Jacques wasn’t about to tell the Executive Vice President of a multi-national conglomerate that his girlfriend was mad at him right now and that he didn’t know if she would sign. Quickly throwing that thought away, he knew Patrice wouldn’t allow a personal spat to get in the way of business. She would be ecstatic about this deal he just had to tell her.
“I’ll be looking out for them and get them back as soon as possible.”
“Make sure you do because we’ve got a lot to do if we’re going to get that product on the shelves in time.”
“I’ll contact you in a few days, Roger,” Jacques said before ending the call.
For several moments he sat behind his desk and reflected on all that they’d accomplished in a short amount of time. Allure No. 6 was headed to a boutique and department store in several weeks. He had to make sure its debut was one for the record books.
* * * * *
For the next couple of days Jacques and Patrice didn’t speak to each other at work or at any other time. Her heart ached terribly for him, his touch, and his support. He made her laugh, liked to do simple things and she loved that about him. He always knew the answer to anything she’d ask. If he didn’t he’d figure it out. He simply made her happy.
To ignore the pain she felt missing him, Patrice made sure that she kept herself busy with other things so that she wouldn’t have to communicate with him. She’d make sure his car wasn’t in the lot when she came to work and was gone before she left.
When they walked into the building today, she wanted to grasp his hand, just to feel his touch. Yesterday, she just needed to see him, so she went down to the lab and peeked through the glass. As usual, he was deep in thought as he was mixing ingredients. She wanted to go inside so badly and wrap her arms around him, rest her face against his back and just stand there holding him. But she couldn’t and she knew why. Her pride kept telling her that he was the one taking things wrong, so he should be the one to apologize to her not the other way around.
In the meantime, she would keep her focus on other things. Patrice continued to work with Nikki, getting her in a support group and not have to worry about work. Patrice made sure that she still received her regular paycheck.
The shrill ring of the desk phone, snapped her out of her stroll down memory lane. She picked it up quickly. “Yes.”
“Patrice, can you come down to the lab please?”
Patrice could feel her heart beating in her throat when she heard Jacques’s voice on the other end of the phone. Surprised by the invitation, but glad to receive it all the same, she hurried from her office the short distance to the lab. Before she stepped inside, she willed her pulse to slow down; she didn’t want to look anxious.
Pulling the tail of her suit jacket, she took a deep breath and opened the door. She hadn’t taken ten steps inside the room before she saw Jacques moving quickly, taking long strides to get to her.
He pulled her into his arms. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all,” he said, bending to rub his face against hers. “Not being able to touch you, laugh or talk with you is driving me insane. And I just don’t like it.”
I miss you too, baby. Giving her pride a black eye, Patrice relaxed in his embrace, savoring his touch. She leaned her forehead against his. “I don’t like this either,” she whispered. “Being estranged like this doesn’t feel normal to me. I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself.”
“I miss kissing your sweet lips,” Jacques said. She saw desire in his eyes when she looked at him. So much so, that she had to turn away.
“Come on, baby, look at me,” he said, taking his thumb and forefinger, moving her chin so she could look at him.
Patrice lowered her gaze, but eventually looked at him. “I want to taste my baby,” he said.
She wanted it too and didn’t know how much longer she was going to torture herself. Patrice moved her head slightly and Jacques took over, devouring her mouth, setting her body on fire. She couldn’t get enough, taking a couple tiny steps forward to get as close to him as she possibly could. Jacques continued his assault on her mouth, nipping, suckling her lips, and almost taking her breath away. Once he broke the kiss and they looked at each other, she could feel that neither of them had any regrets.
For several moments, nothing happened and their heavy breathing was all you could hear in the room. Finally, Jacques took her by the hand and they walked over to the empty armchairs in the section of the lab that was his office. They sat facing each other, but Jacques wouldn’t let go of her hand.
“I’ve been moving into the house a little bit at a time. I would like for you to go furniture shopping with me over the weekend.”
“I love shopping, so you can definitely count me in.”
“Why don’t you come out to the house tonight? We can watch a movie and eat popcorn.”
“You’ve got your utilities and services hooked up?”
“Yes, I had cable installed in most of the rooms in the house. I only mentioned us eating popcorn, but what I really want to do is make love to you,” Jacques said, caressing the side of her face with his.
“Didn’t you just say that you need to go furniture shopping?”
Jacques gave her a questionable glance. “You know we don’t need a bed for that, baby,” Jacques said, lifting her hand, so that she could stand. “Come here,” he said, guiding her to sit on his lap.
Patrice knew that sitting on his lap was a bad idea because now her body was reacting and her kitty was contracting. She was in trouble. In the blink of an eye, Patrice was back in Jacques’s arms once again. Jacques really knew how to make her swoon.
After she was able to catch her breath and concentrate, she looked up at him. “What time do you want me to come over tonight?” she asked, trying to get off his lap. She needed to do it quick, but he only pulled her back down. Of course she could feel his manhood hardening.
“How about seven thirty? It would give you time to help Nikki and get her daughter settled.”
