by Peyton Banks
Tiara almost dropped her phone at the little bombshell that Jordan just released. There was still so much about him that she didn’t know, but to find out that he wasn’t seeing another woman made her heart jump in excitement. That didn’t mean she was going to give in to his demand. She needed some time and space away from him to figure out her life. She needed a night to drown her sorrows in wine before tackling the rest of her life.
MuthaFknQueen: Well, unfortunately, I am going to have to decline your invitation. I am on my way to polishing off a bottle of wine, and I’m in no shape to be driving.
Tiara was glad that she had a built-in reason to avoid Jordan. If she was in his presence, there was a good chance that she would throw herself onto his body and try to ride his dick to the moon. It wouldn’t be beneficial to her career to be sleeping with the boss if she decided to stay at Barnaby’s. Who knows? This might just be the kick she needed to put her plan of change into action.
BigDickRide: I have that taken care of. A car will be there to pick you up in fifteen minutes.
MuthaFknQueen: What if I don’t want to come?
BigDickRide: You always want to come.
She could just hear him purring that last statement in his seductive voice. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with Jordan. She had too many upsets today to deal with the whims of a man tonight. She was just going to finish her bottle of wine and then go to bed.
MuthaFknQueen: I am going to give you a hard pass on that Jordan. I am going to bed now. Have a good night.
There. Problem solved. Jordan was just going to have to realize that he might be her employer now, but she was off the clock, and she didn’t answer to him. And if he didn’t like it, he could just suck it.
She finished off the rest of the wine, took a hot shower and wrapped her hair up. Just because she was having a shitty day, there was no reason she had to take it out on her blonde mane. The last thing she needed was to show up to her weekly hair appointment with her hair abused in any way, shape or form. Reginald was a catty little bitch. He would talk about her hair to everyone in the salon while she sat under the dryer. She really liked the miracles he worked with her hair, and she really hated to have to hem him up for talking smack about her. She was just going to eliminate all the problems and take care of her hair now. Because it was a hard thing to find someone who could work magic with her hair and she wasn’t going to risk an injury to Reginald because she was up in her feelers about Jordan.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Who the hell was banging on her door at this time of night? She looked at the clock and saw that it was still relatively early. She just had such a shit day that she was going to bed at seven o’clock.
She stomped to the door. Tiara peeked through the peephole to see a strange older man in a uniform standing in front of her apartment door. He was a portly gentleman under the black suit with a white shirt and black tie. His gray hair was neatly cut to look professional. Overall, he gave a feeling of harmless competence. Nothing that would alarm a normal person during the day, it was that Tiara didn’t know him that set off her cautious alarms. “What can I do for you?” She called through the door. As a single woman, she learned a long time ago not to open the door to strangers. The last thing she wanted was to be raped or possibly killed in her own damn apartment.
“Miss Tiara Lawson.” The man called out her name.
“Maybe.” She wasn’t admitting anything until she knew what this guy wanted.
“Mr. Lehmann hired my car company to pick you up and take you to your destination.”
“Oh, he did now?” How presumptuous of Jordan. She told that man what her plans were for the evening and he was just going to have to deal with it.
“Yes, ma’am.” The polite voice responded.
“Well, I am sorry for your trouble. But there has been a mistake. I am not going anywhere tonight.”
“I was instructed to tell you that if you refuse to accompany me on this trip that I was to sit here outside of your door and inform each of your neighbors that you had kicked me out of the house because I refuse to lick your pussy because you suffer from gonorr-herpa-syphill-aidsie.”
No, he did not just say that her pussy was infected? Tiara couldn’t believe that anyone would do what he said he was going to do. “I don’t believe you would do that. You don’t know me so why would you do something crazy like? You could ruin my reputation with my neighbors. Make my home life difficult.” She demanded answers through the door.
“Ma’am with all due respect, I was offered five hundred dollars for each time I had to say that statement to someone and frankly with two children in college I could use the money.”
