One of the older women who had been there forever had the nerve to approach me. “You know he’s not leaving his wife for you, right?”
“You need to mind your own business!” I twisted my mouth. “You don’t know what the hell you talkin’ bout. He IS going to leave his wife. I just need to wait until the baby is old enough for him to leave!”
“Is that what he told you?” she smirked. “Humph. I thought the excuses would have gotten better with time, but I see they haven’t and you side bitches are still delusional!”
What the hell did SHE know? Not a damn thing! All these hoes up in here hated me because chances were I already had their men. I really was a woman’s worst nightmare because I possessed an “I don’t give a fuck” mentality. Women were never my problem. I left that headache for the men to handle. Hell, as long the men treated me right when they were with ME, their home life was of no concern to me, but Ty was different. He was going to promote me to wife status as soon as he could get his shit situated with Presley.
I bumped into Keisha as she was leaving the ladies room. She’d been acting kind of funny lately.
“Hey, girl. Wassup?” I greeted.
“Oh, nothing. Wassup with you?”
“Nothing, just trying to make it through the rest of this week without my boo thang. You know his wife had that damn baby, huh?”
Keisha shifted her weight to her other foot while placing her hand on her hip.
“Yeah, no thanks to you,” she mumbled.
No this bitch didn’t!
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” I hissed as I approached her.
“C’mon, Kadeema.” She smacked her lips. “You and I have been friends far too long for this. That was you who knocked her down at the Galleria. Oops…allegedly.”
“You don’t know shit! I didn’t knock her down!” I pointed in Keisha’s face. Damn it! I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” she chuckled. “You attempted to knock her down, but she surprised yo’ ass when she stomped the shit out of you. Oh, I notice you have your fist balled up. You already got your ass beat by a pregnant chick, so I would think about my next move if I were you.”
I backed up a little bit. Not because I was afraid, but because I couldn’t afford to lose my job.
“You know what? I’ve always known you had a thing for Ty. Before we even got together, you would invite him to parties and shit. And what better way to have him around you than to hook him up with your BFF?” I countered.
“Bitch, please! You’re so far off the mark ‘til it ain’t even funny. Besides, I could have fucked Ty before and during my involvement with Redd…”
“Naw you couldn’t have,” I interrupted. “Ty doesn’t like fat bitches. So yo’ big, grizzly bear looking ass never stood a chance. But you know what? I ain’t got time for this shit with you.”
“You can say what you wanna say about my weight, but baby, I’m thick and so is my pussy. And since you have so much to say, I got proof that was you in the Galleria. Now, what you got to say about that?” she threatened.
“What proof?”
“Humph, wouldn’t you like to know? Don’t worry, I’m not gonna show it to Ty just yet. I’mma hold onto this nugget of information until I really need it.” She winked as she brushed past me.
My stomach was in knots as I wondered what proof she could possibly have. This night just kept getting better. I flew into the ladies room and heaved every bit of my lunch from earlier. As angry as I was with Keisha, my feelings were somewhat hurt. How could she turn her back on me like this? We’d been friends since middle school. She was the closest thing I had to a sister. So now, I had to put her in the box with the rest of the bitches I couldn’t stand. My head was about to explode.
Feeling sick to my stomach, I decided to take my sick ass home, but not before cutting Keisha’s brake line on her Toyota Camry. I was the only female that took shop in school. Who knew that shit I learned back then would come in handy later? The cameras in the parking lot were broken and it was dark outside because I worked third shift. Proceeding to place my work bag in the back seat of my car, I grabbed my cable cutters and voila! I cut the line so that the fluid would leak slowly. Her ass wouldn’t be telling Ty a damn thing!
As expected, the next day my phone was ringing off the hook. Not wanting to be bothered, I turned my ringer on silent and poured myself a cup of coffee. After watching a few episodes of Girlfriends, I decided to take a much-needed bubble bath.
Tyrone was sitting at the edge of the bed when I got out of the tub. I must have really been in my own zone because I hadn’t heard him creep up the stairs.
