Chapter 2

My meeting with Grayson Wu went well regarding the renovation of a new building I'd just purchased. I'd met him a few years ago at a banquet. In the business world there were few people I considered friends, but I didn't mind Grayson and his boys. The ideas he presented matched my vision perfectly.

I glanced at my watch, wondering if I should visit the flower shop once more today. I'd visited the shop a few times after that initial meeting when I made a fool of myself by asking Eva out. Still, that didn't stop me from coming back. But each time I visited, she'd just left or wasn't working.

Get your timing right.

Bat wings flapped in my stomach. What the fuck? I'd never experienced nerves like this.

Eva from Happy Flowers had occupied my thoughts since I'd set eyes on her months ago. I'd tried to shove her out of mind, but she kept coming back.

Maybe she was working today. It wouldn't hurt to come in and say hello, right?

Just do it.

I didn't have any training scheduled at my gym so I could stop by the flower shop to purchase some plants for my office. My office needed an update, but I didn't have time to call an interior designer. But live plants would definitely enhance the atmosphere. If only my mom were still alive, she could help me choose the perfect ones.

I hadn't dated much. Hadn't met anyone who kept me interested. Fucking wasn't dating, and I'd done plenty of that. No strings attached were my requirements, and those women didn't seem to mind. We got what we'd wanted.

Walking from my Etched Building to the flower shop was an excellent form of exercise.

Excellent idea.

I knew I had it bad when I started making excuses to go to a flower shop—something I had only done once a year until now.

Twenty minutes later, I opened the door to Happy Flowers. Sadness and disappointment whirled in me when I discovered she'd just left.

Gotta work on your timing.

I bought two potted plants. One with a stalk and long leaves, and a money tree. The sales associate with the curly brown hair named Erika said those plants were easy to take care of.

"What are her hours?" I asked, giving her my credit card.

Erika glanced at the chart on her desk. "She's usually here from nine to five on the weekdays."

"Thanks." I took the two pots of plants to my office, placed them on the floor, stared at them as though they were aliens invading my office space.

"Yo." A knock sounded on the opened door. "You busy?"

I glanced up to see my two friends, Godfrey Romano and Hudson Gao. Both were dressed in jeans and a light sweater, looking casual as if they had all the time in the world. It hadn't always been like that. We shared a dark history that bonded us forever. Godfrey owned a renowned jewelry company, and Hudson was a high-powered lawyer with his own practice.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Godfrey folded himself into the leather chair in front of my desk.

Hudson occupied the other seat. "We're meeting for lunch, remember?"

Shit.I'd forgotten about our lunch plans today.

Godfrey had dark hair and olive skin, making the women at my gym swoon whenever the Italian heartthrob taught one of my self-defense classes.

Hudson stared at my plants and furrowed his eyebrows. "Someone donate these? They seem out of place."

He was another popular trainer who women couldn't get enough of. Classes always filled up when this Vietnamese-Chinese-American lawyer traded in his tailored suit for athletic clothes. Women asked him out constantly, but he'd always declined. My boys knew their place. My fitness studio wasn't a hookup lounge. They respected my space as I respected theirs.

I'd met a few of their women before. But none of us had long-lasting relationships. Perhaps we were cursed. There was probably too much dark energy around us. God knew we'd been through hell.

I couldn't speak for them regarding women. But for me, I hadn't connected with any woman to want her around for long. The clingy type irritated me, and I didn't have time for that shit.

"Plants produce oxygen." I rose from my chair. "And this office needs more of it."

Godfrey and Hudson both laughed.

"Since when do you care about oxygen?" Godfrey asked.

"Are you sick, bro?" Hudson tried to touch my forehead, but I swatted his hand away.

"I just want a change. It's good feng shui, okay?"

Hudson snorted while ogling at my plants. Christ. They were just plants. So what if they looked lonely on the empty floor inside a room that desperately needed more furniture? What was wrong with these guys today?

"Feng shui?" Godfrey gawked at me. "Fuck. You're definitely not okay. Let's go eat. Maybe you need food."