Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (16 page)

#Chapter2

“How did you find out that I was fired?”

Reggie

Reggie woke with a renewed sense of purpose. He told Tamika that he had taken the day off, so he was resting in bed when she left for work. He tried to get her to call off too, but she couldn’t because of a few important interviews. Wow, his wife was about to have his child; he was finally going to have a baby.

It was outside of his timeline, but all of that ceased to matter when he found out that he had a kid on the way. All of his thoughts about waiting didn’t matter anymore; his child was on the way. He smiled to himself as he got out of the bed. It was time for him to get his life together, truly get his life together. Still being a part of a lifestyle that could hurt his child was completely unacceptable.

He got up and headed to the kitchen, where there was a note from Tamika on the refrigerator telling him to look in the oven. Smiling, he walked over to the oven and saw that she had left breakfast for him. This was the woman that he had been evil to and she was still taking care of him. He felt blessed as he grabbed the warm plate, poured himself a glass of orange juice, and sat at the table.

Everything that he needed was on the table; she truly thought of everything. But then again, when you dick a woman down really good, she’ll give you anything you want. That was the case for them. When they had arrived home from the restaurant, he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. They hadn’t had sex like that in a long time, and he gave Tamika all of the pent-up sexual frustration that he’d been holding in.

Honestly, Mimi, got his engine revved. He hated her ass, but when she wrapped those pretty lips around his dick, he needed to release. He saved all of his seed for his wife, and Tamika was on the receiving end of a sexual pummeling. She didn’t mind at all. He lightly chuckled as he remembered his wife’s moans of pleasure, her body convulsing as he gave her all nine of his inches.

His dick hardened when he thought about the way that her tight pussy clenched around him. She was so wet, warm, and tight. Her pussy was tailor-made for him and it welcomed him graciously. How had he gone without having sex with his wife for so long? Stress could do weird things to a person’s libido, but now all he wanted to do was make love to his wife again and again.

He enjoyed the taste of his French toast; she’d put vanilla and cinnamon in it just the way that he liked it. His orange juice had extra pulp, his toast was multigrain, and his eggs were scrambled with American cheese. He’d married the perfect woman, and for a while he’d forgotten to appreciate her as much as he used to. She was too good for him, but he would make up for it.

His cellphone buzzed, it only buzzed once, so it was a text. He didn’t want to read it, but it could have been important. He sighed and pulled it out of the pocket of his pajama pants. It was from Mimi, demanding that he come to her place ASAP.
What the fuck did she want now?
He’d paid her back and he was done with her. Now all he wanted to do was pay Tommy back, find a more reliable form of income, and move the fuck on with his life.

Mimi wasn’t the kind of woman that you ignored. If she requested your presence, you’d better go and see what she wants. If you didn’t there would be hell to pay. He didn’t want that kind of drama, so he stopped eating and headed to his bedroom.
So much for it being a laid back day
, he thought with irritation
.

An hour and a half later he arrived at Mimi’s house. Before he could knock on the door, a guy opened it. It wasn’t the young boy that he was used to seeing; it was a big black man who almost intimidated him, almost. The man’s stern expression made it clear that he wasn’t to be fucked with. He didn’t look particularly mean, he just looked like he didn’t’ take any shit. He stood about two inches taller than Reggie and he had about twenty-five pounds on him, all muscle.

“You’re Reggie?” the man asked.

“Yeah.”

“She’s expecting you; go to the back.”

Was she setting him up to get his ass kicked?
He wouldn’t put it past her, because she wasn’t the kind of woman who took rejection well. Maybe he’d hurt her feelings a lot more than he’d originally thought. Whatever the case, he had to go in and see what the hell she wanted.

He passed by the guy and walked to the back of the house. Mimi was sitting on the couch in the room in the back. She was wearing all black; she looked like a sexy assassin.

“You got here pretty quickly; I didn’t think that you were coming. You never responded to my text,” she said without looking up from her laptop.

“I figured that you would rather me show up than respond,” he responded.

She didn’t offer him a seat, so he continued to stand.

“That’s true, but get some manners, it’s appropriate to respond. I almost had someone come looking for you.”

His jaw clenched, he hated being threatened. “Where’s your little boy toy?”

“In school, of course. You know how much I hate a dumb kid,” she grinned, finally looking at him.

He shook his head, “I know that all too well.”

“Do I detect a little bit of attitude? How quickly we forget, Reggie. I remember when you were young, dumb, and poor. There was no way that you would have been able to make it through college without me, and I fronted the bill for your brother for a long ass time. I stood in those stands and came to your games. I kept away from you because you had that little innocent girl too. Who did it all for you? I did; it damned sure wasn’t your
mother
.”

“Look, I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.”

“I sure can’t tell, because you act like an ungrateful little shit. I should have let you flunk out. Do you know how disappointed I was when you got injured? Everything I invested in you went to shit that day. Instead of trying to play through it, you went to law school. Now look at where that has got you--fired, and back begging for scraps.”

“How did you find out that I was fired?” he asked.

“I have my resources, baby. You thought that I would let you come crawling back to me without doing my research? Too bad your wife isn’t so smart, but she probably trusts you, “she laughed.

Hearing her speak the truth hurt him to his core. It wouldn’t have hurt so badly if she wasn’t saying things that were true. He’d come to rely on her over the course of his college career. He’d even had to beg for money a few times while he was in law school. She’d paid for the flowers for his wedding too. Tamika wanted a huge wedding, and he couldn’t afford the flowers, so he’d had to get outside help.

“So what did you call me here for? Was it to just reminisce? We could have done that over the phone.”

