Shame on It All

by Zane

Jolene was so embarrassed that she resigned the following Monday. Bryce and Lucky had shared about two hours of laughter at Jolene’s expense after they’d spotted her waiting tables at the Hooters in Rockville and insisted on being seated in her section. They ran Jolene ragged, and even after she had catered to their every whim to prevent being fired, Bryce still asked to see the manager and insisted that Jolene be reprimanded for providing “shitty-ass service and expressing blatant racism.”

  Word got back to the office, so everyone was fully aware that Bryce was ready, willing, and able to summon Ms. Thang if need be.

  The only coworker Bryce truly liked was Yvon, who was originally from Hawaii. They got along well and even did lunch a couple of times during the week when they could make a fast getaway. Yvon waved at Bryce from her cubicle across the pen and pointed to her own hair before giving Bryce a thumbs-up on the new hairdo. Bryce winked at her and started dialing Colette’s number.

  Colette yanked the phone up on the first ring. “Who this be?”

  “What are you, still sleep?” Bryce whispered into the phone. “It’s after two.”

  “Well, Bryce, it’s not like I have any place special to be,” Colette said nastily. “I’m ass out of a job, remember?”

  “Oops, my bad,” Bryce said, having completely forgotten to call Colette earlier about Harmony. “Harmony wants you to give her a call. She said she’d hook you up.”

  “Are you serious?” Colette said excitedly, not believing her ears.

  “Yes, but I won’t lie. It wasn’t easy to convince her. I had to sit through a tongue-lashing.”

  “Dang!”

  “Listen,” Bryce continued, glancing at the clock/calendar on her desk, “Harmony might be out and about by now, so try her cell phone first. You still have the number?”

  “Yeah, I have it in my address book.”

  “Cool.” Bryce hesitated briefly while trying to gauge if one of her coworkers within earshot was trying to be nosy. “Sis, now that I’ve done you a favor, I need one.”

  “Sure, you know I’m down with you. What’s up?”

  “Remember what you said last night about the juice?”

  “The juice?” Colette was totally confused.

  “Yeah, the juice,” Bryce repeated, raising her voice slightly.

  “Oh, damn, the juice!” Colette screamed into the phone, recalling her pussy-juice comment. “You’re not trying to tell me that Negro actually had some in his drawers?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  “Shit, Bryce! That’s fucked up!”

  “Isn’t it?” Bryce said with disdain. “You know it got ugly, right?”

  “Gurl, hell yes, I know. Just let me ask one thing. Is George still breathing oxygen or do you have his ass pushing up daisies somewhere?”

  “He’s still breathing, but he better not be breathing at my crib.”

  “You kicked him out?”

  “I told him not to be there when I got home this evening or it’s on for real.”

  “Damn, Bryce! I wish I could’ve been there. I would’ve laid it on him.”

  “Trust me, I laid it on him enough for both of us.”

  “So what you need, gurl?”

  “I want you to meet me at my house at six. Just in case he’s still there, I might need you around.”

  “To protect you? I can bring my bat.”

  “No, to protect him. I’m afraid that if he’s still lounging up in there, I’ll end up having to shank a few dykes in the women’s penitentiary that want to make me their all-day sucker.”

  An older woman sitting directly beside Bryce cleared her throat loudly.

  “Hold on for a second, Colette.” Bryce took the headset off and stood up, looking over the partition. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Excuse me?” the woman stated angrily.

  Bryce smacked her lips at her. “Sure, I’ll excuse you. This time.”

  Bryce sat back down and put the headset back on. “Sorry about that, Colette. I had to handle something right quick.”

  “No problem, gurl. Maybe we should just talk later.”

  “Yeah, cool. You go ahead and call Harmony and I’ll see you at six, right?”

  “Guaran-damn-teed!”

  “Ooh, I know what I forgot to tell you!” Bryce exclaimed, after a slight breeze from the vent above her head swept across the bare nape of her neck. “I made a drastic change today. Wait till you see me.”

  “What’d you do? Did you get your tongue pierced, Bryce? You so nasty!”

