What We Won't do for Love (Love, Lies & Lust Series)

by Mz. Robinson

  “You have some of the best food in town. Especially the chocolate cake.” He licked his lips slowly. “I love it,” He said. “Almost as much as I love cotton candy.”

  Damon laughed but I wanted to slap the shit out of Beau’s trif-flin’ ass.

  “Well Damon, I better get going,” He said, reaching for Damon’s hand. “I look forward to doing business with you.”

  I watched the two of them exchange a friendly handshake while my stomach boiled.

  “Octavia, it was a pleasure meeting you.” He smiled, mischievously. “I hope to see you again.”

  He exited Damon’s office shutting the door behind him. My heart continued to beat hard inside my chest. I felt like I was going to pass out at any second. Damon wrapped his arms around me and kissed my lips. “Your heart is pounding,” He said. “Are you okay?”

  A part of me wanted to tell him everything but a bigger part told me not to mention my connection with Beau. “I’m fine,” I said, smiling weakly. “You just have that affect on me.”

  Placing my hand on his stiff crotch, Damon kissed me passionately. “Look what affect you have on me,” he whispered.

  I squeeze the stiffness in his pants trying to pretend that I had not just seen Beau in his office. “Um,” I said, not wanting to appear distracted.

  I was with Damon but I was worried about Beau’s crazy ass. Even after Damon told Ms. Louisa to go home for the day and we made sweet love right on his desk, I still couldn’t get Beau’s image out of my head.

  Chapter 31

  I knew there was no possible way Beau’s meeting Damon was just a coincidence. He was playing games with me. He confirmed my suspicions when he called me at the Ambiance the next day.

  “Hello.”

  “It’s a small world, huh, Ma?”

  “It ain’t that damn small.” I snapped.

  “How did you find Damon?”

  “That was pure luck.”

  “Why are you fucking with me?” I asked.

  “You fucked me then you fucked me over by running to the mutha-fucking police,” He said, inhaling.

  He was on the other end of the phone getting high. I was starting to believe that he was into more than just weed.

  “You fucked yourself by acting like a fifteen year old, that had his virginity stolen, “I snapped.” And who gave you permission to call me?”

  “The way I see it Shorty, is that I don’t need permission,” He said, inhaling then exhaling slowly. “I can do whatever the fuck I want. I’ve proved that time and time again.”

  I decided to take another approach with him because my previous methods were obviously getting me nowhere.

  “So what are you going to do?” I asked, calmly. “Tell Damon that we hooked up? Go right ahead sweetheart the ball is in your court.” I was calling his bluff. I knew this whole thing was not about Damon. “Besides,” I said.” Damon and I weren’t together then.”

  He laughed,” Your man Damon doesn’t have shit to do with this, Ma. This is about us.”

  “There is no us, Beau,” I said, irritated. “Move on.”

  This time he laughed so hard and loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “You can’t possibly think that this is all just about the pussy. You got me fucked up, Ma! I plan to put my name on that, no doubt, but right now the way I see it is you owe me.”

  “I don’t owe you a damn thing!”

  “You brought charges against me, causing me to be in the spotlight,” He said, anger in his voice.

  “Normally that’s an unforgivable sin in my eyes but I’m making an exception for you. You violated, but I’m willing to let you make it up to me.”

  “You put yourself in the spotlight,” I snapped. “The two of us have nothing to work out.”

  “Have it your way for now,” He said, calmly.” But I’m telling you Ma, I’m a man who always gets what he wants.” Then he hung up.

  Chapter 32

  I was going over my payroll for the week when Amel came bouncing into my office and told me Damon was outside in the dining area. I was surprised because he hadn’t mentioned he was stopping in, but I was always happy to see my man.

  He was sitting in the VIP section but he wasn’t alone. Beau was right there with him. The two of them were talking and laughing like two old friends. Just the sight of Beau made me want to scream. They both greeted me with smiles as I slid into the booth next to Damon.

