Line Of Trust (BWWM Interracial Romance) (6 page)

“
You will be sorry,” he said as he looked onto Desiree’s brown eyes. A smile played on Desiree’s lips as she crossed her arms on her chest.

“
How about you take that smug look out of my store,” she said. Mark took a long deep breath as he turned towards the door, coming face to face with Taylor.

“
So you are the guy who got hit by the bullet I dodged,” he said as he looked at Taylor. Desiree looked at Taylor and felt a tingle down her spine. He had seen that look in Taylor’s eyes before.

“
Just let it go, Ericson,” she said.

“
Your bitch is right. Let it go, Ericson,” Mark said smiling. Taylor took a step forward and looked into Mark’s eyes.

“
What the hell did you just call her?” he asked. Desiree stood in between them and looked at Taylor.

“
Be the bigger man, Ericson,” she said. Mark nodded and stretched his hand out to shake Taylor’s hand.

“
Let’s end this like gentlemen,” he said. Taylor nodded and shook Mark’s hand but suddenly Mark’s faced was all grimaced, as if he was in pain. Desiree suddenly knew what was going on.

“
Let him go, Taylor,” she said looking at Mark’s arm that was beginning to come alive with his straining veins. Mark suddenly gasped and began going lower on the floor until he was almost kneeling on the floor and all Desiree and Cynthia could do was watch in horror.

“Taylor, let him go!” Desiree yelled. Cynthia walked around the desk and tried pulling Mark’s hand from Taylor’s grip. Desiree was beginning to feel a panic rising in her. She had seen Taylor angry before, but just once. She had actually never seen him like this and considering he had a temper, she was worried about what he would do. She knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that if Taylor took a swing at Mark, he would make sure he used all the resources he had to make her boyfriend’s life miserable...and that wasn't something she was prepared to live with.

“
Taylor!” Cynthia said in a loud whisper as Mark groaned in pain.

“
The next time you call my girl a bitch, will be the last thing you ever do,” Taylor said before releasing Mark. Mark gasped loudly as Taylor walked out of Desiree’s office quickly. Desiree looked at Mark and then at Cynthia. Her heart was at that point pounding so hard in her chest, she almost thought everyone in the room could hear it.

“
Go. I got this,” Cynthia said as she looked at Mark.

Desiree ran out of the store, trying to restrain herself from calling out to Taylor. The last thing she needed was to make a scene at her place of work. When she finally caught up to him, he was already standing next to his truck.

“Hey...are you okay?”  She asked as she looked at Taylor who was leaning against the truck. She was happy that he had left the office without doing anything that might have guaranteed a lifetime of regret because of Mark. He smiled and nodded.

“
Yeah, I thought I would pick you up. You know the movie and everything,” he said. “I am beginning to think I shouldn’t have,” he added. Desiree looked into his eyes and sighed.

“
I need you to know that I had no part in this,” she said. Taylor looked at her and nodded.

“
I know that” he said.

“
And I also need you to know that if I had things my way, this would have never happened,” she said again. A smile played on Taylor’s lips.

“
I know that, too,” he added.

“
I told Mark that I would take a restraining order if he doesn’t leave me alone. This was his last warning,” she said. Taylor smiled again and nodded.

“
That is the best news I have heard all day,” he said. There was a long silence as the two stood there, looking at each other. None of them really knew what to say. Nothing seemed suitable for that particular moment. For Desiree, those were the longest sixty seconds she had ever had to endure and for Taylor, it was the same thing.

“
So are we still...” “The movie....”

They both laughed when they realized that they had spoken up at the same time. Taylor leaned against the truck and looked into Desiree’s brown eyes.

“You first,” he said smiling. She smiled and then shrugged before pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“
I wanted to find out if we were still on for the movie?” she asked. Taylor nodded.

“
Of course we still are but I was thinking of getting a DVD and watch it in the house as we have dinner. It’s been a long time since the two of us spent any time together. Just us,” he said. Desiree smiled as she felt a tingle going down her spine.

“
That would be great,” she said.

“
So are you already done with everything or should we meet up at my place?” Taylor asked. She turned around and looked at the store and then looked at Taylor.

“
I’ll get my things. I’ll just be a minute,” she said as she quickly walked into the store. She took a long deep breath as she made her way to the back where her office was located. She could hear Cynthia’s voice giving an earful to Mark. She shook her head. That man obviously needed a little more than basic logic to survive. When she opened the door, Cynthia went quiet as she and Mark looked at her. Desiree walked to her desk and picked up her bag before she whispered something to Cynthia. She then turned around and looked at Mark and rolled her eyes. “Give it up, Cynthia. This douche is not worth it,” she said. She was just about to walk out when Mark grabbed her hand. She looked at him in anger and attempted to pull her arm away. “Get your hands off me,” she hissed.

“
This is my last offer, Young. I will never make this offer to you again,” he said.

“
Perfect. I don’t have to deal with this nonsense anymore,” Desiree said, feigning laughter.

“
Think about it,” Mark said. Desiree pulled her arm away and looked at him.

“
there's nothing to think about,” she said before she walked out. Cynthia was all smiles as she watched Desiree walking out. Mark turned to look at her and shrugged.

“
Guess she told you, huh?” Cynthia said as she smiled. Mark nodded.

“
Guess she did. Too bad though. This would have been the beginning of a great business relationship,” he said. Cynthia shook her head.

