“That’s not my problem. Handle your business because I’m for surely going to handle mines.”
“I thought we agreed to keep our personal lives aside from our business relationship.”
“We did and I am. Can’t you understand I’m not feeling well?”
“And can’t you understand that I need you?”
“For what, Jonathan? To fuck every time your wife gets you down? I’m not going to play the fool for you any longer. After what I witnessed yesterday, we’re done.”
“I have never considered you or wanted you to be a fuck thang for me. Yesterday was a big mistake. I had a fight with Lewis and Dana just caught me—”
“Stop there because I don’t even want to hear it. You seemed to be the aggressor in that bed yesterday, not her.”
Jonathan’s tone was calm. “So, maybe I was. That still doesn’t change what I’ve been feeling for you.”
Feeling myself giving in to him, I sat on the couch and started biting my nails. “When are you going to stop this? You have no feelings for me, remember? All you have feelings for is for what’s between my legs. I can’t do this with you anymore. It hurts too much.” My voice started to crack and I swallowed to clear the lump in my throat.
“Okay, then fine. If you say it’s over, it’s over. At least come to work so you can help me with all this stuff I have to do.”
“No!”
“Please!”
“I said no!”
“Then you’re fired!”
“You can’t fire me, because I quit!” I slammed down the phone.
In a rage, I sat my behind down at my desk and quickly typed up a resignation letter. After I finished, I put on some clothes and hurried to the office. I stormed off the elevator, and when I entered Jonathan’s office, he wasn’t there. I glanced at his calendar and it showed he was in a meeting in Boardroom A. I laughed to myself when I saw the jacked-up, ghettofied secretary the temp agency sent and headed to the boardroom.
Not even giving a care about Jonathan being in a meeting, I quickly opened the door, excused myself, and slammed my typed resignation down in front of him as he spoke.
“There you go, Mr. Boss Man! And don’t even think about asking me to come back because I won’t!”
Shocked, more so embarrassed, Jonathan stood up and unbuttoned his suit jacket. He excused himself from his meeting with Mr. Bradford, Crissy, three other executives, and a secretary who took notes. I rolled my eyes at all of them and headed for the door.
By the time I reached the elevators, Jonathan pushed the entryway doors open and stepped up to me with a frown on his face. He grabbed my arm and swung me around. “Why in the hell would you do that to me?”
I snatched away. “Because you can use me all you want to, but firing me was the worst damn thing you could have done to me, especially after all I’ve done for you.” The elevator opened and I got inside of it. Jonathan followed.
“I have never used you! Making love to you was always in the back of my mind. This doesn’t have anything to do with me trying to chase after some pussy, woman, don’t you get it!” The elevator opened and a lady stepped inside, looking at us. “We’re getting ready to go somewhere private and talk about this,” he whispered.
The elevator opened to the lobby, where we exited. “Please go make things right with your wife. With the baby, I’m sure she’s demanding a lot of attention. You’re so good at comforting her and I’m sure she needs you more than I do.”
“Sylvia,” Jonathan said, calmly. “I will handle my situation with Dana but you need to understand my position.”
“I thought I did,” I said, continuing to walk ahead of him. “But what could have possessed you to have sex with her after what she did to you?”
Jonathan took my hand and pulled me into the stairwell. He sat on the steps, and as usual, had my attention, as he looked out of sight in his brown silk suit. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed it. When he removed his hands, he looked at me with my back against the wall in front of him.
“I never ever wanted to hurt you, Sylvia. Yesterday, after meeting with Lewis, he made me feel so unworthy of my wife. I just felt like if I had sex with her I could somehow compete and show her what she’d been missing out on. Then, when he told me that he had sex with you, I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind.”
“What? He told you he had sex with me and you believed him?”
“Come on, Sylvia, he knew what color panties you had on the same day you pretended to be so sick. Then you lied about being on your period and you wasn’t.”
I folded my arms and pursed my lips. “So, you believed him?”
