Page 44 of Mister Artist

With a huff, he pushed me off him and rubbed his eyes, making me laugh. “He fucking learning sign language to talk to her, bae. That shit is sweet.” My laugh increased as I leaned against the headboard next to him. “I feel like I need to go fight somebody or shoot a gun or something to make up for me watching this.”

“Or, you can make love to your woman and embrace everything you’re feeling.”

He moaned as I straddled him. “That’s a much better idea but let me finish this episode first.”

The cackle I released as he readjusted me on his lap so he could see brought tears to my eyes. This man was truly something else.

32

Neko

One Week Later

After I finished bookingthe arrangements for the trip I wanted to take Mal on, I decided to take her to lunch. She’d been working later than usual, and I wanted to help her relax, so in addition to the trip, I’d planned a spa day for her and Christina tomorrow. As I headed in the direction of her office, Parker said, “Are you looking for Malorie?”

“Yeah,” I said, turning to face her.

“She’s not in her office.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“To the fifth floor to talk to Trent.”

I couldn’t imagine how my face looked, but it made Parker laugh. Trent already got under my skin before Mal arrived because he was always flirting with the women and trying to lead the men. There was a difference between a natural leader and a person who tried to demand the honor of being in control. There was nothing about Trent that seemed sincere to me, but he was a wiz with numbers, so I let him rock.

I wasn’t insecure by any means, so I didn’t think Malorie had a reason to cheat on me with Trent or anyone else, but I didn’t like the idea of her being alone with him simply because I didn’t trust his ass. I didn’t want to be that guy, though, so instead of going to the fifth floor, I asked Parker to have Mal come to my office when she came back down.

Only a few minutes passed before Mal was knocking and stepping into my office. I told her to lock the door before she walked over to my desk. Before she could sit down, I requested she move closer. I waited until she was sitting on my lap to ask, “What’s going on?”

Malorie released a long breath and twiddled her thumbs. “Why do you think something is going on?”

“You’ve been working late every day for the past week, including weekends. And this is the third time I was about to come talk to you and you were with Trent.”

She turned slightly to face me. “I’m not cheating on you.”

With a scoff, I tapped her hip. “I know that. I mean what’s going on with business that’s consuming you?”

“First, what were you looking for me for? Is everything okay?”

Between the concern in her eyes and softness in her voice, I couldn’t help but smile. “Everything is fine, bae. I was coming to tell you I didn’t want you staying late today. Now talk to me. What’s going on?”

“I didn’t want to say anything until I had proof,” she muttered, playing with my tie.

“Proof of what?”

“I’m not sure yet but something’s not right. I know I was only supposed to be looking at senior accounts, but I started looking at them all when some amounts didn’t add up.”

My head jerked as confusion filled me. “What do you mean some amounts didn’t add up?”

“Well… it could be nothing. I’ve been recalculating everything and maybe I’m missing something. That’s why I went to talk to Trent. I wanted to see what he’d come up with.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, mama. Trust your gut. What did you find?”

Her spine straightened, as if my words gave her confidence, and I loved that shit.

“Okay, so in simplest terms, when doing the audits, I look for three things: the amount brought in, the amount paid out to artists, and the amount in reserve for staff and taxes. The money spent by the company I haven’t started looking into yet.”

“Okay, I’m with you.”

---