Page 41 of For the Lover in You
"What's in your hand is correct." He winked and flew out of the door.
My mouth fell slightly ajar. Tremaine must have known I was coming to him. Susanna giggled, prompting me to look in her direction.
"What's funny?"
"Mr. Houston's so funny. One would think he was this big, bad businessman, when he really just loves to help people. He's just a big ol' teddy bear. Whoever receives the blessing of being his wife is one lucky lady."
"You're saying that all because he likes to help people?"
She nodded. "He helps strangers, so imagine what he will do for a woman that he loves? If he could give her the moon, he would."
I sat back in my seat and looked at the money in the envelope. I thought about what Susanna said. Any woman who received the opportunity to be on Tremaine's arm was one luckywoman, and I knew that from the moment I laid eyes on him, but now knowing a bit of his character, anyone would envy her, including me.
Eleven
Tremaine
Iflopped down in my chair once I arrived at the office. My body was exhausted. For two weeks, I'd been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I'd been pulling long, late hours and early mornings, even on the weekends. I was opening two new offices in another state. My goal was to have a chain of real estate businesses all over the country. However, with that came long, tedious hours and stress. Still, regardless of the hard work, I knew I had a goal, and that was to retire before forty. Until then, I would continue to grind.
I opened my computer to crunch some numbers before the weekend when my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Ari. I had unblocked her number but hadn't spoken to Ari since the incident in the car with Mila. I had been avoiding her by screening her calls and letting Susanna or Mila handle her issues. It was time for me to set a boundary between us. Plus, lately I'd been feeling it was time for me to settle down with someone I could build with, not someone who was only tryingto fuck and spend my money. Things needed to go back to a business-only relationship. I sighed and answered the phone.
"What's up, Ari?"
She sucked her teeth. "Don'twhat's up Arime. Why haven't you been answering my calls?"
"I've been busy. I've got a lot of shit going on."
"Bullshit. You don't miss me?" she asked.
She had changed the tone of her voice to seductive, but I wasn't falling for it. Ari was semi-right. I missed her, but in ways that only satisfied me.
"Ari, we need to talk," I asserted.
"What is it now, Trey?" she asked, voice filled with irritation.
"Whatever this thing we've got going on, we need to end it. It's bad business. You're getting your feelings wrapped up in this, and it's not healthy for either of us."
She sucked her teeth. "Trey, whatever. Stop playing so much. So when can I see you?"
I let out a deep sigh. Ari wasn't getting it. I had no intention of being mean to her, but clearly, she wasn't getting it. She left me no choice but to be stern.
"Ari, I'm dead ass. We can't keep doing this. You don't need to reach out to me unless it involves business because all of this shit stops today."
The line went silent. I looked at the phone to make sure she was still there. Seconds later, I heard her sniff. Usually, hearing someone cry would pull at my heartstrings, but this time I wasn't affected.
"Ari, don't do this. Let's just leave it cordial. There isn't any reason to be dramatic. This shit was never deep."
"Who is she, Trey?"
"Huh?"
"Who is the bitch that's got you speaking to me like this?"
I sighed. My patience was gone, and I had already wasted enough time on the phone with her.
"Ari, from now on, Susanna will handle your issues. Have a good night."
I didn't even wait for her to respond before I hung up the phone and returned to my computer. It didn't bother me that I had to be like that toward her. It was long overdue. Ari wasn't the woman for me, and it wasn't right for me to keep having to deal with it. Ari called back, but I didn't bother to answer. My point was made, and continuing to address it was not my concern. I silenced my phone and went back to checking and responding to emails.
