“Do what?”
“Beg for the attention of and chase a man who clearly doesn’t want you?” I was annoyed and her smiling at me wasn’t helping.
“I can’t speak for other women, but I’m not begging or chasing. You came here to see me because no matter what you keep saying, your actions do the opposite.”
She looked right at the swell in my jeans, which I couldn’t hide if I wanted to. She was sexy as fuck and damn near naked, but that didn’t mean shit to me.
I could get sex on demand; it was all the extra shit that came with it I didn’t want from Orin. I wasn’t about to fuck up a good thing with Sophie for something I could easily get at home.
“Physically, I can’t deny I’m attracted. You know how to take it there, but what you don’t understand is it takes more than that. Why the fuck you think after three years I never made any type of commitment to you, and after three months, Sophie damn near lives with me? She doesn’t have to open her legs to get my attention, Orin. That’s some powerful shit. I never even realized I wanted that until I met her. Now that I do, what you have to offer doesn’t mean anything to me. Stop calling and texting me because my answer won’t change and it makes youlook bad. You’re better than that, or at least you should be. Either way, I don’t give a fuck. Just know if you don’t leave me the fuck alone, it’s not going to end well for you.”
She stood there looking like I hurt her damn feelings. I was sure I had but she’d just have to get over it. I meant what I said.
“So it’s that simple?” she asked like she was expecting a different answer.
“Yeah, it really is.” I shook my head and moved toward the door, leaving her standing there. I stopped just before I left and looked her right in the eyes. “Last warning. Don’t make me do somthing that you will not be able to recover from,” I said just before I left her spot.
At that point, the next move was on her.
Chapter 27
Sophie
“Imiss you,” Maddie sang as she entered my office.
I was grateful for the distraction because I hated that I had to be here. My mind was nowhere near the work I was supposed to be doing and I was tired of people whispering about me.
I never missed work for anything and had been gone for two weeks, so the stares and whispers were annoying.
“You don’t miss me. You’ve been under lock and key with Carlos, so I haven’t even been a second thought.”
Even though I had been with Trooper, Maddie was more or less doing the same thing with Carlos. From what I could tell, the two had gotten very cozy.
“I do miss you. I was trying to give you space, Sophie.” Maddie frowned at me before she leaned down to give me a hug, which ended with a kiss on the cheek.
“You’re happy,” I said, noticing her glow.
I motioned for her to shut my door. She did, then plopped down in the chair directly in front of my desk.
“I am. I’m happy, but so are you. I can see it all over your face,” Maddie said, returning my smile. “In love with a thug.”
We both laughed.
“Imagine that, but it doesn’t matter who they are as long as they make us smile, and boy are you smiling.”
“Oh, Sophie, you have no idea. That man…” Maddie fanned herself and grinned at me. “He is everything plus some. Who knew?”
“Knew what?” I questioned, a bit confused.
“Knew I had to go back to my roots to find the man of my dreams.”
“Explain, please?” Now I was extremely confused. It sounded as if Carlos and Maddie somehow knew each other. I wasn’t sure where Carlos was from, but Maddie had grown up right in the heart of Queens.
“We grew up blocks from each other and never once crossed paths. I used to think our lives, this life you and I have, would bring me happiness. That getting away from who I was or grew up being would somehow be a win, but all it got me was three wasted years with a man who basically purchased me as a show and tell item.”
“He didn’t purchase you, Maddie,” I said with sincerity. She wasn’t a gold digger or even the type obsessed with money. She had just married a wealthy man.
She shrugged. “He kinda did when you think about it. Richard was an arrogant asshole. He’s always been that way. I’m not going to say I didn’t love him because that would be a lie, but I loved who I thought he was, not who he really was. My life was good, Sophie. That’s why I stayed. He made me miserable, but the lifestyle he offered made me happy. So if we’re being real, he kinda purchased me.”
