“I’m okay. I think I’m going to stay here for a while. Maybe even see if Jackson will let me rent this place out if I agree to fix it up a bit. So, don’t get too comfortable with Mackenzie being around. If things go according to my plan, I’ll be sending for her soon. You’ll just have to visit her here.”
“Really,” he said, looking around at the kitchen. “This place actually needs a lot of work. Are you sure you want to bring Mackenzie to this type of environment?”
“Jaylin, she hasn’t always had the finer things in life and neither have I. For me, this ain’t all that bad, especially if I fix it up like I want to. Mackenzie will just have to adjust, and this place has some potential. Like it or not, sorry, she’s going to live wherever I live.”
Jaylin took off his hat and put it on the table. He picked up a toothpick and twirled it around in his mouth. “Scorpio, why don’t you cut the bullshit and come home with me? This ain’t no way to live. It’s dirty, muggy, and colder than a motherfucker in here. It really doesn’t suit you at all, and if you think I’m going to allow Mackenzie to come here with you and suffer, you’re sadly mistaken. There’s no potential in this, and if you want to fuck yourself, then do so. Don’t make Mackenzie suffer, though, when she doesn’t have to.”
“What is so wrong with me wanting my child with me? I don’t care how bad this place might look to you, but once I fix up everything, it’s going to look nice. Like I said, it might not be what you’re accustomed to, but Mackenzie and I will be just fine. Besides, it’s about time I had something to call my own. That way I don’t have to worry about anybody trying to run my life. You know what I mean?”
“So, this is about your independence, huh? Trying to prove to old Jaylin that you don’t need any handouts from him. I’m cool with that, so let me not waste anymore of your time.”
He stood and grabbed his coat from the chair. I stood too, and watched as he put it on. As soon as he picked up his hat from the table, a roach crawled across it. He shook it off and stroked his goatee.
“You sure this is what you want to do?” he asked.
My eyes filled with water. “This is not what I want to do, but this is something I have to do for me.”
He pulled his coat back and reached for the keys in his pocket. He tossed them on the table and caught me taking a glimpse at his goods.
“I’m not going to come back here again, so don’t worry. And I’m not going to beg you to be with me, so don’t worry about that either. I really thought you understood me better than anybody, but I guess I was wrong. And before I go, if you’d like to get your fuck on, just say so. Don’t just stand there staring me down, being all fake and shit like you don’t want me.” I didn’t respond, so he put his hands in his pockets and stepped up to me. His lips touched my ear, “Are we fucking or what?”
I shook my head, “No. Not this time. I need a life absent from you, and I insist on having it.”
“You think so,” he said, walking behind me. He reached his hands around the front of my silk robe and tried to untie it. I grabbed his hands and stopped him, but when he unzipped his pants, and pressed his hardness against me, I felt defeated. I bent my body over the kitchen table and let him hold my hips from behind. He flipped up my robe, and got a good look at my naked ass. I felt so ashamed. With tears in my eyes, I relaxed my body on the table and enjoyed the way he toyed with my insides. He held his dick in his hand, and circled my pussy with the thickness of his head, until he had the pleasure of soaking me. I reached back and helped him enter me, and when he did, he hit my insides from every angle that he could. It was just enough to make me think about what I was missing, and then he backed out. Continuing to torture me, he zipped his pants and used the tip of his tongue to lick his name tattooed across my ass.
He had no intention of finishing what he started, and as I remained on the table, he covered my butt with my robe. He leaned over me and whispered in my ear, “With a pussy that wet, you’ll never get rid of me. I got more waiting for you at home, and as good as you are, a place like this doesn’t excite me. Stop fooling yourself, Scorpio, and wake up before it’s too late.” He left the kitchen.
I fought hard trying not to go after him, but when I heard the front door open, I couldn’t let him go.
“Jaylin!” I yelled from the kitchen. “Wait!”
“What’s up?” he said, holding the door open. “Have you changed your mind about coming home with me?”
