Page 18 of For the Lover in You
Trina:I agree with Chas. Be thankful, best friend. You and KJ deserve the world!
I fought back tears, reading how Chasity and Trina boosted me up. Since I told them about everything that had happened, Trina had already arranged to come and help me with the move. She was excited for me even though I was skeptical about everything. I closed my phone when I heard Susanna's heels approaching. I looked up at her as she took a seat on the sofa across from me. We sat in silence before I spoke up.
"How long have you been working here?"
"Two years," she explained, sipping from her coffee mug. "I was the office manager. Then, after being exposed to real estate, I began studying for the exams, and I passed. Mr. Houston just offered me a position here a few days ago."
I smiled. "Oh wow! Congratulations! That is so impressive."
"Thank you. Mr. Houston is such an inspiration."
I wasn't sure how to respond, so I smiled. I knew very little about him. All I knew was he had money and offered me a job because he felt bad for me.
"Are you married?"
Bile built up in my throat. The term marriage put an unpleasant taste in my mouth. No one in society appreciated the importance of marriage anymore.
"Divorced."
"Ouch! My parents divorced, and it was rough."
I nodded again. "Very rough."
"Any kids?"
I smiled big this time. "One, he's six."
She smiled big as well. "Aw! I can't wait to become someone's mom. I know have a while to go, but I know when the day comes, I'm going to love it."
I kept a smile on my face, but internally, I burned. I didn't regret KJ, but I regretted his father. When I got pregnant, I was ecstatic to grow my forever family, but forever never came. Now here I was, starting from the bottom, still providing KJ with the same love and care as if he had two parents.
"Oh look," Susanna said, standing to her feet. "Mr. Houston just arrived."
I turned around and saw a black Lamborghini pull up to the front of the store. I watched how he opened the suicide doors and stepped out. He wore black Ray-Ban shades, a brown khaki suit, with a white button-up shirt under it, and brown dressshoes. He reached back in the car and grabbed a laptop bag before he headed into the office.
Susanna sucked her teeth and chuckled. "Mr. Houston is such a showoff. He never drives the Lambo. He drives that car only when he is trying to show off." She looked at me and smirked. "Which makes so much sense."
Before I could ask Susanna what she meant, she walked toward the front door.
I quickly jumped to my feet and smoothed down the navy blue pencil skirt and adjusted my white shirt. I borrowed a pair of Chasity's nude kitten heels and wore silver jewelry to match. I reached for my purse and pulled out the notebook and pen I planned to use to take down important information. By the time I finished adjusting myself, I could hear Susanna and Tremaine's feet against the hard tile.
"She's over here. She was prompt and on time, unlike you," Susanna fussed.
"Don't start. I had to get dressed."
"Hmm, I can tell," Susanna said.
Mr. Houston laughed loudly but quieted down once he saw me standing in front of him. From the windows, he looked good, but now that he was in front of me, my honeypot felt like she wanted to betray me. His cologne filled the space, and his macho stance dominated the room. He removed his shades and smiled softly.
"Good morning," he greeted, glancing at me up and down.
"Good morning."
He moved closer. "I didn't think you were going to show up."
"I'm here."
"I see. Have you been able to talk with Susanna?"