“Shit, I don’t know what to believe anymore. It’s not like you would tell me if you did have sex with him, especially since you know how I feel about his ass.”
My whole face was scrunched. He acted like I was some kind of whore or something. I didn’t appreciate what he’d said. “Damn you, Jonathan. What kind of woman do you think I am? Just because I’m having sex with my friend’s man, it doesn’t make me a crazed-ass woman who wants sex from everybody. The only thing I’m guilty of is loving you so damn much that I can hardly think straight.” I started to get choked up.
Jonathan stood up and embraced me. He planted a soft kiss on my forehead and apologized. “Forgive me. I’m just so fucked up right now, and believe me when I say you are the last person that I want to hurt.”
I wiped a tear and nodded. “I know. But the other day, Lewis tried to rape me. He and I tussled on the staircase and he lifted my skirt and touched me. I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid of what you might do. I didn’t want you getting into any trouble, and you already had a lot on your plate.”
Jonathan backed away from me with a puzzled look on his face. “Why . . . why didn’t you call the police? Damn, Sylvia, you should have called the police! I swear I’m sick of this motherfucker! He has been nothing but a pain in my gotdamn side!”
“Baby, just calm down.” I saw the fury in Jonathan’s eyes. “I promise you Lewis will be dealt with.”
“You damn right he will.” Jonathan opened the door. “Are you coming back to work?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Suit yourself,” he said, and then walked out.
Allowing Jonathan time to cool off, I walked down the street to get something to eat at Taco Bell. My mind was on overload. I wasn’t sure if I was still going to Chicago. If anything, I needed to somehow make as much peace as I could with Dana, and I needed to put closure to my relationship with Jonathan. Loving him so much was more than I could seriously handle.
12
JONATHAN
After what Sylvia told me, I decided to deal with Lewis my own way. I immediately dropped the charges and wanted him released as soon as possible. In my eyes, Lewis dragging everyone into court with his bullshit and spending measly time in jail was not the solution. I had other plans for him, and being a lawyer or not, this damn fool was going to pay.
Dana was on a rampage. She called and made all kinds of threats, and when I got home, her car was in the driveway so I kept on driving. I drove to the Renaissance and got a room, then called Britney to let her know where I was. More than anything, I felt so bad for slapping her, but I made it clear to her that I wasn’t going to stand for her verbal abuse. She explained how mad she was and told me she would never speak to me in that manner again. When she questioned me about Sylvia, I told her I’d call her later.
Badly needing some rest, before I went to sleep, I called an important and close friend of mine, Jaylin, who always had the solution for dealing with fools like Lewis. When one of his ladies answered the phone, it didn’t surprise me. She gave the phone to him.
“John-John,” he said with enthusiasm in his voice. “What’s up, man?”
“Plenty. I just hope you and your cousin, Stephon, wouldn’t mind taking care of a li’l something for me.”
“Would that be in reference to shaking down some sistas, or with so
mething else?”
“This is on a more serious level.”
“You mean something like that problem I had with that white bitch’s husband, Mr. McDaniels?”
“Yeah, something like that but more intense. Can you come by the office tomorrow so we can talk?”
“For you, yes. I’ll see you around nine o’clock in the morning.”
“Thanks, man. See you soon.”
The next day, I felt well rested. I woke up early, went home to change clothes, and headed to the office. I was shocked to see Sylvia at her desk. When I walked up to her, she put up her hand.
“Don’t say nothing to me. Just g’on,” she said.
“But how are we supposed to get some work done if we’re not communicating?”
“By the way you look at me, I can always tell what you want. So, if you want something, don’t talk, just look.”
I sat my briefcase on Sylvia’s desk and folded my arms. I looked at her and she walked over to the file cabinet, pulled out a file, and gave it to me. It was the file on the Johnson case. She must have somehow known that I needed it.
“Anything else?” She grinned.
