Amaris
Black folks never waited long after Thanksgiving to start decorating and being in the holiday spirit.
The weather was perfect, and so was everybody’s mood, including my father’s all of a damn sudden.
I could hear the Christmas music mixed over trap beats floating through Spike’s lounge.
The playlist sounded confusing as hell, thanks to Keisha’s ghetto ass.
I gave her the honors of being in charge of decorations, and it instantly pissed me off when I stepped through the front door. She had fake snow draped across the ceiling, and red, green, and white ornaments dangling from every wall.
I headed straight to my office to catch up on payroll and any missed emails that I might have overlooked on purpose. My entire office was painted what I considered to be my comfort and favorite color… yellow.
I was good with hiding behind my soft sunflower painted walls with real plants that helped me breathe better than being on the outside of this place right now. Everybody seemed to be on some fake weird shit or maybe my energy had been off for the last two and a half weeks going on three.
My office smelled like vanilla candles along with the lingering scent of my mint tea. I had a huge abstract painting of dark and light skinned women dancing together to display unity that my father gifted me one birthday. The gift itself was before he got so-called bored with his status as Kingpin.
In fact, I had a lot of gifts in here from him.
I leaned back in my office chair, my legs crossed, now staring at absolutely nothing while holiday trap music drifted faintly through the floorboards from downstairs.
I really didn’t want to be here today, and truthfully, since I returned back to my house, I didn’t want to be around anyone.
Especially my father. Ever since I came back home from Royal’s home…
Jeremiah Reed transformed into an overprotective parent overnight.
He called me constantly to check where I was when he already knew.
He even stopped by the bar more frequently, acting like he gave a damn about offering a fake helping hand when really he was watching me.
I assumed he was trying to watch for the changes in me since he knew I willingly stayed at Royal’s even after the forty-eight hours.
Guilt was eating his ass alive, which irritated me even further.
Because where was all this same concern before he got tangled with the Bonetti’s when he never had to in the first place?
My father wasn’t hurting for money; again, it was the fake boredom that made him take out a stupid ass loan.
Keisha was my girl, no doubt, but she made things worse too.
Apparently, she’d been annoying my father nonstop while I was gone since I was her only friend, as she liked to put it.
I didn’t want to know what their dilemmas were.
I just all of a sudden found myself wanting to be left the hell alone with my thoughts of the one person I couldn’t seem to get off my mind.
My office door suddenly swung open without the person having the decency to knock. When the handsome rugged face appeared, I became even more annoyed.
Derrick.
My ex who thought he was ‘the gift’ instead of hell on two feet. A narcissistic, selfish bastard that felt like the sun should set on only him every day of the week.
“Mar Marrrr,” he drawled in a tone that instantly made my stomach churn in disgust.
Derrick was tall with blemish free beige skin.
As always, he had a fresh line up with short dry curls.
It smelled like he over did it with the woodsy Caribbean smelling cologne.
He dressed like he had to prove that he had a lot of money, which never impressed me from jump.
His designer jacket zipped halfway up with his diamond Cuban chains pressed against his chest.
I didn’t consider him as an ex; I didn’t even want to claim his ass. Unfortunately, we had history. He was an instant regret. Derrick was the type of man that went off of infatuation with a woman. Once the infatuation was gone, he was in the wind.
Till this day, I felt like Derrick wanted me because of his infatuation with impressing my father.
What I liked about him in the beginning was he worked for my dad while he was in college.
He smuggled a lot of drugs through the university and made a shit load of money while doing it.
What turned me off, though, were multiple things.
The lies that he told to claim me as his girl. Him hiding a whole kid from me after I slightly fell for him. Then there was the little shit, like him never taking the lead in anything when it came to us. He didn’t break my heart to say the least… he was just a waste of existence and time.
“Now why are you here?” I asked flatly.
His smile dropped disappointedly.
The fuck? He really thought I’d feel honored to see him… I thought, annoyed with the visible audacity of this clown.
“Damn, no hello?” He took a few steps further into my space.
