His Work Wife (8 page)

Chapter Fourteen: Tyrone

“Hey, Ty,” Keisha greeted. “How was your time off?”

“It was alright I guess. And yours? What did you and your girl get into?”

If I wanted to find out what Kadeema had been up to all I had to do was ask mouth all mighty! Keisha was always willing to tell me what was going on. She low-key liked me, but she didn’t think I knew it. I could always tell when a chick was feeling me.

“Oh, we didn’t get into too much. I was supposed to hit up The Galleria with Kadeema, but she had so much shit to do. I would have been away from my kids all day. Ain't nobody got time for that!” she gripped. “Did y’all hook up for New Year’s Eve?”

Oh, so Kadeema was at The Galleria Saturday when Presley was attacked. That shit could not have been a coincidence. That would explain why I couldn’t get in touch with her when I called. Her phone kept going to voicemail. Maybe because her ass was out doing dirt!

“Nah, Presley wasn’t having that shit. Her ass always seems to know when I’m up to something. She has some kind of sixth sense or something. She can see right through my ass and that pisses me off!” I pointed out. “I dunno, maybe she just wanted me home since she was attacked at the Galleria on Saturday. The person bumped her really hard, trying to knock her down. But wifey taxed that ass before she could get away unscathed.”

Bingo! Keisha’s face told it all. Her face turned green as if she was about to toss her cookies. That was all I needed to confirm my suspicions.

“Umm, what? Presley was attacked?” she asked as she averted her gaze to her shoes and shifted her body. “Is she okay? Does she know who did it?”

“Nah it all happened so fast. I don’t think she saw the person’s face. I’m just glad she’s okay, ya know? It’s no big deal. It was probably just some crazy left over from the holidays,” I answered as I swiped my timecard.

“Oh okay, well I’ll see you later,” she stated.

Keisha hurried away as if she had seen a ghost. Shit had just gotten real. Kadeema was cool with me and the gushy was nice, but if she tried to pull a stunt like this, I’d have to let her go. Hell, what if Presley lost the baby? I would have to deal with that guilt for the rest of my life. I was going to address this shit as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Later that night I received a text from Kadeema saying, “Meet in the back of the warehouse, daddy. I gotta itch that only you can scratch!” This would be my chance to confront her about my suspicions.

Kadeema’s eyes gleamed with joy as soon I stepped around the corner.

“Hey, bae! Muah.” She kissed me. “I missed you! I haven’t seen you since Christmas Eve. C’mon, let’s start this New Year off right!”

Damn! I had my little speech all prepared, but my hardness clouded my judgment. My head was in the clouds as Kadeema massaged my manhood. Dropping to her knees, she unbuckled my belt, releasing all of me for her eyes to see. The curve in my dick was hitting up against her nose and she savored me as she licked the length of the magic stick. Next, she cupped my balls before engulfing me with her mouth. Her mouth accommodated my girth well as she spat on it and jacked me off. I knew it was a mistake to allow this to happen before confronting her, but I was weak. Kadeema damn near sucked the skin off my shaft, and I enjoyed every minute of it. She smiled and winked at me as my hot nut filled her mouth.

“Mmm, that was good.” She wiped. “My turn!”

Kadeema slid her left pant leg down as she assumed her normal position against the wall. Normally, I would tear that ass up while she rested on my shoulders, but it wouldn’t happen like that tonight. I needed to go ahead and get this out of the way.

“What’s wrong with you?” She frowned. “I
know
you not just finna leave me hanging like this!”

“Kadeema, there’s no easy way for me to ask you this. So I’m just going to come out with it. Did you attack Presley at The Galleria Saturday when you went?”

“What?! I just gave you some hellified head and now you’re asking me if I attacked your damn wife?! What kind of shit is this? And why didn’t you ask me this
before
I sucked you off?”

Yeah, I’ll admit that was low of me to get my rocks off before handling my business, but that was her fault. She awakened the beast when she started rubbing and touching shit. What could I say? Once the beast was released, he wouldn’t rest until he was taken care of.

