His brow drew, and I could see my announcement shocked him. “Damn, I didn’t know you were that beautiful. I’ll definitely have to tell Anthony he’s a fool for letting a woman so beautiful outta his life.”
I put on a fake grin. He took my hand into his, which was slimy and wet. He held it a second too long and brought it to his lips. I tried not to flinch, because he was Anthony’s partner and right now I needed to be on my ex’s good side.
The doors opened and I said good-bye, then sashayed down the hall. I knew his eyes were following my ass. I glanced over my shoulder, winked, and never broke stride.
At the end of the plush hall, I spotted Melody sitting behind the desk chatting on the phone. The short mousy woman had been Anthony’s assistant for over seven years. If anyone knew the gossip of the office, it was her. I think part of the reason was that she started most of it. I was certain she’d been eavesdropping on his conversations for years and knew every painful detail of our divorce.
“Hey, Monica,” she chimed as she ended her call.
Smiling, I waved. “Hello, Melody. Is Anthony around?”
I saw her sizing me up, checking out my slim curves and fierce new hairstyle. What? Did she think after the divorce I was going to fall apart and look a hot mess? “Yes. He’s expecting you.”
After finding out how much it was going to cost to install a brand-new cooling system in the house, I had mustered up the nerve to call Anthony and ask for the money. Instead of belittling and treating me like a child, he told me to come over to his office.
“Go on in.”
I nodded and was getting ready to knock when his office door flew open and a handsome black man stormed out. I had seen him with Anthony several times before and smiled up into his angry greenish brown eyes, yet he barely looked in my direction and headed toward the elevators.
Anthony was sitting behind the desk in his large corner office, which had windows for walls. Everything was white from the ceiling all the way down to the bone white marble flooring. He motioned for me to take a seat on a white upholstered chair across from his desk while he finished his call.
I sat down, crossed my legs, and took a moment to take in his profile. Liese had his small pudgy nose, while Arissa got his good hair and beautiful chocolate eyes. Anthony had always been a vain son of a bitch. He knew he looked good. You could see it in his thousand-dollar suits and his expensive wingtip shoes. He finally ended his call and swung around in his seat.
“Sorry about that. You know I’m always in high demand.”
“What else is new?” I said with a phony laugh, hoping he didn’t notice. He leaned across the desk, staring me in the face. “So what’s up? You were saying something on the phone about needing money.”
I nodded and put on my little-girl face the way Arissa did when she wanted her way with her daddy. “The central air unit went out. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t really need the money, but I really can’t afford it this month, and as hot as the house is, I can’t imagine letting the girls sleep in that heat.” I knew I was rambling but I had to make sure I put a plug in about the kids so he wouldn’t have a chance to say no.
“No problem,” he began with this grin like he was about to tell me something good. He reached inside his desk drawer and pulled out a checkbook, then reached for a pen.
I couldn’t believe it had been that easy. “I just need fifteen hundred.”
“Absolutely,” he said, then grinned and quickly scribbled out a check. I waited eagerly. I had already called the man before I left and told him to come back to my house first thing tomorrow morning. I was off tonight, so the girls and I were going to stay the night at the Marriott. I knew they would enjoy that. Reyna had enough hotel points that the room was free. Thank goodness for best friends.
“Here you go.” He reached across the desk and handed me the check.
“Thank you.” I started to fold up the check and stick it in my purse, but something told me before I did that to look down at the amount. When I did, my eyes grew large and my jaw dropped. “This is for a hundred thousand dollars!”
“Yes ... it is.”
Before I could question him, there was a knock at the door and I turned to see a beautiful woman stepping into the room. Tall, thin, with a professional weave. It looked almost real, but I knew enough to know a fake when I saw it.
“Hello, you must be Monica,” she said, then sashayed her narrow hips over to me and shook my hand.
I smiled up into her gray eyes and realized she was truly beautiful beneath the painted eyes and tinted lips. “Yes, I am, and you must be Rosa. I’ve heard a lot about you from the girls.”
“They’re wonderful kids.” She moved around the desk and wrapped her arm around Anthony, and he kissed her so passionately, I turned my head for a brief moment to give them some privacy. I couldn’t remember if he had ever kissed me like that before. The two of them obviously had something Anthony and I never had.
I was ready to go, but I still had an issue to address. I gave them another five seconds and when I realized they must have forgotten I was in the room, I cleared my throat rudely and said, “Anthony, we need to talk about this check. As much as I would love to keep it, I can’t.”
“I owe it to you.”
Rosa looked at him and they shared a look that passed between them. “Sweetheart. Have you talked to her yet?” she asked with a nervous glint in her eyes.
He purposely avoided looking my way as he replied, “No, I was just getting ready to.”
I suddenly had a bad feeling as I looked from her to him. “Talk to me about what?”
Anthony reached over and squeezed Rosa’s hand, then replied, “Monica, we would like to spend a lot more time with the girls. I miss them and Rosa adores them.”
“That’s fine. You know I’ve never had a problem with you being with them.”
Rosa shook her head like I was stupid or something. He patted her hand. “Monica, yesterday I asked Rosa to marry me.”
