by Simply BWWM
“I’m rich now, ain’t I? Gotta look fine. Gotta look like the money I have. I went out and bought the suit. Gotta represent. Do it right,” he said evenly, as if it made total sense, and he couldn’t see why she didn’t understand that right away.
“Did you buy the gold rings and the necklace too?” she asked as worry began to seep at the edges of her mind.
“Yeah, I did. I bought the suit, and I bought the gold, and I bought a few other things too.” He looked up at her darkly, as if she had no business questioning him about what he was doing.
Her stomach tightened. “What else did you buy?” She knew that she shouldn’t feel worried, but she did. The money was so that they could buy a house together, and she hadn’t really thought about spending any of it on anything else. In fact, she hadn’t even thought about quitting her job at all, because it was all about the house for her, and living with Maurice, and settling down.
“I got a car. I got money, I got to have a car that says I got money.” He looked at her pointedly.
“A car?” There was no way to hide the alarm in her voice. “What kind of car?”
“A sports car, okay? Something flashy and small. Like I said, gotta do it right, know what I’m saying?” He sounded irritated with her that he was having to explain anything at all to her. “I’m a business man; I got to show that my business is doing good. I got to show that I’m successful, that I got money, that people should want to do business with me.”
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t believe you’re spending money like this. Maurice, the money was for a house, just for buying a house so that we could move in together.”
He furrowed his brow sharply and narrowed his eyes at her. “Chill out, okay? I just picked up a few necessities. Everything’s fine. Most the money still there!” He shook his head. “Ain’t nothing to worry about! You getting all stressed out over nothing! Nothing at all. Quit stressing.” He gave his head an irritable shake and continued shoving his possessions into bags and boxes and suitcases.
She watched him and looked around at all of it, confused and even more worried than she had been when she walked in the door. “And what about all of this packing? What’s all of this for? Did you find a place for us to move in with each other? I thought that we were going to do that together.”
He shook his head. “I ain’t found no place for us yet. I been looking though, so get off my case. All I’m doin right now is getting ready. Won’t take us too long to find a place, and I want to be ready to go when it happens, so I’m packin’ now. You gonna keep grillin’ me about every little thing I’m doing?” He shot her another dark look.
She felt a wave of guilt hit her, and she shook her head and looked up at him with regret. “No. I’m sorry. It’s just a big change, and I guess we haven’t talked much about it. I just want to know what’s going on and talk with you so we can figure it all out. I want to move in together soon and settle down with you, you know, make a home and be happy. There are just a lot of changes happening right now.”
Tamika walked toward him and slid her arms around his torso, stopping him in his packing work. She gave him a tender smile and tilted her face up toward him. He turned to look down at her, and she moved to kiss him, bringing her mouth to his, but just before their lips touched, he planted his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.
“Don’t do that,” he said sharply, putting her at arm’s length.
She blinked in surprise. “Don’t do what? Hold you? Kiss you? Why did you push me away?” She worried again, and her stomach tightened with the stress.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to touch you right now, okay? You done screwed that man four times. Four times! And you liked it! I just don’t want to touch you for a minute, that’s all. Stay back from me. You disgust me.”
Anger and shock rocketed through her. “I disgust you? Are you serious? The only reason that I was even with him in the first place is because you told me to do it! I wasn’t going to do it to begin with! I told him no, but you came in then and said oh no, we need the money, we could finally get a place together and settle down if we had the money, so go do it, and so I went and did it, and now you think I’m disgusting? What in the hell is the matter with you?”
He turned to face her then and drew in a deep breath, filling out his large chest and making him look even bigger than he already was. “What’s the matter with me? What the hell? What’s the matter with you? You screwing some strange ass man for money! That make you a ho! That make you a hooker! You think I want to touch you now after you been with him? You wrong! You liked screwing that rich white man more than me? Then go get him again! Don’t come in here and try and come on to me like that after you been with him. That ain’t right! You keep off of me! You a ho!”
Anger turned to rage in her, and her hands closed into fists. “How dare you! How dare you talk to me like that and call me names! I never would have done it if you hadn’t told me to go do it! I had already told him no, that I wasn’t interested, but then you came along and insisted that we needed the money, and you told me to go to him! You practically sold me to him!
Now you have the audacity to stand there before me and push me away like I’m some kind of trash? You can stand there in your fancy suit, wearing your golden rings and chain, with your new sports car out in the parking lot and treat me like I’m trash when it’s because of what I sacrificed that you even have the money to get all those things? You didn’t do anything to earn that money, Maurice, I did! That was me making that sacrifice for us because you told me to!” She jammed a pointed finger at him furiously.
“You acting like it was some chore to go up there and let him have you! You stood right there in my own kitchen and told me how good he was and how you liked it so much you went back for more, four times! That ain’t no sacrifice! That make you a ho!” He shot back at her.
