Slick

by Brenda Hampton

  Jonathan laughed. “So, we’re in agreement with this right?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Done deal. Now, let’s get the hell out of here so I can tap into some of that good pussy tonight.”

  “You know, you really shouldn’t talk like that. You have so much class about yourself and hearing you speak that way is sometimes so hilarious.”

  “You think? I came from the hood, baby. No matter how high up I get, the hood is still in me.”

  “I might be wrong for saying this, but there was nothing hoodie about growing up in Hazelwood in the 1970s. But I love yo’ wannabe hoodie, proper-talking ass.”

  “Not like I love yo’ greasy, fried chicken–eating, baby back ribs cooking ass.”

  I cocked my head back. “What’s wrong with my chicken and ribs? I thought you liked my cooking.”

  “Baby, I do but that shit will kill me. I can’t be eating like that all the time.”

  “That’s because I done spoiled you. You too busy eating everything else, you done forgot what good food taste like.”

  “Now see, you just started something. Ain’t no way I’m waiting until we get to your house tonight. You need to assume the position right now, baby. Please remove the clothes.”

  All he had to do was ask. We got down in his office, and we were known to always start in one place and end up in another. We put the finishing touches on the boardroom’s table again, and after I complained about my back pains, we went to my place and he gave me a backrub that made me feel better.

  I was happier than I had been in my entire life. Jonathan agreeing to marry me was all I needed to hear. There was no one or nothing that could stand in the way of our happiness, or, at least, that was what I’d thought.

  18

  JONATHAN

  Everything was going according to plan. My divorce from Dana was final, Britney was on the honor roll and was now in the eleventh grade. Sylvia had moved out of her place and moved in with us. As for my new secretary, Courtney, she was working out just fine.

  Sylvia and I agreed to get married six months after the divorce was final, only out of respect for Dana. She took the news extremely hard, and allowing her time to heal was the least I could do. Sylvia felt the same way, and since she knew how much I loved her, she didn’t have a worry in the world. Britney, though, drove her crazy with the boyfriend stuff. I told Sylvia as long as Britney brought home good grades, and she didn’t bring home any babies, I was cool.

  Trying to learn from my past mistakes, I took out quality time for my family. I scheduled no appointments on Fridays and left the office by noon. Before Britney got out of school, Sylvia and I had quiet time alone and we always planned a dinner or movie for later on that day.

  Sylvia, being excellent with children, spent most of her time doing volunteer work during the week. She finally broke down and told me she couldn’t have children, but that was all right with me. Britney was enough for us, and since I wasn’t getting any younger, I really didn’t trip.

  On Monday, Courtney called the office and told me she caught a flat tire and was running late. I offered to help, since it was raining outside, and she told me where to find her.

  When I arrived, she was in the car, as the rain heavily poured down. I got out of my car to help, and she held the umbrella over both of our heads as I squatted down to change her tire.

  When the umbrella blew up, the rain poured and drenched both of us. After I finished, my clothes were soaked and so were hers. I told her to go home and change, then come back to work, but she implied that she lived too far away. Knowing that my house was closer, and I had to go home and change anyway, I told her she could use my dryer to dry her clothes. She followed me home, and on the way there, I called Sylvia to let her know we were on our way. She didn’t answer so I hung up, and then called her cell phone and left a message.

  When we got to my house, I gave Courtney a towel to dry off and walked her downstairs to the dryer so she could use it. I went to the closet to find another suit to put on and stepped out of my wet one.

  As I put my suit on a hanger, so I could take it to the cleaner’s later, Courtney came upstairs with the towel wrapped around her. Not even hearing her, I stood naked, as I was about to shower and change into my clean clothes.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, turning her head and shielding her eyes. “I didn’t know you—”

  “It’s okay,” I said, reaching for the towel on the bed and wrapping it around my waist.

  “I couldn’t get the dryer to start. I . . . I don’t know, but maybe I’m doing something wrong.”