“That is ridiculous.” She exclaimed in shock.
He just shrugged. “Please ma’am just come with me, and this can all be avoided.”
“No.” Tiara stomped away from her door and plopped down on her sofa. She wasn’t going to go running to Jordan just because he snapped his fingers. She truly didn’t believe that guy would do what he said he was being paid to do. It was just too crazy.
She sat on the sofa with one of her knees bent, her hands folded across it, and resting her chin on her hands when she heard a murmur of voices from outside her apartment. She looked at the clock on the cable box. Fifteen minutes had passed since she refused to open the door to the driver.
She got up and walked over to the door looking out the peephole. The driver was still there. She recognized the young mixed couple that he was talking too. They were new to her building. She had only talked to them a few times to know that they were a nice young couple of college sweethearts. They must have been returning from a shopping trip, she recognized the name of a popular organic grocery store that was just down the street.
“Good evening Ma’am, Sir,” she heard the driver greet the young mixed couple.
“Good evening,” the duo returned.
“It’s a beautiful night.” The female half of the two stated politely.
“It sure is,” the driver adopted a hangdog mien on his face, “At least it was enjoyable until my girl kicked me out for not performing cunnilingus.”
“Excuse me,” the girl responded. Her eyes widen in shock, and her mouth dropped open. Her male friend was barely able to grab the bag that slipped from her lax fingers.
“Yeah. I told her I would be more than happy to perform them, but she just needed to get that little case of gonorr-herpa-syphill-aidsie cleared up. I am allergic to penicillin, so I have to be careful about what I catch from her.” He gave a sad shake of his head as if he was discussing the rising gas prices, not that he was afraid to get flaming lips from Tiara’s kitty kat.
“Amen brutha,” the male half of the duo spoke up, “You can’t be too careful when it comes to those things that can make a guy’s dick burn.” The two men clasped hands in a bro hug of solidarity.
“What the fuck,” Tiara flung her front door open to confront the lying driver.
“Baby, just come with me to the free clinic. We will get your problem all cleared up in no time.” The driver begged. It should have looked silly that this older white guy was begging her to go with him to the free clinic. He looked like someone’s grandfather, not the potential lover of a woman Tiara’s age.
“I don’t have gonorr-herpa-syphill-aidsie,” Tiara spoke through gritted teeth. She couldn’t believe the audacity of this man.
“Denial is not going to get you cured,” the driver took hold of Tiara’s hands ignoring that Tiara was wearing a t-shirt that showed the girls hanging free and a pair pajama pants with cows smoking weed.
“I am not denying something that I don’t have,” Tiara shouted.
“You really should go get help Miss,” the girl said her voice filled with sympathy, “Though it is embarrassing at least your boyfriend is there for you in your time of need.”
“He is not my boyfriend,” Tiara shouted even louder than before, she noticed other doors opening and people starting to peek out their windows to s
ee what was going on.
“Man, maybe you will be better off with a different woman,” The male half of the couple chimed in, “if this one won’t acknowledge your relationship even in a time of need then cut her loose.”
The man nudged his woman in the direction of their apartment.
Tiara almost screamed in frustration. Unbelievable.
Tiara turned and slammed back into her apartment. She quickly changed her clothing. When she returned to the front door now dressed to go out it was just in time to see the driver talking to one of her other neighbors. “Don’t say a word.” She shouted at him.
A faint smile crossed his face when he saw that she was dressed. “Let me escort you to the car.”
Tiara grunted and frowned when he put his hand on her elbow to guide her to his car. She was going to kill Jordan when she got her hands on him.
11
Tiara stared up at the home that the security guard dropped her off at. She knew some gated communities were serious about their security, but this one took it to a whole new level. She was positive they were going to ask her for both a blood and a urine sample before letting her on the site.
She didn’t know whether she was impressed that Jordan had a background check done on her already or pissed off that Jordan had a background check done at all.
