Leo - Mr. Boss: The 12 Signs of Love (The Zodiac Lovers Series Book 8)

by Tiana Laveen

  He pressed his palm against her shoulder to turn her away, but she screamed out, causing him to immediately let go. The last damn thing he needed was the police being called, and the woman was definitely not above making false claims against him to further her agenda. She pointed her finger in his face, her red painted lips twisted as if she were disgusted, her forehead crinkled like an old brown paper bag. She looked like she was itching for a fight.

  This is what she wants. She is trying to egg you into hitting her. She wants your ass locked up.

  “You want to add domestic violence to the list?! You’re a big guy shoving a little woman! Who do you think they’ll believe?” she threatened, proving his suspicions. “Now, I suggest we have a talk about finances. I was going to wait until after your party, but since—”

  “Get tha fuck outta here! You can take me back to court a million times. It’s over! At the end of this year, you get your final check and not a penny more. We don’t have any dependents. You are fully able-body.”

  “You know what? You’re gonna go crazy just like your father.” She cackled as she twisted the knife deeper in him. “And I can’t wait to sit back and watch. As far as what’s owed to me, that’s a lot. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have all that you have, Laz.”

  “That’s complete bullshit.”

  “I helped you with Fallen Angel. I—”

  “You didn’t do shit but berate my employees, walk around there like the queen bee, and get on everyone’s fuckin’ nerves! They actually admitted to me recently that they’d thrown a private party when I came into work the day our divorce was final. A fuckin’ fancy farewell! The wicked witch is dead shebang! They tried to act all somber about it ’cause I was upset, but Heathen later told me that that same night they had an actual party over your ass! Jesus! Everyone hates ya, Mimi. You can’t get work in the industry anymore because of your bad reputation. So instead of gettin’ a normal job, you wanna leech off me and you can’t stand it that the free ride is almost over.”

  She rolled her eyes and yawned. “You want to be on my payroll without doin’ a bit of work. Not gonna happen. If I’m not fuckin’ ya, I don’t care about ya, I don’t love ya, or you don’t work for me, you don’t get shit! Those have always been my rules, and they serve me just fine.”

  “Yes… you and your impossible rules. Everyone must follow the big boss’ rules! Mr. Self-Important.” She dramatically rolled her eyes. Carelessly tossing his gift box on the floor, she crossed her arms over her breasts “And as far as that divorce party, why in the hell should I care? Those flunkies you hire—ha! Worthless! They hated me because I was always a better manager than you. You’ve got a bleeding heart for sob stories.”

  “Yeah, and I fell for yours, too… a bunch of lies and bullshit. I shoulda believed your ex-husband when he tried to warn me about you. Look, I’m done, okay? I am askin’ you for the final time to leave, Mimi. We’ve got nothing to say to each other and I refuse to let you ruin this for me, cause a big ass scene.”

  “Oh, but I have plenty to say to your new sweetheart…” His eyes narrowed on her. “You want to bring my morals into question? Let’s try yours out for size. Yeah, that’s right. I heard you’ve got a girlfriend now… not a bitch you just fuck.” She shrugged. “I would expect nothing less from you. You keep quite a few in rotation. But I’ve heard this is serious.” She grinned wide. “And the word on the street is that she’s a charming, pretty, innocent little thing… a dancer… how sweet!”

  “My relationship is none of your business.”

  “Oh, sure it is when it comes to matters of negotiations. I doubt that she is in any way privy to your dark deeds, Lucifer… oh, sorry, Lazarist. Don’t you think she’d like to know about who she’s really dating? So madly in love with?”

  He kept his composure, but his head was throbbing. Hard.

  “How about I march right on back into my dear sanctimonious mother-in-law’s lavish abode, find tha bitch in question, and let her know that her doting, generous, gorgeous, big-dicked daddy is nothing more than a filthy—”

  “GET OUT!” The woman burst out in a fit of laughter as she bent low, picked up the present, and turned to walk away. As she made her way down the hall, she glanced over her shoulder with a huge smile.

