Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset

by Lena Skye

She got dressed for work and she wanted to bring up the issue but he was ready to go to work earlier than usual.

  “Alright, I’ve gotta go.” He kissed her on the cheek, grabbed his briefcase and headed towards the door. “I have a busy day at the office and a lot of clients to see, so I’ve gotta go now and I’ll be back late.”

  “Awwww.”

  “I know, but it comes with the territory, Babe.”

  “Alright. Enjoy your day.”

  Reggie went to the parking lot to get his car. He couldn’t get out of his house fast enough. Sometimes it felt like Tamika was smothering him. He knew that she wasn’t doing it on purpose, but it still didn’t make him feel any better. He drove around the corner and parked his car in a lot around the corner and headed to the bus.

  He was nervous and he didn’t want to go. His hands wouldn’t stop shaking and his injured knee felt warm. He always hurt when he was nervous. He wasn’t sure if it was a legitimate thing or if it was just in his head. He hated having to lie to Tamika and the rest of the world about what was going on with him, but there was no way that he was going to admit the truth. He could figure it all out on his own.

  Reggie went over his spiel in his head a few times on the bus and prayed to God that everything was going to work out. An hour later he walked into a law office…another one. He headed upstairs and gave his name to the receptionist and she sent him straight to the back.

  “Reginald Dawson?” The interviewer asked.

  “Yes sir,” Reggie replied as he gave a firm handshake.

  “Great, come on into my office and let’s get started.”

  Reggie said a silent prayer and followed the man. The guy was older and Reggie saw that he was one of the partners at the firm. He did a lot of research and hoped for the opportunity to show off some of his knowledge.

  “Whoa! You’re a Bears fan?” Reggie asked when he saw the little figurine on his desk.

  “I am. I’m from Chicago and we’re loyal.”

  “I can’t say that I blame you. I’m a huge Bears fan myself.”

  “So I’ve heard!”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yep, you think that you’re the only one who does their research? A Bears fan is always a friend in my book. They’re trustworthy.”

  “Indeed.” Reggie started to feel better about the interview already.

  A half an hour later he felt like he was in the zone. It looked like the job as junior associate was going to be his for the taking.

  “So tell me, why is there a gap in your employment?”

  “Well, I was working for a firm about three months ago. I have a few clients that I represent independently, though.”

  “Is there a reason that you left your firm?”

  “I had a disagreement with one of the senior partners about the future of the firm.”

  “The thing is Mr. Dawson, I called there and asked for a reference but they were unable to speak highly of you. So I did a little digging and I found out that it was because you physically attacked him, is that true?”

  Reggie sighed deeply, “It got a little physical. I’m not going to make any excuses for my behavior, but I can guarantee you that I’m not a violent person. Something like that will never happen again.”

  The interviewer gave a shake of his head, “I was hoping that it wasn’t true. I think I’ve heard more than enough to make my decision. We’ll be in contact with you regarding our decision within a week. Thank you for your time. On your way out, you can grab a business card.”

  “Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.”

  “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

  Reggie rose to his feet and left the office. He felt defeated. He knew that he wasn’t going to hear from them and if he did, it wasn’t going to be good news. His past was going to follow him everywhere, it seemed. He could practice law independently full time but that was something that he had no desire to do. Sometimes he really hated his life. He felt like he kept getting to the peak of the mountain only to get kicked down.

  Reggie passed the receptionist and didn’t bother grabbing the card. He knew that there wasn’t any use for it. No one wanted an aggressive black man working with them. His stature didn’t do anything to help his case. People were intimidated by him when he walked into a room, and his incident gave them a reason to turn him away. When he got outside, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. He put the phone to his ear and waited for the person to pick up.

  “Hello?” The person said.

  “Yo, It's Reggie. I want to meet ASAP”

  *

  “Just wait until you see the account that we have lined up for you next,” Jin said to Tamika enthusiastically, when he stopped by her office

  “I can’t wait. I’ve pretty much wrapped up our last huge project.”

  “Believe me, I know, the corporation can’t stop talking about you. They love their new staff.”

  “I'm happy to hear it, but I’m just doing my job.” Tamika said modestly.

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Downplay your accomplishments. No offense, but if I would have given the same compliment to a male he would have given himself a huge pat on the back. That’s one of the reasons that men get promoted faster. We toot our own horn and we want the world to know about what we’ve done.”

  Tamika sighed, “I don’t know. I just feel like I’m doing the job that I’m being paid to do. Why would I toot my own horn over that?”

  “Because you’re doing your job well and you want more money. People pay attention to those who want to be paid attention to. Don’t expect someone to notice your hard work and reward you for it. You have to speak up.”

