by Vera Roberts
“Caprina caused a lot of tension between us,” he finally admitted.
“She may have planted the seeds, Scott,” Sanora crossed Her legs, “but I have a feeling you’ve been watering the garden.”
Scott looked at the Mistress and was speechless. She was right. “I guess.”
“I’m right.” Sanora smiled.
“Do you have any connections in real estate? I need to set her up in an apartment.” Scott thought quickly. “A nice one in a good neighborhood, possibly with security gates, and gated parking.”
“Done,” Sanora replied. “Anything else?”
Physically, Scott began to feel better but it was his heart and mind that was hurting the most. “I spent the past eight years erasing her from my mind and she comes back in like shit never even happened.”
If you only knew, my sweet Scott. “I know.”
“Are you going to handle her or should I?”
“I want you to lay low and focus on you and getting your girl back. It’s going to be a rough time for you both,” Sanora replied.
“And Caprina, Mistress?” Scott asked. “What about her?”
“I’m going to take care of her,” Sanora had a big smile on Her face, “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
FIVE
“Howdy, stranger…I haven’t seen you around here in a while,” the Starbucks barista, B., greeted Mariana.
“Yeah, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it?” Mariana smiled. The last time she saw B. had been a few months prior. “I’ve just been busy.”
“Busy, huh? So busy you can’t see your favorite handsome and charming Starbucks barista?”
“Oh, he’s here today?” Mariana looked around. “Where is he? I don’t see him.”
“You’re funny. You’re funny and you’re fine,” B. nodded. “Great combination in a woman. I like that.”
“Whatever,” Mariana dismissed B.’s compliment, “I just want a Grande Mocha Frappuccino, please?”
“You got it,” B. rang her up. “So how’s your boyfriend?”
Mariana hesitated. Scott stopped just short of firing her just a few weeks prior. Whenever he was around her, there was a glacial presence as if he were purposely trying to punish her.
When Scott had gone to Vegas recently, he hadn’t called Mariana at all, and her mind went into overdrive about the reasons why. She already suspected what she figured was true: Scott was sleeping with Caprina. It was only a matter of time before he asked her to move out. She had started looking at apartments just in case. “He’s busy.” Mariana gave B. her card for the drink.
“He can’t be that busy,” B. gave the card back to Mariana. “It’s on the house, by the way.”
Mariana appreciated the gesture. “Why say that?”
“If Barack can afford an evening taking Michelle out on a date while he’s trying to save the free world, I’m sure your boyfriend can afford an hour,” B. smiled.
Mariana had to admit B. did have a point. “No argument here.”
“You would lose anyway,” B. winked, “but I do have a proposition for you.”
“I’m listening.”
“I would like to take you out on a friendly dinner. Friendly. No kissing, no hugging, no ‘smack it, flip it, and rub it down,’ unless you want some of that, then I would be more than willing to help.” B. smiled again.
“Friendly? None of that Smooth Daddy arm-around-the-shoulder moves?” Mariana asked.
“Two friends can’t go out to dinner?” B. shrugged.
“Friends,” Mariana emphasized. “Just friends.”
“Just friends it is,” B. agreed. “Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets.”
Mariana picked up her coffee at the counter. Her exchange with B. made her a bit tingly inside. It’s been a while since she’d had that feeling. She missed it.
****
“I have a dinner tonight, so I won’t be home until late,” Mariana casually mentioned.
“Okay,” Scott’s eyes didn’t leave his computer screen.
Mariana stood in his office with a hand on her hip. She could’ve been on fire and he wouldn’t have noticed. “I’ll see you later?”
Scott briefly looked up. “Okay.”
Scott’s nonchalant demeanor was making Mariana angrier by the second. She was starting to believe what B. had said to her. Scott really didn’t care. And if Scott stopped caring, there was only one reason why. “Are you sleeping with Caprina?” Mariana’s voice was louder than she intended.
Scott was counting numbers on the spreadsheet before him. “No,” he didn’t look up at her.
