CHAPTER EIGHT IESHA
CHAPTER EIGHT
IESHA
When I got to the business office for Henderson Ranch and Farms, my knees were knocking.
I was so damn nervous. Seven had been on my last damn nerve the whole weekend.
He even showed up at my place. I had to threaten to call the police on his ass.
I was exhausted. I had to block him Friday just to get some rest. That didn’t help though. I still couldn’t sleep.
I got out of my car and made my way to the door, just as Rylan opened it.
“Hey, Iesha. Come on in. Everyone is excited to see what you came up with for the steer highlights.”
“Hey, Rylan. I’m excited too. I really hope y’all like it,” I said as I walked through the door past him.
Maui was at the front. When she saw me, she smiled big and walked over to me to hug me. I hugged her tightly, and said in her ear, “Your brother is going to make me file a restraining order.”
She giggled. “He’s so aggy. Come on.”
She was joking, but I was serious as hell. I greeted Ashanni and her mother. She’d just had a baby not long ago. She was still glowing though.
“Maui, how have you been feeling?”
“Good! Bali seems to think I just got the dirty side of our genetics, and the stress of being pregnant brings it out. They have me on blood pressure medication, and it seems to be doing well for me.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you’re managing.”
She smiled and continued to follow Ashanni and her mom to the conference room.
When we walked in, Nesha was already seated, along with Mr. WJ, Jakari, and Mr. Philly.
Rylan entered right behind us and within seconds, Seven and Mrs. Aspen joined us.
I wanted to roll my eyes so bad, but I was doing my best to be professional.
“Before we even start, Miss Iesha, can you present?” Mr. WJ asked. “I think we are all anxious to see what you came up with.”
I smiled and headed to the computer to put my drive into it.
My hands were trembling, because all eyes were on me, especially Seven’s, but I was also hoping they liked it.
From my peripheral, I could see his eyes taking a tour of my body like he hadn’t seen me partially naked before.
Ugh. I hated that I let things go so far that night.
When I finally got it in and the right file pulled up, I said, “Hey, everybody. I truly hope that you like my design. Please be honest in your feedback and let me know if there are any changes needed.”
They all smiled and nodded. I clicked the image, and the flyer came up on the projector screen.
Maui stood to turn the lights off, and there were a couple of “ooooh’s and awww’s”.
I turned to see the image and smiled slightly.
The bull in the background with the red eyes and smoke coming from his nostrils was fire.
I also had the steers at the bottom left and contact information to the bottom right.
In the middle, were the words ‘Henderson Approved’ with a seal.
“Damn,” Jakari said. “That’s fire.”
My face heated up as I smiled. Everyone seemed to agree, until Seven said, “Can I make a suggestion?”
This time I rolled my eyes. That didn’t get by anybody, because they all chuckled as he frowned.
“Can you move ‘Henderson Approved’ to the top and the seal at the top right corner? I mean, we have rank ass bulls too that are available for rodeos as well. Like this, it looks like the approved seal is simply for the steer.”
It was actually a good suggestion. I huffed slightly, and said, “Absolutely. Hold on.”
I saved the design to the computer and opened up their Photoshop app to sign in. I allowed everything to show on the screen so they could see me work in real time. Once I got everything moved, Seven nodded repeatedly, along with everyone else.
“That looks really good, Iesha,” he said, causing my insides to heat up.
I hated that I couldn’t control my body’s reaction to him.
I hadn’t even felt him inside of me. Had we had sex, he would have had me being a stupid ass ho behind his ass.
His dick was a sight to behold, and I couldn’t get the damn visual out of my head.
Staring at him only brought it front and center, rendering me speechless.
“Thank you. Any more changes?”
“For contact, can you add me just in case my dad isn’t available?” Seven asked.
I nodded repeatedly and added his info at the bottom as well.
He and his dad worked closely with the cattle.
They had a love for farm animals that I had never seen.
I remembered Seven was out there all night one time because one was having trouble while in labor.
He was the same way with the horses. It was like it gave his soul peace when he was out there in the pasture with them.
“Iesha, that looks great. Can you pull up the website to show everyone how you designed the page?” Jakari asked.
“Absolutely.”
I went to the website and showed them the designs and how potential customers could fill out the Google form to obtain services.
