by Vera Roberts
“I’ve heard a lot about you, man! Um, good things.” Eric clarified. “Nice to finally meet the guy that brought some life back into Mariana’s smile.”
“Thank you for that. She’s a wonderful woman.” Scott emphasized to Sarah. “Now let’s get down to business.”
****
The foursome met for over an hour, hammering out details of the business plan and long-term goals. Sarah played it cool as she watched Scott present ideas and brainstorm the best possible strategy for all involved. She kept sipping her ice water to simmer the growing heat between her thighs. She closed them tightly as she adjusted her position in her chair. Just being in Scott’s presence was making her horny.
While the men talked business, Sarah fantasized that Scott took her on the table. He cleared out the dishes and glasses and they splattered on the floor. Jeff and Eric disappeared from sight, and it was just Scott and Sarah out in public. He hiked up her dress to her waist and moved her panties to the side. He dipped his head down and rolled his tongue over her cinnamon nub, occasionally nibbling it.
Sarah pinched her nipples as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. His tongue was magnetic, making her body aflame with arousal. Scott suddenly entered her, fucking her with hard strokes. Her tunnel tightly squeezed his cock, and he caressed her legs. “Say my name,” Scott ordered.
“Master!”
“Good pet.” He moved inside her faster and Sarah screamed in pleasure. “Are you about to cum, slut? Are you about to cum over my cock, you filthy Black slut?”
“Yes, Master!” Sarah screamed. “Yes, I’m about to cum…I’m going to cum….”
“Are we done?” Eric asked.
Sarah was jolted back into reality with Eric’s question. She was fully clothed as were Scott and Jeff. The dishes remained on the table. “I believe we are,” Jeff smiled.
Scott looked at his Cartier watch. “I have another appointment I need to attend, so I have to get going,” Scott stood up and shook hands with Eric. “Pleasure to properly meet you.”
“Likewise, Scott! Maybe we could all go out to dinner one time?” Eric proposed.
“I say that would be lovely,” Scott shook hands with Sarah. “Nice to see you again, Sarah.”
“Yes, thank you.” Sarah forced a smile.
Sarah watched Scott walked away from the table and talk to the waiter. It seemed the waiter showed him where the men’s restroom was. Sarah found an opportunity. “Excuse me, honey. I need to go to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”
****
“What are you doing?” Sarah approached Scott as he exited the men’s restroom.
“I should be asking you that question,” Scott grinned, “you’re the one who’s waiting for me outside the bathroom.”
Sarah walked up to Scott and got in his face. “You will not destroy this for Eric! He has worked really hard to get this program for the kids going. It will not be ruined by your feelings towards me!” she declared.
“Sarah, let’s get a few things straight: One, I have no feelings towards you. Two, I am solely doing this venture because my partner suggested it and not because of anything I planned. I had no idea who Eric was until about an hour ago, and you certainly weren’t trying to flaunt your happy relationship around me, remember?” Scott reminded. “That being said, I will only be professional with you and Eric. I suggest you act the same.”
Sarah calmed down a bit. Maybe Scott only had pure intentions in his dealings with Eric. “Thank you. I’m glad we cleared that up. Thank you.” She began to walk away.
“Oh, and Sarah?” Scott smiled. “My offer still stands.”
Sarah turned around. “Your offer?”
“Yes, my offer,” Scott approached her and whispered in her ear. “If I find out you tried interrupt my relationship with Mariana, I will personally go out of my way to ruin your life, and if Eric’s non-profit is a casualty of that, so be it.”
ELEVEN
Mariana woke up renewed. She had some of the best sleep in a while. Her heart no longer bled with pain, confusion, and anger. Instead, it rejoiced it was a new day. Her stomach no longer turned in knots. Instead it growled, a signal that her hearty appetite was back.
She looked over at her alarm clock. It was already seven-thirty, and she had a big day planned. She was going shopping for items in her new apartment. Then she was going to swing by her parents’ home for a short while.
