Chapter One

1

Catara Edwards

Beads of sweat formed on Catara’s nose as she moved quickly around her tiny Brooklyn brownstone apartment. Her place was in shambles, and she had only an hour to get dressed and leave for her date.

Depressed during the past week, she hadn’t been motivated to pick up around her place. Sketches of her latest designs were thrown all over the dresser, covering her cosmetics, which she’d refused to wear the last few days. Clothes were scattered from the living area to the sleeping space. After a long day of work, Catara would simply undress in whichever spot on the floor was clear, and then walk away, leaving yet another pile. Because the studio was low on square footage, it didn’t take much for the place to have a cluttered feeling.

After Rondell had called, Catara was struck with energy and determined to clean her entire apartment. But there was no time. The phone had rung five minutes after she walked in after a long day at Saks Fifth Avenue, and he’d asked her to meet him that evening. It was now six p.m. on a Friday night, and she had to leave at seven.

Whenever Catara called Rondell, he was usually in a rush to get off the phone. After the initial pleasantries, he’d make some kind of excuse to hang up. But when he’d called this time, he was different. He wasn’t abrupt and to the point. He actually tried to put a little bass into his voice and seemed careful with the words he chose. She almost hadn’t known who he was when she’d picked up the phone.

“Hello,” she’d panted, attempting to catch her breath after dashing to answer the phone.

“