Bent not Broken (269 page)

With his hand, he caressed my body from the side of my breast to my hip and back up, slowly tracing my curves. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

“I truly doubt that,” I said as I rolled my eyes. He’s gorgeous; I’m average.

“Why are you so insecure? You’re beautiful from head to toe. Any girl would be jealous of you. Your curvy body, beautiful big green eyes, and those lips…those lips are juicy and delicious.” He smiled as he caressed his thumb against my bottom lip before placing a small kiss against them.

“I don’t know. It’s a female thing, I guess.” I shrugged. Leaning in, I laid my head against his chest. I listened to his heartbeat which was soothing. We lay in silence and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

****

I had more orgasms in three days than I’d had in my entire life. We had sex in every area of the beach house: the living room, kitchen, bedroom, shower, even on the beach. We were able to goof around and play games but also have deep conversations. I felt closer to him than I had with any man. The weekend was ending, and I was beginning my new externship position the next day. I was nervous. What if he’s different around me? How will he act? Will he be the same goofy, sexual, and fun Marcus that I have grown to know? Of course he’ll have to be professional and the powerful man at work, but will he dismiss me and pretend I don’t exist? I knew that if that were the case, I would have to suck it up, but it still left a slight twinge in my belly.

I looked over at Marcus who was on a phone call as we drove to the airport. He made such a commitment to me over the weekend by shutting off both of his phones the entire day. He gave me his full attention by day only to turn it back on at night to make sure there were no emergencies. I was thankful for that as I knew he was a busy man. He ended his call and placed his arm around me. He must have sensed the worry in my eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asked, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

“I was thinking about how this is going to work at the office.”

“What do you mean?” His lips remained on my head as he mumbled beneath them.

“Well you know. We’re just getting to know each other, so maybe we should keep this private until we feel as though we can take it to the next step?”

He remained quiet for a moment. I wish I could read his mind, I wondered what he was thinking. “Is that what you want?” He ran his fingers through my hair.

It was obvious that was what he wanted. “Yes, I’d like to keep it strictly professional around the office. I wouldn’t want people to think any less of me.”

He sighed before responding. “Okay, we can keep it strictly professional for now.”

****

Four hours later, we pulled in front of my apartment. I was tired and had to get myself ready for work the next day, but I was disappointed the weekend was over. Surprisingly I was feeling attached and almost pouted because of the distance we would have. I shook that thought out of my head and stepped out of the car door that Marcus had opened for me. I reached up and gave him a tight hug. I truly did not want to let go. His scent was so sweet and his body so strong I felt safe and warm with him. He returned the hug gently, lifting me up from the ground. When he placed me back down, we embraced with an intimate kiss.

“Thank you, Marcus, for everything. This entire weekend was amazing,” I said as I pulled back with my arms still wrapped around his neck.

“Thank you for coming and giving me a chance. You don’t know how much it means to me that you were willing to do this.” I smiled and gave him one last kiss before walking into the building.

When I entered my apartment, there was a strong nasty smell in the air. I walked over to the kitchen to see that the garbage can was completely full.
Ugh
! I can’t believe Jeremy! He only had one task while I was gone and that was to take the trash out, and he just dismissed it altogether. I lifted the bag from the trash can and tied it. I went back down the stairs to throw it in the dumpster by the alley.

When I reached the entrance door to the building, I could see through the side glass that Marcus was still out front. He was talking to a man. The man was handsome with a full set of salt and pepper hair. He looked older than Marcus but by no more than ten or fifteen years. He was also shorter by four inches. Though he wasn’t muscular and tall, his stance was that of a powerful man. He puffed on a cigar and waved his hand while he talked. Marcus looked upset. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, so I cracked open the door to eavesdrop.

“What? Have I not
fucking
taught yah brother or you nothing? You don’t chase pussy; the fucking pussy chases you.” The man’s voice was loud and raspy with a strong Boston accent.

Marcus shook his head. “What? Yah fucking following me or something now!”

“Jimmie was looking for yah, and so was I,” he said, shrugging while taking a puff of his cigar.

