I kept talking with Lily for about an hour longer, until I had to pee, so I stepped out to handle that. On my way back, I saw Avalon typing on her iPhone as usual, on her way to the elevators. That woman stayed on that damn phone, which was probably why she’d mastered not bumping into people even while not looking.
“Avalon?”
Popping her head up, she smiled. “Hey, I didn’t know you were here. Visiting Lily?” I didn’t even tell her about Lily or her name, so I wasn’t sure how she knew.
“Yeah, umm, why are you here?”
“Oh, I was just dropping a check off, per Ricky’s request. I have to go to a meeting though, sweetie, so have a good rest of the day, okay?” She kissed my cheek and pranced off. “Hello, yes…” She began speaking on her phone as she pressed the elevator button.
I wanted to ask what the check was for, but the bitch was in such a damn hurry.
Making my way back towards Lily’s room, I saw her being wheeled out. My worst fear had my heart beating, until she smiled and waved to me.
“Wh—where is she going?”
“I’m getting blood, silly!” she answered for the doctors.
“You found someone?” I quizzed.
“I guess so. The head doctor just ordered for us to bring her in to have the transfusion performed,” the female nurse spoke up, before she and her counterparts wheeled Lily off.
I went back into the room smiling, and when I sat down, I grabbed my phone. I wanted to call Ricky because I knew this was his doing. I loved how he handled things, and never let me sweat about shit. That was new for me, along with a lot of other things he did.
My mama always told me, during her tirades about North, that a man was supposed to provide me protection, security, love, and peace. She always told me North wasn’t that man and would never become that. I laughed at the fact that I actually thought he would be one day.
“I’m so happy they found a match.” Antonia broke me from my thoughts.
“Me too.” I half smiled. “Hey, why did you keep her same name? I thought adoptive parents usually changed the child’s name.”
“Yeah, but Mark and I liked the name Lily, so we just let her keep that and changed the last name.”
“How did you umm, meet my aunt?”
“I met her through a website where people who are looking to adopt children sign up. It’s mainly for those who are having a hard time with adoption agencies and are looking for other ways. I saw she had a newborn, and the price was steep, but Mark and I agreed to it because we understood how newborns were hot commodities.” Antonia reminisced as she stared off. “Anyway, she was cool about everything, we cut her the check, and a week later, she had Lily brought to us. I know this is hard to hear, but I promise I didn’t know. I was told you didn’t want Lily and couldn’t raise her. At the time, I was beyond desperate and didn’t think to try and meet you or investigate further.”
My heart broke listening to this, but something in her statement caught my attention.
“Charlie didn’t bring Lily to you?”
“Nope.”
I nodded and just looked off. This shit got crazier by the minute.
Lily had her transfusion done, and I stayed with her and Antonia for a little while before leaving. I didn’t want to, but I needed some rest, some food, and to talk to my baby. I couldn’t wait until he called.
***
“Perplexing Pegasus” by Rae Sremmurd played loudly at the lounge Bia and I were at. She wanted to come out and have a little fun, and we both wanted to celebrate Lily getting the transfusion she needed. However, since I was pregnant, we settled for a simple lounge in Hollywood.
The place was nice, though, and pretty turnt to not be a full-on club. The lights were very dark, with deep blue lights shooting all around, and a disco ball spinning above the miniature dance floor area. We had a table, and even though it was the middle of the week, there were a nice amount of people. You had the girls wearing next to nothing, attempting to get chosen, and the dudes flossing with their rent money probably.
Tonight I kept it simple, with a white tube dress that stopped mid-thigh, and some all-white sandal stilettos. My hair was down, and I had a side part that gave me an Aaliyah swoop on the other side. Bia wore a red short set, with red high-heeled boots, and as usual, her curly hair was wild.
“Thank you for coming.” Bia kissed my cheek.
“No problem. It’s better than sitting at home. That’s all I do outside of working and going to class.”
