Full Figured 3: Carl Weber Presents

by Hampton, Brenda

  He smiled and leaned back in his seat. “Well I was firing you from one position to offer you another but since you don’t fuck your way up the corporate ladder I guess I can keep my offer.”

  I looked at this man to see if he was serious. The fact that I couldn’t read his face pissed me off. For some reason the way he looked at me unsettled me. I felt my blood pressure spike. This was the point where I should have turned back around or quit or resigned or something, but I stayed there after he smirked and told me he was joking. I took the position he was offering and prepared myself for a new break in my career.

  Chapter 2

  “I am beginning to hate dating in Atlanta!”

  That was April. We were sitting at the bar in Club Miami and once again the boyfriend she had been seeing for about two years turned out to be a lying, cheating, blah blah blah. This was beginning to be the norm for her and I always asked her why did she just have to have a man? Because as soon as one threw her away like a used tampon she was out looking for another. April was thirty-five with three teenage boys. One was a senior in high school and the two twins were freshmen. So when she called me once again I became the dutiful friend. I pulled on some high waist wide legged black slacks with a black ruffled blouse that tapered to my waist and pushed my breasts up a little more. Slid my feet in my black and gray platform six inch heels and pulled my fro back into a puff ponytail. We both hopped in my car and here we were.

  I sipped from my Ciroc and lime. “Girl please. You’ll be right back at it tomorrow.”

  “Not this time. Do you know he had the nerve to tell me phone sex is not cheating?”

  I laughed. “Well, technically it isn’t.”

  April looked at me. She was a light skinned thick chick from Louisiana, with about five feet six a short spiked platinum blonde pixie hair cut. Her chocolate brown eyes gave me a look that said she wasn’t in a playing mood and I don’t care what she said. The fact that we were in a bar only a few hours after her break up meant she was on the prowl again. The short denim skirt with the five inch heels and half shirt said the same thing.

  “Well that may be the case, but the fact that the bitch could tell me about my brand new Egyptian cotton sheets closed the deal,” she said, sipping from her drink and looking around the club.

  The music was too loud. Some fool was screaming through the speakers talking about “Oh let’s do it”! This was one of the reasons I didn’t like coming out. The only time I hit any club was when April was going through one of her moments. Other than that she and whoever she was dating were inseparable. I was an afterthought.

  “Damn! He had the girl in your house?”

  “Yeah, some young ass bitch. She’s about your age. Young and fucking dumb,” she spat.

  I was about to ask her was that a shot at me. She always had some something snide to say at or about me. But it seemed like the only one dumb here was the thirty-five year old woman sitting across from me who couldn’t keep a man. But I would shut up for now. We sat quiet for a while and I zoned out. My mind had drifted off to work. For three weeks now I had been in a new position at work. Aric, that’s what he insisted on being called, had promoted me to his executive assistant. This pissed a lot of people off including Lola who had been demoted to my old job.

  We had been working all kinds of late hours trying to get the company back on track. I would like to think that we were doing a pretty bang up job. We had contracts coming back in left and right. Aric had other executives following his lead and I guess more assistants were following mine. For a while it was just me and Aric on the seventh floor after five. I had become so accustomed to staying late that I had started to bring a change of clothes after the work day to be more relaxed in. Last night was the night that stuck out in my mind. Aric and I had papers scattered all across his office floor trying to figure out which contracts were more important than the next. We had been at it since four o’clock that afternoon with no end in sight. We had even ordered Chinese because it was apparent that the night would be later than the rest.

  We had a bid to pitch to this company that specialized in mineral makeup and everything had to be packaged and ready for him to present in the morning. That’s the thing about Aric, he was very hands on. So there we were in the middle of his office floor. He had kicked his shoes off and his dress shirt hung open, showing his white wife beater. I found myself staring at his chest and arms. It had become so obvious that Aric was well defined with muscle. His arms were thick and sinewy. I also noticed that he had a Kemetian tattoo that circled his right arm and he wore thin black framed reading glasses. When he inhaled and exhaled I could see the muscles in his stomach through his wife beater give a little ripple. I caught myself and looked away. Everything was going as planned until the food came and we started getting personal with our questions.

  “You don’t have a man you need to be getting home to Chyanne,” he asked me before he put a spoonful of shrimp fried rice into his mouth. He watched me as I examined the way he licked his lips and chewed his food.

  “No, and even if I did, he would have to understand that sometimes I will have to work late.”

  “Yeah, but you have been in here with me at least ten days straight. Don’t you think that would be a problem?”

  I swallowed my sweet and sour chicken before answering. “No. Which is probably why I don’t have a man.”

  He chuckled. We sat in silence and ate a bit before I said something else to him.

  “What about you? You have a girl or a wife somewhere?”

  For a second and only a second his eyes clouded over and he shook his head. “Naw. Women are complicated. I fuck and keep it moving.”

  His bluntness caught me off guard. So much so that I damn near choked.

  He continued and laughed at me. “I don’t have time for a relationship or marriage. Now casual sex, a date here and there, I can do. Anything else is for the birds.”

