Page 40 of Pretty and Loco

“Ahhh that’s brilliant.” She complimented the idea for the room solely dedicated to vision training.

Before we could go into colors, we were interrupted.

“Baby, there you are… I’m sorry I’m late. Did you order without me?” Leah said as she came over to our table and then pushed me to the other side of the booth.

I sat there, staring at her ass, not knowing what I should do in this moment. This was one of the most important moments of my career, and she was here playing. I sat there battling whether to push her ass on the floor or keep my mouth closed. Priscilla’s company came highly recommended, and the images she just showed me damn near exceeded what I saw myself. She’s responsible for building some of the largest sports facilities, and I wanted her and her team to collaborate with mine.

Because I didn’t want to ruin our first meeting by being unprofessional and broadcasting my bullshit, I didn’t even acknowledge it. I could tell Leah half-expected me to overreact, but once she realized I wasn’t going to make a scene, she winked at me, touched my chin, and then looked ahead.

“Leah. I’m Ricardo’s fiancée. Nice to meet you.” She smiled as she held out her hand for the woman to take, subtly wiggling her ring finger to show a big ass ring that I definitely never gave her.

“Oh! Mr. Sanders, we didn’t discuss that you were soon to be married. Congratulations!” Priscilla smiled, taking her eyes off the ring for a second to look at me.

I gave her a fake-ass smile and shook my head, damn near in disbelief at the shit that Leah was doing.

Silence fell between us for a second.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“Rocko, how did you invite me somewhere and never tell me what the meeting is about? Excuse my lack of knowledge; this man has something going on every night of the week.” Leah giggled as she sat there and waited for Priscilla to fill her in because I damn sure wasn’t.

“I was just showing your fiancé these beautiful images of the sports complex that my team and I want to help him bring to life,” Priscilla said, taking them out and handing them to Leah.

“Oh yeah. The youth complex that he won't stop talking about.” She beamed.

I kicked her underneath the table, but the smile never left her face. I knew she meant that shit in more ways than one. If she hadn't intercepted my cameras and listened to all my fucking conversations, she wouldn’t know about this either.

The waitress came over, handed Priscilla the French 75, and then looked at Leah with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m so sorry there were only two people here when I took orders. I didn’t know we were expecting a third. Should I grab you a drink as well?” The waitress asked.

“Why would you not?” Leah shot back, a confused expression on her face.

I lowered my head, then touched her arm as the waitress went to grab a menu so she could order.

My energy was off the entire night. Priscilla and Leah made fast friends and talked through dinner. I just sat quietly waiting for Priscilla to finish those damn lamb chops and mashed potatoes. Now and again, I answered a question if I was lucky enough to be included in my own plans. But the slower she ate, the more pissed off I became.

Leah loved this shit; she was cuddled up next to me with one hand on top of mine. Priscilla and I were supposed to solidify plans and sign contracts tonight. Still, with Leah sitting just inches away, I didn’t want to give her even more information than she had already finessed.

By the time I asked the waitress for the check, I had already told Priscilla I needed some thinking time and would reach out within the week.

When we stood to leave, Leah grabbed my hand as we walked through the quiet restaurant and out to the parking lot.

When my truck came, Leah got right in the passenger seat with me and closed the door like I didn’t have every reason to strangle her crazy ass.

“Leah, get the fuck out of my truck, man,” I said as soon as the door closed. I always tried to respect women; I wouldn’t call her names. But I was done with being nice to her. Not respecting my privacy and compromising me in my own house was enough for me.

“No. Rocko. You have to take me home.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“How you got here? That’s how you need to get back.” I doubled down.

“You’re ungrateful. You should be thanking me for showing up when I did. I just saved you over two million dollars by looking over that proposal while you sat zoned out. She budgeted you a build-out allowance and then charged you separately for fixtures that should already be included in the build-out. Don’t even get me started on that damn banquet room inside of a sports complex. I told her to make it convertible if need be. This is what I do; you needed me here.” She argued.

I sat there in silence. Letting the words sink in. I had, in fact, zoned out for most of the conversation, but I wasn’t about to thank her because her ass shouldn’t have been there to begin with.

“You want me to thank you after you followed me and popped up at a business meeting uninvited?” I snapped.

“Well, in my defense, had I known that it was a business meeting, I probably wouldn’t have shown up. I thought you were going on a date.”