  “Lazarist, I suggest you call your attorney and extend my alimony, dear. For when it comes to my motherfucking coins, I always reach for the sky…”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Feed You to the Lions…

  LAZARIST HAD DOWNED two Heinekens, one Corona, and a glass of red wine, and he had no plans on slowing down. He’d cursed out a bastard passing by who looked as if he was trying to take a leak against his club wall, and swore to yank a motherfucker’s vocal chords out of his goddamn mouth if he didn’t quiet down. That had been the DJ setting up and arguing with his girlfriend on the phone, loud enough so patrons could hear. His temper was shorter than usual that day, and the littlest of things set him off like a rocket.

  Things had been… tricky, to say the least. A looming dark cloud hung over his head, the kind he wished he could ignore, but he knew Mimi all too well. She was a Pitbull in a skirt—once her teeth were in you, it would take an entire football lineup, wrestling squad, and hockey team to get her to turn you loose.

  Tobias sat across from him in his office, the place filling with second hand smoke. It was early afternoon, and tonight they had a special comedian being featured—a guy he’d never heard of but he was assured the fella was a big damn deal. Every seat was sold out, but instead of basking in the money fall, he chewed on the events of the last few days, seething at the thought of it all.

  The gold and ivory cake with the large jeweled crown from the bakery had looked less impressive after Mimi had dropped in like a shart and shit her negativity all over the fuckin’ place. He had cut a rug with his baby, forcing big smiles as he danced to the music but inside, he was all twisted up and enraged. Sky had even given him the perfect birthday gift – a pair of Tom Ford shoes he’d been eyeing for a couple of weeks.

  Mom had gone out of her way to make his special day fantastic. Everyone had showed up, even some people he hadn’t seen in months. He’d tried to push Mimi out of his mind during the party, but it proved damn near impossible. It hadn’t helped that Mom was going on and on about it, and Eliza had thrown flames on the fire by working the older woman up in a frenzy. He’d hoped everyone would just stop talking about the piece of shit; after all, that was what she wanted, all that attention.

  Tobias crushed his cigarette into the ashtray. The man had come by just to say hello, as he did from time to time.

  “Had to explain to Sky that my ex is greedy and out for my blood. Isn’t this just fantastic?!” He threw up his arms in exasperation. “Mimi has come up at least three times since the party… Jesus. So now my girlfriend’s dealing with a guy whose father is a basket case and an ex-wife who is foul beyond belief. Nobody needs this shit right now. Especially not her.”

  He hated the look on his best friend’s face, especially the way his black handlebar mustache twitched and swung up and down as though invisible, microscopic children were using it like a seesaw.

  “Shave that fuckin’ shit off…”

  “Huh?”

  “That stupid mustache you’ve grown out over the past few months. Looks like a fuckin’ toupee glued to your upper lip.”

  Tobias grimaced and shook his head.

  “Look, you bastard, don’t take your troubles out on me.” He laughed, drawing a grin from Lazarist. “Anyway, how’s your father doing? You haven’t brought him up in a while until just now.”

  “The last time I actually spoke to him, like discussion wise, we got into it worse than usual. I’m done, man.” Lazarist leaned back in his chair and waved his arm in disgust.

  “I hate to say it, but that’s probably for the best, Lazarist.”

  “He stopped by the other night, Sky was over and she was sleeping, none the wiser. I didn’t even bother
lettin’ him in, especially not with her there. I saw him on the camera and told him to leave. He tried to start up and I cut off the speaker and the lights. I can’t fuck with him anymore. I just can’t. Fuckin’ toxic. I’m so fucking sick of people.”

  They were quiet for a spell.

  “All right, man,” Tobias said, breaking the silence. He clasped his hands together and leaned forward. “Problem number two… What are we going to do about Mimi? I haven’t seen you this happy in a while, but if what you told me is true, then she’s going to really mess shit up for you. I am certain she means what she said.”

  “Oh, there’s no doubt she meant what she said. You can take that to the bank. Here’s the thing, though. She always told me that I taught her well about investments. I got to thinking about that long and hard after she pulled the shit she did at my birthday party. So now, I have a special gift for her, just like she had for me—only this one is a gift that will keep on giving. I’m gonna fuck all of her shit up, Tobias… Ya hear me?”

