Page 125 of Tainted

Rajah flipped her hand at him before shifting toward me.

“Chill on, Babygirl, man. You’re the one who ran your mouth. Didn’t even give a nigga a heads up. That’s foul as fuck Raj.”

“Oh please,Babygirlneeds to toughen up fucking with you, and if anybody’s to blame, it’s you. You’ve fucked everything in here but me.”

“What the fuck was I supposed to say?”

Rajah and Kross shared an exaggerated look.

“I fucked Phoenix. That might be why she hates you,” Rajah replied, making it sound so simple. Her eyes softened when I didn’t reply, “Pick your face up. This isn’t like you.”

“I’m straight,” I lied, but Rajah was good at reading people. She knew I was lying but didn’t call me on it. Neither did Kross.

“I’m going to get a drink to calm my nerves,” Rajah announced, pouncing on her feet.

“Make sure Tam puts that shit on your tab, too,” Kross yelled, but Rajah shut the door behind her, tuning him out.

“Your girl found out you fucked Phoenix and gave you hell for it?” Kross asked.

“That shit didn’t mean nothing.”

“No woman wants to hear shit about her man from another woman. Especially one she doesn’t like. That’s on you, not Rajah.”

“Here you go. Are you fuckin Rajah the way you let her get away with shit?”

“Unlike you, I have boundaries. I don’t fuck my employees.”

“Boundaries or avoidance?” I asked since we were calling each other out.

“I’m not the one looking like a sad puppy. You need to take your balls out of Nova’s purse.”

“I like them there fuck nigga. I’m out.”

“Don’t go do something stupid finding your way home, Snoopy.”

I flipped him my middle finger and strolled out of his office, hoping to catch a glimpse of Zara. If this is what it felt like craving your next hit, I could understand how people got hooked on drugs. The craving continued because there was no sight of her. It was probably best because I didn’t know how to fix the problem anyway.

There was one thing I could fix, so I drove to Sydney’s parent’s house, eager to give her and her father a piece of my mind.

“Hey, baby! I’m so glad you could make it,” Mrs. Catherine answered the door.

“Of course.”

She wrapped her arm around mine and guided me into the family room like I didn’t know my way around.

“Look who’s here!” she announced, and Sydney turned around, the color draining from her chocolate skin.

Mrs. Catherine texted and asked if I was coming to dinner to celebrate Sydney finishing her master’s program. She didn’t know we were beefing because Sydney wasn’t that open with her parents.

“Congratulations,” I leaned in and hugged Sydney.

“Thanks,” she replied, dropping the flowers in the trash. “But you should’ve saved yourself the trouble and sent them to yourgirlfriend.”

“Sydney! Why are you being rude to Kenyon?”

“He’s your guest. Not mine.” A tired sadness passed over her features as she walked down the hallway.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with her lately,” Mrs. Catherin apologized, shaking her head.

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