  “No, Colette, but that’s my next move,” Bryce chided. She had often joked about getting her tongue pierced, but had never exerted an ounce of effort to locate a place to get it done.

  “So what then?”

  Bryce was anxious to spill the beans, but decided to hold off so she could let Colette be totally shocked.

  “Never mind. You’ll see in a few.”

  “Dang, you know I hate it when you do this.”

  Bryce giggled. “Don’t have a hissy fit.” Bryce spotted Winston headed in her direction. “I have to run. See you at six.”

  She yanked the headset off and stood up, preferring to deal with Winston’s sarcastic ass face-to-face.

  “Ms. Whitfield,” he stated vehemently, “do you realize what time of day it is?”

  “Yes, I do,” Bryce replied in an equally nasty tone.

  “Did you not see the message I left for you?”

  “Yes, I saw it, and I was about to head into your office as soon as I returned a pressing business call.”

  The woman seated in the next cubicle cleared her throat again. Bryce dared the heifer to reveal that her call had been personal. She would feel her wrath.

  “According to your voice mail, Ms. Whitfield, you had to get your car window fixed today.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Then how come you have a fresh hairstyle?” Winston asked accusingly. “Did you take the liberty of neglecting your work to go to the salon?”

  “Actually, I went to get my hair done last night,” Bryce lied. She’d actually had AAA tow her car into a garage and caught a cab over there from the salon to pick it up. “Is there some unwritten rule that I can’t get my hair done on my own time?”

  Winston smirked at her and Bryce smirked right back at him.

  She dug into her purse, retrieved the receipt from the garage, and flashed it in front of his face. “Wha-la! As you can see, I just signed for my car less than thirty minutes ago.”

  He leered at her and turned his back on her, walking away. “My office, five minutes.”

  Bryce had to resist the urge to run up behind him and shove her size-eight pump up his ass. She spent the next five minutes on the Internet, looking up assassins for hire.

  9

  Easier Said Than Done

  Harmony didn’t really feel like doing a power dinner, but she had been after a particular government contract for more than a year and there was no way she was going to miss the opportunity to finally give her sales pitch.

  She met Clayton Maxim at Georgia Brown’s and he was incredibly handsome in his Lorenzo Latini suit. Harmony found herself attracted to his looks, but his attitude left a lot to be desired. Besides, her heart had always and would always belong to Zachary.

  “So, Ms. Whitfield, I’m glad we finally have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the possibility of doing business together.”

  “Yes, I have looked forward to this for quite some time.”

  Harmony was about to get her flirt on over filet mignon and red-skinned potatoes, even though she had no romantic interests. She did have an interest in the contract that he held the key to. She never got the chance because Zachary strutted over to the table and sat down uninvited.

  “No wonder I haven’t heard from you, Harmony,” Zachary spat at her vehemently. “You’ve been busy with your new man.”

  Harmony was stunned, but not surprised. Zachary had a way of jumping to conclu
sions.

  “Is there a problem?” Clayton asked nastily. “Do I need to get security?”

  Harmony waved Clayton off. “No, that won’t be necessary. Zachary and I have a past.”

  “And a future,” Zachary interjected. “Harmony belongs to me. Now and always.”

  Harmony tried to laugh off the embarrassing moment. “Zachary, you’re blowing things out of proportion. Mr. Maxim is a potential client and we’re having a business dinner.”

  Zachary eyed Clayton suspiciously before his eyes fell on the proposal on the table. “I’m sorry. I just saw you two looking cozy and made assumptions.”

  “That’s quite understandable,” Clayton said coolly. “If I had a woman in my life as lovely as Ms. Whitfield, I would be overly protective of her also.”

  “Harmony is lovely, isn’t she?” Zachary eyed Harmony seductively and she almost melted into her chair.

  “Yes, she is,” Clayton agreed. “Lovely and then some. Not to mention a wonderful businesswoman.”

  “You two keep this up and I won’t be able to squeeze my head through the door,” Harmony said jokingly. “A woman can only take so much.”

