by nikki blaire
“And while I’m sure Marc has done an amazing job as CFO,” She flashed a grin at him that made him weak. “There are things that anyone would miss. Those aren’t necessarily red flags or cause for concern. However, the firm will need to be aware of everything before the federal government comes in.”
“And when will that be?” Marcus knew the answer, but wanted to be sure that his family understood the urgency.
“At any moment.”
A slight gasp escaped Ayda’s lips, while Tremaine just let his head fall.
“And nothing is off limits. They can even come to your home, to Marc’s home. And it will happen at any time without notice.”
It was Claudette’s turn to gasp. She placed a hand on her chest, but kept her expression unreadable “Is there anything that can stop that? It’s just so embarrassing.”
“Cooperation.” Charlisse shrugged.
“Which is also the plan. The firm will be cooperative because there is nothing to hide. Your father will address his affair and maintain that it is a private matter to be handled by his family. Mr. Forde has informed his attorney and me that this was his only indiscretion. He maintains that he did not embezzle funds and an internal audit, that will begin immediately, should substantiate that. So, there’s no need to do anything more drastic.”
The room fell quiet for a moment, except for a few clacks from the sound of forks and knives hitting their plates.
“Alright, well if there are no more questions, I do want to make a few more things clear. First, none of you should communicate with the press or any investigating entity. You are not obligated to do so and despite whatever your professional skill is, you are not prepared to do so. If you receive a request, notify me immediately with a phone call.”
Ayda opened her mouth to say something, but Tremaine quieted her with a strong glare.
“Second, do not text or email about anything that you see or hear related to this. If you must discuss it, do it in person. Third, do not change anything about your regular routine. Changing anything can seem suspicious. Do not delete anything or get rid of anything. It will be noticeable during audits and just causes more trouble.”
She turned to look at their father, who had managed to avoid her eye contact during the entire conversation
“And finally, especially for you, Mr. Forde, this situation is ever changing. This means that my advice and strategy may change daily, minutely even, as new developments become available. In fact, expect changes.”
His father haughtily looked back at her, but Marcus could tell that he was just as shaken.
“New developments, like a divorce?” Ayda asked out of nowhere.
“I would not advise divorce right now.” Charlisse quickly responded, even though Marcus knew that she had considered it given their earlier conversation.
“But what if they do. What would happen?” Ayda kept pressing.
“I’m not getting a divorce.” Marcus, Sr.’s voice was forceful. “We don’t need to discuss it because it’s not happening. I don’t want to hear another damn thing about it.”
He cast a glare toward Ayda then to his wife.
“Well, I’d like to hear what she has to say about it.” Claudette matched the seriousness of his stare, which made an awkward silence fall over the room.
A cold chill swept through Marcus, as he watched the scene unfold around him. His sorrowful eyes fell on Charlisse, who had somehow quickly become a source of comfort during this chaotic time. Instinctively, they locked eyes and held for a moment, having a silent conversation.
“Mrs. Forde, I’d be happy to have a conversation with you and Ayda privately.” Charlisse tried to diffuse the situation, as if she read Marcus’ mind.
He did not want this conversation to be had here.
“Claudette, you want to fuckin’ divorce me? You want to leave me? After everything,” Their father exploded then stood up from the table, nearly pushing it away.
“Try it.” He stormed out of the room.
The room was dead silent until Marcus stood up to follow his father. “Excuse me.”
He dismissed himself. He wasn’t sure what he would say or do, but he felt compelled to do something, anything.
“Dad.” He called after his father, who had ascended the stairs to the master bedroom.
Marcus pushed through the doors to find his father putting things in a suitcase.
“Dad, what are you doing?” He locked the door behind him then stood near the entrance. “You’re leaving?”
“I haven’t been here in days, Marc.” He sneered. “I came to get some of my shit, so that’s what I’m doing. She’s lost her damn mind.”
“Dad, you can’t blame this on anyone else. She’s just...reacting. She feels humiliated. She told me so herself. Can you blame her?”
His father was smug.
“You cheated on her with a white woman. You’ve put all of that money in jeopardy. They will freeze your assets, Dad. Have you thought about how she’ll keep all of this if that happens? Have you thought about what people are saying about her?”
“What about what people are saying about me, Marc! I’m not the first man to cheat on his wife.” He roared.
“She checked out of this marriage a long time ago. Ask your mother about the last time we had sex. She spends all of her time with her cotillions, banquets, and art galleries. So, I fucked someone who was around and could throw me some business. That doesn’t make me a monster."
He threw his hands up. "I made a mistake. That makes me a fuckin’ human, Marc. But, she’s trying to hang me out to dry. Fuck her, then.”
He stood in his son’s face.
“I’m not making anyone a saint or a monster.”
It was hard for Marcus to hear these things. He hadn’t ever heard his father speak so crassly about his mother before.
“You’re my son, Marc. You’ve got my name. You’ve been the only one of these damn kids that I could count on to do shit the right way.” He let his head fall.
