“Hey, if it wasn’t for you, I would be broke already like these other no-name rappers out here,”
Young Thug laughed. “Thanks for keeping me focused.”
“Not a problem, Steven.” Tiana kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you later.”
Tiana walked away from Steven and out of the party. It was almost ten p.m. and the night was still young but, as the president and CEO of Morris Financial, she had no choice but to turn in early. No one was going to run her business for her, despite how much she wanted a clone. Tiana had to remind herself, however, that there was no rest for the wicked. Good things come to those who wait, but she also knew those who work for it got better results and more satisfaction.
She gave the valet her ticket and waited for her car. It was starting to get a little chilly in the autumn air and she covered her arms with her wrap. “So you have any plans for tonight?”
Christopher walked up beside her.
Tiana turned towards him and grinned. “Yes, I’m going home.”
“The night is still young,” he glanced down at his watch, “it’s only 9:30.”
“I have a really early morning tomorrow. I have to be in my office by five a.m.” Tiana yawned,
“I shouldn’t even be here right now. It’s way past my bedtime.”
“Oh well, I was hoping to convince you to go to a little jazz club down the street from here if you’re not really into hip-hop music.”
“I’m into the old stuff, not so much the new.” Tiana confessed. “I can’t name one new rapper.”
“The old stuff is always better,” Christopher licked his lips. “Anyway, I’m not going to keep you but here’s my card if you’re interested.” He handed Tiana a business card.
Tiana studied Christopher’s card. “Champagne Cris, huh?”
“Yeah, you might have heard of me?” He winked.
“Yeah, I have.” Tiana’s Prius pulled up to the sidewalk.
“What do you think?”
“You were right,” Tiana yelled out to him before she entered her car, “the old stuff is always better.”
Christopher jumped back into the present. He should’ve known that night what a bitch his ex-wife would’ve become. “Let’s proceed, shall we?”
****
Kieran took Tyson to a nearby park for a picnic date. He laid out a blanket and had a picnic basket full of healthy food for them both: pureed pears and peas for Tyson, and a bagged lunch for himself. The October air was warm with a slight breeze; it was officially fall and leaves from the trees were already on the ground.
Kieran particularly liked the fall season; it always reminded him of his birthday. Ever since he was little, his mother always made a big deal about birthdays. He could remember seeing all of his friends and family gathering around the table as he made a wish and blew out candles. It was always a big celebration with plenty of food, music, and laughter to last for days. There was never enough money for gifts but Kieran didn’t care. All he ever wanted was waiting for him in Staten Island.
It just occurred to Kieran his birthday was coming up in a few weeks. He was going to ask Tiana if he could possibly take a few days off so he could go back to Staten Island and celebrate with his family. As he fed Tyson, Kieran thought of a better idea. He was going to ask Tiana if she wanted to join him. She could bring Tyson and all three of them could stay at his mother’s home.
Kieran wiped Tyson’s mouth and began to burp the infant. The more he thought about the idea, the better it sounded. He was a bit curious on the sleeping arrangements. He and Tiana were not a couple, at least not yet. His mother’s home had four bedrooms and one of his brothers still lived at home. He could probably sleep in one room and kick Tony out of his room so Tiana and Tyson could sleep there. Or maybe they could get a hotel room with two beds and a crib.
The thought made Kieran uncomfortable. He would be damned if he was going to get a hotel room with a woman he was in love with and not sleep with her. In love? No, he wasn’t in love.
He was in heavy infatuation. It sounded better. It was more than lust but not quite being in love.
Heavy infatuation. It sounded like a fancy dinner. Oh, I’ll have the heavy infatuation, please?
Now if he believed it, it would be true.
****
Tiana took off her blazer and threw it onto another chair. The divorce proceedings were long and Christopher and his attorney fought pretty much every single point Tiana and her attorney brought up. That didn’t make her heated, though. What really made Tiana almost stand on top of the conference table and wind her leg back so she could get a good, swift kick to Christopher’s jaw was the fact he didn’t want anything to do with Tyson. Still, Christopher was smart enough to stop short of signing off his rights. He knew if Tiana suddenly died, Tyson would become one very rich boy. He eventually signed off on the papers and in a few months, Tiana would be a free woman.