“Hey, bae, I didn’t know you were coming by. I thought you would still be taking care of Presley. Whatchu doing here?” I asked as I patted the water out of my ears. Although, I was sure I knew the reason for his unexpected visit. His dismal expression told it all, but I would still have to appear to be grief-stricken.
“You haven’t heard?”
“Heard what? What are you talking about?”
I dried my moist body with my plum-colored towel while he searched for an easy way to give me the horrible news.
“Keisha’s dead. She had a car accident on her way home from work last night.”
The time had come for me to put on my performance.
“Oh my God! What?! Wha… What happened?” I belted. “Oh my God!”
Ty rushed to embrace my smoldering body as I allowed my towel to fall be the wayside. I wanted… I needed for him to ravage me, but I knew this would be an inappropriate time to initiate sex. Instead, I cried on his shoulders. My body fell into him has he picked me up to carry me to my queen sized bed.
“Shhh, it’s okay, baby. It happened so fast she didn’t feel it.”
Little did he know I wanted her to feel it! Stupid hoe. That’s what her ass gets for trying to threaten me!
Ty placed me on the bed and snuggled behind me as I continued to cry. My performance was so stellar I impressed my damn self.
A small part of me felt a smidgeon of regret for what I had done to Keisha, but then I quickly reminded myself of her words. She’d known me too long. For that reason, she should have known better. She, of all people, knew I didn’t take too kindly to threats. Hell, it was her own fault she was dead. The result is never good when a person talks out the side of their neck. She and I both knew she wasn’t that bitch!
Keisha’s motive for threatening me was unclear, but whatever it was, I no longer had to worry. Now that I’d gotten a taste for murder and giving how simple it was, there were a few more loose ends I needed to tie up.
My distraught cries were enough to persuade Ty of my overwhelming grief. Now all I needed to do was get through her memorial service. They’ll want to give me an Oscar when I am done with the waterworks…compliments of theater arts! Ha!
Chapter Eighteen: Presley
Since I’d given birth to Harper, Tyrone had officially quit his job at Donovan Tools and Supply and started his own pressure washing business. He was working around the clock to guarantee “The Pressure Washing People” ran like a well-oiled machine.
Ty rented office space on Harwin Drive along with the rest of the developing businesses. There was a plethora of flea market type stores I often got lost in whenever I had the time. Now that I had Harper, it was difficult to steal time for myself.
While Ty was starting his business, I was at home taking care of our kids. On most days, I was beyond exhausted. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day. My plan to rest while Harper napped was often interrupted by Darren and Tyler’s needs.
Tyrone seemed to be a bit overwhelmed as well. He plopped down on our leather couch, allowing his head to fall back.
“You know what we need?” he sighed.
“No, what?” I replied while folding clothes.
“We both need a break.” His face lit up. “How ‘bout I take the boys with me tomorrow? That way you can get some rest.”<
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“Umm, you can’t take Harper anywhere until he goes to his two-month check-up. I know you don’t think I’mma let my baby out of my sight right now, right?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, I can at least take Darren and Tyler. Their lil’ bad asses won’t be around to bother you!” he chuckled.
Ty had no idea of how much I was craving some ME time!
“So where are you taking the boys?” I asked.
“Huh? Oh, I’mma take them to see my mom. Especially since she hasn’t seen them since Christmas. You know she’s going to be excited to see them. She is going to cook and everything,” he rambled.
“Oh okay, that sounds cool. I’m sure they will have fun,” I agreed.
Saturday couldn’t have showed its face quick enough. I had Darren and Tyler’s clothes ironed and laid out. All they had to do was get dress and go!
Ty left with the boys at twelve o’clock in the afternoon. To guarantee Harper would sleep for a few hours, I fed him, gave him a bath, and tired him out. It worked like a charm. My baby drifted into a deep slumber and I followed right behind him.
