Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) by Suzanne Steele, Stormy Dawn Weathers Page B

me. I knew my measurements were in my modeling portfolio, so he would have been able to buy the correct size with no problem. However, everything in the closet suited my tastes perfectly, and that was impressive to say the least.
    He was a dream come true, and I couldn’t ask for a better man. His intensity was daunting at times, but overall, it was flattering. I knew there were women who would do anything to get in Damon D’Angelo’s bed, but I also knew it was for all the wrong reasons. I felt sorry for him that he always had to be on guard or end up the victim of people’s ulterior motives. No matter how strong or self-sufficient a person was, nobody wanted to feel used.
    I threw on a pair of stiletto sandals, grabbed my designer hobo bag, and went out to meet Jerome at the car. He stood, looking somber, with his arms crossed over his massive chest. He was looking much more like a bodyguard than a business partner today. When he opened the back door for me, I climbed in and smiled at him.
    “Good morning, Miss Skye.”
    I turned to look at him, lowering the large sunglasses I wore so he could look me in the eye. “Jerome, if you and I are going to be friends, let’s drop the formalities.”
    “As you wish,” he answered with a nod.
    “Good, I don’t do well with formalities, especially with people I’m going to be spending a vast amount of time with.”
    “As you wish,” he smiled and looked at me through the reflection in the rearview mirror. He settled in behind the wheel and started the luxury car.
    “So,” I said as I settled my hands in my lap. “Damon said the two of you met in school. He mentioned you saved his ass on more than one occasion.”
    He chuckled as he answered, “Poor guy kept getting beat up just for being scrawny, so I took him under my wing and taught him how to box. We ended up clicking, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
    “Is he any good?”
    He looked in the mirror and locked eyes with me for a second. “Saw him just about beat a boy to death, and that was after the kid stabbed him and punctured his lung. I think he would have been successful if I hadn’t pulled him away. Needless to say, nobody bothered Damon after that. Yep, he had mad respect from the fellow students after that day.
    “So, that’s the story behind that scar.”
    “Yep, he still carries it to this day. He says it reminds him where he came from and helps him keep it real.”
    “He really doesn’t act like a Caucasian man, does he?”
    “Ha, ha, ha,” his hearty laughter rang through the air. “He acts like a powerful white man with swagger. I tell him all the time he’s an African American man trapped in a white man’s body. He just laughs and says it is what it is.”
    “Do you know what my schedule is for the day, Jerome?”
    “I think he just wants to make a show of the two of you together. You know, give the models and photographers a chance to get used to you being around. This is a cutthroat business you’ve chosen.”
    “I think it chose me, Jerome.” I settled back in my seat for the rest of the ride and pondered the truth of that statement. I had known from the time I’d taken my very first step that, one day, my feet would grace the runway. Having my name in lights wasn’t about the money; it was about the art. I had a deep desire to change society’s perception of how a model should look. I didn’t just want to open doors for African American women who didn’t have the stereotypical stick thin frames. I wanted to do it for women of all races who were voluptuous. I wanted to be the voice of every woman who ever had body issues. I wanted to shout out to the women of the world to be proud of their curves.
    I was jarred from my thoughts when we pulled up to the studio and I viewed Damon waiting at the door for us. Jerome escorted me from the vehicle and I noted another car pulling up behind us with a gentleman and a young lady seated inside.
    “Oh shit,” Jerome muttered under