Lord, help me. “Sounds good to me. I’ll be there,” Patrice said, getting up successfully this time. Jacques stood as well.
Patrice was glad they weren’t touching each other anymore because a couple more minutes of sitting on his lap, they would have been slapping skin right in that chair. Exhaling, she acknowledged that it was time to go. She just needed one more kiss then she was leaving. “I’ll see you later, baby,” she said, standing on the tips of her toes. She lightly kissed his lips and when he reached out to pull her toward him, she stepped back. “I’m leaving right now,” she said, continuing her retreat.
Jacques tried to keep holding on, but Patrice kept walking backwards until her hand slipped from his. She turned and walked to the door.
“I have your word?” Jacques asked.
“Yes. I’ll see you later.”
“No, uh cancellations?”
“No cancellations.”
Patrice waved as she walked out the door and down the hall. She felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her heart. Being apart from him was wreaking havoc on her emotions. She had no idea that being in love could make you feel so wonderful.
* * * * *
Jacques made several stops in order to gather everything he needed to make the night special for him and Patrice. He’d heard people say that there was nothing like makeup sex. Although he was looking forward to making love to his lady, he was just happy they were back on speaking terms. He definitely favored making love over being at war with each other.
When he pulled into his garage, all he could think about was Patrice arriving in an hour and a half. Removing all the bags from his time at the grocery, liquor and department stores from the back of the vehicle, he headed inside. There wasn’t much furniture in the house, but he at least purchased a kitchen table that was large enough to seat two people. When he stopped by the department store,
he picked up an ivory jacquard satin tablecloth. He hurried to get the table setup and completed the look with two porcelain ivory charger plates and ivory tapered candles that he placed inside some simple gold holders. With the table complete, he went into his bedroom to shower and change before she got there.
Jacques’s mood kept getting better as he looked at himself in the mirror, admiring his three-piece outfit. He felt so good and was excited about what the evening might bring. He checked the time and it was getting closer to seven o’clock. He hurried, slipped on his colorful socks and his shoes, dabbed a bit of cologne on and headed to the kitchen.
Washing his hands, he snapped a paper towel from the dispenser and balled up the used napkin, throwing it in the trashcan as if he were LeBron James. “He shoots, he scores,” he said out loud. “And the crowd goes wild for Jacques Germain,” he said, attempting to sound like a sports announcer.
Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out all the ingredients for his salad. Checking the clock once again, which showed twenty minutes later than the first time, he went ahead and tossed the salad believing that Patrice should arrive at any moment.
Sitting the large salad bowl aside, he decided to get started on his shrimp and chicken linguine. He poured the water in a big pot, sprinkled in some salt so that the pasta didn’t stick together when the time was right. He changed his mind and turned off the fire from under the pot. It was way too early and he didn’t want the meal ruined. He continued his tasks, checked to make sure that the wine had chilled and choosing the right music for the mood he was trying to set.
Looking at his watch, it was a quarter till eight. He went to the door to check just in case she rang the doorbell and he hadn’t heard it. There was no one there but cold air, so he quickly closed the door. A sinking feeling hit the pit of his stomach and he realized that she wasn’t coming. If she were, she would have been there. Patrice had always been a timely person, so there was no other explanation. Jacques didn’t want to think about the cause, he knew the answer to that. It was Nikki. It had to be because nothing else had ever stopped them from being together.
He pulled out his phone, started dialing the number and changed his mind. He walked into the kitchen and laid his phone on the breakfast bar. Why would she do this to me?
Jacques wanted to get angry, but for some reason he couldn’t. He pulled out the chair at the table and sat. A couple seconds later, he could hear his phone buzzing on the counter. He didn’t need to guess the caller. He knew it was Patrice and he also knew she had a really good excuse.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Jacques, I’m so sorry. Nikki had to go to a meeting. I hadn’t planned on keeping Katrina, but she didn’t have anywhere else to leave her.”
Jacques sat listening intently at the apologetic and remorseful tone in Patrice’s voice. He waited until she finished giving him her excuses before he commented. “This is getting old.”
“Old how?” Patrice asked.
“All of a sudden you’re not available anymore,” Jacques said.
“Oh, Jacques I hate that you feel that way,” Patrice said. “This will be over soon.”
Jacques released a loud sigh. “It’s beginning to look that way.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, Patrice. Don’t worry about it.” Jacques was done with the subject. He didn’t feel like talking about it anymore.
For several seconds, neither of them said anything.
“Listen baby, I will come over when Nikki returns.”
“There’s no need now because the dinner I prepared is ruined.”
“I’m sorry, Jacques. Excuse me for living,” Patrice snapped.
“Before things get too far out of hand, I think I’m going to hang up,” Jacques said.
Without responding, Patrice hung up before he could and that’s where he left it.
As soon as Patrice hung up the phone with Jacques, Nikki buzzed the intercom. She opened the door for her.
Nikki stepped inside brushing snowflakes from her coat and stomping it off her boots on the rug at the door.
“Wow, is it snowing?” Patrice asked.
“Yes, just flurries.”
