The Perfect Love Storm

by Anna Black

  “I’m yours, Chase. I’m all yours, baby, forever,” she cried with him as he released inside of her. They only waited a few moments before they were at it again. They took a short break, ordered food, drank wine, and talked as if they had never had a second apart. They made it to his bed, and she gave him her body for the rest of that night, making up for lost time.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chase’s phone ringing awakened them. He sat up and picked it up. It was his father. “Wait, Dad, what? Please explain to me what’s going on.”

  “Well, since you’ve ignored our million and one calls yesterday, Hope Gardener has filed a suit against us,” he blared.

  “What suit? What for? What grounds? That’s absurd.”

  “Sexual harassment, inappropriate conduct—you name it.”

  “Dad, you know that’s crazy. You already know the deal with Hope and me.”

  “Son, I know, and I’m not calling to shit in your cornflakes. I’m calling to warn you about this fiasco. I know you, son, and I know Hope isn’t the woman you wanted, so she’s acting out and taking this bullshit too far. Evidently, you pissed her father off too for him to move forward with this bogus shit.”

  “No worries, Dad. Madison is right here next to me, so absolutely nothing can dampen my mood today. I’m not worried about Hope or her ridiculous lawsuit. Everyone in this town knows that Hope has had it bad for me for years. No judge is going to believe her. Anyone that knows anything about my and Hope’s history knows that this is some old bullshit.”

  “You are absolutely right, son, and did you say Madison is there with you?”

  “Yes, sir, I did,” Chase smiled.

  “Good to hear, son. And everything you instructed has already been taken care of. Two to three days tops, the transaction will be completed, and I am so glad she came back to you.”

  “You know that wasn’t personal, right? And even though we don’t need it, we deserve it for everything we’ve been through.”

  “I know. A wager is just like business, and a man’s word is his bond. I wish you and Madison the best, son.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, I know you want to lie up all day with your fiancée and reacquaint yourselves and all that jazz, but you need to get your ass in gear. We have a meeting with our attorneys at eleven. Don’t dare think of being late. We must put the Gardeners to bed as quickly as possible.”

  “Dad, I’m there. I’m going to feed my woman, and then I’m there, and this is going to be a walk in the park; trust me,” Chase declared with confidence in his voice.

  “Good.” His dad hung up.

  Madison rolled over to face him and asked. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  “Fucking Hope strikes again. She filed a harassment suit against me, saying that I acted inappropriately and whatnot. She knows I’ve only been professional with her, well accept when we . . .” He went quiet.

  “When we did what?” she questioned, but he said nothing, just dropped his head. “Tell me everything Chase. We weren’t together, and I want to know the truth. I don’t want to be blindsided ever again, so tell me what went down while we were apart.”

  He sighed. “She gave me head, Madison; that’s it. She caught me at a moment where my head was fucked up, and I let her, okay? But I promise you, baby, that’s it. Nothing more. I didn’t do anything with her, and trust, my only crime is allowing her to think that we could be together. No warm exchange, no kisses, no affection. I never touched her.

  “Baby, I know I should not have allowed Hope to come around, but it was crazy when you left. I wasn’t myself, and I allowed it, and I will understand if this changes things. I made a vow to never lie to you again about anything. You know my past. You know I’ve been a dog. I’ve been with a lot of women and done a lot of shit, but you are my future, babe. Please tell me that what I did doesn’t change anything, Madison. If it does, I won’t like it, but I’ll respect it.”

  “It changes nothing, Chase, baby; relax. I’m not going anywhere, and although I don’t like that that bitch touched you and pleasured you, I believe it meant nothing. I know you love me, and I know Hope doesn’t mean anything to you, Chase.”

  “Thank you so much, baby. For my future, and once we are married, I’m going to spend the rest of my days making up for my mistakes and making you happy.”

  “No making up required, my love. I forgive you. We move on. I’m looking forward to our future, Chase. I was angry, but the bottom line is where we are now. I’m not a joke, because, in the end, you’re me. That’s all that matters, and, technically, I did leave.”

