The Allure of You | H + R Chapter 5

The Room We Never Left

“Closure is just a prettier word for unfinished.” 

“What do you think?” Alicia shot Remington a hopeful glance, holding up a color palette. 

As a sign of good faith, he’d agreed to meet with her and a wedding planner to finally iron out details for their big day, but he’d been distracted from the moment he arrived. His lack of interest in wedding planning, combined with his resentment about their forced connection, resulted in his mind wandering on several occasions. 

Like the present moment, where Alicia’s eyes sparked excitedly while she awaited an answer to a question he hadn’t heard. 

“About what?” he asked, deciding it was better to be upfront about not listening than beating around the bush and dragging it out. 

“The color scheme,” she replied, the frustration in her tone thick.  

“The blue is cool,” he pointed to one of the swatches. 

“Really?” her eyebrows dipped. “I was leaning more towards the green.” 

Remington shrugged. “Cool. Whatever you pick is fine.” 

Turning to the wedding coordinator, Alicia gave her a smile. “Could you give us a moment, please?” 

The woman shot them an uneasy look before nodding. “Sure. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” 

Alicia remained quiet until they were alone, then rounded on Remington. “Could you be any more embarrassing?” 

“I’m not arguing in this woman’s office, let alone in public,” he quickly shut her down. “If you have a problem, we can talk about it when we’re alone.” 

She ignored him completely. “How could I not have a problem when you’ve made it abundantly clear since we arrived that you don’t want to be here? I understand your indifference, Remi, but damn. Do you have to make it so obvious?” 

A vein in his neck ticked. “I’m not putting on an act because it makes you feel better. I told you last night I didn’t want to come here, but I would since you asked me to. I’m here, I picked a color, and you didn’t like it. So go with what you want. It’s not that big of a deal.” 

“Are you serious?” Alicia’s voice was a hushed whisper. “Our wedding is a huge deal.” 

“Why are you so invested in this, Alicia?” he questioned gently, genuinely wanting to understand her motivations. “It’s not the day of your dreams, and I’m not the man of your dreams. Why are you working so hard to pretend it is.” 

“Because...” she began but quickly fell silent and sat back in her chair. “You know what, never mind.” 

“Say what’s on your mind,” he urged. "Your feelings are your feelings. Don’t downplay them.” 

“Why do you even care?” 

“A lack of romantic interest on my end doesn’t mean we can’t at least try to be friends. I asked why this is such a big deal because I want to know how to navigate the subject moving forward.” 

Alicia shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, Remington. Whatever.” 

Just as Remington opened his mouth to try to convince her to open up, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He changed his mind about continuing his conversation with Alicia upon fishing it out and realizing it was Cedric. 

“Give me a second,” he stood and stepped outside of the office into the hallway. “Hello?” 

“I need you to come to the office right quick,” Cedric announced, making Remington groan.  

“Nigga, really?” 

“I told you the day before yesterday that I reached out to a reputation management specialist to help us with customer relations,” Cedric reminded him. “Remember we talked about how our numbers are still dropping despite the changes we’ve made?” 

“Yeah,” Remington palmed his forehead. “I remember. I didn’t know you could find one so damn quickly.” 

“Time is money, and right now, we’re losing it. So, get your ass to the office. Now.” 

“Bruh, there are seven days in a week, and you picked the one that Alicia chose for us to meet with the wedding coordinator.”  

“Tell her my bad and find a way to make it up to her later. We need to iron this shit out before y’all end up living in a box for the next few years.” 

“That’s dramatic as fuck.” 

“That’s going to be the reality if we don’t figure shit out.” 

“Give me a few, and I’ll be on my way. Start without me if you have to.” 

“Aight, bet.” 

Groaning internally, Remington shook his head, hoping Alicia didn’t have a complete meltdown when he told her that he had to leave. 

“Hey,” he called gently, stepping into the room. “That was Cedric. Something came up at the office. Can we rain check?” 

Alicia rolled her eyes, but to Remington’s relief, that’s where her annoyance stopped. “Whatever.” 

“I’ll hit you up later, and we can work something out,” he suggested, feeling a pang of guilt. 

“If you say so, Remington.” 

Sighing heavily, he left the office feeling off-balance. Murmuring an apology to the coordinator for feeling early on his way out, Remington mulled over whether his choice to accept Alicia’s father’s office was worth all the strings it came with. Franklin’s stipulations not only affected his business life but also his personal life. 

Had Remington been thinking clearly when presented with the offer, he might have gone in a different direction. But his panic and desperation to ensure his family would be okay overrode his common sense. 

Now, he was stuck in a never-ending battle between doing what he felt was best and the guilt for doing what he felt was best. He couldn’t recall the last time he felt so lost about what direction to take. 