“Don’t rush me,” she snapped. “I called you here because I realized that I made an error. The package that you stupidly left out in the streets wasn’t worth ten thousand dollars, it was worth fifteen. You still owe me five stacks, and I’ll be expecting that within the next couple of days. I’m going to use that money to get Solomon the watch that he wants.”

“You can’t be serious. So now you’re telling me that I owe you an extra five thousand dollars? Do you think I’m made of money? You know that you already marked up what I owed you in the first place,” he replied. His blood began to course really fast through his veins. He was pissed because she was shaking him down for more cash.

“Are you questioning my integrity? I’m hurt. But I don’t care what you think, the fact remains that you owe me money and I want it, all of it.”

“I’m not giving you any more money. I don’t have it to give. I already had to call in a favor just to pay you the ten.”

“That’s not my problem. Maybe you can ask Tamika to give you the funds, I’m sure she has it. You’re acting like the both of you aren’t an upper middle class family,” she laughed. “Act like you have some fucking balls. Go into the account that you share with your wife, and give me my money.”

“You know I can’t do that,” he said.

She shrugged. “Well I feel sorry for you then, because you know how I am when it comes to my money. I expect it from you soon, and if you don’t produce my funds, there is going to be hell to pay. I’ll turn that pretty little life that I financed upside down. Give me my fucking money, you ungrateful piece of shit.”

Reggie’s eyes got wide; he’d gotten under her skin. Rarely did he see her so upset. This was a very emotional decision for her. When someone hurt her feelings, she became downright devious. Maybe he could try to talk her off of the ledge.

“Look, I’m sorry if I hurt you—.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she cut him off. “This is about you 'making it' and never looking back. You cut all ties with me like you didn’t care. I went out of my way to make sure that you had everything you ever wanted and needed. The first chance you got to walk away, you took it. I don’t honor anyone who’s disloyal, and you’re disloyal.”

“I just wanted a normal life,” he pled. “You have to understand that. I went to college because I wanted to get out of the gutter. You seem comfortable with doing this shit for the rest of your life, but I was tired of it. I always thought that you understood that.”

Her face softened a bit, and she looked like he’d gotten through to her. They’d had so many good times together. There were days during his off season where they wouldn’t leave the bed. They were like a family--a twisted family, but still close. She’d thought that they really had something. However, he’d showed her how he truly felt when he cut her off.

“No,” she said, “I don’t want to hear it. You’ve made your decisions. Just get out, and bring me back my money.”

“Mimi…”

“Don’t make me regret letting you walk out of here without having one of your legs broken. Most people don’t get a couple of days to bring me back my money. ”

Reggie didn’t say another word; he turned around and left the house. As he walked toward his car, he tried to figure out how he was going to get her the money. Maybe he should just break down and get five thousand from the account. If he did that, he would have to answer twenty-one questions, and he didn’t want to ruin the trust between him and his wife. They were finally on good terms.

Before he drove off, he picked up his phone and called his friend.

“What’s up fool?” Tommy said jovially.

“Hey dude, what are you doing?’

“Nothing much, on lunch right now, sitting by myself in Chipotle looking like I don’t have any friends.”

Reggie laughed. “Damn dude, you’ve pushed away all of your co-workers?”

“Nah, I really just needed some time to myself. I get tired of smiling all damned day, a nigga needs a break.”

“I thought you enjoyed smiling always; you’re one of the happiest people I know.”

“Even I need a break sometimes. Now what did you call for, because you’re not the chatting type.”

“You know me,” Reggie said with a huge sigh, “I’m so sorry to have to ask you this, but I need to borrow another five thousand dollars.”

“Damn! Do you have a drug or gambling habit that I need to know about? They have rehab programs for this type of shit, you know.” 

“Nah, I’m just in a bind and I’m trying to get out of it.”

“How are you going to pay me back the fifteen that I just gave you if you’re borrowing more money?”

Reggie ran his hand down his face. He didn’t expect that kind of push back from his friend, but then again, he’d never asked his friend for twenty thousand dollars before either. “Alright, I’m sorry for asking, forget I asked. I’m going to get you your money back.” 

“Okay, thank you, because I don’t have that kind of money just to give away. I’m not married; I don’t have a spouse to fall back on.”

“I understand.”

“I’m serious about what I said before, are you okay? Are you into something that I don’t know about? If you need help, you can ask me.”

If Reggie was a female he would have smacked his lips. His friend had just refused to help him, then turned around and said that he would help.

“Nope, I’m good, but thanks for your help.”

“Alright, I guess I’ll talk to you later. Good luck, and if you truly need money, talk to your wife. You know that Tamika has your back through anything--she’s your ride or die.”

“Yeah, let me catch you later,” Reggie said before he hung up the phone.

He didn’t want any of Tommy’s advice even if he was right. It would have been nice to go to his wife and tell her what was happening, but that wasn’t an option. He didn’t know what kind of an idealistic world Tommy lived in, but women weren’t that forgiving. Once you lost their trust, there wasn’t any getting it back. He didn’t want to put that kind of rift between them; their marriage couldn’t withstand the pressure so soon. Also, placing stress on a pregnant woman wasn’t a good idea. His wife needed to remain oblivious to the other world that he lived in. She hadn’t asked for that life, he’d done it on his own.

There
had
to be another way to come up with the funds for what he needed. He just needed to think harder. Maybe he could offer to work it off? That’s probably what Mimi wanted from him so that he could be her lackey forever. Or he could try to get the ring back from Tamika that he’d just given her. She was prone to losing shit, and jewelry was no exception. That ring had cost him almost five thousand dollars, so he would have what he needed.