  “You did, but I shouldn’t have gone anywhere near Hope’s ass. She’s just full of drama, and every time I turned around, there she was, trying to be nice, a friend, and I just should have stayed away from her, and I’m sorry.”

  “Chase, we’re good, baby,” she smiled.

  “Thank you, Madison. Now, get up. I’m going to make you breakfast, and you and I are going to the law office so we can take care of this Hope situation.”

  “Baby, I have a better idea. How about you go talk to the lawyer, and I pay a visit to my childhood bestie, Hope?”

  “Nah, baby. I don’t want things to get worse. You go up in Hope’s face, she’ll provoke you to bust her head open. Then you’ll get the cuffs on you.”

  She burst into laughter. “Trust me, baby, I got this under control. All I need is two minutes, and this here lawsuit will go away.”

  “Okay, give me more. How can you be so sure that you don’t plan to go down there and beat Hope to the white meat?” he joked.

  She continued to laugh. “Okay, baby, come on now; be serious,” she said and sat up. “Now, I’m going to tell you something, and as my fiancé and soon-to-be husband, you have to promise me that you will never tell another soul what I’m about to tell you.”

  “Okay, I promise.”

  “Now, Chase, you have to make a vow to me, that you will never, ever repeat this, not even to your brothers.”

  “Okay, okay, woman, I vow that I will never tell a soul, now out with it,” he pushed.

  “Well, my mother and Hope’s mom were tight when we were kids. I mean thick as thieves. They were friends since first grade, all through high school, and even college. So, Hope and I were friends since the crib. We were like sisters . . . up until high school.”

  “What happened?” he interrupted.

  “Well, one afternoon, Hope’s momma came to our house crying her eyes out. I overheard her tell my mom that Hope was pregnant, something that Hope never even shared with me. Hope was slim, so at first, no one could tell. By the time she started to show a little, it was summer break and close to her due date. The truth is that her little sister, Constance, is not her little sister. Now, I don’t know who else her momma confided in, but as far as I know, Mrs. Gardener hasn’t shared that information with anyone other than my mother. I pretended not to know. The only reason why our mothers stopped talking is because my mother wanted Hope’s mom to expose the father, but she refused, so my mom didn’t want to have anything else to do with the Gardeners. When I remind Hope of her secret, trust, she’ll back off.”

  “Damn, I had no idea. That’s crazy. Constance is her daughter?”

  “Yes, Chase, but you cannot say a word.”

  “I won’t, but who’s the father?”

  “Now, that is something I don’t know. I didn’t hear his name.”

  “Damn, well, I never even suspected.”

  “Of course, you didn’t. It’s a secret, Chase. I don’t think anyone else knows. I’m sure my mother will take this to her grave.”

  “You think you can fix this?”

  “Baby, trust, this will be another thing we put in our past bucket.”

  “Okay, Madison.” He kissed her. “Oh, and one more thing.” He pulled her ring from the nightstand’s top drawer. “You’re going to need this back.”

  “Yes. Gimme, gimme, gimme,” she bounced on the bed
like an excited kid.

  “And you have to give me more before we go.”

  “I can do that.”

  He kissed her, slid the ring back on her finger, and she gave him just what he wanted one more time before they got out of bed.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  “So, to what do I owe this meeting?” Hope asked with attitude.

  Madison didn’t wait for an invitation; she just strolled into Hope’s office. “I just wanted to catch up, Hope. You know, chat a little, old friend. As long as we’ve known each other, you’ve never acknowledged that we were friends.... I mean best friends at any time of our lives. My mom and your mom were thick as thieves back in the day. I mean, up until you got pregnant, you and I were best friends. But you come at me crazy after Chase and I broke up, and if it weren’t for Deena, I would have kicked your bony ass. As soon as I vacated, you tried to move in on my man again, and now you are screaming harassment?”

  Hope hurried over and shut her office door before she continued to speak. “I’m not sure why you wanna bring up my pregnancy after all of these years, Madison. You know I was only fifteen, and you also know I was raped. Why are you bringing up my family’s secrets?” she asked in a panic.