Mariana got out of bed and showered. After she dried off, Mariana wiped the steam from the mirror.
“To Sir, I give my submission. To Sir, I give my devotion. To Sir, I give my sex. To Sir, I give my fears. To Sir, I give my…” Mariana abruptly stopped the mantra.
It no longer mattered.
****
On the hunt again…just can’t wait…to get back on the hunt again…
Several weeks passed since Mariana quit McCormick and Sheppard and she was anxious to get back to work. She already applied to five jobs, spending time perfecting her cover letter page with each submission. She hadn’t been planning on looking for a job so soon when it was guaranteed she would get a position at McCormick and Sheppard based on her hard work and not because of any relationship with Scott.
That was before Caprina. That was before the mistake heard around the world.
Mariana knew Caprina screwed her over, and she hoped one day she would be lucky enough to see her karma come back to her in threefold. But wishful thinking was not going to get her a job, and she needed to focus on the present and future. She had a new and expensive apartment she needed to pay for.
“Working hard or hardly working?” B. approached her.
“Um, a little bit of both.” Mariana smiled and sipped on her drink. She motioned to the chair in front of her. “Please, have a seat.”
“Well, this is a first,” B. sat before his friend, “and what did I do to deserve this honor?”
“I didn’t want you to hover over me, and I really don’t like looking up at people when I’m talking to them.”
“Fair enough,” B. smiled, “so what’s going on with you? How’s your boyfriend?”
“I’m fine and we broke up,” Mariana still had to adjust to that new fact. It had been six weeks and Mariana was finally able to wake up in the morning without crying. She had gotten a gym membership and poured her heartbreak into the elliptical and weights. Her body became more toned and her mind was sharper. Maybe the heartache was the best thing for her.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” B. frowned.
“Are you really?”
“For me, no.” B. was honest. “But for you and seeing how fine and intelligent you are, yes. You’ll find yourself a good man.”
“I know, but not now. I need to be by myself for a bit.” Mariana replied.
“Good for you. Say, I’ll be DJing at EMK this weekend if you’re interested?” B. offered.
Mariana briefly remembered the ultra-hip lounge. The last time she was there, it was the beginning of the end between her and Scott. There would be a chance he might be at the lounge, since he knew the owner. She also knew if Scott weren’t there, he would have eyes there watching her every move and possibly reporting back to him on what they saw.
She thought about the timing of the date—it would’ve been her and Scott’s one-year anniversary. Mariana wanted to stay at home and drown her sorrows in ice cream, but she also knew she couldn’t avoid Scott forever, despite how much she wanted to. She had even gotten off birth control because there was no point in continuing to take it if she weren’t in a relationship.
Wait a minute, why am I crying over a guy who doesn’t care? For all she knew, Scott was probably balls deep in Caprina already. Mariana smiled confidently at B. It was time to move on, and what better way to get over her broken heart than getting a dickdown. “I would love to go.”
TWELVE
“So this is the business plan right here,” Jerome Harlow passed several sheets of paper to his friends. “We’re going to do house
parties. We’re going to organize the tightest house parties known to man.”
They were at a local coffee shop meeting for their potential business venture: promoting and doing house parties. They were inspired by the movie Animal House, and decided to make their dream of organizing house parties come true. They would start in low-income neighborhoods and once word got around, they would be doing house parties for the rich and famous. It was a win-win situation.
His friends looked over the business plan. It consisted of bullet points of what was urgent: girls, liquor, food, and more girls—and what was not so important: marketing, equipment, and legitimacy.
“This looks tight, yo!” a White guy, Brian, commented. “How do we get started?”
“Well, I know some people who know some people who know some people,” Jerome caressed his goatee. “I know some people who know some people at EMK.”
Brian’s mouth hung low. “EMK? You know someone at EMK?”
