by B. M. Hardin
Joey was the top go-to guy in marketing. Somehow, he had found a method that could make anybody money, millions in just a short time and because of it; it had made him a whole bunch of money, that he didn’t mind sharing---at least not with me, though I didn’t need a dime of it.
I couldn’t quite understand why he was so big on keeping his money away from his wife Silvia. I mean after all, Joey wasn’t the easiest to deal with, but she had been doing it for years. And not to mention that she was the mother of his children; so it was only right that she walked out of the marriage with something. But Joey disagreed.
Often he told me of her threats to leave him with nothing if he tried to leave her. She sounded a hell of a lot like me a few years ago. But leave it to Joey, she was an awful wife and didn’t deserve his love or his money; but I was sure that he was exaggerating. I’d never met her but I had seen her on numerous occasions.
I was surprised that Joey had married outside of his race, but for the most part, she was fairly attractive.
Of course I felt terrible for sleeping with her husband; but for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t resist Joey.
But it was time for a change.
Joey continued to squeeze my jaws as he backed me into a corner. I swatted at his hands but he ignored me.
Joey held on firmly, giving me so much eye contact that it made me nervous.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Joey repeated over and over.
A single tear rolled timidly down my face, and Joey caught it with his lips before it reached the bottom of my chin.
He loosened his grip and began to kiss me, forcefully. I was crying inside and out. I was so confused.
Is it possible to truly and deeply love two people at the same time…despite the fact that one already belongs to someone else?
My emotions were all over the place as Joey kissed me passionately on my ears and neck.
His hands roamed all over my body, in a frenzy as if they were small children in a candy shop, running from station to station, unsure of which candy to try first.
My body temperature began to rise and I was so turned on that I could scream.
It was just something about being intimate with Joey. I couldn’t quite explain it. As far as bedroom spunk and romance, he didn’t have a thing on Santana. But somehow, being with him just felt natural; it just felt right.
No matter how wrong it actually was.
My skirt was tight around my hips but that didn’t keep Joey away. Before I knew it, my skirt was up around my breasts and Joey moved my panties to the side. His left hand tickled my fancy as he freed his bulging penis from his kakis.
I lifted my left leg, assuming that he was about to give it to me on the wall but instead, he grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled me by the hair, down the hallway.
He was so rough…but I liked it.
Hell, I loved it.
We entered the bedroom and instead of pulling me toward the bed, he headed toward the balcony.
Though we were a few stories up, it was broad day light, and there was no way I was having sex with him outside.
We were both married; so all of the fun, spontaneous sex was limited.
He opened the balcony door and then threw me up against the door.
“Joey,” I managed to say.
“Don’t worry, were not going out. I just want the world to hear you scream. I want the world to hear you say that this pussy belongs to me. Not him…but me,” Joey growled.
Still refusing to just take my panties off, he moved them to the side again and entered me.
For some reason I thought about protection, but I knew requesting it with Joey was out of the question. I reminded myself to stop by the drug store on my way home.
I just couldn’t have another abortion again.
I’d already had two and I just couldn’t stomach doing it again.
And the sad part was that I never knew whether it was one of my husbands…or Joey’s.
His powerful thrusts made me dig my nails into the back of his neck.
“Tell me that its mine. Tell me that you are mine,” Joey chimed.
“It’s yours,” I whispered.
“No, tell me that you’re mine…louder!” Joey screamed.
I obeyed his every command as he continued to pound away inside of me.
Every other second I would feel terrible for being there with him, and then I would forget all about it and focus on the beating that he was giving my lady in pink.
We exploded together, just as we always did, and Joey wrapped his arms around me.
We both breathed heavily, but remained in complete silence.
I listened to his heartbeat.
I was so in love with him.
But I was also so in love with my husband.
Lord…what was I going to do?
Chapter Three
There she is.
It was Silva---Joey’s wife.
I was at a red light and she was coming out of a hotel, heading for her car.
The first thought that came to my mind why was she in Atlanta when they lived in Gresham Park. The second thing that crossed my mind was that Joey had actually been telling the truth.
She was coming out of a hotel, wearing sweats and wearing shades. Yes, she was definitely having an affair.
And I knew that she wasn’t coming from being with Joey because I’d just left him; at one of our secret spots.
For some reason I became angry; but I wasn’t exactly sure why. Their marriage was none of my business. Hell if anything, I was the cause for some of their problems. I’d spent years anticipating their separation and as quiet as its kept, from the looks of it, Joey was about to become available.
But available was something that I was not.
I was Mrs. Jones; and to be honest, I planned on staying that way.
Silvia drove off and just out of curiosity, I followed her. I guess a part of me just wanted to know if she was heading to meet Joey; but she wasn’t.
She actually stopped at a shoe store. I was surprised but hey, the dirty deed was already done, why not get a new pair of shoes. I couldn’t fault a girl for that.
Okay, so maybe I was being just a tad bit stalker-like---if that’s even a word, but for whatever reason, I parked my car and followed her inside the store.