  Both of the men laughed and Harmony let out a sigh of relief. They’d managed to avoid major drama.

  “Zachary, what are you doing here anyway?” Harmony inquired, hoping he wasn’t there to meet a female. She didn’t think she could be tactful about it if he was.

  “I’m meeting Rodney and Pete for drinks.”

  “Oh, that’s good.” Harmony smiled.

  Zachary could tell that she’d been probing, and he took it as a positive sign. He still didn’t know why they’d broken up in the first place.

  “Um—Clayton, is it? Do you mind if I steal Harmony away for a moment? It won’t take long.”

  Clayton, disappointed slightly because he had hoped to get to know Harmony personally as well as professionally, conceded to the obvious choice. “Not a problem. I need to return a couple of important calls on my cell phone anyway.”

  Zachary took Harmony’s hand, stood up, and led her away from the table toward the hallway where the rest rooms were. He paused in front of a bank of pay phones and pressed her back against the wall, immediately sliding his tongue into her mouth.

  Harmony tried to resist him, but couldn’t. She accepted his gift and let herself feel alive again from his touch. An older lady came out of the rest room and leered at them. Harmony pulled away from Zachary while the woman continued down the hall and out of view.

  Zachary tried to resume the kiss, but Harmony pushed him away.

  “Harmony, what’s wrong?”

  “Zachary, you and I broke up. Remember?”

  “I remember you breaking up with me, and I still don’t have a clue as to why.”

  “It’s complicated,” Harmony replied, her eyes dropping to the tile floor.

  “Complicated?” Zachary grabbed her by the elbow. “Harmony, you and I have been together for years, and while we’ve had our share of problems, there was always some sort of reasoning behind them. Mostly misunderstanding and immaturity, but there was a reasoning. But we were doing great, making plans, and then all of a sudden you just ended it. I deserve some sort of explanation.”

  Harmony raised her eyes to his. “You’re right, Zachary. You do deserve an explanation, but I can’t do this right now. Not with a client waiting and not here.”

  “So when? Where?”

  “I’ll call you or come by, okay?”

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

  With that, Harmony freed herself from Zachary’s grasp and slinked away into the bathroom so she could get out a good cry before returning to her table.

  When she came back out to join Clayton, Zachary was nowhere in sight.

  “Looking for your friend?” Clayton asked.

  “Um—not really,” Harmony responded sullenly.

  “Oh, because if you were, he left with a couple of male buddies a moment ago. He asked me to give you something though.”

  Clayton handed Harmony a folded napkin, which she opened. It simply said, “I’ll love you forever. Call me.”

  10

  Making Hate Again

  When Bryce arrived home to her town house that Friday evening after work, Colette was chilling out front as promised. Fortunately, George was gone and so was all of his stuff. Bryce had already called a locksmith to come change the locks the following morning. It was a relief to end the whole ugly situation without having to actually go through with the Lorena Bobbitt threat. She would have though. If George had been foolish enough to stay there, she was foolish enough to cut his damn dick off.

  “Bryce, I must admit it. Harmony’s not all bad. She was mad kewl with me when I hit her up on her cell phone today.”

  Bryce smiled, still elated about the new haircut Monique had hooked her up with. “I knew she would be. Did she find you a position yet?”

  “Yes. I start Monday morning at this phat law firm downtown.”

  “Law firm?” Bryce was shook. “Doing what?”

  “Receptionist.”

  “That’s great. We’ll have to go shopping this weekend so you’ll be well dressed on Monday. Peeps be styling hard at law firms.”

  “Speaking of styling, your hair is fly as shit, gurl!”

  “Thanks.” Bryce rubbed the back of her slick head.

  “So, you still want to go to Republic Gardens tonight or just check out a movie instead?”

  “What’s playing?”

  “I wouldn’t mind checking out Double Take. Eddie Griffin is in that one.”

  “Yeah, he’s a funny mofo.” Bryce giggled. “Whatever, gurl. The first thing I want to do is grab something to eat ’cause I’m starvin’ like Marvin and I don’t mean Lucky’s med school dean she fucked the hell out of.”

