by Nako
Mahogany reapplied her lipstick since it was barely there after drinking down the earl gray tea.
“There she goes. Let’s get started, we’ll use this room.”
Whomever that was didn’t look as if she wanted to be there today. Mahogany was in a good mood and she prayed that things went well. Everything was coming together, and it still felt surreal on some days. Studio sessions, photoshoots, marketing brainstorming meetings on her behalf; she was really doing this shit.
She stood up after noticing that no one planned on coming over to let her know anything.
“He-llo?”
She followed the younger woman with the attitude, another chick and an Asian man into a boardroom and tapped on the door.
“Hi. Are you Mahogany? Come on in! Good morning,” the man spoke first.
“Good morning.” She filed in and closed the door behind her.
“Open the door, it’s hot in here.”
Something clearly was off, and she didn’t know why…
This bitch had a full-blown attitude.
“I’m Alicia, this is Jillian, but you guys should already know each otherrrrr, right?”
Jillian…the assistant. She knew exactly who she was. Porter’s former right-hand who Juice had replaced. Clearly, she was familiar with her as well because she nodded her head and a smug look appeared on her face once their eyes finally connected.
“Yeah, I know her. I was the one that did her background check. We have a lot to go through today. A lot. Damage control before the damage even starts.” She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.
Criminals didn’t make good artists. If anything, they were liabilities. You had to stay on them like children to make sure they didn’t mess up the investment from the label. She didn’t think Mahogany was cute or talented, and honestly, believed the whole idea of her was a waste.
“Maternity leave over so soon?” Mahogany was curious as to why she was even here.
“No, but I hate when P wastes his money, so I’m here to ensure that you don’t do that,” she threw that shade across that room, making the other two people extremely uncomfortable.
Mahogany held onto her comment, telling herself to remain professional and get through the day. It’ll be over soon, but the fact that she was pressing through despite it being the first day of her cycle was saying a lot. So, this trick better not try her again. She refused to be held responsible for knocking Jillian’s teeth out of her mouth.
η
They didn’t spend every day together, mainly because he traveled often for work. If he was in the same city as her, they were together. Period. His first destination upon his return was her house. He’d been calling her since the day before wanting to hear about the bootcamp and get some feedback on this company that someone had referred to him. They were a whopping twenty thousand dollars for branding and social media training, so he was curious to see what she learned. During the plane ride back home, he even wrote down some interview questions for her so that he could see what she learned first-hand. He was looking forward to it. However, she hadn’t picked up.
Porter spoke to Kareem an hour ago and he told her that mommy wasn’t feeling good.
When he arrived, he used his key to let himself in and the lights were off in the house nor was the alarm set. Two things that he told her to not to do.
Porter set the alarm and flicked some of the lights on near the front of the house and on the front porch.
“Bae,” he called her name twice and didn’t get anything back.
He found her and Kareem in the bed, knocked out.
Porter dropped his LV duffel bag, scooped Kareem up, and took him to his own room. Normally, he’d fall asleep with them, but tonight, he wanted some R & R with his baby.
He showered and slipped on a pair of joggers and nothing more. Once he got into the bed, he came closer to her and shook her gently.
“Hmm hmm,” she shook her head no to tell whoever was messing with her to leave her alone. She was cramping like crazy and wanted to do nothing but sleep with her heating pad.
“Baby.” Porter missed her and wanted her to wake up so that they could chat, but she was super knocked out.
“I don’t feel good,” she whispered, eyes still closed.
He kissed her forehead and sighed, “Okay, go back to sleep then.”
Deciding to leave her alone and catch up on emails until he too, drifted off to rest.
A few hours later, around one or two in the morning, Kareem woke up and somehow made his way back in the bed with them. He moved over so he could get in between him and his mother.
Porter was knocked out, the sleep you got when you were in the same space as the person you loved was in no comparison to hotel sleep. He normally tossed and turned when he was away from her.
Mahogany was a superwoman, sick and all. She managed to find the strength to take Kareem to summer camp and crawled right back into bed soon as she made it home.
Porter felt someone pricking at his nose and he knew it was her goofy ass.
“Nah, get back…” he grumbled. Swatting at her hands.
She bent down and bit his lip and he blew his breath on her knowing it smelled atrocious.
“Oh my gawdddd! Boy, if you don’t brush your teeth.” She covered her mouth and backed off the bed.
He laughed as he rolled over and pulled the comforter over his body.
“P get up.” She was ready to talk now.
“Lay down man. I let you sleep last night, so give me that same energy.”
She wasn’t trying to hear that. Mahogany pulled the curtains and snatched the comforter off him.
“Last time I seen you, can’t even remember it’s been so long.” She was really popping her shit to get a reaction out of him.
