ChapterThree
Joseph:
I reach over for Joyce and don’t feel her in the bed, I crack an eye open to see her side of the bed empty. I look at my watch to see what time it is, but I can tell that it is way later than I am used to waking up and when my watch confirms its morning, I know I was right. I lay still and listen for a second, but I already can feel the fact that she is no longer here. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and notice the rose and note she left on the nightstand table. I take the note and admire her beautiful handwriting but not her words. It simply says I enjoyed last night, Joyce. Why do I feel cheap? I shake those thoughts off as I pad to the bathroom to relieve myself and take a quick shower. We used every condom I brought with me and a few condoms she had. I got about seven minutes of sleep last night total. Walking out of the shower I dry off quickly, get dressed, make sure I haven’t left anything and head downstairs. No need to stop by the front desk; if there is a problem with the checkout, Peter or Dawson will call.
I am so late getting to work, I had about a dozen or more missed calls and text messages. I am sure Jabarri located me, and that’s why my phone is still not ringing. I head to the compound and lucky for me no one is there, and I am able to get dressed for work in peace. I finally make it to the worksite and get straight to work. I work with all of my brothers. We own a construction, real estate, and architectural firm together. We all take the time to work on site, side by side with our construction team. We used to only work a few days a week, but with this new project, we have been working full time. We’ve even had to hire more workers to help us stay on track and not fall behind.
I keep making the dumbest mistakes today as I repeatedly zone out thinking about Joyce and last night. I have never in my fifty years experienced a night like I did last night, and I also never had a woman leave me a note in the morning. What kind of reversed role type shit was that? Will I ever see or hear from her again? I can’t imagine not seeing her again, but I am not sure how she feels about that. I had expected her to be cuddled up next to me when I woke up today, not an empty bed.
I am so deep in thought, I have fucked this cut up for the third time, and I am frustrating myself for not being able to put her out of my mind enough to concentrate on my job.
“I got it, boss,” one of the guys on my team says as he walks away with the wood to make the correct cut for me. I think his name is Scott. He’s a good worker; he came on with the second group of new hires. This project has taken on a life of its own and is doing better than we anticipated when we came up with it. We have had to hire more workers to help us keep up with demand and stay on our time schedule. Scott comes back a few minutes later and the cut he made fits perfectly. I ruthlessly push thoughts of Joyce out of my mind before I fuck around and lose a finger or worse.
2 weeks later…
Joyce
It is good to be back in the office after the whirlwind release tour for the new haircare line. It did well, we sold out at every location. I walk in the office and boot up my computer, but before I can even log-in, my assistant walks in.
“J, we sold out! But we are ready to release it on the online store Monday. We might want to increase the production amounts if the online release is anything like the in-store release,” she rambles excitedly while looking at her tablet. “J?” she says as she finally looks up from her tablet. “Ooouuuu, you must have found a new toy to play with. And from the faraway look and glow, he must be a hell of a bedmate.”
“T, why are you here today? It’s Sunday,” I breathe out, exasperated. I did not want to have this interaction with T; she’s way too much.
“Hmm, and you are being evasive, trying to change the subject. Who is he? Where did you meet him?”
“T!” I whine out.
“You might as well tell me. You know I am not going to let this go,” she says as she plops down in the seat in front of my desk.
I look at T, or T’Aundrea, and recall when we first met. She was like a mad scientist with mixing hair dye, and I took a chance on trusting her with helping me with my hair care line. Eventually she became my master mixologist, and I am grateful that I met her. I guess since she’s married, she lives vicariously through me. Her wife is a perfect complement for T’s energy. She is always getting a new tattoo or piercing; she has been looked over or not taken seriously many times on many occasions when we go out to meet with people or people come to meet with us because of her looks. They are preparing to get pregnant, and I cannot wait to spoil my niece or nephew. They’ll be great parents; their baby is going to be one lucky kid.
“Fine, you’re such a bully! His name is Joseph and I met him in Mississippi,” I say as I try to sound bored. I log into my computer, trying to avoid talking more about Joseph.
“Bitch, and….”
“And what, tramp?”
“Wow, I hope he stays around long enough for me to get a chance to meet him. I have never seen you this tight-lipped about any of your toys.”
I grit my teeth at her use of the word we normally use to describe the men I get involved with, but Joseph is nobody’s toy.
“What do you want to know, T?” I grind through my clenched jaw.
She squints. “What did he think of the contract? He was ok signing it?”
I mentally rolled my eyes, because leave it up to T to ask all the questions I don’t want to answer.
“I..um, he didn’t sign it,” I stutter out.
“HE DIDN’T SIGN IT!!!” she screeches “And you still had sex with him?!”
“Well, he didn’t sign it because I never gave it to him. It happened too fast and by the time I thought about it, it was too late. If we hook up again, I’ll talk to him about it before things get out of hand,” I say while biting the tip of my thumb.
“JOYCE!”
I focus back in and realize that T’Aundrea has been talking to me and I was completely absorbed in the memories of my time with Joseph.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?”