  I headed downstairs to see what was up with the dryer. Courtney followed me. It was one of those digital dryers, and after I figured out how to work it, Courtney and I went back upstairs. By the time we reached the kitchen, Sylvia came through the door. She looked at us wrapped in towels and tossed her keys on the table.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” she said.

  I hurried to clear things up. “Did you get the message I left you?”

  “What message?” she said, raising her voice. “I didn’t get no damn message. What in the hell is going on here?”

  Courtney looked over at me, and I quickly responded to Sylvia. “Courtney had a flat tire. I fixed it in the rain and we both got drenched. Since the house was close by, we came here so she could dry her clothes and I could change mine. I left you a message and told you exactly that.”

  “Well, I didn’t get no message from you saying all that. Besides, she could have gone home or to the Laundromat to dry her clothes. I’m not too thrilled about seeing another woman in my house with no clothes on.”

  Courtney, being the passive, young twenty-seven-year-old woman she was, didn’t say one word. She took a seat in the living room and waited on her clothes to dry. After taking a quick shower, I changed into another suit and grabbed my keys to go. Sylvia still had an attitude, but having a lot of work to do, Courtney and I headed back to the office.

  I was at my desk in deep thought when Courtney knocked on my door and apologized for what had happened.

  “What are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Well, maybe I shouldn’t have been walking around your house with a towel wrapped around me,” she said in a soft voice. “If it were me, I would have been a little perturbed too.”

  “Perturbed, even if your husband or boyfriend was kind enough to call and tell you what was going down?”

  “Hmmm, I don’t know. But I already know Miss Sylvia doesn’t play that. She doesn’t like me, does she?”

  “Yeah, she likes you. She just wants to make sure her replacement is good enough.”

  “I surely hope I am. The other day, I told my mother how much I enjoy working here. It’s so peaceful and you’re not difficult at all to work for. At the last law firm I worked for, those brothas were arrogant, bossy, and rude. They had no respect for anyone, especially their secretaries.”

  “That’s a shame. Sometimes we forget where we come from and lose focus. They’ll come down; trust me, they always do.”

  We stayed in my office for a while talking. When Sylvia barged in, I was surprised to see her. Courtney quickly got up from her seat and headed for the door to leave.

  “Wait a minute, Courtney. I wasn’t finished talking to you yet.” Frustrated, I looked at Sylvia. “What’s up, baby?”

  “Nothing, I just stopped by to see you.”

  “You could have called and told me you were coming. There’s no need for any pop-up visits.”

  “I don’t have to call and tell you when I’m on my way. I was close by so I stopped in.”

  I looked at Courtney. “Courtney, would you please excuse me for a minute? We’ll finish our conversation later.”

  Courtney spoke to Sylvia, but she didn’t say a word. When Courtney walked out, Sylvia slammed the door after her. “I don’t like that sneaky bitch. I don’t like how she looks at me, and I do not like the way she looks at you. She is tro
uble, Jonathan, I’m warning you.”

  “You are out of your mind. You don’t like her because she’s young, she’s attractive, and because she’s capable of doing your job. I don’t have time for this mess, Sylvia. She’s a good employee and you are not about to scare her away because of your jealousy and insecurities.”

  “Please. I am not jealous of that teeny bop–ass bitch. It’s just something about her that I don’t like.”

  “Well, when you figure it out, let me know. In the meantime, I got work to do. I’ll talk to you about this when I get home.”

  Sylvia stormed out of my office, and embarrassed by her ignorance, I called Courtney back into my office and apologized. She laughed it off and tried to convince me that that was just how some women are.

  I didn’t leave the office until nine o’clock that night. Courtney stayed and helped me get prepared for a $25 million lawsuit case I was working on. It was scheduled for next week, and I had put in overtime to prepare myself for it.

