Reclaiming What Is Mine

by Sheena Binkley

  "I will do no such thing. It's top secret."

  "Oh really? In that case, I'm even more anxious to read it."

  We were looking at each other when the office door opened, and a guy who looked like an older version of Bryon walked in. The only difference between the two was that he was clean shaven, but he was still handsome.

  "And who are you?" he asked, looking at me.

  "Hi, I'm Asia, your new assistant."

  He looked at Bryon, who grinned.

  "Okay, well my name is Jason, and you can probably tell by the resemblance that I'm Bryon's brother. He didn't tell me that he'd hired someone, but I guess I can't say much since he is part owner of this place," He told me while glaring at Bryon.

  "Exactly. Trust me, you'll be glad that I did," Bryon told him.

  "I'm sure. Welcome to the agency, Asia," he said, holding out his hand for a handshake. I accepted it, and he smiled.

  "Now that's out of the way, we should get to work. We have a lot of projects and presentations to complete, so I hope you're ready for them, Asia."

  "Of course; bring them on."

  "I'm going to like her," Jason said and went to his desk.

  Bryon chuckled. "See, I told you had nothing to worry about."

  I think I can get through this after all.

  Dwight

  Today was not the best of days. I really needed to get off so I could spend time with the one person I wanted to be with, even though she probably didn't want to be with me.

  I was happy for her for finding a job. The Gibson Group seemed like a pretty legit place, so I was proud of her. I wished I could surprise her at work, but since she had the car, I couldn't do anything until she picked me up when my shift was over. Maybe I'd try to take her out again since we didn't go the last time I suggested.

  I was stacking a couple of cases when I saw Warren walk into the store. He came over and took a game from off the rack.

  "I've been looking for this game. Glad you guys finally have it."

  "Nice for you to stop by, Warren. What do you want?" I asked.

  "Damn, I can't visit my cuz at work?"

  "You can if you're just visiting, but I'm sure you're up to something."

  "I came to buy this game, but I do need to know your decision."

  I put down the games I had in my hand and sighed. Since our last conversation, Warren constantly texted me, asking if I wanted to help him with a job he was working on. Not only was he an engineer, he also got money from Tyrone Foster, who I used to work for a couple of years back. Although the money was good at one point, I didn't want to risk going to jail or getting killed, so I got out. It was hard to do, but I was determined. I wanted to begin living my life on the straight and narrow, and I did when I met Asia.

  Warren did a lot, including extorting money from companies he worked for. In his latest job, he found ways to skim a little from several accounts the company had. He'd take that money to Tyrone, who spread it out between his workers and for supplies. I thought Warren would have come to his senses, especially since he had a child on the way, but I guess that didn't bother him. He wanted money that would last him for years, and it seemed he'd do whatever he could to make that happen. His offer was tempting, especially with my situation, but I couldn't do it. I wanted to do things right, so I'd have to turn him down.

  "So, you thought about what I asked you?"

  I nodded. "I'm not going to do it, Warren. You're on your own."

  "Seriously? You do know that you can make lots of money with this. This can get you out of the shitty situation you're in. You did mention that A's been acting funny since you two moved in with Mom."

  "Would you be acting the same if you and Chrissy had to do the same thing? I know our situation is bad, but I'll get money the right way."

  "How, by waiting on your wife to do it? Hell, she's been holding you down since you met her."

  He'd better be glad I was at work because if I wasn't, I would have knocked his ass out. How's he going to say I'm not a man? I've taken care of A the best I could. If she wasn't complaining, why should anyone else?

  "Take that shit back," I demanded.

  "I'm just telling the truth. You have always been like that. I, on the other hand, am doing my best to have a great life for myself, my wife, and my child. You think we're living at that damn house with my salary? Hell nah, especially since my salary is entry level."

  "But Chrissy is a news reporter."

  "Chrissy hasn't been working since she found out she was pregnant, so I had to pull the extra weight. No offense, but I don't want to end up like you."

  "None taken."

  "If you change your mind, let me know. I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing from you soon," he said and walked to the counter.

  I threw down the two games in my hand; I couldn't believe he would continue doing this. He was going to get caught, and I hoped I wouldn't be a part of it.

  ***

  Once my shift was over, I walked out and saw Asia sitting in the car. She moved to the passenger seat, and I got in.

  "Hey, beautiful. How was your first day?"

  "It was great," she replied softly.

  "You don't sound great. Was it that bad?"

  "It wasn't, just have a lot to learn."

  "I'm sure you'll catch on quick. How are your bosses?"

  Asia seemed to freeze up, but quickly recovered with a smile.

  "They're great."

  "No one tried to flirt with you, did they?"

  "Why would they?"

  "Asia, you're a beautiful woman, so it's normal. I was hoping we could try again with our date. We could celebrate your new job."

  "I don't know; I kind of wanted to write a scene for my story."

  "Which you can do when we come back from our date. A, I just want us to get back to how we were before all the shit happened. I want our relationship back on track."

  "One night is not going to do that, Dwight."

