by Bailey West
“Like I said, a couple of hours. Be smart for once in your life.”
We walked out of his office.
“I told you that shit was not going to work.” I heard through my earpiece. “Let’s get to work.”
I sat in a chair in the corner of the room and watched as Lafayette strolled into his house and turned on the light. He fell backward when he made eye contact with me.
He looked around the room and then yelled, “How did you get in here?”
“I walked in,” I calmly replied. “After I left your office today, I told you I was going to give you some time to think about my request for you to come clean. I hadn’t heard from you, so I stopped by.”
“I’m calling the police!” Lafayette reached for his cell phone and pressed the button to dial. He looked at the screen then back at me.
“Oh yeah, it’s not going to work. The signal is scrambled. Have a seat.”
I pointed to one of the other chairs in the living room.
“I will not have a seat! You are going to get out of my house!”
I could feel the fear oozing from him. Good.
“Look at your chest,” I pointed with my gloved finger to the middle of his chest.
Lafayette looked down and saw two red dots on his chest. His eyes shot up and met mine.
“There’s one on your head too, but of course you can’t see that one. Those dots all belong to trained marksmen.”
“And markswoman,” Angus said through the earpiece.
“Again, have a seat before I make sure you can’t stand.”
Lafayette slowly sat down watching the dots as they moved with him.
“Good boy.” I stood and walked the short distance to stand to the side of Lafayette’s chair. I was careful not to obscure the team’s shot. “Now, I asked you, very nicely, to confess your sins and get this heat off my Lady. You, however, did the exact opposite as soon as I left your office. You doubled down with Royo. You called him and told him you knew for sure that Olivia had stolen the money. Why would you do that? I asked nicely?”
“Aye, DT, you did ask nicely too Bro,” Gaige said into the earpiece.
“Harlem told you that shit was not going to work. We should have murked this dude already,” Hawk added.
“We said we needed to get him to talk, remember?” Angus finished.
I slowly turned and looked out of the window.
“Sorry, DT,” Angus said.
“My bad. Take care of business, Bro,” Hawk said.
I turned my attention back to Mason just as he dove from his chair and reached under the couch, retrieving a small handgun. He rolled onto his back and pointed the gun at me.
“This nigga thinks this an action flick,” Gaige laughed.
“Now who has the upper hand?” Lafayette smugly said. “Tell your friends to lower their guns.”
“He thinks he is Arnold Schwarze-negro,” Angus added.
I heard all three of them laugh in my earpiece.
I walked over to him while the gun was still pointing at me and snatched it out of his hands. He wouldn’t have been able to shoot me anyway as hard as he was shaking.
“There aren’t any bullets in here, you idiot. You actually think we didn’t search your house before you came home? But since you thought you were tough enough to hurt me,” I pulled him up from the ground, stood him on his feet and punched him in his stomach. He fell back into the chair he’d just vacated.
“I promised myself that I would never let anyone see this side of me again. I worked really hard keeping the darkness away, then, you showed up and threaten someone that belongs to me.”
“Belongs to you? Fuck her!”
I punched him in his nose before I had time to stop myself. I put enough force behind it to hear the distinct sound a nose makes when it’s broken.
“DAYUM! I didn’t even see that coming so I know he didn’t. Wow, that’s a lot of blood!” Gaige said.
“OW!” Lafayette screamed while he held his nose.
“If you mention her again, I am going to pluck your eyes out of their sockets one by one, and then I am going to box them up and send them to your mother.” I watched his posture slump knowing that he not only understood me but believed what I’d said. “Now, like I was saying, you doubled down with Royo and told him you were sure that my Lady was the one that took the money when we have proof that you did it. Guess who found the proof? Come on, guess. This isn’t any fun if I just tell you the answer,” I waited. “Alright, I will tell you, Olivia! Yeah, she’s brilliant, but I’m sure you know that. Anyway, I invited Royo over, and he should be here,” I paused when I heard the doorbell ring. “Oh, that’s him now.”
The front door opened and Royo came in with Harlem and Countee. They waited outside the house until he arrived. Lafayette’s eyes grew two sizes larger when Royo and two of his henchmen walked into the room.
“Mr. Lafayette, you’re not looking too good,” Royo commented as he opened his suit coat and sat down.
“It’s just a nosebleed, Mr. Royo,” Lafayette lied.
“Humph, well I had a very interesting conversation with these gentlemen about you, Mr. Lafayette. It seems as though you are the one who has been stealing my money. Why didn’t you tell me that beautiful wife of yours left you? Here it is, all this time you had me thinking she was still handling my account with precision and grace. That was not the case. You lied, and I hate liars. I especially hate men who hit and lie on women.”
“Mr. Royo, I had nothing to do with your missing money. I…I don’t know what happened to it.”
“Don’t you fucking lie to me again!” Royo yelled. “You told me Ms. Callahan took my money. Now you are saying you don’t know? Well, I know exactly where my money has gone because I have access to all of your accounts, even the one you thought you could hide overseas. I found it, you idiot. You weren’t even smart enough to withdraw from my account one day and wait a few days before you deposited it into your own account. The cash amounts and the dates all are the same!”