“Kadeema, I’m sorry, bae, but you started doing your thing before I could ask you about the attack.”

“Oh, but yo ass could have stopped me!” she yelled. “So that’s how it is? You get yours and I’m just ass out because now you wanna fucking talk! That is really fucked up, Ty!”

“You’re evading the question. Answer me damn it!” I snapped.

“No,” she answered, popping her lips. “I didn’t have shit to do with what happened to your damn wife!”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes!” she snapped. “Why the hell do you keep asking me that?”

“Because I was talking to Keisha and she mentioned you went to the Galleria on Saturday.  And you know that is the day LeeLee gets her hair done. So I need to make sure you didn’t have anything to do with it.”

Kadeema was adamant about not having anything to do with Presley’s mishap, so I decided to leave her alone for now. However, I’d be paying attention to her ass moving forward. Maybe she really didn’t have anything to do with it.

“So Keisha told you I was at the Galleria? And since when you start calling that bitch by her nickname?!”

“First of all, she’s not a bitch; she’s my wife! Secondly, Keisha and I were just talking when she mentioned she was supposed to ride out with you. But you know what? Don’t worry about it. I’m just overreacting. I knew there was no way you could do something so sinister,” I smiled.

“Oh okay. I thought she may have been trying to insinuate something.”

I thought it was strange Kadeema was worried about what Keisha may have indirectly insinuated. But since I had no real proof and there was no real harm done, I let it go.

“Nah, it was just a casual conversation between co-workers, that’s all. But I tell you what. We better get back to our departments before people notice we are both MIA.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Chapter Fifteen: Presley

February had arrived and being seven months pregnant, I was the size of a damn elephant! The good news was my doctor suggested I be induced next month because my blood pressure had been elevated. Probably due to all of the bullshit I was going through with Ty. Whatever the case was, it wasn’t safe for me and the baby. And since it was the first of the month, March couldn’t get here quick enough.

Valentine’s Day was two weeks away and I couldn’t help but be a tad excited about whatever it was Ty may have had planned for me. He was great with his gifts. For Christmas, I received a diamond tennis bracelet. Maybe this time he would bless me with matching diamond earrings.

Unfortunately, nothing much had changed between Ty and myself since the New Year’s Eve fiasco. We didn’t talk much. He still came home late from being with her, and I drowned my sorrows with Oreos and milk since I couldn’t drink right now. However, it became increasingly difficult to ignore Ty’s comings and goings. I spent the majority of my days wondering what he was doing with her and it drove me insane. The saying was true, “An idle mind is the Devil’s playground.” With so much time on my hands, I made him pay for my newly acquired typing classes. I’ve always regretted not learning to type in high school. This way, I could learn something new while getting out of the house at the same damn time. Besides, learning to type would benefit me later.

Tyrone and I had learned to merely co-exist with one another. We tried desperately not to argue because of the boys. The one thing we could agree on lately was not letting Darren and Tyler see us argue. It was important to us both that the boys knew we both loved them unconditionally no matter what was going on between us.

One rainy Saturday afternoon I was sitting at my computer practicing my typing when Ty came home from work on time for a change. To my surprise, he actually greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and his beautiful smile. It had been ages since I saw that smile. I was sure Kadeema saw it consistently since she made him so damn happy.

“Hey, Leelee, whatchu doin’ up so late? Don’t you and my baby need to be getting some rest?”

Wow! He called me by my nickname. Ty hadn’t called me by the nickname since all of this shit started. My heart smiled for a brief moment but was interrupted by reality. Uhn uh, his ass was up to something. I just needed to wait for it.

“The baby and I are always up this time of night. This is when he decides he wants to have his own little dance party,” I grinned. “But you are normally at work until three AM,” I said with air quotes.

“Oh well, I just wanted to come home early and snuggle with my baby-mama.” He rubbed my stomach.

I smiled as I waited for him to drop the bomb he was holding onto. My arms were folded on top of my baby bump. He continued to ramble on and proceeded to stare.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m trying to figure out what you want because you are a little too pleasant. So wassup?”

