Chapter 4 #2
“How many mimosas did you have? You keep calling me Ms. Mills as if you don’t know my name is Mrs. Mahogany Mills-Morris.”
With a laugh he said, “Zero. The Mrs. And Morris part be slipping my mind. My bad.”
“Disrespectful,” I said, shaking my head.
“To forget?”
I scrunched my lips up as to say, ‘yeah okay’. “To disregard. You don’t strike me as a man who forgets. Not easily, at least.”
“What type of man do I strike you for?” He boldly asked, sitting up.
We were going back and forth. Again. Happened a little earlier.
The conversation seemed to just… flow. Rebuttals seemed to just roll off my tongue with ease.
There was no hesitation between either of us.
From the outside looking in, you’d think we were long time associates having brunch.
Or hell, maybe even lovers, the way his eyes danced all over me.
“I don’t know, Mr. Carter. As a man who doesn’t forget… like I said,” I told him with a shrug. “So, sending me the blueprints shouldn’t be hard… should it?”
I had to end the meeting. I couldn’t focus.
I wasn’t sure if Crescent and I would be having many face-to-face meetings because clearly I couldn’t handle them.
And well, he couldn’t handle them neither.
Flirting, calling me Ms. Mills as if he didn’t know my name.
He was flirtatious as hell. I couldn’t see us getting much work done like this.
We’d have to do a lot of talking over the phone.
But… see… I didn’t work that way and didn’t want to start just because I was working with him.
Something needed to shake. Hell.. me. I needed to shake back. Into place. For sure!
“Nope. I got you,” he told me with a deep breath. “You didn’t eat.”
“Neither did you,” I told him, nodding toward his omelet.
We were too busy talking to eat. I’d only ordered a muffin and oatmeal since I ate before I left the house and even that was untouched.
I didn’t think about eating—just drinking.
Like a fucking alcoholic. I needed it. He was right.
I fucking needed it. I had to take the edge off.
Otherwise, I would have sat there a giggling, hair twiddling mess the whole meeting.
Wasn’t like what I had been doing was that much of a step up.
I trusted that this was only the beginning.
I was only shy because it was him and I’d toyed with my pussy, squirting more times than I could count, at the thought of him.
Crescent didn’t know how many nights I spent fantasizing about doing some of the freakiest things to him.
Could you have kept your composure? Could you have been yourself?
Sitting across from a man you’d wanted for five years?
He smelled good. Looked good. And every inch of him told me he tasted good too.
Tongue, mouth, dick, cum. Everything. I wanted to drink him.
I wanted to swallow him. I wanted to eat him.
Damn a fucking meal. I wanted him on the table, on his knees, in front of me, feeding me dick.
I wanted him to shove it down my throat. To tickle my tonsils with it. I just—
Yeah, it was time to go.
“Wasn’t really hungry for anything on the menu, for real,” He stated, his eyes centered on mine again.
He was flirting. Always flirting. So much so, that I wondered… hell, did he remember me? Or was he just that fucking bold?
With raised brows, I went for my glass again and was pissed to see it was empty. Just that quick. I was throwing them back. Wished I could throw it back. My God, I was tripping.
With a polite smile, I asked, “Could you excuse me? I have to use the restroom.”
He nodded, relaxed against his chair and said, “For sure. Take your time.”
With that, I grabbed my Birkin and stood to walk off.
As I made my way to the restroom, I could feel his eyes piercing through me.
Not just on my ass—all over me like before.
Except, it was a slow sweep. Intense. Pulling.
So much so that I couldn’t even do my usual twist of the hips.
I didn’t have my ‘bad bitch’ walk on. Couldn’t.
His energy was too drawing. Too intimidating to put on a show.
Crescent made me think too much. Made me self-conscious in a way that I did not like.
I was worried about silly shit like tripping over my feet or missing a step. So, I just walked.
As soon as I got inside of the restroom, I sat my purse on the sink and leaned over to take a few deep breaths.
What in the hell was wrong with him? I wondered if it was me.
Wondered if my sexual energy was so potent that it’d gotten on him.
