Page 35 of More to Love

“So, what you think?” I inquired.

“I think we have a partnership, but I have to do a little bit more homework before I sign any contracts. What you think?”

“I’m rocking with whatever you say. You know more about this than I do. I’m just the cash cow,” I jested.

“You’re more than that. Thank you for letting me have full control over this. It’s really appreciated Aviana.”

“Ain’t no thing.”

We hugged it out and rejoined the fellas in the conference room. One reason I didn’t want to go against Portia and her vision was because she was doing me a huge solid without knowing. I would pay for whatever it was she needed. Through her, I was able to breathe a little more without Hendrix asking unnecessary questions. Plus, it was his money making her dreams come true, not mine.

“Okay. If you don’t hear from us within the next week, we’ve found another creator. Thank you so much for coming in and meeting with us.”

“Hope to hear from you soon.” Both men carried a smile on their face as we shook hands once more and walked them to the front door.

I headed back to my office and Portia followed behind me. I wasn’t even supposed to have a business under my name for real but me lying about starting one low key had my full attention. I was looking forward to people saying I was more than a pretty face that spent Hendrix money all day. Now I had a purpose.

“So, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out later. My man wanted to club tonight so I was going to see if you and yours wanted to join. It’s going to be in Coppins,” she stated.

I froze up because bringing Hendrix to Woods’ stomping ground was going to be risky on my end. I be all up and through Coppins with Woods moving around like it was the right thing to do. People knew us.

“Uhm, sure. I’ll let you know when I get home if it’s a go. Hendrix usually wants to relax after a long day at work.”

“No problem. I’ll send you the details around seven and you can just let me know what’s up.”

“Will do,” I responded.

I wasn’t telling Hendrix a damn thing. I was playing with fire as is. I knew better than to test him more than what I was because regardless of him cheating on me, if he ever found out about Woods, that was going to be a closed case and nothing I could do to justify it. He slipped once while I’d been doing me for over a year.

Pushing that to the back of my mind, I continued on with my workday. Usually, I would be laid up under Woods some damn where or spending Hendrix money on him. The regular schedule I kept changed for me and I honestly liked it. Time got away from me when I was doing something productive. It was five o’clock before I realized it.

Gathering my things, I made sure to lock up then walked three doors down to the liquor store to grab a bottle of Dussé. I hadn’t spent any real time with Hendrix ever since he unlocked my card, and I knew I was wrong. Tonight, I planned on getting tore up with my nigga and fuckin’ him silly.

He’d been stressed since Akeera gotten sick. Somehow, she caught the flu and whenever that child isn’t running around happy, his world is upside down. This was going to relieve him and take his mind off our daughter. Plus, I hadn’t allowed him to fuck me since he confessed to the shit he did behind my back. It was time to give him something great again.

The point of fuckin’ Woods wasn’t because Hendrix was a terrible pleasure but because he had no time for me. I would prefer to get thrashed out by my nigga but in order for that to happen I damn near had to schedule an appointment. I didn’t like that, so I gave a man that had the time to put in work instead.

As I pulled into the driveway, Siri alerted me I had a call from JaJa. I didn’t really want to speak to her hating ass at the moment, so I declined the call, and she called right back. At this point, I was getting aggravated, so I answered.

“What? Damn.”

“I’m going to bypass that attitude because you’re going to want to hear this. Girl, Woods is here with⁠—”

“Look, I’m about to walk in the house. Don’t call me with shit regarding that man. Bye.”

Woods was my man when I was around him and in his city. While I was in Reedsburg, the only information I wanted to hear about regarding a nigga was Hendrix. She knew that and she still wanted to blurt shit out. She didn’t know how to hold water and if I ever got caught up, it would be because of her.

I hopped out and made my way inside. It smelled good as usual, and my stomach growled from the aroma. Sorimah was the best addition to this house. She cooked, cleaned, and looked after my daughter. She did everything a woman was supposed to and I appreciated her.

As I made my way upstairs to change, I noticed Sorimah holding a conversation in the hall with her back turned. I wasn’t going to eavesdrop until I heard her mention Hendrix’s name, so I stopped and waited patiently to see why my nigga’s name was in her mouth.

“I’m not pregnant Daria and Hendrix was a onetime thing.”

Pregnant? By my nigga?

“I did. Hold on and let me check my calendar.” She went to pecking on her phone and she was taking longer than one would who kept track of their menstrual. “There’s no way, right?”

I wasn’t the smartest, but I was pretty sure the fat bitch was hinting at my nigga being her baby daddy. She said it only happened once meaning the woman that Hendrix was apologizing for stepping out with was her. Me and my bad decisions always brought trouble to my doorstep. I planned on holding this information for a little while.