Chapter 2
Sade
“I didn’t wait… I chose not to settle.”
“I’m not even gonna lie… she sounds like she goin’ for this nigga. She never lets anyone cut her off.”
I didn’t look up from the floor plans spread across the marble island, my pencil still moving as I marked up measurements.
Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, stretching across the unfinished high-rise unit in clean lines.
The kind I liked before I turned a space into something people actually wanted to live in.
We were watching our friend Alana like we always did.
My assistant, Laila, didn’t miss a beat.
“You know our girl, Alana,” she said, loud, messy, right with me. “She gon’ stand up in front of a rich nigga.”
I smirked a little, finally glancing up at the iPad propped against a stack of sample books. “Because why he talking like that on her platform?”
“Because he knows what he’s doing,” Laila shot back. “And she knows what she’s doing, too. That’s why this is about to go up.”
This Vaughn dude had taken over the show. I ain’t know him like that. Just knew he was a flashy millionaire real estate developer that always ended up in our circle somehow.
“…I think I’m done dating for fun,” his voice came through, calm California accent, like he wasn’t saying something that was about to have the internet acting stupid.
Laila sucked her teeth.
“Yeah, okay. They always say that right after they get embarrassed during a breakup.”
I let out a soft laugh. His breakup was all over the blogs because he had been dating a messy reality star girl who called herself a real estate agent when she wasn’t on TV. She even had her own show on a home TV network.
“Every time. Whole rebrand.”
“Whole personality change,” she added.
On the screen, Alana leaned in, already steering it where she wanted.
“…so, are you saying you’re ready to settle down?”
I paused my pencil.
Then—
“Might be time I pick a wife.”
Laila turned to me quickly.
“Yeah… she’s definitely looking at him like she wanna get in line now.”
I shook my head, folding my arms.
“If she get involved with him like that…” I trailed off, “We’re about to get dragged into some bullshit.”
Laila blinked once, then started laughing.
The comments started flooding the screen.
“Here we go,” she said, scrolling.
WHERE DO I APPLY???
I KNOW HE TOXIC BUT I’LL RISK IT
He not joking y’all… watch.
Alana don’t laugh, ask him what he REALLY mean!
Something about him off…
I shook my head, smiling under my breath.
“People be so quick to sign up for something they don’t understand.”
She turned the volume down as the clip replayed, and the energy settled just enough for me to get back to what I was doing.
For a second, I watched Alana again.
The way she held the room.
She was good.
Laila shifted the whole conversation.
“So what, tonight the night? You finally letting somebody get between them thick thighs?”
I snickered. “Stop playing with me on the clock.”
I had a date tonight, and she knew. It was with a guy I met on a private dating site. It’s invite-only, background-checked, the kind of place where men lead with what makes sense, not what sounds good. His name was Marcus Hale.
Mid-thirties.
Worked in real estate on the finance side.
He said he preferred women who moved with their mind, not their pussy. I respected that enough to say yes. It felt… easy. Predictable in a good way. Something that didn’t involve me talking about where I was in life when it came to sex.
She laughed loudly.
“I’m just asking! I feel like a celebrity sometimes, being the best friend and assistant of a rich 30-year-old virgin.”
“Thirty-two-year-old, rich virgin, bitch,” I said, grabbing my bag. “You be doing too much.”
She held her hands up in mock surrender, still smiling.
“A’ight, a’ight. I’m done. I got your dress from the cleaners,” she added. “And your nail appointment is in an hour.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
$$$$$
The Opulence Beauty Bar was playing Summer Walker when I walked in.
Calm vibes. Clean air. Everything perfect.
I sat down, letting my nail tech take my hands without saying much, my mind finally slowing down now that I wasn’t balancing work and conversation.
I had been working nonstop for sixteen years. That’s how long it had been since everything changed, since I had to figure things out without being told what came next.
And somehow…
I did.
Built something. Kept it standing. Kept myself intact.
I glanced down at my hands as she shaped my nails.
Tonight was just a date.
Nothing more.
No pressure. No sex talk.
Just… seeing what made sense.
And if it didn’t, I already knew how to walk away.