  “Well, you’ve been noticing my hard work,” Tamika said softly.

  “Well, I notice a lot of things.” Jin replied.

  Tamika felt the temperature go up about 10 degrees in her office. Was she really flirting with her boss? With her Asian boss? Tamika mentally kicked herself because she was attracted to him and she hated it. She tried to avoid flirting with him because it was inappropriate, but it was difficult because he was so cute. Not only was he attractive, he was supportive. He never sugarcoated anything and he wanted to see her succeed. That’s something that she wanted in her husband, but he wasn’t able to give it.

  Jin was single and he wanted her. He never came right out and said it, but she knew when a man was attracted to her. He jumped at the opportunity to mentor her, and he gave her quite a bit of attention. Jin tried to respect her marriage, but he couldn’t help letting his attraction slip every now and then.

  “I see,” Tamika replied, “Well thank you. I appreciate you giving me an update and of course, I’ll take everything that you said into consideration. I highly value your opinion, it means a lot to me.”

  Jin gave a brief nod, “No problem. Keep me updated with the last placement and tomorrow we can discuss the new company that we’re working with.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Tamika watched Jin as he walked out of her office. She tried to keep her eyes off his butt. He was so different from Reggie in every way and that’s why it confused her. Reggie was what wet dreams were made of. He was the kind of man that she’d wanted ever since she noticed that boys were cute.

  Jin was about 5’10, slim, and he looked like he could have modeled for an underwear company in his early twenties. He was currently 36 and he’d climbed the ladder very fast. He would joke and say that it was because he was Asian, but the truth was that he was intelligent, driven, and sometimes cutthroat. He was the perfect mentor.

  She shook off her lustful feelings about Jin and chalked it up to her not being laid in a long time. That could do weird things to a woman. She took out her phone and texted Kalena.

  To: Kalena

  From: Me

  Can we meet after work at The Ides to talk?

  Kalena never took long to respond and within five minutes she said, “Hell, Yea!”
/>   *

  Tamika and Kalena sat across from each other at one of the tables at The Ides and caught up on one another’s day.

  “Working on the new ad campaign for Pepsi has me ready to pull my hair out,” Kalena said.

  “Oh please, if you can work for Pfizer then you can do anything.”

  “I don’t know about that. It’s easier working for a pharmaceutical company. Everything is pretty cookie cutter and I have a general idea of the direction that we need to go in for each product. This feels different to me. I don’t know, I always feel like I’m fucking up.”

  “Calm down. You’re doing great. There is a reason why they poached you from your last job. You’re young, talented, and a genius.”

  Kalena sighed, “That’s the problem. I don’t believe it. I don’t see what these companies see in me. Honestly, I’m always shocked when I see one of my ads out on the market. They seem like such dumb ideas when I start and I always feel like I’m faking it.”

  Tamika shook her head, “Snap out of that ridiculous mind-set and get it together. Jin just got on me about that.”

  “Can I take your order, ladies?” The waiter asked.

  “Yes, I’ll have the Porn Star Martini,” Kalena said with a wink.

  “Make that two,” Tamika giggled.

  The two of them ordered food and continued their conversation.

  “So enough about me, how are things going with you, big shot?” Kalena asked.

  “At work things are great.”

  “Umm, and at home?”

  Tamika wondered if she should reveal her problems to her friend. Once she told the truth about what was going on with her, she could never take it back.

  “Kalena, If I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else.”

  Kalena looked at her as if she’d lost her mind, “Since you’ve known me, have I ever been the gossiping type?”

  “No you haven’t. I’m just nervous about revealing the truth.”

  “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “I do. I have to tell someone and you’re the only person that I feel comfortable with.” Tamika took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell the truth. Kalena sat patiently and waited on Tamika to speak. While they sat in silence, the waitress brought them their drinks. The silence between them wasn’t awkward. Kalena didn’t mind silence and sometimes she wondered if she’d missed her calling as a therapist. She thought that was what she wanted to do, but her internship at Pfizer during undergrad changed the path of her life. She didn’t mind because she wasn’t sure if she could handle listening to problems all day as a profession. It seemed like an overwhelming job that provided no relief.

  Tamika finally began, “I’m having problems in my marriage. I don’t know what happened and I’ve been trying to be patient, but things don’t seem to be getting better.”

  “What kind of problems?”

  “I don’t even know where to start,” Tamika blurted out. “It’s been going on for over a year. He’s been so different. I love him, but the spark isn’t there anymore.”

  “Sexually?”

  “Right.”

  “Are you no longer attracted to him?” Kalena asked.