They all seemed to be impressed. After discussing upcoming events, Nesha asked me to design a flyer for the apartment complex they’d built.
I was beyond happy they liked it. Seven actually behaved like he had sense in the meeting.
When we were dismissed, Maui said, “Stop up front to get your settlement sheet, sis. The money was direct deposited like you requested.”
“Okay.”
I followed her and Ashanni to the front office. As I stood there while she got it from her desk, Seven appeared next to me. He just stood there and stared at me. This nigga was making my skin crawl. Maui came back to me and glanced at Seven and slowly shook her head.
“Thank you, Iesha. The design looks amazing.”
“Thank you. If y’all need anything, just give me a call.”
“Okay, sis. See you later.”
Seven glanced at Maui, and she rolled her eyes. I turned and headed to the door. Of course, that nigga was right behind me. Before I could get outside, he slid his arm around my waist, halting my forward progress.
“Can I take you to lunch?” he asked in a low voice.
Turning to him, I stared into his eyes. Damn. His gaze was pulling me in. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Seven.”
“Why?” he asked as he pulled me against him.
I closed my eyes for a moment and backed away. “Because I’m trying to move on. I can’t go there with you anymore.”
“Please? I love you, girl. Lemme show you.”
I huffed. He was so damn irresistible. He brushed his fingers across my cheek. “We don’t have to go to the diner. We can go somewhere else. That way the family won’t be assuming we’re back together.”
“Okay,” I relented. “Cheddar’s good for you?”
“That’s cool. I’ll follow you there.”
I nodded and attempted to walk away. He gently pulled me back to him and kissed my forehead, then my cheek.
This was the Seven I’d gotten used to. This was how he treated me in the beginning .
. . soft, passionate, and tender. When he got rowdy with his family, it didn’t bother me.
I knew that was their dynamic. My problem was that he didn’t even try to read the room when he was somewhere else away from family, or maybe he did. He just didn’t give a fuck.
I gave him a tight smile, then headed to my car, only to see two SUV’s pull up.
Several men got out of them and went to Seven.
I didn’t know what was going on. They were all talking, then the men went inside the building.
He winked at me and went to his pickup truck.
I supposed everything was okay. I got in my car and headed toward Beaumont to Cheddar’s.
My mind was traveling a windy ass road all the way to Cheddar’s.
Anybody else would have been done with Seven.
Something in my soul wouldn’t allow that, and I couldn’t understand why.
He’d buried himself deep within me. It was like he didn’t know any better.
Everyone around him only laughed about it.
Hell, his dad was like that at times. Maybe my soul subconsciously craved him.
When I got to Cheddar’s, I didn’t remember a thing about my drive here. It was like I was on autopilot. Just as I was about to open my door, Seven opened it for me. I stood from my seat, and he scanned my body, causing me to shiver.
“You look beautiful, baby.”
“Thank you.”
I only wore a sundress with a denim vest, flip flops, and had my braids pulled up into a high bun.
I didn’t wear makeup today. I just had on lip gloss.
Although the meeting wasn’t until ten, I was struggling to get up and get ready.
My mind was moving a hundred miles per hour last night about this meeting and seeing Seven.
He intertwined his fingers with mine and led me to the entrance.
This nigga was truly bipolar. He was acting like our last encounter didn’t happen.
That nigga had nutted on my fucking floor like he was having a damn temper tantrum.
Yet here I was, letting him take me to lunch. I was no better than he was.
After we walked through the door and told the receptionist we needed seating for two, she led us to a booth in the dimly lit area of the restaurant.
I knew that was because she was assuming we were a couple.
Once I sat, Seven sat across from me and stared into my eyes.
He extended his arms across the table, palms up.
I slid my hands to his and stared right back at him.
Finally, he broke the silence as his thumbs caressed the tops of my hands.
“I miss you. For real. I need you, baby. I feel like I ain’t supposed to be living this life alone.
You supposed to be by my side. I’ve been seeing a little clearer these days, and I want you to know that I hear you.
I’m going to try real hard to be what you need, but I need you to give me a chance to do that. I love you, baby.”
He lifted my hands and kissed them one at a time. He stared into my eyes with a sincerity I had never seen from him. He was making me weak. I looked away and pulled my hands from his. “Can I have time to think about it?”