Read Black Friday: Exposed Online
Authors: Ashley;JaQuavis
Black Friday: Exposed (13 page)
Kasheef couldn’t help the sly grin that crossed his face. Carmen was slick. She had game and it was at that moment that he realized she was worth every single red cent that he was paying her. He was more confident than ever before. Carmen had just put a major dent in the prosecution’s case. He already had Alija on his team so all he had to do was let the case play out. Kasheef barely listened for the remainder of the day. His mind kept drifting back to the night he had shared with Alija. Her smile, her eyes, her face were all embedded in his mind. He wondered why she had not shown up for his trial today. After seeing her attend the court sessions the prosecution decided that it be best if she stayed out of sight until it was her time to speak. They did not want her there until it was absolutely necessary, but silently he wished he could see her face. Just the fact that she sat in the back of the courtroom gave him reassurance. He turned once more to make sure that he had not missed her, but she was nowhere to be found. Norelle sat behind him, but only because she thought everything was good between them. She was a woman who presented herself under false pretenses. Her outward beauty was magnificent, but inward she was just as ugly as the grimiest niggas in New York. While stick up kids held men up with their guns, Norelle’s weapon of choice was a combination of good looks and good pussy. Kasheef shook his head and turned back around just in time to hear the judge adjourn the trial for the day.
Kasheef stood and buttoned the top button to his coat jacket. He leaned in and kissed Carmen professionally on the cheek and whispered, “Good job today ma. Once this is over I owe you dinner a’somethin’.”
“I eat lobster and steak,” she replied with a smile. “Let’s just hope tomorrow is just as successful. She gathered her paperwork, walked out of the courtroom and bypassed the reporters as she hopped into the Lincoln Town Car that awaited her curbside. She headed toward her office. She had a lot of reading to do on other cases. Since taking on Kasheef as a client she had been neglecting her other responsibilities in the office. She knew that it was important for the senior board members of her firm to see her as well rounded, so she needed to balance all of her case trials successfully. With Alija on their team now and the excellent cross examinations she herself was presenting, she was confident that the win was in the bag. All of her hard work was paying off. She was finally moving up the corporate ladder. It did not bother her that she was riding Kasheef’s criminal wave to the top.
As long as I get there,
she thought as she cruised the city streets.
I’ll be the youngest senior partner and the first black woman to achieve that at the firm,
she thought proudly. Losing was not an option, she was determined to win. By any means necessary.
As long as I get there,
she thought as she cruised the city streets.
I’ll be the youngest senior partner and the first black woman to achieve that at the firm,
she thought proudly. Losing was not an option, she was determined to win. By any means necessary.
Chapter Thirteen
Alija sat near her baby’s side. She was well enough to be off of the monitors and Alija was relieved to finally see some progress in her daughter’s health. She held Nahla on her lap as she sat in the rocking chair flipping through a photo album.
“See look,” she cooed to her daughter and pointed at the pictures. “Here is you and mommy.” She turned the page. “Here is you, mommy, and daddy.” A smile crossed her face as the pleasant memories from the photos flooded her memory. “And here is you again ... you are mommy’s little angel Nahla.” She kissed her baby lovingly. “Mommy loves you.”
“Hmm, hmm.” Kasheef cleared his throat to announce his presence in the doorway. Alija turned toward him.
“Oh,” she said in a surprised tone. She closed the photo album and slid it into Nahla’s diaper bag. With her daughter still in her arms she stood and looked at Kasheef awkwardly. “I did not know you were standing there.”
“I wasn’t. I just got here and I didn’t want to startle you,” he said. He moved closer to her and she took a step back. “I see Nahla’s doing better.” He held out his hands to the infant and to Alija’s astonishment, Nahla leaned toward Kasheef. She handed her daughter over to him and smiled.
“You might want to stop coming around so much. She is going to think you are her father. You already have half of the nurses thinking you are her daddy,” Alija joked.
“Speaking of that ... where is her father?” Kasheef asked. He knew that Alija had a past, but he wanted to know exactly what he might be getting himself involved in if he chose to pursue her seriously after the conclusion of the trial.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he ain’t in the picture anymore,” Alija said with one hand on her hip.
“I was looking for you today in court,” he admitted. “I was hoping you would come.” Nahla playfully touched his face as he talked and he held her so intimately that someone would have thought that Nahla was his child.
Alija looked down at her feet nervously. “After last night ... I just felt uncomfortable. I don’t know. I just needed to think. Plus, the prosecution doesn’t really want me there anyway. Witness intimidation, you know?”
“I intimidate you?” he asked sincerely.
“I don’t know,” she responded. “I just need time to think.”
“About?” he asked.
“My life, the plans I have for her life,” Alija said while pointing to Nahla.