For the first time I noticed the large rock on her finger. It had to be five carats or more. Damn! My ring had barely been one carat.
“Congratulations,” I said as she wiggled her fingers so I could get a closer look.
Anthony took her hand in his. “Right now I think ... we think it’s important that you focus on your education and get your nursing career off the ground. I’ve talked to Rosa, and we would like the girls to come live with us.”
What the hell did he just say to me? “Live with you?” I rolled my eyes and lowered my gaze to the check. “Is that was this is all about?” I knew he had been up to something all these weeks. I just had no idea what. Now I knew.
“I want you to have the money so you’ll know that I’m willing to help. If you agree, I will give you two more just like that.”
“Anthony, you can go to hell!”
Rosa gasped and I watched a tear roll down her painted cheek. “Please, I can’t have kids, so I would love to raise your girls as my own.” She looked desperate.
“As your own? Excuse me, but they already have a mother.”
She got ready to say something but Anthony stopped her. Good move, because I was seconds away from snatching that weave from her head. How dare she try to steal my babies! Anthony leaned back in his chair like he didn’t have a worry in the world. “Arissa’s been saying you work late and when you’re home you’re either tired or busy studying. All we want to do is make life easier for you.”
“Really ... and what happens after graduation?” I asked with straight attitude.
Casually he replied, “We’ll be more than willing to give you reasonable visitation.”
“Reasonable?” I sprung from the chair. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but those are my girls. They came outta this coochie over here, not hers, and I’ll be damned if I sell them to you for a price!”
He leaned back in his seat, then had the nerve to say, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
I snatched my Gucci
purse from the chair and tucked it under my arm. “You should be sorry for even bringing something like that to me!”
“I think we provide a more ... stable home environment. Monica, I hate to get the lawyers involved, but if I have to ...” He purposely allowed his voice to trail off. I didn’t miss the threat.
“Bring it, baby.” I ripped the check in two pieces, tossed it at him, then stormed out of the office. If he wanted a fight, then he’d just got one.
18
Robin
I was working the pole when I spotted Trey stepping into the club. Other than discussing who was going to pick Kyle up from school, he hadn’t said two words to me about the other night, and that was okay with me. He’d left me feeling cheaper than any of the tricks that paid me.
I removed my bikini top and made sure I was staring straight at him as I did a slow striptease. Just as I suspected, his hazel eyes were glued to me. He was too far away to know for sure, but I was certain he was licking his lips and kicking himself as he saw everything he’d missed out on the other night.
For the next two songs I worked the stage, batted my eyes, jiggling my ass and collecting money along the way. By the end of my set I was sweating and breathing hard, holding a fistful of money.
When I came off the stage Trey was standing there waiting for me. I tossed him a cold look so he would know that after what happened the other night, any possibility of me and him was history.
“Yo, how much for a private dance?” he cooed.
Money was money. It felt good inside knowing I worked the pole so well I had his dick hard.
“Depend on what all you want.”
He held up a hundred. “What can I get for this?”
I snatched the money from his hand and walked up to the VIP section. As soon as I reached the balcony, I moved to the couch at the far end and signaled for him to take a seat. The music changed to Nicki Minaj and I moved my body to the beat of the music, swaying my hips and playing with my nipples. Trey sat back on the couch, eyes glued to mine. I could tell when his tongue slipped out from between his lips that he was aroused. I gave him a deep, penetrating gaze, then dropped down to his crotch and started rocking my hips.
“I miss you,” he finally said.
He didn’t have to tell me. His hard dick was evidence of that. “So what? You missed me.”
His hands came and grabbed my hips. He tried to pull me closer but I pushed them away. “There’s no touching.”
“You know you want my hands on you.” Boldly he brought them back to my hips, and his hand moved around to stroke my belly. “Yo, I’ve got mad respect for you, Robin.”
I moved off his lap and swung around and straddled him. My nipples were only inches from his lips and I could feel his warm breath as he spoke.
“I don’t wanna be another one of them muthafuckas you fuck ... I wanna make love.”
I ain’t gonna lie. His words did crazy things to me. I couldn’t remember the last time a man said that to me.
“Robin, I want to be with you ... not just for sex,” he whispered.
He rocked his hips and I followed his rhythm. My eyes were locked on his when he leaned forward and captured a nipple between his lips. I tried not to moan too loud because a bouncer was at the end of the balcony and the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to us. Thank goodness it was dark.
“How about we go to the zoo Saturday? You, me, and Kyle?”
“Okay,” I heard myself say. I wanted to stay mad but I couldn’t. Not with him looking at me that way. Besides, I liked Trey. I liked him so much it scared me. One thing for sure, I didn’t want to lose him.
When the second song ended I climbed off his lap, grabbed my dress, and headed toward the stairs.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Trey asked as he moved up beside me.
I grinned. “Sure.”
We were heading down the steps when I noticed Halo standing down there waiting for me. The look on his face said he was ready to start some shit.
Dammit. He spent so much time at Scandalous, who would have known he owned a hip-hop club in Colonial Heights? Club Swag was the hottest club in the city. So why the hell was he always here sweating me? I tried to pretend I didn’t see him and walked past him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him.
