Page 138 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

He should have been calling Angie and telling her that he was done and couldn’t talk to her no more.

“Stellie, I am running your bath so make sure you pick those toys up!” Skyler yelled from the back where the bathroom was, as Estella continued to eat her snacks with her toys everywhere.

“Otay Mommy!” Estella yelled back, never taking her eyes from the TV screen while I grabbed my snacks.

Duke was downstairs, even though I told him that he could go home to shower. “Better pick them up, Stellie,” I said, on my way to my bedroom.

This was harder for me than it was for Maverick. I missed humming and rubbing his head while we went to bed. I just knew he was up in that house counting everything that he could. Meanwhile, I was laying in my full-size bed lonely because I stood on business too hard.

No.

I stood on business because it needed to be done. He wasn’t going to continue to tell me what he was going to do and not consider my feelings. It was the way he shrugged it off that didn’t sit right with me.

If he wanted us to work, then he had to realize that his ways had to change. It wasn’t about him anymore, he was married and had a wife now. I put my phone on my night table and kicked my slippers off before climbing into bed.

Pulling the covers over my head, I tossed and turned a bit before I sat up in the bed and started sniffing. “Why does it smell like cigarettes in here?”

“’Cause you got me smoking them,” I heard a low creepy voice and jumped out of bed screaming.

“Skylerrrrrrrrrrrr!” I hollered while trying to dodge the mess on my floor and make it to the light to turn it on.

The door came busting open and Skyler had a gun in her hand. “What? What happened?” she aimed her gun while I ran out the room.

“There’s someone in my fucking room… they are smoking cigarettes.”

Skyler held her gun and had it trained in the room. “Where?”

“There’s smoke coming from under my bed!” I pointed and hid behind her, because clearly my cousin owned a gun that I knew nothing about.

“I am armed, get out and leave now… did you leave your window unlocked again?” Skyler turned around and looked at me.

I shrugged. “I like the fresh air.”

“And apparently rapist… you have a damn fire escape, Stevie!” she scolded me, as she held her gun and waited.

“Get the fuck out my room you creep. I have a husband, and I will call him to come and kill you!” I hollered, while still hiding behind my cousin.

Skyler started to choke. “Put that cigarette out now… and get the fuck out. I am armed.”

“Me too.”

I nearly passed out when Menace slid from underneath the bed with a cigarette tucked between his lips. “MAVERICK!” I screamed.

“What up, Boo?”

Skyler put her gun down and took a deep breath. “I don’t even know what to say. Why in the hell are you in our apartment?”

“Your apartment… she owns a home with her husband that she told she wanted a divorce.”

“I never said that.”

Skyler decided she wasn’t dealing with this and stormed out the room to finish getting Stellie ready for bed.

“Maverick you have me so fucking overstimulated. I need a vision break,” I removed my glasses and started to pace.“Why are you under my damn bed?”

“To bring you home.”

“I’m not going home with you. Did you tell Duke that you are here?”

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