good to get this warm welcome,
knowing ahead she would not receive the same from her parents. She was even a
little apprehensive to what lie ahead.
    “Come in. I have your room
ready…Oh, it is so good to see you. So, so good.”
    Cheyanne smiled down at the
petite woman. A tinge or regret eased into her heart. She would not have left
Rosa if her father hadn’t forced her to make a choice.
    She stepped into the foyer, and
bombarded by the familiar smells of home let out a sigh. Things had changed and
yet nothing