Full Figured 3: Carl Weber Presents

by Hampton, Brenda

We laughed, running over to my computer and checking the information Monica had found. “See, right there,” Monica said, pointing to the information given for a person name Angelique S. Branson who owed $7,385 in credit card debt.

  “Umph,” I said with my hands on my hip. “Scroll down.” Monica scrolled down, but I immediately realized that Angelique’s middle name was Lashay.

  “Monica, that’s the wrong person. Her middle name is Lashay.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yes,” I said, walking away from the computer, playfully swiping my forehead. “I’m glad about that, and I damn sure didn’t want my son paying for no big bill that she’d made way before his time.”

  “I know what you mean, but shame on us.” Monica laughed. “Both of our asses were in big debt when we got out of college. If I recall, Reggie did have to pay for those Visa credit cards you racked up on, didn’t he?”

  “If you won’t tell, I won’t tell.” I snickered. “Now get your shoes on so we can get the heck out of here. You’re going to have me late for my own son’s wedding. You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”

  The wedding was in progress and Angelique’s father had just given her away. She stepped up to Latrel, who looked handsome as ever, tightening her arm with his. Monica sat next to me and Reggie sat behind us. He had brought another woman with him, and all I did was say hello. Monica saw me already getting emotional, so she slipped me some of the Kleenex she’d already had in her hand. I dabbed my watery eyes, pleased by how happy Latrel looked, and smiling at Chassidy, who was the flower girl and just couldn’t keep still. She was swaying from side to side, and every chance she got, she waved at me. I waved back and several people laughed. Then, all of a sudden, the lady who was sitting to my right moved and I looked up, only to see Roc take her seat. He was razor sharp. Dressed in a black single-breasted tailored suit that traced his sexy frame. Two diamond-studded earrings were in his ears and his hair was trimmed to perfection. Minimal hair suited his chin, and I would have loved to see him on the cover of GQ magazine. I swear he could give Lance Gross a run for his money, and Roc would come through slightly on top.

  “Glad I didn’t miss too much,” he said, sitting next to me. I watched him wave at Chassidy, and she smiled, waving back. She was about to run over to us, but I whispered for her to stay where she was. Roc smiled. “Latrel would have killed me if I didn’t make it.” He looked over at Monica. “Hey, Monica. What’s up?”

  No doubt, we were both shocked to see Roc, and Monica could barely get the word “hello” out of her mouth.

  Roc cleared his throat, crossing one leg over the other. I looked at the sparkling diamond watch on his wrist and two diamond rings on his finger, wondering what he’d been up to. My mind quickly got back to the wedding and it remained my focus for quite some time.

  As the wedding vows were being exchanged, everyone was taking peeks up at the cloudy sky. The dark clouds were slowly moving in, so the minister decided to hurry it up. Angelique and Latrel exchanged wedding rings, and after it was all said and done, they laid a big kiss on each other. The rain held off for as long as it could, and it had started to drizzle. I was glad, only because it helped to cover up the few tears that had fallen down my face.

  “That was so beautiful,” Monica whispered. “Shame on us for underestimating Angelique.”

  “No. Shame on you.”

  The minister shouted, “I give to you Mr. and Mrs. Latrel R. Jenkins.”

  Everyone stood and applauded as they ran down the middle aisle, shielding themselves from the rain that was picking up. Latrel paused for a moment, mouthing that he loved me and nodding his head at Roc. I blew a kiss to him, sealed with approval.

  Giving the wedding party time to leave, I held my tiny purse over my head, trying not to let the rain damage my hair too bad. The carriage and horse had brought Angelique to the wedding, but she and Latrel, along with the wedding party, were leaving in limousines. They rushed to the limousines, getting ready to take the short drive over to the reception that was at a nearby indoor banquet room. After everyone got into the limousines, the guests started to leave. By now, the rain was coming down pretty hard so everyone was rushing.

  “I’ll see you in the car,” Monica said, squinting from the rain. She looked at Roc. “Are you coming too?”

