by Mona
“Call me if that nigga Jason gets out of hand, aight,” Desmond said as Ava laughed and made her way to the sliding doors. Desmond then turned his attention towards Malachi. “You good, nigga?”
“Yeah, man,” Malachi replied as they walked to the conference room.
“So, do I need to call security for you and Dre?” Desmond questioned.
“I can’t speak for Dre, but I’ve come in peace.”
Andre’s Office
Once Andre shut his office door, he grabbed Arianna by the arm and spun her around to where her back was pinned against the door. He was able to feel her heart beat at a rapid rate.
“Da fuck is happening to us? What’s happening to you?” He whispered in her ear. She felt the pressure of his fingers digging into her skin, causing her to wince in pain.
“You’re hurting me, Dre,” she stared into his eyes.
Andre loosened his grip. “Now, answer my question. What the fuck is really going on? I feel you’re still not keeping it real with me. What the hell was that in the lobby?”
Arianna continued to stare in his eyes as she was unable to speak.
Andre closed his eyes as he sighed out of frustration. Letting go of her arms, he took a step back, balled up his fist and stared at her. “Ri,” he called her by the nickname he gave her years ago, causing her to smile through the tears that were now in her eyes. “I love you. I love you and only you. I’ve never loved another female but you. You have my heart and you always will. But I refuse to let you disrespect me. I’m trying to handle this shit so I don’t have to kill his ass. I’m fucking trying here. That’s why he’s here. So he and I can sit down and have the talk I guess we should’ve had when he first came home. I’m trying to handle this shit differently from my usual way. You want to know why?” Andre asked her and answered his own question. “Because, that’s my way of fighting for you. You and A.J. are my heart. You know me. You know me better than anybody knows me. Probably better than Malachi and Des. For me to still have you come home with me after walking in on you and him fucking is big for a nigga like me. You want to question my love after all these years? After I saw those text messages, I was ready to finally give up on us. I even asked Ed to help me start divorce proceedings, because I feel I shouldn’t have to fight for my own wife. You want to question my fucking love? After I saw those text messages yesterday and went to Brooklyn to clear my head, I ran into some chick at the gym. She bumped into me, I told her she’s good and I kept it moving. Later, Ed and I ended up at the restaurant his new girl, Imani owns. She introduced us to her best friend, Sejine who turned out to be the same chick from the gym. I was fucked up in the head. For the first time in my life, I was questioning myself and shit. Questioning did I do something wrong in the bedroom to cause you to be curious about another man in the first place. I always felt I kept you satisfied and shit. Anyway, she started flirting. She’s telling me all the shit I need to hear. We ended up in a private room downstairs. She started dancing on my lap and then got on her knees, pulled out my dick and start sucking me off. But then something happened and I went limp. My shit couldn’t even get hard again. And no I didn’t fuck her,” Andre confessed.
“What happened to cause you to go limp, and why didn’t you screw her?” Arianna asked once she found her voice. She was hurt but wouldn’t dare tell him.
“Your last text message. It got to me. Believe it or not, I enjoyed being faithful to you these last eight years. You telling me you loved me and that I was still the best made me feel good and shit. You all I ever wanted, Ri. I know I apologized years ago, but I’m apologizing again for the pain I caused you when you caught me. I now know how the shit feels. I was willing for us to move on and past this, but this shit right here is not like when I cheated. You feeling him. It’s more than just sex going on with you. I could see that shit in your eyes. You know I saw you two on the camera, right?” Andre concluded.
Arianna lowered her head because he was right. He was right about everything. In her heart, she knew she was guilty of the staring match between her and Malachi a short time ago. These last few days had been an emotional rollercoaster. Although she left the hospital with Andre, Malachi had been on her mind something heavy. So much so, she asked Ava to go check on him for her. So much so, she kept tabs on him through Mama Ro. Although she confessed to Andre in the text messages the night before how she still loved him, she was no longer able to deny feelings for Malachi as well.