  “Hey baby,” I said, giving him a small peck on his cheek. Looking across the booth at Beau I frowned, “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I’m trying to remember your name.”

  He gave me a smirk and said with an air of arrogance, “Beau.”

  Snapping my fingers I shook my head, “That’s right - Beau,” I said. “How are you, Beau?”

  “Fine.”

  Amel came to the table, her gray eyes shining bright. “Are you gentlemen sure I can’t get you anything?” She asked, smiling at Beau. It was obvious she was flirting.

  “No, thank you,” Beau said, never looking in her direction.

  A look of disappointment went across Amel’s face as she looked at me and said, “Let me know if you need anything.”

  Giving her a sympathetic smile, I nodded. I couldn’t blame her for her interest in Beau. The brother was fine. However, his not showing interest was actually a point in Amel’s favor because I seriously doubt I was the first woman he’d ever been obsessed with.

  After Amel was out of our sight Damon leaned in against the table. “What’s up, man, it’s obvious she’s feeling you,” He said, to Beau.

  Leaning back in the booth Beau looked at me, “You think so?” He asked.

  “Damon, how do you know this?” I asked, knowing I had felt the same thing.

  Looking at me seductively Damon smiled, “Because she was looking at him like you always look at me.”

  “And how is that?” I asked, sweetly.

  “Like you want me.”

  I could see Beau out of the corner of my eye, he was fuming with jealously. “So Dam you think ole’ girl wants me?” He asked his voice cold.

  Looking across the table, Damon said,” No doubt.”

  Beau didn’t respond he just cut his eyes at me and gave me a wicked smile.

  “I’d better get back to work,” I stuttered, squeezing Damon’s hand gently. “I’ll see you at home, baby.”

  “I love you, Baby.”

  Kissing Damon’s lips quickly, I whispered, “I love you too.”

  I left without saying a word to Beau. The two of them sat in the booth for another twenty minutes, shook hands and got up to leave. Damon walked out first with Beau following close behind but before Beau left he stopped to talk to Amel. She was smiling a perfect ten smile as the two of them had a brief conversation. When Beau saw me watching them he smiled and gave Amel a slow kiss on the cheek. Then he turned in my direction and blew a kiss at me.

  That night, Damon and I lay in bed naked with him holding me. The two of us had shared a candlelit dinner at home followed by a long hot bath. After we bathed we decided to just hold each other. I was too distracted to do anything more so I gave Damon an excuse that I was tired.

  “Are you asleep?”

  “No, baby,” He said, running his warm hands across my bare back.

  “What business are you handling for Beau?”

  “None now,” Damon said, exhaling.

  “What happened,” I said, pretending to be concerned.

  “That’s why we were at the Ambiance today,” He said.” He called and asked me to meet him there. When we first met, we discussed that he wanted to sell a waterfront property that he owns in Miami.”

  “Miami?”

  “Yeah, about twenty acres,” he said. “A nice area for development.”

  “He changed his mind?”

  “Yeah, he said he decided to sell to some commercial developer.”

  Raising my head I looked at Damon,” You’re disappointed?”

  “Yeah I could have helped
a lot of families with that type of property.”

  Rubbing his soft face, I said, “Maybe it’s for the best.”

  “I know,” He said. “I just hate to lose out on a good opportunity.”

  Rolling up on my knees I straddled him. “Then I guess you better take advantage of the one you have right now.” Giving him a warm wet kiss on the lips I felt him rise underneath me.

  “I thought you were tired, baby,” He said, entering me.

  I got wet instantly. Slowly I began to rotate my hips. “I just got a sudden burst of energy,” I moaned.

  Following my lead, Damon began to grind with me. “Let me see if I can help you use that energy.”

  That’s exactly what he did. We made love for hours until my body ached. Afterwards, we showered then returned to our bed naked. For the moment, I was no longer distracted with thoughts of Beau. Knowing that he was not doing business with Damon put my mind at ease.