She started at the older silver-haired lady that opened the front door as the security vehicle drove away.
If this was the housekeeper than Jordan was on a whole different level of money than what she ever thought. If the housekeeper wore designer jeans and pearls and looked like she just stepped out of the pages of a magazine, then there was no hope for Tiara. But she had seen the level that Jordan took his own grooming. Even when he called himself being casual when he lounged around the hotel suite, he always occupied it at a higher level of casual than her PJs with the weed smoking cows. It was just another subtle reminder that he came from money. A whole lot of money.
Tiara was as high maintenance as the next girl who loved to get her hair and nails done, but this lady was taking it to a whole new level. The level that screamed I was born into money, I had a platinum teething ring and was given stocks in Fortune 500 companies as a reward for good grades.
Tiara’s mouth dropped open further when she got a good look at the house that she was standing in front of. It was gorgeous. It was huge. She was going to break something just looking at it, and whatever it was it was going to cost more than she made in a lifetime. If she ever had any doubt that Jordan had money it was put to rest by the sight of the home he bought and had renovated. She slowly climbed the steps up to the entryway where the older lady stood in the doorway.
“You must be Tiara,” the woman greeted her warmly, holding out her hand with her palm down and the back of her hand up. Tiara wasn’t sure if she was supposed to shake it or kiss it like this woman was royalty or something.
She opted to give her a weak shake. She figured she couldn’t afford to break this woman any more than she could anything in the house.
“Yes—yes, I am Tiara Lawson,” she managed to stutter. She had no idea where the fearless female who stood strong in the face of danger went. She guessed she could be intimidated by a very obvious show of money. This wasn’t the same when she met Jordan’s friends and their spouses. Nope, this was flat out, shove it in your face warning sign that she was playing way outside of her price range.
“Eek,” escaped from her as she was forcefully pulled into a back-breaking embrace. Wow, this skinny little lady had some strength in her. “Please…let…go.” She mumbled while trying to draw in some air.
“Oh sorry,” the woman gave a very girlish giggle. “My kids are always telling me that not everyone appreciates my hugging enthusiasm.” She released Tiara’s body, but still managed to retain her hand, pulling her into the foyer.
Tiara’s breath caught as the strange woman grabbed and squeezed her hand. Fuck she was strong, flitted through her head as she was tugged into the foyer of the house. Her breath rushed out of her, not because of a killer grip, but because she was stunned by the beauty of the place. Large windows high up in the walls above the door which let in the glowing light of the setting sun. If that wasn’t enough the light reflected off the large chandelier with the teardrop crystals hanging from it. It made the whole place glow an amazing golden light. The winding staircase that led up to another level was lined by wood that shone in the light. Even the hardwood floors reflected the light.
There were basically four directions she could have gone from the foyer. Off to the left, she caught a glimpse of a formal living room. To the right were a set of French glass doors that were shut and beyond it was dark so she couldn’t see into the room beyond. The woman pulled her down a hallway next to the staircase leading her deeper into the house.
Her eyes bulged as she came out into a combination family room kitchen that appeared to run the length of the back of the house. The kitchen had a large island that would be a chef’s dream for preparing meals. Countertops and cabinets ran along the length of two of the walls of the kitchen. She imagined the meals that she could cook up with her mothers and sisters in this large space. There was plenty of room for them to create their famous holiday or even Sunday dinners without bumping into each other.
Now she was really pissed off at Jordan for teasing her with a glimpse of her dream kitchen. She was ready to pick up one of the ceramic knives she saw on the counter and stab him right in the stomach with it. The anger was strong in her, and it didn’t help that this woman wouldn’t let go of her.
“Now we can get comfortable with a cup of coffee, and you can tell me all about yourself.” The lady said as she gestured for Tiara to take a seat on one side of the counter that made up the breakfast bar. She watched the woman reach up to pull two coffee mugs out of one of the cabinets and poured them a cup of coffee from the fanciest coffee machine that Tiara had ever seen. She seemed familiar, but Tiara knew she had never met her before.