“I’m being framed. That’s what it is. Someone is out to get me. You know I have too much respect for you Mr. Royo, I…”
“Shut him up!” Royo directed one of the henchmen.
The large man moved towards Lafayette, and he stopped talking immediately.
“There is nothing worse than a groveling begging man. Have some decency about yourself.” Royo turned to me. “Mr. Bluette, I sincerely apologize for the problems that were dropped on your doorstep. It is never my intention to involve innocent people in my business. Please let Ms. Callahan know that her name will not pass my lips again. I will handle this mess. Thank you for finding that financial information. Is your firm taking on more clients?”
“No, we are not. We don’t handle the type of business you would require.”
“Fair enough. You won’t hear from me again.”
I looked over at Lafayette.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. We will chat and see where we go from there.”
I turned and walked out of the house.
19
“Paxton, Baby are you okay? Is everything okay?” I asked as soon as I answered the phone.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s over. It’s taken care of.” I wondered what taken care of meant, but I could wait until he got home to fill me in. “I’m on my way home to you. I will see you in a couple hours.”
“Okay, I…I will be waiting.”
We disconnected the call. I almost said I love you. I’ve wanted to say it to him, but he hasn’t said it to me. I guess he doesn’t communicate that way. Mason never told me he loved me, but he didn’t love me, so I never expected to hear it. I know Paxton loves me. I can tell through his actions, although he’s never said it. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable by saying it, and then he thinks that I expect for him to say it back.
I sat on the couch facing the elevator waiting for the doors to open. When the doors opened, and Paxton stepped off with no cuts, bruises or
anything, I was ecstatic. He dropped his overnight bag by the elevator and walked to me.
“I missed you,” he said as he pulled me in for a big hug.
“I missed you too, Baby.”
He leaned down and kissed me. Instantly, I was ready for more, but I knew he was tired. I pulled away.
“I have beef stew in the kitchen. Are you hungry?”
“Of course, I am.”
He followed me to the kitchen.
“Sit down, I will bring it to you.”
I fixed him a large bowl of beef stew and cut a piece of crusty bread. I put it in front of him and sat down across from him. I loved the way he enjoyed my food. He filled me in everything that happened in Georgia.
“What did Mr. Royo do to Mason?”
“I honestly don’t know. It’s not my concern or my business. Once your name was cleared, I didn’t care about anything that happened after that. We did turn over all the evidence we had to the authorities so, Lafayette’s company will be investigated.”
He finished eating and took his bowl to the kitchen to clean it. I sat at the table thinking about how all of this could have gone terribly wrong, but it didn’t. I was grateful.
Paxton tapped me on the shoulder and offered his hand. I stood from the table and followed him to the bedroom.
We made love, slow and lazy. Nothing was forced or rushed; just my man and me enjoying our chemistry and connection.
I rested my head on his chest feeling completely satiated.
“I think we should set a date. Our schedules have slowed down, and I’m ready for you to be my wife.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Nette told me about some planners she used, and I thought we could use them too.”
“Who, Shandi events?”
“I think so. They are sisters, correct?”
“Yes, they are. We can use them. They did a great job helping Sis. So, when do you want to do it? I know, how about the day we met in the coffee house?”
“You remember the day we met in the coffeehouse?”
“Yeah, I remember kicking myself for not saying more to you.”
“I remember thinking how handsome you were but then thinking, ‘he could never go for a girl like me.’”
“Please, I was all prepared to stalk that coffeehouse until you showed up again,” he laughed.
“That seems like so long ago. So much has happened since then.”
“The best thing that has happened is that you are mine and in three months, you are going to be my wife.”
I started planning our wedding with Shanae and Brandi of Shandi events. I explained my vision of bling and sparkle. They helped me chose silver, dusty rose, maroon and ivory for my color pallet. They showed me examples of the décor. They incorporated my crystals and glass into the concept. It is going to be beautifully decorated. Papa Bluette is going to perform the ceremony, and our sisters and brothers will be our bridal party. Paxton gave me a credit card and said do whatever I want. I wasn’t going overboard, but I wanted the wedding to be nice for us.
When we first started planning the wedding things were going well. Then I started to notice a change in Paxton. It was subtle, and no one else could notice it, but I know him. I know when something is off. At first, I thought it was just me, but then our lovemaking slowed down, and he wasn’t as touchy-feely. I wanted to chalk it up to wedding jitters, but that couldn’t be the case because nothing was going to change except my last name. We already live together, sleep in the same bed and share our lives.
It all came to a head when I was pacing the floor at one in the morning waiting for Paxton to come home. Usually, if he is going to be late, he will call and let me know. I called him, and my call went straight to voicemail. I was about to start calling hospitals when I heard the elevator doors open and close.
I came from the back of the house and saw his back as he walked into the kitchen. I followed him into the kitchen.