“Could you at least humor me by looking at me?”
Scott honored her request. “No, I’m not sleeping with her,” he stated. He went back to viewing the spreadsheet.
“It feels like you are.” Mariana replied.
“I’m not,” Scott’s voice was curt.
“And I don’t believe you.” She folded her arms.
Scott was officially annoyed with her. It wasn’t the time or the place. He was fortunate most of the employees were in various meetings and no one could hear them. “Then that’s not my problem, is it?”
Mariana walked over to a bookcase and tossed a Tiffany vase to the floor. It smashed into tiny pieces. Scott looked up from his computer. He quelled his anger. “And now you have my attention.”
“You’re always with her. You’re always traveling somewhere with her. How long does it take to do an ad campaign for Guess? Not very long, but it seems like it’s taking you two weeks to do. And then you’re always out to lunch or somewhere with her. With her. I don’t get invited to those meetings.”
“It’s because she doesn’t like you,” Scott interjected.
“Gee, I wonder why!” Mariana scoffed.
“It’s also because you made a major mistake before, and we can’t let that happen again.” Scott clarified.
Mariana loudly sighed. She had explained to Scott several times what had happened, and it felt as if he not only did not believe her, but he didn’t want to, either. Even if she could have proved that Caprina had set her up, it wouldn’t have made a difference. “Thanks for having faith in me,” she mumbled.
“I have to keep Guess happy.” Scott reasoned. “And if it means keeping one of the best employees away because the lead doesn’t want her around, so be it.”
“That’s not it,” Mariana shook her head. “You don’t want me around because it’ll make you uncomfortable.”
“This conversation is making me uncomfortable.” Scott replied.
Mariana shook her head. “You’re not even going to try, are you?”
Scott put down the spreadsheet and leaned back in his chair. Mariana was hell-bent on having the discussion whether he wanted to or not. “What do you want me to do, Mari? I have to supervise this campaign. It’s almost done and then things will be back to normal. My hands are tied here, okay?”
“No, they’re not,” she started to leave, “not unless you’re the one who’s tying them.”
Mariana was almost out of his office when Scott stunned her with the news. “We need a break,” he quietly said.
It was the news Mariana had been dreading. The tension between them had reach epic proportions, and Mariana was convinced Scott just didn’t care anymore. “A break? A break?” She turned around. Her eyes welled up with tears. “You’re breaking up with me?”
“No,” Scott already regretted Sanora’s suggestion, “Things are tense between us right now, and I just think we need to spend some time apart and regroup so we can come back together strong.”
“Why?” Mariana begged. “So you can sleep with her in the meantime?”
Scott knew where the argument was going, and he wanted no part of it. “You know what? I’m not doing this here.”
“Oh, no, you’re doing this here and you’re doing it right now!” Mariana demanded. “Is that the real reason why, Scott? That’s why you want us to go on a break? So you can se
e if anything is still there between you two?”
Scott looked at his girlfriend. Her face was full of anguish and hurt. It upset him to know he was the cause of it. “No.”
“You’re lying! I know you are!” Mariana could no longer stifle her tears. They streamed down her cheeks.
“What do you want me to say, Mari? What?” Scott wanted to wrap his arms around her but he knew she would push him away. It killed him to know she was crying in front of him because of him. “I’m being completely honest with you, and you still accuse me of lying, so what is it that you expect?”
Mariana wiped her cheeks and straightened her blouse. “I expect a man to respect a good woman when he has one before someone else gets her.” She walked out of his office and closed the door behind her.
Scott leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. He wanted to be honest and explain to Mariana everything that was going on, but he knew that would not be of use. He didn’t want to add more fuel to the blazing inferno before him. Instead, he played it cool and trusted his Mistress, praying She knew what She was doing, despite feeling out of control about the situation.
It didn’t stop the feeling of a disaster waiting to happen. This won’t end well.
****
“You know there’s this hot song by Jay-Z that I love,” Jeff began.
“Really? What is it?”
