Page 26 of Mister Artist

When I made it to the conference room, I didn’t open the door immediately. My hand shook over the knob before connecting, which was odd. I opened the door and stepped inside, and even though I couldn’t see the woman, something about her was familiar. The pounding in my heart increased as heat filled my body. I couldn’t step any further, and I knew only one woman could pull this kind of reaction out of me.

“Glad you could stop by, boss,” Kyle, the head of our HR department, said.

The new hire turned, and my heart skipped a beat. It felt like the blood drained from my body and I grew weak. I swayed, gripping the table for support.

Four years weren’t enough to make me forget her face. Somehow, it was even more beautiful. Those juicy lips, that button nose, those tight, slanted, and smoky eyes. Immediately, I fell right back under the spell of those smoky eyes and that honey brown skin. She’d put on some weight, and she was no longer the skinny young lady I’d fallen in love with. Now, she was slim-thick with weight in all the right fucking places. Ass, hips, and titties that sat up perky and begged for my attention. I was an ass man like most men, but titties were my fetish. I loved holding them and sucking on nipples, and my dick immediately hardened as I looked at hers.

Her auburn brown hair was longer now, falling past her small waist.Fuck. She looked good as hell. Even covered completely in a silk button down shirt, pencil skirt, and stockings, Malorie was the sexiest woman I’d ever seen.

“Uh, boss,” Kyle called with hesitation in his tone.

“Malorie,” I hummed.

She closed the space between us and hugged me, but for some reason, I couldn’t wrap my arms around her.

“Oh. You two already know each other?” Kyle confirmed.

“Does your brother know you’re here?” I asked as she released me, and my body unclenched. I hadn’t even realized I’d frozen when she touched me. “Why didn’t you tell me you were applying?”

“I wanted to get the job on my own… unlike in the past.”

She smiled, and I couldn’t help but mirror it. I released a shaky breath as I eyed her frame.

“Well it’s clear you got the job on your own merit. Congratulations. Happy to have you here.”

“T-Thank you,” she muttered quickly as I swiftly made my way out.

My entire body shivered as I damn near floated to my office. Four years. Four years had passed since I’d seen her. Heard her voice. Hell, I even stopped letting Malik give me updates on her. After she rejected me at his birthday party, I made up in my mind it was best to try and forget I even knew her. That was a hell of a lot easier said than done. Seeing her today wasn’t like seeing a ghost; it was like seeing my heart in human form.

The moment I made it back to my office, I leaned against the door and loosened my tie. It felt like it was strangling me. In a way, Malorie was the reason I was finally doing what I loved full time.

After her, I spiraled. Looking back, I realized I closed my heart to love and feelings because of my pain over losing her. Unintentionally, I became the version of me Malik thought I was—the kind of man he didn’t want anywhere near his sister. That was the only thing that made it easy for me to cope with not having her.

I stopped dating and sought sex only from women. It got so bad at one point I was having sex with two sisters. I knew they were sisters because of pictures I’d seen of them together and didn’t give a damn. The night they confronted me, I was so fucked up I asked if they wanted to have a threesome. They tried to jump my ass and would have been able to if Malik and David weren’t there to help me hem their little wild asses up. Their haymakers raining on all three of us was the start of my wake up call, but Malik was the reason I had to answer it. To this day, I have not forgotten his words.

“Damn, nigga. You just like I thought you was. I’m so glad my sister was good on you. If you ever got with her and did some shit like this, I’d try to bury you.”

That snapped me out of the fog I’d been in and stopped me from inflicting my hurt onto anyone else. After that, I was upfront with women about what I had to offer, which was companionship randomly and sex. At least now, they knew I wasn’t about shit.

When I regained myself, I called my brother. He was in Miami with his son and baby mama and came back home to Rose Valley Hills. I told him that wasn’t necessary, but I think he used me as an excuse to come home because his relationship with his baby mama was over… yet again. It was supposed to be a fresh start for him, but she decided to tag along. Even though I clowned him about her being the one and him avoiding it, he seemed to be serious about them being over this time.

Elias convinced me to focus on something positive, and I chose my love for art. We went into business together and opened an art buying and artist management firm. Because he put the money up initially, I allowed him to take the title of president. I was the creative director and agent for all artists. Kyle handled HR, and we had a few smaller teams for things such as PR and marketing, accounting, and planning.

At the firm, we offered staging for events, representation for artists, consignment negotiations, and of course buying art for individuals and corporations, and auctions. Not only was I able to create art but I was able to help other artists live their dreams as well. When we opened the firm, the first person I wanted to tell was Malorie. We’d discussed if I’d be able to ever turn my passion into my profit, and when it finally happened, she was the main person I wanted by my side to share it with.

The last time we talked, she made it clear there could be nothing between us.

I had to literally erase her from my life to maintain it without her. Now she was here, smelling and looking good, getting my dick hard, and acting like everything was normal between us.

What the fuck am I going to do?

21

Malorie

Quite frankly,Kyle’s words were going in one ear and out of the other. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to pay attention, I couldn’t. As he gave me a tour, I couldn’t help but replay Neko’s reaction to me in my mind. It was clear he was surprised to see me, and it was amusing—until the lack of his presence returned me to the emptiness I’d been feeling without him. Now, I was on autopilot going around the building smiling and half listening as people greeted me, thinking about how grown and sexy Neko looked.

His was wider and more muscular. I could tell he had more tattoos because they covered his neck. He was sporting a low fade now and a short beard. I missed touching and kissing that milk chocolate brown skin, and those juicy lips and platinum grill… God. I’d giveanythingto feel his lips on my skin.

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