Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (22 page)

“But I’ve already been down that route; maybe I’m ready for something different.”

“I’m not your mom,” Madeline said, “But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”

Madeline was right, she wasn’t her mother. Tamika was going to do whatever she wanted and when she wanted something, she went full throttle.

Tamika was pulled from her thoughts when she saw Jin’s brow furrow. He looked confused, “I’m sorry, what do you mean?” he said into the phone. “Are you absolutely sure? I see.”

He hung up with a troubled look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, I double checked but maybe this number is old. Did Reginald get a new job within the last few months?”

Tamika shook her head, “No, he hasn’t. Why?”

“The receptionist said that he hasn’t worked there in months and from the sounds of it, he was fired.”

Tamika laid her head back onto her pillow, “Today just gets better and better.”

***

Reggie sat at the bar; he had drank three too many Jack and Cokes and he was not intending on stopping anytime soon. He was surrounded by modern luxury at the bar of the Andaz hotel right on Wall Street in downtown Manhattan. Whenever he was down in the dumps, he went to the places that he never could afford as a kid. Bar Seven Five was just that. He could get a room if he wanted to, granted it would be with the money that he couldn’t touch, but it was still his money. He’d worked hard to achieve his spot in life, but it didn’t matter, all of it was going to come crashing down on him. What happened to his brother was his fault and he was going to find a way to bring everything to an end. His brother hadn’t done anything wrong; he was used as a pawn. What kind of woman attacks a man’s family? Mimi, which was who. Now, he was forced to protect himself and his family the only way that he knew how.

The Glock Model 23 felt a little nostalgic, but he was going to have to get used to it. He used to carry a gun around when he was younger but when he completely switched over to a “square” lifestyle he gave it up. He hoped that this style of living would come to a close for him soon. As soon as he made sure that his family was safe, he would get rid of it. He had to use some of his emergency cash to get it, but shit, this was one hell of an emergency.

“Would you like another sir?” The bartender asked.

“Yeah, keep ‘em coming,” he responded.

When he met Mimi he knew that she was trouble, but he never thought that she would turn on him the way that she did. He took a risk leaving Alabama to come to New York to play football. He spent everything he had to get to where he was. His mother was no help and his father was an absentee. No one knew how broke he was, but Mimi spotted him from a mile away.

She was at the first game of the season, he didn’t get much time on the field but she’d been watching him. He caught her staring at him a few times, as he looked behind him into the bleachers. She was gorgeous, even though she was a little older than what he preferred in a woman.

After the game was over she called his name, “Dawson!”

He turned to see her and stopped before his team had to go to the locker room, “Yeah?” he said.

“You looked really good out there,” she grinned.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Why isn’t your hair cut? You would look so much better with a fresh lining,” she said as she sized him up.

He self-consciously ran a hand through his poorly maintained afro, “I just haven’t had the time, I’ve been busy.”

She gave him a knowing smile and handed him a piece of paper with her name and number on it, “When you have the time, call me. I’ll take care of you, as long as you take care of me.”

His eyes went wide, “I’m sorry what does that mean?”

“What do you think that it means?”

“Well…”

“You’re right,” she winked. “Now you go ahead and catch up with your team, I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Alright.”

“Dawson! Get your ass over here!” The coach yelled.

“Damn,” he said.

“Bye Dawson,” Mimi smiled before she sauntered off.

“Awwww shit, you’ve got a cougar after you! She’s fine as hell too Joe!” his teammate Marlon said.

“My name is Reggie.”

“Dude, I know that. I’m from chi-town, we call everybody Joe.”

“That’s some weird shit.”

“Aren’t you from Alabama? Where it’s legal to marry your first cousin?”

Reggie laughed, “You wanna make fun of the country boy huh?”

“All day every day,” Marlon said, “Most of my family migrated from the south so I’m used to dealing with country bumpkins.”

“Chicago is just full of country black people anyway.”

“That’s the truth,” Marlon laughed, “Here in New York everyone thinks I’m from Mississippi, we have light country accents. But then when I’m visiting my family in Arkansas, they all ask me if I’m from New York. I can’t win.”

“It’s a blessing, southern chicks love New York dudes and women from New York love country boys. You’ve got the best of both worlds.”