“You’re right,” she confessed as she looked into his eyes. “I’m feeling something for him, but I’m not sure what. But I know I love you. I know I can’t see myself without you. Thank you for being honest with me about everything, including that skank,” she added.
Andre shook his head as he partially smiled. “Look, I’m going to stay at the penthouse until we figure some things out. I will talk to A.J. and I will still be at the house for Mama Lorette’s birthday dinner on Saturday. I will handle Stacey and I’m going to talk to Malachi. I’ll talk to you later,” He headed to the door.
Arianna pulled him back by grabbing his arm. The tears fell as she was unable to hold them in any longer. “I’m somewhat confused and I’m not sure why because I love you so much. There is no confusion in that. Old feelings for him have resurfaced, but I promise you we only slept together once,” she admitted as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist as they embraced in a warm and loving hug. This was the first time he had come into physical contact with her in over two weeks and it felt damn good as he buried his face in her neck. As she cried harder, he squeezed tighter. “Don’t stay at the pent house. Come home tonight,” she said as she reached up and kissed his lips. Once they pulled apart, he adjusted his tie.
“Aight, but I’ll still sleep in the same guest room I’ve been sleeping in,” he made his way to the door and gave her one last look before making his exit.
Chapter Nine
The Conference Room
(Five minutes later)
“Everything good?” Desmond asked Andre who just entered the conference room.
“Nah, shit is not good,” he looked Malachi’s way.
“Okay, calm down. This is supposed to be a peaceful meeting, remember?” Desmond stood up and prepared to intervene.
“Okay, let’s start then,” Andre pounded the table. “What you did was a bitch move, nigga,” he stressed, slowly walking towards Malachi.
Malachi stood up prepared for whatever.
“Okay, timeout. We not doing that,” Desmond interjected. “Dre, we agreed you two were going to lay everything out on the table, but without any altercations, right?” Andre nodded and glared at Malachi. “Aight, then, that’s what we gonna do. You two are going to sit down and talk this shit out like you should have in the first place,” Desmond placed a hand on each of Malachi and Andre’s shoulder.“Aight?” He looked at each of them.
“Yeah, aight,” Andre agreed as Malachi nodded his head.
“Now, we have to put this on hold. Ed called when you were in your office. He said he’s been trying to call your phone. We have to get to the courthouse. Something is going on with Ava,” Desmond informed him.
“Ava? What is going on with her? Damn, she’s at the courthouse already. It hasn’t been an hour since she left here. I know her ass couldn’t have reached Jersey that damn fast,” Andre pointed out as he pulled his phone from his hip.
“He wouldn’t give any details. All he said was we needed to meet him at the court house, ASAP,” Desmond informed him once more.
“Aight, then let’s go. I swear it better not be that nigga Jason on no bullshit, or I will finish his ass off for real this time,” Andre said as he then turned towards Malachi. “We have to postpone this meeting and I have appointments for the rest of the week, so we can do this next week,” he concluded.
“Hell naw, this shit can’t wait until next week. You two niggas need to hash this shit out right away. Plus, we have clients requesting Mal s
o you two need to figure out what his status is going to be with the company. So check it, Dre, if it is okay with you, why don’t we have this meeting at your house office Saturday morning, since we all staying at your house Friday night anyway,” Desmond suggested.
Andre clenched his jaw as he thought about the idea of Malachi in his house under the same roof as Arianna. “Aight, we can have the meeting in my home office, Saturday morning, but he can just come Saturday morning around ten. And since when was it decided that everybody was spending the night at my house Friday night?”
“Well, Mama Ro, Ava and my mom are going to help Ari make some food so they figured it was better for everyone to just stay over Friday night. Plus, Mama Ro said she has some news to share at the dinner and since her church’s fundraiser is canceled she figure Mama Lorette’s dinner is the perfect place since everyone will be together,” Desmond clarified.
“So everyone made this decision without me? When the hell did my house become a damn bed and breakfast?” Andre questioned.
