Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (7 page)

“Oh?”

“I fucked Jin,” Tamika said quickly as she shielded her face behind her hands.

“You slept with Jin? Holy shit, Tamika! What happened?  When did this happen? Are you okay? Was it good? Does Reggie know?”

“I don’t know which question to answer first. What I will say is that I don’t regret sleeping with him. Sleeping with him made me realize that most of my bad feelings towards Reggie was just sexual frustration.”

“How do you figure that?”

“I love Reggie and I’m going to put  more effort into our relationship. I’m not going to just write him off, he’s my husband and my marriage deserves an honest try.”

“So what happens the next time that you feel 
frustrated
?”

“That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to give in to my urges like that again. All I can do is move forward and make better decisions, you know?”

“So how does Jin feel about it never happening again?”

“I’m pretty sure that he’ll be fine with it. It’s a one-time thing and it was in the heat of the moment. He’s smart enough to know that.”

“Okay,” Kalena said as if she didn’t believe her.

“I’m serious.”

“I know you’re serious. I just think that you should be careful.”

Tamika shrugged. She knew what she was doing and she couldn’t be too concerned about the past. She and Jin had a wonderful evening and things would be okay. They had to be.

#Chapter8

“I see that I have been replaced...”

Reggie

A few days later Tamika had just got off the phone with a potential candidate. She was truly enjoying the new company that she was working with. They were very specific about the qualifications that they wanted and she enjoyed a good hunt. She was doing a damned good job so far and was quite pleased with herself.

“Hey girly, we’re going to head down the street to lunch if you want to come,” Samantha said after she poked her head in the door of Tamika’s office.

“Thanks girl, but I have a lot to get done. I’m going to work through my lunch today.”

“I don’t know why I ask you anymore, you never say yes. I swear, you are the hardest working woman in the building.

Tamika fake-pouted, “Sorry, Samantha, I’m just doing my best to show my team spirit. I’ve got goals, ya know.”

“Okay suit yourself.”

Samantha walked away and Tamika didn’t miss her. In fact, she had never truly been a big fan of hers. Samantha was a huge gossip and she was always in someone’s business. The only reason she had the job was because her brother worked there too. It was nepotism at its finest. Tamika wasn’t fooled. There was no way that she as a black woman could get away with the shit that Samantha did on the weekly basis.

Samantha would show up late, call clients late, and procrastinate. It was downright disgusting and she thought that she knew everything about everybody. It was a miracle that she got any work done at all.

Tamika pulled her list of places that deliver out of her drawer and she tried to decide what she wanted. She had a ton of options and her indecisiveness was getting on her own nerves. A slight knock on her door caught her attention. It was Jin.

He gave a slight smile, “Are you busy?”

She motioned at her desk that was covered by menus, “If this counts as busy, I am.”

“Do you have time to discuss another project with me?”

“Wow, I get another?”

“Only if you can handle it.”

“I definitely can.”

Jin cleared his throat and shifted his weight to his other foot before he took a seat. “We have a huge client that is in need of a managing editor. We know that if they love our candidates they’re going to give us the rest of their business. They have almost an entire staff that they need to fill. They’re moving their headquarters from Chicago to here and only 20% of their staff is migrating with them.”

“Whoa,” Tamika said. All she could see was dollar signs. She couldn’t wait to negotiate those salaries.

“I know.”

“I’m so in.”

“Cool, it looks like we’re putting you and Samantha on the project.”

Tamika couldn’t hide the roll of her eyes, “Umm okay.”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Looking forward to getting started, I won’t let you down.”

Jin looked uncomfortable, but he was determined to ask the hard question. “So are we ever going to discuss the other night?”

Tamika’s stomach plummeted; she didn’t know what to say. For the first time she began to feel a little embarrassed about what happened between the two of them. She wondered if he was going to ask her for a relationship, or if he was going to want to continue what they started. Neither option was on the table and she wanted to avoid any unpleasantness.

“Jin, I’m sorry but there isn’t really much to say. I’m a married woman and it can’t happen again. I don’t regret it, it was really, really good but it’s over.”

Disappointment flooded his face. Tamika was a little surprised; she figured that a one-night stand was every man’s dream. Tamika wasn’t going to pressure him for anything deeper, he got to cum, and so it seemed like a winning situation to her. However, his face wasn’t reflecting her thoughts.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Jin apologized, “I won’t bring it up again.”

“That’s good because I love my husband and I don’t want to do anything to mess it up. I don’t want to lose my marriage over an office fling. I hope you understand.”

Jin stood to his feet, “Completely.”

*

Meanwhile, Tamika's husband Reggie was sitting in Starbucks, tinkering away at the keys on his laptop.  He hated job hunting and having to do phone interviews in his car. His hands were shaking and he needed a drink. He’d just gotten off the phone with his lawyer. The partner that he punched was thinking about pressing charges. He thought it was bullshit because the incident happened over three  months before. Why couldn’t the dude just get the fuck over it? He’d already blackballed him, wasn’t that enough?

His phone rang and he quickly answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hey, bring ya’ ass now.”

The muscle in Reggie’s jaw flexed and he tried his best to keep his composure, “I’m on my way.”

