“No,” Theo said firmly.
My heart wanted to sink to my toes.
Theo smiled proudly and added, “I love Sheryl.”
I wanted to jump in his arms and kiss him a trillion times, but I had to remember that my dad was standing there.
Walking up real close to Theo, Earl looked menacingly up and down at him. Despite their age difference, which barely looked ten years apart, I really thought that Earl could give Theo a run for his money if he was angry enough.
“You hurt my little girl and I’ll hurt every bone in your body. Do I make myself clear?” Earl said in that same serious tone.
Theo finally understood who this man really was to me and didn’t challenge him. “Yes, sir.”
Earl picked up the divorce papers and handed them to Theo. “You’d better get those to the lawyer before the ink dries, son.” Then he left Theo and me alone, closing the door behind him.
Slowly walking up to me, as if I was going to run away, Theo cupped my face and said, “I’m sorry. I should have explained everything when I spoke with you last night.”
“Even if you did, there would be no way you could have believed me about Erin’s lying,” I said understanding. “No, this worked out fine although I was pretty damn miserable knowing you were going to break up with me.”
“I wanted to do right by my child if she was pregnant.”
“So you’d be miserable for eighteen years, Theo?”
“I had parents that stayed together for the sake of their children.”
Maybe I felt different because I grew up in a different environment. “That doesn’t make it right, Theo. If you aren’t happy, how can you expect your children to be happy?”
“Do I make you happy, Sheryl?”
I blushed. “Yes, you do.”
“You make me happy, too,” Theo admitted and tenderly brushed his sensual lips with mine.
Hesitantly, I asked, “So you want to have children?”
“I never thought about it until she said something, but I would like one or two now that I can be a better father and provider. Having them when I was young was a hard decision.” He kissed me again. “I’d like to have children with you, Sheryl.”
My heart soared. I mean it literally soared away from my body as he deepened the next kiss. We forgot about where we were. It didn’t matter that someone could come in at any moment. I wanted Theo and he wanted me, but we knew it wasn’t just for now. It would be forever.
Feeling my ass rest on the edge of my desk, I didn’t have to stand on tiptoe anymore. I pulled my thighs up to wrap around his waist. We continued kissing as Theo opened my blouse and dipped his head down to lavish my nipples just by pulling my bra down.
I pulsed in pleasure, gasping at the wonderful hot sensation his mouth drew. Grinding my hips against his, I could feel his manhood calling my name, wanting to touch me as much as I wanted it.
“Damn, woman!” Theo sneered passionately.
“Give it to me,” I viciously whispered.
Soon his pants were open and it was only a matter of pulling my panties away. I wanted to scream as Theo leaned me back on the top of the desk and drove into me like a man searching for gold. I was tight and wet. My honey splashed on his pants and I could feel it trickling in the valley of my ass.
I was really wet for him. Theo cupped my ass, pulled me to him and literally held me up on his shaft. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he guided my body to riding.
Being at his complete mercy, not only was I turned on by this position because he was holding my entire weight in his arms and not struggling to do it, but because we could look each other in the face, kiss and come together on a higher level that this world would never touch.
We knew our bodies were coming to fruition together, but we never broke eye contact. My pussy began to vibrate all on its own and soon Theo couldn’t hold back, either.
Our eyes stayed locked and I knew that things were going to be all right. I just knew it.
Entry Forty-Six
Whew! The next two days were a whirlwind for me. As I worked with Earl on taking over the company, I saw very little of Theo. Mackeroy was blowing up my phone, but I wasn’t taking his calls and I had Peter drop his account – as nicely as possible. Then I made sure security wouldn’t allow Mackeroy into the building.
Since I stayed close to work the majority of the time and slept in Earl’s hotel room just working on paperwork to make the transition of the company go smoothly, I did not have to worry about Mackeroy trying to catch me alone. Whether he was in cahoots with Erin or not, or just her puppy and doing her bidding, I really wanted nothing more to do with him.
At night, I missed Theo, but a lot was starting to bother me about him. Now that he was getting the divorce finalized, would he still pursue his vision of running his own company?
How broke could he be?
Earl nudged me on the third morning because I had lain awake for a long time the night before. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy asking yourself questions about him. Why don’t you ask him out to dinner and get the answers you need?”
“Today is our last day to spend together,” I said as nonchalantly as possible. “I thought we’d do something.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Earl asked incredulously. “I don’t want to spend my last day out of jail with my daughter. Especially when I’ve just spent the last two with you.” He was already dressed and looked ready to go somewhere, but not formal enough to go into the office to work.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“With your mother. We have a train to catch in an hour to Traverse City where we’ll be spending the day at a resort.” He looked at me suspiciously. “Is that all right with you?”
“Are you making her happy?” I asked just as critical.
“Yes.”
“Then that’s all right with me.”
Earl kissed my cheek. “Call me if you have a question about anything. I love you.” Going to the table where all my work was still scattered about, he picked up my cell phone and set it beside me. “Call him and ask him to lunch. I’ll make sure Cassandra makes room in your schedule.”
