Color Blind (BWWM Interracial Billionaire Single Mom Steamy Romance Novel) (9 page)

I turned the mirror, looking at her as she sat in the backseat. “I’m just upset about you baby. Mommy loves you so much.” I wiped the tears from my face.
 

“
I’m sorry for worrying
you,
momma. I’ll get better. I promise.” Nevaeh vowed.
 

I hated that she witnessed my breakdown. I was worried that it might scare her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. The ride home was quiet as I was unable bring myself to talk. I knew that if I opened my mouth, I’d start crying again, and I didn’t want to risk having an accident as I drove.
 

We lied in bed together that night. After my sweet angel was asleep, I prayed
to
my dad to help my baby girl get over whatever she had. It was all that I could do, hoping he was watching over us.
 

“
Dad
, if you can hear me, please help Nevaeh. I have no clue what’s wrong with her and the
doctor’s trying to figure it out. Watch over her and keep her healthy and strong for me. I love you and miss you.” I whispered as tears fell from the corners of my eyes.
 

The next morning, I awoke with swollen eyelids and a pounding headache. Still, I was in better condition than Nevaeh. My poor little girl tried to hide the fact that she was crying in pain as she hugged herself. The fever had returned with a vengeance.
 

“
Sweet
Pea
, mommy’s going to go get your medicine. Do you want anything to eat?”
 

The slumped over eight-year-old shook her head no. All she wanted to do was lie there and cuddle up with me. I called in to work for the third day in a row. At this point, money was the furthest thing from my mind, and I didn’t care about my job. Nevaeh’s health was more important at the moment. I hoped that my dad had listened to my prayers and would answer them. Lorraine phoned me later that morning to check on Nevaeh.
 

“
How come you’re not here yet?” My friend questioned.
 

“
Nevaeh’s so bad right now; I can’t leave her.”
 

“
Did you call in again?”

“
Yeah, and that bastard told me it’d be another
point,
” I whispered.
 

“
Can’t you do something?
Like,
file for FMLA or something? Or take
vacation
, maybe?” Lorraine prompted, trying to help find a solution to my problems.
 

“
No, nobody at my work can. They don’t have more than 50 employees within a
75-mile
radius so they’re not required to offer it to us and we’re not offered vacation.”
 

“
That stinks! Your boss wouldn’t fire you, would he?” she sympathized.

“
Who knows? There is a rule stating we’re only allowed to have 10 points before we’re terminated.”

“
And how many do you have right now?”

“
Three, including today.”

“
When did you accumulate the others?” To Lorraine’s knowledge, I almost never took a day off.
 

“
He’s given me a point each day for the last three days.”

“
You should ask him if he’ll reconsider and roll it all into one since you were consecutively off. It’s all
about
the same absence. A lot of employers will do that; it’s worth a shot asking him.”
 

“
Yeah, I’ll have to do that when I return to work. He’s pretty pissed off at me now, so I doubt this would be the most opportune time to try to sway things in my favor.”

“
You’re probably right. I’ll let you go so you can get back to her. If you need anything, just give me a call. Love you guys.”

“
We love you too, and thanks.” My best friend was so
kind
to us.
 

I continued to stay next to Nevaeh’s side for the rest of the afternoon, watching cartoons and repeatedly checking on her. I fed her a diet of soup,
Sprite,
and ibuprofen. I continuously prayed to my dad, asking him to heal my daughter, hoping he would. It was unbearable seeing my baby so sick. My
heart
physically hurt.
 

Chapter Five

I wondered if Kimberly had as a good of
time
as she claimed she had. I hadn’t had any communication
with
her all week and started to take
thi
s as a signal that she wasn’t interested.
I will win her over.
Confused by her behavior on their luncheon and her most recent actions, I decided to consult
with
my friend Charles.
I don’t want to lose her
. She’s the best woman I’ve ever dated.
 

“
Do you remember that girl that I told you I was going to take out?” I questioned, trying to jog his memory.
 

“
Sure, wasn’t her name Karen or Katie?”

“
No, it was Kimberly. Anyway, I finally took her out and I’ve talked to her a couple of times since then but I haven’t been able to get a hold of her. Do you think she’s trying to ditch me?”
 

“
I don’t know. Why don’t you try going up to her work?” his friend suggested.
 

“
I did, but she hasn’t been there. She refused to give me her address so I can’t go by her house. Do you still have that guy’s number? The one who skip traces people?”
 

“
Stalking much lately?” he teased.
 

“
It’s not stalking when I’m genuinely concerned about her. She’d mentioned that her daughter was sick. She’s a good,
reliable
woman. I can’t picture her leaving her job for no reason.”
 

“
With all the money that you have, are you sure you didn’t offend her in some way?
Usually,
the ladies are lined up to score a date with you.”
 

“
Look, are you going to give me your guy’s number or not?”
 

“
Yeah, yeah. Let me get it real quick. You’re a pain in the ass. You know that?”
 

