Girls from da Hood 11 (24 page)

On the drive home, I checked my messages to see who had called. Moses left me a message to call him back, and so did Juan. Since we had spent time together earlier, I wasn't up to seeing him again. Besides, him and Mr. David Wright appeared to have a lot in common. He would be stiff competition for Juan, especially if everything panned out as I had suspected they would.

I did, however, call Moses back. I wanted to make sure his fiancé hadn't sliced his damn throat yet. Unfortunately, she hadn't. Stupid bitch.

“Did you call me?” I asked.

“Yeah, I did,” he said in a gloomy tone. “Where are you?”

“I'm on my way home. Just got done with an interview.”

“That's cool.”

Moses seemed to be beating around the bush. I could tell something was on his mind.

“If you have something on your mind, why don't you just say it,” I said. “You didn't call just to see what I was doing, did you?”

“I was calling because Karla is right here. She wanted me to call and tell you that we can't see each other anymore. I'm going to marry her and there is no reason for me to continue to involve myself with a woman like you.”

Before I could respond, his trick snatched the phone. “Right. Because women like you are trash and he doesn't need to surround himself with trashy whores. If you ever come near him again, Miah, I swear I will hurt you myself.”

I just shook my head at this idiot. I didn't know who the biggest fool was, Moses or her. As she continued to spew her stupidity, I hung up on her. I blocked Moses' number and was done with it. I hated a nigga who presented himself as a puppet, and I was positive that Moses would somehow reach out to me, singing a new tune. While I accepted Juan's apology, there wasn't a chance in hell that I would accept Moses. Our relationship was done.

Minutes later, the so-called bad news was replaced with good news. And while there were sometimes minor setbacks in my life, there were always better things to come. Mr. Wright had called to discuss my references.

“I wanted to let you know that I spoke to your boss, Carl, at Wilson Contractors. He said some interesting things about you. Things that left me somewhat skeptical about hiring you.”

To be honest, I was caught off guard. Carl and I didn't go our separate ways on bad terms, so I suspected that he would come through for me on a reference.

“If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did he say that's causing you to be skeptical about hiring me?”

“I prefer not to go into further details, but, uh, listen. I like you, and I like your style. I called to offer you the position, if you still want it. If so, I would like it if you could start on Monday. Monday at eight, and I'm willing to up your offer a bit, just because of your experience.”

I knew that he wasn't upping my offer because of my experience. Mr. Wright wanted to be sure that I accepted the position. Through his eyes, he saw it as very beneficial to him.

“Thank you for the offer, as well as for your understanding of whatever Carl said to you. I'll see you Monday morning, and I look forward to serving you.”

There was silence, before Mr. Wright and I said our good-byes and ended the call.

Instead of going home, I took a detour to Carl's office. I was eager to find out what he'd told Mr. Wright, but the last thing I wanted to do was argue with Carl. That would make him think he had the upper hand, and that he had me under his control.

When I arrived at Carl's office, I saw his car parked in the parking garage. What was so alarming was the way it was rocking. Now, I had been in his car before during plenty of lunch breaks, so I kind of knew what all the rocking was about. I started to drive off and try him later, but then I thought, what the hell? I parked my car across from his and made my way up to it. While looking on the backseat, I could see Carl lying on top of a woman whose moans were loud enough for me to hear. Her light brown legs were on both of his shoulders and he was banging her insides like she was the last woman on earth. Carl's sweaty hair was sticking to his forehead. The frown on his twisted face implied that he was all into it. That was until he looked up and saw me. I knocked on the window and smiled.

“Excuse me,” I said. “But can I talk to you for a minute?”

Carl looked surprised to see me. His eyes widened and his swift movements came to a halt. The chick's legs slid off his shoulders, and when she lifted her head, I recognized her as the chick at the bank. I'd gone in there several times to deposit money. I knew who she was, but I doubted that she knew there was something going on between me and Carl.

“Give me a minute,” he said.

I thought the grimy bastard would at least finish up. If I was her, I wouldn't dare allow him to pull out of me, until I got mine. But that was her and I was me. It's how I did things, whether anyone liked it or not.

They both got out of the car bringing the smell of sex with them. Their clothes were wrinkled and the chick's hair was a mess. She searched me from head to toe with jealousy in her eyes. Carl had lust in his, but he tried to play it down like my appearance was no bother.

“I gotta go,” he said to the chick who was now buttoning her shirt. “See you later, sweetheart, around seven or eight.”

She nodded and leaned in to seal his words with a kiss. I assumed that was to make me jealous, but that nappy head bitch didn't come close to making me feel that way. She was the one who was unaware of Carl's behavior. And eventually, she'd be the one with her heart broken, wondering why.

After she walked away, Carl's arrogant self, leaned against his car with his arms folded.

“What do you want, Miah? Your job back?”

“No, thank you. I already have a job, and I'm not interested in working here anymore.”

“Why not? Haven't I given you everything you ever wanted? I mean, what more do you want, Hot Chocolate, that I haven't already given you?”

“A good reference. Didn't you get a call today from David Wright?”

Carl stroked his chin as if he were in deep thought. “David who?” he asked.

“Wright. Don't play, Carl. You know who I'm talking about. What did you say to him about me?”

“Look, he asked for business and personal references. I told him you were excellent in the workplace, as well as in the bedroom. The reason why I said those things was because I don't want you working for anyone else. I want you to continue to work for me. I'll even consider giving you a raise.”

I rolled my eyes and could have choked the shit out of Carl. If I hadn't been fucking his ass, I would have sued him for telling another employer that bullshit about me. I could only imagine what Mr. Wright was thinking about me. He probably thought I was some kind of slut.

In an effort not to put my foot in Carl's ass, I walked away without responding to his new offer. He rushed after me and tightened his arms around my waist.