“Nigga, you have ten bedrooms and seven bathrooms in that muthafucka. It’s a bed and breakfast and a damn shelter,” Desmond joked and Malachi snickered. Andre shook his head and headed towards the door.
“Yeah, but that still don’t explain why your ass spending the night. You don’t even like being in Marlboro. You said my neighbors are racist,” Andre stated.
“Those muthafuckas are racist. I can tell by how they look at us but as long they don’t say shit, I’m good. Anyway, I’m staying over because my favorite little caterer will be there,” Desmond admitted with a grin.
Andre shook his head once again as all three stood by the door. “Why don’t you just tell her that you want her?” Andre asked.
“Nah, she play too many damn games. She has to tell me first.”
“You want her, but you won’t tell her unless she tells you she wants you first? But she plays games? How do you even know she wants you?” Malachi inquired and Andre continued shaking his head at Desmond.
“Shit, nigga… they all want me. Question is, which one do I want?” Andre and Malachi shook their heads again. That was all you could do when it came to Desmond Aeikan. Desmond had always been full of confidence since they were kids. Although some folks had labeled him cocky, which was a better term to describe him, he wore the description with finesse. He was in fact just that, without any arrogance. He was smooth, real, funny and had always been a winner with the ladies since he was a teenager.
“Yeah, and they all chased your ass. Matter of fact, it seems you only wanted the few who didn’t chase you,” Andre said as Desmond nodded his head.
“Yeah, but back in da day, I only wanted one who wasn’t chasing me,” he said and all three of them smiled as they thought of Candace.
“Well, aight, I guess I’ll be there Saturday morning,” Malachi announced, breaking their thoughts. Andre clenched his jaw once more as he was unsure of Malachi stepping foot in his home.
“Aight, then it’s settled. We’ll see you Saturday morning and you staying for Mama Lorette’s dinner,” Desmond pointed out as he and Malachi shook hands and embraced in a partial hug. Malachi then turned to Andre and attempted to shake his hand. Andre stepped back and raised his brow in distrust. He was willing to sit down with Malachi and talk things out, simply because of their history and the complexity of their family ties, but he would be damned if he shook hands with the man who not only sexed his wife, but who was obviously still very much in love with her.
“Nigga, you must have never known me at all if you think I’m shaking your hand,” Andre opened the door and made his exit.
Desmond shook his head as he laughed at Malachi. “Baby steps nigga, baby steps.”
________
As the three of them made their way into the lobby, Arianna emerged from the direction of her office. Andre was ahead of Malachi and Desmond as they stopped and approached her. Desmond pulled his phone from the inside of his suit jacket when he felt it vibrate. As Desmond stepped away to answer his phone, Malachi’s attention was elsewhere.
“I thought you left by now. You had an appointment with Dr. Field, right?” Andre asked Arianna as he stood directly in front of her with his back turned to Malachi.
“Yes, I do, but I had some last minute paperwork I was tending to, but I’m on my way now,” she tried to avoid the pair of eyes which were fixated on her.
“Aight, well, I need you to cancel that and reschedule. I need you to come to the courthouse with us. Ed called about something going on with Ava.”
“Oh my God, is she okay?” Arianna was concerned.
“Ed wouldn’t give any details. We on our way over there now, so go ahead and cancel with Dr. Field, aight?”
“Okay, let me go and make sure my car doors are locked since I have that bad habit of leaving them unlocked sometimes. I’ll ride with you. I’ll meet you at your car and let myself in with my key,” she said to him as she retrieved her keys from her purse. As she attempted to walk away, her eyes locked with Malachi’s for a brief second. His expression was hard to read but regardless, she quickly looked away. She was determined to avoid friction between the three of them.
