“Speaking of, I need the personal numbers. I shouldn’t have to go through assistants and my managers to get to you.”
“Why shouldn’t you have to?” she asked with a devilish smirk.
“I feel I earned the personal number,” he replied.
Madison didn’t even want to get into that conversation, so she just began giving him her number. He pulled out his cell phone to put the number in. Madison gave him just the cell-phone number—not only had he not earned the house phone number, Jamahl was home more often than she was, and she didn’t want any more problems.
“So you are going to call me when—during the spare two minutes you get here and there with your busy life?” Madison said after he put his phone back on his hip.
“I was hoping to call you so you can join me through some of my busy life.”
“Through some of your busy life?” she asked.
“Like, come along with me and stuff.”
“Are you crazy? Are you trying to create a tabloid cover story?”
Polytics laughed. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Listen, I’m not trying to be a part of your publicity campaign.”
“Calm down, I’m just kidding. We can hang out some without it being a big deal. My peoples protect my private life well; my business rarely pops up in the news.”
“‘Rarely’? Didn’t I hear somewhere that you were messing with that video girl from your first video?”
“Are you kidding me? That wasn’t in the news. She wrote a book and claimed to sleep with everyone. That doesn’t count.”
“Well, either way, I’m not trying to be in that mess. I am really starting to think you don’t understand how crazy things would get if people thought anything was going on between us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Clarence…I program a radio station, and you are an artist. There is an extreme conflict of interest here, and serious claims of payola can be made. I could lose my job.”
“How? We aren’t doing anything wrong. What if we really fell in love—that’s forbidden?”
Madison looked him dead in his eyes. She was shocked he had used the world love. If she was correct, she even thought the driver had looked in his rearview mirror to make sure he’d heard correctly.
“I don’t know about falling in love and all that, Clarence, but I am assuming I would lose my job or never have to play another one of your records. Otherwise it will be a conflict of interest.”
“A’ight, so no one will know.”
“There will be nothing to know. What happened between us will have to be kept a secret from everyone, and it can’t continue.”
“So we can’t hang out anymore?”
“I should never have let this happen,” Madison mumbled to herself.
“What?” Polytics asked.
Madison could hear the strong tone in his voice and the attitude behind it, but she was angry as well.
“You have nothing to lose here, but I have everything to lose. Don’t go making this some career move for you and then damage mine.”
She had gotten herself all worked up. She couldn’t believe Polytics didn’t understand how serious this was.
“Career move? I don’t know if you noticed, but my career is just fine. I don’t need you or any stunt to enhance my career.”
“You know what I mean—I wasn’t trying to play you.”
“Yeah, you were. You think I was just trying to rock with you to get a look out there. I can bag any chick I want—just because you’re the PD at Drama doesn’t mean you’re the best look for me. I was feeling you and figured we could rock some, but I see that’s not in our best interest, so no worries.”
Madison was flabbergasted. She couldn’t believe he had actually said that much or cared that much. She really had thought this was just about some mischievous sex—she had no idea he had thought more of it. It had been weeks since their romp in her office, and he had only called twice—both times Madison had been out of the office. It wasn’t as if he had left urgent messages or sent roses or anything—why would she think a man like him was remotely thinking twice about her? She assumed he had hit it and accomplished his mission.
“I didn’t mean it like that. What happened the other day…I don’t do that. That’s not my MO at all, so obviously I was feeling you, too. I just don’t want us to get caught up and follow our hormones and not be rational,” Madison said.
The driver turned down the avenue that led to the station; they were only a few minutes away. Madison knew the driver was getting an earful but was trained to mind his business and pretend he wasn’t even there. He was doing a great job because Madison did almost forget he was there.
“It’s cool, Madison, no hard feelings. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone what happened between us, and I’ll figure out another career move.”
“You really are going to run with that, Polytics? I just said I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yup, I hear you. No problem.”
Madison could tell that he was tight. She was a bit flattered, but she was even more surprised that he cared or was that sensitive.
The driver pulled up in front of the station.
“Thanks for the ride, P. It was nice to see you,” she said as she gathered her bags.
“No problem. You, too. I will see you around.”
Madison didn’t even bother giving him a hug or kiss; it was obvious that he wasn’t messing with her. She got out of the car, thanked the driver, and headed inside her building. She felt strange, emotionally stimulated, like she had just had a fight with her man. She was trying to ignore her thoughts, but she was liking the whole thing—having him feel the way he did, feeling wanted by him, and having the conversation she’d had. She liked having the control, and she liked having his attention. As she rode in the elevator, she realized she really was feeling him, and although she didn’t want to admit it, the excitement of it all was a bit too much. She was starting to worry. What had she gotten herself into?
Chapter 21
It was Monday morning, and the office was quiet, and the lights were still dimmed. Naomi had made it to work ten minutes late, but most of her department was apparently even later. She went to her desk and logged on to her computer, trying to get her day started before her coworkers filled the department. She pulled the file with the BDS reports she had been working on the Friday before. She started punching data into the Excel sheet; she knew her boss expected to see it by the end of the day, and she was hoping to get it to her by lunchtime.