  “Shit… what are you cookin’ up?”

  He passed Tobias a glass of Scotch and leaned against the desk.

  “Check this out. She’s got assets, shit she doesn’t know that I know about.”

  “She told the judge she was broke.”

  “Exactly.” Lazarist smiled and steepled his fingers.

  “How did you find out about this?”

  “I hired a private investigator. He found out in less than twenty-four hours. She tried to say she was destitute. She’s full of shit. She has like three sugar daddies in rotation, and she’s been stockpiling my shit like she’s tryna build a fuckin’ fort with it. She bought some property out in France, too, but she has it in someone else’s name… sneaky whore. I’m goin’ after every damn dime she didn’t tell the judge about. She perjured herself! This could even include some jail time… You walk into the lion’s den, you never leave. She shoulda kept her ass out of my way.”

  “Shit!” Tobias swiped his forehead; his mouth was hanging open. “I mean, how though? How can you prove all of this? I know that you have the investigator but if it’s in someone else’s name then—”

  “It’s simple but you let me worry about the logistics. Trust me.” Lazarist narrowed his gaze on him. “It’ll be taken care of and the case is being built as we speak. I will be taking her ass to court this time. She should’ve left well enough alone.”

  “But really, ya know, Laz, you won’t have to worry about her if you remove the threat altogether.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Why don’t you beat Mimi to the punch and just tell Sky the truth? It was a long time ago. You could—”

  “Do you realize how hard it was to get that woman to trust me?! Do you have any fuckin’ clue how long I waited to even be intimate with her? Not because I wanted to wait, but I knew she was different, okay? She was worth the wait. This isn’t even about sex. It’s about my connection to this woman.”

  “How did you explain to her about Mimi’s debut?” He didn’t miss the smirk on the bastard’s face. It was a fucking mess. But there was no rewinding time. What was done was done.

  “I told ’er that Mimi has an axe to grind and that was that. I apologized to ’er if it made her uncomfortable. Sky acted okay about it, but I know she wasn’t. I could see it in her eyes… It upset her. I don’t like it when someone upsets her, even if that someone is me…” They looked at one another for a long while.

  “I can see why you love her, Lazarist. This one, and I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this!” The guy chuckled. “This one just may be the one.”

  “She is the one, Tobias… she really is. When I get a few things sorted, straightened out, I’m going to make her my wife.”

  “Whoa!” Tobias threw up his hands as if to say, ‘slow down.’

  “I’m serious. Third time is a charm. This is it. There’s not one doubt in my mind. Just the other day, I told ’er that the nightclub was getting a little remodeling. I sent some of the old mirrors ’nd shit over to her studio… those expensive custom made ones.”

  “Yeah, I know the ones.”

  “Do you know what she did with them?”

  “What?”

  “Instead of hawkin’ ’em, selling them or even using them herself – and trust me, she wanted them, there was some place over in Harlem – a little dance studio for kids that are underprivileged and she gave those damn mirrors to them.” Tobias’ eyes grew larger. “Exactly, alright? She cooked lunch for me and brought it over to the club last week when I told ’er I was too busy to break away. Besides my mother and Charity, nobody has ever prepared for me a homecooked meal. Ever. She’s helpin’ some really talented lady, some singer, with her music video pro bono because she thinks the woman’s song has a good message for Black women. I mean, Sky is financially stable, but she’s not exactly ballin’, okay? She could use the money – but her heart is so big, she doesn’t even care. She and my mother, sister and aunt had dinner over there at Gotham Bar and Grill and she kept tryna pay the bill, even though my mother is the one that asked her out.

  “My mother fuckin’ loves her, Tobias… they talk on the phone for God’s sake and text.” Tobias chuckled at that. Yeah, it was hard to believe… but it was happening. “My mother hasn’t liked anyone this much since Charity – and trust me, mom hates just about everyone. Sky is the best thing that ever happened to me. She gives me fuckin’ back massages, she makes me laugh, she’s supportive, she doesn’t tease me about me likin’ to bite her neck and wanting her to bite mine and she lets me do all kinds of freaky shit to ’er with no complaints – and she’s not a former fuckin’ porn star in order to do it, either. She loves me, man. I’ve been waiting a long time for this and it’ll be a cold fuckin’ day in Hell when I let Man-hater Mimi waltz in and destroy everything. Not gonna happen.” He tossed a catalog full of office furniture across the room in a rage. “She fucked with me at the wrong damn time.” He leaned in close and pointed his finger at Tobias.