“I was hoping you might make room for me in both of your lives,” he said genuinely. Alija’s eyes met his and he reached out his free hand to pull her near. She resisted a little, but eventually stepped toward him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. Closing her eyes she inhaled the scent of his Hei cologne and put her hand on his chest.
“What am I doing?” she asked aloud.
“Letting me in,” he replied. He looked at baby Nahla and smiled. “Ain’t that right ma?”
Nahla gurgled baby sounds and Kasheef said, “See, she’s feeling the kid.”
Alija laughed and held onto him tightly. Just the sensation of a man’s strong embrace made her feel safe. It was something that she had been missing. For a moment she had some security in her world and she desperately wanted to hold onto it. She finally noticed the gift bag that sat at his feet. “What’s this?” she asked as she bent down to pick it up. She peered inside and found three Dora the Explorer children books. “Thank you,” she accepted graciously.
He sat down in the rocking chair and grabbed one of the books from Alija then began to read them to Nahla. Alija watched in amazement as Kasheef interacted tenderly with her daughter. Most men would run in the other direction if she told them that she had a child, but Kasheef seemed to be running toward her. They were developing the most intimate connection she had ever had with another person in her life. She was afraid; afraid that the actions that she were taking would change her life forever. The two of them stayed by Nahla’s side until she was fast asleep. After they put her back into the pediatric hospital bed, they walked out with Kasheef’s arm draped around Alija’s shoulders.
“Did you drive here?” he asked as they stepped onto the pavement of the parking lot.
“Nah I took a cab. My car is bullshit. One day it works, the next day it doesn’t,” she said.
“You gon’ have to cop you something new with all that cash you extorting from me,” he said jokingly. She hit him on his shoulder and smirked in response. “Get in,” he said as he opened his passenger door for her and she looked around nervously.
“Kasheef, we can’t be seen together,” she whispered.
“We good, there ain’t nobody out here. Besides my windows are tinted. Quit worrying,” he assured her. She hopped into the truck and he closed her door before walking around to the driver’s side.
When they pulled up to the hotel Kasheef let her out at the entrance. “I’ll meet you in my room in a couple minutes,” he said while slipping her a key card to his room.
She got out of the car and walked into the lobby of the hotel. She could not help, but to feel as if her life had become one of those romance movies as she peered around to make sure there were no prying eyes around her. After taking the elevator to the twenty-first floor she had to take a couple deep breaths before she made her way down the hallway to Kasheef’s room. Her nerves were making her feel as if she were going on her very first date. The flutters in her stomach felt more like eagle’s wings then butterflies, causing her to feel faint. When she walked into the room her eyes watered from the sight in front of her. “Oh my God,” she whispered as she looked around her. There were candles and rose petals everywhere. An intimate indoor picnic for two was set up on the floor. Her heart raced. She was definitely in over her head. She was beginning to fall for Kasheef and he had made it perfectly clear how he felt for her. She didn’t even realize he was in the room with her until his arms were wrapped around her waist.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked weakly as her eyes closed against her will and she enjoyed the feeling that his lips brought to her neck.
“I want you,” he admitted. “I don’t know what it is about you Alija, but you were built for me ma.”
Alija turned to face him. “Kasheef I have a daughter. I can’t just start this with you as easily as another chick could. There are things that complicate this situation. All of my decisions affect her. I’m just trying to do right by her. I know what kind of life style you lead. I saw you kill Ahmad. Why would I want my daughter to be around that? I’m not even gon’ front like I’ve always been responsible, but that night in the club you forced me to change. Seeing him get shot right in front of me ... that changed my life Kasheef ... forever.”
“I hear you ma, but that still ain’t telling me what I need to know,” he stated frankly. “I want to know if you can put all that aside. I want to take care of you and Nahla. I would never let anything happen to you.”
Against her better judgment, she kissed his lips sensually. The chemistry between the two of them was insane. It literally felt like sparks were flying throughout the room and every single spot of her body was sensitive to Kasheef’s touch. “You’ve got my heart ma,” he said with his forehead pressed against hers. “I’ve never felt the things that I’m feeling for you.”
“Where would we fit in your life Kasheef?” she asked with genuine concern and doubt.
“There’s nothing but room in my world ma. It’s just me. I’m all alone. I have been for a long time now. Things are going to be a little crazy until this trial is over, but after that my life ... our life together, will go back to normal,” he guaranteed.
“I don’t want to live in New York,” she said.
“Then you don’t have to. Whatever you want Alija, I’ll give it to you,” he promised.
“I don’t know why, but I believe you would,” she replied.
Kasheef pulled her down onto the floor where he pulled out fresh fruits and wine for them to indulge in. It was the most romantic thing that any man had ever arranged for her and Alija was open. They sat up into the wee hours of the morning just talking and laughing. They got to know each other a little better. Kasheef noticed that it was five o’clock in the morning and he yawned deeply.