Naomi was so caught up in her work she forgot about her new look and the reaction her coworkers were going to have.
“Oh, my gosh, I love it,” said Toya from down the hall.
“Thanks,” Naomi said, running her fingers along her hair.
“It is really so cute,” she said.
Another coworker, Simon, stepped out of his office.
“You cut your hair!” he shouted. “It looks so adorable on you.”
“Thanks, Simon,” Naomi replied.
“What did you get, a makeover? You look like a totally new person,” Toya said.
“No, I just cut my hair and did some shopping. Nothing major.”
Tiffany walked up to her cubicle. “Wow…look at you, little miss diva.”
Toya and Simon laughed; Naomi just blushed.
“You have a whole new look over here. New York is finally rubbing off on you.”
“I guess,” Naomi said, not knowing what else to say.
“It looks good on you,” Tiffany said. “Now everybody back to work.” She walked off to her office.
Simon and Toya made some last comments before they walked off as well.
Naomi knew she looked different and was pleased that it was so noticeable because she was hoping that when Tyreek came to the department today he would react differently. She was wearing some two-hundred-dollar Citizens of Humanity jeans, a flowy see-through top from Forever 21, and some ankle boots
with a gold trimmed heel. Naomi definitely loved her outfit and was loving her waxed eyebrows and layered haircut. She felt like a new woman.
Devora had taken her shopping and gone with her to get her hair cut, just as she had promised. At first, it was a disaster because Naomi found it absurd to buy clothes with such high prices, and Devora had told her she was hopeless, but eventually Naomi was able to invest in some staple items. After getting Naomi to charge some designer jeans and boots, Devora took her around to different boutique stores for cute tops. Once Naomi made it to Forever 21, she was in love—cute clothes for much more affordable prices. By the time she left, she had enough variety to keep up her new look for quite some time. Devora had tried to get her to throw out some of her old clothes, but Naomi wasn’t ready to go that far.
Just as she began to get busy into her work, she looked up and saw an e-mail from her coworker Jared. She clicked on it. Someone has a secret admirer. She blushed and quickly replied. Who is that? she wrote back. Naomi returned to what she was doing, but her mind began to race about who Jared had been speaking about. Is he speaking about himself? Is it Kassan who sits next to him? She would’ve loved if it was Tyreek, but she knew that it definitely wasn’t him. When Kassan had seen her earlier on the elevator, she had noticed he was checking her out. She wondered if it was someone who’d had a little crush from before she’d made her transformation. Really, she didn’t care who it was—it was just nice to be noticed and attractive to someone again.
If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret, would it? Jared wrote back. Naomi didn’t even bother to reply—she figured he would eventually tell her or give her a hint, and she didn’t want to seem too eager. Maybe the Naomi from last week would have pressed, but this week’s Naomi was sexy and in charge. She definitely felt good, and she pretty much knew she looked good. She might not have been video-girl-ready just yet, but she felt much closer to their level with her new look.
Naomi was of course hoping that Tyreek made his way to her department today; the truth was that when he had overlooked her last week, she’d found the inspiration for her makeover. She had put way too much thought into it, so she had already made up her mind that if she didn’t see him by the afternoon, she was going to make her way to his department. Her last hope was that he wasn’t out of the office, because that was just as likely. She knew she would have to aim for the level of America’s Next Top Model every day coming to work, so it was only a matter of time when he would see her. She was just hoping that today would be the day, while her haircut was still fresh and she knew she had put her best foot forward for her debut.
It was around two thirty in the afternoon when Tiffany appeared at her desk with two folders in her hand. Naomi abruptly stopped what she was doing and turned around to fully face her.
“Hey, Miss New Booty, can you go through these two files and separate the content by album release?”
“Sure,” Naomi said, laughing.
Tiffany handed her the folders and walked away. Naomi watched her strut back to her office in her Jimmy Choo pumps. Naomi knew they were Jimmy Choo only because Tiffany had shown them to her when she’d bought them on her lunch break a few weeks ago. The pumps were black and gray, and today Tiffany wore black jeans with a gray button-up shirt, revealing a little cleavage. Tiffany was an attractive, tanned Caucasian woman with a nice body and pretty face. She had long black hair with bangs, large breasts, and a thin waist. She also dressed fashionable and chic; with all the money she made, there was no designer she couldn’t afford. She didn’t have any children, and she had just gotten engaged a little more than six months ago. There was no question that Tiffany lived the life of the “traditional” New York diva. Naomi envied her; she envied how she seemed to have a complete grip on life and confidence in who she was. Although at times it was hard working for her, Naomi had to admit that Tiffany deserved and demanded her respect.
Once Tiffany was out of sight, Naomi quickly looked through the folders. She realized she’d forgotten to ask the “number-one assistant question,” which was “When would you like this done by?” She figured she could go into her office and ask her or just tend to the assignment first and get back to her busywork after. Instead of having to go speak with Tiffany, she decided just to play it safe. Although she’d learned that the more face time with the boss, the better, for some reason Tiffany just made her nervous. Every time she was around her, all she seemed to want to do was end their conversation so she could exhale.
