Page 10 of Somebody Else Will

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” she said and giggled.

I ended the call and just thought about her last words. That gave me all the insight I needed. Denishia’s relationship was falling apart and probably toxic at best. Her receptionist seemed to know details that she was withholding. She could run, but she sure in the hell couldn’t hide. Her resist game was gonna have to be A-1 to deny me tomorrow.

“I have been tryingto call you all morning! I shouldn’t have had to come up here to talk to you, Denishia.”

I slightly rolled my eyes as I huffed. I’d been extremely busy today, ordering pieces for next weekend and creating new designs. Not to mention the three deliveries I had this morning. The event planner for Ezekiel’s mother’s party gave me free reign to do what I wanted after she saw the things I was coming up with. She said she had the feeling Mr. Wheeler would be pleased with whatever I created. She chuckled after saying it, letting me know she saw his attraction to me. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide it.

It was nearly noon, and this nigga thought it would be a good idea to show up to my shop acting an entire ass. “Will, I have been extremely busy. What did you need?”

“I needed some money for a deal I found for a speaker system, but I missed it.”

His explanation only pissed me off. “You know… maybe you won’t have so much free time if you went and found a full-time job. I don’t know what free time is. I have a business to run, and your fucking need for speakers ain’t even on my to-do list. I don’t like being in this frame of mind when I’m working. If you gon’ come in here embarrassing me with your bullshit, I’m gonna embarrass you back.”

His eyebrows lifted in shock. I’d never told him off in front of people, but he’d never tried to clown me in front of people either. I put my hand on my hip as I saw Mr. Wheeler walk through the door.What in the hell is he doing here?

“You know what, Denishia? I’m done with this shit. Ain’t nobody want yo’ ass but me anyway. You devote all your time to this bullshit ass flower shop. That’s why I have to get the shit I need from somebody else. I was trying to do shit to make you happy, but you don’t even notice. Be by yourself with these pitiful ass flowers.”

The wind was knocked out of me, but I didn’t let that shit deter me from what I needed to say. “You were just fine being with me when I was doing what you wanted me to do. In case you haven’t noticed, I work hard because I’m the only muthafucka working. I was too stupid to see that you were using me. I thought you loved me, especially when you ate the lining out of my ass. I should have known then that you were full of shit. Get the fuck out of here!”

I walked away as he yelled obscenities. I didn’t know how we got here all of a sudden. Things weren’t great, but Wednesday after my long day and trip to Houston, we’d had an amazing time. He’d cooked, and we’d sexed. I had no complaints, other than being tired yesterday. That wasn’t even a real complaint, though, because I was thoroughly satisfied. Yesterday, we didn’t talk much, but that wasn’t uncommon. So this just came out of the fucking blue… left field… out of nowhere.

I slammed the door to my office, then suddenly remembered Mr. Wheeler was standing there. I brought my hands to my face, trying to calm my nerves. I was so embarrassed at not only Will’s behavior but mine. As I opened the door, a tremble went through my entire body. My mind was working overtime, hoping I didn’t lose his business because of my unprofessionalism.

I walked around the corner, my knees knocking, to see Mr. Wheeler was gone. I flopped in a chair as Jamia came to me. “Jamia, I fucked up. Shit! Did we lose Mister Wheeler’s business?”

“Denishia, it’s gonna be okay. We didn’t lose Mister Wheeler’s business. Look.”

I lifted my head to see him walking back into the shop with a frown on his face. When his eyes met mine, the frown eased some. I quickly stood from my seat. “Mister Wheeler, I’m so sorry you witnessed my unprofessionalism. It’s?—”

“Man, if you don’t stop with that Mister Wheeler shit.”

I stared at him, and it was then that I noticed he had purple magnolias in his hand and a bag of what looked to be food. He came closer to me as Jamia walked away. When he grabbed my hand, I could feel the heat from his touch. His gaze was causing a shiver to crawl up my spine and heat to gather around my ears.

“Ezekiel, I’m sorry.”

“Your apology isn’t necessary. I apologize that you’ve been putting up with a sorry excuse for a man. Please don’t think he is a representative of what manhood is. I bought these for you.”

He extended them to me, and I stared at them for the longest. It was like those flowers mesmerized me, and I knew that had a lot to do with me fantasizing about Ford. When he and his wife first met, I would always think about how maybe I could have been the one receiving them had I shot my shot. While I no longer thought about that, I still stared at them, admiring theirbeauty. When I finally looked up at him, I said, “Thank you so much. These are beautiful.”

“Mm-hmm. I also bought lunch. You probably hadn’t even thought about eating yet.”

It was past noon now, and I had to admit that it had never crossed my mind. I was so busy. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I haven’t. Thank you. Would you umm…” I looked away for a moment and met eyes with Jamia to see her silently coaxing me to finish my thought. “Would you like to join me in my office?”

He nodded and gave me a closed-lipped smile. “I was hoping to spend some time with you. Plus, I know which sketch to pick.”

I smiled slightly, then led him to my office. He looked around as I set the flowers on a table near the window. “You have a nice office. It’s spacious.”

I nodded as he sat in the chair at the front of my desk and set the bag on top of it. I joined him as he pulled the burgers out. The smell was definitely familiar. “Is this from Rockin’ A?” I asked.

“Damn. You’re good.”

“No. It’s one of my favorite spots to get a burger. I either go there, Hamburger Depot, or Whataburger. Neither of them ever miss. So I know exactly what their burgers smell like.”

He chuckled as I quieted down. He handed me a burger and fries, and our fingers touched. Staring at me for a moment, he finally said, “Denishia, you are so gorgeous. I know you have a lot to figure out after the debacle that happened earlier, but I still want to get to know you. I can be patient with the process if you keep the lines of communication open.”

I looked away and cleared my throat. “It’s going to be a tedious process because we live together. I don’t know if I can do what you’re asking of me. Having you around may make things worse for me, even if you aren’t around physically. I need to bealone to properly get through this. Plus, women probably throw themselves at you all the time. I wouldn’t be able to deal with that kind of foolishness.”

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