by Tina Martin
“I don’t think it’s a bad idea if you really want the house,” Tennyson said. “Play your cards right and you’ll get a two for one special—the house and the woman to go along with it.”
Mordecai was thinking about it for a moment but they didn’t know Jemisha like he knew Jemisha. Then again, if she’d be as open as her mouth was for the kiss they’d shared, maybe she would go for it. She liked him. He knew that much. He could tell from the kiss. The way their eyes had connected afterward. But Jemisha had a way about her – a hesitancy to accept help and a reluctance to deny herself what she wanted.
“All this conversation is irrelevant,” Mordecai said. “She’ll never go for it.”
“You never know,” Harding said.
“It would depend on how bad she needs the money,” Dimitrius added.
And she needed the money bad, Mordecai thought. Could he actually convince her to do this?
* * *
Savannah whipped up some strawberry daiquiris, sprayed whipped cream on top and said, “And yes, I’m drinking tonight. I pumped enough breast milk to last until Judgment Day. I’m good.”
“You may as well go ahead and make me another one,” Jemisha said. “I’m about to kill this one in like two seconds.”
The women laughed.
“Jemisha ain’t playing,” Melanie said amused. “What’s wrong, Jemisha?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she drawled out in response.
“You may as well stop the lies,” Savannah said.
Jemisha sighed heavily. “Okay, I confess—I came here this weekend to relax and think some things through, then he had to show up and wreck my plans.”
“Who?” Melanie asked. “Mordecai?”
“Yes! He wasn’t supposed to be here daggonit! This was supposed to be my weekend.”
“It’s gon’ be alright, Jemisha,” Zoya said. “Mordecai ain’t that bad and he likes you. I saw him whispering all up in your ear at dinner.”
“He wasn’t in my ear.”
“Yes, he was,” Savannah, Melanie and Zoya all replied. They laughed.
“Okay,” Jemisha said, unable to wipe the smile from her face. “Full disclosure, Melanie, because at this point, I ain’t got nothing to lose. During dinner when you were asking Mordecai about the house and you told him he should hire me as an agent, I cringed because I am his agent.”
“You are?”
“Yes, and I screwed up. I found him the house of all houses—you know how excited first-time homebuyers are, and who messed it up? Me!”
“You’re being way too hard on yourself, Misha,” Zoya said.
“No, I’m not. Mordecai can’t get the house because of some government mandate. Had I done my due diligence, I would’ve known that. But noo…I was so in a hurry to make a sale. The commission on the house sale would’ve been enough to carry me for the next three months, but even so—” She paused to take a sip of her second drink. “Even so, I don’t see how I can keep it up. I should’ve listened to my mother.”
“No ma’am, you shouldn’t have,” Savannah told her. “Look, Imma say it because I know your mother. She’s selfish, Misha. She wants you all to yourself. In a way, she reminds me of my mother. Remember how my mom was tripping when she wanted me to marry that lawyer guy. She would’ve been perfectly content had I done what she wanted, but in the end, I wouldn’t have been happy. Your mother doesn’t support your business because you moved away from home. She’ll never have any positive, encouraging words to say as long as you’re still trying to make that business a success. The moment you throw in the towel, she’ll be right there to welcome you back with open arms. Is that what you want?”
“No, but I think it would be best if I get out before I drown in debt. After losing this commission on the house Mordecai wanted, I don’t see how I can make it, and no, I’m not taking no loans from anyone so don’t offer.”
Savannah shook her head. That was going to be her next recommendation, but she knew how headstrong Jemisha was. She liked to figure things out on her own.
“Here’s an idea,” Zoya said. “Why don’t you tell Mordecai that me and Tennyson will buy the house so the sale can be legit, but really it’ll still be his house.”
“That won’t work,” Jemisha said, shaking her head.
“Why not? We’re married.”
“Yes, but I know Mordecai. He’ll want his name on the deed. He’s a successful businessman who started his personal training business from the ground up and opened two gyms—he deserves to have his name on the deed. He worked so hard for it.”
Zoya smiled. “You know my brother so well.”
“A little too well,” Melanie said, raising her brows.
Jemisha smiled inwardly. “He’s my client, y’all. I have to know what he likes, dislikes. Shoot, I know what kind of food he likes. I’ve learned the way he chews. The way he smells. His walk. His voice. The way he analyzes things. The way his lips feel—”
“Skurrrrd,” Savannah said. “Back it up. What’s that you say about his lips?”
“I was about to ask the same thing,” Zoya said, scooting to the edge of her seat. “Don’t tell me there’s been some lip-locking going on behind our backs.”
Melanie grinned. “Listen at her. Behind our backs.”