He laid on his back, pulled his arms behind his head and watched her slowly move around the room.
He ignored her and asked a question of her own. “When your period come on?”
“Yesterday and it’s killing me,” she admitted.
“Come here. I miss you.” He wanted her close. Porter had a busy day today but would gladly push all that shit back to lay around with her all day.
“What you gotta do today?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing. Yesterday was so… I don’t even wanna talk about it.”
Mahogany wasn’t a messy bitch nor did she like confusion or strife. She knew that P would check Jillian and she didn’t want or need none of that. She was a big girl and it was one of those situations that she decided to let roll off her shoulder. As long as P wanted her in his life, she would be there. As much as she had grown to care for him, she was most likely a lil’ pyscho by now, so Jillian honestly needed to move around.
“It didn’t go well?” He raised an eyebrow.
She leaned against the wall near the bed and crossed her arms.
“Yeah it did. I learned a lot. We discussed eye contact and how to steer away from questions that were too personal. It was cool…”
Porter wasn’t sure if he was following her correctly. “If you learned a lot, then what’s the issue? Am I missing something?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip with her head tilted towards the floor. Porter moved to the edge of the bed, pulling her to him.
“Talk to me.”
He didn’t have a clue what could’ve went wrong, but whatever it was, he was going to fix it. She deserved nothing but happiness twenty-four hours out of the day.
“The girl, your old assistant. She got some pressure against me and I don’t know why. Did you fuck her before or something?” Her eyes found his and he wasn’t going to lie to her.
“Once, a long time ago. When she was still an intern.”
Mahogany appreciated the truth more than a dragged out lie that would hurt her in the long run.
“Do you think she has a crush on you?”
Porter shook his head. “No, she’s married. How did you meet her?” He was still sort of lost.
>
“She was at the damn bootcamp thing. She came in with an attitude and said she thought I was going to waste your money, then the hoe talking about she did my background check. I know you had one done, but I didn’t know you let everybody see it,” she let it all out and felt way better despite the pang in her stomach from her menstrual cycle.
He said defensively, “I didn’t let no body read that shit. She was the one that sent it to me.”
Porter was fuming, and she had never really seen him pissed for real.
“Don’t say nothing, it’s cool. I wasn’t even going to tell you.”
He got up, and moved her aside, gently. “Nah you did right. Give me a second, baby.” He grabbed his phone off the charger on her glass nightstand and left the room.
Jillian didn’t pick up, which was fine because she would call back. She always did. Mahogany found him in the kitchen, on his phone. He was in a zone and she didn’t want to interrupt him, but she wanted to know where his head was at.
“Talk to me.”
He remained unresponsive.
“Baby, I don’t need no smoke with that girl because I’ll dog walk her. Don’t even trip on it for real.”
His phone rung and she saw JILL in capital letters and took a deep breath.
“P, keep it cool,” she asked him, kindly.
He picked up and placed the call on speaker. “What up girl?”
Jillian was out of breath. “Hey P, I was breastfeeding. Whew I’m tired. Those steps are kicking my ass. What’s up?”
“Not much. My girl told me that the bootcamp was good and then mentioned that you were present. When did you return to work and who informed you that she even had a meeting?” he had questions and expected answers.
The line went silent and he said, “Yo?”
“How old is she? Ten. So, what did she do, call you and tell on me?”
Mahogany came closer, ready to go nothing but off, but P shook his head and picked up the phone to bring his mouth to the receiver.
“She’s grown, such as you. I’m with her actually, she didn’t call me. I wanted to make sure that everything was cool. I wasn’t aware of a problem.”
Porter’s tone was so neutral that it threw Jillian off because she knew him well, but this version of him was new.
“Porter, do you really care about this girl? I think that you’re in over your head,” she stated.
Mahogany was so tired of motherfuckers worried about what they had going on. Damn, why did it matter?
“Is it a problem or it isn’t?” he asked her again because he damn sure wasn’t answering her question about if he loved her or not. That was between him and her.
“No, it’s not.”
“Did Juice tell you about the bootcamp?”
She sighed again, “No, I trained him remember. His calendar is synced to mine.
“Disconnect it. I’ll holler at you later.” He hung up the phone and texted Juice to do the same.
Mahogany didn’t know what to say, so she went to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. She needed to pop another pill before laying back down.
“You sure you’re good?” he asked her an hour later. They were in the bed watching the R. Kelly documentary wondering what the fuck was up with that nigga.
“Yes, I am. Thank you for being you. Baby, you make me feel…untouchable,” she shared with him. Porter was one of none, they didn’t make men like him anymore. He was a rare breed. A man that had his shit together was a blessing. He didn’t need to be pepped up, cheered on, or motivated to treat you right. She didn’t come with a sign that said, “love me or else.”