  They both fell out laughing. Bryce had held true to form and told all her sister’s business the first second the opportunity arose.

  The phone rang. Colette reached for it. “Got it.”

  “Hello!” There was a momentary pause. “No, this isn’t Bryce. Who the hell is this?”

  Bryce grabbed the phone out of Colette’s hand and pressed it up against her chest. “Don’t answer my phone like this is Joe’s Chicken Joint!”

  Colette replied, “It’s a man.”

  She sauntered off to the kitchen to get a Coke. When she returned, Bryce was sitting on the couch with her compact mirror out putting on lipstick.

  “Since you’re getting all hoochied up, I guess we’re going clubbing, huh?”

  Bryce glanced up at her. Colette noticed that Bryce had put on mascara while she was in the kitchen getting the soda. Gurlfriend works fast!

  “Actually, Colette, you think we could hang out tomorrow? I kind of have other plans.”

  “Aww, some dick calls you up and you’re just gonna dis me like that? I see how it is now!”

  Bryce smiled. “Well, you know the deal. The best way for me to get over George is to replace him.”

  “True that. So give up the goods. Who are you fucking tonight?”

  “None of ya!”

  “Aw, hell, we’re keeping secrets and shit, too? My bad for even asking.”

  Bryce got up and put her hand on Colette’s back, directing her toward the door. “Don’t be mad at me, Colette. We’ll definitely go shopping tomorrow. Wanna go out to Potomac Mills? My treat!”

  Colette instantly forgave Bryce when she heard the words my treat. “Aiight, gurl. I might head on down to the club anyway. Some fine nuccas hang out up in Republic Gardens on Friday nights.”

  “Yeah, why don’t you do that?” Bryce was still pressuring her out the door. “Go have a great time.”

  “Aiight, gurl! Much love!”

  Bryce waited until Colette had pulled out of her driveway in her 1989 Chevy Impala, then ran back into the living room, grabbed the cordless phone, and pressed *69, hoping like all hell he didn’t have his return call blocked.

  An hour late
r, there was a knock at Bryce’s front door.

  She opened it and let Troy’s trick ass in. He turned around to shut the door behind him, noticing the dent in the door from the butcher knife the night before.

  “Damn, gurl, what did you do to your door? Was someone trying to get in or did you trap some homie in here and he did that shit trying to get out?”

  “I fucking hate you,” she hissed.

  “The feeling’s mutual!”

  He threw her up against the wall, forced her legs open, lifted her up in the air so her legs were straddled behind his back, and started tonguing her ass down.

  They didn’t come up for air for five minutes.

  “I was really surprised when you called me tonight,” Bryce said.

  “Was it a pleasant surprise?” Troy bit on her earlobe. “You look damn delicious. Did you pretty yourself up just for me?”

  “Hell, no,” she lied. “I had this old thing on all day.”

  “Hmmm, so you wore a skintight, black booty dress to work today, huh?”

  She laughed and gave him some more tongue.

  “I need to get a job there if honies walk around looking as fine as you. I love your haircut. Much better than that fake shit you were sporting at Lamar’s.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fuck you, trick ass!”

  “I fully intend for you to fuck me.” He bit her neck and she flinched until he had a nice round hickey in place. “I’m like a lion. I like to mark my territory.”

  “And I like to mark mine.” Bryce returned the favor. Troy moaned as she gave him a hickey tit for tat.

  “You’re a rough gurl. I like that in a honie.” He started lowering her dress straps. “I still hate your ass, though.”

  He started sucking on Bryce’s left breast, biting gently on the nipple. “If you hate my ass so much, take me upstairs to my bedroom and make hate to me!”

  “Thought you’d never ask.” Troy dashed up the steps with Bryce bouncing on his hard dick through his pants. He spotted the grapefruit-size hole in her bedroom door. “Damn, what have you been doing up in here, gal?”

  “Just shut up and fuck me!”

  Troy literally threw Bryce on the bed and then started taking off his clothes faster than Superman changes his clothes in a phone booth.