Page 22 of For the Lover in You
"Will this truly be enough? What if he ends up taking my baby away from me?" I asked, sobbing in between my words.
Before I knew it, Tremaine wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. He didn't care about his white shirt and my tears staining it, and neither did I. His cologne invaded my nose and imprinted in my mind. He squeezed me tightly and allowed me to let my tears flow.
"Mila, that will not happen. You and KJ will be fine. I promise," he softly assured me.
I relaxed in his warm embrace. For the first time in a long time, I felt safe and protected. He rubbed his hand up and down my back while softly shushing me.
"You got this, Mila. You're already on the right track. Keep strong and keep going."
His calming but powerful words resonated inside me. The stress I felt washed away. I wasn't sure how long I stayed in hisembrace, but finally we separated when his phone rang. Once he answered, I sped off to the joint bathroom to check my appearance while he took his call. I took deep breaths to help regulate how I felt. He had changed my life faster than Kyle did in the years we were together.
There was a knock on the door, and Tremaine stood there.
"Are you straight?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Can we do a rain check on lunch? I have a customer at the office, and she says it's an emergency. I need to head back."
"Of course. That's fine."
He smiled. "Alright, let's head out."
I followed behind him as we headed out of the apartment. He opened the door for me and closed it behind me.
"Here are your keys."
"Thank you," I replied, reaching for the keys.
"You're welcome. I must say, this apartment looks good on you."
He winked at me and started in stride to the car. I wouldn't lie and say the simple gesture sent a chill down my spine. Once we made it to the car, he opened the door for me and helped me inside. Seconds later, we were back on the highway to the office.
"I'll order something for you to the office to make up for this urgent request."
"I appreciate that."
"No doubt. Plus, I'll probably have you leave early today. KJ needs to see where he'll lay his head."
I didn't have to look at Tremaine to see that he was smiling. There was something about him that had me curious. Out of all the people he could help, why me? I didn't believe the spill about Chasity because Chasity said they were cool, but not grand favor cool. I couldn't help but wonder what it was about me and my situation that made him want to help so much. However,I planned to be appreciative of it while trying to keep my attraction to him nonexistent.
Seven
Tremaine
Icould hear their laughs all the way in my office. I'd been hearing the same tune since Mila started working here. It was now the end of the work week, and Susanna and Mila had become the best of friends. They spent most of the day giggling and talking. I wouldn't be surprised if she learned nothing from all the fun the two were having. When I first told Susanna about Mila, she gave me backlash about it. She automatically assumed I had slept with Mila and promised her a job at the company. Despite my best efforts to explain otherwise to Susanna, she remained unconvinced. She wasn't thrilled to hear that I had jumped the interview process and hired Mila. Yet I was not sure what had happened between them, but now the two were like two clacking hens in the front of the office. All week, I'd been swamped with meetings and showings, so I hadn't been able to do a pulse check with Mila. I was thankful for Susanna. Had it not been for her, I don't think I would've been able to juggle my workload and train Mila.
I closed my laptop and decided to end the day at the office. I walked out of my door and saw Susanna standing at the desk while talking to Mila. Whatever the conversation was, Mila was tuned in. Susanna was waving her arms in the air.
"Then he had the nerve to say, Well, I thought you liked it like that!"
Mila let out a loud laugh and then covered her mouth with her hand. Susanna laughed just as loudly.
"Like what?" I asked.
My voice caused both of them to jump.
Susanna threw her hand over her chest. "Mr. Houston, you scared me!"