“Yep and when I’m home, I’m just another Joe.”

They both laughed and headed for the locker room.

Mimi came through with her promise. When he had some downtime, he called Mimi and she picked him up. She took him to get his hair cut, got him some new clothes, and then took him out to dinner. After dinner they went back to her place and he made good on his part of the deal. She taught him how to lick a kitty just the way that she liked it and just how powerful deep short strokes could be.

The entire time that he was with her, he was in awe. Why would a woman like her want to deal with a boy like him? He didn’t have two nickels to rub together. There were people that offered to do things for him financially, but he declined. Reggie was too afraid of being caught by the board and his school scholarship being snatched. Some things just weren’t worth it. He didn’t pawn all of his shit to get to New York just to fuck it up by being a greedy idiot. However, he still managed to get caught up. If he knew now what he knew then, his path would have been different. He would have spent all of his time and attention on the wild haired and sweet Tamika. She was everything that any man would want and more, but his time was split between two women and Tamika never had a clue.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time and noticed that Tamika called him. There was a voicemail as well, which was rare for her. He called her back and she picked up.

“Where in the hell are you?” She asked.

“I’m sorry babe, I’m out with the partners working late.”

“Right,” she said with a lot of attitude.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m in the hospital, that’s what. You need to get down here, now. I’m at St. Luke’s. Come to the ER and ask for me.”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Just get here,” she said before she hung up the phone.

Reggie wondered if someone did something to her. If someone touched his wife, not even God would be able to save them. He put enough money down to cover his tab and headed to his car. All of his drinking was wasted, the only feeling that was going through his body was panic.

 Within 45 minutes he was at the hospital, he entered and asked for his wife. They walked him to the back and he saw her lying in bed, and her boss Jin was sitting next to her. Did he ruin an intimate moment? Because that’s certainly what it felt like. Uncertainty settled into the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” Tamika said without a smile on her face.

Jin stood to his feet to shake his hand, he wasn’t rude so he returned the pleasantry.

“I hate that we had to see one another under these circumstances, but it’s nice to see you again,” Jin said.

“Yeah, thanks for being here with her. If you don’t mind I would like to talk to my wife.” He placed a big emphasis on the word ‘my’.

Jin got the idea and turned to Tamika, “If you need anything just let me know. I’ll see you whenever you’re ready to come back to work.”

“Thank you for everything,” Tamika said as she looked at him with soft eyes. Those were the eyes that Reggie thought were only reserved for him and random babies that they walked by on the street, but there she was, looking at Jin that way. It pissed him off.

Jin walked out of the room and Reggie took his place beside her.

“Baby, what’s going on?”

“I fell down the stairs at work today,” she said.

“Oh no, are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

Tamika’s bottom lip trembled before she burst into tears, “I’m not okay, I lost the baby. I didn’t know if you were going to make it in time, but in an hour I have to get my cervix scraped.”

Reggie’s heart broke for himself and for his wife. The tears that stayed pent up for years rolled down his cheeks. He hadn’t shed tears since the day of his wedding. His entire life was falling apart. 

#Chapter2

“Men are way more trouble than their worth.”

Kalena's Mom

Kalena woke up feeling extremely confused. The smell of fresh coffee filled the air, causing her stomach to grumble. After looking at the time on the clock she figured out that she woke up earlier than she should have. Why did she smell coffee? It wasn’t until the sound of melodic humming reached her ears that she realized her mom was there. How could she have forgotten?

Her mom dropped in on her two days prior and she refused to talk about why she was there. The only thing that her mother did since she’d been at her house was cry, cook, and watch TV. Hearing her hum was calming because it was the closest thing to joy from her mom that she’d heard since she arrived. Kalena walked to the kitchen and looked at her mom and almost laughed.

Only her mother would be awake at 6 in the morning fully dressed, not a hair out of place, and makeup done to perfection. She and her daughter shared the same model-like figure.

“You look great,” Kalena said.

“Thank you, baby, I feel better. Come on in and have a seat, I’ve made you coffee. Do you want me to cook breakfast?”

“No, you don’t have to do that. I’m just going to have a bagel.”

“I’ll put it in the toaster for you.”