  “Why are you suing my fiancé, Hope? Seriously? You know this is some bullshit. I told Chase a little bit about this secret of yours, but I didn’t tell him you had gotten pregnant by your stepfather. You can save that rape crap because I know what went on back then, Hope. And if you don’t drop this asinine lawsuit, I will tell everyone the entire truth and not leave out one detail.”

  “You wouldn’t.” Panic set in, and Hope was noticeably shaking.

  “For Chase, I would, Hope. I love him. I got over us no longer being friends long ago, Hope, and I promise you, I will tell it all if you don’t back off. Chase isn’t the man that you and everyone else has labeled him to be, and, yes, he is in love with me. You are not going to ruin his family name with this bogus lawsuit. I would have still been your friend back then, Hope, no judgment, but you just stopped talking to me, not the other way around, and you walk around Tyler with your nose up in the air looking down on me, telling whoever will listen that I’m jealous of you and I just want your life and what you have. No, baby, I think it’s just the opposite. Even before I met Chase, I got married before you, I had kids before you, and you think that I’d want your life? Please,” she spat. “Today is where all of this madness ends, or I’m just getting starting. I’ll tell anyone who will listen about your stepdaddy and your ‘sister,’ I mean daughter,” Madison threatened.

  Fear was written all over Hope’s fair-skinned face. She nearly fell into her chair and said, “Fine, Madison, I’m stopping the suit. Just don’t air my family’s business. This will kill my sister, and destroy everything.”

  “I’m sorry you went through something so horrific, Hope, but I was your friend. Being molested and raped is so horrible, and as I told you back then when we were friends, none of it was your fault. My mom wanted to help you and told your mother to file charges against him, but your mother didn’t want to give up her lifestyle with the Car King. She didn’t want anyone to know, so my mom and I never told a soul. But if you don’t drop the charges against my fiancé and his family, as you said, I will go public. Chase loves me enough to keep what I told him this morning about Constance a secret but don’t provoke us. Drop the charges and let us be.”

  Hope looked at Madison. Her eyes welled. “I’ve loved him since middle school, and he told me that he’d married me, Madison. Chase Storm was supposed to marry me, not you. He said he loved me,” she sobbed.

  Madison’s eyes watered for her. “I’m sorry, but I love him now, and I’m not letting him go.

  No lawsuit, no lies. Nothing will keep us apart.”

  Hope wiped her eyes. “I’ll call off the suit. You have my word.”

  “Thank you.” Madison stood.

  “My family’s secrets are safe, right? My sister would be hurt the most; you know that, right?”

  “Trust, when I leave this office, I won’t think of you at all, Hope Alexandrea Gardener. Your life means absolutely nothing to me. All I care about is me and mine, so, yes, your secrets are safe. And please don’t hesitate to make that call. Chase is meeting with his attorney at eleven. Good day, Hope.”

  An hour later, she was at the salon trying to get up to date on everything. Her assistant had done a great job holding everything down, but she was back, and everyone needed to know who the real boss was.

  Her phone rang, and she smiled when she saw it was Chase. “Hey, baby.”

  “Hey, my love, where are you?”

  “At the salon. What’s going on? How did everything go with the lawyers?”

  “Baby, I don’t know what you did, but the Gardeners dropped all complaints. There are no more suits, and we are all clear.”

  “Chase, baby, that’s great. I’m so happy to hear that.”

  “Well, my family is itching to see you and to celebrate us reuniting, and the whole fiasco with the Gardeners is buried, so you gotta come to my parents’ for dinner tomorrow night. Everyone is going to be there. They’re all excited for us.”

  “I’m there, baby. I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Promise?”

  “Chase, I promise.”

  “So, tonight, my place or yours?”

  “Yours. I just need to run home for a few things, but definitely yours.”

  “I love you, babe.”

  “I love you too.”

  “I’ll be there in, like, twenty minutes.”

  “Chase, seriously? You can’t wait to see me later?”

  “No, I can’t wait until later to see you.”

  “Well, I’m working, babe. You know I have to get up to speed on everything, but I’m anxious to see you too.”