Though she didn’t have a clue as to who I was, I’d seen her a few times. Joey had a few pictures of her and their girls in his cell phone, as well as I’d seen her and Joey out or in public on several occasions. Though they lived in a town over, Joey worked here in Atlanta, so spotting them wasn’t as hard as it could have been.
In my opinion, if she was just a shade or two darker, and though rightfully I had to say that I was a bit more attractive than she was, we in a way could have passed for sisters.
Which made me wonder if that had been the reason why Joey had married her in the first place; because she resembled me.
I stared at her from a distance.
Her creamy skin reminded me of smooth vanilla ice cream. Her eyes were slanted, almost like the Chinese, but her head full of shiny, silky jet black curls, confirmed her Latino origin. She wasn’t too big; but she definitely wasn’t skinny. Her chest was flatter than I was at the age of ten, but her ass surely made up for that.
I had breasts; but I hadn’t been blessed with too much of the booty; I had a hand full but that was about it. I’d always talked about buying me one but never got around to doing it. But I guess if it wasn’t broke; don’t fix it.
Silvia stopped at a pair of shoes, and I decided to look at the pair beside her.
Niveah what are you doing?
My conscious started to kick in but I was only inches away from her.
“Those are too cute,” I squealed at the shoes that she was holding in her hands.
She smiled at me and I immediately flashed a smile back. I couldn’t help but notice the diamond on her hand.
Joey had always had good taste.
/> “Yeah, they are huh,” she said for confirmation.
“I love the rhinestones on them. Not that you need any more bling. Girl, I love your wedding ring,” I said, nodding at her ring finger, attempting to be friendly.
“I know you aren’t talking with that rock sitting on your finger! It’s gorgeous!” Silvia said and reached for my hand for a better look.
I almost forgot how friendly females could be.
I didn’t have many friends, and I’d never had too many girl-friends, or female interaction. I had an older sister, but she and her family moved to Europe years ago. I only saw her maybe once every five years, if they made it home to visit our parents and talking on the phone with her was very rare. She hadn’t even made it home for my wedding; she’d made it to the first one but not the other two.
I’d had a few friends back in the day, but for some reason, I always seemed to switch friends, every time I switched husbands. Since I’d been with Santana, things moved so fast between us that I hadn’t really had the time to pick up a new friend or two. Two of his business partners were married, but I hadn’t found the time to really get to know them that way that I probably should have.
“Thank you. I’m still getting used to it. I’m a newlywed. I’ve only been married around two months or so,” I told her.
“Well honey, you don’t know a thing about marriage yet. I’ve been married a little over eight years, and I swear I learn something new about my husband every other day,” she smiled.
“Eight years, wow. So marriage isn’t as hard as most people say it is?” I quizzed her.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, it has its challenges; but it’s all worth it. I’m happily married, with two beautiful children, and I’m still head over heels in love with my husband,” she said.
Her words stung my heart as though they were a thousand bees.
I should have known that Joey was lying. His wife was happy, and she didn’t have any plans on leaving him.
Though I couldn’t understand why she would have been coming from a hotel, maybe it was all innocent.
But at the end of the day, that was none of my business. The fact to the matter was that she loved her husband; she’d told me right out of her own mouth.
I continued to chit chat with her for only a few seconds more, and then we parted ways.
Walking out of the store, I knew what I had to do.
Once I was inside of my car, I sent Joey a message and then turned off my cell phone.
I headed home to be with my husband…my Santana.
~***~
“Do you really have to go right now?” I whined to Santana as he put on his tie.
“Yes baby, we’re all getting together for a meeting. But I’ll be home early. You know, maybe you should look a little more into opening that interior design spot that you’ve been talking about. All it takes is for you to get a vision. Daddy will make sure that it’s built just the way you want it,” he said kissing my nose.
We went back and forth for a little with longer and then Santana rushed out of the front door.
Santana had been gone for all of five minutes and then my phone started to ring.
Joey.
I hadn’t talked to him in over two weeks, but that hadn’t stopped him from calling, texting, or leaving me voicemails.
After seeing and chatting with his wife that day, I decided to tell him that it was over and that he should make things work with his wife. She hadn’t seemed at all as bad as Joey had tried to make her out to be and I just didn’t want to be the other woman…anymore; especially when I didn’t have to be. That same day, I came home and waited for Santana. I made love to him like never before.
I had enough sins that needed forgiving, and it just didn’t make any sense to keep adding to the list. It was time to do things the right way.
After calling two more times and getting the voicemail, Joey stopped calling. I decided to take Santana’s advice and start preparing to open my business. Though I didn’t need the money, it would give me something to do; and I would be doing something that I loved.
I decided to get dressed and head to see my lawyer. I wanted more information on incorporating the business and business structures. I needed him to point me in the right direction to making this thing happen, at least on the legal end.
An hour or so later, I was on my way to see Mr. Gill.