“Go to hell, Maurice,” she snapped at him, and then she turned on her heel and stormed out of the apartment, bitterly angry that she had let him ever talk to her or treat her so badly, that she had fought with him so horribly, and that she had ever done the deal in the first place.
With tears streaming down her face, she got into her car and pulled it sharply out of his parking lot, glaring at the hot new red sports car that was parked where his old car used to be kept. She pealed out, resentment flooding through her as she promised herself that she would never put up with anyone treating her so badly.
Chapter7
Tamika drove herself home and parked her car, knowing that she had no business being behind the wheel of a vehicle while she was so angry. She stalked into her apartment and slammed the door behind her, still fuming about Maurice.
Tossing her keys on the counter, she placed her palm over her forehead and one hand on her hip and began to pace back and forth, closing her eyes here and there and making herself breathe deeply. She was doing her level best to calm down.
When her heart had finally slowed some and her anger had subsided just a little, she sat down at the kitchen table and dropped her hand from her face, turning her head slightly to look off to one side. It was then that she saw the pretty bag that she had taken from the hotel. The one that Shane had given her with all of the things from the bathroom in it, and her clothes that she had been wearing the night in the bar when they met. She had set it on the kitchen counter when she had come in the next day from seeing him.
Sighing, she pushed herself up from her chair and went to it, feeling a little sadness as she opened it. There was plenty to put away, so she carried it down the hallway to her private bathroom in her bedroom and set it on the counter there.
Going through it from the top down, she pulled out her dress, which he had pressed and cleaned, and hung it up in her closet. She then took out the bottles and various items which had been in the basket, and she put them away in the drawers and cupboards of her bathroom. Then, as she reached the bottom of the bag and the last bottle, she gasped as she
saw a card laying down against the inside of the bag. It was Shane’s business card. The same one he had given her which she had thrown away in the trash can at the hotel.
Holding it in her trembling hand, she felt tears sting her eyes. Part of her wished powerfully that she had never met him, and another part of her was so grateful that she had. That part was relieved and thankful that she had found someone so incredible and had gotten to spend the best night of her life with him. She had a feeling that she was never going to know another night like it as long as she lived, and though Maurice was giving her hell about it, she didn’t really regret doing it at all.
If she hadn’t met him, she wouldn’t be fighting with Maurice about money and what had happened, but on the other hand, it was the best experience that she had ever had, and she admitted to herself that she wouldn’t have traded it, now that she knew just how good it could really be. She’d had the best, at least once, for one night, and she cherished it.
Smiling, she brought the card to her lips and kissed the name on it softly, and then held the card to her heart. He had been so good to her, so kind and thoughtful, and she was grateful for it. Sighing, she set the card on her bedside table and then picked up her cell phone. With a swipe of her finger, she called Janet, and a moment later, her twin was talking with her.
“Hey, there she is, the newest rich lady in Los Angeles. How you doin’ sis?” Janet teased her.
“Um… not very well, actually,” Tamika admitted.
Janet’s voice grew serious. “What’s wrong? What’s going on, Tami?”
“Maurice and I got into a big fight. Really big.” Tamika sighed in resignation. Her shoulders slumped, and she frowned.
“About what? Money? Moving in together?” Her sister had a keen sense of awareness, and she always had.
“Yeah, money. Moving in together. The thing that happened with Shane.” She shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “I was trying to get a hold of him today and couldn’t. He wasn’t answering his phone or any texts, so I went over to his place, and there he is in a brand new tailored suit and wearing gold rings and a chain on his neck, and there’s a brand-new sports car out in the parking lot, and he’s packing all his stuff.”
“What? And where did he get the money to do all of that?” her sister asked, not really needing to ask.
“Well, I gave him the money. He said he was going to handle it for us and take it to a bank and put it in an account. I trust him. I gave him the money.” She felt unease creeping over her just a little.
“You did what? You gave that fool a million dollars in cash that you earned?” Her sister didn’t bother to hide her shock or her disbelief and frustration.
“Yeah. I did,” Tamika admitted, feeling slightly foolish.
“Oh my god. I can’t believe you did that! What were you thinking! Tami, honey, he’s gonna blow all that money, and that money wasn’t his anyway; it’s yours. I know you want to use it to buy a house and move in with him, but you can’t trust him with it! Look what he’s doing already!
You listen to me. You go get all that money back from him, whatever is left over of it, and you keep it for yourself. You go buy the house, and you handle the money, and if he moves in with you, then fine, I guess, but don’t trust him with all of it.” Janet was deeply angry about Maurice.