Naomi began sorting through the two files and using paper clips to gather the documents. Just as she drifted off into her world of business, she noticed a person in her peripheral vision. At first, she didn’t look over, because she was in the process of looking over one of the papers in her hand. Then she heard the person speak to someone a few cubicles away, and she recognized Tyreek’s voice. She instantly sat up and tried to get a glimpse of herself in the computer screen but couldn’t see much; she rubbed her lips together to smooth out her passion-fruit lip gloss. From what she could see, it looked like he might finish with his conversation and head back out of the department without passing her. She wanted so badly for him to see her haircut and new clothes.
Out of desperation, she rose from her chair and headed toward her boss’s office. She tried to remain calm and walk naturally without looking over at Tyreek, but she was hoping he was looking at her. By the time she got to Tiffany’s office and saw Tiffany’s two piercing eyes looking at her, she didn’t have anything to say.
“W—what would you like me to do with the files when I’m done?” she stuttered but eventually got out.
Tiffany gave her a blank stare—the one that read Did you really just say that?
“What would you think to do with them, Naomi? Give them back to me, obviously,” she replied.
Tiffany’s tone alone just made Naomi want to disappear. Although she felt stupid and on the spot, she was hoping Tyreek hadn’t heard her spoken to that way.
“OK,” Naomi said as she hurried out of the office before Tiffany got even angrier.
As she walked back to her desk, she looked over to where Tyreek was standing. She didn’t see him and felt instant disappointment. She had done all that and gotten yelled at for nothing. He might not have even seen her at all. Naomi sat in her chair. She tried to shake off what had just happened and go right back to work, but she kept thinking about Tiffany’s tone. Naomi knew if she lost this job she would have to go all the way back home, and she had heard some horror stories about people getting fired from her company. She didn’t want to come off as desperate for her job, but at this time in her life, she was. Just as she began to paper clip some papers together, she noticed someone walking toward her. She turned around, and it was Tyreek.
“I know Tiffany is hard on her staff, but we have all been through it,” he said.
Naomi was trying to take in the moment all too quickly. Here was Tyreek, standing a foot or two away from her. He was talking to her, and he was sympathizing with her. Although she was mortified that he had witnessed that scene, she was flattered that he was trying to make her feel better.
“Yeah, I’m getting used to it,” she replied.
“You’ll survive.”
“Thanks.”
“I like your haircut,” he said, nodding his head upward toward her hair.
“Oh, thanks. I just wanted to try something new.”
“Well, I like it. The new do looks nice.”
Naomi giggled at his little rhyme. “Thanks, I’m happy you approve.”
That may have sounded like just a figure of speech to Tyreek, but if he only knew how much she really meant it.
“See you later,” he said as he walked away.
Naomi wanted to say, What about my outfit and my makeup? Do you like it enough to date me? Her mind was thinking a million things all while she watched him walk away. She was trying to reflect on the conversation while it was fresh in her mind. She was trying to determine if he had been flirting or
just making friendly conversation. She had to factor in that he had come back just to talk to her and that he must have been pleased enough with what he saw to comment on it.
That was all Naomi needed to make her day. Tiffany snapping at her had put a little damper on it, but Tyreek had surely made it bright. She was well aware that he probably didn’t know her name, but she was hoping that today could be the beginning of a connection between the two of them.
Chapter 22
They had talked about three times in the past week, and Sereeta was starting to dig Mark. When she left the skybox that night, they had all gone out for drinks. Rashard, the guy Mark had been sitting with, had ended up coming as well.
After being with Mark for less than two hours, Sereeta realized that Corey was becoming the man in her life. A single woman with no consistent male companionship, sporadic sex, and no real social life was bound to get lost in her job working for a young rich black man. Sereeta wasn’t trying to unintentionally fall in love with Corey or anyone else in the business all just to be hurt. Mark, she figured, would be a great addition to her life; they had great conversation and seemed to vibe really well.
Reyna and Rashard seemed to get along, too—they also exchanged numbers before the night was done. Sereeta didn’t have a chance to get the update on how the two of them were going, but she was pleased with the way things were going with Mark. They had made plans to go out that Friday, and Sereeta was thinking it was best she not invite Reyna and Rashard. She figured she should take a chance and see how they interacted with just the two of them.
It was Thursday night, and she was just leaving the stadium after picking up some paperwork from Corey’s coach. She didn’t have any plans, but she wished she had. For some reason she had a lot of energy and no desire to go sit at home and watch television. Sereeta didn’t have a slew of friends, and the few she did have mostly had lives of their own or didn’t live close by. Most nights Sereeta went to a local hangout alone, shopped, cuddled at home alone, visited a male associate, or just talked on the phone with Reyna or some other friend. Tonight Sereeta wanted to hang out with someone. Her money was right, she was looking good, and she knew that she was too fly to be cooped up in the house for yet another night.
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