Delusional Love (2nd Edition) (2 page)

Ashley
sat back on the bed positioning
herself
against the
headboard. Ashley also thought about Bridget.

‘
That man-stealing bitch he called an
assistant. I could tell from the first time I met her that she was trying to
get with Ivan. All those late nights they were supposedly working. Well good
riddance; I hope she stays in Montana. It was so easy to get rid of Ms.
Perfect. I only needed to find someone to marry her and keep her away from my
man.’

Ashley
was really proud of her handiwork.
‘It
actually wasn’t that difficult. After signing up for a dating service and
letting the prospects know that I was in a newly committed relationship but had
a friend who was looking for someone special, but did not like dating services.
Luckily she was very attractive and it was really easy to steer dates her way.
I would tell them to go by the office pretending to be a vendor and if they
liked the way she looked, they should ask her out.
 
Luckily it only took four tries before
she was totally taken with one of the men. Men can be so gullible.’
 
She smiled to herself and thought she
could be a matchmaker.
‘It did get a
little hairy when Bridget’s new love felt the need to be totally honest with
her and told her about the dating service and my involvement. I told her that I
had forgotten about the dating service after Ivan and I started seeing each
other. I told her when I saw how handsome he was I immediately thought of her,
but I knew if she thought I was involved, she would not give him a chance.
Bridget believed every word of it. Damn I’m good.’

Ashley
redirected her attention to Ivan as she watched him go into his walk-in closet.

“You
sure baby? I will definitely make it worth your while.”

She
smiled and set up on her knees letting the sheet fall to the bed to give a
clear view of her perky and expensive “D” cup breast. He looked over at the bed
as he exited the closet.

“I’ll
have to take a rain check. Now please get dressed I need to leave soon.”

Ivan
wanted her dressed and out of his house. He really needed to end this
arrangement with Ashley but he would wait until after the completion of the
major acquisition he was working on.

------------

Ivan
stormed out of his office walking over to the desk where his current assistant
sat,
this was the final straw for him. Not only did she not
complete the research needed for today’s meeting,
but
she made revisions to the wrong report.

“
What.The.Fuck.Is.This
?”

He
labored over each word as he threw documents on the desk.
 
She jumped, almost leaping out the
rolling desk chair she was sitting in. Ivan continued barely above a whisper,
but clearly furious.

“All
you had to do was verify the items I outlined make the revisions, and get the necessary
copies made. Was that too difficult? It’s not brain surgery. Hell, the Internet
does the GOD DAMN verifications for you.”

Tears
began to spill over from the young woman’s eyes as she quickly gathered her
belongings.

“I
cannot work under these conditions. I’m sorry Mr. Quinn, I will notify the
agency to send someone else.”

She
said with a shaky, soft voice.
 
Ignoring the exiting crying woman he retreated to his office to call
human resources.

“I
don’t care who you have to kill, just get me someone who can walk and talk at
the same time!”

He
slammed down the phone as Adam Quinn, his younger brother walked in. He was
just as handsome as Ivan, with the same amazing sea green eyes 32 years old,
chiseled body not overly muscular, but it was evident that he worked out.
 
At six foot three inches he was a little
shorter than his big brother, but was equally as breath taking. Ivan darted his
eyes at his brother.

“Hey
bro, I just saw your newest assistant running by me crying.
 
At this rate you will run through every
employee at every temp agency in town before the

month
is over.”

“Very
funny, we have a meeting in two hours and our reports are fucked up, so now
that you are here you can help me put these reports together before we meet
with the rest of the committee.”
 
Ivan buzzed his secretary, Betty Connors.

“Betty
come into my office I need your assistance on this project.”

After
the meeting Ivan had a message on his desk informing him that a new temp would
be there on Monday morning.

CHAPTER TWO

FRIDAY, JUNE 10th

“Steph,
you are a lifesaver, I am so glad you are available.”

Stephanie
Young stood in the office of Brianna Robinson, her best friend since elementary
school.
 
Stephanie was a strikingly
beautiful woman with hazel colored eyes and caramel colored skin. At five feet
seven inches everything she wore seemed to fit her like a glove. Standing there
in a gold colored sleeveless blouse and pencil skirt she looked every bit of
the corporate image.
 
Stephanie
looked at Brianna.
‘My best friend is a
natural beauty and I wish I could get her to see herself as everyone else

does
.’

Brianna
was five feet six inches with cocoa colored skin and a beautiful head of wild
curly hair. Brianna never had to wear makeup because her skin was impeccable.
Her daily make up regiment consisted of eyeliner and lip-gloss. Her slender
figure was something that she always had to work on and she was diligent about
keeping her body in shape, but you would never know by the clothes she wore to
hide her figure.
 