“Yo, I ain’t stayed up talking like this since I was in middle school kicking whack game to the young girls on three-way,” he stated with a chuckle.
“I know. It’s easy to lose track of the time though when you’re in good company like me,” she bragged playfully. “You better get some sleep though. You have court in just a few hours.”
“Right now that ain’t important,” he whispered. “The only thing that matters right now is me and you.”
Alija blushed as Kasheef massaged her feet. “Why me?” she asked.
“Why you what?”
“Why are you so interested in me?” she asked more clearly.
“You remind me of someone I used to know,” he replied.
She frowned. She did not like being compared to some other girl. That meant that she was only a replica of the real thing he had lost. “So you really aren’t feeling me. You just like me because I remind you of some other girl you used to love. What she broke your heart and I’m her substitute?”
“You remind me of my mother ... she passed away a couple years ago,” he said.
Alija immediately felt like an idiot for assuming the worse. She pulled her feet away from his grasp and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“It a’ight ma, you did not know. There is just something in you. It’s in your swag, like you’re strong. You are a survivor. You out here trying to raise your daughter on your own ... it’s just a combination of things that remind me of her. She raised me by herself. I never knew my father. We were like our own team. A two man show. We never had much, but we had each other and that was always enough. She was the only woman I have ever loved. I was protective of her. I would have done anything to save her. Nobody else just seemed to be able to compare,” he explained.
“She sounds like a beautiful person Kasheef,” Alija admitted.
“I know. After she died I didn’t think about her for a long time. It just hurt too much. It was so much easier for me to just shut off my heart than to deal with losing her. Now every time I look at you, I’m reminded of her.”
“Is that a good thing?” she asked. “I don’t want you to hurt every time you look at me.”
“Nah, ma. It’s the exact opposite. My heart seems to heal the more I’m around you.”
“What are you saying Kasheef?” she asked as tears filled her eyes.
“I’m not trying to scare you off ma,” he said. “But I care a lot about you.”
“I care about you too,” she replied with her head bowed in shame.
Kasheef frowned. “Why do you say it like it’s a bad thing?”
“You could never understand. I don’t even want to get into all of that. It’s too late and I’m too tired,” she said.
Kasheef pulled her body near his and grabbed the covers and pillow from the bed. He wrapped them over their bodies and within moments they were both sound asleep.
The next day Alija awoke to the sound of a baby’s laughter. She thought she was dreaming, but when she opened her eyes she saw Kasheef holding her daughter.
“Say hi to your moms shorty,” he said as he placed Nahla in Alija’s arms. Alija looked up at him in shock.
“When did ... how did you?” she was so stunned that she could not form any questions in her mind to ask.
“I went and talked to her doctors. They said that it was safe to bring her home. I knew you missed her and since they thought I was her father anyway they allowed me to sign her discharge papers,” Kasheef explained.
“Thank you Sheef,” she said, calling him by his nick name for the first time. Hearing her shorten his name let him know that she was becoming more comfortable in his presence and he smiled.
“You’re welcome,” he answered. “Are you coming to the courthouse today?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” she replied. He fixed his tie and leaned in to kiss Alija on the lips.
“Bring baby girl too, she might be my good luck charm,” he said as he walked out of the room.
The trial went on for the next couple days and Alija found herself sitting in the back row with her daughter faithfully. The District Attorney bitched a fit about her being there, but she refused to leave. She told them that she wanted to face her attacker when really she just wanted to show her support for Kasheef. After surprising her and bringing her daughter home early Kasheef had claimed a tiny piece of Alija’s heart. It was too hard to deny him, so she found herself giving in slowly ... regretfully. Kasheef was grateful for her support and was slowly but surely falling in love with this woman. They spent every day together. Alternating between his room and her room. She liked how he was so at ease with Nahla and she appreciated how he respected her as a woman, but more importantly as a mother. Alija was like a temporary vacation from life’s everyday grind for Kasheef. She was who he talked to when he needed to get something off of his chest. She gave him peace of mind and her smile brightened up his day no matter how bleak it may have been. It got to the point where he honestly could not remember how he had ever been happy without a woman like her by his side. Even when they were not in each other’s presence, she stayed on his mind and he carried her spirit in his heart. She was as close to perfect as someone could ever be and once the trial was over he planned on showing her how much he appreciated having her in his life.
Other books
The Dame Did It by Joel Jenkins
Valentine’s Brawl by Marteeka Karland
Rudy by Rudy Ruettiger
Back for Seconds by Ginger Voight
Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman
Inferno by Bianca D'arc
Never Have Sex With Your Ex (Regular Sex #2) by Kitty French
AlphainHiding by Lea Barrymire
Only the Gallant by Kerry Newcomb
Into the River by Ted Dawe