Chapter 8
Yosiah
Insurance fraud.
Tax evasion.
Embezzlement.
Bribery.
Blackmail.
A smile curled on my face as I continued reading the charges Phillip Fox had racked up.
For years he had gotten away with ruining other people’s lives.
I had made sure to steer clear of him these past five years, which wasn’t too hard, but I would have loved to see his face when he was presented with his charges.
His greed that led to his power and wealth ultimately became his downfall it seemed.
My dad recovered from his encounter with Phillip, but so many others didn’t and lost everything.
I continued to scroll, reading the article covering Phillip’s mess when a notification appeared in the corner of my screen reminding me of my upcoming Zoom meeting.
Currently, Blue Shield was in the process of developing a new software.
If things went well, it would take my company to the next level and bring in even more revenue.
Closing the article, I went to the secured file that contained the details of the new software.
While preparing for the call, I noticed the files I needed were nowhere in sight.
I knew I had left them on my desk. I had been working from home the past couple days and the cleaning service knew not to touch anything on my desk when I allowed them in here to clean.
A knock on my office door gained my attention for a second.
“Come in,” I called out, checking through my drawers.
“Hubby.” Xylina’s voice rang out, causing me to pause.
Lifting my eyes to meet hers, I took her in.
The white baby tee she wore stopped just above her belly button.
She wasn’t wearing a bra either, showing the outline of her brown nipples clearly.
Her cloth shorts were practically panties, showing off her toned legs perfectly and the print of her lower lips.
My dick threatened to react to the sight of her, remembering how she’d felt just days before.
Sex between Xylina and me was never an issue. Xylina was never shy in showing what she wanted and in the bedroom wasn’t any different. The problem was her expecting more after we had sex, which was why I kept it limited.
If I was being honest, I wasn’t even mad about the condom breaking.
Xylina was on birth control, the condoms were just an added precaution.
My issue was that I’d almost lost control while we were fucking.
I tried to keep it impersonal, so expectations were never low afterwards.
Maybe it was the high of winning the award earlier that night or the liquor, but I found myself caving to the cries and moans that fell from her mouth.
Sex was the only time I saw Xylina easily submit.
She was headstrong and vocal about her wants, but she also could give up that selfish control she was used to.
The way her face twisted in pleasure and her body shook when she came was a beautiful, erotic sight to see.
Not to mention the way her pussy gripped my dick and the skillful use of her mouth had me ready to bend every time.
I would have thought she’d done porn at some point if I didn’t know any better.
She was such a giver in the bedroom, which was the opposite of her outside it.
“Not now,” I told her, going back to my search.
After the disagreement at the award show and the condom breaking at home, I kept my distance from Xylina.
In all the years we’d been married, she’d never voiced wanting children and her sudden declaration caught me off guard.
If I knew Xylina like I thought I did, I knew there was no way she would let the matter go easily either.
It was easier to just continue moving around like we had been before, as roommates.
“Fuck, where did I put it?” I grunted, slamming the current desk drawer closed.
“I was wondering if you wanted to go grab lunch? There’s some things I want to talk—”
I cut her off. “I’m busy.”
Leaning back in my chair, I ran my hand down my face.
“Oh… I just figured since you were home, you would have some spare time. We never spend time together.”
Again, I gave her my attention. Her hands were clasped in front of her. Her lips poked out in a pout.
“Unfortunately, some of us don’t have the luxury to sit on our asses all day and spend money. Majority of us have to work for a living and don’t have a rich daddy to depend on.”
She flinched and tucked her lips into her mouth. For a second, guilt passed through me, but I shook it off. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t the truth.
“You seem stressed.”
“Did you notice the cleaning service come in my office the last time they were here?”
Her brows furrowed and she shook her head. “I don’t think so. You normally keep the door locked anyway, right?”
Another notification appeared on my screen, indicating I had a minute left until the meeting.
“Then where the hell did I put those papers?” I mumbled.
I wasn’t the most organized person, I was the first to admit, but misplacing important paperwork was never something I did.
“Papers? Did they have a bunch of graphs and codes on them?”