Kalena felt like a child in her own house. She sat at the kitchen table and watched her mom busy herself.

“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Kalena asked.

Her mom sighed, “I know that I dropped a bomb on you when I showed up on your doorstep and I’m sorry for that. I just didn’t know where else to turn. My life was turned upside down, I was trying to make the best of it, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. The baby was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The fact that he would have a child with her was just too much to take.” Her voice trembled as she spoke. She stared at the toaster with her back turned to her daughter.

“So you just left? Did you all have a fight or something?”

“No we didn’t have a fight. He left to go to an ultra sound appointment with her and my heart felt so heavy. Usually when your dad messes up, I think it’s my duty to stand by him. Men make mistakes, especially men in his position. But for the first time in a long time, I felt stupid. So I headed to my room packed my suitcase and got into my car. Then I realized that I didn’t have any real friends. I don’t trust any of those women at the church enough to go to them. It’s not like I can tell my sisters what’s happening either, so I came here.”

“You haven’t told Auntie Marie or Toni?”

“No, I haven’t told them. How could I? They told me to leave your dad years ago, so I stopped confiding in them about things that are going on. The only person who knows what I go through is you.”

Kalena never viewed it that way, she never considered herself to be her mom’s only confidant. That made her feel differently about her mother and it made her feel bad about the way that she viewed her mom. That had to be an incredibly lonely existence. Even when things were tough, she always had her friends to fall back on. She never doubted that they would be there for her in any way that they could with no judgments and no strings attached.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“Today I’m meeting with two lawyers, one of my appointments is at 8 o’clock. They’re both in Manhattan, I want the absolute best. I plan on taking him to the cleaners. I’m sorry baby, but it’s going to get ugly.”

Kalena shrugged, “It’s about time you stood up for yourself. I love dad but what he’s been doing is foul.”

“I was also wondering if I could stay here for a few weeks while I search for a place.”

That’s what Kalena was afraid of, her mother staying with her for an extended period of time. Kalena liked her space and having her mother in it every day was going to suck but it was her mom.

“Of course you can stay here for a few weeks, if you need some help finding a place I know a great realtor that always has her hands on great properties. What kind of lease are you looking for?”

“For now I want a 6 month lease, and then look for something permanent. I’ve always wanted a high rise condo.”

“Then that’s exactly what you’re going to get, dad has the money.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“Can I just say that I’m proud of you? I know that this has to be a very hard decision, are you okay?”

“I’m not okay, I’m going to miss your dad and I’m embarrassed that I stayed for as long as I did.”

“Don’t feel embarrassed, he’s your husband. A lot of women have stayed longer for a lot less. You’ve been a great first lady, a great mother, and a phenomenal wife. You have nothing to be ashamed of; it’s him that should be ashamed.” Although she was just saying those things to console her mother, she realized that she meant them.

Tears glistened in her mom’s eyes when she sat Kalena’s bagel and coffee in front of her, “You don’t know how much that means to me. I always thought that you disliked me. Ever since that day…”

“Mom, I’m not going to lie, I was very upset with you. However, I never stopped loving you.”

“I feel like I failed you as a mother and just as a woman in general.”

“No, don’t you ever think that. You did what you thought was best, I realize that now. You didn’t fail, you raised me to be a strong, self-sufficient, and confident woman.”

“I’m glad to hear you say it. I worry about you so much. You had everything materially but what you had to put up with was unacceptable.”

“We don’t have to talk about that today. I just need to get my butt to work and you need to get prepared to see the lawyers today.”

Her mom sighed, “You’re right but if you ever want to know anything, I’m open. I know that I haven’t always been open in the past, but I’m willing now.”

“I appreciate that.”

“So, I haven’t see any men running around here. Do you have anyone that you’re dating in your life?”

“I’m currently single and not looking,” Kalena admitted. Tommy crossed her mind, but she put him on the back burner,  what they had was special but it didn’t mean that things were going to go further. He wanted more from her, but she didn’t know if she had it to give anymore. Men were fickle and they could change on you at any moment. You can think that they’re faithful, but they’ll have a girlfriend across town, shit they could even be sleeping with your friend.

“I can’t say that I blame you,” her mom interjected, “Men are way more trouble than their worth.”