  “I would say any time is the wrong time to fuck with you.” Tobias smiled, then lit a fresh cigarette.

  “You threaten me, that’s it!” Lazarist threw up his hand. “She wants war?” He snatched a bottle of cognac from his desk and poured some in a tumbler. “Then she’s got it. Lock ’nd load ’em, it’s time to blast…”

  IT HAD BEEN raining all damn day.

  Sky zipped up her gym bag and looked around the studio for a spell before removing her phone from her purse that sat on a nearby chair. She dialed her friend.

  Damn. This stupid voicemail again.

  “What up! This is Scarlet. Leave a message but please don’t make that shit too long because I will not listen to a bunch of rambling that goes on and on like a Tiana Laveen novel. Just get to the mothafuckin’ point and don’t send me a bunch of text messages either, like you writing a damn thesis because those will be ignored and deleted, too. Some of y’all are fuckin’ up my minutes, so make that shit short and concise. I ain’t got all damn day. Thank you.”

  “You really need to do something about that voicemail message, Scarlet!” Sky burst out laughing. “You’re a damn fool. Anyway, wanted to know if you and Toi maybe wanted to hook up and get drinks tonight. Call me back when you can. I thought you’d be off work by now.”

  Sky disconnected the call then made her way over to the small utility closet and pulled out a broom and dustpan. Even though she had a cleaning service come out a couple of times a week, tonight was not their night and she saw some crumbs over near a window, possibly from a cookie.

  Probably someone snacking when I told them no food or drinks besides water in here. She went over to the scene of the crime and began to sweep up the mess into the dustpan, humming as she went along. Just then, she heard the door swing open. When she turned and looked, her heart sank. Pure heated anger bubbled within her, along with a feeling of foreboding.

  Mimi stood a few feet from her, eyeing her like a venomous snake eyes its prey.
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  The woman was wearing a pair of yeast-infection-causing jeans, so damn tight, it was wonder she hadn’t passed out and died, then rose again like Easter Sunday. Her black high heels were tall, her crop top barely covering the large, manufactured breasts that bounced about within it. Two long, black silky braids were draped down the side of her body, hitting her just above the hip. Light brown eyes shimmered in the light and her mouth twisted in a mischievous smirk.

  “Hi, honey, are you Sky?”

  Sky placed her hand on her waist and twisted her lips.

  She gripped the broom a bit tighter, too… just in case it would come in handy.

  “Let’s not play these games. You know exactly who the fuck I am. What do you want?” The woman gave a tinkling laugh and began to walk towards her.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Sky warned. Mimi stopped in her tracks. “I’m closed. I didn’t invite you in; but of course I and so many others already discovered that you have a knack for coming to places where you’re not welcome.” Sky sucked her teeth and shrugged. “So why should this be any different?”

  “Look, baby, I’m not your enemy, all right?” The woman threw up her hands as if surrendering. Thick, gold bangles clanged together as she swayed to and fro. “We are both women of color in this big wide world, just trying to make it. Unfortunately, we fell in love with the wrong man, and that’s the only reason why I’m here… to warn you about Lazarist.”

  “There’s nothing that you need to say to me, share with me, or make me aware of, okay? And you can cut it out with the sisterhood of the travelling pants bullshit. Just because you are a woman of color doesn’t mean we are on the same team. Hell, we’re not even playin’ the same sport. Please leave.” Sky pointed towards the door.

  “Ohhhh, he’s got you good!” The lady’s eyes narrowed like some serpent’s. “Let me guess… your first date was magical, right? He joked a lot, wanted to get you in bed. You, being a good girl ’nd all, probably played the game to nab you a rich guy… acted coy and old fashioned. That only made him want you more. The chase was on. You’ve probably never had a man of means before, have you?” The woman offered a mock sad expression. “Never mind that. The point is, he is intoxicating.”