The women chuckled while Jemisha sucked down more daiquiri. Then she said, “At the dinner table, he asked to speak to me alone. We were outside on the porch and we kissed. Well, he kissed me. And he grabbed me,” she said closing her eyes reliving the experience. “Oh, gosh it felt so good when he grabbed me. Made me realize how much I miss the company of a man. At the same time, I’m afraid of it—terrified of falling in love again because he—whoever he is—might cheat on me. I’m scared to death that my company is going down the tubes so my first instinct is to run from it. I’m always afraid and stuck and I’m—I’m sick of it. I’m just tired of it.” Jemisha closed her eyes, willing herself not to become emotional. “I’m sick of it and I don’t know how to break away from it.”
Savannah stood up and walked over to her friend. She sat next to her and placed a hand on her thigh, comforting her. “There has to be something we can do, Misha.”
Zoya said, “There has to be. It sucks that you feel that way, but I know you’re right about Mordecai wanting the house to be in his name. He’s worked hard for everything he has. He deserves it.”
Savannah nodded. “What if we doctor up a fake marriage license for him—tell the agent he got married and he’ll be free and clear to get the house?”
“Really, Savannah?” Jemisha chuckled. “It would be the lawyer who’s plotting to break the law, wouldn’t it?”
“It’s not breaking the law. It’s circumventing it.”
“You gon’ circumvent your way right into prison.” Jemisha laughed. She looked at Zoya and Melanie and asked, “Do y’all hear this girl?”
“Yep,” Melanie said, “But might I suggest if you can’t get away with doing a fake marriage, do a real one.”
“Okay, all y’all crazy. Savannah, what did you put in these drinks?”
“Look—bottom line is, if you don’t get this commission check, you’re moving back home,” Savannah said. “So do what you gotta do to get that check. That’s all I’m saying.”
“And who am I supposed to get Mordecai to marry?”
“You. Duh!” Zoya said.
“Me?”
“Yes. Just do it for the commission, and if you like him, which I have a very strong suspicion that you do, keep him. We’ll be sisters.”
Melanie laughed. “This sounds like something Desmond and Sherita did. They got married for a business deal. Desmond hated the idea at first even though he liked Sherita. They lived under the same roof, and then one day it just clicked. They fell in love. The rest is history. If it worked for them, it could work for you, too.”
“I doubt it.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know Mordecai well enough. Besides, the last man wh
o said he loved me and filled my head with promises of marriage left me and married somebody else.”
“Oh, no,” Melanie said. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“But it’s life, right? What can you do except learn a lesson from it and the lesson I’ve learned is to avoid men like Mordecai Champion.”
“Hey, Mordecai ain’t perfect, but he’s a good man,” Zoya said coming to Mordecai’s defense. “And you shouldn’t allow your past hold you back from living, either,” Zoya said.
“That’s what I told her,” Savannah chimed in.
“And who said anything about love,” Zoya said. “At this point, getting the house for him and getting the commission for yourself is the name of the game. I say go for it.”
Jemisha nodded and sipped more of her drink. She wasn’t sure what she would do, but the women had certainly given her a lot to think about. And Mordecai’s kiss gave her a lot to reminisce about. How would she get to sleep tonight while thinking about his lips meshed with hers? She picked up a magazine from the coffee table and fanned herself.
“Okay, that’s enough daiquiris for you,” Savannah joked.
Little did she know it wasn’t the alcohol that had her hot.
Chapter 20
When Jemisha walked toward her office suite, she didn’t expect to see Mordecai there standing in the hallway next to her door, waiting on her. Staring her up and down. Rocking that signature smirk that looked as deadly as it did handsome. But there he was, all six-plus feet of him, leaned up against the wall wearing a pair of sweats and a black tank. He uncrossed his arms and rolled his wrist to look at his watch.
“I was wondering when you were going to get here.”
“Were you now?” she asked, her heels clicking towards him.
“Yes. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”
“Actually, we don’t. I don’t expect to hear an answer back from the agent that’ll be in our favor.”
“Neither do I,” Mordecai said following her into the office after she’d unlocked and pushed the door open. He took a seat and leaned back like he didn’t have a care in the world.
She stepped behind her desk, situated her laptop and the files she needed for the day then glanced up at him. She stopped unpacking and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I want that house, Jemisha.”
“And I want you to have that house, Mordecai, but I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“I do. I’ve been talking with the fellas. They suggested we work the system—do whatever it takes to get the house.”
“That’s interesting because I was talking with the ladies and they suggested the same thing.”
“What exactly did they suggest?”
Jemisha sat down, took a deep breath and inhaled all the male scent that had overtaken her office space. “They suggested you get married. Well, not legit married like the fall-in-love type of marriage but just married on paper so I can furnish a marriage license at closing. What are your thoughts?”
Mordecai rubbed his chin. “Honestly, I really don’t care as long as I get that house.”
“Okay, so how are we going to do this?”
“You tell me. You’re my agent.”
“No. I dumped you as a client.”
“Nah, you didn’t dump me. If you did, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
“But you’d be better served working with someone else.”
“I’d be better served if you believed more in yourself, Jemisha. What’s happened in your life that’s made you quit so easily?”
