Let Me Just Say This (10 page)

“Shh Nigga, Cheryl is right upstairs.”

“Cut yourself shaving?” Cory asked while turning Kevin's head to the side. Kevin slapped his hand away.
“What?”

“You got a cut on your face.”

“Probably,” he said while walking out into the garage. “Be right back,” he yelled to Cory as he sprinted back into the house.

He took the stairs two at a time. He opened the door and saw her laying there with just her bra and panties on. As he kneeled down beside her, he noticed a bruise on her neck. As he looked further down, he noticed more bruises. He nudged her and she jumped away from him.

“Hey sleepyhead. Look, I'm sorry about last night. You know I would never intentionally hurt you. I will call you later. Ok. Look, when I get back we will go away for a few days.”

He tried to kiss her. She turned over and offered no response.

“You are going to miss your flight,” she said dryly.

As Kevin walked back downstairs he took out his phone. “Yeah, twelve will be fine. Thanks. Make sure you hook them up like I know you can.”

“Everything ok?” Corey asked as he got into the car.

“Yeah,” Kevin replied but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling he had on the inside that something had definitely changed last night between him and her.

She climbed on her bed and cried as if the world had crumbled beneath her and she was in the pit of hell. She cried even harder when she thought of all the plans they had. She was saving herself for him and there he was; giving his away to the first pair of open legs. Maybe Angel was right. Almost as if she had heard her thoughts, Angel walked in without knocking.

“Can't you knock?” she said through tears.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“So you just sitting here crying just because?”

“Yep” she said, not bothering to look at her.

“No you are not. Now tell me. Did somebody do something to you?” she asked.

“Shaun.” Cheryl said, looking up at her sister.

“What, damnit will you stop talking in riddles?” her sister said.

“Shaun did something.”

“What did he do?”

“He's having a baby.” Her whimpers became full sobs

“Who told you that? You know you can't believe everything you hear,” her sister said.

“Oh no? Not even when it was him that told me?”

Angel sat down on her bed. “Ok, just let me say this. Eww. What is wrong with him?”

“I should have done like you said. I should have just
given him some. Instead he went and got it from somebody else.” She cried harder into her pillow.

“No you shouldn't have,” She said while rubbing her sister's back. “You believe in why you didn't sleep with him and that's a good thing. Look, you will eventually find somebody that will appreciate you waiting and he wasn't that cute anyway. You can get plenty where he came from. Ok.”

Cheryl turned over and continued to cry. She didn't want anyone else she wanted him and now she knew there was no way she was going to have him.

By the time Kevin and Cory got to the airport, Kevin's mind was on something else, well, someone else. They checked their luggage and headed for the gate they would depart from. As they walked up, he spotted her. Damn, every time he saw her, it was like he was a nervous teenage boy going on his first date.

“Man, you got it bad.” Cory said.

“Got what,” Kevin answered.

“Man, even a blind man could see you got feelings for her.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Look, it's like I'm walking beside the goddamn sun. I'm just glad I got my sunglasses with me,” Corey said as he pulled his dark glasses back into place.

There was no denying it. Kevin did have it bad for her. He had never intended to fall in love with her. He could remember when he knew he had fallen hard. He and Cheryl had yet another stupid argument. So he called her just to talk since they had gotten to be friends. They talked for hours about the argument he had with his wife and he told her how he could talk to her so much easier than Cheryl. He told her that he liked how she understood everything he was trying to do and how he worked so hard for a few years, so he wouldn't have to work the rest of his years. He had asked her to meet him for drinks and she agreed. As they sat and talked he told her how his heart
was becoming involved with her in more than just a friendship way and she told him she felt the same. He actually confessed to her how he felt the very first time she walked into their offices three years ago.

“Hey man, the agency is sending over one more candidate for the position.” Cory started shifting folders on the desk until he found the one he was looking for. “Umm, her name is Rebecca Hardy. She graduated from North Carolina A & T, with a degree in business management. She should be on her way.”

Kevin rolled his eyes before he spoke. “Well, I hope she ain't a waste of our time. We told them what we wanted and they keep sending us these goddamn kids who don't know shit about what they want out of life, let alone know how to run an office.”

Corey pushed the papers across his desk, “well after I got off da phone with them I think they got the message that if they keep sending us crap, we would pull our temp contract with them.”

Kevin jumped up from his seat. “You did what!”

“Look, calm down, it was just a threat. They have to know you mean business.”

“They have been cool when it comes to giving us temps for the summer, so don't go fucking that up for us.” Kevin flopped back down into his seat.

Kevin liked Cory's business attitude, but sometimes he would get a little beside himself with power.

Kevin took a sip of coffee, “so after your little threat, what did they say?”

“That's when they told me about this Miss Hardy chic. They said she had recently lost her job with a big internet company and that she was one of the most desirable temps,” Cory said while walking towards the door.

“Well, if she is so damn desirable, why didn't anyone offer her a job yet?” Kevin wondered aloud.

“Same thing I asked, they said something about her being very selective.”

“Great just what we need, an uppity white woman,” Kevin said, while sucking his teeth.

They were interrupted by the phone. Kevin walked towards the desk and picked up Cory's phone.

“K & B Alliance, Kevin speaking. Yes, good afternoon Miss Hardy. My partner was just informing me about our meeting this afternoon. Yes. We are on the same block as the new Starbucks. We are two doors down, take the elevator to the third floor, and then pick a door.” Kevin let out a sly laugh. “Yes, exactly. We are the third floor. Ok. See you in an hour.”