  Chapter 33

  Amel’s appearance had changed dramatically. It was like she had won the lottery overnight. Every day she was wearing something designed by Gucci. I normally wouldn’t be alarmed, but considering she was a struggling nursing student who only worked part time for me, I knew there was no way could purchase those things on her own unless she had found herself a hustle. I normally wouldn’t get involved in my employees personal life but when I saw her in the parking lot of the Ambiance climbing into a new cream colored Cadillac Escalade instead of her Toyota Camry, I decided to get a little nosey. It’s not that I thought Amel was stealing from me; I knew she wasn’t, I kept a close eye on my money but I had an unsettling feeling about how she was getting all of her new things.

  The two of us were setting up for our lunch rush when I brought up the subject of her new car. “I like your new ride,” I said, straightening a tablecloth.

  “Thanks, Octavia,” she said, beaming from ear to ear.

  “When did you get it?”

  “Two days ago,” she smiled.

  “The payments must be outrageous,” I stopped, looking at her.

  Placing a folded linen napkin on the table she looked at me, “Actually, no,” she said, still smiling. “It’s paid for.”

  Raising my eyebrows, I said, “I didn’t know I was paying you that well.”

  “You’re not,” she giggled.” My man bought it for me.”

  “Well, congratulations,” I said, sincerely. I was relieved that she wasn’t shaking or selling her booty to pay for her new vehicle.

  “Thanks,” she smiled.

  “You’ll have to have him stop by one day so you can treat him to a free lunch,” I said, moving to the next table. “Compliments of me.”

  “Thanks, Octavia,” Amel said, cheerfully. “I’ll be sure to tell Beau you said that.”

  I almost fell on my behind when I heard her say his name. “Did you say Beau?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, “That’s who I’m dating.”

  I watched her smiling and bouncing from table to table as she continued to set out the linens. Amel was a smart, beautiful, twenty-three year old woman with a bright future ahead of her. Under other circumstances I would have been happy for her but deep down inside I know Beau’s motivation for dating her had something to do with me.

  Chapter 34

  Amel’s attitude had slowly begun to change and so was the quality of her work. She had been late four times in the last week and yesterday afternoon I could have sworn she came in smelling like weed. Her relationship with Beau was obviously keeping his mind off me because he had stopped by a couple of times to take her out to lunch on her break and each time he saw me, he barely acknowledged me. That was fine by me, but I couldn’t get down with Amel getting contact and then coming into my establishment smelling like a bong.

  On top of all that, a couple of the other employees had been complaining about her. They told me she was no longer pulling her weight when I was not around and that she had gotten confrontational when they mentioned it to her. None of these things fit the description of the Amel I knew. She had always been a quiet and somewhat shy employee who was always eager to help out and was great at her job. I couldn’t have a hostile working environment so I decided to pull her to the side and ask her what was up.

  “They’re jealous of me,” she said, sitting in the chair across from me.

  I watched her run her fingers through her long chestnut weave.

  “What makes you say that?” I said, watching as she pulled loose strands of her hair from her fingers.

  “I can tell by the way they look at me,” she said, dropping the strands on my maple desk.

  “Maybe that’s because they feel you’re not pulling your own around here.”

  She looked at me like I was from another planet then asked, “So what do you want me to say?”

  Giving her the same look I said, “I don’t want you to say anything. I want you to start doing your job.”

  “I do my damn job,” she said, standing and putting her hand on her hip.

  Standing myself, I crossed my arms across my chest. “If you were doing your job we would not be having this conversation,” I said, calmly. I didn’t like the direction our conversation was going in but I couldn’t have Amel disrespecting me either. “So I’m giving you a verbal warning that I need to see some improvement,” I said, firmly.

  Sucking her teeth she turned to walk away. “Fuck this job,” she said, looking back at me. “I don’t have to work here.”

  I was pissed by her demeanor, “Who do you know is going to let you work part-time and get fulltime pay?” I asked, angry.

  “My man,” she said, before she slammed my office door behind her.