“
I’ve been told that a time or two,” I bragged.
 

“
Okay, are you ready?” Charlie asked.
 

“
Go ahead,” I said, grabbing a pen.

I scribbled down the guy’s name and number. “Thanks,” I said.
 

“
You’re the only
wealthy,
eligible bachelor who would chase down a single-parent waitress for a second date. What’s so special about her anyway?” Charles quizzed.
 

“
You’d have to meet her. She’s really down-to-Earth, she’s friendly, funny, smart and
beautiful
. She’s like a diamond in the rough—and how do they say it? It’s better to have a diamond with a flaw than no diamond at all. That gorgeous
diamond
makes me light up every time she crosses my mind.”
 

“
Oh boy, save it for the vows. You’re making me gag,” my friend snickered at me.
 

“
Yeah? Well, look at you. You’ll date anything that can walk and has a warm hole. The way your love life’s been going, I’m thinking the
warm
hole is optional these days,” I taunted, busting his chops as I laughed.
 

“
Ha. Ha. You’re so
smart
, aren’t you? Go call my guy. I’m sure he’ll be able to help you.”
 

After hanging up with Charlie, I called his guy. Joseph
List
was his name.
 

“
Hi, Joe?” I said as he answered the phone.

“
Who’s this?” he barked.

“
My name’s Dale Halloway. My friend Charles Jenkins gave me your number. I’m needing help finding an old friend of mine. Can you help me?”

“
Depends,” he took a drag off his cigarette. “What kind of information are you looking for and how much are you willing to pay?”

“
I need
her address, and money’s not an issue. Can you do it?”
 

“
Now if I give you that information, I’m not going to see a hacked up body on the news tomorrow, am I?”

“
What? God, no! I’m not some fucking criminal. I’d like to pay her a friendly visit. We haven’t seen each other
for
a while,” I lied.
 

“
What’s the gal’s name?” the gruff man on the other end of the line asked.

“
Her name is Kimberly Harris, and she lives in Imperial.”

“
What other information do you have on this girl?”

“
I have her cell phone number,” I offered.

“
Well if you have her number, why don’t you call her and ask for her address yourself?” he challenged.

“
I’ve been trying to get a hold of her, but she hasn’t answered the calls. Her daughter’s been sick so I’m worried about them.”

“
Mmhmm, I see,” the old private investigator said. “Give me about twenty minutes or so and I’ll call you back.”

While I waited for the old man to call me back, I tried looking her up online. All I could find was her Facebook page and a few profiles for various other websites. Nothing of use, as of right now anyway. As promised, the P.I.
called
me back with her address.
 

I hopped in the car, heading to the address the investigator gave me. She didn’t live too far from me. I knew she was just another woman—but she was
the
woman I wanted to be with. “Here it goes, now or never,” I said to myself as I got on the freeway. I tried calling her one last time as I got off at her exit. To my surprise, she answered.
 

“
Hey Kimberly, I was calling to see how you were doing.” I mused, trying to keep it light.
 

“
I’ve been sitting here with Nevaeh for the last few days. She’s been really sick.” She explained.
 

“
Oh,
that
's a shame
. Does she have a cold or something?”
 

“
No, it’s nothing like that. It’s much more complicated than a simple cold.” Kimberly explained all of Nevaeh’s symptoms and how her behavior had changed from energetic to lethargic.
 

“
That sounds pretty serious,” I stressed. “Have you taken her to the doctor?”
 

Even though I’d not had the opportunity to meet her, I already felt I knew her by how much Kimberly had talked about her during our lunch date. She was quite the topic of conversation. Oddly, I pictured Nevaeh to look exactly like her mom. In my mind, I could envision a small light-skinned girl with cute little braids. I wouldn’t find out until later, but in reality, I was almost dead on in my description.
 

“
Yes, I took her yesterday as well as last week. The doctor has no clue what’s wrong with her. Originally, her symptoms weren’t as bad; he thought maybe she was sore and swollen from playing on hard surfaces and that she possibly had a bug, which caused her fever. Now he’s not sure and ordered some lab work.” She explained.

“
You took her last week? You didn’t mention that when we went out to lunch. If your daughter was sick, you didn’t have to go out with me.” It dawned on me that was probably the reason I hadn’t heard from her—she was busy taking care of her ill daughter. Suddenly, guilt swept over me.
 

“
Like I said, the ibuprofen seemed to help her and she was doing a little better. She was able to get up and walk, move freely and her fever had subsided. It wasn’t until after our date when she got worse. I had planned on calling you one night, but that morning when Nevaeh woke up, she was so sick. I had to focus on her. I’m sorry.”
 

“
Oh, Kimberly, don’t apologize. I know she’s your baby and that you love her; it’s quite
evident
. I hope she gets well soon, something like that can be scary. If you need anything, please, don’t hesitate.” I began to remember when my younger brother got sick before he passed away. The feelings were so overwhelming, I could feel Kimberly’s worry.