I stared at her confused. “How do you know that?”
Her face lit up and she smiled. Silently I watched her walk to the filing cabinet close to the bookshelf near my desk. Instead of opening it, she searched through the file organizer on top of it and pulled out a black folder.
“Here.” She walked over to me and held it out.
“What?”
“It’s the papers you were looking for?”
Eyeing the folder, I grabbed it and opened it. Just like she said, the papers I needed were inside.
“The other day I came in here, thinking you were still working. I noticed your office had a bunch of papers scattered around so I decided to organize it for you. Honestly, I don’t know how you even work in the clutter you accumulate.” Her face twisted in confusion.
I thumbed through the file, seeing everything I needed was inside.
“I actually created a whole color system for you so that it’s easier for you to find things.”
That surprised me. “My system worked for me.” Normally my assistant kept track of things for me. With her still on maternity leave, I wasn’t receiving the organization I was used to.
Xylina rolled her eyes. “Your system is a mess. I don’t even know how you get anything done.”
Before I could answer, a sound went off on my computer. I glanced over, seeing it was time to go into my meeting.
“We’ll discuss this later.” I turned to the computer and laid the file on it. “You can see yourself out.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her face fall.
“Right,” she mumbled. “I’ll leave you then.”
For a second, I glanced at her again. It wasn’t like her to give up easily or quietly.
Xylina turned and left my office with no other rebuttal. I noticed a notecard near where she had her hand on the desk. Picking it up, I saw she had the colors and materials attached to them all written down. Something pulled inside me.
“Yosiah.” My name being called, caused my attention to leave the notecard.
“Yes, I’m here.” I cleared my throat and set the notecard down.
Business was my main priority right now. With things moving along progressively, I couldn’t afford to get distracted just as crunch time showed itself.
“Yosiah, how come you never bring that wife of yours when you come to visit?” Mama Chelle questioned. “It’s bad enough that we weren’t even invited to the wedding. Now it seems as if you’re hiding her.”
Roman chortled into his glass. Reginae and Ryo were in attendance along with his fiancée.
Michelle had insisted on throwing a dinner to celebrate the award I was given last week.
I didn’t think it was necessary, but she shut my protest down, insisting that if it were any of her children she would do the same thing.
Being that it was her husband who’d helped me start my company in the first place, I stopped fighting and agreed.
“Well, Mama, this dinner is for family only, correct? She’s not family,” Reginae cut in.
After all these years, the two still didn’t get along. Reginae never turned down the chance to throw shots at Xylina and vice versa.
Mama Chelle frowned. “That’s his wife, why wouldn’t she be included?”
The details surrounding my marriage were never told to her as far as I was aware.
“I’m sure Nae means because our marriage is unconventional. Also, she had a prior engagement to attend.” That wasn’t a lie. She’d left before me, all dolled up.
“A shame. We barely know the girl and you’ve been married for years.”
“Now, now leave the boy alone. We’re not here to discuss his marriage anyway. This is a celebration,” Erik called out, lifting his glass. “I knew when I first agreed to invest in you, you were going to accomplish great things, Yosiah.”
Grateful for the change in subject, I lifted my own glass. “Thank you, Erik. If it wasn’t for you and your generosity, I might have just now been getting Blue Shield up and running.”
“I know a good thing when I see it. I’m not foolish with my investments. You have the drive I love to see in a businessman.”
He wasn’t lying. Erik still oversaw his family’s business, but he’d also taken a step back and gotten into investing to enhance his portfolio.
He was always mentioning never having his eggs in one basket.
I didn’t know exactly what all he had his hands in, but I knew he was a jack of trades.
I had gotten a lot of advice from him in my years as an entrepreneur.
As the dinner went on, the conversation changed periodically to different things.
“Have you two decided on a date for the wedding yet?” I questioned Ryo and Shantel, his fiancée.
“We have!” Shantel gushed. “We were waiting until all the details were pinned out, but I guess we can reveal it here. You mind, babe?” She grabbed Ryo’s hand and grinned at him.
“Go ahead.” He nodded.
“Okay. Next spring, in Paris!” Her excitement grew.