Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (36 page)

#Chapter2

“I know when I’m fighting a losing battle”

Jin

Tamika watched some of the last people leave the office for the evening. She stayed in her office and tied up a lot of the loose ends that only she could. Her workload was extra hefty because of the days that she took off. She had to book interviews back to back and then handle the paperwork at the end of the day. Her lunch for the day was a distant memory, all she wanted to do now was eat.

Just like an angel, Jin popped his head into her office, “I’m ordering some food; do you want some?”

“Wow, you must have read my mind. Where are you ordering from?”

“Do you have a preference?” he asked.

“I know it’s a cliché, but I really want pizza.”

“I could go for that, I haven’t had pizza in over a month.”

“Well I guess it’s finally time, then,” Tamika smiled.

“Cool, then we will have pizza soon.”

“Hurry up and order, my stomach is angry with me.”

“Well we can’t have that,” he grinned before he disappeared and headed back to his office.

They were going to have to talk, it was inevitable even though she tried to avoid it. A half hour later they sat in one of the small conference rooms and ate their delicious pizza. The first slice they ate in complete silence, then they were able to speak.

“This hit the spot,” Tamika said dreamily, “I try to leave pizza alone because of the calories but it’s just so damned good. It’s the best pizza in the world.”

“I wouldn’t say all of that,” Jin said.

“What do you mean?”

“Chicago makes some pretty good pizza,” he replied.

“Jin, you’re committing blasphemy and I need you to repent right now.”

“Have you ever had pizza from Chicago?”

“No and I don’t need to, I’m a New Yorker through and through and I’m loyal.”

He laughed, “Okay, I can see that this is going to get heated if we head down this road so I’m digressing.”

“Smart man.”

He laughed, “I know when I’m fighting a losing battle, and it’s what’s kept me ahead of the game all of these years.”

“I believe it, and I admire that about you,” she smiled.

He returned her smile and looked at her with a sense of longing. The mood switched from playful to romantic as easily as someone could have flipped a switch. It felt right and wrong at the same time to Tamika. All she wanted to do was fuck him right there on the table in the conference room, but her friend’s wise words ran through her head. Having sex with him would have only been a temporary fix and the aftermath had the potential to be catastrophic.

“You have the greatest smile,” he said, “It lights up your entire face.”

“Jin, we need to talk.”

“Uh oh, no good conversation ever starts with ‘we need to talk.’”

“I just want to make sure that we’re on the same page. I know that I kissed you a couple of weeks ago and I just want to apologize for it, it wasn’t right.”

“You don’t ever have to apologize for doing something like that. I enjoyed it. We’re both adults and we make our own decisions. You kissed me and I kissed you back.”

“I know, it’s just that things can get incredibly messy if we continue down the road that we’re on and I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“You’ll never lose me as a friend,” he said sincerely, “I get that you’re having a rough time and that starting something new isn’t ideal.”

“Exactly, I’m about to go through a divorce, my feelings are all over the place, and it’s best if I keep my life as uncomplicated as possible.”

“You’ve got it; I’ll always be here for you in whatever way that you need. You know how I feel about you. If you ever want to take things further, I’m here for that too.”

“Until you find someone to settle down with. You deserve to be with someone all the time.”

“I’ll wait for you as long as it takes. I know what I want and I’m willing to wait for it. I’m incredibly disciplined case you couldn’t tell.”

Tamika quickly blew the breath through her cheeks. He was relentless and it was turning her on in the worst way. Why did he have to be so patient and cute?

“Okay, I don’t even know how to end this conversation now,” she laughed.

“Let’s just eat some more pizza and chill the hell out.”

***

Jin was a little disappointed as he sat in the cab and headed home. He was so sure that he and Tamika were finally going to be an item. It wasn’t right to lust after a married woman but her husband didn’t deserve her. She was everything that he’d ever wanted in a woman and he knew from the moment that he saw her that he had to have her. It wasn’t fair that no good men snatched up the women who were a godsend. That woman was intelligent, funny, sexy, and a go-getter. She was the kind of woman that he could wake up next to every morning and be happy with. Not many women had the ability to be hard and soft at the same time, Tamika mastered it.