  After I walked Courtney to her car, I headed home to face an angry woman. Sylvia wasn’t one to forgive me so easily, so I was sure she was still mad at me. I was so right. As soon as I entered the bedroom, I saw her looking straight ahead at the TV, ignoring me. I showered, changed clothes, and went downstairs to tell Britney and her girlfriends to turn down the music. I then returned to our bedroom, climbed in bed, and pulled the covers over me. Sylvia snatched the covers off, and playfully hit me in the head with the newspaper.

  “You’d better not be fucking her,” she said, smiling. “If you even think about it, I am going to cut off your dick.”

  “Damn, I can’t even think about it?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Not even a little bit?”

  “I said no.”

  “But I’m a man, baby. Sex always crosses our minds.”

  “That’s what you have me for.”

  “I’m tired of thinking about you,” I said, pulling the cover back over me.

  She snatched it back off. “You better not be tired. One thing I can’t stand is a tired-ass, lazy man who’s too tired to come home and make love to his woman. If you’re too tired for that, then something’s got to give.”

  “I’m never, ever, ever too tired for my woman. She just better find a way to trust me a little better and soon.”

  “I know, baby, but I don’t know what is wrong with me. More so, I think I don’t trust the women who surround you.”

  “There’s no way for me to keep women from being around me. You’re going to have to find a way to let go of whatever it is that’s bothering you. That’s all.”

  Sylvia and I talked so much that we didn’t have time to even get down like we planned to. By morning, she was knocked out and I was almost too tired to go to work. Knowing what was ahead of me, I got dressed and headed to the office.

  Courtney stood at my door with my coffee mug in her hand. She was full of energy and was ready to get started. She had pepped me up for the day, and we worked so hard that when lunchtime came, I invited her to go to lunch with me at CJ’s.

  We stayed at CJ’s for about an hour or so and talked. Throughout lunch, I noticed her not being able to look at me, so I questioned her about it.

  “You know, as a lawyer, I read a lot into people when I’m speaking to them. Is there something about me that bothers you?”

  She smiled. “No,” she said softly. “I just enjoy working for you, that’s all.”

  “Are you sure? I think you’re awesome, and I couldn’t have found a better replacement for Sylvia.”

  “Are you aware that you compare me to her a lot? It doesn’t bother me, but I am my own woman, you know.”

  “No, I wasn’t aware of that, and nobody likes to be compared to anybody, good or bad. So I promise you, I’ll watch it.”

  She smiled again and played around with the food on her plate. When I asked the waiter to bring me the check, Courtney laid down her fork and reached into her purse. She pulled out an envelope and slid it over to me. “I . . . I picked that up for you while I was at the store yesterday.”

  “Thank you,” I said, opening the envelope and pulling out the card. It was a “thinking of you” card and the words that were written inside were so personal. She signed her first name, and after I finished reading the card I closed it.

  “Was this your way of telling me you’re feeling something for me?”

  She let out a chuckle. “I don’t know what I’m feeling, and I do not want my feelings to interfere with my job, but I wanted you to know how much I admire you.”

  I had been there and definitely done this before. Never in my wildest dream did I think I would be headed down the exact same path with another secretary. “Courtney, I’m flattered, but I have a woman whom I love dearly. We’ve been through a lot to get to this point, and if you think your personal feelings are going to interfere with your work here, let me know so I can make some other arrangements.”

  “I knew I shouldn’t have told you, but I don’t hide my feelings too well. I can tell how much you love Sylvia and I would never interfere with what you and she have.”

  “Thank you,” I said, getting up from the table. I paid for lunch, and Courtney and I went back to work.

  The following week was crazy, as I had expected it to be. I worked until nine, ten, and sometimes until eleven o’clock at night. Needing all the help I could get, some nights Courtney stayed with me and some nights she didn’t. I wasn’t trying to put her on overload, especially since she’d revealed her feelings for me, but it was strictly business for me and nothing else.

