Chapter 6
NAIJHEL
ONE WEEK LATER
Our first date was nice, but Delaney made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that her obligation to me was fulfilled. She did not want to date me or see me again, but I wasn’t done with her yet. I was just getting started.
Initially, I just wanted to find a way to empower her to get the knowledge she needed to get back at Clayton. But after that date and talking with her, I not only found her attractive, as I had upon first meeting her, but I wanted to get to know her better.
I glanced at my watch, wondering how long it would take Professor Settles to get here. I had been sitting in his little apartment for a while waiting for him to show up.
“Hello?” I answered the phone call that came through on my cell.
“Mr. King?”
“Yes.”
“The breakfast you ordered to be sent to the museum for Ms. Synclair, along with two dozen dark and light pink tulips was delivered this morning.”
“How long ago?”
“At a quarter to eight.”
I glanced at my watch and noticed it was now three minutes before one.
“Did she receive them directly as I instructed, or was the delivery given to someone else?”
“They were given to her directly and no one else. The receptionist at first insisted they had to be left at the front desk, but when I started to leave and she realized that I was taking the delivery with me, she called Ms. Synclair to the front desk to sign for them.”
“Did she say anything? Was she surprised?”
The caller cleared his throat. “She did not show any outward reaction. She simply said thank you and walked away.”
“Did you include the card instructing her to call me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you.” I ended the call abruptly and checked my call log again. I had no missed calls from her.
I sighed in frustration, just as the door to the tiny studio apartment opened. Professor Settles stopped just beyond the threshold and stared at me.
“What the hell are you doing here, and how did you get in?” he demanded.
“This is a nice little setup you have here. It costs you what? Just over three grand a month?”
“What do you want, and why are you here?”
“I heard that you’ve found some work, Professor Settles.
Teaching ethics online. That’s ironic, considering there is not an ethical bone in your body.
But you do have a nice little setup here to teach online classes.
You came up pretty good for yourself,” I stated, looking around at the tiny apartment from the leather recliner that I occupied.
“Why are you here?” he repeated.
I was leaning forward with my arms resting on my knees, turning my phone over in my hand repeatedly and staring at it rather than at Clayton.
Although it was a studio apartment and wasn’t very big, it was in a wealthy section of town. The building had plenty of amenities for its residents, including a bookstore, coffee shop, gym, and a computer and technology center.
Refusing to answer his question directly, I spoke what was on my mind instead. I would not allow him to control the direction of the conversation. I did not give a damn if I was in his place.
“You know, there are a few people in this life that I cannot stand. One is an abusive person. That man or woman is a coward and doesn’t deserve to be around other people; they should be doomed to a life alone.
The second is a cheating bastard; he should have his dick encased in steel and never be allowed to use it again.
The third thing that I hate is a lying coward, especially when it’s someone I’m partnered up with. ”
“Is this going somewhere?” Clayton asked.
“No, but you are.”
“Where am I going, Naijhel?”
“You’re going to make shit right with your ex-wife. You’re giving her back every penny you stole from her.”
He chuckled. “Like hell I will.”
“You’re going to give her back the money, you’re going to apologize for slandering her name on social media, and you’re going to publicly apologize on there for dragging her the way that you did.”
“What the hell have you been drinking and smoking? I didn’t rip her off. I only got what was owed to me . . . with your help. Thanks.” He smirked.
“You believe that shit, don’t you? The only thing that happened is that you lied to me, falsified documents, and presented them in open court as factual statements.”
Clayton frowned at me with narrowed eyes and argued. “You can’t prove that.”
“Nigga, you have no idea what I can do. I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t able to back my shit up.”
He shrugged. “There’s nothing that you can do. After all, I’m protected by attorney-client privilege.”
“That no longer applies. You’re not my client.”
“But I gave you those documents while I was still your client. What are you going to do with them?”
I stood and walked up to him. I didn’t stop until the tips of my shoes touched his.
“You have three weeks to return the money she paid you to the penny, two weeks to apologize publicly for humiliating her, and one week to get the fuck out of town.”
Clayton laughed. “Are you fucking her or something?”
I snatched his glasses off his face, dropped them on the floor, and stepped on them. I leaned into his face and replied, “Not yet.”
“Are you kidding me? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You.”
“I’m not leaving town for her.”
“Stick around and see what happens.”
I turned and walked out of the apartment. Another glance at my watch showed that it was a quarter after one. No call from Delaney.
I wasn’t known for patience, although I knew that was what this situation called for.
“Mr. King, welcome back to the center. It’s always a pleasure to see you,” Rebecca, the receptionist, greeted me when I signed in.