“You’re supposed to understand. You’re supposed to hang with me, son. You’re supposed to have my back.”
“And I do.” Marcus couldn’t help but bend to his father’s will after seeing him like this.
“But, you can’t be so focused on how this is impacting you. There’s more than one side.”
“Ha.” Marcus, Sr. sighed then moved past his son to the closet.
“I’ve got to be focused on me because no one else is. I’m fighting for my life, here. No one else is. I’m not apologizing for it either.”
“You should’ve told us, Dad! You should’ve told me! We could’ve avoided all of this if you’d just told me.” Marcus couldn’t help but blurt out.
He was sick of his father's self-righteousness.
“I should’ve told you?” His father chuckled. “Yeah, guess I could’ve told you just like you could’ve told me about you and Charlisse. But you didn’t say a damn thing about that after finding out she was who we hired.”
“Dad,” He tried to explain himself, but let his words fall because there was nothing left to say.
“When were you going to tell me that you’ve had sex with her?” He kept snickering sarcastically.
“You think I don’t know you? I could tell as soon as you started talking in the conference room. What? Did you get yourself another taste in the elevator?” He kept digging.
He grabbed a few things then walked back over to his suitcase. “You’re just like me, Marc. We’re the same. So, I didn’t tell you for the same reasons that you didn’t tell me. But I’m not crucifying you for it.”
Marcus was at a loss for words. What could he say? His father was right. Marcus had kept his own secrets, plenty of them, for his own reasons. His secrets wouldn’t necessarily tear his family apart, but they did have the potential to be destructive. He looked away in shame as his father continued to pack his things.
“Where are you going?”
“The Four Seasons.” His father tossed somet
hing else in his bag then walked around his son to get to the door.
“I’ll see you at the office tomorrow. Did you take a look at that statement?” His father asked before opening the door and walking out.
“Yes. I’m fine with it.” He paused. “I’ve already set things up to start the audit and notified the board of the new transparency and conflict of interest policies.”
“Good.” His father nodded.
“You know, she knows what she’s doing. I do have to give her that. I thought she was just a pretty face. For a second, I even wondered if you’d finagled to get her the job, but she’s qualified.”
Marcus didn’t even bother trying to stop him from leaving.
“She is.” He sighed.
“See you in the office tomorrow.” His father closed the door behind him, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts.
He took some time to pull himself together then made his way down the stairs back to the dining room. Everyone was getting ready to leave.
“Thank you for coming.” Ayda was saying goodbye to Charlisse, while Tremaine hugged his mother.
Marcus noticed the humidor that he held in his hand and wished that he had gotten a chance to actually smoke one of the cigars inside.
“Hey, Marc.” Tremaine looked up at him. “I, uh, was gonna leave these with you.”
As if he read his mind, he passed the humidor to Marcus. “You need them more than I do. Seems like you’ve got your hands full.”
“Shit, that’s an understatement. Thank you.” His appreciation was sincere.
“No problem.” Tremaine nodded.
“And let me know if you need to talk. I mean, I’m an older brother too. I get it. Forreal. We have a lot more in common than you’d like to think.” He held out his fist for Marcus to dap.
He looked at his hand for a moment, but ultimately obliged.
“Aight, I’ll see you around.” Tremaine nodded again then went to Ayda, who was waiting at the door.
His sister refused to look at him, but Marcus wasn’t bothered by her dramatics. That was Ayda’s way. She would come around in time.
“What was Dad doing up there? He walked out of the front door without saying anything.” Dwele approached him.
“After you left, Charlisse wrapped up, but no one could really finish dinner. Everything’s falling apart.” He shook his head and his tone was soaked in defeat.
“He packed his things.” Marcus exhaled.
Dwele nodded then moved towards the front door to leave as well. He appreciated his brother for being on his side, but Marcus knew he was just as conflicted. They all wanted to protect their family name, but they had been dealt a pretty rough hand.
“Marc, dear. Our guest is leaving.” Their mother came over with Charlisse right behind her.
“I’d like for you to show her out. I’m exhausted. It’s been a long night.” She looked towards the stairs.
“Goodnight, Mrs. Forde.” Charlisse smiled meekly. “Thank you for dinner.”
Claudette gave her a quick grin then disappeared up the stairs, leaving him and Charlisse alone.
“You should get going.” He glanced down at her, but wouldn't let his eyes linger for too long.
“I should,” She moved closer. “But I wanted to check in with you first. You okay?”
Marcus looked down at the cigars in his hand. He wanted to get home to light one to clear his mind.
“I will be.” He shrugged. “You drove?”
“No.” She sighed. “Your parents are pretty close, so I took a Lyft. I wasn’t sure of the parking situation. I should have assumed there’d be more than enough.”
She chuckled to herself, while she reached in her bag to grab her phone.
"I’ll take you home. Last thing I need is you expensing all these rides to the firm.” He joked, touching her hand to stop her.
“Well, thank you.” She grinned.
“No problem.” Marcus checked to make sure he had his wallet and keys.
