Chapter 11
T he sound of leather hitting leather echoed off the walls like gunfire. Sweat beaded at my temple and rolled down my jaw as I let the next punch fly.
“Left’s dragging,” Ward called out from behind the mitts.
“Ain’t shit dragging.”
“It ain’t landing either.” I cracked Ward with a combo that made him stumble back with a short laugh. “There we go.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Oh yeah? So what’s the play with Navie?”
I grabbed a towel and leaned on the ropes, asking, “Where the fuck did that come from?”
“Say it,” I demanded, prepared for the looming conversation.
Ward grabbed his water, took a sip, then sat on the bench, calm and composed.
“I’m on whatever you’re on. You know that, but I can’t do my job if I don’t know where your head’s at. If something happens to you, I gotta answer to Inez . Where’s your head, Tre?”
Ward climbed back to his feet, holding the mitts steady, inviting me to take a few more swings.
“Right now, get this money and shift perception so I can win this election. As long as she doesn’t try any more bullshit, we’ll kick it and play the game until the election ends.”
“Then what?”
“What are you getting at?”
“Just answer the damn question. Then what?”
“I don’t know,” I replied truthfully.
Ward chuckled, absorbing the hit from the combo I landed.
“Bullshit Tre. You taught Tonio how to use supply and demand to negotiate turf. Had grown men rethinking how they flipped product because of something you read in Civics .”
“I don’t remember you complaining when I hustled enough money for those Jordans. For both of us.”
“Then you blackmailed Principal Dorsey to transfer into Langston Prep. You engineered a world we weren’t supposed to touch, now one night with Navie, and you want me to believe you don’t have a fuckin’ plan.”
A dry laugh escaped. “That was between Dorsey and the PTA.”
“Nigga you leaked the picture of his secret side family to the PTA.” Ward tossed me a towel. “You miss it.”
“Miss what?”
“Life before fancy ass dinner parties and polling numbers. When you were still trying to hustle your way into what you have now. You built this life, and now here’s this woman who doesn’t give a fuck about any of it, just the love sick nigga inside the house.”
“Fuck you, Ward.”
“You like Shorty. Stop being pussy and just say it,” he joked.
“I’ve never been scared of being with one woman. That’s yo’ ass.”
Most men treated love like an Achilles’ heel that made you move sloppily, act out of character, or lose everything. Love wasn’t my weakness. It was a strength most men were too scared to wield.
“Just so fuckin’ picky that you don’t. Not since Dani.”
“Since you’re so fuckin’ wise, did you talk to Kelis?”
“My shit with Kelis is different. I know her a lot better than the woman who tried to drug you.”
I took no offense, laughing because that’s all I could do, “Shit sounds crazy as fuck when you say it out loud.”
“It is crazy, but I don’t think Navie’s all bad.”
“On brand for a politician. Throwing everything away for some pussy,” I joked, because it happened more often than not.
“Once you’ve had political daughters and billionaire heiresses eventually, that shit gets played out.
Then I see Navie, and that numbness cracked.
She made me feel shit, again. I’d rather take a chance on that than go back to feeling nothing. ”
I rolled my shoulders and wiped my face with the towel. My phone lit up on the bench nearby.
Fallon: Chamber meeting added to your schedule. I’ll meet you at the house.
Mama: How is Navie?
Jaleb: We need to talk ASAP.
Locking my phone, I slipped it into my pocket. “Any word on K-Low?”
“Nigga playing hardball like he has another option.”
“Remind him, there isn’t one.”
“Do I tell you how to do your job?”
“Your evil ass couldn’t do my job.”
“I don’t care to listen to people nag all fuckin’ day,” Ward muttered, stripping off his gloves.
Having a gym in the building eliminated the excuse that I didn’t have time. My days were packed with one meeting after another. Today was no different, and working out helped replenish my patience before the day started.
I took the elevator to the top floor and down the hallway, pausing outside my bathroom door. There was a faint shuffle of footsteps, and the smell of my favorite soap wafted through the air, but it wasn’t my soap being used.
A sharp knock accompanied the shake of my head in disbelief that Navie had me knocking on my own shit. I pushed the door open, and Navie stood at the counter, already dressed. The cream blouse, tucked into high-waisted slacks, paired with gold hoops and her hair pinned up, fit her well.
I knew a weapon when I saw one, but it wasn’t just Navie’s striking beauty that made her dangerous. It was the way her presence demanded attention, like a blade sheathed in velvet.
“Morning.” She caught my reflection in the mirror and paused, adjusting her earring.
“Good morning. Just because I’m sweet on you doesn’t mean you can leave all your shit in my bathroom,” I complained, attempting to restore the balance of power.