By the time I woke up, it was five o’clock in the evening. Where the hell were Ty and my kids? I thought. He had never stayed at his mom’s house this long, especially if I wasn’t there. I was his excuse to leave every time he got bored.
Ty’s phone went straight to voicemail as I became worried. What if something happened? Maybe they didn’t make it to Ms. Mary’s house. Oh my God! I was panicking and needed to calm down so I could be in my right frame of mind. Frantically, I dialed Ms. Mary’s number, hoping my family was okay.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Ms. Mary. Ty isn’t answering his phone. Can you put that knucklehead on the phone, please?” I asked.
“Baby, Ty ain’t over here,” she told me.
“Well, did he and the boys leave already?” I quizzed.
“Uhh… naw. He ain’t been over here at all today. Maybe y’all got your wires crossed, but he ain’t been here today. I wish he had. I’d love to see my grandbabies.”
Ugh! Her ass! She always had something extra to say.
“Okay, well, if he calls you can you please tell him I’m trying to get in touch with him?”
“I sure will,” she said, disconnecting the call.
About ten minutes later, Ty finally called me back. My guess was his mama called to tell him I was looking for his sorry ass.
“Hey,” he spoke cautiously.
“Don’t fucking HEY me!” I growled. “Where… are… my… kids?”
A blanket of silence followed my question.
“Ty! Where are you?”
“I’m uh… we at a birthday party for my co-worker’s son,” he stammered.
“So why the hell did you lie to me about where you were taking them?”
Suddenly, I heard Tyler yell, “Daddy! Darren is beating up Ms. Kadeema’s son!”
Oh HELL naw! I know this sun-colored bastard ain’t got my kids around his moof-mouth bitch and her family! Oh, he was truly on some other shit!
“Ty! You got my boys around that tramp and her damn family?!” I belted. I yelled so loudly I startled Harper. Now, I had to get him situated. Shit!
“Umm… I gotta go get Darren right quick, but I promise I will explain when I get home. Bye.” He rushed off the phone.
Ohhh, baby! Damn right he was going to explain when he got home! Not only was he cheating on me, but he was comfortable enough to take my kids around his whore? Uhn uh… I had been nice long enough! It was going to be war when he walked his through the damn door. It was time for me to show my entire ass!
The carpet became worn underneath my feet as I paced back and forth. I couldn’t help but wonder if Darren was okay since he had apparently had a fight.
By the time Ty and the boys made it home, I was on the brink of a psychotic breakdown. Ty held his hands out as if to stop me from getting too close to him.
“Presley, I know you’re mad, but let me explain,” he begged. “It was just a party. That’s it. Nothing else went on. I promise.”
“Hey, babies! Y’all want a snack?” I asked them while ignoring Ty’s ignorant excuse.
“Yay!” Tyler exclaimed.
Darren didn’t say a word. Clearly, he was still very upset. I could feel his hurt and confusion and I hated Ty for putting my boys through this.
As I was slicing watermelon for the boys, Darren approached me in the kitchen.
“What’s wrong, son?”
“Mama, I beat up Ms. Kadeema’s son because he said my daddy was not gonna be my daddy anymore and that he was gonna be HIS new daddy,” he cried. “I got mad and punched him right in the face and I didn’t want to stop. Daddy had to come and get me off him. Are you mad at me? I know you don’t like me to fight.”
Holding back tears of frustration, I bent down to kiss Darren on the cheek. “No, baby, I’m not mad at you. Your daddy should never have put you guys in such an uncomfortable situation. I’m sorry he did that, but it won’t happen again. Trust me on that.”
At the end of the day, Ty was grown and could do whatever he wanted to do with that trick. But when he went so far as to insert my kids into this messy shit; that was when I had a fucking problem!
Once I knew they boys were in their room, I went to our bedroom where Ty was holding Harper.
“Somebody did a stinky,” he teased.
“Here, let me take care of that,” I offered.
Ty had no idea that I was about to pop all the way OFF! I finished changing Harper’s diaper and placed him back in his baby bed.