Kevin was proud that within the span of five years his company was able to afford to lease the entire floor and of course with the help of the owners, they were able to come to an agreement on how the floor could be renovated to make everyone happy. They ended up having all of the walls knocked out. They always said that if they were blessed with their own space; they would knock out the walls and make two of the offices the same with enough space for a reception area. Same amount of windows, doors and floor space. They went in 50/50 and that is the way it would stay. The only distinction would be how they decorated their offices. Cory, well he was your typical bachelor. Black and leather everywhere. Whereas, Kevin had more of an Italian flair, with clean lines, as the decorators would say. They didn't bother with the uppity white woman, which was suggested, for interior design. They went with their own taste. They allocated one office for their mutual secretaries. Black (Cory) had found his secretary a while ago, but Kevin, well he was very picky. They agreed that “Barbie” wasn't office manager material and besides she wasn't the brightest bulb in the socket, although she suited Black well. Kevin knew that Black “occasionally” got with her and he didn't care as long as they were discreet and it didn't affect his work. She wasn't the best secretary, but Black was blinded by the blond.

“Well Mr. Know It All, what do you think?” Cory asked. “Well.” And then came the look.

“What's the look for?” Black asked.

“What look?”

“The look that says, I will interview her, but she won't have a job.”

“Cause I ain't hiring no white woman to be my office manager. I said it before, and I mean it; I will not be like a lot of these black men who make it to the top and then hire a bunch of white people to run things for them.”

“And how do you know she is white.”

“Come on now. How many black women do you know with the name Rebecca?”

“About as many as you know named Cheryl.” Cory said.

“Nigga got jokes.”

“All day. Besides, ain't no different than how you talk.”

Kevin raised an eyebrow. “And what does that mean?”

“Oh, you heard me Mr. White America.”

“Whateva nigga.”

Black got up and walked toward Kevin. “The only time I know you still my boy is when we hanging out. You talk so fucking proper it ain't even funny.”

“It's called proper English, my brotha.”

“It's called, white America nigga.” They both started laughing.

“You want me to sit in on the interview?”

“And you know this. Have Barbie give her the pre-interview sheet and then bring her in.”

“I will tell Ashley.”

As Kevin got up and walked to the window overlooking downtown, he ignored Cory's sarcastic remark. Kevin knew Cory didn't like him calling her Barbie, but she was the typical white girl. Bleached blond hair, big ass tits, and lots of lip gloss, earrings in her nose, tongue, not to mention she loved herself some black men.

“Might as well see if Miss Hardy can fit in especially with a woman who has been here more than two years. Who knows she might become Barbie's, I mean Ashley's boss.”

“Cool, I'll let her know.” Cory said as Kevin walked out
the door.

“You do that.”

The phone began ringing. Cheryl acted like she didn't hear her mom calling her. When her mom came to her room, she closed her eyes.

“Shaun, Cheryl is asleep. I will tell her to call you when she gets up.” Cheryl continued to lie on her bed until she couldn't take it anymore. She was too curious for her own good so she got up and went into her mother's room.

“Shaun called, and wants you to call him.” Just the sound of his name made her angry. “And why are you rolling your eyes at me?”

“Sorry.”

“Are you and Shaun ok?”

“Yeah, I will call him later,” she said as she walked out of her mom's room and into the kitchen. The phone rang but she didn't bother answering it. She figured it would be him and she would deal with that when the time.

“Oh yes, she just walked in the kitchen I think. Cheryl pick up the phone, its Shaun.”

She snatched up the phone with no intention of staying on the line. She had already changed her mind about talking to him.

He started talking immediately. “Cheryl don't hang up. Just listen. Nothing like this has ever happened before. It was an accident and I will always regret that it happened.”

She cut him off immediately. “No, you are only sorry because you got caught. For all I know you have done this
before and I have been too damn blind and dumb to see it.”

“No it hasn't. You gotta believe me.”

“No, you have that all wrong. My grandmother says all I gotta do is grow old and die.”

“Babe, please. Let's talk about this some more.”

“No! In case you didn't understand earlier. I don't want you calling me, talking to me at school, thinking about me or looking at me. Good bye Shaun.” she hung up the phone and cried as she made her way back to her room. Her heart was breaking and there was nothing that she could do about it. She had never loved anyone like this before and she felt that she would never love like this again.

“Hello gentlemen.” Rebecca said as they walked towards her in the terminal. “Thought you would never get here.”

“It was all Kevin's fault. He was the one who was slow this morning.”

“Everything ok?” Rebecca said to Kevin.

“Yeah, just a little nervous about this meeting. Wanted to make sure I had everything. Been here long?”

“Not really. I picked up some breakfast for us.”

Kevin had a smile on his face. “Always thinking ahead.”

“I figured the flight is a couple of hours, so by the time we get there, it will only give us about two hours before the meeting.”

Black was already in the white bag.

“Girl, you sure know what a brotha needs,” he said biting into his bacon, egg and grape jelly sandwich.

Rebecca always knew what each man liked for breakfast, hell it was her job to know. Black was just a country boy who always needed grape jelly on whatever breakfast sandwich he was eating.

She turned toward Kevin and replied coyly, “I like to think so.”

She and Kevin shared a smile.

“Now boarding Flight 267 to Atlanta. First class passengers may now board.”

“That's us dude and dudette.”

“Come on slow poke,” Rebecca said grabbing Kevin's hand.

“Whatever.”

Cheryl met Kevin about a year after graduating from high school. She had practically become a hermit in her room, never going out and never dating. By this time, her sister had two children and Cheryl loved her niece and nephew like nothing else in the world. Angel dragged her out one evening on a blind date and the guy seemed just as unimpressed with her as she was with him.

“Just come on, it will be fun.” Angel said to Cheryl as she pulled her up from the bed.