Just as things were finally getting good, Tamika needed more space. He wasn’t upset with her; he respected her ability to articulate what she needed. So many of the women that he dated were unable to voice what they needed or wanted from a man and she did it even when it was uncomfortable. So he was going to respect her wishes and just be her friend but whenever she wanted to cross that line, he would be prepared for that too.

The cab dropped him off in front of his home, he paid and then took a second look when he noticed someone standing in front of his door. It was Reggie, at least he thought that it was. His heart pounded a bit but he wasn’t going to be intimidated by anyone.

Jin casually walked to his door, “Hello, can I help you?” He stared him up and down, the aggression practically radiated off of him in huge waves. He was clearly upset about something and there was only one thing that it could have been.

“Yes you can help me; actually you can help yourself and stay the hell away from my wife.”

Jin thought about how to handle the situation, he wasn’t the confrontational type but he hated bullies. “Unfortunately, that’s just not possible, we work together.”

“You know what the hell I mean. You need to stop coming over to my house, stop spending so many evenings with her, and your little dates are over.”

“She and I have always been friends and that’s not going to stop just because the two of you are at odds. Hold on, how did you find out where I live?”

“That doesn't matter. Now tell me, how long have you been wanting to fuck my wife?” Reggie asked bluntly.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what the hell I said, I didn’t stutter. How long have you been wanting to screw my wife? I’m just here to let you know that she belongs to me and I don’t play around when it comes to the people that I love.”

Jin scoffed. Men like Reggie made him sick. They spent more time trying to own women rather than actually appreciating them the way that they deserved. He could now clearly see why Tamika was choosing to move on from him, he was a joke. He was an insecure joke.

“I don’t know where you get off, showing up to my home and trying to intimidate me. I’m not afraid of you, and I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Don’t ever show your face here again,” Jin demanded.

“I don’t plan on staying long, I just wanted to let you know where I stood on this issue. I don’t like other men sniffing around my wife. We’re in a delicate position right now, so respect our marriage and calm your damned nerves.”

“She is an adult woman and is very capable of making her own decisions. I don’t know what you came here expecting, but nothing is going to change. I’m never going to do anything with her or to her that she doesn’t want, now you have a good evening.”

Reggie took an aggressive step forward but Jin stood his ground. Reggie said, “Just stay away from my wife or else. Remember, I know where you live...”

Jin smiled, “Goodbye Reginald, remember what I said about staying off of my property.”

“I’m not thinking about your ass.”

“Yeah that’s obvious.”

“Bye, motherfucker.”

Jin didn’t dignify his rude exit with a response. He waited for Reggie to get into his car and drive off.  He contemplated calling Tamika to tell her about what just happened but decided against it. She didn’t need to know about the ridiculous charade that her husband was pulling. There was more than enough on her plate and he wasn’t going to add to it.

#Chapter3

“Baby, I’ve admitted my sins and I promise that things are going to get better...”

Kalena's Dad

Kalena headed to her mother’s house, she was supposed to be home but she wasn’t answering the phone. It was extremely annoying, she missed her mom, and she wanted to see her face. It had been too long since the last time that they took the time to speak. When she called, her mom rushed her off of the phone or she made an excuse as to why she couldn’t come over. Now she knew what it felt like to be a parent, it sucked to be blown off by the person that you loved. They were flesh and blood! Nothing should have been more important than her.

She rang her mom’s bell impatiently and finally heard her mom scuffling to the door. She breathed a sigh of relief because her mother was home, she didn’t want it to be a blank mission. Her mom was going to cook for her and talk to her, it didn’t matter if she wanted to or not. The door opened and Kalena’s mouth damned near dropped.

Her father was standing there in nothing but boxer briefs, it was a terrible sight. Not only did she not want to see her dad damned near naked, she didn’t want to see her dad with her mom. Now how many kids could say that?  The last thing that Kalena wanted was her parents getting back together. Her mom was finally getting her life back on track and she didn’t need her dad’s lying ass messing it all up!