“Hey, take yo muthafuckin’ hands off her!” Trey jumped all in Halo’s face. He loosened his grip, then moved to stand in Trey’s face. The last thing I needed was a fight to break out up in here so the club manager could come down hard on my ass.
“Trey ... please ... let me handle this.”
He had his hands balled in fists at his sides and was breathing fire like a paranormal dragon. “Then handle your business, but if I see that muthafucka grab on you again, I’m going to make it my business.”
Halo laughed. “Yeah, my bad, nigga.” Before he could say anything further, I grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the right.
“Halo, what the hell you want?”
“What you mean what I want? Maybe I want a lap dance so I can feel that wet pussy stroking my dick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Halo, it’s over between us. When you gonna get that shit in your head?”
“Baby it ain’t ova till I say it is. Now can I have a lap dance or what?”
I blew out a heavy breath. Sometimes I felt like I was talking to a fucking brick wall when it came to this dude. He just wasn’t ready to let go. Damn, I know I got some bomb-ass pussy, but this shit was getting beyond ridiculous. “I said no.”
He grabbed my hand and laced my fingers with his. “Oh, so I see how you are. I’m not good enough but that muthafucka ova there is.”
“Damn, Halo, either leave me the fuck alone or I’m calling security.” I snatched my hand and signaled to Trey that I would be right back. I was so sick of Halo thinking I still belonged to him.
I strolled into the girls’ locker room and Honey was in back, changing into a short orange dress with high splits on each side.
“Can I bum some baby wipes?” she said.
I nodded and turned the combination to my lock. The whole time I could feel her eyes on me. “What?”
“That dude I saw you wit is so got damn fine!”
Despite Halo’s drama, I couldn’t resist a grin. “Yeah, he’s a friend of mine.”
“Friend, huh?” Intrigued curiosity was written all over her face, although I could tell she was trying to hide it. “Well if that’s the case, can a sistah get a hook-up?” I guess something in my face told her hell no because her eyes got big. “Oh, hell nah! Is that the dude you went out with the other night?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, something like that.” I handed her a wipe, but before she took it from my hand she looked me dead in the eyes.
“Girl, you know Halo will kill you if he finds out somebody else is getting his pussy, right?”
She was joking, but I was starting to think that there was some truth to what she was saying.
19
Monica
I lay in bed with my arms wrapped tightly around Tremayne as I waited for my breathing to return to normal.
That man was an amazing lover, to say the least. After making him wait almost a month before I finally decided to give him some, we’d been trying to steal moments alone together every chance I got. Fridays had become our time to share. With the girls at school and me not having any classes, he usually played hooky part of the morning to come over and make sure I was made love to. And what a wonderful job he did. Anthony had been my first, but thank goodness he hadn’t been my last.
Speaking of sex ... my hands traveled across his hip and down between his legs, where I started stroking him. Within seconds I felt him spring to life. He groaned. “If you wake Joe up, I’m gonna have to put him somewhere.”
“That’s the plan,” I purred.
True to his warning, Tremayne flipped me onto my back and slid inside. He then rose up on his forearms and stared down into my eyes. I loved watching his expressions
while we made love. With every pump we stared at one another, and I always knew when he was close to coming. He slowed down his pace and ran kisses along my neck, then traveled down to take one of my nipples in his mouth. While he sucked, he thrust in and out of my body. I rocked to meet each one of his strokes with one of my own.
“Feel good to you?” he breathed against my neck.
“Yes, baby. It feels sooo good.” I whimpered and then I pulled him even deeper so he was hitting my spot, and within seconds I was crying out his name.
Afterward we lay in each other’s arms and drifted off to sleep. The alarm was set for one o’clock, so we had plenty of time for another round and a shower before the girls arrived home from school. I was slobbering on his chest when I heard the doorbell. I tried to ignore it, figuring it couldn’t have been anybody this time of the day but a Jehovah’s Witness or a delivery, and I wasn’t expecting anything. But when the ringing persisted, I finally groaned and got up from the comfortable bed and reached for my robe on the back of the door and headed downstairs. I looked through the peephole and wanted to scream.
It was Reyna.
I swung the door open, ready to give her a piece of my mind for ruining my perfect afternoon. She knew I was spending it with Tremayne because I had called her last night to cancel our weekly ritual. Over the phone I could tell she was pissed off at me because I was putting a man in front of our friendship, but Reyna knew as well as I did a good man was hard to find.
Any thoughts of yelling at her crashed and burned when I saw her red eyes. “Reyna, what’s wrong?”
She pushed past me and stormed into the house. “You will not believe what that bastard did,” she said, bottom lip quivering uncontrollably.
“What bastard?” I don’t know how many times I’ve told Reyna she has a bad habit of starting at the middle instead of the beginning of the story.
“Monty.”
“Who is Monty?” I asked, because for the life of me I couldn’t keep up.
“This guy I met a couple of weeks ago.” She moved into the living room and flopped down onto a wingback chair, which meant she had no intention of leaving any time soon. Sighing, I decided to play along for a few moments, then I was putting her the hell out. I just wasn’t in the mood for relationship drama.
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