Brianna
always wore the latest fashion, but nothing too tight or too short. Although
she was very beautiful, she was extremely shy and did not socialize outside of
work other than their monthly girl’s night out. Stephanie remembered when they
were back in elementary school; Brianna would always sit by herself reading and
Stephanie would sit beside Brianna at lunch, trying to talk to her, but Brianna
was not very talkative, always giving one-word answers or just nodding. After a
while they became fast friends and inseparable to this day.

“Okay
Bri, what does the job entail and why are you so desperate to fill the
position?” Stephanie growled. “Stop being so negative, this position is right
up your alley, now that you have completed real estate school.”

Stephanie
was previously a paralegal working at a major law firm in Center City
Philadelphia until she was laid off along with 100 other employees when the
firm decided to downsize. With the economy being what it was, she was not able
to find another job right away, so she decided to follow one of her many dreams
and go to Real Estate School. Stephanie completed the program and was again
looking for employment. She had many aspirations that she had not yet
accomplished.
‘Dreams
Deferred’
 
was
how Stephanie referred to them.

“First
let me just say thank you for agreeing to fill the position. I think they are
looking for someone who is available for six months. It’s with a major
acquisitions firm that deals primarily in real estate. I think it would be a
wonderful opportunity for you.” Brianna said confidently. ‘And we can’t keep
anyone in that position for longer than two weeks. The last one didn’t last two
days.’

“Bri,
stop talking to me like I’m one of your employees in need of one of your pep
talks because you know I’m allergic to bullshit. Tell me straight up without
the ass

kissing
. What’s up with this position you obviously can’t
fill with any of your employees?”

“Alright,
alright, I’m going to give it to you straight.”

Brianna
said exasperated. “This client is very difficult to work for, and by difficult
I mean, he is an asshole. I can’t keep anyone in that position longer than it
takes to complete the paperwork for this position.”
 
Brianna said frustrated.

“So when
in doubt, throw your best friend under the bus.” Stephanie replied.

“No,
it’s not like that and you know it. You are the most assertive, strong-willed,
no-nonsense person I know.” Brianna said.

“By
assertive, strong-willed no-nonsense you mean pushy, opinionated, and kick ass
first and take names later type of person.”

“Well,
yeah. Look this client is threatening to pull my contract and go with another
temp agency if I can’t get a competent person with a backbone. I really need
your help and I'm calling in one of my favors.” Stephanie flopped in the
closest chair next to her.

“Are
you sure about this Bri, you know me, I can’t promise I won’t tell this clown
where to go if he disrespects me.” Stephanie said.

“Well,
I’ll tell you this
;;
if
he can’t work with you then they can pull my contract because I’m out of
options.”

“Alright,
alright but this has to count for two favors.” Stephanie said defeated.

Brianna
jumped out of her chair and ran up to her best friend and hugged her.

“Thank
you, thank you, thank you.”

“Don’t
thank me yet, we will see after I start on Monday.”

Brianna
and Stephanie sat and discussed the particulars of the position and what was
expected. After Stephanie completed the necessary paper work to become an
official employee of the Robinson Employment Agency, Brianna handed the
paperwork to her assistant for processing.

“Make
sure you put a rush on this paper work, I don’t want any delays in having Ms.
Young start work on Monday.”

They
headed out the door to meet their other best friend Tara for happy hour at Club
Pulsate, one of the hottest nightclubs in Philly. Twenty minutes later Brianna
and Stephanie were walking in the door.

“Why
did we have to come here?
 
Why
couldn’t we just go out to dinner and enjoy a nice meal?” Brianna complained.

“Because
Bri, it was Ty’s turn to choose and she wanted to come here, now stop
complaining, loosen a couple of the buttons on that blouse and relax.”

They
both immediately began to look around the club for Tara.
 
Tara Steward was the most outgoing of
the trio. She had a tight body and was not afraid to show it. Her friends often
teased her about having come from Cherokee heritage because she had naturally
straight black hair that came down her back, deep brown eyes, and chocolate
skin that looked smooth as silk. At five feet five, Tara was the shortest of
the group, but you would never know it because she always wore at least
four-inch heels.

Tara
commanded attention when she walked into a room. She walked with such
confidence that most men and women took notice when she entered. They spotted
Tara on the dance floor she waved and made a pointing gesture to indicate their
table. They took a seat, ordered drinks and prepared
themselves
for what the evening would bring. Tara finally came off the dance floor and
they ordered another round of drinks.

----------

Lawrence
Peirce and Adam Quinn walked into Club Pulsate with clients who were from out
of town and looking to have some fun while visiting Philadelphia.

“You
owe me big for this.” Lawrence whispered to Adam.