“Hey baby girl,” her dad said joyfully.

“Umm hey, what are you doing here? I thought that you were going back home,” she said as she stepped through the door.

“You sound disappointed to see me here.”

“I’m not disappointed, I’m just surprised,” Kalena lied.

“I’m sorry for being indecent; I’m going to go put some clothes on.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Kalena said as she walked to the kitchen. She felt like she could just throw up. Was her mom actually going to get a divorce or not? They were obviously enjoying themselves and having sex. Did her mom forget that he had a baby on the way with another woman? The woman was probably laying in the bed that she and her husband shared for years at that very moment!

“Hey Lena,” her mom said as she walked in, wearing only a robe. She kissed her on her forehead, went to the fridge, and pulled out food. “Are you hungry? I’m not going to do any heavy duty cooking but you can have some of the sweet potato and squash soup that I made yesterday, it’s so good. I know you’ll love it.”

“That sounds really good, I would love some. I need to learn how to make that kind of stuff.”

“You and your friends go out to eat too much, I’m gonna put you in some cooking classes,” her mom laughed.

Was Kalena in the twilight zone? Her mom was acting like nothing was wrong. It was the same mom that she grew up with; it was the same mother that she grew to dislike. Her mom seemed to be back to playing the role of housewife for a man that didn’t care enough about her to keep it in his pants.

“Mom, I hate to ruin your good mood, but what are your plans?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that things seem to be back to the usual with you and dad. Are you going home with him? Are the two of you going to live separately but still visit each other for sex? This is just too damned weird for me to grasp.”

Her mom laughed, “Girl, grow up. Your dad is here because I’m lonely and honestly, I miss sex. I know it’s petty but he’s still legally my husband, so until we get a divorce, I can do whatever I want with him. I’m still moving forward with the divorce, I’m still staying here, and I have no plans on changing what I’m doing. I love him but I can’t be with him anymore.”

“Wow, when were you going to tell me?” Her dad said from doorway.

Kalena’s eyes grew wide, it was about to be a showdown right there in kitchen between her mom and her dad.

“I’ve been telling you that for the last couple of weeks but you chose to hear whatever you want,” her mom said in an unbothered tone.

“So you’re just going to throw our marriage away? I thought that we were working towards repairing our marriage, but instead you’ve just been acting common.”

Her mom laughed, “You really don’t want to take it there with me, Henry, I promise you, and you don’t. Don’t get me started about common. I’m not the one that threw our marriage away, you did. You threw our marriage away every time you couldn’t keep it in your pants. Every time you used your collar to screw some girl sitting in the second row in the church with a skimpy skirt, you threw our marriage away. So don’t give me that shit, save it for one of your mindless ‘common’ whores.”

Kalena couldn’t believe her ears, her mom never fought fire with fire when it came to her dad but today she wasn’t taking any shit. Kalena stayed quiet because it was obvious that the two of them had all but forgotten her presence.

“Baby, I’ve admitted my sins and I promise that things are going to get better, you just have to give me a chance to make it right. Doesn’t our vow before God at least deserve that much?”

“It means as much to me as it did to you when you were screwing that girl who is having your baby. You really need to make it work with her, sweetie, because she’s going to leave you with nothing, especially after I get my cut.”

“So this is about money?”

“This is about the only thing that you understand, and that seems to be money. So yes, it’s about money.”

“Wow, we’re so much more than that,” Henry said, before he ran a frustrated hand down his face.

“Look, just because we’re having sex doesn’t mean that we’re getting back together. I enjoy your company and that’s clear because I’ve been married to you for damned near 30 years but our marriage is over. I’ve been upfront with you from the very beginning and I’ve never lied to you, which is much more than what I can say for you. I’m going to enjoy the remainder of my life without you,” her mom said plainly.

Kalena was extremely proud of her mother, and more than that, she enjoyed seeing the look of defeat and disappointment on her father’s face. He finally knew what pain felt like; karma was giving him an overdue visit.