Page 15 of Finessed By A Hood White Boy

“And why is that?” I frowned.

“For many reasons.” He shrugged. “For one, you’re a beautiful distraction. I’m not saying that to be weird or no shit like that. I can’t help but to be honest.”

I laughed because I found that funny, yet polite in a sense.

“Okay, well thank you for being so honest. But I’m sure we can co-exist in close proximity without any problems. I’m at the Whitmores to work, not to be a distraction. But if it’s too much to handle, maybe you should just go ahead and quit.” I smirked.

“It’s definitely not too much to handle, sweetheart. And why would I quit, when I own it?”

“So, what you’re trying to say is you’ll just fire me?” I raised one eyebrow.

“I might,” he said with a straight face.

That made me squint my eyes because I wasn’t feeling that answer.

“I’m just fuckin’ with you.” He laughed.

I loved listening to that laugh. It was deep. A little raspy. It was sexy. Damn, this man was so sexy. I had to silently agree, though. This shit might end up becoming a problem. While we ate our food, I learned that he had just met the Whitmores. He gave me a brief rundown about his actual family. When he told me he came from a black family, I chuckled on the inside. The way he spoke made it seem like he was born into one. But who was I to judge?

I didn’t care if this man came from the planet Mars. If I wasn’t married, I would definitely make myself available. He told me his daughter, Zoie, had been talking about my baby girl. She was still curious to know why Savannah wouldn’t speak. I explained Savannah’s condition and that we used sign language to communicate. Her therapy teacher said as Savannah got older, it was very likely that she would develop a stronger verbal vocabulary.

Ethan and I rambled on for damn near four hours without noticing the time. It wasn’t until Rob called my phone. I excused myself from the table, walked toward the bathrooms, and stood in the corner.

“Yes?”

“What you doing?” he asked.

“About to get off work. What’s wrong?”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Nothing. How long will it be before you get here.”

“Forty-five minutes, probably. I have to get Savannah,” I told him.

“Nah. I called your mom to see if she could stay the night. We need to talk.”

I rolled my eyes because I did not feel like coming home to a fight.

“Okay, I’m on my way in a minute.”

“Alright. I love you.”

I looked at my phone confusedly. It had been a while since he’d said those words to me.

“I love you too.”

The call ended, and I quickly returned to the table. I informed Ethan that I had to go and get to Savannah. I was glad he didn’t ask any questions because I hated to lie. Hell, I hated that I had to cut our time short. He drove me back to the company, and we said our goodbyes. I noticed that he waited for me to get in the car and drive before pulling off behind me.

I wondered what Rob had to talk about. I dreaded the thought because it always seemed to be some shit with him. Thirty minutes passed before I pulled into the driveway. I made sure I had all my belongings before locking my car doors. Once I got to the front door, I sighed deeply as I turned my key in the lock. Everything seemed normal except the smell of food coming from the kitchen. That was strange to me because Rob didn’t cook. In the kitchen, he had dinner for two.

“What’s this?”

I stood still, observing the romantic display. He had candles lit, rose petals laid out. The nigga went all out, which he’d never done before.

“I wanted to do something nice. I figured you’d be too tired to cook and probably hungry to.”

“Oh, that’s nice…and thoughtful” I smiled a little. “Are you okay?” I side eyed him.