“I’m home, right?”
“Since you’ve got us sleeping in separate rooms like a couple on the brink of divorce, keep your shit out of my bathroom.”
She didn’t flinch. Just kept brushing on her lip gloss.
“I like it in here, and the lighting is better.”
“I like you in here too, but yo’ ass is still holed up down the hall.”
“Aww, Tre is upset he has to sleep by himself,” she mocked in an annoying ass baby voice.
“Keep fucking with me, and I’ll move this shit just like I did that apartment.”
Navie chuckled while I peeled off my shirt, the fabric sticking to my back from the sweat. Crossing the room, my sweats came next like I’d done a hundred times. Except this morning, I had an audience pretending not to watch.
“You couldn’t wait?” she asked, glancing sideways but not quite turning.
“You’re in my bathroom,” I said, stepping into the shower. “ We have a schedule to keep.”
Steam clouded the glass, but I could still see her outline through the fog.
Running was the equivalent of throwing in the towel, and Navie refused, even if she had to suffer.
I showered while Navie pretended she had more hygiene.
She watched until it became too painful to bear.
Navie finally broke her silence, pretending to be annoyed that I still wasn’t ready.
“We need to go, and you’re taking your precious time.”
“You set the bar high. I’m trying to catch you.”
“A true politician. Every word out of your mouth is bullshit,” she sneered.
“You just called me a liar,” I groaned, hitting her shoulder with mine, the force causing Navie to shove me.
“Do you always take this long, or am I just special?”
“You’d trust a man who doesn’t care for himself to take care of you?”
“I’d never trust a man.”
Navie’s predatory smirk made my dick jump as she eased by. Her confidence had me glued to her strut down through my bedroom, down the hall. Checking the time, Navie was right, so I sped up my morning routine and quickly got dressed.
“What is this meeting about?” she asked, as I entered the kitchen.
“ We have a strategy meeting with Fallon and Jaleb. Ward will drop you off when we finish. I’ll be home later.”
“You wouldn’t need all that caffeine if you went to sleep at night,” Navie criticized, watching me fill the mug.
“Any more notes?”
She glared razor-sharp over her shoulder before walking closer to adjust my tie.
“When I think of something, I’ll let you know. Let’s go.”
The ride to the office was quiet outside of Navie, humming to Ward’s playlist. I was supposed to be reviewing notes, but the glow from her skin was far more entertaining.
“You smell good.”
“Is he always a flirt?” Navie asked, raising her voice loud enough for Ward to hear.
“You definitely make him try harder,” Ward replied.
Her lips twitched, containing her amusement.
“Aye, Darren ! Who do you work for?”
Navie answered for him, “ Us because we’re a team. Right?”
I caught Ward’s smirk in the rearview mirror. He was loving this shit.
“You’re on my side. Not his.”
“Do you have any siblings?” she asked.
“No, why?”
“Figures. You’re a brat.”
“I have a brother who loves showing off,” I gritted, staring at Ward through the rearview mirror.
“Are you jealous, Tre ?”
“Yeah, I am. Stop being nicer to him than you are to me.”
Navie caught my eyes roaming her body, but it was hard not to.
Everything she did was so damn sexy. I couldn’t decipher whether it was a natural talent or one that had been rehearsed so much that this persona had become her personality.
Even worse, I didn’t care if it wasn’t real. Navie had me hooked like a motherfucka.
Needing to touch her, my hand landed on Navie’s thigh. Her skin grew warm under my touch, then she popped me like a toddler reaching for the stove.
“I’m only yours when the cameras are rolling. Keep your hands to yourself.”
“The way you keep jumping when I touch you, we need more practice.”
“Then stop touching me so much. It’s starting to get on my nerves.”
“It’s not how you start, but how you finish.”
A knot rose in her throat while my finger strummed her thigh.
“The rate you’re going, you won’t be finishing either,” she fired back.
Most men might’ve been intimidated, but Navie’s sass was sexy. Compliant women stroked their ego, making them think they were something they weren’t.
“Do y’all need some privacy?” Ward asked.
“ Less privacy if you’re offering,” Navie replied.
Her reply made Ward laugh, and that wasn’t an easy job.
It seemed like Navie wasn’t just good for me but for him, too.
My phone vibrated, interrupting my view of Navie watching the city blur past the window.
It was likely Fallon, ready to scream because she expected me ten minutes ago.
Usually, I was a stickler for time, but it wasn’t just me anymore. I had to account for Navie, too.
We arrived, and I held the door open, greeting my team hard at work on our way to my office.