“I do trust him, though. Janet, I’m going to live with this man and settle down with him. I guess we want to get married someday and start a family! How can I be planning that if I don’t trust him? Why would I even be thinking about moving in with him and making it permanent if I can’t trust him?” She hoped that her sister would see her point about it.
“Well, to be honest with you, I don’t even think you should be with him at all anyway. He’s a jackass and a fool, and I know you think you love him, but you don’t. You shouldn’t even be with him!” Janet groaned in annoyance. “What about the rich guy? Shane? You said it was good with him. Told me all that you and him did. He sounds nice. Why don’t you spend some time with him? Call him and go see him. See if that’s worth investing some of yourself into, instead of that fool Maurice!” Janet urged her adamantly.
Tamika sighed and bit at her lower lip a little. “No, I can’t really do that. Janet, I’ve told you, I’m committed to Maurice. We’re in a relationship. I mean, I guess I could call Shane. I actually just found his card. He gave me one when I left, and he told me to call him, but I threw it away before I left the hotel, and then I didn’t have his number, so I couldn’t call him. Yesterday he sent me flowers and lunch at work, and it was so sweet. I wanted to call him and thank him for being so thoughtful, but I didn’t have his number. When I left the hotel, he gave me a bag with a bunch of things in it, and I just cleaned it out, and there in the bottom of it was another one of his cards. Same card as the one he gave me, with his number on it, so I just found that.” She smiled, looking down at the card and feeling more than a little happiness as she gazed at it.
“Well, use it. Call the number on it and talk to the man. I think you should dump Maurice and go see Shane. Seriously. At least call him. Okay? Are you hearing me? You should call Shane.” Janet pushed a little more, though her tone was one of strong displeasure rather than bitterness toward Maurice.
Tamika sighed. “I will. I want to thank him anyway.”
“Good. I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve done since you left the hotel,” her sister teased her gently, though Tamika knew that she meant it.
With their call ended, Tamika picked up the card and looked at it for a long while, letting the smile that grew on her face stay there for a minute before she entered his number into her phone and pressed the green call button.
It rang twice, and he answered. “This is Shane Carson. How can I help you?”
The sound of his voice in her ear sent a thrill through her body, and it was almost like he was right there with her. It made her happier than she had been since she had left his penthouse.
“Shane, it’s Tamika,” she began. She was going to continue talking, but she heard a small gasp sound from him, almost a laugh, and she could imagine the smile on his face. The warm, friendly, sweet smile that was so genuine.
“Tami! I’m so glad to hear from you!” He sounded as if he was completely delighted. “How are you doing?”
“I’m great.” She grinned. She hadn’t been great, but suddenly, sitting there talking with him on the phone, she discovered that she was indeed great, and very happy. “How are you?”
“Oh, so much better now that you’re on the phone with me. You’re already the best part of my day.” He sounded as if he truly meant it, and a bubble of warmth and delight formed in her and began to rise, lighter than a balloon, floating up inside of her.
“That’s so nice of you to say.” She grinned and closed her fingers more tightly around the phone in her hand. “I wanted to call you to say thank you again for the incredible time that we had together, because it was one of the best times of my life, and I want you to know that.”
His voice was quiet then, and there was a big smile in it. “It was for me too, my angel.”
She didn’t think the grin on her face could get any bigger, but it did. “I also wanted to thank you for the flowers and lunch yesterday. That was so thoughtful of you.”
“You got those! Great! I hope you liked them.” He was pleased as he could be that she mentioned them.
“I did, and the flowers are gorgeous, and lunch was so good. One of my friends at work knew right away that it was from Medici’s. Danny. He was so excited about it, and he told me that you were spoiling me, that it was a really nice place to go. He said he loves it there.” She laughed a little, thinking of just how over the top Danny had been about it.
“I’ll take you there in person. Have dinner with me tonight,” Shane asked, his voice pleasant as it seemed to always be, but quiet still, as if he was contemplative.
Everything in Tamika stopped. She wanted to say yes; she wanted more than anything to
see him, but things were already far more complicated in her life than they should have been because of the time that she had already spent with him. She thought to herself that even if she did go out to dinner with him as just friends, in a platonic way, it still would infuriate Maurice and make things between them even worse. She couldn’t begin to imagine how he would take it if he found out that she had seen Shane again, or even spoken to him on the phone. She could just hear him declaring that she liked Shane and that she was going after him for more intimacy.
“I… I can’t. I’m sorry. I really wish that I could. I loved spending time with you and seeing you… being with you. It was amazing. It was the best time I’ve ever had, but I just can’t. You know… I’m committed to someone else. I’m so sorry.” She felt as if something inside of her had been crushed.
He sighed, and though it was a soft sigh, she heard it through the phone. She remembered the somber look on his face and in his beautiful sea green eyes as she left him at the hotel, and it was easy for her to imagine that same look on his face just then.