6. Myheir
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her as the truck slowly pulled away from the curb. This woman was going to drive me crazy as hell, but the sad part about it was that I was looking forward to it.
When I first thought of this idea, I didn’t think it would work. But the more time I spent with her, it further showed me this was probably my best decision yet. After that shit with my ex, I locked into my work. I couldn’t worry about dating or relationships.
But Ms. Khaleya planned to make this arrangement a good time.
“Dom, head over to my headquarters. Oh, and next time keep all that flirting shit to a minimum. She’s spoken for.”
“I understand, sir.”
I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes for a moment. It had been a minute since I’d been jealous of the attention another man gave to a woman around me. This arrangement hadn’t even started, and it was bringing out qualities in me that I hadn’t seen in a while.
Thirty minutes went by before the truck slowed in front of my secondary jewelry store. We’d just opened this location, and it had been doing crazy numbers. I waited a minute until Dom opened the door. I stepped out and straightened out my suit before heading inside.
Two guards stood on each side of the entrance. I even had a few who weren’t dressed as guards who would pop in the store every now and again. I didn’t want anyone thinking they could steal from me, whether it be employees or customers.
I ran a tight muthafucking ship. When my pops first got wind that this was going to be my business venture, he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. The insurance was high as hell to have all these fine jewels here. But I knew I had to take the risk.
Shit, if I wasn’t willing to risk it all, why do it? Folks always wanted to choose the safe shit, and that was cool sometimes. But you’d forever be in that same spot with that mindset.
“Mr. Blackwell, it’s nice to see you. Everyone is already here for the meeting,” Mr. Brown said the moment I made it to the private elevators in the back.
“Thanks. Make sure no one else comes up here. I don’t give a damn if they say they’re here for the meeting. At this point, they’re late and didn’t give a fuck to be on time.”
He nodded as I stepped onto the elevator. I was serious when it came to being on time. I wasn’t the type to deal with nonsense. If I had, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
The moment I stepped off the elevator, I made a beeline for the conference room. When I stepped into the room, all talking ceased.
“Good afternoon, thank you for taking the time to be on time and in this room. I hope we can build great partnerships by the end of this meeting,” I announced.
Then I took the seat at the head of the table. I nodded once I was comfortable, giving the people in the room the floor to pitch their ideas.
By the time the meeting was over, it was close to five in the afternoon. I was tired as hell, but I’d told Khaleya we were going to dinner, and I planned to make sure it happened.
Dom drove me back to the hotel she was staying in. I decided to switch my room to where she was staying. I wanted to be as close as possible because I knew she was going to be on that good bullshit. She’d been too confident, when I told her we were going to dinner, that she wasn’t going.
Her confidence was sexy as hell to me, but one thing she was going to learn was I got my way. I wasn’t hearing none of that other shit she was talking about.
I was able to book the penthouse suite, so the moment I got to the hotel, I made sure they upgraded Khaleya’s room. Then I made my way to mine. I needed a second to relax my damn eyes. I knew this woman was going to give me a fucking headache.
Before I could get too comfortable, my phone rang. I groaned but still answered.
“Blackwell.”
“Damn, you sound tired as hell. What you got going on? I heard you were in my neck of the woods. You trying to pull up?” Jace asked.
I ran my hand down my face.
“Nah, I got plans with someone.”
The line got quiet for a moment before he spoke again.
“Who? You know yo’ ass don’t have many friends.”
I chuckled because he was right. Money made folks act weird as hell, so I usually kept my distance. I didn’t like the idea of thinking someone was trying to use me for a damn thing. So I stayed by myself.
“You nosey as hell. Your future wife rubbing off on you.”
Jace chuckled. “Not too much on my baby. You know I’m right.”
“My plus one.”
“Oh shit, so you was serious about that,” he quickly replied.
“Very. Her ass so damn feisty too with a smart mouth out of this world. But she had so much damn ambition that it’s contagious. You can’t be around her and not want to elevate.”
“Damn. I haven’t heard you talk about nobody like this since you know who.”
I shrugged, as if he could see me.
“I rarely offer details about what I have going on.”
Jace chuckled. “We need to set up a dinner at the house so we can meet her. You know baby wants to have spoken to everyone that will be there. Something about not wanting bad energy at the wedding. I don’t know who she was talking to, but they told her ass it would curse our union.”
I kissed my teeth. “You know damn well who she was talking to.”
Jace laughed so hard his ass started choking.
“Shit, you almost married the woman.”
I shook my head at the thought.
“Let’s stop talking about her ass. It seems like any time I talk to you, her name comes up. I’m about to ban yo’ ass from calling me.”
“Fuck out here. It’s not my fault that ole girl just seems to pop up in shit.”
“Mhm, but I’ll get at you later to set up that dinner. I need to get her wildfire ass tamed before then,” I said, then chuckled.
“I’ll pray for you.”
We said our goodbyes, and I closed my eyes once more, preparing to get at least a thirty-minute nap in, when my phone rang again. I was seriously thinking about putting this muthafucka’ on mute.
“Fuck.” I groaned and reached over to answer the phone again.
“Blackwell.”
“Sir, you told me to keep an eye out for Ms. Mathers. Well, sir, she is leaving the hotel with some other man.”
Nothing else could have given me a second wind like that. This damn woman just had to do shit to tick me off. I know this wasn’t real, but damn if she was going to be out here entertaining other men when we had a deal.
I shot up from the couch and made a beeline out of the room.
“I’m on my way down.”
I hung up, not waiting for his response. I released a few buttons on my shirt until my tattoos showed clear across my chest.
I’d made it down to the lobby in less than a few minutes. Dom was already outside with the door open. I slipped into the backseat. I wasn’t sure how the hell he knew where she was. But that was what I paid him for, to figure it the fuck out.