Andre, however, never missed a beat. A fool was the one thing he was not. Growing up, Malachi was always considered the brains of the two, since he was a straight A student. Although he and Andre began hustling at the age of fourteen, his grades never seemed to suffer. He was a certified genius. His best skill academically was the ability to pass all of his tests with little effort in studying for them. Andre, however, was what folks would consider more street-smart. He possessed quick, animal like instincts and was swift on his feet. Although Andre’s looks were always more on the pretty-boy side as opposed to Malachi’s, which were a little more rugged, Andre was more feared in the streets of Elizabeth, N.J. where they grew up. His temper and his no nonsense attitude earned him a highly respected reputation, and since he was feared and respected, Malachi was feared and respected as well.
Andre’s best skill was the ability to sense what was taking place around him, sort of a sixth sense type of thing. As a boy, his mother Justine would joke that he had eyes in the back of his head, which right now was quite evident as he without a doubt knew Malachi was staring a hole through Arianna on some sneaky shit, behind his back.
Clenching his jaw for like the thousandth time, which was something he did quite often when he was trying to keep his temper in check, he reached over and grabbed Arianna by the arm before she managed to walked away. Although he made the decision to handle this situation as maturely as possible, his need to be petty crept in momentarily as he opted to give Malachi something to really stare it. “Wait, come here,” he said to Arianna in a gentle tone. Turning her to face him by placing both hands on her waist, he seductively pulled her closer. Before Arianna was able to protest, he lowered his face to hers and kissed her lips. Although he was on a petty mission, he also was engrossed in the kiss. It was the first time they shared a passionate kiss in a little over two weeks. Yes, they shared a kiss earlier, however, a small peck didn’t count.
Although he was still having a hard time coping with her betrayal, he must admit, it felt damn good to kiss her. As their tongues intertwined, the kiss deepened. Arianna was lost in the moment. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. For a brief second, she forgot Malachi was even standing there. Andre followed her lead by reaching further down and wrapping his arms around her waist. The kiss felt as if it lasted an eternity until they heard the sound of Desmond clearing his throat.
Pulling apart, Arianna smiled at Andre as she wiped her lips. “I, uuhm, will meet you in your car,” she said in a soft tone as she walked away.
“Aight,” Andre wiped his lips as well. He smirked as he turned to face Malachi and Desmond. Needless to say, Malachi appeared less than thrilled. Yes, Andre knew what he did was petty and childish, but for a moment he just didn’t give a damn. “You good? You was on your phone for a minute,” Andre addr
essed Desmond.
“That was Ed. He’s at the courthouse. Let’s go, right now,” Desmond demanded as his tone was rather serious.
“Eh, Des. You aight? What’s wrong? “ Andre asked.
”I’ll tell you when we get there. Mal needs to come with us. We need to be there as a family, fuck what you two got going on right now. Don’t ask me anymore questions. Let’s just go, now!” Desmond stressed as he raised his voice.
Andre said no more as he and Malachi followed Desmond to the sliding doors. Unsure of what was going on, Andre knew something wasn’t right. As they passed the front desk, Andre turned his attention to Stacey. “Stacey, if we’re not back by the end of the day, I’ll see you in the morning. We need to have a talk with you,” he announced as he made his exit before she was able to respond.
Chapter Ten
Union County Courthouse
Elizabeth, N.J.
Andre, Arianna, Malachi and Desmond stepped off the elevator on the third floor leading to the Family Court Division. Spotting Edward, all four made their way to him.
“What’s up, Ed? Now, what the hell is going on? And Where’s Ava?” Andre asked all in one breath. Something was going on with Ava and he was now feeling anxious, wondering what it was. He had been raising and protecting Ava since she was nine years old, once her dad; his step-dad Romero Aeikan passed away. They were the only siblings each other had and although they argued and disagreed quite often, they loved one another to the moon and back.
Although Andre wasn’t always able to protect her when it came to affairs of the heart, he did, however, do his best to protect her from being hurt .
“What’s up guys,” Edward greeted them as he hugged Arianna and shook hands with Andre, Desmond and Malachi. “Okay, I need to speak privately to the four of you. Follow me into one of these private rooms,” he said as he led them into one of the mediation rooms. “Where’s Ava?” Andre asked again as soon as they entered the room.