When Earl left, I picked up the phone and dialed Theo’s number.
He sounded pleased to hear from me. “Found a little time in your busy day?”
“A little,” I said.
“Well, it’s just the morning. I’m sure your father is keeping you very busy.”
“Busy enough.” Why the hell was I beating around the bush? This wasn’t like me. “Did you miss me?”
“Yes,” Theo replied, as if I already knew that answer.
I started to say, “Can we-”
“Want to-”
We had spoken at the same time, so we stopped.
“Go ahead,” Theo urged.
“Want to have lunch?” I asked.
“Of course. I got a meeting at eleven with Trunk… I mean Lethal, but we could meet at Sweet Georgia Brown.”
That was a five star restaurant. Could he afford it?
“Are you sure? I don’t mind going somewhere else.”
“I’ll call to make reservations,” Theo insisted. “Twelve-thirty?”
“That’s fine.”
Hanging up the phone, I sighed heavily. Would I always have this inner guilt for being more successful than him? And could Theo possibly afford to have a woman like me in his life?
I think deep down that had been my real fear about being with a man on a long-term basis. Not to sound arrogant, but I knew I was always meant to do something great and be successful. But over the years, I had seen so many successful women become stressed because their men were intimidated by them. Soon it was either leave them or just quit their jobs. Some even waited for their men to catch up.
But I knew I couldn’t be like that. I couldn’t settle. And as much as I felt that Theo wouldn’t have a problem with that, I knew that in the back of his mind it would bother him. Which meant it would so
on bother me.
Going into my office, I went straight to work. Cassandra reminded me that a car had been ordered to take me over to Sweet Georgia Brown. I could only guess this had been the work of my father, who seemed adamant for me to see Theo. Most likely to break it off because Earl understood that I couldn’t seriously see a man like that.
“Your car is downstairs,” Cassandra said when the time had come. “I’ll hold down the fort until you return.” There was a lightness in her tone.
Cassandra’s lightness had to do with the fact that her marital revenge was going well. Though she was only giving scant details, she said for the first time in her life, she really felt womanly about making love with a man. Rick had become somewhat of her slave, but she had a change up and said that they found a new level of excitement to their relationship.
This weekend they were looking into shopping for whips and handcuffs. More power to them, I say.
Arriving at Sweet Georgia Brown, I found myself once again fascinated by the place. It was past elegant with a soul food feel to it. I never knew elegant soul food places thrived or would thrive, but this place had really good food.
“Ms. Banks?” the host asked.
“Yes.”
“Ah yes, your table is over here.”
I followed him to a booth that was semi-private. Even though the restaurant was packed, there were tables that seemed to have their own space about them. I knew these had to be reserved months in advance.
So how did Theo get a table here so quickly?
“Mr. Thornton said he was running just a few minutes late, but insisted that we do anything we could to make you comfortable. Would you like something to drink while you’re waiting?” the host asked.
I was too nervous to put anything in my stomach, so I shook my head. Theo could not afford this shit. Of course he’d say something like that when it was time to pay the check at the end.
I looked in my purse to make sure I had packed my gold American Express card. Then I took the napkin and placed it upon my lap.
“Hello, Beautiful,” a deep voice said, coming to stand beside my table.
I looked up expecting to see Theo, but instead, Mackeroy stood there. He was dressed real nice in a light green suit with a silk tie. He looked just as good as he did the first day we met. This time I wasn’t moved at all by what I saw.
“Hello, Mackeroy,” I said, knowing I probably shouldn’t be so calm, but this was Sweet Georgia Brown. Just because it was black owned, didn’t mean there needed to be black drama up in here.
Mackeroy was about to sit at the table with me, but I quickly stood up to keep him standing. I did not want him to sit down with me not even for a second. Mackeroy took my standing as a way to touch me. He hugged me and kissed me on my cheek and neck, taking liberties he no longer had.
“Damn baby, you look good,” he said. “I missed you, Sheryl.”
I pushed away from him. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?” Mackeroy asked, taking my hand.
I tried to pull away from his touch. “Don’t act stupid, Mack. You don’t look cute at all. I know about you and Erin and how she got you to keep me busy while she tried to steal the company away from Earl.”
“I don’t know-”
I cut him off, because I really had no time for games. Plus, I just wanted him gone before Theo came in. “First off, let me go.” He didn’t. “Secondly, there is nothing you could possibly say to me that would make me think you had nothing to do with it. I heard you talking about it Sunday when you came to the office with her. Erin didn’t deny shit when I confronted her.”
Mackeroy grabbed both my shoulders to prevent me from turning or moving away. “Listen, Sheryl, she was blackmailing me. I had to do what she wanted. But you have to understand that it was so much more than just what Erin wanted. You came to mean a lot to me and I want to-”
“Get your hands off me,” I said, now raising my voice and attracting attention.
He still didn’t listen to me. “Just listen.”
“I think the lady said it quite clearly,” an ominous voice said from behind Mackeroy.