But before leaving, he took one more look towards the top of the stairs. He heart ached for his mother.
“Let’s get you home.” He led Charlisse out of the door and locked it behind him.
He went to his car then pulled it around for her to get in. After helping her inside, Marcus felt a slight relief at being alone with her. It reminded him of their first night together, which had been a rare slice of peace.
“You know, I’m starting to think you’re needing these rides on purpose.” He felt loose enough to be himself again.
“Very funny.” Charlisse side-eyed him with a light laugh. “I could say the same thing about you.”
“You could.” He nodded.
There was no need to pretend that he wasn’t attracted to her. She had several rounds of passionate sex in her memory that already attested to it.
“So, how’d tonight go in your opinion?” She tried to change the subject.
“Can we save that for tomorrow, Charlisse?” He shook his head.
“Alright.” She returned to sitting silently in his passenger seat.
They rode that way until he pulled up to her condo.
“Thank you, Marc.” Charlisse undid her seatbelt, but stopped short of getting out of the car. “You sure that you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine, Charlisse. I’m going to smoke one of these cigars and get some sleep. That’s all I need.”
He was lying. He needed to get back in between her thighs to really ease his stress.
“Well...” Charlisse paused, as Marcus came around to open her door. “You mind having someone to share that cigar with?”
Her light-colored orbs peered up at him with concern. “I’m worried about you. I know this is all work related but...I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what?” He took her hand and helped her out of the car.
“I don’t know why I care about your personal wellbeing.” She was direct. “But I do, so I’m offering you a confidential ear.”
“Why are you pushing me? You want to be a tease?” He groaned.
“Not at all, Marc. I want to be a friend. Seems like you need one.”
“You just want a free cigar.” Marcus sucked his teeth, but pulled out his keys to go park his car.
This was a thin line that they were walking on, but he would just have to behave himself. He wanted to spend time with her.
“That too.” She giggled then backed up to let him move his car.
Six
Charlisse sat on the loveseat that overlooked the balcony in her living room. She watched Marcus’ every move while he stood outside puffing on his cigar.
“You sure you’re done?” He called out to her, to which she just nodded.
She had been done from the moment she let him back into her apartment.
This was a terrible idea, Charlisse.
Marcus being in her home again made her think of their previous night together and her body was yearning for a repeat.
“Alright, well, I guess I’m done too.” Marcus reappeared in the doorway then slid the screen door shut behind him.
“You’re a lousy smoking partner.” He stood over her.
“I never said I was a good one.” She smirked at him.
All day, she had done well with pushing her personal connection to Marcus out of her mind. But, it all fell apart at dinner. They had shared a connection that she couldn’t really describe or ignore. Marcus was hurting and that really bothered her.
The fact that things had blown up during the mentioning of divorce only piled onto her feelings of guilt. She had said it earlier to Marcus and now felt like she had conjured up the idea by talking about it.
That was why he was here. She thought she needed to make amends, but now, she regretted ever letting him walk through her front door. She also regretted taking this job.
Her attraction to Marcus was too compelling. She was too personally invested in him, but she couldn’t back out now. The firm would surely fall if they had to s
tart over with someone new. Even more so, she wanted to be there for Marcus.
“Good night. I should get home. It’s late and I’m sure tomorrow’s going to be hell.”
“You didn’t talk about anything, Marc. You need to get some of this off of our chest.”
“Charlisse, no offense, but this isn’t therapy and even if it was, I don’t need it. Don’t try and use your sociology degree on me. What I actually need...is off limits. So, I’m going home.” He wet his lips, which made Charlisse tremble.
“How’d you know about that?” She knew that she hadn’t told him about her degree, or much else about her personal life.
She worked very hard to keep certain things about herself private.
“Ha.” He gave a dry laugh. ”You're not the only one who knows how to find something out.”
They shared an intense moment of silence, while Charlisse tried to hide how impressed she was that he had cared enough to find out so much about her after one night together.
“Marc, there’s value in having someone that you can confide in. We already have a rapport, and while it’s probably against my best interests, I want to be that person for you. This process is going to be long and hard.”
“So is something else.” He exhaled loudly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sure, fine.” She wouldn’t keep pushing him.
She stood up to walk him out, putting their bodies closer than they needed to be when she moved past him. Her backside rubbed against his front and her skin tingled.
“Charlisse, you’re doing a great job. I appreciate everything you’ve done.” He slowly followed her to the door.
“Thank you.” She nodded her appreciation.
“Seriously.” He cleared his throat. “I don't want anything that’s happened between us to make you think that is why you were hired or cloud your judgment on how well you’re doing.”
“It wasn’t going to.”
“Good.” He approached her. “And goodnight, Charlisse.”
“Goodnight, Marc.” She found herself surrounded by his cologne, as he neared her.
She swallowed hard and tried to keep her mind clear, but her inhibitions were getting blurry.
“Thanks for the talk.” He reached his arms out to hug her, but she froze. “Aww c’mon. Are hugs off limits too?”