Reggie went to his car and headed to the Flatbush area. His fingers clenched his steering wheel and he tried his best not to think about anything. He hated his life, and sometimes he wondered if any of the shit that he did to make it was truly worth it. What good was living the good life if you spent most of your time struggling to keep it? Sometimes he wished that he lived in a tiny ass studio apartment and had a shitty 9-5 job that he could go home from and not have to worry about when he wasn’t there. Being upper middle class wasn’t worth it and he paid too high of a price.

Reggie parked his car and immediately regretted driving his Benz to the neighborhood. He should have parked it and took the train. But it was too late. He got out of the car and went up the stairs of the brick two-story  apartment  house. The music was blaring from the speakers. It was the kind of shit that Reggie couldn’t stand. He hated southern rap, that shit wasn’t real music.

He walked into the house and Mimi was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed and typing on her phone. When she noticed him she told a younger gentleman to cut the stereo down and give her some space. The guy was about 5’10 but stocky, he looked at Reggie as if he wanted to challenge him, but he knew what the outcome would be. Reggie didn’t feel threatened in the slightest, and gave the boy a slight grin before he removed his suit jacket and sat on the couch opposite Mimi.

Mimi stared at him for a few moments before she adjusted in her seat and crossed her legs. She was 5’6, a size 14, and it was all in the right places. Her stomach had a little pudge, but it wasn’t anything that a man would complain about. Her DD’s sat high on her chest and protruded out of the sweater dress that she was wearing. She was almost 50, but she still looked as if she was in her 30’s.

“Well how are you, Reggie?”

“I’m good, Mimi, long time no see.”

“You’re right about that. I’ve missed you Reggie.”

Reggie ignored her comment and stared at her. He wasn’t in the mood for any of her games, and she had a lot of them. “So, what’s up?”

“Before we get started I need to know something. Why are you getting back in the game?”

“I don’t have a choice. I know my wife is going to leave me if I don’t bring in some income sooner or later.”

Saying those words from his lips hit him like a ton of bricks. Tamika never seemed like the gold digger type, but it had always been understood that he was going to be a money making machine after college. She thought that he was going to play pro-football after he graduated and so did he. When he sustained the injury, he got into a career that he knew could make him some money. From the time that he was little he always knew that doctors and lawyers made big money. He didn’t have the time or patience to become a doctor so he enrolled in the law program. It was the toughest three years of his life, but it was worth it to see how proud Tamika was of him. He hated that he had to lie to her, and most of all he hated that he couldn’t take care of her. All of the bills were being paid from his savings and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep that up. She was going to find out what happened soon.

“Well that’s fucked up,” Mimi grinned. “I can’t stand gold-digging bitches.”

“Hey don’t disrespect my wife like that.”

“Ooooh my bad, I didn’t mean to strike a nerve, Reginald. So does she knew about your past in the drug game?”

“No she doesn’t know about any of it. I’ve always chose to keep that part of my life away from her. She doesn’t need to know about or be involved with any of this shit.”

Mimi laughed and shook her head, “Same old Reggie, always keeping secrets. I wonder what else your precious Mika doesn’t know about. Does she know about how you used to belong to me? About how you use to crave this pussy?”

Reggie laughed so quickly that he snorted. It was true that he used to mess around with Mimi when he was in college, but it wasn’t because she was irresistible. It was because she paid his car note, gave him the least risky jobs, and made sure that he kept a full supply so that he could make money. She even paid all of his younger brother’s high school fees when he couldn’t foot the bill in undergrad.

“She doesn’t know about me and you either.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Mimi called her minion back into the room and told him to bring her a “deluxe package”. He nodded and disappeared.

“Whatever the reason, I’m glad to have you back.”

“I wish that I could say that I’m happy to be back, but these are tough circumstances.”

“Don’t even worry about it. This game isn’t for the weak and if you have other options, I always suggest that you take them. But at the end of the day, we’re family. Whenever you need work, I’m here. You always sell to upscale clients, I missed you, boo.”

Reggie shook his head and remained quiet. He didn’t really know how to respond to her. It was true that he sold to a better grade of people. He used to sell to his professors, coaches, teammates, and even some of the staff at the university. That’s partially why he applied to the law program at his school, because the Dean was one of his clients. He knew that he had to let him in.

Soon her minion returned and he dropped the bag at Reggie’s feet before returning to Mimi’s side.

“I have to tell you, Reggie, you were one of my favorite boys but now it’s going to have to be strictly business between us,” Mimi said.

“I see that I’ve been replaced,” Reggie said in amusement as he looked at the boy, “You traded me in for a younger model?”

“Well a woman has to keep up appearances, and I love them when they’re still wet behind the ears. My babe just turned 21 last week,” she gave him a slap on the ass and pointed him back towards her bedroom and winked. He bent down to kiss her, suggestively grabbed his dick, and walked towards the back.

“Some things never change,” Reggie laughed. He could remember when that boy was him. He met Mimi when he was 16 years old and broke. She upgraded him, paid for him to go to a better high school, and introduced him to selling drugs. He continued with her until he entered law school. He knew that he couldn’t have someone like her in his life anymore, and he wanted stay true to his future wife.

“But some things do change Reggie,” Mimi said as her face hardened. “You’re not fucking me so you don’t get special treatment anymore. You know what to do, I don’t have to teach you, and I highly suggest that you don’t fuck up.”

“Oh I can't afford to fuck up Mimi”.