  “Well okay then,” was all I could answer with.

  “What? You have never had casual sex Chyanne?”

  “No. Not planning on it either. I view it all as a big waste of time.” I took a sip of my Pepsi and moved to sit on the sofa behind me. My thick thighs and the floor were not getting along. Aric put one last spoonful of rice in his mouth and stretched out on the floor. I watched as his long body stretched and was totally thrown for a loop when he adjusted his manhood like I wasn’t even in the room. My mouth was hanging open and I didn’t even know it.

  “Are you going to tell me why you feel it is a waste of time or is what you are staring at that fascinating to you?”

  I didn’t even lie. “Well, I just feel that it would be. So that’s why I have never had casual sex and yes your ah . . . yes it is impressive.”

  He laughed a bit. “Nothing sexier than an honest woman. As for casual sex you either don’t know what you are missing until you try it or you can’t miss what you have never had.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. Besides there are too many diseases out here to catch. Not to mention people get crazy after they have sex,” I said as I closed my tray and stood to pick up the mess I had made. Good thing I had brought a black velour jump suit to change into. I could move around freely.

  He laughed. “Especially good sex. Good sex is enough to drive most people nuts, especially women. You all get too emotional and attached.”

  “I wouldn’t know about all of that. Are you done,” I asked him before picking up his plate. He hadn’t even touched his soda. I didn’t realize I was standing directly over him until he quickly stood. If I had been his height we would have been standing chest to chest. That’s how close we were. I felt him looking down at me and I couldn’t bring myself to look up. Standing at five-seven, my head came up just about to his shoulders. I could feel the lump from his pants on my stomach. This was the place I didn’t want to find myself in. I didn’t want to have anything but a professional relationship with my boss, but my heart beat faster and my breathing deepened. I
knew I should have stopped the conversation we were having a long time ago. I had let it get too personal. Taking his hand and placing it under my chin, he brought his eyes to meet mine. He was smiling. Pretty white teeth he had.

  “You’re very beautiful Chyanne. Anybody ever tell you that?”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. The cologne he had on took my senses away. “Yes.”

  He was still smiling a charming yet seductive smile. I watched as his eyes roamed over my face. He licked his thick lips and brought them closer to mine . . . just a bit.

  “I could kiss you right now.” As he talked his lips brushed up against mine and created a spark and current so strong that I started to shake a little. Whatever he was doing to me I could feel it in my bones.

  “I have been watching you. The way you carry yourself. Most full figured women aren’t as comfortable with themselves as you are.” He ran his fingers through my fro. “There is something wild and uninhibited about you, yet there is this sweet innocence that has got me curious about you.”

  Both his hands caressed my face as his lips came closer to mine. His hands were warm and strong. I dropped the plates in my hand when his tongue traced my bottom lip then my top. I didn’t know what to do. One part of me was screaming for me to run. The other part told me to stand right there. I inhaled and grabbed onto both his wrists when he finally brought his lips to molest mine. His lips were soft and plush. His tongue was kind of coarse and velvety. He took his time with the kiss like he was trying to decode my DNA with this kiss. I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until he released me from our dance of tongues. When it was all said and done, he left me in the middle of his office as he walked away and out of his office. I didn’t know what to do or what to say so I started to clean things up. We ended up leaving the office about an hour later. Nothing was said about the kiss though. Nothing was said today either. He acted like it didn’t even happen so I did the same.

  April brought my attention back to the present. “By the way, what’s up with you and the new boss?”

  I looked at her while she sipped her drink. “What do you mean?”

  She was busy bobbing her head to Wale talking about pretty girls. “I mean he promoted you and now you are always at the office working late. I have seen the man and he is finger licking fine.”

  That annoyed me. What she said, it annoyed me. I turned my head to people watch before asking. “When did you see him?”

  “Oh the other day. I came up there to do lunch with Justin and Mr. CEO was coming off the elevator into the lobby. Sexy motherfucker. I need me one of him. And he has money too? Shit yeah. Need me one of him. Is he single?”

  For some reason her saying that made me angry. I took a big swallow to finish off my drink and shrugged. “I don’t know if he is single or not and there is nothing going on with us. Just work.”

  “Well, something needs to be going on. Shit if you don’t want him, I will take him. He seems more of my type anyway.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I mean he just does. You don’t think so?” she asked. “I may strike up a conversation if I run into him again and with the way he gave me the once over, he’d go for it and I will give it to him!”

  She turned around on her stool and ordered another drink. I stared at her long and hard. I would have probably started some mess by asking her what the hell she meant by that whole he’s more of her type thing again, but two brothers walked up to us and asked us to dance. Of course April immediately went for the tall mocha colored one who looked like he bathed in money. He had dark chocolate eyes with pencil thin locks that sat just above his shoulders, smooth skin, and I could tell he either visited the dentist frequently or he had brand new teeth. He had on a nice pair of dirty denim jeans that fit him loosely with a crisp white button down shirt and a black blazer. He had on a nice pair of casual white and black loafers with his attire.

