Thirty looked good on Keir. His corkscrew curls had been cut short and a well-kept beard covered his jawline. He had picked up some bulk on his once lean frame from the good creole-cajun cuisine and early morning runs before the humidity and sun joined forces. His new physique rewarded him with more attention than he wanted but for the year he was single he took advantage of it. He even had Layla slide in his DMs. She was blocked on his phone and wanted to catch up after getting a divorce. He kind of felt sorry for Malcolm. The marriage between his old fiance and an ex-best friend didn't even make it to a year.

Keir wanted to be spiteful. Fly out to LA, hook up with Layla one last time, and break her heart like she did him but that was something twenty-seven-year-old Keir would do. Not the man he was now. And he didn't repeat relationships. There was only one woman that could get him to break that rule. Layla wasn't her.

"They look alike," Jason said, looking over Keir's shoulder.

"Stop that." Keir harked, slanting the laptop screen down and rolling his chair back.

Jason hustled back so his dress shoes didn't get scuffed by the wheels of the chair. "Hey. I was just trying to see what had hunched over the desk like the Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Keir threw his stress ball at the man that he met while working for the Swan Foundation. They worked so well together that they decided to open up their own company. Keir drew up the plans and Jason made sure they had the funds, insurance, and all the other logistical things required to get the job done. They hadn't launched Ahmed & Holmes just yet, the grand opening was slated for September but they had the building and work to finish. The project for the Swan Foundation was two-thirds done but all the heavy lifting had been completed.  Just a few residential properties had to be constructed, floor plans that Keir had completed months ago but his help was still needed until the last nail hammered.

"You know I don't like people looking over my shoulder." Keir reiterated, rolling his chair back to his desk. "And they don't look alike."

"My four eyes negate that." Jason tossed the stress ball from one hand to the other sitting on the edge of his desk opposite his business partner's. "They're both dark-haired, brown skin women with brown eyes and pillowy lips."

Keir looked away from the laptop screen and stared at him. "You know you just described ninety percent of all Black and brown women."

Jason stopped tossing the ball and tilted his head, "You might be right but Chloe and Katrina look the same." He rounded his desk and dropped his stocky body in the chair. "You have a type. Don't deny it. We all do. Thick thighs and clumsy is mine. If she doesn't absentmindedly run into a wall, she ain't for me." He shrugged.

Keir faintly chuckled, not waiting for his friend to join in the humor. He was being one-hundred percent himself and that's why they bonded so well. No bullshit. Just realness. Keir had gotten enough of bullshit in the past. First with Malcolm and then with Terrence.

"They're both African American," Keir stated.

"You can say Black." Jason quipped. "I won't shoot you."

Keir rolled his eyes with a smirk. "They're both Black women but that's their only similarity."

It was true. Chole wasn't Katrina and sometimes that was good but most of the time it wasn't.

"You having doubts," Jason said, placing the stress ball on his desk. "That's why you're on her website. Or are you really ordering something?"

"We need coffee mugs." Keir gestured to the coffee bar they had in the far corner of the office. "For us and client meetings."

"For us, yes." Jason nodded. "The clients can get paper cups."

"We're not using paper cups," Keir stated, adding a set of plates, bowls, and a vase that captured his eyes into the shopping cart. He knew whatever business Katrina started it would be successful. He remembered how she would research and practice for hours molding and shaping clay so that it didn't surprise him when items started selling out. Word of mouth for Clay & Colour spread like wildfire in the summer during a windstorm after a famous author left Word Lust and meandered after a book signing.

During the late night hours, she would mold and he would etch and once their creativity was exhausted they danced to a rhythm only they knew.

"I don't see it lasting," Jason said, pulling him from his reminiscing. "She's a city girl that hates the country and you're a city boy that loves the country."

"Have you ever heard of opposites attract?" Keir clicked 'checkout' on the screen not second-guessing the triple-digit total. 

Jason didn't stop typing as he replied, "Have you ever heard of being too different?"

"We're not. Honestly," Keir began as he closed his laptop. "Sure she loves being outside." He air quoted. "While I would rather stay in, our fundamentals are the same and she makes the effort." He leaned back in his chair. "You know she buys and listens to the audiobook of whatever book I'm reading so we can talk about it. I plan the homes and she sells them. And we both want kids. We compromise well, making sure no one is being selfish. We work."

"If you like it. I love it."  Jason quipped. "Just make sure you're sure when you walk down that aisle."

Keir's sight went to the golden replica of Big Ben on his desk remembering the night it was gifted to him from the woman that had a grip on his heart. When he and Katrina parted ways he'd been understanding, she had to do it but it didn't make it hurt less. Nor was he sorry for what he did. Terrence deserved it. And the time that had passed was well spent, he processed this and he knew she was right. Long distance didn't end them. Her ex did.

But that was the past. He was in the present. That's why he proposed to Chloe seven months ago. They were a good partnership and he could settle for that.

Are you surprised Malcolm and Layla's marriage didn't last?

What do you think it means that Keir buys things from Katrina's business?

What do you think Keir did to Terrence that he deserved?