  Two days later, I was still pissed about the way things had gone down between Amel and me. In the year that she had been employed by me I had never had to reprimand her once, and now after a five minute conversation I was looking for a replacement for her. I didn’t want to blame Beau because Amel was still a grown woman and she was fully capable of making her own choices but in my opinion he was the bad influence behind Amel’s bad attitude. Then again it could have been the money he was throwing her way. Some women get a man with money and lose their minds, along with their self respect.

  Chapter 35

  A month had passed since Amel stomped out of my office and my new waitress, Tabitha was working out just fine. Tabitha was an older, white woman who was trying to get back on her feet after a messy divorce. She had been married to her husband for eighteen years when he decided to leave her for a beautiful, black twenty-one old that he met on the Internet. Her story was rare to me because normally it’s the sisters telling me that their man left them for the white woman half their age. Tabitha was proof that the game had definitely changed.

  Amel had never returned to pick up her final paycheck and when I attempted to mail it to her it was returned by the post office stamped “un-deliverable”. The home phone number I had for had been changed to an unpublished number, so I decided to just lock her check up in my office safe. I liked to keep loose ends tied so if she ever popped in the restaurant, I wanted to have her check ready. I didn’t like the thought of owing anyone anything; especially when it came down to business.

  I was gathering my things together to leave for the day when my office phone rang. I started to ignore it but considering it may be Damon or one of my parents I thought again.

  “Ambiance, this is Octavia.”

  “Hello, Ms. Ellis?” a nervous sounding woman asked on the other end.

  “Yes this is Ms. Ellis.”

  “Ms. Ellis this is Betty Fletcher,” She said. “Amel’s mother.”

  “How may I help you, Ms. Fletcher?”

  “I’m looking for my daughter.”

  Confused, I told her, “I’m sorry Ms. Fletcher Amel no longer works here.”

  “Do you know where she is?” I sensed panic in the woman’s voice.

  “No, ma’am,” I said, calmly.

  “I hate to disturb you
Ms. Ellis,” She said, quickly.” But I haven’t talked to my daughter in weeks and her number has been changed.”

  Despite what had gone down with Amel I hoped that she was alright.

  “She dropped out of school,” she said. “And when I contacted her landlord he said she moved out more than a month ago and she didn’t leave a forwarding address.”

  That would explain why her mail was returned undeliverable. “What did she sound like the last time you spoke to her?” I asked, concerned.

  “She told me she had met someone,” She said. “She didn’t sound like herself. She was talking differently and when she told me about all the new things he had bought her I let her know that I didn’t approve.”

  She took a deep breath then continued,” I told her any man who was so happy to give so quickly had to want something in return,” She said. “We argued and then Amel hung up on me.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Fletcher,” I said, sympathetically. “I wish I could help you.”

  “Amel has never gone this long without calling me,” She said, sniffing.” I just want to talk to her Ms. Ellis. I can’t stand not talking to my daughter.”

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “If I find out anything, Ms. Fletcher, I’ll be happy to give you call.”

  “Please do Ms. Ellis,” She cried. “Please do.”

  I scribbled down the woman’s number on my calendar. She explained that she lived alone in Selma and would come up to Huntsville if she could, but she was too sick to make the drive. She told me Amel’s father died when Amel was six years old. I thought about my own mother and how she would feel if she couldn’t get in contact with me. My mother had my father but all Ms. Fletcher had was Amel. Before we hung up I promised that I would help her get in contact with her daughter.

  I knew that I only had to go as far as Beau to find Amel. However I wanted him to be my last resort, so I went thru my employee information and found Amel’s application. On the back, she had two people listed in case of an emergency. The first was her mother, and the second was a Nikki Cole. I hoped Nikki’s number hadn’t changed and that she and Amel were still friends as Amel had listed on the back of her application. Sure enough, Nikki’s number was the same and she knew where I could find Amel. After I gave her a story about trying to mail Amel a few items she left in her employee locker, Nikki gave me Amel’s new home number and the number for her cell.