Since Mack was tall, I couldn’t even look over his shoulder to see who it was. But just the voice alone made me scared.
Mackeroy looked over his shoulder and muttered viciously, “Mind your business, you fucking flashlight cop.”
“I won’t ask again,” the ominous voice warned.
Looking back at me, Mackeroy had to nerve to see if I still wanted him to let me go. I just gave him a half past crazy look.
Releasing me suddenly, Mackeroy turned around and tried to swing at the voice, but obviously missed. Before I could see who it was, I was jerked out the way. A rush of air hit me as Mackeroy’s body seemed to become propelled off the ground, flown over my table and into another table that no one was sitting at.
Now the scene had caught everyone’s attention. I just stared stupidly at what looked to be a broken nose on Mackeroy’s face. The blood that ran down over his lip was redder than his hair. I never knew a broken nose could produce so much blood. The person who hit him had to have fists like a brick.
Turning to the voice, I gasped.
Theo looked down at me with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked calmly.
I didn’t know what to think. Looking down at Theo’s hand, I saw Mackeroy’s blood on his knuckle and a little had even splattered on his security uniform. This was the ominous voice. This was the man who had laid low a three hundred pound man like a pancake.
This was my man?
Entry Forty-Seven
Theo used a napkin to wipe the blood off his hand. Other waiters had come to try to help him clean up, but he brushed them away as if they were annoying flies. Gently, he shook me.
“Are you okay?” Theo asked.
“Yeah, I guess.” I looked back down at Mackeroy, who was just coming to.
“Mackeroy Jackson?” a man in a dark uniform asked, walking up to Mack as he stood up groggily.
“Agent Farris, DEA,” the man said, pulling out his badge and flashing it. I don’t think Mackeroy even saw it because his eyes didn’t look focused.
Handcuffs were taken out and placed on Mackeroy as his rights were read to him.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Mackeroy Jackson,” Agent Farris said. “You’re under arrest for money laundering.” Then he escorted Mackeroy out of the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Theo took the host to the side. I saw him press some money into the man’s hands, while whispering to him. I wondered what he said, because soon our table was straightened and my chair was held out for me to sit back down. They even went so far as to place a napkin on my waist.
“Are you okay?” Theo asked again, sitting across from me.
“I’m fine,” I said, though still a bit shaken by everything. “Did you plan this?”
“No, but the DEA is the reason I was running a bit late. They came to my early morning meeting with Lethal to arrest me. Some questions later, I found out that Erin was telling them I was a part of this mess, even though that was all a lie. Good thing Lethal was with me, because he cleared the situation up with some phone calls and information that had the DEA on Mackeroy Jackson’s ass. They arrived right behind me. Seems like he’s the one that got Erin involved with money laundering and he’s been funding some of his own ventures.”
I couldn’t believe my blessings. I would have been crushed if I had taken Mackeroy’s advances seriously, but I was somehow spared.
“Are you sure you’re all right, Sheryl?” Theo asked again.
“I’m fine,” I assured him, after taking a long swallow of water. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything.
I let Theo order our food, pretending not to know what was good to eat. The truth was, I didn’t want to stretch his wallet too much.
“What would you like to drink?” the waiter asked.
I wanted the most expensive thing on the me
nu, but I knew I couldn’t do that to a brotha, so I just said, “Water.”
Theo frowned and told the waiter to give us a minute.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“I should be asking you that.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said innocently.
Theo looked displeased. “Are you worried about my money?”
I didn’t want to admit this out loud, but damn the brother was putting me on the spot! “Shouldn’t I be? You are a security guard.” I clearly indicated this by perusing his uniform with a little bit of disgust.
Right about now, I figured we were going to have our very first fight. I knew my snotty attitude could rub people the wrong way.
Theo looked down at himself as if he had forgotten what he was wearing. “Well, if you want to be smart about it, Sheryl, I quit my job this morning.”
Oh lawd! A fine broke brother.
It took everything I had not to just fall out my seat and cause another scene, but this Negro was really asking for it. How dare Theo do this to me? Did he not know how deep I was feeling him? Did he not know I can’t be supporting his ass?
Damn! Damn! Damn!
Entry Forty-Eight
“Aren’t you going to ask me why I quit my job?” Theo asked after they brought our appetizers.
“Tired of working for the man?” I asked sarcastically.
Theo had the damn nerve to chuckle when I didn’t find shit funny. I wanted to reach over and slap some sense into his head. “I figured it would get in the way of my goals and dreams.”
Oh that’s just fucking great. Now I got a man with dreams and goals. He ain’t nevah gonna go to work at this rate.
“I figured by next year,” Theo continued. “I’ll be just as successful as you.”
Negro, please!
“And how do you suppose that will happen?” I asked as I popped one of the delicious mushroom appetizers into my mouth.
“Well, the business I bought today is already worth over a million dollars. And with the contracts I have been talking over, I’m sure once I get them all signed I can look at a modest income of two hundred and fifty a year.”
Diary of A. . . Page 20