“What, is it a crime that I be nice to my wife? I am never mean to you and you know it.”

“Okay, if you say so,” I dismissed.

Ty fixed him a plate of ribs and macaroni, proceeded by a shower. As he dried himself off, I could tell he had something he wanted to say.

“So listen, my friend, Tim, has an extra ticket to see Cedric the Entertainer on February 12
th
. He asked if I wanted to go and I said yeah.”

Okay, that was what this was all about. My intuition was spot on. I knew he had something up his sleeve. This was all a setup for this shit right here. But it wasn’t about to go down like he may have thought it would. I’d be damned.

“Ty, what kind of fool do you take me for?” I blasted. “I am so tired of your shit! All you do is insult my intelligence and it is way past tiresome! How. The. Hell. Do you think I would be okay with you going to a damn comedy show for Valentine’s Day?! And with a muthafucking homeboy? Not to mention the comedy show is being promoted as a couple’s event!”

“Man, I’m not going on Valentine’s Day though. Hell, if you don’t believe me I can take a pic of Tim and me when we get there.”

Oh my God! I swear he says some of the most stupid shit ever! He was so lucky that I was pregnant because if I weren’t, his ass would have just gotten molly-whopped!

“Muthafucka, please! Ain’t nobody stupid! Unless you and Tim are on the down low, which I doubt, this is a double date. You can take pictures all day long because all you have to do is have your bitches to step back. Shit on the cool, they will probably be the ones to take the picture! So try again!”

Ty paced back and forth in our bedroom. Apparently, he wasn’t prepared for my reaction, which was crazy because he should have been. Every time he came at me with stupid shit, I shut his ass down. So why did he think this time would be any different? I just didn’t understand anymore. How could a man that was all about his family suddenly be so consumed with a bitch that would give it away to the highest bidder?

“Presley, why is it every time I want to do something, you have a problem?” he roared.

“It’s a problem because you think I’m ignorant and naïve to what is going on! First, you wanted to attend a damn New Year’s Eve party where you claim your customer’s wife would not be there. Now you want me to believe that you are going to a comedy show with just you and your homeboy. Nah, patna! Tell that bitch you can’t go to this either and I hope she didn’t pre-order the tickets without getting my approval first!”

“I’m tired of this shit Presley!” he ranted while grabbing his keys. “I’ll be back!”

“Oh, what? You gotta go call her and tell her you can’t come out to play that night? Well, tell her you can come if you can stay with her when it’s over!”

“Oh, don’t challenge me on that because she has BEEN wanting me to move in with her! So, you might not wish to do that,” he boasted.

“Bitch WHAT?!” I screamed. I grabbed a candle from my nightstand and threw it at him. I barely missed his head as he dodged the flailing bottle of wax.  I was livid. How dare he throw that shit up in my face? “You got some damn nerve to say that shit to me! Oh, so the bitch been wanting you to move in with her? A’ight! Carry yo’ ass over there then! She can have your ass! I guarantee you that when she gets your ass over there with her full time she will want to send you right back over here!”

By now, I’d made my way into the living room. I noticed a bottle of water on the table. I snatched it up and chucked it at him hitting him in the middle of the back.

“Presley, shit! Stop throwing things at me! I’m sorry; I didn’t mean what I said. I was just mad,” he begged.

“Fuck you! Don’t try to retract that shit now! You said what you meant and you meant what you said! Okay, so now I know she’s been hassling you to leave me! And that is the kind of woman you want? A chick that is fine with you turning your back on your family so that she can have you all to herself? So you cool with the fact that she doesn’t give a damn about you being in your kids’ life! That says a lot about yo’ dumb ass, too!”

“Presley, please! If I wanted to leave you, I could have done that way before now! It’s been almost a year!”

I didn’t even dignify him with a response. I rushed into the kitchen to grab my hammer. Meanwhile, Ty scurried out of the door before I get close enough to hurt him. He was lucky I couldn’t move as fast as I used to with this stomach. Harper had saved his life! Otherwise, I would have beat his ass into mush!