I laid my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I didn’t ask questions as Dom pulled away from the curb.
Ten minutes later, we were pulling up to a taco shop called Tacos at Night. I’d scrolled on social media a few times and heard of this place. The food looked good, but I hadn’t found the time to pop in yet.
If I was being real, I found myself at more fine-dining establishments. I liked what I liked. The service was always top-of-the-line at those places, and that mattered to me.
Dom pulled up in front of the building. He looked as if he was getting out to open my door, but I stopped him.
“I got it. Spin the block twice, unless I call and say otherwise.”
Dom nodded his head.
I strolled over toward the door, then walked inside. Immediately, I scanned the room. My eyes sought her out immediately. She was no longer wearing her uniform. She now had on a pair of ripped jeans and an orange top that showed the tops of her breasts. It was some kind of knitted thing.
But it looked damn good against her smooth molten mahogany skin. I ran my tongue across my lips as if I could taste her from here. I released a breath because this shit wasn’t real, and I needed to act like it.
My tongue would never get the chance to explore every part of that woman. It couldn’t, we couldn’t. It doesn’t help that I’m in here acting like a jealous boyfriend.
She was sitting alone. I don’t know who the fuck Dom seen her leaving with. But I was going to leave her be. She didn’t have to have dinner with me if she didn’t want to. I turned to leave when I heard her giggle.
I glanced over my shoulder, and some nigga that looked like Michael B.
Jordan took the seat beside her. She was showing every tooth in her mouth.
The only thing I thought about was how all I got was fucking eye rolls.
The last smile I got was for those damn purses.
Which she had conveniently left behind with me.
I didn’t even realize my feet were moving until I was standing directly in front of the table. I reached out and took a chip, then dipped it into the salsa bowl in front of them.
“Damn, I see why you didn’t want to go to dinner tonight. These chips are good as fuck. But what I don’t understand is who the fuck is this?” I asked, while pointing a chip toward the guy sitting by her.
Khaleya shrugged and picked up a chip from the bowl as if I wasn’t talking to her.
“This is Marcus. Marcus, this crazy man eating our food is my soon-to-be boyfriend. But he hasn’t made it official, so yeah.”
She was so damn unbothered it was making my dick hard. I smiled, then craned my head to the side.
“Doll, you needed me to say the words. I’m sure when we flew in today, it was very clear.”
Ole’ boy was looking more uncomfortable as the time went on. I reached out and pulled the seat out from the table to have a seat. I looked around the table for a menu because if she was going to act like it wasn’t a big deal, then shit, it shouldn’t matter if I stayed.
I grabbed another chip from the bowl and turned my attention toward her date.
“So how did you meet Khaleya?”
He looked over at Khaleya like he hoped she would step in and save the day. But her ass liked this. So she continued to eat like nothing was happening.
“Oh, so it’s Khaleya now?” she asked.
I returned my attention to her and leaned back in my seat with a smirk. All she’d done was show a crack in her armor. I knew she was more fazed than she was letting on.
“Khaleya is on a date. My doll would have had her ass down in the hotel lobby by seven. Now back to you, how did y’all meet?”
Marcus rubbed the back of his neck and then released a breath.
“Man, I just came to be part of her social media post and free food. Shit, we just met. Have you ever seen her content?” he asked.
I knew of her content, but I hadn’t paid much attention. Shit, I thought she just dated all these dudes and ate different shit. I never thought it was a front, so she did a good job of selling it.
Marcus stood from the table.
“It was nice meeting you, beautiful, but I don’t need no bullshit for free food. Enjoy your meal.”
She smiled up at him and nodded.
“Sorry about all of this, Marcus. I’ll send you a gift card so you can try this place later. It was nice meeting you.”
Marcus reached out to touch her hand.
“I’ve been chilling since I got here, but don’t let this chill shit fool you. Say yo’ goodbyes and head the fuck out,” Myheir cut in.
Marcus held his hands up in surrender, then nodded in Khaleya’s direction before turning to leave. The moment he left, her smile dropped. There was that damn fire I looked forward to.
“I agreed to be your fake girlfriend, but I never agreed to be your puppet. I am a person with a business and a life. I am not on your payroll.” She hit the tabletop, causing others around us to stare.
She crossed her arms and settled back into her seat. If I was a weak-ass man, the glare she was giving would have had me shriveled up in my seat. I ran my tongue over my lower lip and rubbed my chin for a minute.
“First, take your tone down a few notches. I understand you’re upset, but if I talk to you respectfully, you sure as hell gone give me the same in return.
Second, I never said you were a puppet, or that I was trying to control you.
I just wanted to take you to dinner to further get to know you.
And on that payroll comment, shit, you right—for now. ” I smirked.
Not that I wasn’t taking her seriously, but she was indeed going to be on my payroll whether she liked it or not.
I could also admit she wasn’t the only one who needed the other.
This wouldn’t work without her. At least, I wasn’t interested in working with anyone but her.
So I knew I needed to pull back on my ego.
“What makes you think I’m going to sign that damn contract now?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m hoping maybe your dream is bigger than dealing with me. I’m not a hard man to get along with. But I understand if you change your mind. Can I at least give you a ride back to the hotel? I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
I pushed my seat back to stand, but Khaleya held her hand up to stop me.
“Ugh, you’re here now. So you’re going to help me finish my video. I’m going to try to let my defenses down a bit more.”
“A bit?” I asked with a lift of my brow.
She reached into the bowl of chips, then pointed one at me.
“Don’t push it, Blackwell.”
I held my hands up in surrender with a smile, then reached into my jacket for my phone to text Dom.
Me: Change of plans. We’re eating here. Come back in an hour. But be close by in case of an emergency.
Dom: Yes, sir.