1. Evonne Ross #3
“Yes, your behavior, Vonnie. Since, all of a sudden, you’re so concerned with why I don’t take you on business trips.
It’s because you’re loud and ghetto as hell.
I allowed you into my circle knowing this.
I didn’t care because I love you. You’ve learned to behave in the settings that I bring you in.
If I’m being honest, you’re not ready to rub elbows with my colleagues outside of a party setting. ”
“I can’t believe this shit.” I shook my head.
“Chill, Vonnie. Don’t start flying off the handle because you’re offended.
You’ve come a long way. We’ve come a long way.
I’ve put a lot into that little dream of yours, but it’s time to be realistic.
I don’t even know if our relationship is strong enough to withstand us being apart for months. ” He raised his shoulders casually.
“Are you being fucking serious right now?”
“Hell yes, I am! I’ve really heard enough of this.
I make enough to take care of you and give you anything you could ever want, but nothing is ever good enough for you.
You’re always running somewhere trying to chase a pipe dream but too busy to take care of your man,” he said, digging back into his food.
“You know what? Fuck this! I didn’t realize the sacrifices you thought you were making just by being what I considered a supportive boyfriend.
I had no idea you were so ashamed of me, but believe me…
it’s good to know. I’m sorry our relationship has been such an undertaking for you! ” I stormed out of the kitchen.
Instead of going to our bedroom, I made my way to the front door.
I needed to get out of the house before one of us said something we couldn’t take back.
As far as I was concerned, Will had already reached that point.
As I grabbed the doorknob to head out and go over to Jenna’s place to cool off, William stopped me and wrapped an arm around my waist. I snatched away from his hold, but he didn’t let go.
“I’m sorry, baby. You know I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. You know that. I’ve had a long-ass day. All I wanted to do all day was come home, eat, and cuddle up with my baby while we watch something good on TV. Can we still do that?”
I blew out a hot breath as I released the doorknob and sulked back into the house. Although I surrendered to his request, there would be no cuddling and watching TV. I was done talking for the night, but this conversation was far from over.
“Maybe we can talk about your next move in the morning. It’s almost wedding season.
I know how much you enjoy working on wedding parties, baby.
I just don’t want you wasting months working on some movie set only to come back to this life and not appreciate it anymore.
You would be missing a lot of work while you’re gone,” William said to my back.
Instead of cuddling up on the couch with him, I went to our bedroom, leaving him to his own devices.
As I sat on the bed, I swept hot tears from my eyes.
Once my vision cleared, I picked up my phone from the nightstand.
I opened my email and read over the terms that Larsen sent.
I didn’t need William’s permission to take the job.
The only problem I had was that I needed to see how much the flight and accommodations to get to New Orleans would cost. If I could cover my flight, everything else would be taken care of when I got there.
Will slinked through our bedroom door, carrying the plate of food I abandoned when I came to mope on the bed. He didn’t say anything as he placed the plate on the nightstand and moved over to his side of the bed with his plate.
“Don’t even think about trying to get no pussy tonight.” I rolled my eyes, knowing he was trying to make a peace offering. The next day would probably come with some kind of gift. However, as his words from just a few moments ago replayed in my head, I wasn’t sure if it would be enough.
He’d insulted me by confessing that he was ashamed to take me around his colleagues.
I always assumed that was the case, so I wasn’t even that surprised.
Admitting out loud that he felt as if my goals were pipe dreams was like a punch in the gut.
He didn’t even ask me about the terms of the deal before minimizing my opportunity.
As I said, this would be huge for my career and even bigger for my makeup line.
The money I stood to make and the exposure I would gain were enough to make the decision easy.
William’s threat of ending our relationship complicated things, though.
His comments pissed me off, but were they enough to make me want to end things?
I loved him. I knew from his actions that he loved me too.
We might have been opposites, but we were good together.
I knew that I wasn’t a perfect fit into his world—nor did I want to be—but I had worked to tone my personality down so that it was easier to digest. I could admit that I was a lot.
I never wanted someone’s opinion of me to hurt William’s business.
His lack of fully supporting me was another issue.
It was hard for me to accept that he didn’t want me to scale my business the way I wanted to.
As I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, my wheels turned.
Could I give up the chance of a lifetime to soothe his ego?
Or would I take the job and find out just how strong our love was?