  “I’ll see you in a minute.”

  They hung up, and Madison smiled. Chase was it. Her lover and her new best friend. She never thought she’d love again or be close to another man like she had been with Dre, but God blessed her with Chase, and she was elated that they were back together. She tried to wrap up her paperwork as quickly as possible and afterward headed out to the floor to catch up with her staff to see what she had missed when she was out. She was in a conversation with one of the stylists; then he walked in. Unable to keep her composure, she raced into his arms, and they shared a sensual kiss.

  He smiled. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  “So, can we get out of here? I can follow you home, and you can pack a bag, or we can just stay there.”

  “Either way, babe; let me grab my purse, and we can go.”

  “I’ll be waiting,” Chase said and watched her hips sway as she walked away. He took a few steps backward because he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Just as she turned the corner and was no longer in sight, he heard someone say, “Damn, Chase, how much would you bet for me?” He turned to three of Madison’s staff members; all were giggling.

  “Excuse me? What was that?”

  “Well, everyone knows that you made a bet to date Madison. I mean, she’s a great boss and all, but she ain’t got shit on me,” one of the stylists said striking a sexy pose. “Now, if she’s worth three, I know I’m about a ten.” She continued, and her giggling friends found her to be cute, but Chase didn’t.

  “Listen, Joss,” he said reading her name tag that was pinned to her smock.

  “You can call me Jocelyn, baby, and for ten million, you can even call me Madison,” she joked, and her coworkers found her to be hilarious because the soft giggles were nonstop and louder.

  “Joss,” he said again with a little authority, “I don’t know who or what gave you the courage to step to me with this juvenile behavior, but I’m not a toy, and I don’t play with little girls. What you heard about Madison and me is true; it’s no secret, but if you and your little fans think it’s okay to make jokes or come at me sideways about me and Madison, think ag
ain. Stay in your lane, or you’ll find out how many millions I can spare to make sure you never work in East Texas again—not even bagging groceries,” he said, and all giggles and banter immediately ceased. Chase was bluffing. He didn’t give bread crumbs about this little low-class chick, but he wanted them to know that he wasn’t the one to be played with, even though he could care less about gossip or ridicule. The entire town was whispering, but they were not going to make him walk away with his tail between his legs. “Are we clear?” he asked, using his boss tone.

  “As a bell,” Joss said, and the little smirk she had on her face before had disappeared. They all scattered when they saw Madison coming out from the back of the salon.

  “You ready, baby?” she asked.

  Chase locked her arm into his. “Yes, I’m ready to go home and pamper you,” he said and gave her a soft kiss. He and Madison proceeded to the door, and he looked back to see the envious ones watching, and he smiled. Madison was his arm charm, and he felt like the luckiest man in East Texas.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Madison was sitting at her desk in her home office, logged into her bank account. She sat bobbing to the music that played through her speakers enjoying an old, smooth jam, “Simple Things” by Glenn Jones. She had her eyes closed while the page loaded because she felt so good that morning, and her life was perfect. Everything about her life felt so good, and she wondered why things with Chase were so great. “Lord, you gave me love again after all the pain I went through with losing Dre. Am I supposed to feel this good, Lord? Is something wrong with me, because I missed them so much every day, but I couldn’t imagine not having Chase in my life? Like am I wrong for feeling this good with this man, when I loved Dre?” she asked out loud talking to herself. She decided to shake off those guilty feelings that she would get from time to time.

  “If I had died, I’d want you to be this happy,” she said and moved the mouse because in her brief moments of deep thoughts the screen went black. When she saw her balance, she blinked and quickly hit the account summary icon. She looked at the transaction and wondered why she had over five hundred grand deposited into her account from Storm and Sons Construction. That had to be a mistake, she thought, but then she looked at the number and subtracted the price of her home, and the balance was the amount equal to the amount of the spa renovations to the penny. She snatched her house phone from the desk and dialed Chase, and when he didn’t answer, she didn’t leave a message. She grabbed her phone to Facetime him. After a few moments, he answered her call.