“Of course I can handle that!” I had to bite my tongue to keep from cussing his ass out. Satisfying my husband had never been a problem. What I couldn’t handle was that nobody seemed to be taking this situation seriously. “But he’s acting extremely paranoid and accusing me of messing around and trying to leave him.”
Clarke tilted his head slightly and looked up from his phone. “Have you been messing around on him?” He had this look like he knew the truth. I quickly shifted on the seat.
“What kinda question is that?”
“Because you wouldn’t be the first,” he answered bluntly. “It takes a strong woman to stand by her man for twelve months. That’s a long time to go without sex. Hell, I wouldn’t have blamed my wife if she had.”
I couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with me. “Sergeant, I have never messed around on my husband . . . not that it’s any of your business.”
He smirked. “Sorry, but I gotta ask. I don’t need one of my soldiers going off the deep end because he can’t trust his wife.”
Again, I regretted even coming to see this prick. What I wanted to do was reach across the desk and strangle his ass. Instead, I changed the subject. “Doesn’t the National Guard have programs in place for your soldiers coming home?”
He nodded. “Yes, and each one of them is required to meet with the psychologist upon return. Donovan saw her and she signed off on his evaluation form that he was fit for duty. I guarantee you, if she had thought anything was wrong, she would have referred him for further counseling.”
“That woman probably sees hundreds of soldiers a week. She doesn’t have the time to spend with each one long enough to truly evaluate them.”
“She’s good at what she does,” he insisted.
“Well, she made a mistake. My husband needs to be reevaluated. He had soldiers in his unit killed while in Afghanistan. Two weeks ago, he watched his best friend get gunned down at his shop. Donovan has experienced way too much trauma and it’s affecting him and our marriage.”
Clarke sat there staring across the desk at me for a long moment. “Weren’t the two of you having marital problems a few years back?”
No he didn’t. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
He shrugged. “I’m just saying . . .”
“Then next time check your facts. Our marriage has been stronger than ever! We were happy before he left on this last deployment. Now my husband’s been back eight months and something still isn’t quite right. It’s like he lost his soul down there.”
There was a brief pause. “How about I call him in and talk to him?” he said like he was doing me a favor.
“Talking to him is not going to help. You need to have him evaluated for PTSD!” I was screaming now. “Listen, you either do something or I’m going over your head and having a talk with the commander about you blowing me off. I’m sure the last thing he wants is for one of his soldiers to be on the evening news after he’s snapped!”
Oh, that definitely got his attention, because the color drained from his face and he quickly sat up in the seat. “I’ll contact the psychologist and schedule him for another evaluation. Then we’ll see what she has to say after she meets with him.”
“Yeah, you do that.” I rose from the chair truly disgusted with the man. He’s supposed to care about his soldiers and it seemed the only thing he wanted to do was brush the problems aside and pretend that everything was all right. “And don’t be all day about it either. My husband needs help and he needs it like yesterday.”
20
Trinette
“Jrue, sweetheart . . . park over there.” I pointed to the empty parking space close to the door.
“I see it.”
I couldn’t begin to tell you how much I had been enjoying the last two weeks. Leo was in Germany, and Jrue and I had been taking advantage of every second of him having me all to himself. It gave us a chance to play house and experience what life was going to be like when we’re finally together as husband and wife, raising our children. I was already considering having one more only because Jrue wanted two.
On Sunday, Jrue told his wife he needed to be in DC for a conference on Monday morning, and instead he came over and stayed the night with me. I knew it was wrong having another man sleeping in the same bed that I shared with Leon, but I paid for the bed, so technically it was mine. And when Jrue finally divorced his wife and I left Leon, I planned to take it with me.
“You ready to go inside?” he asked and shut off his Jaguar.
I nodded, leaned forward, and met his lips as he pressed them against mine. Like I said, I couldn’t have been happier.
“Mmmm-mmm-hmm, you know you taste good.”
Damn, this brotha was sexy as fuck! I gave him a sly look. “That’s not the only thing that tastes good.”
He chuckled. “How about I find out later?”
“I agree.”
Jrue got out of the car and I waited for him to come around and help me out. Then together we walked up the sidewalk and through the doors for Dr. Sandra Brown, my obstetrician. I moved up to the desk.
“Hi, I’m Trinette Montgomery and I have a one o’clock.” I ran a hand through my hair to make sure it was perfect. Even though I’m pregnant, I believe in keeping it cute.
The receptionist nodded. “Sure thing, Mrs. Montgomery. Has any of your information changed?”
I know it was a formality, but she asked me the same damn thing every visit. I shook my head. “No, nothing has changed.” I handed her my insurance card and a check for my copay.
She reached for my folder. “Please have a seat. I’ll give you your card back in a moment.”
I noticed all the other pregnant women sitting in the waiting area eyeing my man like I wasn’t there. I love for other women to stand back and admire what I got just as long as they remember that man belongs to me. Or at least he will when he finally divorces that needy wife of his.
As soon as we were seated on a comfortable love seat Jrue leaned close to my ear. “I think you’re the prettiest pregnant woman in here.”