I picked up my briefcase, stood in my doorway, and looked at her again. She rolled her eyes. “Hell, no. I am not going there with you again.”
“Yes, you will,” I said with a smile
“No, I won’t.”
“You wanna bet?”
“You’re darn right I do,” she said, getting out of her chair. She followed me into my office. “How much money you got?”
“Plenty. But I’m not going to take your money like that.”
“Naw, you won’t be taking my money,” she said, walking over to the coffee machine. She poured my coffee, and as soon as she handed the mug to me, Audrey and Jackie came in with boxes of Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
“Would you guys like some doughnuts?” Audrey asked, then walked past Sylvia and headed toward me. She opened the box, and after I removed one doughnut, she placed the box on my desk. Jackie and Sylvia grabbed a doughnut, and as we all stood around in my office loudly talking and laughing, there was a knock on my door. The ladies turned around, and when they saw Jaylin, they stood with their mouths hanging wide open and eyes bugged.
“Now, why didn’t nobody invite me to the party? That’s what I wanna know,” Jaylin said, stepping into my office with an off-white linen suit on. The suit was off the chain, and he had a few buttons undone so the women could see his buff chest. Doing it Jaylin’s style, the diamonds on his Rolex watch were sparkling and his healthy, curly hair was trimmed to perfection, as was his goatee. I stood up and introduced him to Sylvia, Audrey, and Jackie.
“Lord, have mercy on me,” Jackie said with lust locked in her eyes. She reached out to shake his hand. “Honey, you are gorgeous. What color are your eyes?” she asked, and then squinted to look at them.
Jaylin smiled and checked her out from head to toe. “They’re gray. And thank you for the compliment.” He winked. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” He looked at Audrey and Sylvia. “Nice to meet you, ladies,” he said, as they headed out.
Audrey held her head down and Sylvia stopped to reach for the knob on my door to close it.
“Before I go, do you need anything else?” she asked me.
“It depends on how far you’re going.”
“I’ll be right at my desk.”
“Then no.”
She looked at Jaylin who had already taken a seat. “Can I get you some coffee or something else?”
He turned around. “As fine as you are, you should never ask a man like me that question. But, if you want to, you can pass those digits to me before I get out of here.”
Sylvia smiled then looked over Jaylin’s shoulder at me. “I just might have to do that,” she said then closed the door.
“Umph. What a chocolate delight right there. John-John, why in the hell didn’t you tell me you had all these lovely-ass women walking around up in here? All I work with are a bunch of old white folks, and with a secretary who occasionally sucks my dick. Was that your secretary?”
“Yeah, man,” I said, taking a seat. “She’s the best darn secretary any man can have.”
“Really, now,” Jaylin said suspiciously then took a seat. He crossed his leg over the other. “You, my brotha, have added that pussy to your collection, haven’t you?”
“Man, hell naw. I have a wife who I’m mad as hell with, and my secretary has been there to offer her support.”
“Support, huh?” He leaned forward and whispered,
“That’s what we’re calling it these days? By the looks of things, she’s supporting your ass very well. You can’t fool me, John-John, I’ve been in the game for too long. I sense shit like that.”
I held out my hands, feeling defeated. “All right, damn. We got a li’l somethin’ somethin’ going on, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about.”
Jaylin sat back and stroked his goatee. “Shit, and there I was thinking you were a better man than me. When you pull off that Rolex, that fancy-ass expensive gray suit, and those eight hundred dollar lizard skin shoes, you still the same damn man as I am.”
“Sounds like you hating a li’l bit,” I said with a smirk. “Why you checking a brotha out like that?”
“Don’t front. I know you already peeped my shit when I came through the door. And don’t try to hang because you can’t. Altogether, I’m busting about six grand on me right now. And that doesn’t even include the jewelry.”
“Bullshit,” I said, standing up. “Negro, these shoes cost me twelve hundred dollars, the suit was two grand, shirt was five hundred, and check out these diamond platinum cufflinks,” I said laughing, and pulling them off so he could see them. “These cost me seventeen hundred dollars, pimp.”
