“What?” I asked, glancing at her over the rim of the cup. “What did I do wrong this time?”
She took a slow sip of her coffee, unbothered, eyes still locked on me. “Oh, I see both sides.”
I scratched the back of my head. “Alright then. Tell me what you see, Kemi.”
She sat up straighter, elbows resting on the desk like only a woman who’s lived through some shit could do.
“I understand where Khloe is coming from,” she said. “And as a woman, I’m not even looking at the big picture right now. I’m looking at one very specific moment. I walk into a closet and see the old bitch who’s been my ‘aunt’ my whole damn life naked and touching my husband.”
She paused, then gave me a death stare. “I don’t care how confused you were. You could’ve put her ass in a headlock or some shit.”
I closed my eyes and laughed, rubbing my face. “A headlock is crazy.”
She laughed too, shaking her head. “I’m just saying.”
“I know you were frustrated,” she continued. “Because you’ve never given Khloe a reason to question your loyalty. And if that scene happened the way you described it, I can see that you weregenuinely confused and trying to think of other ways to get her off you.”
“Exactly,” I said quickly. “That’s all it was.”
She nodded once. “And I also get why, after hearing about that fucked up divorce and how your ‘uncle’ did her. I mean after thirty years married and finding out about outside kids, years of betrayal, and no children of her own does a lot to a person mentally. I understand that you didn’t want to knock her ass down when it was obvious she was at her lowest.”
I sighed. “That’s what I was thinking.”
Kemi shook her head slowly. “And that’s where you fucked up.”
I frowned. “How?”
“Because in that moment,” she said plainly, “you were more concerned about Mrs. Nikki’s feelings than Khloe’s. And that’s y’all biggest issue.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I started.
“But that’s what you said,” she cut in gently but firmly. “Intent doesn’t matter when impact is already done. She can’t read your mind, Kairo. All she can do is listen to what comes out your mouth and make sense of it the best way she knows how.”
I lifted my hands in surrender, letting out a breath. “You know what? Fuck it. I’m wrong. She’s right.”
Kemi leaned back, satisfied she’d cracked me open enough to keep going.
“Now we are getting somewhere,” she said, slipping fully into therapist mode. “If you always lead with that defensive attitude, it’s always gonna end the same way. I’m not saying you were completely wrong because she had some wrong in it too. But marriage isn’t about keeping score. It’s about learning how to step out of what you think should happen and really sitting in how it ALSO feels on the other side.”
I ran a hand down my face. “I just don’t get why she assumed I’m out here giving out dick at work. Like that’s the reason I’m tired when I get home. I work my ass off all day. She loves to throw sex in there like it's nonexistent. That shit pisses me off.”
Kemi laughed. “I get it because once I leave here, I tap straight into mom mode. My sex life is nonexistent and I’m not even mad about it. By the time my son’s in bed, I’m too damn tired to think about that. And when he’s with his dad, sex is the last thing on my mind. I just enjoy doing absolutely nothing.”
She smirked. “But Kairo, I’m single, and that’s part of marriage. You just happen to be married to a woman with a high sex drive. Figure it out.”
I laughed because women didn’t give a damn. “Lucky me.”
“You might need some honey or one of those supplements,” she teased.
“I am not taking that bullshit,” I shot back, laughing. “I just gotta figure some shit out.”
“You are,” she said looking at her computer. “Because if that means less clients a week so your home is taken care of, then that’s what it means. We’re doing great here. Financially, it won’t hurt.”
She didn’t wait for me to respond.
“Finish this month with what you have scheduled,” she continued. “Next month, I’m slowing you down. Period.”
Then she looked at me—not as my employee, not as my friend, but as a mother.