My head whipped around. “You think?” He needed to try that again.
Jrue laughed. “Relax, baby. There is no doubt you are the finest thang in here.”
“Much better,” I cooed and met his lips halfway.
“Let me go use the restroom real quick before they call your name.”
I watched him walk away, admiring his perfect ass in dress slacks. I’d heard the expression clothes make the man, but in Jrue’s case, the man made the clothes look good.
“Excuse me?”
My head whipped around to look at the blonde seated on a chair to my left. She was a skinny thing with stringy hair and a serious overbite. “Yes?”
“Is that your husband?”
I could see that look in her eyes as she stared off in the direction of the bathroom. I was tempted to reach inside my purse and give her a Kleenex to sop up the drool. “Of course it is,” I lied. Hell, what choice did I have? If I told her the truth, the second I turned my back she’d be trying to slip Jrue her number.
She shook her head. “He’s gorgeous. The two of you are going to have one beautiful baby.”
“Thank you.” At least she appreciated beauty when she saw it. I reached for one of those baby magazines and while I thumbed through the pages I thought about my unborn child. She was right. Jrue and I were two beautiful people whose children couldn’t be anything but breathtaking. I could already see our daughter with her smooth chocolate skin and all of my fabulous qualities. I bet I could get her modeling in one of these magazines, which should be easy considering most of the babies were average looking.
Jrue returned and again I noticed the admiring looks. I just beamed with pride. Yeah, my man definitely looked good.
“Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery . . . follow me.”
Smiling, I rose and moved toward the nurse waiting patiently. I was well aware that Jrue was frowning at the mistake.
I could have corrected her, but what was the point. They thought he was my husband and soon enough he would be, so why confuse things if we didn’t need to.
We were turning the corner when the receptionist called after me. “Mrs. Montgomery . . . you forgot your insurance card.”
Jrue brought a hand to my waist. “Baby, I’ll grab it.”
He hurried over to the desk and I watched in slow motion as the chick reached across the desk, tipped over her coffee cup, and it spilled onto Jrue’s slacks. He jerked back and cussed under his breath.
“Oh, I am so sorry,” she said, and hurried out of her seat and around the desk with a roll of paper towels. I brought an impatient hand to my thick waist, then rolled my eyes. Goodness. She was so damn clumsy.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jrue said as if accidents like that happened every day. What he needed to be doing was demanding to see her boss.
She handed him a handful of paper towels. “Mr. Montgomery, I’m truly, truly sorry.”
He held up a hand. “It’s okay . . . really.”
My man might not have had a problem with it, but I had every intention of complaining to the doctor about her incompetent staff. We were in a recession and there were way too many qualified people out there desperate for a job to be dealing with someone who should be flipping burgers at Wendy’s instead.
The nurse escorted us into the examination room, took my vitals, then handed me a gown so that I could get undressed from the waist down. She finally left and shut the door behind her.
“Baby, what’s up with that Mr. Montgomery crap?” Jrue scowled like his pride was hurt.
I batted my eyelashes at him. “Sweetheart, what difference does it make what they call you? You’re still big daddy to me.” I made a show of peeling the slacks down my legs and wiggled my hips. As I hoped, I shifted his focus back to me. The last thing I needed was for him to be tripping about being mistaken for Leon. “All that should matter is that this child growing inside me belongs to you.” I slipped my panties down to my ankles, then kicked them away.
Lust brimmed in his eyes. “Damn, baby. You know my dick’s hard, right?”
Of course it was. I backed over to the door and turned the lock. “Have a seat,” I ordered.
“You’re not serious?” he asked, although the hand unbuckling his slacks was already onboard with the idea.
It usually took my doctor fifteen minutes to make it to the room, which gave us plenty of time for a little quickie. “Absolutely, now unzip your pants.”
I watched as he took a seat, then reached inside his fly and pulled out his beautiful penis. Nothing was more succulent than a dick that was two-toned—chocolate and caramel.
I straddled his waist and Jrue slid in with ease. Immediately, I started riding him. He planted his hands at my waist and guided me along his length. Oh, it felt good to be bad. Within minutes I was close to orgasm when I heard someone turn the knob. The second they found it locked, they started knocking. I pressed a finger to Jrue’s lips and he started pumping hard.
“Mrs. Montgomery . . . are you in there?”
My eyes rolled in the back of my head as I came down hard onto his dick and Jrue brought his lips to mine just in time to stifle my cries. That man was so good at what he did. There was more knocking, but we ignored it. I think just the thought of getting caught had us both turned on. Seriously, what could they really say except that I was making love to my husband? He started driving harder, lifting my body up and down over his hard length, and before long he released a grunt and came.
I got up from his lap and grabbed a paper towel and wiped off. While he fixed his clothes, I took a seat on the table. He’d just fastened his belt when I heard keys jingling and the door sprung open.
The nurse walked in and glared at us. “What was wrong with the door?” she asked, then sniffed. I sure could smell sex in the air.
