“Hm. You need a ride over?”
“No. I’m going to ride with my colleague.”
“I thought you said shorty dropped the case?”
“Not her. Jeremiah Smith is now my new partner.”
“Yeah, nah. Homie can take that trip by himself. Get in.”
“Emery, please. I can’t let him know that we have a romantic relationship?—”
“Yummy.” He briefly closed his eyes then looked down into mine. “I can feel my doors coming off the hinges. If it opens, you already know what’s going to happen.”
I sputtered a laugh. “What is wrong with you, sir? I may have to get you evaluated. That man is not thinking about me!”
“Have you seen you? That nigga wants you, and I don’t even have to see his ass to know that.”
“Whatever, Emery. I’ll meet you over there.” I turned to walk away, but he pulled me back and frowned down at me.
“Never walk away without giving yo’ nigga a kiss and telling him you love him, Yum. I don’t care if we are going to the same place.”
“I’m sorry, babe. You’re right.” I tossed my arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. Emery’s kisses were like buttercream frosting—smooth, rich, and sweet. I knew I had to pull away, or I was going to be two seconds away from riding him cowgirl style in the back of his Maybach.
“Mmm. I have to go. I’ll see you at your brother’s. I love you.”
“You better,” he replied, tapping me on the ass again and sending me on my way. I shook my head as I reentered the coffee shop and found Jeremiah at the table, sipping his coffee and going through his phone. I checked my watch as I approached him.
“Ready?”
“Oh, yeah. You were out there so long, I almost finished my coffee.” He grinned and stood. Jeremiah was extremely handsome. With cropped curls on his head, thick eyebrows that weren’t too wild, bedroom eyes that weren’t of his own volition, full, kissable lips, and skin the color of copper, he was more attractive than I’d assumed.
I wasn’t checking for him, but I could admit that he was easy on the eyes.
“Yeah, the call was important.”
“Boyfriend?” He smirked at me.
“Yes.”
“I figured. I saw him come into the office a few times. He hadn’t come in a while, so I assumed you all weren’t together anymore.”
I frowned. “Are you clocking me, Mr. Smith?”
“No, I was just making an observation. You’re a beautiful woman, Yumi.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t give him anything else but a soft smile and turned, heading out of the shop.
Jeremiah or any of the other male colleagues had never made a pass at me before, so maybe Emery was right. All I knew was that he’d better keep a lid on his attraction to me around Emery, or I had no doubt that he would come up missing.
“This is bullshit.Them motherfuckas are wasting their time,” Ellis expressed, shaking his head.
“Why do you say that, Mr. Aldana?” Jeremiah asked.
“Because we don’t associate with niggas that’s low on the totem pole. This Demarcus nigga, or whatever his name is, for sure ain’t never seen none of our faces. Like, who the fuck is he?” Emil asked.
“Let’s find out, shall we?” Emery stood and walked through a door off to the side of the meeting room. He returned two minutes later with a thick folder in his hand, then sat down to begin going through it. It didn’t take him long to locate what he was looking for as he pulled a paper from the slot and looked it over.
A subtle chuckle left his mouth as he passed the paper to Emil.