“Who are you telling? It feels good to get out.”
“Yes!” I laughed.
Bia and I danced a bit in our section, and about a couple minutes later, a group of guys came in. The front-runner and I made eye contact, and I knew exactly who he was; Focus. He hadn’t let up on my DM’s, but I didn’t say anything to Ricky because for one, it didn’t matter, and two, my baby would mop the floor with his ass and probably ruin his career. Like a lot of these rappers, Focus was supposedly tough, so getting his ass whooped by Ricky would kill that image.
“Draylah.” Focus grinned as he and his homies approached our area. “Got damn, baby.”
“Hey. This is my friend, Bia,” I replied, already wanting him and his dusty ass friends to walk away.
“Bia. Damn, birds of a feather…” He shook his head at Bia and licked his lips. I had hope that he’d like her instead, but then he turned back to me as his homeboy got up on Bia. “Draylah, when you gon’ stop playing?” Focus sat next to me.
“Playing about what? I have a man, and a kid too.” I rubbed my belly.
“Ya man is locked up, and from the sound of things—”
“From the sound of things, I may have to beat yo’ ass, bruh. Step up off her ‘fore I knock the shit out you,” a familiar voice hissed, and when I looked, Ricky was walking up into our area looking so good that I actually felt the wetness down below.
Don’t get me wrong, he looked sexy even in that damn jail suit, but seeing him dusted off and spruced up had me horny. He was sporting a crisp white polo, light denim jeans, and some blue and white-checkered, low-top, Old Skool Vans. The scent of his cologne rained down on me as I took him in, watching him smoothly and sexily walk up the stairs with that mean mug. His jewelry was minimal like always, but still something to look at. My baby never flossed too much, even though he definitely could.
“Oh shit, my bad, AK. I ain’t know—”
“Lie again, and I’ll crack yo’ shit.”
Focus took that warning and got his ass out of dodge. Before Ricky could turn to look at me, I hopped up, and he picked me up like it was nothing. We hugged for what seemed like an eternity, and I just closed my eyes tightly while rubbing the back of his head. After what seemed like forever, he let me down, and I reached up to palm the sides of his face just before we kissed passionately.
“Oh shit, sorry.” I looked down at Bia who was seated, and grinning hard as hell. She stood up to give Ricky a hug, and then sat back down.
Taking Ricky’s hand in mine, I let him sit down and then I sat in his lap, just as “How Many Drinks?” by Miguel came on. We both loved this song, so of course, I began to lip sync to him as he held me in his lap, with one hand on my belly.
He was so handsome, the way he was smiling at me while lip syncing the words with me. I couldn’t help it, so I began kissing him as his large hand caressed my stomach. Once the song was over, I turned around and he hugged me from the back, kissing on my neck as I sat in his lap.
“No thank you,” Bia told the guy trying to get at her for the fifth time.
“Aye, bruh, take yo’ ass on somewhere. Go beat ya dick in ya mama’s basement like you usually do.” Ricky frowned. “Corny ass muthafucka.”
The guy sucked his teeth and got up, finally leaving Bia alone. We all laughed when Bia silently thanked Ricky. We chilled for a little longer, but I was way too horny, so we all left about forty-five minutes later.
As soon as we got home, I led Ricky up the sta
irs, causing him to laugh at my urgency. Stepping into the bedroom, I dropped his hand when I saw the rose petals everywhere, and some fake candles lit. “Stingy” by Ginuwine was playing, which was a song he’d told me explained exactly how he felt. I remember the first time he’d asked me to listen to it, and the thought made me smile. The tears were already spilling over just that quickly.
The scenery was so beautiful, and when I turned to face him he was leaning up against the door with a subtle smile. His eyes were low, and when he licked his lips, my clit throbbed a little.
“Baby, what is this?”
Silently, he walked to me and sat me down on the bed carefully. He then got down on his knee, as I held my breath a little bit.
