Independent Women - the Complete BWWM Romance Series Boxset (34 page)

#Chapter10

“I am going to pray for you Tamika,”

Kalena's Mom

Tamika sat in the waiting room of her lawyer’s office; her hands were shaking the entire time.  Was this a good idea? Maybe she should just get up and go home. Her mind raced with all sorts of thoughts but her gut told her that she was doing the right thing. It was time for her to end things with Reggie. For good.

After learning about his involvement in the drug trade and his continuous cheating, she’d been sick to her stomach. Damn, she wished that lamp would have hit him over the head. He lied to her for their entire marriage; she didn’t know anything about the man that she married.

Her family was extremely upset when they found out that she was contemplating divorce, her daddy was especially pissed. ‘There is just something that I don’t like about him,’ her dad used to say, ‘he seems like he’s hiding something.’ Tamika would shush her father and keep him from saying anything bad about her boyfriend. She should have listened, and most importantly she should have done a damned background check. In the end, daddy was right. 

That’s what everyone should do on someone before they marry them. Love is great but concrete facts don’t hurt either. She checked her watch to see what time it was, and then the door opened.

“Alright, I will follow up with you regarding the details. We’ll give him a little while to get a lawyer, he’s going to need one,” the lawyer said to her client.

Tamika looked up and saw Kalena’s mom, “Hey!”

“Oh my goodness, hey Tamika, what are you doing here?”

“Probably the same thing that you’re doing here,” Tamika said.

“Aww, I’m so sorry to hear that. Kalena did mention you were having problems. You and your husband are so young, are you sure?”

“You don’t even know the half of what I’ve been through; it’s time for me to get the hell out of my marriage before things spiral out of control.”

“Okay, I’m going to trust your judgment and I am going to pray for you, Tamika,” she said as she pulled Tamika into an embrace.

Tamika tried to hold back tears, she had had enough crying. It was time for action. “It was great seeing you, I’m sure that I’ll be seeing a lot more of you now that you’re closer.”

“I sure hope so, sweetie.”

Kalena’s mother left and Tamika followed the lawyer into her office. It was time to serve her husband with divorce papers.

#Epilogue

A week later Tamika sat on her living room couch without wine. Drinking was turning her into an emotional basket case and she wanted to live her life with a clear head. Although she was without wine, she had another vice that was in the living room with her. Jin sat on the chair next to the couch. He came home with her after work to cheer her up.

It was the day after Reggie was served with divorce papers and she was an emotional wreck. Just thinking about his reaction tore her heart to shreds.

“So how are you holding up?” Jin asked her.

“Ugh, I was hoping that I would hold up better than what I actually am but yesterday really has me shook.”

“So shook that you can’t eat the Chinese food that I bought to cheer you up?”

She smiled at him, “Nope, not that shaken. I’m going to eat, you know me. Nothing gets in the way of me and food.”

“Good, then I would have had to call men with the white coats.”

“No need to call in the cavalry,” she laughed.

“Whew! So what happened yesterday if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to give him the papers myself, so I had him served at his job.”

“Uh oh,” he said.

“Yeah, uh oh is right. He was sitting at home when I showed up, waiting in the car. When I got out of my car he was standing there. It looked like his entire body was shaking,” she closed her eyes and tried to get the vision of her trembling husband out of her head.

“Then what happened?”

“He asked me to change my mind and he told me that he loved me. All I could say to him was ‘go away’. I just want him to get a lawyer so that we can settle this and move on with our lives, you know?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t say that I know what it feels like. However, I am very sorry that you have to go through this. You deserve much more.”

“Thanks,” she said as she dug into her food.

“Do you think that he’ll be back? Do you feel safe?”

Tamika shook her head, “I think I know him well enough in that aspect, he wouldn’t hurt me. Although he’s a liar and a ton of other things, he really does love me. I’m pissed that our marriage was based on a false foundation but in his twisted way, he thought that he was doing the right thing.”

Jin sighed, “Okay, but if you ever need anything, just let me know. I want to make sure that you’re safe. You know that I can help you move if you have to. If you ever feel unsafe, you can also apply for a transfer, they’re looking for someone in a few of our locations.”

“I’m not going anywhere and I doubt if it will come to that,” Tamika said but she was unsure. She just hoped that Mimi kept her word and left her alone.

For the next two hours Tamika and Jin chatted about things other than work and her marriage. She heard more charming stories about him as he was growing up. It was obvious that he loved his sister very much. He rambled on and on, in an attempt to fill the void. He didn’t like seeing her upset and sad.

Tamika walked Jin downstairs to his car, she had a wonderful evening with him. He did for her what her friends couldn’t do. They didn’t know how to laugh, talk, and forget. He gave her the opportunity to take her mind off of her reality. She appreciated it.

“Will I see you in the morning?” he asked, “I understand if you’re not in the mood.”

“No, I’ll be there.”

“I’m serious Tamika, if you need some time off just let me know. You have two weeks that you still need to take, anyway.”

She shrugged, “I’ll be there.”

He gave her a smile, “That’s what I like about you, you’re a fighter.”

“Sometimes I don’t feel like one.”

“You are. You’re one of the strongest women that I’ve ever met.”

