“Anderson, you can’t be sure. You weren’t even here when we first met her–”
“Her phone was on the charger in my room the whole night. When we went to bed, she joked that her best friend would think I murdered her because he had been texting her all night long. So, you see, I can guarantee that no pictures were taken.” By the looks on their faces, I knew that it was sinking in. Jurnee was the real deal. Something I had already determined. “Eric, look into Lansing, Michigan.”
“What are you thinking?” His phone was in his hand at the ready.
“Let’s see what the opportunities and obstacles are there. If there’s potential, we can talk about expanding west.”
“Are you thinking long term?” The shock in Otis’ voice was not lost on anyone around the kitchen island.
“I think there is money to be made in the area if that’s what you’re asking.” That wasn’t what he was asking, and I knew it, but I wasn’t ready to tell my best friends that I was thinking long term with Jurnee.
“He’s asking if you’re serious about Jurnee.” Eric cut to the chase, earning a glare from me.
Bryan interjected before I could, “Of course, he’s serious about her. Exhibit A: she spent the night in this house. Exhibit B: he introduced her to us. He broke every rule we have in place about introducing a woman, but that isn’t really the point yet.”
“I like her.”
“He likes her.” Eric added with a roll of his eyes. “I’m doing a deep dive on commercial real estate then–”
“And residential.”
“Okay. Now, this is way more serious than I would have said. Am I looking for a particular type of home?”
“Just explore the opportunities. I’m not saying I’m looking for a house. I just want to know if there is a foothold we can take advantage of.”
Eric nodded and returned his attention to his phone. Otis and Bryan would not be so easily thrown off. I needed to step up and answer their questions. “What?”
“What what?” Bryan parroted.
“What do you want to ask me about?”
“Anderson, this is your business. She seems like a nice lady that can play poker fairly well.”
“Otis, cut the shit. She kicked all of our asses–”
“Then left the money on the table. Who does that?” Otis lamented aloud.
“She really left her winnings on the table?” Eric inquired in disbelief.
Filling my coffee cup again, I nodded and took a deep breath, “Did any of you know I went to Michigan last week for a football game?” I chuckled as the surprise spread over the guy’s faces. “We were there for over forty-eight hours. It’s been a week and guess what? Not one photo or story has been published about me being there. Nothing.”
An hour later, we were still in the kitchen, and Jurnee remained the main topic of conversation. She had been in my thoughts damn near since I met her, so this was nothing new for me. The fact she had made such an impression on my friends confirmed what I had had already determined.
“All I know is she is easy to be with, I just–”
Otis put his hand in the air. “Don’t go there. She isn’t the ex.”
Eric looked up from his phone. “And you just said Jurnee left thousands of dollars on the table that she won. That woman isn’t going to take money from anyone, let alone your dad. I don’t see Jurnee being bought off to disappear. Do you?”
“Did my ex seem like someone that could be bought off when you met her?” I grabbed the pitcher of Bloody Mary out of the refrigerator and returned to my seat.
“Yes!” Eric and Otis shouted in unison.
“Anderson, she had no idea who any of us were. I’m not positive that she’s realized who you are. Did she tell you if she Googled you or not?” Bryan inquired.
“She said there was nothing she could learn from Google that she can’t learn by getting to know me.”
“Wow.” Otis and Bryan said in unison.
“I know.” I leaned back in my chair. “People say they never met anyone like the person they are describing, but guys, she may be a one of a kind.”
“How does she feel about your daily barrage of text invitations for all the other women in your life?”
“We haven’t talked about it much. Graham’s wife–”
“Soraya.” They again said in unison.
“What, do you guys practice that shit? Yeah, Soraya brought it up when we had dinner with them, but she