She held up a hand and stopped my comment.
“As I stated earlier, Silver, we do not have a policy in place as it relates to fraternization. If we did, it would force me to implement disciplinary action, up to and including termination. I will advise that HR is aware of this matter, and they are currently crafting a policy to deal with matters like this. They will require all staff to sign the policy effective immediately, and they will strictly enforce the policy and discipline for those who violate it. Consider this your verbal warning,” Claire warned.
Tears stung my eyes, and my belly filled with shame. How had I allowed myself to get in this position? How had I not been more of a professional?
“That will be all,” Claire said as she turned back to her computer.
“Umm...who...who will be his assistant?” I asked.
“Maria Ortiz.”
That was like dropping a weight on my foot. I swallowed back any comments I might have made about that when she levied a firm glance at me.
“Is there anything else, Silver?”
Licking my lips, I inhaled deeply.
“Yes, can you tell me how you found out about this? Was it Ryan?”
“That information is confidential, Silver. You know that when someone comes to me in confidence, I am not at liberty to disclose that information,” she said.
“But...but everyone could be told about my relationship with Kole, and that isn’t confidential?” I remarked hotly.
“Look,” Claire said, standing and resting her fingers on the desktop. “I have certain rules that I have to uphold around here. I cannot control the gossip mill. That has always taken on a mind of its own. So, however they found out, I’m not sure, but I’m in no position to manage that. I am in a position to manage my staff that is bordering on insubordination,” she replied in a low but firm tone.
I caught her thinly veiled threat and backed up to the door.
Pulling it open, I stopped when she said one more thing.
“Oh, and Silver, if I were you, I would avoid being seen with Kole. Management will be keeping a close eye on you for a while,” she said.
I swallowed over the lump in my throat, nodded, and returned to my cubicle.
Kesha was sitting at her desk when I returned.
Frowning, she mouthed, “You okay?”
I shook my head no, and she stood and came to my desk.
“Come on. We’re taking a lunch break,” Kesha commanded.
“But you just got here,” I said, looking up at her.
She lifted one brow, and her smooth coffee brown skin became etched with deep frown lines around her eyes. “I don’t give a shit. Let’s go, now!” she hissed.
“THAT BITCH THREATENED you? I’ll cut her ass!” she hissed across the table where we sat for lunch in the downstairs café.
My tuna salad sandwich remained untouched because I hadn’t had an appetite at all.
“Yeah, but...there’s no need for both of us to lose our job. I swear, Kesha, I wanted to quit and walk out of there.”
“You should’ve. Left that heifer looking all kinds of crazy and cross-eyed. Claire wouldn’t have any idea how to do your work or train anybody else to do it. You’d have left this department jacked up, and I can’t say they don’t deserve it. What you do here isn’t valued enough by this department. And what you do outside the walls of this company ain’t nobody’s business. The fact that they didn’t have a policy in place points to that. Hell, even if they do put a policy in place, there’s not shit they can do about you and Kole. Y’all were already a thing before the policy, and he ain’t a staff member anyway,” Kesha argued.
“I know, but what am I going to do? Go work at my sister’s shop? No, thank you. That nail life is not for me,” I said, shaking my head.
Kesha’s lips puffed out as she tried to contain her laughter, but she failed miserably. Her laughter was contagious, and soon I found myself laughing, too.
“What’s so funny,” I asked after we regained our composure.
“I cannot see you doing anybody’s nails. Your sister will be firing you before the day is over. And you’re damn sure not touching mine,” she said, glancing down at her greenish-blue ombre colored nails with diamonds on each tip.
“You’re right about that,” I said, picking a piece of crust off my sandwich and flipping it back onto my plate.
Flipping her braids over her shoulder, she leaned across the table. “Now, sis, let’s talk about the real reason that I’m pissed.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I said, “What?”
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me your ass was screwing fine ass, Kole Smith? I thought we shared everything?”
No, we didn’t. I shared certain things with Kesha, including when I was dating someone, which was nonexistent after my screw up with Ryan. But I didn’t tell sex details. Well, I hadn’t in a long time because there was nothing to share.
“Um, I don’t know. It just kinda happened.”
“Is that what y’all be doing when y’all working late nights? Waiting for everyone to leave so, y’all can get busy in his office?”
Shaking my head, I laughed. “No, we haven’t gotten busy in his office.”
“Shit! Girl, you must be crazy. I’d be lying on that desk with my legs spread, and his ass would be all down there. His head between my legs and that big dick! Girl! I know he’s got a big one, you can see it through his pants. Does it hurt?” she whispered.
My eyes widened, and I placed my hand over my mouth, laughing. “Kesha! I am not sharing that kind of stuff with you. That’s oversharing,” I said after I’d stopped giggling.
“Honey, inquiring minds wanna know. I mean, look at his big ass. He looks like he’d tear some shit out the frame. Hell, everybody wants to know how your little bitty ass can handle him. I told them ‘Ancient Chinese secret!’” she said, laughing.
Shaking my head, I said, “Kesha, I’m not Chinese.”