He laughed awkwardly then stopped just inches away from my desk. Before I fixed my lips to tell him to get the hell out, the reason he was here in the first place walked in. My eyes narrowed at my father.
“You invited him here?” I jerked my head back, blinking my eyes fast to keep myself from disrespecting my father.
“I thought it would be good for you two to just catch up.” My father shrugged.
I offered him a short laugh and rolled my eyes as hard as they could roll.
“You think I should catch up with a nigga that cheated on your daughter?” I cocked my head to the side.
“Amaris, that was the past… I’m not saying be back with him or nothing… I just think after the desperate move that you made with a nigga that kidnapped you… you wanted some male attention outside of me. If you need attention, Mari, Derrick can give it to you,” he reasoned, further infuriating me.
The fucking nerve!
Derrick sighed dramatically like the little bitch he was before pleading like he was some love sick nigga that all of a sudden missed me.
“It was a mistake… I forgave you for—”
“You forgave me for what?” I cut him off, gripping the edge of my desk tightly, wishing it was his neck.
“You forgave me for going through my phone days too late after I found out you hid a baby… or forgave me for finding out that you had a whole slew of hoes and I was just the one who you felt got lucky to be at the top of your roster because of the benefits of him!” I pointed at my father.
“Why you always exaggerating things?” Derrick asked, frowning.
I just stared at him, jaw clenching tightly then stared at my father. The room started to feel too small for all the anger and irritation locked inside of me.
“I’m sorry, Mari… you right.” My father’s jaw clenched as he grilled the side of Derrick’s face. “Dee, you can dip… I didn’t know you tried to get over on my princess.” My father flicked his eyes at me with an apologetic look. “I just felt like he was more your speed than somebody like Roy.”
There it was again, the real issue. Derrick rocked from foot to foot, still not taking the cue to leave. I leaned back slowly in my chair, crossing my arms across my chest. My father’s face told me everything I needed to know in the moment.
Fear and recognition. He saw himself in Royal. Men like my father always recognized other dangerous men quicker than women did.
“You think I’m stupid.” I shook my head.
“No, of course not… I didn’t raise you to be that way.
I know that nigga Roy is dangerous and a little bit too much for you.
Whatever happened between y’all that made you go against my wishes by staying with a nigga I consider my enemy, is fake.
He doesn’t really like you, Mari. He entertained you to get under my skin. ” He rubbed his jaw hard.
“So you think Derrick wasn’t dangerous?” I tittered, getting ready to reveal the raw truth between Royal and I.
“He’s no longer a criminal, Derrick ain’t in the streets.
He has a real career. He would be the kind of man I wouldn’t mind sitting at my dinner table if I hadn’t known how hard he tried to play you.
” He cut his eyes over at Derrick, who now wiped the cocky smirk off his face and stared back at me nervously.
Yeah… get scared. I smiled inwardly. The only reason why I never told my father about Derrick’s fuck shit was simply because I knew Maniac would kill him and dump him in a lake.
“Royal didn’t like me like that,” I partially lied to my father.
“He wanted me gone before the forty-eight hours was up… I just wanted to teach you a lesson by staying longer. The longer I stayed, the more I enjoyed being there with him. He didn’t bother me much, I bothered him…
. Days before I decided to leave, we became…
” I looked away shamefully. “Intimate… I like him and haven’t been able to get him off my mind,” I confessed tiredly.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence.
I didn’t care about the judgmental looks plastered on my father and Derrick’s faces.
My father took a step away from the door and marched in further like his shock wore off and he was in full rage mode.
I felt myself getting emotional because I just wanted to be left the hell alone.
Derrick in my personal space with my father backing his clown ass was pissing me off to the max.
I still felt a way about my father, along with all of the bullshit he pulled as of late, and now he was trying to play matchmaker.
I didn’t feel like arguing with him, but I knew for a fact I would have to.
Jeremiah needed to realize that I was far from the little girl he raised.
“Look Mari—” We all froze the moment the back of my office door hit the wall.