“Who are you?” she took a sip of the coffee before adding cream and sugar that the woman was offering her, to the drink.
“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself. I just got so excited when Brad mentioned to his mother that Jordan had brought a date to the charity event that Kamiya’s foundation was hosting. Then imagine my excitement when I found out that he bought a house.” This woman was kind of exhausting. She was bouncing around like a bunny on crack. “Not an apartment or a condo, but an actual ‘I own land and have a mortgage, house.’” She rounded the counter to the side that Tiara had taken a seat on and grabbed her in another bone crushing hug. “Well not that he has a mortgage on this place. I am so proud of how successful my son has become even though he refused to join the family business.”
“Son?” Tiara squeaked out as she pried herself out of the hug. Now that she mentioned it, she could see the resemblance to Pamela Conway. The same creamy skin tone and sure was pretty sure that the beautiful silver mane had been just as dark as Pamela’s at one point in her life.
“Yes, Jordan is my son. But you must call him Christopher. He only allows family and his really close friends to call him Jordan. He is my youngest son. The stubborn one.” Mrs. Lehman rambled on.
“No, I have always called him Jordan. It wasn’t until today that I found out his first name was Christopher.” She looked around at anything but Jordan’s mom, “Hell it wasn’t until today that I found out his last name.” she mumbled.
“Really dear? He lets you call him Jordan?” Mrs. Lehmann took a step back and looked at Tiara. It took everything in her not to fidget under the woman’s scrutiny. After a few minutes of intense staring, Mrs. Lehmann must have reached some conclusion because she gave a firm nod and went back to sipping her coffee.
“I am Jolene Lehmann, Jordan’s mother.” The woman finally introduced herself. “I honestly came over to discover who was the woman who managed to bulldoze herself through the walls my son built around his heart.” She gav
e Tiara a penetrating stare. Tiara could see where Jordan got the ability to look at people as if he was peering into the depth of their soul. She was staring at the source wrapped up in a package of sophistication that couldn’t hide the high level of intelligence. She was looking into the eyes of a thug. A matriarch that any woman with a lick of sense wouldn’t tangle with.
Jolene Lehmann might give off the aura of a sweet little lady, but Tiara had the feeling that she wasn’t afraid to play dirty if the situation called for it.
With a start, Tiara realized she recognized that name. “Jolene Lehmann, the model who created Joy Sky cosmetics?”
“Yes, dear that was me.” Jolene gave a brief nod as she sipped her coffee.
“Oh Fuck, I need to get out of here,” Tiara slapped a hand over her mouth. Her mother would kill her to find out that she used such language in the presence of an elder.
“Why dear?”
“Look Mrs. Lehmann….” Only to be interrupted by her.
“Jolene,” she murmured between sips of coffee.
“Miss Jolene.” She insisted. “Would love to, but I have to look my mother in the eye eventually, and she will slap me for bad manners if I even attempted to call you by your first name. So your just going to have to live with Miss Jolene. I mean no disrespect.” Tiara explained.
“Nothing wrong with good manners then. Something that is sometimes lacking in kids these days,” Jolene let the topic dropped, and Tiara went back to her original objections.
“It is obvious to me that Jordan’s upbringing was different than mine. He had all the privileges that money and a family with money could give him. We have nothing in common,” except super-hot sex Tiara thought.
“My dear, I believe you have more in common than you think.” She gave one of Tiara’s hands a soft pat. “Now, I think Jordan’s car is arriving. I will just go get the driver to take me home while you two enjoy the rest of the evening.” Jolene rinsed out her coffee cup and headed towards the front door leaving a stunned Tiara behind. She heard her greet Jordan at the front door and then the soft click and the sound of an alarm engaging before she realized that she just been ditched by Jordan’s mother. And that she did it so smoothly didn’t escape her.