  "I know that, but it's a start. At least I'm trying."

  She looked ahead, trying not to cry.

  "Asia, I love you, and I don't want us to fail, but lately, it seems like you don't even try to work on our marriage. It's like you've given up."

  She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what is there to fight for."

  I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. I couldn't believe she'd say that about our marriage. Yes, we had problems, but she should consider our vows and the life we've built.

  "What do you mean there's nothing to fight for? We have everything to fight for, if you really want to. And based on your statement, I guess you don't."

  She tried to hold back a sniffle and attempted to unlock the door. I reached over and stopped her, and she turned to look at me.

  "I need to think," she explained.

  "And where are you going to go? You're going to want me to wait for you since you won't have a way back to the house?"

  "Who's to say I'm going back there?"

  I gently pushed her back against the seat and put the car in reverse.

  "Where are we going?" she asked.

  I didn't answer as I pulled out of the parking lot. We had some reconnecting to do.

  ***

  After driving across town, I pulled the car into a motel parking lot. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

  "This is not going to solve anything, Dwight."

  "No, it probably won't, but it's part of the reason why we're growing apart from each other," I told her and got out of the car.

  After paying for the room and getting my key, I went back to the car and Asia with her arms folded and a faraway look in her beautiful eyes. I walked to her door and opened it. She got out, still upset and followed me to the room. I opened the door and looked around; it looked pretty decent. The room even had a hot tub in the corner, although we probably wouldn't use it.

  Asia looked down at the carpet then up at me. "Dwight –"

  I interrupted her by leaning her against the wall. She tried to
resist, but once my hand moved between her thighs and my lips on her neck, she quickly gave in. I pulled one of her legs around me while two of my fingers moved in and out of her. She felt so tight, which had me on edge. She leaned her head back and swerved her hips on my fingers, enjoying the way I touched her.

  I grabbed her waist, picked her up, and moved her to the bed. She quickly removed my shirt and jeans, while I took off her dress. Her skin glistened under the florescent lights. Her hand moved down my chest as I lay her down, spread her legs, and looked her in the eye as my dick moved inside her. Her eyes glossed over, and she gave the sexiest moan. I was ready for her.

  I leaned forward, sucking her breast, her hand rubbing my head, while my dick hit her g-spot. She spread her legs even wider, telling me to fuck her; I pushed myself up to kiss her. We fell in sync, making our own love song, our moans matching each other's. I knew she needed this. We both did. The feel of her body against mine, her expressions, and her movements had me losing control. I'd been with a lot of women, but Asia topped them all. She was a virgin when I met her, but I wouldn't have known it the way she made love. She was a pro, making me want it all the time.

  "Damn, I love you," I whispered.

  She tried to tell me the same but couldn't since her body spasm. That was the moment I loved most because she was cumming, and judging from the way she was moving, she was cumming hard.

  "Oh my God!" Asia yelled, grabbing my head while swerving her hips. She pulled herself up and rolled her body, making me cum, too. Fuck, that move always got me.

  "Yes, baby, cum with me," She demanded. I rolled off of her, and she fell on the bed.

  She looked at me and smiled.

  "You were right; I really did need that."

  "That you did. Shit, that's what I'm talking about. We were always in sync in that area. When we were doing it."

  She rolled on her side and looked at me. "I know I haven't been the best person to deal with lately."

  "You haven't."

  "I just want to apologize for that. Instead of working together, we were growing further apart."

  "I wasn't the one doing it, though."

  "I know; it was all me. I guess I was looking at the situation, and honestly, I was sort of blaming you for it. You have so much potential, but instead of using it, you just settled. You could do so much with your life; I just don't understand why you don't."

  I slowly caressed her shoulder, and she put her hand on top of mine. "A, I know I can and I should, but sometimes I don't feel that way, especially with the life I was living."

  "That's not an excuse, Dwight. I know you have been through a lot, but there are some choices you could have made that could have led to a better path for you. Now, maybe you could go back to school and get your degree or just look for a better job where you could apply the skills you already have."

  "You don't think I've have been looking?"

  "Honestly, I don't. You say you do, but I don't see you doing it. I just figured you were satisfied with where you are."

  "You think I wanted to move back in with someone and live the life I'm living? I don't, Asia. I feel like less of a man because I had to resort to that, especially when I have you to support. It's fine that you held us down, but how do you think that made me feel? I should be the one taking care of you, not the other way around.

  "I didn't mind doing it, but I also want us to be equal. I want us to be able to do things together and not have to rely on one person to carry the load. If we're going to have the life we want, we have to work together. Don't you agree?"

  "I do, A."

  "So, what do you say? Should we both try to get back to where we were?"

  I smiled. "Yes. I love you, baby."

  "I love you too, Dwight."

  I pulled her down on the bed and kissed her. To save our marriage, I was willing to do whatever was needed. Now that Asia had found a new job, I needed to do the same, because she was right: We needed to be able to live our lives the way we desired.