“I’m not a quitter. I just know when to stop.”
“I’ve been working as a trainer for more than ten years. I know what it takes to completely transform a person’s body. When I’m working with clients who are obese, I can feel their pain because I’ve been through a transformation of my own.”
“Have you?”
“Yes. I wasn’t obese, but I was weak and lacked willpower. I know how easy it is for someone to give up along their weight loss journey but my clients never do. You know why?”
“Because they want to get in shape?”
“True, but the utmost reason they don’t quit because I make it clear to them that it’ll ten times harder to start all over again. That’s an easy way to set yourself up for failure—giving up and starting over. Something alters our DNA when it comes to that process. You don’t want that kind of start-over process to become a part of who you are. You have what it takes to be one of the best agents in this region, but you’ll never get there if you’re so quick to quit.”
Jemisha glanced away from him to log into her computer.
“Look at these guns,” he said, flexing.
She looked at him again, seeing the muscles in his arms bulge. The definition of his shoulders were too impressive to put to words. The cords in his neck spoke to his strength.
“You think this happened overnight?”
“Of course not.”
“Took a lot of hard work and dedication. That’s what you have to be, baby. Dedicated.”
“Are you going anywhere with this public service announcement?”
He chuckled. “Actually, I am. I have a proposal for you, Jemisha.”
A brow rose. “What kind of proposal?”
“If I have to be married to get that house, then make it happen.”
“And just how do you propose I do that?”
“Make me a married man—on paper at least.”
“Again…how do you propose I do that? And who’s the lucky lady who gets to be Mordecai Champion’s wife?”
“You.”
Chapter 21
She was convinced he was out of his mind.
After she was able to pick up her dropped jaw, she asked, “You want me to marry you?”
“Absolutely. We both have things we want here. I want the house and you want the commission. The way I see it is, if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
Her jaw dropped again. Perhaps he was joking and wanted to see her reaction. She glanced up at him, catching the hardness of his hazel gaze. Nope – he was not joking about any of this.
“Are you really serious about this?”
“I am serious.”
“Wow. Okay. Um—I—I really don’t know what to say. I’ll need some time to think it over.”
“We don’t have a lot of time. If we wait too long, someone can come in with a new offer. If we’re going to do this, Jemisha, we need to do it now. Strike while the iron is hot.”
Jemisha gnawed on her lips and played with a curly lump of her hair, wounding it around her finger.
“Stop doing that,” he told her.
“What?”
“Playing with your hair—makes me want to play in it, too.”
“Look—just because you snuck a kiss from me doesn’t entitle you to make comments like that.”
Amused, he asked, “I snuck a kiss from you? That’s what went down? I recall you melting under my embrace. You certainly didn’t have a problem with my hands in your hair then.”
No, she hadn’t. “Anyway, back to your proposal, it’s crazy.”
“I know. Exciting, isn’t it? Something tells me you could use some excitement in your life.”
“Something tells me you’re going to be trouble.”
“Then something’s right.” He stood, stretched and said, “You stew on that for a few. I’m going to run up the street to get us some breakfast.”
“Okay,” she said, too nervous and shocked to tell him what she wanted to eat. She just needed him to leave so she could breathe. As soon as he exited, she heaved air like she’d just come up from a body of water. He’d given her another hot flash. She quickly dialed Savannah.
“Hey, girl,” Savannah answered.
“Don’t hey girl me. Which one of y’all heathens put him up to it? Hunh?”
Savannah chuckled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That evil laugh of
yours says otherwise.”
“I’m laughing because you’re funny. What are you so wired up about this morning?”
“Mordecai was here. He offered me a proposal—a marriage proposal. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we were just talking about this and out of nowhere he’s proposing marriage so he can get that house.”
“I didn’t put him up to it if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“I didn’t say anything to Harding either. Maybe it was Mordecai’s idea. Whatever the case, I think you should go for it.”
“Savannah!”
“What? You won’t let nobody help you pay off anything. You wanted to do it yourself, remember?”
“Well, getting married under the table isn’t exactly doing it myself…”
“It is…sort of. Look, you need the money and a man. Stop whining and go ahead and get the two-for-one special.”
“Unbelievable,” she said, tickled by the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
“Mordecai ain’t that bad. You said you liked those lips of his unless that was the liquor talking this past weekend.”
“He’s not bad. I’m just—I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“Who said anything about a relationship? This is an agreement. Plus, you can always lay out some terms. If y’all do this thing, tell him you’re staying put at your place.”
Jemisha looked up, watching as Mordecai made his way into her office.
“Okay, we’ll talk more about it later. I have to run. Bye.” She placed her phone on the desk at the same time Mordecai lowered a brown paper bag and two coffee cups.
“I hope you like bagels and cream cheese.”
“I do,” she replied.
“Practicing already, huh?”
Jemisha looked confused for a moment but realized he was referring to her reply of I do. “Oh. I get it.” She smiled. “I hadn’t realized I said that.”