She waved me off and said, “Girl, please. I know that you’re Korean. But them stupid sons of bitches don’t know that. They think that’s all the same. Ignorant muhf—”
“Kesha, it’s okay, really. I don’t care about them anyway. They’re the least of my concerns right now. What I’m wondering is, was it Ryan who spilled the beans and whose been spreading my business?”
“Girl, don’t play stupid on this one. You know that it was Ryan’s jealous ass. He’s been pissed ever since you were assigned to Kole. You spend so much time in his office you wouldn’t hear the cutting comments he makes about it. I don’t tell you that shit because his ass is a nonfactor,” she said, picking up her iced tea and taking a sip.
“That’s just an educated guess, but we don’t know that for a fact, Kesha,” I denied, although I knew in my heart that it was true.
She set her cup of tea down on the table hard. “Stop being so naive and letting people walk over you. It was his ass, and you need to check the shit out of him. Let him know he’s not getting the punany, and he needs to stop cock-blocking. The reason that I know it was him was because Maria told me he was here earlier this morning. Before you came to work, he was showing a video to her and some of the other members of the team. Ryan waited until Claire came in to speak with her and showed her the video. Then his punk ass left early before you or Kole got here saying that he wasn’t feeling well, but he’d only come in because he thought it was important that she knew that shit. Punk ass!” Kesha hissed.
“Wait...what video?”
Shrugging, she said, “I didn’t see it obviously because I wasn’t here. But Maria, Latosha, Yasmin, Christina, and Roni saw it. They all had the same story. You’d just gone to Claire’s office when I arrived. They were all sitting around talking about it. It was taken this weekend at some outdoor fireworks celebration. He’d told them that he’d run into you two and exchanged some words. He said after he walked away, he saw you two crossing the street to Kole’s car. He’d videoed you two walking to the car and Kole kissing you. They s
aid that they could tell that he wasn’t that far from y’all when he recorded it because he got good images of both of your faces,” Kesha shared.
My blood rushed through my body. I was embarrassed and furious. I couldn’t believe that Ryan would invade my privacy that way and scandalize my professional name on the job.
“I don’t believe him. That was low. If he had an issue, he could have come to me. I guess it was okay for me to have sex with him and for him to harass me for months afterward, but it’s a problem when I willingly enter a relationship with another co-worker? He’s made comments in front of everyone, including managers,” I balked.
“That’s what I’m saying. Retribution is a motherfucker. Looks like someone needs to be slapped with a harassment complaint and suit,” she said, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. She munched it while lifting an eyebrow at me; a smirk played on her lips.
CHAPTER 21 – KOLE
“I knew something was up with you and that honey from the day she popped up over here. Don’t no woman come showing up unannounced at a dude’s house unless she wants something. ‘Specially not a co-worker,” Darnell said.
Shaking my head, I replied, “D, I’m telling you nothing was going on at the time. Did shit eventually pop off? Yeah, but not then.”
“And it was that photographer dude you said she’d dated before?” Darnell asked, scrunching his face up like he smelled a foul odor.
“Yeah, Ryan,” I said.
“I don’t get that shit. I mean, I’d think he’d realize the chick just ain’t into him like that,” Darnell replied.
“That brand of ignorance has no limits, D,” my cousin, Bishop chimed in.
“You’re right about that, B. He’s just a fucked up individual,” I confirmed.
“I still can’t believe he went back telling on you two like a little kid. The fact that he took time out to take videos. Who does that?” Bishop’s best friend, Zymir asked, chuckling under his breath.
“Punk asses like that,” Darnell offered.
The three of us were chilling at Zymir’s place. Saturday night boxing matches were our thing. Bishop had called us up when promoters first announced the Drake-Lewis fight. There was no way that I’d miss a fight of that magnitude, and I wouldn’t watch it anywhere else except with my boys.
So here we were on a Saturday night, barely paying attention to the undercard. We were all excited for the Drake Caruthers and Dexter Lewis re-match.
“So, what, you just quit kicking it with ole girl?” Darnell asked.
“Yeah, man, but I’m good on that. I wasn’t trying to wreck her life.”
“How do you figure that you’re wrecking her life?” Bishop asked.
“When I met with her boss last week, she mentioned that the HR team was going to put a no-fraternization policy in place to address future issues like this. She advised me that if I care about Silver, I should step back to protect her job.”
“Damn!” Darnell whispered. “That’s harsh. But I’m surprised yo’ stubborn ass listened. You don’t normally listen to shit nobody’s got to say.”
“Me, too,” Karina, Zymir’s fiancée, said, stepping into the room and bringing a platter of food for us.
Karina was the reason fight night was always at Zymir’s house. She was an excellent cook and had a restaurant at one point. Now, she had a cooking channel on YouTube, created cookbooks, and her cooking show on a cable network. The woman had made millions using her gift to make a living and making people happy.
Laughing, I turned toward her. “KK,” I said, calling her by her nickname, “I always listen.”
“No, you don’t,” she said, shaking her head and placing a hand on her hip after she’d set the platter down. “Because if you did, then you wouldn’t have wasted your money bringing that cheap wine you brought in here.”