“Whatever
man, after all the shit I’ve gotten you out of, you owe me this and your first
born.” Adam jokingly said to Lawrence.
 

Lawrence
thought back to their college days. Adam was right; he had gotten him out of
quite a few jams. Adam and Lawrence were roommates all four years at Brown
University. Lawrence was known for having a temper when pushed too far, he
considered himself a person that could not tolerate bullshit. He never had a problem
with telling people where to go when he felt like they were trying to get over
on him. On more than one occasion Adam had to be the peacemaker when he got
into it with
motherfuckas
who tried to challenge
him.
 
It wasn’t easy being an
African American male, attending a predominately white prestigious Ivy League
University. Lawrence felt like he was being challenged at every turn, but Adam
was different.

He was a cool ass white boy and their friendship was almost
immediate. When they graduated, Lawrence attended law school at Temple
University and Adam joined his brother at his Real Estate Investment firm.
Lawrence specialized in Real Estate law and was hired by Quinn Investments
right out of law school and had been there ever since. Now tonight, he allowed
Adam to talk him into hanging out with dudes that looked like they were ready
to get into some trouble.

The two young investors were from Ohio, interested in
acquiring property in the area.
 
After the business deals were done they wanted a taste of Philly’s
nightlife. Both Adam and Lawrence were familiar with this club, as they were
VIP members; the employees were familiar with them and catered to their
needs.
 
Upon entering the club, they
were immediately ushered to a private booth that gave them the perfect view of
the club and its patrons. They ordered a bottle of Patron Platinum Tequila,
after the second round of shots their clients headed down to mingle in the
club.

“Hey man, you have one hour then I’m out.” Lawrence
stated.
 

“Look! Isn’t that Brianna Robinson?”

Lawrence looked around confused, not really knowing whom he
was talking about.

“You know, we use her temp agency.”
 
Adam said without waiting for a response
as he headed toward her table.

“Hey, it’s Brianna right? Brianna Robinson.”

“Well, hello Mr. Quinn, it's nice seeing you again.”

“Likewise, are you here by yourself” Adam said already
knowing the answer because he could see two other drinks and purses.

“No I’m the designated drink and purse watcher;
my
friends are on the dance floor.” She said with a smile.
Adam took the seat next to Brianna.

“So, do you come here often?” He regretted the words as they
fell out of his mouth; it was the oldest pick up line. She raised an eyebrow as
if she was thinking the same thing.

“No,
I am not a club person, but it was not my choice this month.” Brianna said a
little annoyed.
 
Adam looked at her
confused.

“I
don’t understand.”

“Well,
my friends and I do a monthly girls night out and we take turns choosing what
we will do.”

“So
I’m guessing it wasn’t your month to choose.”

She
shook her head as her friends were heading to the table.

“Can
you guess which one of my friends chose this month?” She whispered to Adam.

As
Stephanie and Tara approached to table, they were both eyeing Adam. While
Stephanie walked Tara chose to dance all the way back to the table telling her
friends.

“I
love this place, they have the best music and the finest men in Philly.
Speaking of which, who’s your friend, Bri?”

“Stephanie
and Tara this is Adam Quinn; Adam, this is Stephanie Young and Tara Steward.”

“Nice
to meet you ladies. Look, my friend and I have a private booth if you would
like to join us.” Before Brianna could decline the offer, Tara spoke up.

“We would
love to, give us a minute and we will meet you at your booth.”

Adam
whispered in Brianna’s ear. “My guess would be Tara.”
 
Brianna smiled.

“What
was that about?” Stephanie asked as he walked away.

“Yeah,
don’t hold out. What did he say?” Tara chimed in.

“It
was nothing and I wish you had asked before agreeing to join them. You know I
don’t mix my business life with my social life.”

“Who
are you kidding, Bri you don’t have a social life.” Tara said.

“How
do you know him, is he one of your clients?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes,
he is actually going to be one of your bosses come Monday.”

“Oh
hell no, I am not socializing with them. It’s time to go Ty”

“Well,
we already agreed so let’s just have one drink and we can leave.” Tara pleaded.
They agreed and walked to the booth.

------------

“No
Adam, I am not feeling this. I told you I would give you one hour with these
clowns and my hour is up. It’s time for me to go.”

Lawrence
said determined to leave.

“Wait
until you see the ladies that are coming. I bet you will change your mind”

“Yeah
right!” Lawrence said with a smirk.

“Just
one drink. If you don’t like the company then I will make an excuse for you to
leave.” Adam pleaded.

“Okay.
One,
Dri
…” Before Lawrence could finish his statement
the three beauties walking his way mesmerized him, all
Sistas
.

“
Dammmn
!! They are all fine. So how do you know them?”
Before Adam could respond they approached the table.