“99 Problems,” Jeff laughed, “because apparently, you have issues.”
Jeff and Scott had met up for happy hour at EMK. After Mariana left his office, Scott had spent the remainder of the afternoon hidden in his office. He hid partially to focus on work, but the real reason he hid was so he didn’t have to see Mariana whenever he opened his door.
“Mari’s getting on me for working with the Great Disaster.”
“Can you blame her?”
“She really, really fucked up on a major spreadsheet the other day. The figures were all wrong.” Scott still couldn’t wrap his head around it. “In a normal situation, she would’ve been fired on the spot.”
“But you didn’t fire her because she’s your girl, right?”
“I didn’t fire her because I’m not sure if she’s the reason the accounting was wrong,” Scott nursed his whiskey.
“Wait a minute,” Jeff put down his drink, “are you saying the Great Disaster had something to do with it?”
Scott looked up at the starry sky above him. He knew something was off when he had seen Caprina was at Mariana’s desk the first time he spotted her. His first intuition was correct; that bitch couldn’t be trusted. Still, even if Caprina did mess with the budget, it would look really bad on Scott’s part to accuse her of doing so without concrete evidence. “I know she did.”
“Dude, you know the Great Disaster still wants that Southern Hospitality, don’t you?” Jeff egged on. “And now that you two are working together…spending long hours together…you know what she’s going to do next, right?”
Scott thought about the Vegas incident. “She’s already attempted.”
“I knew it!” Jeff nodded.
“I have absolutely no desire to dip my dick in her,” Scott defended.
“It’s not just your dick she wants, playa,” Jeff said, “it’s this right here.” He pointed to Scott’s temple.
Scott briefly closed his eyes to remove the mental image of Mariana crying in his office earlier. It was the second time he’d seen her cry, and he was the cause for both occasions. He felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. “I told Mari we need to split up for a while.”
“Let me guess,” Jeff deadpanned, “she didn’t like that idea?”
“I think the Great Disaster going to do something more to Mari, and I need to get Mari out of the way.” Scott had a bad feeling long before Sanora mentioned a word to him. “If Mariana is not in the picture, the Great Disaster can’t mess with her.”
“Do you really think the Great Disaster would go after Mari like that?” Jeff asked and Scott shot him a disbelieving look. “All right, my bad, stupid question. So here’s a smart one for you: what are you going to do about it?”
Scott thought about his past relationship with Caprina. In a few circles, he was still known as the sucker who got dumped on an international level. Once he got his vengeance on her, he would forgive her. Unbeknownst to Scott, the day was just around the corner—courtesy of Sanora. “It’s being handled.”
****
“This is a nice car, B.,” Mariana looked around in the comfortable convertible. It had leather seats and the top was down. She was enjoying feeling the breeze on her face. It temporarily relieved her of any stress.
“Yeah, it’s no Mercedes like you drive, but it’s a nice starter vehicle,” B. winked.
Mariana relaxed in the seat as Coltrane serenaded her. “Starter vehicle, huh? So what are your ambitions?”
“I have so many things I want to do. Right now, I DJ on the weekends but eventually I just want to be known as the best DJ in the world. DJ Sugah Bear. I want people to think of DJ Sugah Bear when they hear the Guettas, the VanBuurens, etc.”
“DJ Sugah Bear, huh?” Mariana smiled. “You sound like a cuddly pimp.”
“Pimpin’ain’t easy.” He pulled up to the valet. “Well, we’re here. Have you ever been to this place?”
Mariana got out of the car and looked up at the bold, black lettering on the door in front of her. “EMK? No. I wanted to but never had the chance.”
“You’ll love it,” B. grabbed Mariana’s hand. “Let’s go inside.”
The lounge was already crowded and Mariana felt herself becoming lost in the crowd. She grabbed B.’s hand so she wouldn’t be left behind.
****
Jacob was talking to an employee when he spotted Mariana enter the lounge. She was holding hands with B. “Oh, shit,” Jacob whispered, “excuse me.” He walked over to Scott. “Ice, we got a situation.” He motioned over to Mariana.