  Asia

  Spending time with Dwight that day was better than I'd expected. We had a lot of fun reconnecting. It felt like when we first met: intimate and beautiful. I'd been working with Bryon and Jason for six months now, and I was loving it. I just couldn't keep my attraction to Bryon under control. Dwight and I had been working hard to keep our marriage strong, so I avoided Bryon outside of work, which sort of helped, but my mind still drifted to him every now and then. All I knew was that I needed to let go of my crush on him and continue working on my marriage. It was the right thing to do.

  I walked into the office and saw Bryon sitting at his desk. He looked up at me with a smile.

  "Good morning, Asia."

  I smiled and went to my desk in the corner. He came over and handed me a coffee cup.

  "Vanilla latte. I thought you might need it."

  "Thank you," I replied and took it from him.

  "So, how was your evening? What did you do after work yesterday?" he asked, sitting on my desk. I took in his appearance, realizing he had a fresh haircut and his facial hair was trimmed. There was nothing like a man getting a fresh cut; it drove me crazy, and that's what he was doing right now.

  I looked down at my cup, not sure if I should tell him. Dwight and I had spent some time together, which consisted of dinner and making love. That part would probably piss him off, but it shouldn't since Dwight is my husband.

  "It was good. I spent time with my husband."

  Bryon nodded. "That's good."

  "What did you do?"

  "Nothing much; went home, watched TV, and went to sleep. That's my daily routine."

  "No woman to keep you company?"

  "No, because the one I want is already taken."

  I glanced at him, and he gazed down at me. I felt a little flushed with the way he stared at me. I was still attracted to him, which was becoming a huge problem since I was trying to work things out with Dwight.

  We were still looking into each other's eyes when Jason walked in. He glanced over at us then continued to his desk.

  "Shouldn't you two be working or something?"

  Bryon cleared his throat then moved to his desk and grabbed his backpack. "We were getting to it. I'm going to have Asia help me on the Drake Motors campaign."

  "Get to it, little bro. I'll just be getting my presentation together for Allison & Morgan."

  Bryon sat beside me and pulled out his laptop. He was sitting so close to me, I could smell his cologne, Gucci Guilty, which I loved so much. It was such a sexy scent and made my clit pulsating.

  "I really need your expertise on this client. I can't find anything that goes well with their vision for their campaign," he explained, showing me his computer. There were several images that the company had forwarded for Bryon to incorporate into the presentation.

  I carefully studied the pictures, trying to come up with something, but my mind was blank.

  "Did they mention how they want to connect to their clientele?"

  "They want to target families since they offer a lot of family-friendly vehicles, so I was thinking we could have a diverse family who wants a new vehicle to go out of town but don't know which one to choose. They arrive at Drake Motors, and a salesperson shows them different options. The kids fall in love with one that has all the tricked-out features."

  I nodded. "Sounds like you're heading in the right direction, but we need a little more spunk. We have to include what the company stands for, so we should tie in the history of the company."

  He smiled. "Great idea! I knew you would be a great asset here."

  "I'm glad to be putting my expertise to good use."

  "You want to get some lunch later? Maybe we can go over the campaign more?"

  I nodded. "Sure."

  I didn't mind having lunch with Bryon. It wasn't a date; we were going to work on the project. So why was I feeling guilty about agreeing to go?

  ***

  I looked at the time on the computer and saw it wa
s 7 PM. I didn't realize how late it was and couldn't believe how much work we discussed the entire day.

  Jason had already left the office, so it was just Bryon and me, going over another campaign. He wasn't lying when he said the two needed help, because the majority of their campaigns were either incomplete or had no direction. One of them had to be done by tomorrow, so I needed to work over, which wasn't a problem for me, but I wasn't sure it would go well with Dwight.

  I called to let him know, and he was okay with it; he had to work over as well. Since he was getting a ride with a co-worker, I told him not to wait up for me; he said he would anyway. When I hung up, I noticed Bryon looking at me.

  "Hubby?"

  "Yeah. He has to work over as well, so it's no big deal."

  "What does he do again?"

  "He's a cashier at the video game store in Highworth."

  "Oh, well, at least he's employed, right?"

  "Yeah. I just wish he would do something better with himself, though. I know if he put his mind to it, he could thrive in something more."

  "Isn't that up to him, though?"

  I nodded. "You're right, it is."

  "You want to hear how I became a business owner at 28?" He walked over to my desk. He sat down and looked at the wall and spoke.

  "When I graduated from college, I didn't have ambition to do anything with myself. I figured, 'Why should I work when I did that all through high school and college?' I just wanted to party and travel around the world. I was going to do that when Jason came up with the idea of owning our own business. I'd always considered it, especially since I didn't want to work for anyone, but didn't how to start one. Since both of our degrees are in marketing, we decided to create a marketing agency for small business owners.

  "We called our cousin, who had started her own catering company, to help us with a business plan. With her help and our parents, we were able to start The Gibson Group, which has been a great experience. Yes, we've had rocky moments, but I wouldn't trade those for anything, because it kept us grounded. Sometimes you have to fall to appreciate what's important in life."