I shrugged and looked at Jrue. “You tell me. We tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. You know . . . it’s bad enough your clumsy receptionist spills coffee all over his pants, but then we get locked in a room and can’t get out. I think I’m going to have a talk with the manager!”
That shut her up. She rolled her eyes, then turned and walked back out of the room. Damn, I was good.
“I guess you told her,” Jrue said and winked.
“I guess I did.” We then laughed.
“Wow! If I hadn’t seen it for myself I never would have imagined.”
Thirty minutes later, I linked my arm through Jrue’s and beamed up at him as we exited the examination room. “I told you.”
The experience had gone exactly the way I had hoped it would. Dr. Brown saw so many couples every day that it didn’t even dawn on her that Jrue wasn’t Leon. As soon as Jrue saw my baby on the screen, he was captivated. And when Dr. Brown asked if we wanted to know the sex, we took one look at each other and agreed. I’m having a girl! Jrue was so stunned it no longer mattered that he wasn’t going to have a son. Now he wanted a little princess, who would have her daddy wrapped around her finger. Trust me, I couldn’t have timed it better myself.
“I think this calls for a celebration,” he suggested with that big silly grin still on his face.
“I agree.”
We were walking through the lobby on the way out to his car when I heard someone calling Jrue’s name. Turning around, I found a woman standing in front of the elevators. I looked up at him to see if he recognized her and the look on his face said he did. I never thought a dark man could turn white, but he looked as pale as a ghost.
“Jrue . . . who’s that?” I asked.
He dropped my arm like I had leprosy and strolled over to the slender woman who was mean-mugging me. I was seconds away from asking her what the hell she was looking at.
“Hazel,” he said with a grin, then hugged her.
“Jrue, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” she asked while looking in my direction. I was growing tired of her staring me down.
He whipped around and I had never seen him look as scared before in his life. Like he wished my ass would just disappear. Well, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t going to be ignored.
“I’m Trinette,” I said with attitude. “And you are?”
She brought a hand to her malnutrition waist. “Hazel. His wife’s sister.”
I looked her up and down and within seconds saw the resemblance. She was tall and skinny with a wide forehead and more moles on her face than makeup could hide. I was tempted to reach inside my purse and give her a business card to a good dermatologist.
“Uh . . . Hazel, Trinette and I . . . work together. She was having contractions and since her husband is out of the country on business, I rushed her in to see her doctor,” he lied, and looked over at me pleading with his eyes for me to play along.
I was so sick of playing these games. If he’d just tell his wife the truth, we wouldn’t be going through all these changes. But I sighed and decided that I would be the bigger woman, which, as skinny as Hazel was, wasn’t hard to do.
“That’s right. I’ve been having cramps all day.” I brought a hand to my belly just so she’d see just how pregnant I was. She looked suspiciously down at my stomach, then looked from me to him. I gave a coy grin and stared up at him adoringly, then rubbed my stomach. I don’t care what he said. I wanted her to know the baby I was carrying belonged to him.
“Yeah, I was just taking her to get something to eat. She’s been feeling light-headed. I was holding on to her arm just to make sure she didn’t fall before we made it back to my car.”
“How far along are you?” she asked.
“Seven months,” I said.
She nodded, then all the anger seeped from her face. “I know how you feel. I was the same way when I was pregnant with Ronnie.”
Jrue’s shoulders sagged with relief and I just rolled my eyes inward. This chick was dumb as a box of rocks. I see why so many women get played, because they only see what they want to see.
&
nbsp; “Well, I better get Trinette something to eat and drop her off at her car. I’m making her take the rest of the day off.”
“Gurrl, you better enjoy all the pampering while you can. Jrue, I’ll see you Saturday for dinner,” she reminded, then hopped into the elevator and waved.
Jrue was quiet all the way back to his car. I could see the wheels in his head turning.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? I almost got caught! That’s what’s wrong.”
“Okay, but you didn’t.” I waved, dismissing the issue. “You worry too much.”
He raked a hand across his face. “This isn’t a game, Trinette.”
“Then do something about it. Hell, you’ve been telling me for over a year you’re going to ask your wife for a divorce. Okay, then get it done.”
Jrue shook his head. “It’s not that easy.”
“What’s so hard about it? So what if the cancer comes back or that you’ll have to give her half of everything you own. Big fucking deal. I’d rather be broke and happy than rich and miserable.” I couldn’t believe I was saying that, because once upon a time I put money over everything else. But since I met Jrue, all that had changed. It wasn’t about the money anymore. For the first time I had met a man who had stolen my heart and I was willing to sacrifice everything to be with him. I just needed to make sure he felt the same way. As rich as he was, even if he gave Charlotte half there would still be plenty left for him to spend on me.
“I just need more time.”
“Time is running out. Your daughter is going to be here in two months and she’s going to need her daddy.” I watched the way his eyes got all soft and misty at the mention of our unborn child. Oh yeah, having his daughter was going to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
Jrue reached across the seat and laced his fingers with mine. “You’re right. I need to quit bullshitting and just tell her.”
As he pulled off I was already plotting how I was going to help give him that little nudge to make sure that happened.
Consequences Page 14