“Dude, EMK is the spot!” an Asian man, Tommy, exclaimed. “If we can get into EMK, we get into any club! We don’t need to do any house parties!”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Jerome nodded. He didn’t know anyone who knew anyone at EMK, but a little white lie wouldn’t hurt. He lived by the motto, ‘Fake it until you make it.’
“Then hook us up! We can be the next DJ Tiesto!” another guy, Salazar, commented.
“Or Guetta!” The last guy, Matt, replied.
“Just wait a minute, wait a minute…good things come to those who wait. I just need to figure out some thangs and then we’ll proceed.” Jerome nodded. “Y’all agree?”
“Well, hell, yeah!” Brian commented as Tommy agreed. “Sign us up!”
“Okay, I’m just going to need to do a bit more research right here and…” Jerome looked up and saw a familiar face. He looked the same and even smiled a ‘thank you’ to the barista when she placed his order. “Oh, hell no.”
The rest of the guys looked in Jerome’s direction. “Yo, man, what’s up?” Tommy asked. “You know that dude?”
“That’s the same asshole that broke my sister’s heart.” Jerome clenched his fists. He watched Scott take his drink and proceed to walk outside. “I’m going to talk to him right now.”
“You—you need backup?” Salazar asked. “We can back you up, dawg!”
“Yeah, come on, let’s go!” Jerome hurried outside with his friends.
Jerome approached Scott. “Hey! Hey! Yo, man, I don’t like what you did to my baby sister!” Jerome’s friends appeared behind him. “You, what you did was foul!”
Scott looked at the young men surrounding him. There were five in total and they all looked like hoodlums. “What happened between me and your sister is between me and your sister.”
Jerome got into Scott’s face. “Not if I can help it!”
Scott let out a deep breath. “Jerome, are you left-handed or right-handed?”
“What?”
Scott calmly put down his cup of coffee. “Are you left-handed or right-handed?”
“I’m right-handed, why? What’s it to you, punk?” Jerome scoffed and looked around at his friends. “You believe this guy? You believe this fool?” Jerome stepped up to Scott. “You ain’t gon’ do shit to me, man. I wish you…”
Before Jerome could finish his sentence, Scott quickly grabbed him by his right arm, twisted it behind his back, and forced Jerome up against a brick wall. “If any of you dare to take a shot at me, I will break every fucking bone in his arm.” Scott looked around at Jerome’s apprehensive friends while Jerome screamed in pain. “I double-dog dare ya’.”
“Hey, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo….listen to him. Listen to him!” Jerome begged his friends.
“Call off your posse, ’Rome.” Scott quietly spoke.
“Yo, meet me back at the crib, alright? Meet me back there.” Jerome spoke to his friends, who quickly dispersed.
Scott waited for Jerome’s friends to leave before he untwisted Jerome’s arm. “Now, like I was saying, what happened between your sister and me is between us. I had to break up with her. I didn’t want to.”
Jerome massaged his arm. “Does Mari know this?”
“No. She can’t know, either.” Scott’s tone was a cross between stating a fact and begging. “I don’t want her to get caught up with this.”
“She really loved you, man,” Jerome said.
“I love your sister very much, and I’m going to get her back.” Scott felt time was running out. “I just need some time to sort things out.” He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip of it.
“Is there anything you want me to tell her?”
“No,” Scott shook his head, “she can’t know that we even saw each other.”
“All right,” Jerome slightly shrugged, “I’ll see you around then.”
“See you later, ’Rome.”
“Hey, Scott!” Jerome called out to him. “She still loves you, man. She still loves you.”
Scott smiled. “I hope so.”
****
“Do you have any plans for tonight, Lollipop?” Linda asked Mariana. “We’re going out to dinner if you want to join us?”
“Actually, I do,” Mariana smiled, “I have a date!”
“With who?” Oliver asked from the other room.
“With someone you haven’t met yet!” Mariana yelled back.