Everyone laughed.
Zymir tugged on Karina’s hand, and she leaned down, kissing his lips.
“So, it’s like that now, KK?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s like that. You know Zy’s just going to pour it down the sink when you leave,” she said.
“Babe!” Zymir said, his eyes widening.
She smiled, blowing a kiss at him before escaping the room, leaving a trail of giggles behind her.
“Do not listen to my woman. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Zymir said, his accent getting thicker in his embarrassment.
We all laughed again.
“That’s a definite no-no. Not listening to KK will have us all in the dog house,” my cousin, Bishop said.
Darnell nodded his head in agreement.
“What were we talking about before she came in?” Zymir said, not wanting to linger on the moment any longer.
“The girl that Kole works with and putting space between them because of the boss lady,” Bishop offered.
“Yeah, my decision was made because this wasn’t about me. Baby girl is a victim in all of this, and I don’t know her life situation like that. Besides, this ain’t no love affair. I wasn’t trying to have her quit her job or get fired for me. Not when we might be on to something new in a few months down the road,” I said.
“You got a point there,” Bishop agreed. “Obviously, it didn’t impact your role there. So, what’s going on with you and your consulting firm?”
“Yeah, didn’t you say that you were working on getting a government contract?” Darnell asked.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding my head. “I have a meeting with this guy, Chandler Wade. We used to work together on another contract assignment that I had. He’s working for the state government now, and they’re looking for a new contractor. So, he called me up and told me about it, asked me to put together a proposal. I did, and that was a few weeks back. He shot me an email invitation to come to his office next week to discuss some things. Now that this contract with K-102 is almost up, I’ll be able to focus my attention solely on my consulting firm. Getting contracts like the state contract will be a huge feather in my cap.”
“You need a website, Kole,” Zymir chimed in.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been looking on this website called Fiverr for someone to do it for me. But I haven’t had a chance to respond to the recent inquiries that I’ve had. Wrapping up this contract takes all my spare time. I shared my recommendations with their board and executive team Wednesday. I’m sure the fallout will come by the first of the week if there’s gonna be any at all.”
“I hope your girl doesn’t get caught up,” Zymir said as the music on the TV started blaring, announcing Dexter Lewis’ entrance into the arena.”
“Yeah, me, too,” I muttered as I pulled the beer bottle up to my lips and took a swig.
While Zymir, Darnell, and Bishop’s attention turned to the fight, I was lost in my thoughts about Silver. I’d heeded Claire’s advice to steer clear of her, but that was only because I wanted to protect her. Silver had made that easy by not seeking me out either.
She was still holding that same energy from the fourth of July.
I wasn’t worried about what they might do to me. My contract was signed, and there was nothing in there about fraternization either, although I knew it wasn’t professional. I wasn’t ignorant of the fact, and it was the reason I’d never gotten caught up in the past.
But something about Silver felt right. Yet, no matter how good it felt, it was scary as hell to get caught up like that again. I’d finish up the final week ahead. They would pay me the remaining amount on my contract, and I’d be on my way.
But Silver, on the other hand, was a different story. I hoped that they didn’t find a way to cut her job in their decision making. Her work ethic, productivity, and results were excellent. They couldn’t be questioned.
Her messing with me? Well, that wasn’t the most professional thing, but shit!
Although she had initiated shit with me first, I was a big boy. I should’ve turned her little ass down no matter how sexy she was. I’d done it in the past, so what made this ti
me any different? Why hadn’t I been able to turn away from her?
Because you had her up in your apartment, dumb ass, I thought.
That little Ryan asshole was suspiciously absent this week, when before he was always sneaking around.
The rest of the staff remained respectful to me, but I’d caught more than a few of the ladies giving me the eye. More so than before. Their eyes dropping down to check out my package and shit. That wasn’t respectful, but it didn’t bother me either.
I was counting down the days remaining on my contract. As soon as it ended, I had every plan on heading upstairs two floors above my apartment to deal with Silver. If she thought she was getting off that easy, I had another thought for her.
Silver was too damned docile in some ways. I loved that shit when it came to me and when it came to the bedroom. But I wanted her to step up and take a more involved role when it came to people walking over her. That shit wasn’t cool.
We would have time to talk about that, though. I planned on seeing her outside of the office when this was all said and done.
THE ELEVATOR DOORS were about to close just after I entered the lobby of my building around one in the morning. There wasn’t anyone around at this time of the morning, other than the security guard. Either everyone had returned home from partying, or they were still out. I jogged across the lobby and stuck my hand in the doors to keep them from closing.
When they popped open once more, I was just as surprised to see Silver standing on the elevator as she was to see me on the opposite side, staring at her.
I was speechless, taking in the tight-fitting metallic mini dress she wore and how it fit like a second skin. The smoke grey color complimented her warm beige coloring, and the matching stilettos gave her legs length. She wore a silver choker around her neck with large silver hoop earrings.
My eyes went up to take in the honey blonde color she’d dyed her hair, and my lips curled in a sneer. It was something she’d done in the last couple of days. Although we avoided one another at work, I still saw her.
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