“I’ll come back only if you’re willing to make some changes. You have to stop taking advantage of me, and is it so hard for you to show me some respect? Did you come all this way just to walk in here for fifteen minutes, tease the hell out of me, and go back home? All I wanted was for you to tell me you love me, you miss me, and that you can’t live without me. If not that, then share with me how much you’ve missed making love to me. Deep in my heart I know you’re feeling something for me, but I need to hear you say it. I need assurance from you that all this bullshit is going to stop. So, yes, I’m miserable without you, but I refuse to go back to the way things are.”
He slammed the door. “Look, I did tell you I missed you!” he yelled. “And as for living without you, trust me, I can. There’s no need for me to go through all that other bullshit when you know how I feel. I’m not going to say what you want me to say, or feel how you want me to feel. That’s stupid. If coming all this way wasn’t enough for you, then fuck it! It was a waste of my time and yours too. Bottom line is I love everything about me. Why in the hell should I change because you want me to? If anything, you need to adjust to dealing with my ways, if we’re going to be together. You’ve always said you would, but I guess since you got brothas out there sucking your pussy now, you want things to change. Fuck that, baby, I just can’t do it.”
I was in tears listening to him. “Regardless of what you say, Jaylin, sometimes we have to make changes for the ones we love. I’ve given up a lot for you and made plenty of sacrifices to make you happy. You haven’t changed one damn thing for me. You know how much your cruel words have an impact on me, but you continue to ridicule me. You know how much you’ve hurt me. Can’t you at least think about shit before you say it?”
“I’m not changing shit about me, and you need to woman up. You’ve always portrayed yourself to be a hard woman, so deal with it. My arrogant ways and attitude shouldn’t bother you at all, and none of this is new to you. It’s not like I just started acting this way—”
“But... but you are different. Ever since Nokea didn’t accept your proposal you have treated every woman that steps to you like shit. That includes me. The only one who gets your respect is Nanny B, and that’s because you ain’t fucking her.”
“Whatever, Scorpio.” He opened the door and stepped onto the porch. “I got some business to take care of in St. Louis. Are you coming with me or not?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not coming back until you—”
“Hey!” he yelled, loudly. “Suit yourself. I’m out of here. I’m not wasting anymore of my damn time!”
He walked off.
I closed the door and foolishly hoped that he would knock again. But when he didn’t, I peeked out the window and watched a taxi drive down the street. I pretty much figured he wasn’t coming back anytime soon, but I knew the longer he stayed away, the easier it was going to be for me to manage without him.
Chapter 17
Jaylin
My plane didn’t touch down in the Lou until Monday afternoon at four-fifteen. And after being searched by security, I didn’t get home until almost six o’clock that night. Nanny B said the phone had been ringing like crazy and told me which calls sounded important. When she mentioned Nokea, I knew I had to call her back first. She also mentioned Mr. Schmidt, but I decided to put him off until I got to work.
I couldn’t wait to tell Mackenzie I’d seen Scorpio. I hated to pretend everything was cool, but to make her feel better I told her Scorpio would be coming home soon. I even stopped at a toy store to b
uy her a new Barbie doll, and told her it was from Scorpio so Mackenzie wouldn’t think her mother had forgotten about her. I was somewhat disappointed that Scorpio hadn’t come back with me, but I also knew what a pain in the ass she could be at times. I’d hated to see her living like that, but if she didn’t want to come back with me, I wasn’t going to make her.
When I’d called Jackson and asked where she was, he declined to tell me. I’d offered to pay back the $5,000 he mentioned that he’d loaned, and kicked out another grand for the phone number. That had bought all the info I needed. The key to his place in Denver had cost me another grand. I guess I’d been desperate to see her, and even though I pretended I wasn’t missing her, her absence was killing me.
Before I sat down for dinner, I called Nokea. She sounded okay when she answered the phone, so I wasn’t sure what the urgency was all about.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“Yes, Jaylin. Everything is fine. I was just calling to see if you would watch LJ on Friday night. I have an engagement that I don’t want to miss.”