  “Yes, I’m still attracted to him. He’s the one that doesn’t want me,” Tamika admitted in embarrassment.

  She couldn’t believe that she was saying those words out loud. She never thought in a million years that her husband would not want her. They were the couple who couldn’t keep their hands off each other. The only reason she hadn’t gotten pregnant was because of her IUD. Sex was the one area of their relationship that was always on fire and she loved it.

  “Wow, I don’t even know what to say about that. But you know, they say that sometimes men act like that when there is a problem at work.”

  “I don’t know. From what I know, things are going good with him at work. But you may be right. He never wants to talk about work and he even seems upset about his accomplishments. I partially understand why he’s acting like this. His current career isn’t his first choice. He always saw himself living his life on the field.”

  “Exactly. I know it sucks, but his new reality may be hitting him like a ton of bricks. He never truly mourned the life that he thought he would have.”

  “Ugh, I just feel like he’s hiding something from me. I don’t know this person Kalena. I’m afraid that my marriage is falling apart before it has truly begun. I thought that things would only get better when we got married, but I was wrong.”

  Kalena sighed deeply. She wasn’t quite sure what to say because marriage was beyond her knowledge. She’d heard more than enough rhetoric about marriage as she grew up in the church and she’d seen her own parent’s marriage. Sometimes she wondered if she wanted to get married at all. Men always seemed to act crazy once those papers were signed.

  However, she wasn’t going to allow her mildly jaded view cause her to give her friend bad advice. Ultimately, she wanted her friend to be happy and she knew that getting a divorce would destroy Tamika. Also, Reggie seemed like a pretty nice guy, overall, and she hoped that the two of them could work things out. Reggie needed to get it together and treat her friend better.

  “I don’t know what to say, Tamika. I’m really sorry that this is happening to you and I wish that you would have told me sooner. I can’t believe that you were going through this all alone. You know better. I’m here for you always even if it isn’t pretty. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

  “I know, it was just embarrassing and I was hoping that things would be better. I promise to share more in the future, now get off of my case.”

  Kalena smiled, “Okay, I’m backing off. I just want you to be happy and I want you to know that I’m here for you. You didn’t ask me for my advice, but I think that you should talk to him and see what’s going on.”

  “I tried.”

  “Try again and try harder. This is your marriage and your life, it’s worth another shot. Shit, it’s worth a dozen shots. You don’t have anything to lose by trying.”

  Tamika took another sip of her drink and let Kalena’s words sink in. She decided that Kalena was right. She had to try to talk to him again.

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I invited Crystal,” Kalena said.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yep. Today is the day that we tell her about her boyfriend.”

  “I’m really not in the mood for this but today is just as good as any other day. Didn’t think that we would be doing this today, but let’s get this shit over with.”

  “My thoughts exactly. I really wanted to push through this so that we all could move on. We didn’t need this shit hanging over our heads forever and the sooner she knows the better.”

  Tamika groaned slightly, “It was my idea to tell her and now I’m more nervous than you. This is sad.”

  Kalena laughed, “It’s not sad. You just have a lot going on right now.”

  Tamika wondered if she had time to tell Kalena about Jin or if she should tell her about Jin at all. Maybe her friend could snap her back into reality so that she wasn’t lusting after a man who wasn’t hers anymore. Maybe she would laugh at her for wanting an Asian man, and call her “truly desperate”. That was probably what she needed, a good old fashioned shaming. Before she could truly decide, Crystal made her way into the bar.

  “Hey, divas!”

  Tamika and Kalena got on their feet to greet their friend. Then they sat down.

  “Y'all didn’t order me one?” Crystal asked. “You ladies know that I’m down with the Porn Star Martini.”

  “Sorry girl, didn’t know what time you were coming and I didn’t want your drink to get warm,” Kalena said.

  “I guess I forgive you this time,” Crystal said, before she motioned for the waitress and ordered all of them another round of drinks. “I need this drink; work has been driving me insane. I swear sometimes I wonder why I do this at all.”

  “Probably because you love kids.”

  “Shhh, do
n’t tell anybody.”

  “Your secret is safe with us, even though the world knows at this point.”

  Crystal was a director of a non-profit organization that catered to kids in under-served neighborhoods. She worked long days and that’s why she did her best to play hard when she had the time. She didn’t have any children of her own, but she’d dedicated her life to their well-being. She was a really sweet person on the inside, with a wild streak. She had a caramel skin tone, beautiful dimples, and a smile that warmed the hearts of men, women and children. Her curvaceous body spent most of the time being hidden by suits, so when she was able to show it off, she went all out.