“I’m never getting married again,” Tiana sighed. “Never.”
“Never say never,” Allison was a hopeless romantic.
“Never, never, never, never, ever, ever, ever,” Tiana retorted. “Ever.”
Allison laughed. “You say that now but once you meet The One…”
“I thought I met The One and look how that turned out?” The mediation ended over two hours prior to Tiana going to work, however, it took her just as long to calm down. “I’m done with marriage. I’m done with dating. Done, done, done.”
Allison held up her hands in defense. “Okay, no need to convince me,” she handed Tiana her mail. “You have a few things in the mail today, including the invitation to the charity auction.”
“Shoot!” Tiana huffed. “I totally forgot about that. I guess I need to figure out what I’m going to wear.”
“And don’t you need to figure out who’s your date?” Allison smiled.
Tiana wasn’t amused by her assistant. “I think you have some work to do.”
****
“Hectic and dramatic,” Tiana smiled. It was nice coming home to Kieran. He seemed to relieve any problems she had whenever she saw him. “I’m really glad I live a boring life.”
“You keep saying you have a boring life and I just don’t see it,” Kieran offered Tyson to her.
“Because it is boring,” Tiana bounced Tyson on her hip. “I work all day and come home to my son. I also deal with the occasional B.S. from my ex but that’s to be expected.”
Kieran hesitated on his next thought. He wanted to ask Tiana how that morning’s divorce proceedings went. He knew if they went well, he might be out of a job soon. With shared custody of Tyson, there would be no reason for Tiana to keep Kieran. His feelings were a reason why he always sent his employees out to do assignments. He didn’t want to become attached to the families. If only he could wear his emotions on his sleeve like his brothers.
“But don’t worry about us,” Tiana seemingly read Kieran’s mind, “you’ll be around for a long while. And that’s a fact.”
Kieran breathed a small sigh of relief. He felt the constricting grip loosen around his heart. It was then he knew there was more to just him wanting to stay and watch over Tyson. He wanted to watch over Tiana as well. “I’m always here to help,” was his only response.
“This weekend, I have a dinner I’m going to. It’s a boring, high-society affair. Black-tie type of thing,” Tiana began.
“Sounds like a good time,” Kieran gave a warm smile.
“Meh. You’ve been to one; you’ve been to them all. Anyway, I was wondering if you want to come with me?” She asked. “I don’t like attending these things alone. I can always ask one of my friends to watch Tyson. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all.” Tiana felt her mouth was going at the same speed of her pounding heart.
“I would love to go,” Kieran smiled, “when is it?”
“It’s on Saturday,” Tiana added, “we’ll have a car pick us up and then we’ll be on our way.”
“I look forward to it,” Kieran smiled. It wasn’t a date but it was the next best thing.
****
Tiana stood in front of the dressing room mirror in her walk-in closet and stared at herself. Her arms were flabby and reminded her of chicken wings. Her thighs looked like hammocks. Her stomach wasn’t as toned as it used to be. There were still leftover stretch marks from her pregnancy.
She examined her face. She hated her acne scars and probably should invest in a dermatologist.
Her nose was a bit wide. Okay, she should invest in a plastic surgeon as well. Her lips, oh God, her lips were so full and plump. They reminded her of when she was younger and how the boys would tease her because of her full lips. Little did she realize as she grew older, men would salute them.
Tiana was a nervous wreck. She’d asked Kieran out not thinking he would actually accept. To her shock, he did and he was looking forward to it. Why in the hell did he have to accept? Did he not realize the tizzy he put her in? What if he expects her to put out? What if he’s bored? What if he quits the next day?
Tiana put aside her racing mind. She finally decided on a tight red dress. It gave her the appearance of being skinny and would take the attention off her flaws. She put her hair up in a French roll and did her makeup. She splashed three sprays of perfume and headed out the bathroom.
Oh, her foolish heart.
She was putting on the finishing touches when she heard her front door open. “Tiana? I’m here,”
Kieran called out.