  “It depends. But I need to talk to Dez for a minute.”

  “Okay, but don’t be long.” Monica gave me a quick hug, then ran off to the car.

  I continued to hold my purse over my head, but it did me no good. My hair was getting flat and I could feel my heels sinking in the ground. As for Roc, he was completely drenched. He reached out his hand to move my hair away from my face, gazing at me with his lowered, hooded eyes.

  “You look so sexy,” he said, blinking his wet eyelids. “Damn, you’re gorgeous.”

  “Too bad being beautiful has never stopped me from getting hurt. What’s going on, Roc?”

  “I’ma make this quick, but, uh, I just wanted to tell you that I moved, but not too far. I live in Kansas City, Missouri now, and I wondered if you and Chassidy would consider movin’ there with me? I’m ready, baby. I am so ready to do this shit with you. I got my shit together, got a job, and lookin’ forward to startin’ a new life with you. I want you as my wife, and the sooner, the better. Tell me what you’re thinkin’. Can we do this shit or what?”

  I lowered my head, knowing deep inside that I still loved him so much. I had been miserable without him, but had done my best to ignore the void in my heart. I felt like we had been to hell and back, but the time had come for us to stand still. I slowly moved my head from side to side. “I’m sorry, baby, but your timing couldn’t be more off. I believe that people come into your life for a reason, season, or a lifetime, and your season is over. Obviously, you were never meant to be my lifetime, and the way you continue to walk in and out of my life shows it. If I allow you to, you will continue to come and go as you please, but not anymore, Roc. You hurt me too bad this time, and I can’t let you do it again. The one thing I regret is letting you back in. I could have prevented all of this from happening to me twice. I soooo wish things could have turned out differently between us, but the ball was always in your court, never mine. I truly wish you well, and take care of yourself.”

  I reached out, just to give Roc a hug. He didn’t hug me back, but that was perfectly okay with me. I ran off, shielding myself from the rain with my hand, and intending not to look back.

  “Black love,” Roc shouted. “No matter what, you can’t fight it! It’s there, Dez, and it’s always gon’ be between you and me.”

  I turned, just to get one last glimpse at his handsome self standing in the rain. I had to respond. “You’re so right about Black love, Roc,” I shouted back. “It’s out there and I’m not giving up because one . . . two men didn’t get it right. Keep the faith, and I hope you don’t give up on true Black love either!”

  I hurried to open the door to Monica’s car, and hopped in on the passenger’s side. My eyes connected with Roc’s as he continued to stand motionless in the rain. While it may not have worked out between us, I was so serious about not giving up on love. No matter what age a man was, or I was for that matter, Black love was still out there and I was determined to find it.

  Monica pulled away from the curb and I let out a deep sigh. I was pained that my season with Roc was over, but eager to see what my lifetime had in store for me. After this much experience with relationships, I felt ready to meet my soul mate. It wasn’t Reggie, and unfortunately, it wasn’t Roc either.

  TELL ME ABOUT IT!

  By Nikki-Michelle

  (for Sam and Michelle)

  Chaper 1

  My life has always been mundane and for the most part, I have been okay with that. Mundane has kept me free from most of the dramas of life, women, and men. I have no man and no desire to have one. I have been that way for the last four years. The last man I dated was so busy lying that even he didn’t know when he was
telling the truth. It wasn’t like he did a lot of lying about cheating, not to say that he wasn’t, but it was other simple things that irked my nerves. Like, why lie about your grades in school or why lie about why you haven’t taken your car to the shop to get it fixed yet? Simple stuff like that irked me.

  I liked to stay to myself mostly because that meant no worries of trust and people issues, but it seemed as of late the drama followed me to work. Come on five o’clock. I kept chanting that inside of my head all day! I was tired, sleepy, and cranky as hell. I had to do way more work than I was being paid to do and the slackers that worked with me annoyed me too. I had been in the same cubicle for four years at this simple entry level position at Atlanta’s top marketing and advertising firm. B&G Marketing and Advertising had almost been run into the ground by the former executives and CEO. With all of the sex scandals and sexual harassment lawsuits being thrown at the company left and right, it’s a wonder we are still standing.