Ty came back to the house a couple of hours later, which was a good thing because I needed time to cool off. By the time he came back home I had gotten in bed.  Apparently, he was still feeling some kind of way due the way he threw his keys on the dining table. He slammed them down with such force it woke me out of my slumber. The temptation to get up and start some more shit eluded me as sleep held me captive. I would have to let this battle pass on by. Besides, he could be mad all he wanted. Hell, I preferred it. Why should I be the only upset all of the time?

Harper couldn’t come quick enough for me. Yep, I decided to name my little bundle Harper Tyrone Chambers. He already had such a cute little personality, so now he had a name. However, I was so ready to push him out. I was limited as to what I could and couldn’t do because of my pregnancy. Outside of tonight, I hadn’t acted a fool in a while and I was long overdue.

Anyway, Valentine’s Day came and went. Needless to say, Ty didn’t go to the comedy show. But he didn’t do anything for
me
on that day either. As a matter of fact, I didn’t receive my diamond earrings I was expecting. He did, however, give me a peck on the cheek followed by a dry Happy V-Day.

A few days later, I noticed he came in the house wearing a brand new watch.  This bastard had his nerves! I know damn well he didn’t bring his ass in here sporting a watch when he hadn’t gotten me anything for Valentine’s Day. Ty was obviously in a cheerful mood when he strutted through the door.

“Heeey, whatchu cooking? It smells good up in here!”

“Oxtails, rice and gravy with collard greens and yams,” I replied. “Umm. What’s that?”

“Oh, this? Oh, this my new watch I got on sale,” he answered.

“Oh yeah? On sale for how much?”

“About sixty dollars. Why all the damn questions?” he snapped. “What? You have a problem with me buying myself something nice?”

I heard what he said, but my instincts were telling me he didn’t buy that watch… she did. It baffled me as to how little he thought I paid attention to him.  Tyrone never purchased jewelry for himself. I always did that for him. He knew how to pick the most beautiful pieces for me, but when it came to himself, he didn’t have a clue. I had purchased every piece of jewelry for him, including his watches! My gut was telling me Kadeema had bought that cheap shit for him. I positioned myself right in front of him so I could look into his eyes.

“So, you don’t buy me anything for Valentine’s Day, but you go and buy yourself a sixty dollar watch? Please tell me how on earth does this make sense in your mind, Ty?”

“Man, whatever!” he fumed. “I didn’t have enough money to get you what I wanted and you know you have expensive taste. So I was gonna hook you up later. Damn!”

“That is such bullshit!” I popped my lips. “YOUR taste is expensive! I don’t just have to have bank-breaking gifts! But you could have gotten me something! Anything to let me know you care about ME! Instead, you go and buy yourself a damn watch!” I chuckled at the thought of how stupid he looked right now.

“Whatchu laughing at?” he frowned.

“I’m laughing at you because you’re funny!” I shook my head. “Let me tell you how shit really went down. You didn’t buy me anything because you probably bought Kadeema’s hoe-ass a gift. And since you couldn’t afford buy two gifts, she was the chosen one since she bought you that watch, right?”

Ty’s facial expression confirmed my accusations. Silence filled the room as he pondered his next response. He knew I’d figured out the situation exactly as it had taken place. He also knew if he kept talking, he would only dig himself into a deeper hole.

“Man, whatever, Presley!” He waved his hand, walking away from me.

Now that I pretty much knew the reason why he hadn’t gotten me a gift, I was beyond hurt. Actually, it felt more like a gut-punch. How dare he put this bitch before me? My tears stung my eyes as I realized I was becoming dangerously closer to losing my husband. It was just a matter of time. The worst part was I had no way to stop it. I could only let it run its course.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I held him down when he had no one else. All I wanted was forever with him. I thought we were on the same page until we weren’t. I wanted to be the only woman in his life, not number one. See, being number one still allowed for more to follow and that wouldn’t work for me. Hell at this point, I wasn’t even number one on his roster….she was!