“That cock-sucker knew I was on vacation!” I was surprised to hear Marcus curse. I was wrong about his light Boston accent. He seemed angry, and I could tell that when he got angry his true Boston roots showed.

“Vacation, huh? Since when do you take vacation?” Marcus didn’t answer. Instead he bit down on his lip to keep from exploding. The man continued. “Well, he said you were planning on coming back, yah know, to finish the job. We tried calling yah, but you wouldn’t answer. It took every inch of my fucking bone not to get on a plane and fly to the Bahamas to drag your ass back here. When yah say yah gonna finish a job, yah fucking finish the job, Marky!” The older man growled pointing his finger into Marcus’ chest emphasizing the last few words.

Marcus looked down at the man’s finger. Then returned his gaze and inched closer into him. “I would have
loved
to see that!” Marcus grunted.

The man looked back over his shoulder. Another man that looked awfully familiar was standing behind him now. “Look at this fucking tough guy!” He said to the familiar man while pointing his thumb at Marcus. Returning his attention to Marcus, he shoved the cigar back in his mouth, and lightly slapped both of his hands onto Marcus’ face. “Marky, Marky, Marky.” He mumbled through the cigar. “You talk back to me like that again, and I’ll slice that fucking pretty face of yours. You
understand
?” He nodded, waiting for Marcus to respond.

Marcus stern face turned into a huge smile, and then he laughed—he truly
laughed
, really loud. “Sure Uncle Louie, you fat cock-sucking bastard, you’ll have to get past my mother first; you know how overprotective she is of her boys.” Uncle Louie laughed and nodded as he removed his hands from Marcus’ face and took the cigar out of his mouth. He blew the smoke in Marcus’ direction, but Marcus didn’t flinch.

“You’re right. How’s that mother of yours anyways? Is she still lonely at night?” He winked.

“My father would turn in his grave if he heard yah talking like that about his wife.”

Uncle Louie chuckled and patted Marcus on the shoulder before walking to the black SUV that was parked behind Marcus’ car. The tall man followed and opened the back passenger door for him. Before entering the vehicle, he shouted out to Marcus. “I’ll be by tomorrow to go over the next job. No fucking excuses this time, Marky!” He entered the vehicle, and it sped away. I watched as Marcus slammed a closed fist on top of his car and yelled a few curses before getting in and speeding away.

I stood in place for a few minutes before going out to make sure Marcus was far enough. I went out and walked to the alleyway next to our building. I dumped the trash and practically ran back in. What was that conversation about? And what did that Uncle Louie mean, talk about the next job? What was Marcus into? What I did know was that conversation had
nothing
to do with a legal case. He did call him uncle, so I’m guessing he’s related.

Deciding to put aside my thoughts of Marcus and Uncle Louie for the moment, I searched my clothes instead to figure out what I would wear for my first day of work. It didn’t take long for me to choose the light grey, high-waisted pencil skirt with a sky blue blouse and nude pumps. That will certainly have Marcus thinking about our little weekend all day at work tomorrow; well at least I hope so. After ironing my clothes and gently placing them on a hanger, I hopped in the shower.

****

It was nine o’clock when I heard the front door open. Jeremy’s grin widened when he saw me on the couch. “Hey, Mia! How was your weekend?” he asked as he placed his keys on top of the table and walked over to me. He kissed my forehead before taking the empty space beside me. “I see you’ve gotten a nice tan.”

I smiled like a school girl, remembering my weekend. “It was so much fun. I love the Bahamas! We should go there together before the summer is over.”

He shrugged as he reached for the remote. “Sounds good to me; I haven’t been to the Bahamas in a couple years.”

“So are you set for tomorrow?” I asked as I stretched my legs over his thighs.

“Yeah, I’m kind of excited. You want to drive down together? Or do you have plans after work?”

“No that sounds good. Well I’m going to bed; I’m exhausted. Good night.”

“Okay, I’m going to watch TV for a while before calling it quits. Good night, Mia.”