“I thought you said it was important? You know I’ll always watch my son, Nokea.”
“I didn’t tell Nanny B it was important. She just tells you it’s important whenever I call so you’ll call me back.”
“Yeah, but that’s cool. Stephon’s card party ain’t until eight o’clock Friday night, so I’ll be here up until then. Once I leave, Nanny B will be here. And if you don’t mind me asking, what kind of engagement do you have?”
She laughed. “I . . . I have dinner plans with someone.”
“Who, Pat? Did you and her work things out?”
“No, we didn’t. I called her several times and she refuses to talk to me.”
“Damn, that’s messed up. Sorry to hear that, but that’s how y’all women are. Men, we can be friends forever. We might have our ups and downs, but we always stay boys. So, if you’re not having dinner with Pat, then who are you having dinner with?”
“Jaylin, I’m having dinner with Buckethead.”
“Who? Who in the hell is Buckethead?”
“You remember . . . The Denzel Washington look-alike at the Mobil gas station we stopped at on your birthday. Actually, his name is Collins but—”
“Whoa... whoa, wait a minute. I remember who you’re talking about, but you said you wasn’t interested in him. And how did you get in touch with him anyway? I tore up your number, and I know that fool wasn’t desperate enough to piece it back together.”
“Yeah, well, actually, I saw him somewhere else and I wasn’t wearing that dress you hated so much, either. He gave me his phone number and I called him.”
“That’s foul and you know it, Nokea. You said that you didn’t even find him attractive. Besides, he looked a lot older than you are. I’m not going to watch LJ while you’re out kicking it with this motherfucker either.”
“Fine, then I’ll just ask my parents to watch him. Also, I never said that he wasn’t attractive, you insisted that he wasn’t. Truth be told, he’s a very attractive man and he’s only forty years old. That’s only nine years older than me.”
I was truly hurt, but we’d agreed to get on with our lives without each other. Thing was, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t wasting any time. “Okay, Nokea.
Sorry, but I don’t want this new man of yours around my child. So, every time you and him get together, I want LJ here with me.”
“Now, I won’t promise you all that because I would like for him to see how handsome my baby is. When we make plans, sometimes I’ll bring LJ over there and sometimes I won’t.”
“Whatever, Nokea. I’ll see you on Friday, and bring LJ over early. I’m going to take a half day at work so I can spend time with him before I go to Stephon’s place.”
“How’s Stephon doing? I haven’t talked to him in a while. I think I’ll call him when we get off the phone. Is he at home?”
“Nokea, don’t play. I know we agreed to go our separate ways, but I don’t want you getting all chummy with Stephon again.”
She laughed. “Chummy, huh? We got a little bit more than chummy, didn’t we?”
“By the way you’re setting that thang out there now, I’m sure y’all did. But don’t be trying to hurt my feelings, all right? Bad enough I’m allowing you to go on this date with Buckethead.”
“It’s Collins. And you’re not allowing me to do anything. I still love you, but if it’s time for anybody to move on, it’s definitely me. So, on another note, you’ll have to pick up LJ from here on Friday. I’ll still be at work, but Mama will be here. I’ll tell her to expect you.”
“Cool. And if I don’t get a chance to talk to you before Friday, don’t go having sex with him yet. Allow yourself a little time to get to know him. I think you might be rushing things a bit.”
“Sure, Daddy, but I’m not that type of woman.
And whenever I do decide to have sex with him, remember, that’s my business, not yours.”
“You’re right. But, honestly, I’m not prepared to accept you sleeping with another man yet.”
“Thanks for being honest, but get over it. If I can recall, I wasn’t prepared for you sleeping with all the women that you’d slept with either. So, I’m not trying to sound harsh when I say this, but deal with it. You’ve made your choice.”
“Good-bye, Nokea.”
“Talk to you later, Jaylin.”
She hung up.