“Hello, Ms. Williams, how are you doing?” the front desk clerk, Valerie chimed.
I flashed my ring at her.
“It’s Mrs. Jones now,” I said with a smile.
She squealed and complimented me on my ring.
“Is he in?” I questioned her.
“Yep, give me a second and I’ll let him know that you’re here,” she said, getting up for her chair and walking toward the back.
I took a seat and stared out the window. I looked up at the clouds. I hoped that it didn’t start raining until I was back in the comfort of my home.
“Hi,” a voice said behind me.
Her…Silva.
“Hi, you’re the lady from the store right? A few weeks ago?” she asked me.
I was at a loss for words, so I simply shook my head.
Looking at her, I could immediately tell that she wasn’t there for a visit.
“You’re a lawyer?” I managed to ask her.
“Yes, I have been for years. But I’m new here,” she told me.
“Silva, are you harassing my client?” Mr. Gill asked as he approached.
“No Dad, I was just introducing myself,” she said kissing him on the cheek, and waving goodbye to me.
Dad…did she just call Mr. Gill, my lawyer, Dad?
I followed behind Mr. Gill in silence, trying to get my thoughts together.
As soon as we reached his office, I questioned him.
“So, she’s your daughter?” I asked impatiently.
“Yes---my oldest,” he said.
“But---,”
“But I’m white? Yes, my first wife was Latino. She took a lot after her mom. She actually looks just like her. So, what brings you by?” Mr. Gill asked, getting straight down to business.
I rushed through our conversation so that I could leave. I had a whole lot of thoughts that I had to sort out.
Silvia, Joey’s wife was a lawyer?
And a daughter of a very wealthy lawyer, which meant that Silvia had her own money…and came from money.
So Joey had been lying this whole time?
Mr. Gill had been my families’ lawyer since we’d moved to Georgia and Daddy started making the big bucks. The people that he represented were doctors, athletes, movie stars, or basically, people with a whole lot of unnecessary money. And most of the people at his firm handled the same kinds of people.
So with that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Silvia had just as much, if not more money than Joey.
He’d been lying to me the entire time.
He hadn’t stayed married to her because of money. He had stayed married to her because he’d wanted to.
I was furious.
I know, I have my own things that aren’t exactly perfect, but at least I was honest with Joey. He was the only person in my life that I had ever been completely honest with and I thought that he was being honest with me too.
I wanted so badly to call him, and give him a piece of my mind but what was the point?
It was my own fault for dealing with him as long as I had, while we were both married.
Until I calmed down, I sat in my car in front of Santana’s office for a while. Thoughts of him crossed my mind, but they were quickly replaced by Joey.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss him; I did.
But I knew that it was best if I stayed as far away from him as possible.
Maybe Daddy had been right all those years ago; maybe I should have never opened that door again.
But no matter what nonsense or truth I tried to tell myself, I was still hurting inside.
; The sound of thunder caused me to change my mind about surprising Santana at work, so I started my car. But just as I headed out the parking lot, a license plate caught my attention.
A custom made North Carolina State tag.
Joey.
I stopped directly behind his black Avalanche truck.
What the hell was he doing at Santana’s office?
I couldn’t park and get out of my car fast enough.
Literally, I ran inside of the building. I waved to the front desk help and walked passed her toward Santana’s office.
Without knocking, I simply opened the door.
~***~
“Baby, can you believe that the marketing guru that we hired gave us our money back. He says that he has to pass on our job. Something about having too many projects to squeeze us in,” Santana explained.
That day I walked into Santana office breathless.
Joey was sitting across from Santana and his business partners.
I was frozen in place as if I’d seen a ghost.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Santana had asked me.
It took a while and after stuttering, I was finally able to get out a complete sentence.
“Yes, I was coming to see if I could take you to lunch,” I’d told him.
I could feel Joey staring at me out of the corner of my eye but I refused to look at him.
“Well, I guess I don’t have a choice now do I. Oh, where are my manners, baby this is Joseph Moore. Mr. Moore this is my wife, Niveah,” Santana said introducing Joey and I.
Joey firmly shook my hand as I gave a small smile. I’d started to sweat and I knew that if I didn’t get out of that room, at that very moment, I was going to faint.
“I’ll wait for you in the car,” I’d said.
As soon as I was out the door, I sent Joey message after message calling him everything but a child of God.
The nerve of him! He’d always been crazy but damn! He had some explaining to do!
That same night, I’d managed to get away from Santana on a grocery store run and I was able to call and confront Joey. I wasn’t sure if Joey was going to answer but he did.
“What the hell are you thinking?” I’d asked him.
“I miss you,” was the first thing that Joey said to me. Finally, after hanging up on him a few times and then calling him back, Joey told me that one of Santana’s partners had reached out to him for some marketing help. They wanted to take their company to the next level and they’d heard that Joey was one of the best. Of course Joey knew exactly who Santana was and had followed through on the meetings and even accepted the job as a way of getting under my skin.