“So, how did the session go?” Patrice wanted to find out if Nikki was making any progress. She didn’t know what it felt like to be abused, but she wanted Nikki to lead a happy, healthy and productive life. She was still young enough to do so.
Nikki removed her gloves, hat and scarf and put them on the hanger. “It went well. The people in the group are very receptive and supportive.”
“Do you want to talk about your experience with them tonight?”
Nikki walked further into the living room where Patrice was sitting in the recliner. “Not much to talk about. They tried to get me to open up, but I’m still not quite ready to talk about it.”
“Some people take longer than others to reach that point. It’s okay that you didn’t tonight. You will though, one day.”
Patrice watched Nikki intently to see her facial expression. She opened her mouth at the same time as her cell phone started playing a ring tone of the John Legend song “All of Me.”
Sitting there silently, Patrice continued to watch her and from the look in Nikki’s eyes, Patrice suspected that the caller was probably her boyfriend.
Nikki stood staring at the screen on her phone. Patrice stood, placing her hands on her hips. Who does she think she’s fooling?
“I need to check on Katrina,” Nikki said quickly disappearing into the back room.
I know this girl is not about to let that man back into her life.
Shaking her head wearily, Patrice padded barefoot into her own room. She walked straight through to her bathroom and sat in front of the vanity. Popping a moist towelette from the package, Patrice removed her makeup using circular motions. She thought about the complexity of all the events that had unfolded in her life. Opening the drawer to her right, she removed her head cover. Wrapping her hair, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She needed to figure out what was really going on because her relationship with Jacques didn’t seem to be going as she’d hoped. Maybe the relationship happened too quickly and she should step back for the time being. She would have to get Nikki squared away, her fragrance launched and then take a much-needed vacation.
Patrice got up from the chair, washed her hands and slipped into her pajamas. She was so worn out from earlier, her bed was calling her name and she was ready to answer.
“Tomorrow’s got to be better than today,” she said as she slipped under the cover. She leaned over and pressed the light switch and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Chapter Twenty
Patrice awakened the next morning feeling much better than she did the night before, but there were still a few things still heavy on her heart. The first one being her relationship with Jacques. She had no idea what she was going to do about him. It seemed as if he was getting more and more upset by the day. She hated when they argued, but she had to get him to see that she was only trying to help Nikki.
Nikki pretending with her last night bothered her as well. Patrice was worried that Nikki was allowing Terrance back into her life. She couldn’t imagine what Terrance might do to Nikki if there was a next time.
Patrice sat up on the side of the bed and stretched. She could smell the fresh aroma of coffee drifting in the air. Throwing back the multi-colored comforter, she slipped into her robe and walked out of the room. Nikki wasn’t usually up at that time of morning, so Patrice wondered if her being up had anything to do with the mysterious telephone call she received the night before.
Walking up to the closed door of the bedroom that Nikki and her daughter were staying in, Patrice lifted her hand to knock, but Nikki opened the door first. She was fully dressed like she was ready to go out for the day. Patrice wanted to ask her
what was going on, but she thought she’d wait to see if she’d tell her on her own.
“Good morning, Patrice,” Nikki said, her voice pleasant.
They walked down the short hallway together to the kitchen.
“How are you feeling this morning, Nikki?”
“I feel great. You look better this morning,” she said to Patrice.
Patrice gave her a sidelong glance. Nikki must have detected the strain between her and Jacques.
“I only saw a small amount of ground coffee in a bag. How long have you had it in the cabinet?”
Patrice threw her head back and laughed. “Chile, there’s no telling how long that’s been in there. I’m really not a coffee drinker,” she said as they entered the kitchen.
Patrice smiled when she saw Katrina sitting at the table trying to eat her oatmeal by herself. “Hi, sweetness,” she said, walking over to the toddler, kissing her forehead.
Patrice poured herself a cup of coffee. She didn’t want Nikki to feel as if she did something wrong. Actually, the gesture was very kind. Looking over at Katrina, who had oatmeal all over herself and the table, she said, “She is really growing. I think she’s changed since you guys have been here.”
“She sure has,” Nikki said, standing in front of the toaster with her back turned to Patrice. “Would you like a bagel or do you prefer toast?”
“A bagel and cream cheese would be nice. There’s some fresh fruit in the fridge,” Patrice said, wetting a clean towel so that she could clean the table where Katrina made the mess.
“Patrice, I can clean up her mess. You don’t have to do it.”
“It’s okay, you’re making breakfast,” Patrice said, swiping the excess food in the garbage. She glanced up at Nikki who was watching her intently. “You’re not the maid,” she told her.
Nikki was nervous and Patrice didn’t know why. It crossed her mind that Nikki probably had been in contact with Terrance and he filled her head with a lot of nonsense.
The bagel popped up in the toaster just as Patrice was cleaning Katrina’s hands and mouth with a wet paper towel. “Wow, just in time,” she said when she heard the toaster pop up. She threw the soiled cloth into the trash and took her bagel, plated it then sat with the bowl of fruit in front of her. As she spread cream cheese on her bagel, Nikki poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table.
Be My Valentine: The McClendon Holiday Series, Book 3 Page 19