Scott looked up and saw Mariana and B. being seated. B. was holding Mariana’s hand. The waitress handed them their menus and talked the specials with them. “Is that right?” He felt his heart thump through his chest.
“Ice, Ice, Ice,” Jacob got in front of him as Jeff held back his best friend, “Ice, listen to me. That could mean anything, all right? He could just be a friend.”
“I’m fine,” Scott put down his drink and managed a smile, “I’m fine. I’ll be right back.” He left for Mariana’s table.
****
“B., this place is amazing!” Mariana looked all over. “How did you manage to get in here?”
“I know people who know people who know people,” B. was intentionally vague. “You like it?”
“I love it!” Mariana secretly wished Scott had taken her there before B. did. “I really love it.”
“I hope you do,” Scott interrupted, “I know the owner. I’ll send him your regards.”
“Scott, hi.” Mariana felt her cheeks turning red. Embarrassment and worry shot up and down her spine. “Scott, this is my friend, Bernard. Bernard, this is Scott. He’s my…”
“Boss,” Scott shook B.’s hand, “pleasure to meet you.”
Mariana felt her stomach twist in knots. Scott intentionally didn’t say boyfriend.
“Likewise, sir,” B. nodded.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your date here.” Scott smiled.
“It’s not a date,” Mariana corrected, but it was too late. The worst was yet to come.
“Oh, I don’t know. Candle light, soft music, and a cozy, intimate table,” Scott mentioned, “it looks like a date to me.” His demeanor was warm, but his eyes told a different story to Mariana. “Nevertheless, I’ll leave you two kids alone. In fact, when you’re done, send your check over to me. I’ll pay for it.”
“That is mighty nice of you, Scott. I’ll take you up on your offer,” B. smiled.
“Sure thing. Have a great evening, Bernard,” Scott nodded. He then turned his attention to his girlfriend. “Mariana.”
; Catching Mariana in the act wasn’t just good enough for Scott. He was hell-bent on humiliating her. His plan worked. “I’ll catch you later, Scott.” Mariana quietly replied.
Scott walked back to Jeff, who stood watching everything from afar. “So what was that about?”
“She claims it’s not a date,” Scott nursed his Glenlivet.
“And you don’t believe her?” Jacob asked.
“Actually, I do.” Scott remembered the embarrassment in Mariana’s eyes. It wasn’t indicative of someone who cheating on him.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Jeff asked.
“What I should’ve done a long time ago,” Scott looked back over at Mariana, who was now staring at him, “and let it go.”
SIX
B. pulled up to Mariana’s house and turned off the engine. “Did you have fun tonight?”
Despite Scott’s surprise appearance, Mariana had had a good time. She and B. had had a wonderful conversation and talked about so many things. They had a lot in common, and he introduced her to new music. If she hadn’t already been attached to Scott, she could see herself dating B. “Yes, I did. Did you?”
“I did,” B. nodded. He turned towards Mariana. “Listen, I know you’re not trying to date anyone, and I respect that. But I would like to be your friend.”
“I would like that,” Mariana smiled. “I would like that a lot.”
“I’m sure your boyfriend would like that as well.” B. smiled.
“My what?”
B. gave Mariana a disbelieving look. “I know that wasn’t your boss paying for our meal now.”
Mariana conceded. “Well, he is my boss…”
B. put a finger to Mariana’s lips. “Go home and patch things up with your man. Call me whenever you want to see a movie or whatever. And don’t forget to stop by Starbucks. I love seeing your beautiful face, darling.”
Mariana leaned over and gave B. a kiss on the cheek. “You will make one lucky lady very happy one day.”
“Oh, I know,” B. winked. He kissed Mariana’s hand. “I’ll see you around, Mari.”
“I’ll see you around, B.” She left his car and watched him drive off. Mariana turned and faced her house. Scott wasn’t home yet. She didn’t want to face him when he did arrive. There was no telling what he was going to do.