His words warmed her heart, so she decided to follow it. Before he got into his car she gave him a quick kiss. His lips were warm and soft, just the way that she remembered.

“Wow, that was unexpected,” he smiled.

“I like to give surprises.”

“What a coincidence, I love receiving surprises.”

She laughed, “Goodnight Jin, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Bye sweetie.”

Tamika walked back inside of her condo, unsure of what she’d just done. It was pure instinct that made her kiss Jin. He’d been so nice to her and she enjoyed the affection. Hopefully she hadn’t opened up a can of worms.

Little did Tamika know that her kiss with Jin had an audience.

Outside Reggie was sat in his car, jealousy and Jack Da
niels running through his veins. He had come over to try and beg for forgiveness once again but he did not expect to see what he saw. That motherfucker kissed his wife!

Well, his wife kissed him but that was beside the point. He knew that dude was scheming on his wife the entire time. He took another swig from his flask, opened his gun to see if the bullets were still loaded, and then put his foot down and followed Jin’s car. 

Someone had to pay for his mistakes and Reggie was not going to let this go...

THE

INDEPENDENT WOMEN

SEASON 1 - FINAL EPISODE

A BWWM Interracial Romance Serial By..

LENA SKYE

Summary

Tommy desperately tries to make good with Kalena but will it all fall on deaf ears?Have two people that were perfect for each

other missed their chance?

Meanwhile, where there is life there must also be death and Reggie is planning to do something that promises to change everything for everyone, forever....

A Few Months Earlier....

The screeching of basketball shoes were loud against the hardwood floors at the gym. It was one of Jin’s favorite pastimes. He loved being on the court with his friends, it helped keep his body in great shape, and he got to release some aggression that he collected throughout the day. People thought that he had it easy at his job. How hard could it be to find people jobs? The truth was that some parts were easy. However, finding someone that was qualified, that would be a great fit, and would stay in the position was the difficult part.

He prided himself on how well his candidates did in his placements. It was the reason that he was quickly climbing to the top of the totem pole. He’d now been in his managerial position for a year, it was tough but he loved the pressure.

He and his friends sat on the bleachers waiting for their turn to play. They took note of certain people on the court and tried to strategize. At first they didn’t get any respect because no one thought that the team with Asian men on it was going to beat them, but now people took them a lot more seriously. They were a threat and they’d embarrassed many people on many days.

While they were waiting, they sat around and talked about their day.

“So, I hear that it’s your one-year anniversary in your position,” his friend Miguel said.

“Yep,” Jin replied, “They gave me a fancy pen and everything.”

“No bonus?”

“That comes during Christmas,” he laughed, “I hope.”

“So how have things been for you there, do you see yourself staying with them for much longer or going after an even bigger fish?” his friend, Aran, asked.

“Things have been going well, I hired two new people not that long ago and they’re doing pretty good.” His thoughts went to one of them in particular. She was gorgeous and her huge accomplishments in such a short period of time had made him look like a dream as a manager. The crazy part of it was that she had no idea about how great she was. He hated to see her stay in the shadows during the meetings. She needed to speak up so much more because her input was valuable, the truth was that she could be doing his job. Her instincts were second to none and she knew how to find the right people.

“What’s that face?” Miguel asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” his friend laughed, “Who is she?”

“Why does it always have to be about a girl?”

“Because that’s the only time you have that goofy looking grin on your face,” Aran confirmed.

“It’s just this woman that I hired, she’s hot. She’s extremely intelligent, she’s beautiful, she’s funny, and she’s really sweet.”

“Don’t do it!” Miguel said dramatically, “Work romances never work and you are her boss. That’s a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.”

“I just know that she’s going to be mine one day,” Jin admitted, “It may not be tomorrow, but it will happen eventually.”

“Since you’re obviously going to ignore my good advice, what does she look like?” Miguel asked.

“She has a fair complexion, a banging body that she hides in suits, and curly hair,” he said.

“Are we talking about a light skinned black girl?” Miguel asked.

“You like black women now?” Aran asked.

“I’ve always liked black women and yes she’s black. Is that a problem?”

Miguel laughed, “You wouldn’t know what to do with all of that. Black women are different. They’re aggressive and they have major attitude.”

“You need to stop watching so much TV,” Jin said, “They don’t have any more attitude than other women, shit, have you met my sister?”

He shrugged, “Just be careful.”

“I know what I’m doing. I just have to wait.”

“I hope that you do, we don’t want to see you in the paper with a sexual harassment case. You’re too little and cute for prison,” Aran said.

“Oh hush, I wouldn’t do anything disrespectful.”

Just as the discussion was going to continue they were interrupted.

“Excuse me, we’re looking to join a team, it’s just us two, do you have room?” a man asked.

Jin looked at him and his friend, they were two black guys. He looked at his friends to see if they cared. They shrugged. The three of them usually played with whoever was available.

“Sure,” Jin said, “I’m Jin, this is Aran and Miguel. What’s your names?”

“Oh great, my name is Tommy and this is my friend Hakeem. I have to warn you, Hakeem can’t play even though he’s 6’4.”

“Man, shut up, you know I’ve got game,” Hakeem laughed.

“If nothing else, you can get people off of our back when we play,” Aran said.

“They’re about to finish up, so let’s figure out what we’re doing,” Tommy said.