She laughed, looked at me and shrugged her right shoulder. “No. It’s not, actually.”
It wasn’t Crescent coded because I shared this house with Reign and she wasn’t with all of the black. There were a few black pieces incorporated here and there but the overall color scheme of the crib was slate grey and white.
“Let me hear it,” I said, as we continued into the house.
She looked over her shoulder at me with a laugh. “Hear what?”
“Your opinion. Analyze. Do your Mahogany thing.”
“I have a thing?”
“Yeah. It’s subtle tho’. At least you try to be subtle. I always notice you, noticing shit. You can’t help it. It’s the designer in you.”
She looked over at me with another laugh. She hiked her bag up over her shoulder again and I reached for it, taking it from her. “Well… there’s nothing for me to critique.”
I twisted my lips up at her. “That’s a lie.”
Looking up, I asked, “What you think about the light fixture? You always look up when you enter a room.”
She squinted and blushed a little before looking back at it. Caught her look at it the minute we walked into the room. “It’s beautiful. Fitting for the size of the ceiling.”
“But…?”
“I wouldn’t have gone with silver. There’s already enough gray in this area.”
“Black?”
She snorted. “No. Not black. Gold. But since that particular fixture doesn’t come in gold, I would have swapped it out for something different. Not too different. On the same geometrical scale, for sure. Just… wouldn’t have gone with silver.”
I nodded. “Bet. So, get a new gold light fixture.”
She laughed. “What? No, Crescent. Keep it. I’m just saying what I would have done.”
I didn’t say anything, but I did make a mental note to have it swapped out. Exactly because she said gold would have looked better. I valued her opinion. Her eye for design was incomparable.
We made it to the office and she got comfortable, setting up at my desk. I watched as she moved a few things around and grabbed a pillow from the couch to place behind her in my chair. She liked cushion. I was so wrapped up in watching and making things comfortable for her that I thought about ordering a newchair, one that wouldn’t require a pillow for extra cushioning.As if she would be working out of my office often or some shit.
I was bugging.
So excited about having her here that my mind ran a little rampant. I couldn’t stop smiling neither. Mahogany was just what I needed for a day like today.
I sat across from her at the desk and stuffed my hands into my pockets.
She looked up from her laptop at me. “What? Why you got that goofy smile on your face?”
“Because you did all of that arguing earlier just to end up where you were going to end up all along. You like giving a nigga a hard time, don’t you?”
She made a face at me and squinted. Sucking her teeth, she coyly waved me off. “Whatever, Crescent.”
“Whatever, Crescent,” I mocked. “Now give me that Mahogany Experience I’ve been waiting for all day.”
“Did you go over the email I sent you?” She asked, hitting me with a side eye.
I ran my tongue over the corner of my mouth, busted. “Nah. I mean… I didn't get a chance to. I was?—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You never get a chance to,” she said, twisting her lips. “Pull the email up. Let’s go over it now. I’m telling you, Crescent… You’ve gotta do better with the emails. If you want this to work you have to do your part.”
I tossed my head back and dragged my hands down over my face. I was trying. I was trying hard as hell. Mahogany man. Working with her was like a completely different ballgame. It was as if every bit of the business mindset I had withered away when it came to her. I did need to do better though. Real shit. She was right. But damn, I couldn’t help myself. The only reason I fucked up and skipped out on emails was because I wanted tohold her up. I needed more time with Mahogany. Only seeing her when it pertained to work didn’t work for me.