This was some crazy shit. If Nokea’s sleeping with this man wasn’t enough to hurt me, the thought of him being a tiny part of my son’s life truly was. If she was going to move on, fine. But LJ definitely wasn’t going to be caught up in the mix.
I felt a slight bit down on myself because Scorpio and Nokea were both trying to make a move out of my life, so I changed clothes and took Mackenzie to the movies. She was always the one person who could pull me out of my misery, and by day’s end, she did. We didn’t get home until eleven o’clock, so I tucked her in bed and finally got some rest before going back to work. Before I dozed off, I called Jackson and thanked him for the information. I told him if Scorpio called in need of some money to give it to her and I would repay him double. I was sure he figured out how much money he could rack up on, and after he joyfully agreed, we ended our call.
Schmidt buzzed in for me to come see him as soon as I walked into my office. I asked Angela to pour me a cup of coffee, and went to see him. He was on the phone and whispered for me to have a seat. He seemed a little upset with the caller, and when he mentioned his wife’s name, I knew exactly what he was going through. Women were created to be pains in the ass. Wives, girlfriends, whatever—they all have issues. A man just can’t get a break.
Schmidt slammed down the phone and walked over to the door to close it. He took a seat and made quick conversation.
“Jaylin, how’s everyone doing? You know, the kids, your nanny, your girlfriends?”
“Everyone’s fine, Mr. Schmidt. Why do you ask, though? You never seemed to care before.”
“Oh, Jaylin, I’ve always cared. That’s why I asked you to come see me this morning. I want to make sure you’re happy, and if you’re not, then I’m not. Somehow, that ties in with us losing money.”
“I’m fine, but why do you feel your business is losing money if I’m not happy?”
“Well, I got a phone call the other day. It was a call from one of my clients who makes me a very wealthy man. You might know him, Robert McDaniels. Robert simply told me if I didn’t get rid of you, he would take his business elsewhere. When I asked why, he said something interesting to me. Do you know what it was?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. He told you I fucked his wife. So what?”
“Exactly,” Schmidt said, walking over to the window to look out. “That was my point. I asked him how many men have slept with his wife, or how many times he has stepped out on her. When he couldn’t answer, I made it perfectly clear to him that, no matter how much business he took away from me, it could never
amount to as much money as you’ve made for this company over the years. So, trying to replace you was out of the question. He was angry, but I’m sure he’ll get over it.”
“I appreciate you having my back. But, uh, I don’t want to be responsible for you losing that kind of money. I’m sure that one day it will come back to haunt me, you know what I mean?”
“No, it won’t. As of yet, he hasn’t done anything. I’ve known him for over twenty years, and I think his trust for me and our friendship means more to him than he realizes. I could be wrong because he’s known for being a stubborn old bastard, but my intuition tells me he’s not going to do a damn thing with his investments.”
“All right, but off the record, Mr. Schmidt, he needs to back off me. I have some serious plans for him if he doesn’t.”
“Now, don’t go talking like that, Jaylin. He’ll back off. I’ll give him a call later, and he and I will discuss this over a late dinner tonight. By the end of the day, this thing is going to be behind all of us. Personally, I don’t think he’s up to battling every man who has slept with his wife. She’s a beauty, but she’s a woman who knows how to get around. And let’s keep that off the record. How did you get yourself involved with her, anyway? Your girlfriend is one fine young woman, and there’s no way I would even give Heather McDaniels a second look with someone like her.”
“Experience, Mr. Schmidt. It was all about experiencing something different. I like variety. Nothing wrong with exploring every once in a while, is there?”
He smiled and put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, exploring has gotten me in trouble plenty of times. But I have a good wife. She’s forgiving, and as long as I bring home my paycheck so she can spend it, she’s fine with that.”
I made my way over to Schmidt and shook his hand. “Thanks for believing in me and recognizing my hard work. Not too many bosses out there actually know what kind of good people they have working for them, especially black people. It means a lot to me and I owe you one.”
Naughty 2: My Way or the Highway Page 19