That was possible, you know. He didn’t strike me as a man who’d be so…
openly flirtatious at a meeting. But he’s been nothing but it since the initial meeting.
I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle any of this.
Trying my damnedest to be a good wife and businesswoman with a man who’d…
made me fucking quiver without laying a finger on me.
How was I supposed to maneuver around this?
Why was it that He was making this so hard for me? God.
Fuck the business side of things.
I was talking about the marriage. It was almost as if He wanted me to leave. As if He wanted me to break my vows. This… it had to be a test. I couldn’t see it any other way. The buzzing of my phone pulled me out of my mental rant, just as I was about to give God a piece of my mind.
With a deep sigh, I fished around my bag, pulling my phone out just to be greeted with a message from Judah. I laughed. Looked up to the ceiling and cracked up laughing. This was a joke, wasn’t it? The way things were unfolding for me this year… I had to be in some sort of twilight zone.
Judah Wolfe: Tonight at 6. Parc.
Simple. Right?
Wrong. I was a fucking mother. I couldn’t just… go out for dinner on a school night. I needed something earlier. Something during working hours. Something now.
Me: Too late. ToDAY. Twenty minutes. Hart Plaza.
I was only about ten minutes away from the riverwalk and my meeting with Crescent was wrapping up.
Judah: I can’t. Neither can you. You forgot?
Me: Forgot what?
Judah: About your meeting with Crescent. I know you on a meeting, love.
I tossed my head back with annoyance and paced the tiled floor, vigorously texting.
Me: Mind your business…
Shaking my head, I backspaced. Because… hello… he was minding his business. Judah’s title as Director of Ventures & Partnerships at Skylight Industries kept him in the loop. I hated this shit so much it was ridiculous.
Again, I looked to the ceiling and giggled. “What is this, bro?” I asked, talking to God.
With a heavy eyeroll, I reluctantly told Judah I’d be able to meet with him at six.
Needed time to get things situated at home first. He told me okay and I stuffed my phone back into my purse.
I’d just have to do what I always did when I lied about what I was up to—use Sienna.
She’d hate it. Would complain and fish but I didn’t give a damn.
A conversation with Judah was necessary despite how relaxed and accommodating he seemed to be.
After I finished up in the restroom, I rejoined Crescent at the table, and we concluded our meeting with a professional handshake, filled with tingles, and a promise to touch bases tomorrow afternoon.
I prayed to God that the next meeting would go as planned.
Professional, easy, and with a clear mind.
I ended my workday earlier. As soon as I left the meeting with Crescent, I went home to cook dinner.
It was one o’clock in the afternoon, but I had to make sure my babies had a homecooked meal tonight.
We’d been eating out a lot, and I wasn’t okay with that.
Besides, cooking for them eased the guilt a little.
That’s what I had… guilt. I made plans to creep out with a man I’d fucked more times than I could count, unprovoked.
I didn’t do unprovoked shit. That’s not what my affair was built on.
The shit I did to Duke was done solely because he'd given me a reason to. Lately, he hadn’t given me reason.
But there I was… lusting over Crescent, meeting with Judah the same day. I was a mess.
After I finished dinner, I called Duke to let him know I was going out with Sienna for a couple of drinks and that dinner was done.
He didn’t complain, ask questions, or anything.
Just told me he loved me and to have a good time.
Good. I didn’t want to sit on the phone talking, answering questions.
He never really gave me a hard time when it came to going out but since I spent the night out on my birthday, he’d been extremely clingy.
Or as clingy as I allowed him to be at least.
The kids came home before I could leave, and Ms. Sparkle was not happy about me leaving.
Not only had Duke been clingy, but the kids had been too.
I understood why and because I understood, I gave them patience and reassurance every time I left the house and picked up whenever they called.
Who knew staying out for twenty-four hours would create such a domino effect?
It made me sad, honestly. Realizing just how much I was needed when I was literally hanging on by a thread and in need of some time away.
But that was my life. Once I became a mother, I stopped living for me.
Imagine… eighteen years of living for someone other than yourself.