  Sylvia kept me excited about our relationship, and she seemed pleased with me too. She complained a little about the late hours and still seemed jealous about Courtney staying late nights with me. I wanted to tell her about Courtney’s feelings for me, but I didn’t want to bring about more drama. Sylvia would definitely want me to find another secretary, but as good as Courtney was to me, I didn’t want to let her go. Then maybe again, I should have.

  19

  SYLVIA

  I sometimes knew another woman’s motive even better than my own. Courtney wanted my man and she wanted him bad. Every time I confronted Jonathan about it, he insisted I was out of my mind. If not that, he’d change the subject and say, “She’s just a young woman who’s excited about moving forward with a rewarding career.” That was bullshit and he knew it. I let it be known that I knew what the trick was up to. Earlier in the week, when I went to the office, I pulled her aside and told her I was keeping my eyes on her. I didn’t care if she told Jonathan, but I made sure she heard me out.

  He didn’t know it, but I watched him leave the office with her several times. I had to make sure that nothing was going down. I remembered what we used to do on his late nights at the office and I feared he was doing the same thing with her.

  As for trusting him, that bullshit went out the window months ago. I didn’t trust no damn body—never had and never would. If the opportunity ever presented itself, and he and I were on bad terms, I knew Jonathan would fuck Courtney in a heartbeat.

  Worried about all the long hours he put in at work, on Thursday, I called his office to see if he wanted to have lunch. His voicemail came on, and instead of leaving a message, I went to the office.

  Courtney wasn’t at her desk and Jonathan’s door was locked. I had a key, so I let myself in. I closed the door and sat at his desk. Being nosy, I looked through his drawers and glanced at the phone numbers in his Rolodex. When I saw Crissy’s number, I reached for the phone to call her, since we hadn’t talked in a while. Underneath his phone were two envelopes. I picked them up, and when I pulled out the cards from inside, they were both from Courtney. In so many words, this bitch told him how much she thought about him. The words just ate at me:

  You brighten my day and bring joy to my life. You’re everything I imagined you would be.

  What kind of shit was this? I thought. If he wasn’t fucking her, he knew damn well that she w
anted to fuck him. And then to play me like I was the fool and tell me I was out of my mind—no way.

  I looked at his calendar and it showed he was at the courthouse. Room 325 to be exact. As furious as I was, I jotted down the room number and left to go confront him.

  Before getting there, I tried to calm down, but when I looked in and saw Courtney sitting in the courtroom, I lost it. He never took me to court with him and had the nerve to flaunt her around like she was the shit.

  When I barged in, he was standing and presenting his case. I interrupted him, as calmly as I could, and told him we needed to talk. Getting all bent out of shape, he raised his voice.

  “Have a seat until I’m finished,” he snapped. “I’m in the middle of something.”

  “Now, Jonathan,” I said, raising my voice back at him.

  He excused himself and stormed out into the lobby. I followed.

  “This better be damn good, Sylvia! What in the hell is it now?” he yelled. I was sure everyone in the courtroom heard us because he spoke loudly and so did I.

  I pulled the cards from my purse and shook them in my hand. “This is how you fucking play me! You’re around here fucking this bitch, sporting her all over the place, and allowing her to give you cards! Did you think I wasn’t going to find out?”

  He snatched the cards and shoved me backward. “That’s it! I can’t do this with you anymore! I cannot do this anymore,” he screamed. “You have lost your damn mind!”

  He stormed back into the courtroom, and still not feeling satisfied, I charged in after him. “I’ve lost my mind and you’re the motherfucker out here cheating on me? Really?”

  He quickly swung around, and before I knew it, Jonathan smacked me so hard that my head snapped to the side, without me turning it. Shortly after, the police rushed to handcuff him. He tussled with them as they carried him away.

  Mad as hell at him, I didn’t even give a damn that he was going to jail. The people in the courtroom appeared shocked, and after the police took a statement from me, I left.