He asked me about my weekend and that was it. He didn’t ask me about Marcus or any scoop regarding what happened. He’s such a guy! Sometimes on days like this, I wish I had a girlfriend: someone I could call and confide in, someone that can give me advice and tell me if I’m making a stupid mistake or a good move. Other days I wish I had a mother: a mother who would wipe away my tears, a mother who would encourage me to do well, and a mother whose words could soothe a broken heart. God! I only get this emotional and sensitive when my time of the month is approaching. So I know it’s coming soon…oh well, off to bed I go.

Chapter Nine

My alarm was set for 6:35 in the morning; although, I knew I could sleep in for another half hour. I woke up and used that time for a morning workout. I wanted to make sure I was flawless today; first impressions are everything. Well it was my first impression for the office, and I wanted to look good for Marcus. The memories of my weekend with him forced me to stay in the shower a little longer than necessary.

When I finished my shower, I dressed in the clothes I’d laid out the night before and took extra time doing my makeup and hair. I styled my hair in a low ponytail with my bangs swept to the side of my face. I completed my look with medium white gold hoop earrings and a simple thin necklace with a diamond pendant my father purchased for me on my fourteenth birthday. I glanced in the mirror and congratulated myself on a job well done.

It was 8:15 a.m., and I was ashamed to admit my disappointment when I didn’t receive any text messages from Marcus. I felt a deep twist in my stomach, thinking that he might not be interested in me any longer. I was not going to allow that to ruin my morning though. When I walked out to the kitchen, I was shocked to see that Jeremy was ready. He was dressed and had two travel mugs of coffee in his hands. He walked over to me and handed me one. I couldn’t help but smile at how handsome he looked in his all-grey suit, sky blue shirt and matching tie. We matched.

“What?” he asked after taking a sip of coffee.

“Nothing, I was just thinking you’re going to make one handsome lawyer one day.” He shot me a crooked smile, and we walked out of the building.

We decided on his car and headed toward Midtown Center City. Traffic wasn’t too bad, and we made it to the parking lot with ten minutes to spare. Jeremy had come for the interview, so he knew where we were going. I followed as we entered into a sky high building. The design and décor had Jeremy’s father’s name written all over it. I’d seen a lot of his work and could point it out in a heartbeat. He was definitely a creative man and knew how to satisfy a customer. The lobby of the building was beautifully designed with all-white marble floors and black-and-platinum fixtures and furniture.

We walked to the visitors’ table where we gave our name and ids to a good-looking young man. He handed us badges that gave us access to the building until August first, which was the last day of our externship. We entered the elevators. Jeremy pressed the button for the 25
^th
floor and swiped the badge along a scanner, just like he was told to do by the young man at the front desk. The ride up was a smooth one, and to my surprise I didn’t feel nauseated like I usually do on elevators.

Upon entering the 25
^th
floor, we were presented with double glass doors with DELUCA & ASSOCIATES engraved in frosted letters. Jeremy opened the door and, as always, allowed me in first. There were cherry hardwood floors, and the blond receptionist was seated behind a high desk in the center of the room. On the right side of her desk there were two chairs, a sofa, and a coffee table for guests. The same exact arrangement was on the left side of her desk. We walked towards the receptionist whom Jeremy instantly found attractive. I could tell by his flirtatious smile. He leaned his arm over the desk and winked at her; she blushed immediately.
I
rolled my eyes.

“How may I help you?” she asked him a little too seductively.

“We’re the new summer externs, and I would
love
to take you out.” He leaned in closer onto the desk and flashed a huge grin. Her face turned a darker shade of red, and she looked down shyly to compose herself. She finally looked up.

“I would
love
that too. Mr. DeLuca is waiting for all the externs in the small conference room. Head down that hall, the first door to the left. Oh and here’s my number—call me after work some time.” She winked, and I almost barfed.

Jeremy grabbed the piece of paper and placed it in his jacket pocket. I rolled my eyes at him again. He caught my reaction this time and placed his arm around my waist. He walked beside me as we headed towards the conference room. “Jealous,
much
?” he asked.