“Thank you, Becca,” I mumbled, adjusting my tie and looking around the lobby.
“Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Williams are not here today. They’re both out of town for a family funeral.”
“I am aware of that. His grandmother passed. I’ve sent flowers and a donation to her favorite charity.”
“That is very sweet of you. How may I help you if you aren’t here to see them?”
“I’m here to see Ms. Synclair. Is she in today?”
“Uhm, . . . yes. She is. She actually just got back from lunch.”
I glanced at my watch again and noticed that it was two on the nose. All this time had passed since this morning, and she had even taken a lunch break, but she hadn’t found time to call me. I didn’t like that at all.
“Does she have any meetings this afternoon?”
“No, she doesn’t. Would you like for me to call and tell her you’re out here?”
“No, thank you. I have a surprise for her. I’ll just show myself back.”
“Okay, Mr. King.”
I walked away from the reception desk and headed to the second floor of the museum. Taking a right at the circular stairwell, I headed toward the end of the hall to a corner office. Her office sat catty-cornered from the Williams’ office at the same end of the hall.
I rapped on the door lightly before I pushed it open. Delaney’s head was bent over her computer, and she had some wireless glasses perched on the edge of her nose.
“Come in,” she called, not realizing that I had already invited myself inside.
When I closed the door behind me, her head popped up, and she looked startled.
“What are you doing here?”
“Making sure that you’re still alive.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, removing the glasses from her nose as she frowned at me.
That simple act of her removing her glasses reminded me of the visit that I had just made to the other side of town.
“I don’t know. Usually when someone receives a gift, the recipient reaches out to the sender and thanks them for the gift.”
“I don’t recall asking you to send me one.”
“Recipients don’t usually ask for the gifts. They mostly get the gift because the sender believes that they are deserving of it.”
She smirked and crossed her arms over her breasts. “You thought that I deserved it?”
She wore a fuchsia wrap dress that had a deep V-cut neckline, and it boasted ample cleavage. I thought about the question that Clayton asked about if I was fucking her, and my response.
I pulled my gaze from her breasts back to her eyes. “Yes, don’t you?”
“I think I’m deserving of the best of everything, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t do those things for myself.”
“Because you haven’t had a man who knows how to spoil you, you decide that anything good has to come from yourself.”
“Or my father, family, or friends.”
I took a step deeper into her office and perched on the edge of her desk. Reaching out and tilting her chin up slightly, I replied, “I’m not trying to be in any of those categories. Not yet. All I’m trying to do is get to know you better and then be your man.”
She scoffed. “First of all, I don’t know what that ‘not yet’ meant in relation to the other categories. Second, I don’t want to get to know you. Third, I don’t want you to be my man. In fact, I don’t want a man at all.”
“You switch hitting?”
“No. Why do men assume when a woman doesn’t want them, or any man for that matter, that she’s either gay or bisexual?
I’m just not interested in relationships after what was done to me.
Not that I need to explain that to you. You had a front row seat and a helping hand in making sure that it happened. ”
I angled my head and stroked my beard.
“What?” she asked, narrowing her gaze at me.
“I never apologized to you for the role that I played in your divorce.”
She frowned. “Why would you? You did everything that you did with a purpose and intent. Now that you have been paid, you want to apologize?”
“It was never about the payment to me. Clayton could barely afford me at the time. It was about what I learned about the marriage, and what I thought had been done to him.”
“Which was?”
“The allegations of abuse.”
“I was the abused one. Not physically, but mental and emotional abuse can be just as damaging, especially psychologically.”
“That is why I apologized. I’m not easy to fool, but your husband had all his ducks in a row. When my team did our research, it wasn’t easy for us to see anything other than the picture that he had painted.”
“And now?”
“Now I see the full picture clearly, and it’s the original done by the real artist, not a scam.”
She bit down on her bottom lip and chewed thoughtfully. “You know, in another lifetime, I think that I might have liked you.”
“Give it a shot in this one.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because when I see you, I see nothing but the embodiment of evil. You and Clayton Settles are one in the same, in my mind.”
“I’m nothing like him. I was simply the unfortunate simp who had the bad luck to represent him.
Katina Monroe is a brilliant attorney and strategist. But I’ve had the privilege of going against her on multiple occasions, and I have never lost a battle.
But just like she represented you, but she’s nothing like you, it’s the same in this case.
Honestly, Katina wasn’t properly equipped for that one. We all got played in the end.”
“I keep hearing you claim that, but without any details, it’s just another story.”
I pushed off her desk and shoved my hands in my pants to keep them to myself. “And one day, you’ll have the full story. One day, sweetheart.”
I turned and walked out of her office and headed home, already plotting out my next plan of attack.