Thankfully, he could bury himself in work and temporarily forget all the drama. Arriving at Blackwood Capital, Remington parked and entered the building, transforming from annoyed to polished and professional.  

Since he’d texted Cedric to let him know he’d arrived, Remington wasn’t surprised to see him standing by the elevators awaiting his arrival. 

“Let me guess, I’m late,” Remington chuckled. 

“Yes, but not by much,” Cedric pressed the button to take them to the top floor. “She’s only been here for a few minutes.” 

“She?” Remington raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes, she. Don’t tell me you don’t think a woman can get the job done.” 

“Nah, that’s the least of my worries,” Remington laughed. “You, on the other hand, never know how to keep shit professional.” 

A grin split Cedric’s face. “You ain’t wrong, but I’m not even on that type of timing right now. Work first, play later.” 

“Yeah, a’ight,” Remington replied. 

They rode the elevator in brief silence before Cedric said, “I ain’t gon lie; she’s bad as fuck, though.” 

Remington chortled while shaking his head. “Here we go. It ain’t even been five minutes.” 

“Nigga admitting that she’s bad doesn’t mean that I want to jump her bones. I can look. God gave me eyes for a reason.” 

“Whatever. Do you think she has a shot at turning the situation around?” 

“I hope so,” Cedric sighed as elevator doors dinged before sliding open. 

After a brief trek to the boardroom, Remington pulled open the door and stepped inside. As expected, Alicia’s father, Franklin, draped in arrogance and a custom navy suit, was present and seated. Remington’s stomach turned at the sight of him, but it was the second person sitting at the table that made the floor beneath his feet tilt. 

Harmony. 

He paused mid-stride. 

Cedric, as oblivious as ever, began the introductions.  

“Rem, this is Harmony Bennett. CEO of Harmonious Solutions. She’s been brought on to manage the firm’s public rehabilitation strategy. Harmony, this is my cousin and co-CEO, Remington Blackwood.” 

Her voice didn’t tremble as she glared at him with cold eyes. “Pleasure to meet you.” 

“Likewise,” Remington said, forcing his mouth to remember how to shape words. 

Franklin grunted. “Let’s skip the pleasantries, shall we? My company didn’t throw money at this mess just for polite introductions. I’m more interested in deliverables, timelines, and a clear path to public redemption.” 

Anger flared in Remington’s chest like a flame at Franklin’s audacity, but before he could check him, she beat him to it. 

Harmony didn’t flinch. “Then you should’ve hired a magician, Mr. Devereaux. I’m a strategist. I deliver transformation, not illusions.” 

“Oh, shit,” Cedric whistled, chuckling under his breath. 

Remington almost smiled, too. Almost. But his focus was caught in the way Harmony refused to look directly at him. 

The meeting itself was a blur; they discussed reputation pivoting, social audits, and press realignment. Harmony was professional, brilliant, and, unfortunately, utterly unreadable. 

Remington didn’t say much. He couldn’t. His mind kept slipping sideways to the island, to the sound of her laughter echoing across the ocean breeze and candlelit dinners, then the moment she found out about Alicia and the silence that followed. 

When the meeting ended, Franklin left first, offering only a grunt of acknowledgment before disappearing into the hallway like a storm cloud no one invited. Cedric was next, off to a call with their legal team, leaving only the two of them behind. 

The quiet was almost unbearable. 

“Harmony,” Remington finally spoke once she began gathering their things. 

She paused but refused to look at him. 

“I had no idea Cedric reached out to you,” he added quietly. “I swear.” 

She looked up at him, her eyes still so painfully unreadable. “If you had, would you have suggested that he find someone else for this job?” 

“No,” he admitted honestly. 

Harmony snorted. “Typical.” 

“Can we talk, please?” 

“I should go,” she straightened, ignoring his question. “The last thing I need is someone seeing us speaking and creating a rumor mill around the office. You have enough going on as is.” 

“I really don’t give a fuck about a rumor mill,” Remington finally stood.  

“History shows that you don’t give a fuck about me either, so...” 

“I know you don’t owe me shit,” he said, stepping forward before he could think about it. “Not time, not words, or even civility. But I’ll be damned if I sit across from you in meetings and pretend like nothing’s happened between us.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Remington,” she quietly replied.  

“Say you’ll go to dinner with me.” 

“No,” she shot him down coldly. 

“Harm, if we’re going to work together, then we need to at least have an open conversation about Isla de Paz. One hour. That’s all I’m asking for.” 

She looked at him for a while, her features unreadable, before finally replying, “Fine. One conversation, and that’s it.” 

Remington nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing by degrees. “Deal.” 

Harmony didn’t smile. Didn’t soften. Just tucked her folder under her arm and walked past him with that same graceful indifference. 

And for the second time in his life, Remington watched her leave a room, knowing he didn’t deserve to follow—but he wanted to anyway.