P did it regardless. He loved her unconditionally, flaws and all. She knew that she was far from perfect. She was aware that she wasn’t one of those model looking bitches that people would expect him to be with, but he didn’t care. He was molding her to be greater than she already was, and it didn’t offend her either. It was an amazing feeling that the person that you chose to give your time and energy saw something in you that you didn’t see. His vision for his life included her and not just her, but her son too. Porter tried often to include Genesis, but he was out in them streets and wasn’t cool with letting a grown man take care of him. P wasn’t his damn daddy and he didn’t try to be. Mahogany didn’t know that he stopped by her old place to talk to him a week after she’d moved, Genesis was closed-off and short. He didn’t take it personal because he had been a hard ass before until he realized that we all needed somebody. Life wasn’t meant to be lived alone, whether that was a relationship or companionship. A tribe was needed and someone that had your back no matter what. Porter wanted everything that came with her and he had a real one. Mahogany was a certified rider, so when she expressed hurt, he was going to do whatever he had to do to make that shit go away.
“It’s going to stay that way.”
His word was bond.
η
Birthdays was how he expressed his love to the people he fucked with. Porter wasn’t one for many words, so when your born day came around he was gon’ ice you out and let you know, “Aye, a nigga really fucks with you and I love you.”
Pretty Boy P didn’t come to play. Juice mentioned his birthday to Mahogany and when she made it home from the studio, she told P, “I need some money.”
He was rolling a blunt and didn’t think much of it. “Okay, it’s money in the closet. Get it.”
He didn’t understand why she always acted like because she was with him, she couldn’t ask him for shit. He copped her a truck, a car, and she was draped in designer and diamonds. She could have the world if she wanted it.
“I want to get Juice something nice for his birthday, he deserves it.”
Juice was her dawg. They had grown extremely close and she told him often that she didn’t do that “brother/sister” shit, but he proved himself worthy of the title. They were two peas in a pod.
“When is his birthday?” He stopped rolling and looked at his baby.
“Tomorrow.”
Porter left the blunt right where it was and hopped on the phone to make a few miracles happen in less than two hours.
And here they were…in Miami, Florida living it the fuck up.
Juice woke up to a text from his boss man that read, “Happy Birthday lil nigga. Grab your shorty and meet me at the jet in an hour. No bags needed.”
He posted the message on Instagram with the caption, “Birthday boy getting flew’d out,” it was a joke, but he was happy as shit.
Honestly, he had no plans other than the movies and dinner with his baby. He worked 24/7 and had no problem keeping it casual this year. He rather sleep, but private jet…he hopped his ass right up.
Porter did things lavishly, placing Juice and his girlfriend at the penthouse suite at the W and treated him to a shopping spree while he and Mahogany lounged at the spa. She was tired as hell and at this time there wasn’t a Chanel bag or Prada shoe that she’d rather look at over getting a two-hour four-hand massage. She’d choose relaxing with her man over shopping anyway.
Along with the fact that her buzz was growing, and she captured the attention of people now, she wasn’t in the mood to be around people at least not until tonight when they went out.
A few of their comrades flew out as well to enjoy the festivities. No matter how many times a person traveled to Miami, it was always a guaranteed good time.
“Bae, can you tie this in the back?” she asked Porter from the bathroom where she was checking out her profile.
He looked good enough to ruin her makeup by giving him some sloppy toppy. Three of the top buttons on a silk Versace dress shirt were loose exposing his chiseled chest and tattoos. He paired the expensive shirt with black moto fitted jeans and Gucci loafers. Porter did all gold with his ensemble tonight, which included an iced-out Rolex that matched the one he copped his lady, along with four gold chains, gold rings on two of his fingers and rose gold four-carat earrings.
“Yeah!”
He poured her
a glass of Belaire and took it with him to the bathroom.
“Hmm, thanks baby.” She took a sip and went back to dancing in the mirror.
“That’s what you gon’ be doing tonight?”
Mahogany winked her eye. “Ya know it!”
Her blonde hair swung and almost hit him in the eye. “Long ass shit,” he complained.
She stopped moving around and stood still so she could tie the pink blouse that she had on. Mahogany was cute, and she kept it casual tonight. It wasn’t her man’s birthday. She wore jeans, pumps and a sheer blouse with a cheetah bra.
“Come on, I think they’re already at the restaurant.”
He ended up downing her drink and patting her butt to hurry her up. She swore that it didn’t take her long to get dressed, but in actuality, it really did. He’d been waiting on her for almost an hour. If she stopped dancing to every song that played via Tidal and smoking, she would be ready in no record time.
“Okay, okay.” She popped her pink sparkly lips and grabbed her YSL clutch.