  “You okay over there Chyanne?” Justin asked when I answered my earpiece.

  We were working on some research and analytics for this contract that the company had just acquired. We had landed a major deal with a big production company in Atlanta to do all of their marketing and advertising so it was imperative that we get this done on time. There were seven floors in this building, not including the basement. And the whole sixth and seventh floors had been fired. All the old executives were out. They didn’t leave one.

  I nodded. “Yeah I’m good.”

  “You sure, girl? Because you are as quiet as a damn mouse.”

  He laughed and swung his invisible hair. Justin was as gay as gay would ever get. Let him tell it, he was more woman than me and that was no easy feat since I was what America considered full figured. A big girl some called it. My thirty-six double-D’s made me curse them at times and my thighs touched when I walked, but they were not overlapping each other. I was a size sixteen and could squeeze my big ass, and I mean that literally, into a fourteen. Hell just last month I had lost myself and was pushing a size eighteen. I quickly threw away juice and everything that wasn’t chicken or fish. I mean don’t get me wrong, I had no problem with being super thick, but I didn’t want the diabetes and high blood pressure that ran in my family either. I was deathly afraid of being taken out of here like that. So no, I didn’t have washboard abs, but damn it, I made my clothes look good!

  “Yeah. Just trying to get this report done,” I answered.

  “You know why everyone is walking on eggshells around here today, right?”

  Justin was also a gossip queen.

  “No.”

  “Bitch, I swear! You are so clueless sometimes,” he fussed. “We could have a hurricane in this bitch and your ass wouldn’t notice.”

  I giggled a bit. “Shut up and tell me!”

  “Well, today is the day that the new CEO makes his debut on the first floor.”

  I turned to look at Justin and he made a dramatic effect, nodding his head and turning his lips down. His cubicle was right across from mine. The new CEO had been here for weeks cleaning house.

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes Ma’am. That’s why that sour pussy bitch Lola has been prancing around here all morning. How much do you want to bet she has already sucked his dick?”

  “Are they firing people down here too?”

  “Seems like it girl! You know that girl Andrea right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well she just filed another sexual harassment claim against the company and John’s old white ass.”

  “Damn! His old cripple dick was getting with and at everybody huh?”

  “Yes Ma’am! But bitch let me tell you, that new CEO is sexy as fuck. You hear me?”

  I kept typing and laughing, while Justin kept talking. “Girl that thang came down here early this morning before you got in and I almost dropped down and sucked his dick for fun.”

  “Ewww Justin! Really? Save me the graphics will you?”

  He laughed a little. “Girl that fucker is fine! You hear me and he’s a brother.”

  “If he’s a brother and he’s that fine then he’s probably down low gay. You know how they do.”

  I expected Justin to agree but I heard his line click. When I went to glance over at him, my eyes stopped at the waist and blue suit pants of someone standing directly in front of my cubicle. I got annoyed and looked up into hazel brown eyes. He had a bald head with a smooth baby face. Dimples were easy to see, evenly placed on each side of his cheeks. He had thick eyebrows with long curly lashes that gave his eyes an exotic appeal. He stood in a wide legged stance with his arms folded across his chest. His expression showed something that I couldn’t read. I removed my earpiece and looked back up at him.

  “Chyanne, is it?” He asked. I could tell he was from New York. His accent was thick.

  I nodded. “Yes, it is.”

  “Is there anything you want to ask me about my personal life?”

  Everything and person in the place was quiet. Even the clocks seemed to have stopped ticking.

  “No sir, there isn’t.”

  I assumed this was the CEO.

  “You sure? Because you could have fooled me.”

  “I said I didn’t,” I snapped.

  The way his eyebrows lifted told me I had touched a nerve with my tone of voice.

  Before walking off he said to me, “Before you leave today, I need to see you in my office.”