Jaylin observed my cuff links. “Daaaamn, where did you get these from?”
I snatched them and sat back down in my chair. “None of your business.”
We laughed, and then got down to business. I spent the next few hours giving Jaylin the scoop on Lewis. He was surprised to find out Dana cheated on me and was more surprised when he realized how much love I still had for her. He told me he and Stephon knew all kinds of fellas who could take care of things for me, and he assured me that I had nothing to worry about, especially since I had saved his ass many times before. When he asked me if I wanted Lewis dead or alive, I wasn’t really sure how to answer. All I knew was that I wanted him out of our lives for good. If that meant doing away with his ass, I really didn’t care.
Since Jaylin was a man of his word, I trusted whatever he decided to do. He told me he wouldn’t tell me who, what, when, or where things would go down, but promised that Lewis would be history. Being in my position, the less I knew the better.
Before he got ready to leave, we shook hands and Jaylin stayed in my office to use my phone. I opened the door and Sylvia was on the floor by her desk while organizing my files.
She smiled at me and I smiled back. “Dana called. I threatened to call the police on her, but you’d better talk to her soon and watch your back.”
“I will.”
I shook Jaylin’s hand, again, and agreed to walk him out. Before he left, he stood by Sylvia’s desk and flirted with her.
“Pssss, Sylvia,” he whispered. “What’s up with that number?”
“You know, if things weren’t so complicated right now, maybe I would. And who knows what the future holds. Maybe I’ll see you again.”
Jaylin laughed then looked over at me. “Is he treating you okay?”
Sylvia looked at me and smiled. “Remarkably well.”
“That’s good, but if you ever think you may want a pay increase, I’m always in the market for a secretary.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I lightly pushed Jaylin in the back and nudged him toward the exit door. “Hands off, man. Don’t you already have plenty of women?”
He laughed and walked toward the elevator with me. �
�Plenty, but there is always room for plenty more. Just tell me something, though,” he said.
“Yes, Sylvia is off the chain. Both in and out of the bedroom.”
“Damn, I knew it.” Jaylin covered his eyes with his shades. “And here my underwear cost more than your whole damn outfit and I can’t even get a number.”
“You silly, man. And I can’t believe you out searching for more women and you got, uh, what’s her name?”
“Scorpio Motherfucking Bad-ass Valentino. Nokea was tripping so I had to let that go. For now anyway.”
“Naw, she probably had to let you go for being a naughty man. Either way, I’m sure the two of you will work things out, as y’all always do.”
Jaylin shrugged and we continued to talk as we waited for the elevator to open. No sooner had it done then Dana rushed off and swung wildly at me like she had lost her mind. I ducked and tried to get control of her, but she was seriously out of control. She yelled for Sylvia, and when the receptionist questioned what was going on, I asked her to call for security.
Jaylin and I, both, had to restrain Dana. When she elbowed him in the jaw and brushed up against his suit, he got mad.
“Hold up, baby. Watch my damn suit now,” he said with a twisted face. He looked at me and shook his head. “Man, you need to get some control over this shit. Your wife is crazy!”
“Who are you calling me crazy?” Dana hissed as I held her arms behind her. She struggled to get away from my grip. “You don’t know me.”
“I’m glad I don’t,” Jaylin fired back. “Regardless, you need to calm this shit down.”
Security rushed up the steps, and I turned Dana over to them. I told them to make sure she didn’t get back in. They escorted her out, and told her if she came back that she would be arrested.
Making sure everything was cool, Jaylin and I walked to the parking garage together.
“John-John, that was some wild shit. I don’t know how you can stand there and let a woman swing on you like that. If it had been me, her ass may have hit the floor.”
“Man, those punches don’t hurt. Besides, I was taught to never put my hands on a lady, no matter what.”
Slick Page 13