“We’ve been tested plenty of fucking times during the course of this relationship, baby, but I always had faith in what we had. You got me to understand that it was aight to love a woman other than my grandma. I’m happy as a muthafucka that I kept a hold on that shit until I met you, because you’re the only woman who deserves it. And I hoped I’ve proved myself worthy of yours too. So you gon’ marry a nigga or what?” He pulled a ring box from the nightstand drawer next to us, and lifted the top.
The diamond was big, beautiful, and much more expensive looking than the one he’d given me in Miami.
“Of course, Ricky.” I whimpered and watched as he slid the ring down on my finger. “How are you out?”
“Hoe ass judge came to her dusty wig wearing ass senses and let me out on bail. Shit was two million fucking dollars.”
“Damn. Well I’m happy you’re here. We just have to keep you here.” I smiled as he pecked my belly. “I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me.” He ran his hands up my thighs, pushing my dress up. He looked up to me while biting his lip, as he grabbed the waistband of my panties and tugged on them.
“Ricky, we’re having two babies; a girl and a boy.”
It was quiet as I looked down at him, and he stared up at me with no expression.
Tossing my panties to the floor, he rose up and began tonguing me down until I was lying back on the bed.
“I guess you’re happy.” I giggled.
“Hell fucking yeah.” He groped my thighs roughly and pulled me closer. “I busted a big one and the shit was too much, so now it’s two muthafuckas in there.”
“Shut up!” I laughed before we resumed kissing.
Chapter Three: Bia
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Hey, we can head out to the meeting in about ten minutes, is that cool?” Kito peeked his head into my office, and I gave him a smile and nod.
“Sounds good.”
“Alright.” He left back out, leaving the smell of his cologne to travel through the air in my office.
Speaking of my office, I couldn’t believe I actually had one. Just last year around this time, I was damn near flat broke, walking around a damn tavern half naked. It was no lie when people said your life could change in the blink of an eye, because mine definitely had. I was a lost soul just six or seven months ago, but now I felt like I was finding myself, which made me happy.
I heard another knock on my door, and I couldn’t quite see who it was since my door was basically an opaque window surrounded by wood.
“Come in!” I shouted, rising to my feet to put everything I needed for my meeting into my bag. “Oh, Donna.” I smiled.
Donna was the receptionist here, and kind of everyone’s assistant. We didn’t need much from her, and since it was only four of us in the office, including Guinevere, the load wasn’t too much on her.
“Hi, Miss George. I just wanted to let you know that someone was here to speak with you. She said her name was Lacie Johnson.”
I cocked my head because that name definitely sounded familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint where I’d heard it. They couldn’t possibly be here to talk business, because I hadn’t been here at GM long enough for that name to match up timeframe wise. This was someone from a while ago, I was sure, but I wasn’t really sure how I knew them or where I knew them from.
“Okay, send her back here, please.”
“Sure thing.”
I sat back down, and as I did, I checked my watch, making sure I was still on track for time. I didn’t want to be late to the next meeting Kito and I had because it was a very big deal. We were working with a superstore similar to Target, and if we locked that account down, I would be sure Guinevere wouldn’t hesitate to keep me around.
“Hello.” Lacie stepped into the room, and still, I didn’t recognize her. She was a pretty girl, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the baby bump she was sporting under her dress. From her attire, she appeared to be in the corporate world of some sort, but I wasn’t sure.
“Hi, Lacie, how can I help you?” I gestured for her to have a seat.
“I don’t need to sit. I want to make this really quick so that hopefully we have some sort of understanding.”
Squinting my eyes, I replied, “Okay.”
“I don’t know what you and Qamar have going on, and honestly, I couldn’t care less, darling. If you love him, fine by me. But what you need to do as a woman is check your nigga about handling his responsibilities. I don’t want a baby by his whack ass just as much as he doesn’t want a baby by me, but it happened, and now he needs to be a man and handle it. From the looks of things, I don’t take you as the type of woman to deal with a man who skips out on his children, but I could be wrong.”