  April stuck her hand out to shake his and put on her mega watt hoochie-flirt smile. “Hello. I am April and this is my friend Chyanne.”

  He shook her hand and smiled while his chubby friend who looked like a Cedric the Entertainer reject was slobbering out of the mouth looking at her thighs. He was standing there in what looked like a three-piece baby blue suit. I shook my head and chuckled under my breath.

  “Hello, my name is Jamie and this is Jamaal. We came over here to see if we could get you ladies to join us for a dance or two?”

  April was off of the bar stool before he could get the words out of his mouth. “We were just about to take it to the floor anyway.” She turned to me. “Chyanne this is his friend Jamaal . . . .”

  “Actually,” Jamie cut her off. “Jamaal came over to dance with you and I came over to keep your friend company.”

  “Oh,” was all April could get out. Jamie removed his hand from hers and held it out for me to take. I shook his hand.

  “Nice to meet you, but actually I am not in the mood to dance so if you want to go ahead and dance with my girl that’s cool,” I said.

  “No. I am not a dancer. I can chill right here with you until they get back,” he laughed and winked at me. April looked back at us like she was at a loss for words. Jamaal took her now vacant hand and was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he led her onto the dance floor. Jamie and I sat there and kept a pretty descent conversation going. He was a bookstore owner who was feeling the weight of the economy crashing around him. He owned five bookstores throughout Georgia and was in the process of shutting down one. He was thirty-two and single and had one child who he had joint custody of. He had his own place and liked to think he was drama, debt, and STD free. He was a cool dude, but I was ready to leave.

  About twenty-minutes later April came storming back over and snatched up her clutch.

  “Girl, let’s get the hell out of here,” she snapped.

  “Fine with me. Nice to meet you Jamie,” I said before hopping off of the bar stool and shaking his hand.

  “You too Chyanne. Can I call you sometimes or maybe you can call me,” he said, handing me a business card. I slid it into my purse and told him I would, knowing I really had no intentions to do so. I just wanted to get out of there and go home to my bed. It took us about another fifteen to twenty minutes to get through the crowded club. Once outside the wind had its way with my fro. I folded my arms together tightly to try and keep from shivering. I knew April was about to freeze to death. It was warm when we left the house and now this September wind was cutting deep. Nights like this I was glad I had meat on my bones. We were so stiff walking to my car. April’s arms were stiff by her side and she had her head down to shield her face from the wind. It was blowing directly at us.

  “Damn!” That was me. I said that as soon as my derriere hit the seat in my 650i BMW Coupe. It was black. My favorite color. “Dang! It’s cold. . . .”

  “You didn’t have to play me like that in there,” April snapped.

  “What?”

  I cranked the car and turned the heat on. I watched as she folded her arms and snapped her neck around at me.

  “Oh, you can dance with my friend if you want. What the fuck? I don’t need you pushing niggas off on me like I am some charity case!”

  “April, what are you talking about? All I did was tell Jamie that if you two wanted to dance . . . .”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t need you to tell nobody shit for me!”

  “Oh, wow! Okay. But whatever.”

  I put the car in reverse and pulled out onto Peachtree Street.

  “Don’t whatever me and put me off. That shit was embarrassing!”

  “Well now you know how I feel when you do it. You are always pushing somebody’s raggedy friend off on me.”

  “So what? There’s a difference between me and you. You always sit your ass there and keep the bar company. Nobody ever asks you to dance anyway.”

  I didn’t say anything after that. I had to hold back my anger and bite my tongue so I wouldn’t say something that I
would regret. I put my foot on the gas and got her home quick. I almost jumped out of the car and whipped her butt for slamming my door. She was more upset because the one she had laid eyes on first didn’t have eyes for her, and that really bothered me. I mean, as friends, there should be no competition for men between us. I didn’t hear from April for the rest of the weekend. Not like I cared. I was tired of dealing with her mess anyway.

  Chapter 3

  Monday rolled around and I found myself in a board meeting with Aric. Good thing I had done those PowerPoint presentations and spreadsheets because I ended up running around that boardroom and office like a chicken with its head cut off. Making copies of this, faxing that, and filing this. I found myself watching Aric way more than I should have been. He was working the all black pinstriped Armani suit. He had taken the suit jacket off and laid it on the back of his chair. The vest to match his pants and the white shirt, the black tie, and the wing tipped dress shoes all worked well on him. The thick New York accent washed over me at times and the way he said my name was working on me from the inside out. I needed to get it together. This man had messed me up with one kiss and I had absolutely no explanation for it. It was one kiss Chyanne! Get it together. The man has barely said two words to you that had nothing to do with business. I came back to my senses as the last of the executives were leaving and Aric clapped his big hands together.

  “We are in the money baby,” he said. Excitement was laced in his voice. He smiled as he bit down on his bottom lip and sat on the edge of the long conference table. I smiled and kept picking up the contracts that had been signed.

  “Love when we have days like this,” he continued. “I need you to get those faxed down to accounting as soon as possible though.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll just walk them down. I have to hand deliver some things to production that I want to make sure get into the right hands anyway.”