“Um, hello?”
“What’s up?”
I got an instant attitude.
“What do you mean, what’s up? It’s almost one o’clock in the morning. Where have you been?”
“Driving around.”
He said it so nonchalant like it was the most normal thing in the world for him to walk in the house hours after he left work.
“I called you. You didn’t answer the phone.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“I turned it off.” He held it up showing me the black screen.
I was ready to explode on him, but I knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t lying. He was running. He was scared. Knowing that didn’t stop me from being pissed off.
“Turned it…” I started. Then I stopped myself. “You know what, I can show you better than I can tell you.”
I stormed from our kitchen into our bedroom. I pulled out a suitcase went into the closet and started pulling clothes out.
“What are you doing?”
Paxton stood outside of the closet while I slammed drawers after pulling out underwear and t-shirts.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m packing.”
I placed the items in the luggage. He startled me when he suddenly moved towards me, causing me to take a defensive stance.
“Whoa,” he threw his hands up in surrender and stepped back. “My bad. I was just trying to get your attention.”
I held my stance, “Don’t fucking touch me, Paxton. The way I feel right now, I will put your ass down or get knocked out trying, for real. Like, I won’t stop coming for you until you are forced to knock me out.”
I went back into the closet for more clothes. I came out with an arm full of items and put them in the bag.
“Ollie, I would never put my hands on you. You know that.”
“Do I? Do I really? Cause right now, this feels a lot like what I came from. I guaran-damn-tee you that I’m not doing that shit again.”
“Don’t compare me to him. I’m nothing like him,” Paxton growled.
“Oh really? Humph, let’s see.” I paused in the middle of the room with clothes draped over my arm. “He stopped touching me. Just like you have.”
“We have been busy with the wedding. We are both tired.”
“Are you about to stand in my face and lie to me? We’ve had sex barely awake several hundred times! I don’t want to hear that. Let’s see what else? Oh, he never told me he loved me either.”
I moved to put the clothes in my hand in the bag.
“My actions should say how I feel about you.”
“Actions don’t talk! If actions could talk they wouldn’t be called actions, they would be called words! I’ve been here before, and I am not going to go through this with you, so, this is your bag. You are going to leave this house, now. And don’t come back until you have figured out whatever it is that making you run. You are an expert at fixing everyone else so now take your own advice and fix yourself. Get your ass to South Carolina and talk to Nigel. Everyone has told you to do that but for some reason, you won’t. Paxton, do not step foot back into this house until you get the answers you need from your father.”
I zipped the suitcase and stepped away from it.
“O…”
I put my hand up to stop him.
“Nope, I don’t want to hear it. Get your bag and go.”
He moved toward the bed and took his suitcase and held it in his hand.
“Will you be here when I get back?”
Whew, that almost broke me down. He sounded so sad. I took a deep breath to fight back the tears.
“I love you, Paxton. I have for a long time. I will wait, but I promise you that if you come back into this house and you haven’t resolved your issue with your dad, I’m leaving. I’m too important for you to drag me into another terrible situation.”
He turned to leave, then stopped and turned around.
“I really was just driving around, but I apologize for disrespecting our house by coming in so late and n
ot calling.”
“Text me when you get there,” I choked out.
“I will.”
He left the room. I heard him get on the elevator and the doors close. I cried…hard, but then I wiped my face and climbed into bed. I had to be strong for both of us like he was strong for me with Mason.
“God, I’m not the best at this praying thing, but I am learning. BJ had given me a few pointers.” I chuckled. “I acknowledge you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me and coming into my life. I’m learning more about you every day. The more I learn, the more I want to know. I’m so in love with Paxton, but he can’t love me the way that I deserve to be loved if he is broken. Please fix him. Heal him. Help him find the words to speak to his father so that we, as a family can move forward. We all need healing. While Paxton is away working on himself, I want to work on myself. I’ve been married before and you were nowhere in it. Please come into our relationship. I want our connection to each other to be through you. You make us right. Help us to love each other the way you want us to love. Not just a physical love but a love that transcends our understanding. Help me to be a good wife. Help Paxton to be a good husband. I don’t have any doubt that he will be, but help him know that he can be a great husband. I don’t need an audible voice or to see angels to know that you’ve heard me. I believe by faith that you hear me and are answering my prayer right now. In Jesus’ name. Amen”
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
Paxton
I walked out of my house feeling defeated. I thought that Ollie was so wrapped up in planning the wedding that she didn’t notice when I pulled away. I didn’t try to pull away but the closer we got to the date, my uncertainty increased. I was not unsure of my feelings for Olivia, not even unsure that I want to be with her forever. I’m unsure that I won’t mess this up. After speaking to Giselle, I thought I was better, that’s why I asked Olivia to marry me. Obviously, I’m not okay. I was hoping that the wedding would make me feel better. I was hoping that after we said our vows that the hesitation I felt would melt away and I would be back to normal, but she saw me. She always sees me so I shouldn’t be surprised.