Linda walked closer to Mariana and whispered to her. “Lollipop, do you think it’s wise for you to go on a date so soon? You and Scott just broke up.”
“We broke up almost two months ago,” Mariana justified. “I think that’s plenty of time to get over him.”
“Have you heard from him at all?”
Mariana shook her head. She hoped Scott would call after the first week or at least within the first month. No such luck. He seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth; it was as if she had never existed. But if Scott treated her as if she was non-existent, it was only fair that she do the same. Mariana changed her phone number. He didn’t have her new address and he certainly didn’t need her old phone number. “No.”
Linda sighed and shook her head. “Well, maybe that was for the best. He was too old for you, Mari.”
“You know, Daddy’s about fifteen years older than you,” Mariana mentioned. “And you’re giving me advice?”
“I knew what I wanted back then.” Linda replied. “You don’t.”
Mariana wasn’t amused by her mother’s sass. “I know what I want, Mother.”
“If you do, why aren’t you with him?”
“I’m about to be,” Mariana checked her watch, “in a few hours.”
Jerome’s friends entered the home and were greeted by Linda. “Jerome’s on his way, Mrs. Harlow,” Brian commented, “He got stuck talking with some dude about something.”
“Stuck?” Mariana asked. “Stuck talking to who?”
“Talking to some White dude about you.” Tommy shrugged. “Jerome will explain when he gets in.”
“About me?” Mariana whispered to no one in particular. “What guy would be talking about me?”
Linda waited for the guys to be out of earshot before she spoke to her daughter again. “I’m assuming that White dude was Scott.”
THIRTEEN
“Did you have a nice lunch, Boss?” Elissa asked Scott.
Scott thought about the laughable confrontation he had with Jerome. He smiled because it reminded him of how he was with Christine’s dates when he was younger. “It was an unforgettable one, yes.”
“Good.” Elissa slid a report to him. “The IT guys finally came back with their report on activity on Mariana’s computer.”
“Did you take a look at it?”
Elissa didn’t have to. She already knew what was in it. “It has some information you might be interested in.”
“Like what?” Scott asked.
Elissa flipped open the report. “Mariana didn’t mess up the spreadsheet.”
Scott read the report and read the sum
mary. It had a listing of the sites she visited on a daily basis. It also had a listing of her documents, but the only one that Scott cared about the infamous spreadsheet.
When he got to that section of the report, Scott’s eyes narrowed as he put the pieces together. He noticed each time Mariana saved the spreadsheet document. It always in the same folder she used and any changes she made, she labeled as different versions. The last change, however, was unusual. The spreadsheet was modified at two-thirty PM, but she didn’t send out the e-mail until almost three PM. The spreadsheet was also saved in a different location.
Scott looked on his calendar and tried to figure out what Mariana could’ve been doing during that time. He then realized she was with him, in his office. He particularly remembered that day because he was on a conference call with Coca-Cola, and Mariana was blowing him underneath his desk. The conference call started at two-thirty. Mariana arrived in Scott’s office about ten minutes before.
“The interns and other employees reported they saw Caprina at Mariana’s work station during that time,” Elissa added. “They are willing to back up their claims.”
Scott felt his body become stiff with anger and hatred. He was tired of Caprina’s games. She had played both him and Mariana, and he fell for it again. His nostrils flared in anger, and if it hadn’t been for Elissa being in the office, he would’ve tossed his desk over. “Fine,” was all he could say.
“Is there anything you want me to do, Boss?”
“Where is Ms. Waters?”
“She’s currently at the Guess photo shoot in Hollywood.”
“Print me directions, I’m going to talk to her there.”
“Anything else?”
“Get me on the phone with the Guess CEO. Call Rich and Mike for an emergency meeting tomorrow morning. Invite Chris and the other interns in.” Scott took out a pair of Ben-Wa balls and rolled them in his hands. He then turned to face the skyscrapers behind him. “I’m about to destroy this bitch.”