“I’m almost ready,” Tiana yelled back, “I’ll be down in about five minutes.”
Kieran’s lips curved into a smile. Tiana might have said five minutes but he knew how women operated. Five minutes to them was the equivalent of an hour. He might as well get comfortable.
He walked over to the kitchen and looked for vases. He managed to find a couple of them underneath the sink. He rinsed off one vase and placed the roses inside. He arranged the flowers the way his mother and his brother, Joey, taught him. “In case that child care thing doesn’t work out,” Joey once told his older brother, “you can always come back and help us out at the floral shop.”
Kieran had just finished arranging the roses when Tiana appeared in his sight. “Well, hello there…” she smiled.
Kieran looked over at Tiana and felt air escape his lips. She was absolutely stunning. Her makeup was impeccable and the dress tightly hugged her body. She was lightly fragranced with notes of floral, patchouli, and vanilla.
Kieran grabbed a single rose from the vase and handed it to her. “You look absolutely breathtaking.”
Tiana sniffed the pink rose and smiled. She’d truly forgotten how nice it was to receive flowers.
Christopher barely gave her any. Hell the fool barely remembered her birthday, despite it being in the same week as his. For a brief moment, Tiana was annoyed. How could she have stayed with him for so long?
Her thoughts finally turned to something pleasant—her date for the evening. Kieran didn’t opt for a tuxedo and instead wore a business suit with an open collar. The outfit was simple but his body was tailor-made for it. His cologne was a combination of earth, wood, and musk.
Tiana felt her heart beat…pound, really. She swallowed again and her tongue darted out to quickly wet her lips. Tiana blinked twice and let out a small breath. The heat pooling between her thighs spread throughout her body. She always found Kieran attractive but it was at that moment she realized she was
attracted
to him. She may not have been in love with Kieran—not yet—but she was definitely in lust with him.
That was a new feeling for her. She didn’t want to just see him naked. She wanted his body to hover over her, sliding his cock in and out as she opened wider to accommodate him and…
“Tiana? Is everything okay?” Kieran asked.
Tiana jumped back to the present. “Yes,” she smiled. “I was lost in a train of thought.”
“Want to share?” He offered.
Just as Tiana was contemplating what plausible lie she could think of, the doorbell rang. The chauffeur had arrived. “Time to go.”
It was going to be a long night.
SEVEN
“Tiana!” Her colleague, Benjamin Li, greeted her with a polite hug. “I’m glad to see you here!”
“Nice to see you, Ben. Where’s Virginia?” Tiana inquired about his wife.
“Fixing her dress for the umpteenth time,” Ben rolled his eyes. “I told her to not wear something so damn tight, but what do I know? I’m just a husband and she’s just a wife spending my money.”
Ben was an older Asian gentleman with salt and pepper hair and a thin build. He was usually stoic and his employees thought his lips were permanently sealed. To see him smile was rare and to hear a laugh was quite impossible. Ben did laugh and smile, however, when he was liquored up. Then he became delightful.
“You’re a very patient man, Ben,” Tiana smiled.
“It’s because of this,” Ben waved his glass full of bourbon.
“Happiness in a glass,” Kieran commented.
“You’re goddamn right,” Ben raised his glass.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Tiana shook her head. “Ben, this is my date, Kieran.”
“Nice to meet you, Kieran,” Ben shook his hand. “So what do you do?”
“I’m in early education services,” Kieran gave the standard, canned response he always gave when someone inquired about what he did for a living. It was better than explaining why a grown man was a nanny.
“Early education services?” Ben nodded approvingly. “What’s that?”
“I own and operate a child care business.”
“That must be lovely,” Ben took another sip, “being around a bunch of screaming little maggots all day.”
“Well, it’s not that bad…”
“And I bet their parents are a piece of work! They’re probably just as bad as those screaming maggots they’re dropping off. Absentee father who’s fucking every stupid and impressionable eighteen-year-old he would get a stiffy for. And the mother whose face is so pulled back, it actually takes away from the obvious distraction of the giant stick up her ass.” Ben took another sip, finishing his drink. “Excuse me, I need a refill. Open bar tonight, brah. Go getcha one.”