Slick (6 page)

 

The next morning, I was a nervous wreck. Jonathan woke up around five o'clock and headed home. He told me he wasn't coming in until eleven, and feeling the way I felt, I didn't even want to go in at all.

I couldn't believe after years of dreaming and thinking about being with him, I had the nerve to freeze up like Frosty the fucking Snowman. There I was with his dick in my hand and didn't even know what to do with it. My body trembled so badly and I knew he'd felt it. The thought of Dana finding out and my betraying her was what stopped me. Not only that, but I knew Jonathan was a hurting man. I didn't want to complicate his life any more than it already was. One day at a time, he suggested, and that was how I was going to approach this situation going forward.

I was a little late for work, and when I got there, Audrey and Jackie stood close by my desk. As I got closer, I saw them looking at all the flowers that surrounded my cubicle. There were dozens and dozens of peach ones this time and the yellow ones started to bloom. They were amazingly beautiful and all I could do was smile. A card was on my desk, and I could barely read it with Jackie and Audrey looking over my shoulder.

“Get back or I'll cut ya,” I playfully hissed while holding the card close to my chest.

“Miss Thang, you need to tell us what's really going on,” Jackie said. “Jonathan ain't giving you all these flowers and you ain't putting out nothing.”

I ignored Jackie, opened the card and read it.

 

I'm not finished with you yet!
was written inside of the card, and Mr. Boss Man signed it. I laughed and put the card back inside of the envelope. I wasn't quite sure what his words meant, but I put the envelope inside my purse so no one would see it.

“Sylvia,” Jackie said, snapping me out of my trance. “I can't believe you've been holding back on us.”

“Girl, I haven't been holding back on nothing. Jonathan is a really nice person, Jackie, and I couldn't have asked for a better boss.”

“He really is a true gentleman. I came this close,” Audrey said, holding her fingers closely together, “to screwing his brains out last night.”

Shocked, my eyes widened. “Last night? Audrey, quit your lying, girl.”

“No, I'm serious. He and I had a drink at CJ's, and by the time we left he was all over me. I made it perfectly clear to him that I do not sleep with married men. After that, he walked me to my car and left.”

“Really?” I was pissed, but still a little skeptical about Audrey's claim. “It doesn't seem like Jonathan to be so forceful but—”

“Well, he was. He be putting on this act when he's at work, but don't get him alone with you. He's like a wild animal trying to break out of a cage.”

Disappointed by what Audrey had said, I told her and Jackie I was on my way to the bagel shop to get a bagel. On my way downstairs, I couldn't help but to replay the entire night in my mind over and over again. I knew Jonathan was hurt, and if he was looking for any woman to give him some attention, I wasn't going to be the one. After thinking about him never giving me any attention, until reality finally hit him about Dana, I was discouraged with myself for letting things go as far as they did last night.

When I got back upstairs, many people walked slowly by my desk to look at all the flowers. I got so tired of everybody asking me about them that I posted up a huge sign that said:
MY MAN LOVES ME
!

It was almost ten o'clock, so I knew Jonathan was coming in soon. I was a bit nervous about seeing him, but if anything, I really wanted to know how he felt after what happened between us last night.

As I filed some papers away, the phone rang and it was Dana. I knew her call was coming soon, and when I told her I was a little busy, she wouldn't let me go.

“You've never been too busy to talk to me before, Sylvia.”

“Truly, today, I am. Jonathan will be here soon and I haven't done anything this morning.”

“You never do anything anyway. And if you do any work today, you need to work on throwing all those darn roses in the trashcan.”

“Whew, you are on a roll this morning, aren't you?”

“You're damn right I am. Do you know that playboy husband of mine did not come home until six o'clock this morning?”

I pretended to be shocked. “For real!”

“Yes. And when he got here, he didn't say anything to me. I tried to argue with him and he completely ignored me. He showered, changed clothes, and left.”

“Girl, that's a shame.”

“Sylvia!”

“What!”

“Normally, you have a slew of shit to say.”

“Well, today, I don't. I told you I was busy.”

“Okay, fine. Then, let me speak to Jonathan.”

“I already told you he wouldn't be in until eleven.”

“Where is he?”

“I don't know. According to his calendar, he should be here soon.”

“Girl, I swear, if he's sleeping with another woman . . .”

“What, Dana? Just what are you going to do when you've done nothing but fuck him over?”

“Stop taking his side all the time, please. I wish you would see things from my point of view.”

“I've tried, Dana. Lord knows I've tried, but I will never understand how you could let a man like him slip away. Anyway,” I said, as I saw Jonathan coming through the door. “I'll tell him to call you when he gets here. I gotta go because Mr. Bradford been walking around and I don't want him to see me running my mouth on the phone.”

“Bye, girl. And call me later. I have something else I need to talk to you about.”

“I will,” I said, hanging up.

Jonathan stopped at the receptionist's desk and talked to Sandra. Feeling nervous about seeing him, I stood up and went over to the file cabinet, pretending to be busy. My back was turned, and when he snuck up from behind me, I acted surprised.

“You startled me,” I said, holding my chest.

“Yeah, right, Sylvia. Has anyone called?”

“Dana. Other than her, it's been kind of quiet this morning.”

“So,” he said.

“So, what?”

His eyes scanned my cubicle. “Do you like the flowers?”

“Oh, yeah, thanks. I love them, but you really didn't have to.”

“I know, but when I forget about you next year, I don't want you crying about it.”

“You'd better not forget about me next year, and if you do, you will most definitely pay for it.”

“I'm sure I will,” he said, looking through some papers on my desk.