After a slither of silence, I couldn’t help but to laugh. I was laughing because this was the exact type of drama I knew Qamar would bring to me if I had stuck around like a fool. And secondly, it was funny that this bird thought I wanted her baby daddy or was with him. Lastly, this woman had clearly gotten pregnant while Qamar was messing around with me, which further proved how disgusting and reckless he was.
“Lacie, I no longer deal with Qamar, and I haven’t for a while. If you’re having trouble convincing him to handle his business, there is nothing I can do for you.”
Her deep scowl disappeared almost instantaneously as soon as I said I wasn’t with Qamar. She didn’t look happy, though; she looked sad and defeated, almost as if I were her last resort.
“Are you guys at least friends?”
“No, we are not.”
“Okay, well, if you see him or anything, can you let him know he needs to call me. Also tell him that, a certain someone knows.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
I nodded to say ‘okay,’ and after having an impromptu staring contest, Lacie left my office. I saw I had about five more minutes, so I picked up my office phone and dialed Qamar up. I waited as the line trilled, leaning back in my chair and clutching the phone tightly as if it were his skinny neck.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Qamar, this is Bia.”
“Baby—”
“I’m gonna make this shit quick, easy, and simple for you. If one of your bitches ever shows up to my job again over some bullshit, I’m gonna kill you and her. Got it?”
“What? Who showed up to ya job?”
“Some bitch named Lacie! She came up here, stomach about as big as Santa Claus’, going off on me about your damn baby!”
“I told her stupid ass I was busy.”
“Well tell her again, nigga. Keep telling her whatever you want to, but make sure she does not show her face up here again, or anywhere that I frequent. I am not your woman, and even if I were, you’d still need to get it in order, young man.”
“Aight, I hear you. What you doing later?”
“Nigga, bye.”
“Bia—”
I slammed the phone down, and right as I shot up from my seat, Kito had knocked and stepped in.
“Hey, it’s probably best we leave now, but if you need a little time, I can wait a little bit for you.”
“Nope, I’m good to go. Who is driving?”
“I can.”
Kito and I left the office, and
got into his silver Lexus GS. It smelled of his cologne, which was a nice, pleasant, manly scent.
“If there is a certain type of music you wanna hear, you can plug your shit up or whatever.” He smiled.
“No, I’m good. Sometimes a quiet ride is good, especially before a meeting as big as this one.”
“Don’t I know it?” He pulled out onto the busy streets of downtown.
“Have you ever had a meeting as big as this one? Or have you usually only stuck with small clients.”
“I have had them, but usually, Guinevere would have the whole team work it. I’ve never done one this large with just myself and another person.”
“Oh damn.” I exhaled.
“But I think we can handle it. You’re smart as hell, and I’m even smarter, so we good.” He turned to me grinning, and I just laughed and shook my head.
“I may still have a little time left before I get that degree, but trust me, honey, I am definitely smarter.”
“Aight, we gon’ see. Don’t get up in there sounding like Porky the Pig in front of these people now.”
“Boy, bye!”
We chuckled in unison.
For the rest of the ride, we pretty much talked business; going over what we were gonna say, how we wanted to say it, and what were gonna be our strong points.
I admit I was nervous as fuck, but the meeting went beyond smooth. Kito was a natural; the way he talked, explained things, and how well he was able to get along with pretty much anybody. He had me and our potential clients smiling hard the whole time, and I loved the way he put me out there to talk on my own while not leaving me completely hanging. I was pretty sure we’d gotten the account, but I didn’t want to jinx it.
“I think we got that one.” Kito smiled as we stepped off the elevator and started across the parking structure.
“I hope so, but don’t speak too soon. If you jinx this, I will never forgive you.”
She Got It Bad for a Heartless Gangsta Page 9