“
Humor me, why were you so bent on getting Desiree while you could have gotten just about anyone?” she asked. Mark picked up the file that had the contract and sighed.

“
Desiree is an honorable woman and there are not so many of those around anymore. I know that we didn’t have the best start but there was one thing I knew I could always count on: her honesty when it came to matters that pertain to my company,” he said. Cynthia smiled and walked to the door and held it open.

“
Well, good riddance to you, and don’t you dare think that we weren’t serious about getting the restraining order,” she said as she watched him walking out of the office. She held herself back from striking him. God knew she had wanted to do that ever since he acted like a fool in front of her cousin. She always thought that Desiree deserved better.

             
*******************************************************

When Desiree and Taylor got to his place, she was a little more tired than usual. She wanted to go have a long shower and maybe a soak in the tub, anything to release her tense muscles. She walked into the living room and slumped down on the couch.

“You look exhausted,” Taylor said as he walked into the living room. She smiled and looked up at him.

“
I am,” she said in an quiet voice. He sat down next to her and looked at her. “Turn around,” he said. She turned around and sat with her back to him. She closed her eyes as she felt him sweeping her hair off to one side of her neck before he began massaging her slowly. She couldn't help but let out a long soft moan as she felt him working out the tight knots in her neck and shoulders. 

“
That feels so great,” she said in a low voice.

“
I’m glad to be of service,” he said.

“
I know you were really looking forward to this movie night but would you mind if I had a shower first?” she asked.

“
Of course not. That will give me time to get a nice dinner ready. I really didn’t want to order in tonight. I have been living on pizza for almost an entire week,” he said smiling.

“
That’s what you get for ignoring me for the past week,”
Desiree thought but she didn't dare say it. She turned around and gave Taylor a quick kiss before she walked upstairs. She quickly got out of her clothes and jumped in the shower. She could feel the tension draining away as she stood under the running water. As she stood there, she thought of the day that had been and sighed.

“
That shack you call an apartment...”

That was what Mark thought of the place she took so much pride in calling her own. She felt a burning sting as she thought back to when she and Rochelle were in foster care, the way she hated being in the system, partly because they never really found the loving caring parents they hoped for, and also because no one could ever compare to her mother. She had always dreamed of working hard and getting herself and her sister out of foster care and now that she had, nothing made her happier than knowing that everything she had, she had worked her ass off for.

She took a long deep breath and leaned against the cool tiles of the bathroom as she thought of how different her life would have been if she had accepted Mark’s offer. She would no longer just have to pitch in on Rochelle’s tuition, but she would be all in. She would start up her own business...a catering company, she had always wanted something like that, and then she would shop every chance she got. She would make sure she dressed in all the best designer clothes, carried all the fancy bags and....she sighed as the realization hit her. That was all rich people did. Shop and look good before they drowned their sorrows at the end of the day in martinis because there wasn'thing else they had to do because they were that empty.

One thing Desiree knew was that she didn't want to become one of those women – one of those ill-mannered do-gooder Stepford Wives. She was fine with who she was. She had a great life. She had worked hard to be the woman she was and she had done everything in her power to make sure that she and her younger sister wanted for nothing. She had lived a life worth every bit of the respect that Mark didn't give her. And the fact that he had been born to the “greatness” he so marveled at didn't mean that he had any right to despise people who were born in different situations. That was what she thought; that was the truth of the matter. She took another deep long breath before she turned off the water.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she felt so much lighter, so much better than she had before she went in. She was sure of one thing, Mark would never be a problem for her again – not because she planned on getting a restraining order or anything like that, but because she had chosen to let everything go. She had chosen to take the high road and for her that meant ignoring the fact that Mark even existed. She slipped into one of Taylor’s t-shirts and pinned her hair up before she walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs where Taylor was setting the small dining table in the kitchen.

“
What are you doing? I thought we were going to eat in front of the TV as we watch the movie,” she said as she looked at him. “Or did you make one of your three course meals?” she asked as she raised an eyebrow. Taylor looked up and smiled at her.

“
You know I’m so used to this table, it didn’t even occur to me,” Taylor said as he put the glass he held on the table.

“
What did you make, anyway?” she asked as she walked towards him.

“
Nothing major, just a stir fry,” he said as he gave her one of the plates on the counter. Desiree looked at him and smiled.

“
Smells really good,” she said.

“
Well, lucky enough for you, you will get to kiss the chef later on. Maybe even fool around a little if you know what I mean,” he said as he grabbed two sodas from the fridge. She smiled and helped him with the other plate as she followed him to the living room.

“
Trust me when I tell you I can’t wait,” she said as she placed both plates on the table. Taylor put the sodas on the table and picked up the three DVDs that he had got earlier on in the day.

“
So, what are you in the mood for? Good old school, some action or a comedy?” he asked. Desiree shrugged.

“
Guess some action is okay,” she said.

“
Good, I was hoping you’d say that because It's about time we saw what GI Joe looks like in HD,” he said smiling. Desiree rolled her eyes.

“
We would have seen it in 3D if you weren’t such a sissy about it,” she said. Taylor frowned.

“
I wasn't being a sissy. We had a choice and of course I was going to pick fast cars on 3D rather than a bunch of guys shooting at each other,” he said smiling. Desiree raised an eyebrow.