  His whole demeanor, attitude, and accent grated my nerves. Even the way he strutted over to the elevator worked me. He must have come in from the stairs because he sure didn’t come off the elevators or I would have seen him. Justin cut his eyes over at me and mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’. I shrugged and went back to my report. I was a little antsy for the rest of the day. It was well known around here that I didn’t take any mess or hold my tongue, but the proof was in the pudding. Out of the five degrees I have, a Master’s in business and a BA in marketing is what got me this job, and yet here I was in an entry level position. I finished all of my reports at around 4:00 p.m. and since I was set to leave at five, I packed up my belongings and headed to the elevator. Hell if he was going to fire me, it was going to be on their time. I could see a few people eyeballing me, wondering if they could have my hours once I was gone. I stepped onto the elevator and rode it up to the seventh floor. I caught my reflection and saw my fro was all over the place. I had one of those wild manes that would make Angela Davis’s fro look like a baby fro. I ran my hand threw it to try and give it a better look. That didn’t help. Oh well.

  I gave myself the once over. I had on all black everything; black cropped dress shirt, black wide legged dress pants, and black six inch caged Chanel booties. I could feel my phone vibrating in my purse. It was probably April. She was my best friend. Had been for the last five years. I’d call her back later. After I find out if I still had a job or not. The elevator stopped with a ding and I stepped off onto the seventh floor. I made no qualms in speaking to anyone. Even when the guard asked me who I was there to see, I kept walking right past him.

  I rounded the corner and walked down the long corridor. I could see Lola in his office. Mr. McHale’s office was big enough to house a small family. The only thing that wasn’t made of glass was his big cherry oak wood door. He had the blinds pulled up. Smart move. Guess he didn’t want any trouble. Judging by the way Lola was acting, she had probably already sucked his dick like Justin said. Lola annoyed me too. She was light, bright, and darn near white. She had a honey blonde weave with a Kelly Rowland body and a Kim Kardashian outlook on life. By the time I made it to his office, she was coming out and heading back to her desk. The rude trick didn’t even speak. She cut her fake honey golden eyes at me and shook her head with a smirk that said she knew something I didn’t know. I ignored her and without knocking walked right into the CEO’s office. He stopped what he was doing, quirked an eyebrow, and tilted his head. I could tell he was either surprised that I had come early o
r surprised that I had walked right in.

  “Have a seat Chyanne,” he said to me.

  Like hell I was. If he was going to fire me, I was not going to sit down for it. I watched as he turned and put some papers away in a file cabinet behind him. When he turned back around to see me still standing by the door, he stopped mid stride and looked at me. I watched as he calmly pulled his big black desk chair back and sat down.

  “Will you please have a seat? This shouldn’t take long,” he said to me.

  “If it won’t take long there is no need for me to sit.”

  He frowned a bit and this time the expression on his face showed annoyance. I could care less. He inhaled and exhaled before brushing his fingers across his lips. He had full lips. Thick lips. My eyes were drawn to his lips.

  “Look, I understand what you all had to deal with before I got here, but that’s not the case with me. So if you would, please, have a seat.”

  I switched my purse from one hand to the other and made my way over to the black cushioned wing back chair in front of his desk.

  “Good! Now first things first. You’re fired.”

  I closed my eyes and sucked in my bottom lip to keep from snapping.

  He kept going. “Now tell me why a woman with three degrees, a Master’s in Marketing, a BA in business, and Associates in accounting, is still in entry level after four years?”

  I looked at Lola as she pranced through the doors with bright red pants that looked like they were painted on. They were so tight I could see all that she had been blessed with. She handed him a file and switched back out. He told her thank you and turned his attention back to me right after moving his eyes from her assets. That woman had a gap so big in between her legs that I could fly a 747 through it.

  “Care to answer my question,” he asked me as he put the file on the desk and clasped his hands together. He licked his lips and stared at me.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I don’t lay on my back for positions,” I shrugged for dramatic effect. “You know how it is.”