“Yeah, like I was saying earlier, it was just a party. Nothing else happened. Besides, the house was…”
Slap! I tried to knock his fucking caps out of his mouth! “I’m tired of your shit! How dare you take my kids around your bitch and think that it’s okay?? I KNOW you not that damn lost in it!”
Ty was stunned for a moment as he wiped blood from his busted lip. Suddenly, I saw something different in his eyes. For the first time in our marriage, Ty knocked the hell out of me with a mean backhand. My face writhed with pain and my vision was somewhat blurry, but I didn’t have time to lick my wounds. I was a fucking fighter! I knew damn well he didn’t think he was gonna hit me and get away with it! I fell into my nightstand where I grabbed my purple vase. Quickly, I smashed it against Ty’s head, causing him to fall to the floor.
“You tryna fucking kill me!” he whimpered as he held his head.
“You damn right! Don’t you EVER put your damn on hands on me! Get out before I cut your ass up into little pieces. I’ll mail that bitch a different body part each month!”
Chapter Nineteen: Tyrone
“Presley, baby, I’m sorry. You know I never meant to hit you. It was just a reaction, babe; you hit me first and busted my lip. Leelee, please talk to me. Tell me what to do. I’ll do anything to make things right. Don’t give up on me. Don’t give up on US!” I begged into Presley’s voicemail.
Things were beyond out of control. Presley hadn’t spoken to me in over a week. I know her mailbox was full of my desperate attempts to apologize. That Saturday was fucked up. I knew better than to take my sons around the other woman, but part of me was hoping they wouldn’t care about what was going on as long as they were having fun. Boy was I wrong! I was banking on Presley sleeping all day and not calling my mother only to find out the boys and I were never there. Then when she heard Tyler scream Darren was fighting Kadeema’s son, it was a wrap. I knew that day wouldn’t end well.
Presley had every right to be upset. Hell, I’d act a fool too if she had taken the boys around another man. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know how I would be able to maintain my composure if the shoe were on the other foot.
The fight we had was one of the worst we’ve ever had and I had been staying with Kadeema since all of this shit came to a head. But even being with Kadeema full time wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I never wanted to leave my family for her.
She was just something to do, that was all. The only convenient aspect of living with her was that she now worked for me. She handled the day-to-day activities while my crew and I were out in the field. Spending this much time with her was a tad bit irritating. I was used to hitting it and going home when I felt like it. Being with her twenty hours/ seven days a week allowed me the opportunity to realize she and I would never progress further than what it was. My heart belonged to my wife.
That following Saturday, I noticed I had a few missed calls from Presley. She had called me in the middle of the night and since I was there with Kadeema, there was no way I could return her calls. I thought about sneaking to call her from the bathroom, but Kadeema had gotten up when she felt the bed move. She was sitting up when I returned from draining the horse.
“Ty, are you okay?”
“Yeah, why you asking me that?”
“Do you still love Presley?”
Ugh! Here she goes with this shit, I thought.
“Kadeema, yes, I still love my wife. I don’t even know why you asking me that shit!” I grimaced. “What, you thought I would finally turn my back on my wife and kids? I told you before, I don’t what kind of niggas you used to fucking with, but that ain’t me. And honestly, you shouldn’t want to be with a nigga that can do that so easily!”
“Actually, that’s exactly what I want because that is what you have been telling me for the last year or so. You promised you would leave her when you got everything together and now you have done that! You started your business and I am the one there helping you every day. But now you wanna tell me that you still love your wife??? You told me you didn’t feel anything for her!”
Kadeema wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pack. Everything lie I had ever told her were the main lies married men told to get what they wanted. Her actions were based on the lie I told her. If I told her I couldn’t wait to marry her, she would suck the skin off my dick to prove she was the right the choice. If I mentioned I couldn’t wait to leave, she would let me fuck her in the ass. Kadeema was a nasty bitch. Nothing was off limits with her and that is what I liked. I could fuck her every which a way and then go home to make real love to my beloved wife.
His Work Wife Page 10