“Miah, sweetheart, don't be so uptight about this. Just give some thought to what I said, and if you need me, I'll be right here.”

I removed Carl's arms from around my waist and kept it moving. His ignorance didn't even deserve a response. There were many times when I was forced to keep my mouth shut and this was one of them. He kept saying shit to me that worked my nerves, but I silenced his noise when I got in my car and shut the door. As I looked at him, I could see a smirk on his face that let me know how much he enjoyed this. The bottom line was Carl had been hurt badly by his wife. In return, he wanted to hurt others. I knew that was the case, because in a sense, I felt the same way. Maxwell had put me in the same position where I didn't think it was possible for me to ever love anyone again, other than self.

I had been thinking about Maxwell entirely too much today. And the more I thought about him, the more I had desires to see him. It was rare that days like this happened, but whenever I felt like things were getting a little out of hand in my life, that was when the need to see him came about. I'd be lying if I said I was the kind of chick who always had it together. I didn't. Sometimes, I felt as if some of the things I was doing was wrong, and sometimes I didn't want to be the other woman. I wondered if true love would find a way to slip into my heart again, but I was so damn afraid of letting my guards down. This way seemed much easier. I seemed more in control and I protected my feelings. I had to, because for as long as I lived, I never wanted to face the severe pain that Maxwell had delivered.

Every once in a while, I had to remind myself of that pain. I drove to his house that was about forty-five minutes away from where I was. It was after five o'clock, so I suspected that he'd already picked up his son from school and was at home. When I parked my car by his house, his car was in the driveway. His wife's car was parked beside his and everything appeared peaceful and quiet. The garage was up and I could see his motorcycle parked inside, his tools stacked neatly on shelves and a few bicycles hanging on the walls. I couldn't believe that Maxwell had married the other woman, and on the outside looking in, everything appeared to be so perfect.

I couldn't help but to wonder if it was possible that I was the other woman and I just didn't know it at the time. I never got around to asking Maxwell that question, because he spent so much time trying to convince me that he loved me, but he just wasn't ready. If that was the case, then why was he here? Why two months after Amber delivered their baby, why did he marry her? None of it made sense, and I was still in the dark about so much that had happened.

As I was getting ready to drive off, I saw Maxwell come outside. He removed a lawnmower from the garage and shook a gas can that appeared to be empty. I saw him put the can into his car, so I assumed that he was heading to a nearby gas station to get gas. I quickly drove off and made my way to the gas station around the corner. I figured that's where he was headed.

When I arrived at the gas station, I parked my car in front of a pump and hurried inside. The gas station was crowded and there were about ten people waiting in line. I got a cup to get a fountain soda then looked down the chips aisle for Doritos. I walked to the line and could see Maxwell park and make his way inside. Like every time that I saw him, my heart melted. My stomach felt queasy and my palms started to sweat. Maxwell's hair wasn't even trimmed. Looked like it hadn't been cut in weeks, and he didn't appear as fit as he used to be. All he had on was a pair of gray jogging pants and a black T-shirt with holes in it. His tennis shoes were dirty, and I figured he didn't have to go all out to cut the grass.

No matter how he looked, though, there was no secret that there was still a soft spot for him in my heart. After all that dirt he'd done, I don't know why, but some of those feelings were still there. That was unfortunate.

Maxwell came inside, but by then I was already standing in line with my back turned. The two dudes in front of me kept turning around, and one of them was right on time when he cocked his head back and paid me a compliment.

“Damn, ma, you sexy as fuck,” he said. “You want to hit me with those sevens before you leave here or what?”

I smiled and spoke kindly to the young thug who was ugly as fuck. “Thanks for the compliment. I wouldn't mind hitting you with my seven digits, but unfortunately I'm already taken.”

“Lucky man,” he said. “I hope that brotha knows how lucky he is.”

I couldn't have planned this any better. I was positive that Maxwell was behind me in line and had heard every single word. I stepped to the cashier to pay for my items, and also paid twenty dollars for gas. When I turned around, I purposely looked in another direction. I heard Maxwell clear his throat then he called my name. That's when I looked at him and smirked.

“Hey, Maxwell, what's up? How are you?”

“I'm good. Real good. How about you?”

“Couldn't be better. Anyway, it was good seeing you. Take care, all right?”

I pretended to be in a rush, but Maxwell didn't want to let me go. “I will, but, uh, hold up a sec. Let me pay for this gas and I'll be outside to holler at you.”

“Sure,” I said then walked off.

I went to go pump my gas then stood by my car. Maxwell came outside and jogged up to my car, making sure I didn't leave.

“Aye, is there any way I can get your sevens,” he teased, trying to sound like the thug who was inside of the gas station. “That fool should have known better. A dope-ass chick like you wouldn't be caught seen with him.”

“He didn't know any better, but you can't knock a man for trying.”

“I guess not. But I know you'll knock me for trying, won't you?”

“Of course I would. Only because you're happily married and it wouldn't be wise for me to interfere.”

Maxwell sucked his teeth and licked his lips. He folded his arms and leaned against my car. “Who says that I'm happy? I never told you that, did I?”

“No, I assumed that you were. But what do I know, Maxwell? I'm clueless because I also thought you loved me. We both know that I was very wrong about that.”

“Now, you know you wrong for that. I did love you. Loved you as best as I could, but I just wasn't ready to make moves like you wanted me to. I told you all of that before, so I'm not going to rehash the past. I will, however, bring up the future because somehow or someway, I want you to be a part of it.”

I pursed my lips and looked at him like he was crazy. “How? How do you want me to be a part of your future and you're married? Not only that, you have a child and I'm sure you're planning to have more, especially since you always talked about having such a big family.”