I noticed Jonathan's casual attire and checked out how amazing he looked in a peach Ralph Lauren shirt, khakis, and shiny loafers. When I asked why he was casually dressed, he said that he was leaving and would be gone for the rest of the day. When I asked where he was going, he wouldn't tell me. I followed him into his office.

“So, we got secrets now, huh?” I asked.

“No, Sylvia. I'll be out for the entire day. Take messages for me and let my callers know I won't be back until Monday.”

“Monday?”

“Yes, Monday.”

According to Jonathan's calendar, he had three appointments scheduled for today, and two court cases scheduled for tomorrow. “So what are you going to do about your appointments?”

“I've already taken care of them,” he said, reaching for his phone. “Now, is there anything else?”

“I guess not, but I wish you would have told me so I could have prepared myself for you being out of the office.”

“That's why I'm telling you now.”

“Don't even go there with me, Jonathan. You know better than I do that we've always communicated better than this.”

“Sylvia, look. I told you I had something to take care of. Stop pressing the issue and chill, all right?”

His tone upset me, so I raised my voice. “Excuse the hell out of me. Let me get out of your hair, since I seem to be such a pain.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” he said then dialed out on his phone.

I didn't bother to respond and just left his office. This was becoming an everyday habit. I was truly getting sick and tired of it. What was with his attitude? He knew that abruptly changing his schedule would complicate my day, and he always let me know things ahead of time so I could prepare. He'd never done this before, and I didn't like the changes I was seeing in him.

I went to the ladies' room to freshen up a bit. Audrey came in and filled my head with some more juice on Jonathan. I didn't know whether to believe her about his behavior, but by the way he was acting, it must have been true.

After I left the ladies' room, I walked down the hall and someone snatched me into the boardroom. The room was pitch-black, but I knew it was Jonathan when he covered my mouth and I got a whiff of his cologne.

“I need to go find out some things about my wife,” he whispered. “Do not tell anyone what I'm doing, including her. All you know is I'm in court today, okay?”

I nodded and he removed his hand from my mouth. “When I asked you earlier, that's all you had to say, Jonathan.”

“Not with my door open, Sylvia. There are so many nosy people around here, and I didn't want to take any chances with them listening in on us.”

“You're right. And I hope you find out what it is that you're looking for.”

“I think I already found it.” He inched forward to kiss me. Foolishly, I rubbed the back of his head and indulged myself in a lengthy kiss with him. Feeling myself getting so caught up with him, I backed away.

“Jonathan, I don't think this is going to work out for me. I—”

He silenced me with another kiss, and then his hands started to roam on my hips and ass. I was scorching hot from his touch and wanted more than anything to break the brotha down right then and there. But my thoughts of Dana stopped me.

“Please,” I whispered. “Stop forcing yourself on me like this, Jonathan. You know this ain't right.”

“I can't help myself,” he said.

When he moved in for another kiss, I turned my head. “Work it out at home first. After that, then we'll talk about us.”

Jonathan turned on the lights and searched deep into my eyes. “I need you, Sylvia. Soon, Dana's going to need you, too. I hope that whatever goes down between her and me, it doesn't interfere with us.”

“I hope it doesn't either, but I'll do the best I can to be there for both of you.”

I opened the door and Jonathan walked out behind me. As we headed back to his office, Audrey walked past and slid something in his hand. He held it tightly, and when I asked what it was, he shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you mean by you don't know?” I asked, standing in his doorway.

“I mean, it's still in my hand and I haven't looked at it.”

“Well, look at it.”

“I will, but what's it to you?”

“Nothing, I guess, especially since you almost wound up at her house last night, instead of at mine. It's a good thing she doesn't mess around with married men, huh?”

“Is that what she told you?”

“Yes. She also told me you were begging for it.”

“Sylvia, do I look like the kind of man who would beg for sex?”

I smiled and shook my head. “No, but just be careful, okay? One thing can always lead to another.”

Jonathan packed up a few things in his office and told me he'd see me on Monday. Three whole days without seeing him, and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. My feelings for him were now beyond my control. I knew it would be a matter of time before we had sex, but I was going to fight it with every ounce of strength I had.

By the end of the day, I really didn't have much to do. I'd been to Jackie's and Audrey's desks about fifty times today, getting the scoop on Lewis, and listened to more lies about Jonathan. I wanted to tell Audrey to go to hell, but I continued to let her make a fool of herself.

Before leaving, I called Jeff from the mailroom to see if he would help me take my flowers to my car. And just when we were about to leave, the phone rang. I was going to let it go to voicemail, but something inside told me to answer. When I did, it was Britney. She was crying hysterically and was asking for Jonathan. When I told her he wasn't there, I asked where she was. After she told me, I told her I was on my way.

Jeff piled my car with the flowers, and I headed to Forest Park where Britney said she would be. I drove around for a while looking for her, and when I saw her sitting on some steps near the Art Museum, I pulled over and got out of the car. Still crying, Britney ran up and held me tightly.

“What's the matter, sweetie?” I asked, hugging her back.

“Da . . . Darron,” she sobbed. “Punched me in my face today.”

“He did what?” I yelled, then moved her back and looked at her face. I noticed swelling underneath her left eye. “Come on over here and sit down so you can tell me what happened.”

Britney and I sat on the steps, and in so many words, she told me this damn fool punched her in the face because she refused to have sex with him.
Who in the hell was responsible for raising that idiot?
I thought.

I placed the tip of my finger on Britney's face that was swollen. “Does that hurt?”

“Yes, a little.”

“Britney, why were you skipping school? You have so many good things going for you and look at how beautiful you are. Jonathan pays a lot of money for you to go to a private school, and all you can think about is skipping school and hanging out with a knuckleheaded fool.”