Page 27 of For the Lover in You
"By the way, do I call maintenance or place a service ticket on the portal?" I asked. "My microwave plate is not spinning."
"You can do one or the other, but since I'm here, I can look at it," he offered.
"You sure? I don't want to keep you from going on about your day."
"It ain't nothing. Let me take a look."
Before I could respond, Tremaine got out of the car. We made our way to my apartment, and I let us in.
"I'll head to the kitchen," Tremaine declared.
"Yeah, do your thing. I'm going to get out of these heels."
I sat down on the sofa and removed my shoes, rubbing my feet one at a time. While doing that, I scrolled through my phone for the first time since I left the office. I had twenty messages from Kyle. All of them were him harassing me. I'd yet to block him because I was using this as evidence. I even asked Justin for the camera footage of the day he came into the diner. I needed anything to help me. The only thing Kyle had on me was money. Anything KJ needed or wanted, Kyle could make happen at the snap of his fingers — the best schools, fancy clothes, a beautiful home, and all the toys he wanted. Kyle could also afford the best lawyers. Unlike him, all I had was love, hope, and prayer that I could find a decent lawyer within my budget.
I continued screen shotting all the messages until Tremaine made his presence known.
"Is everything okay?"
I looked at him. His button-up shirt was off, and he wore a white wife-beater. Tremaine's arms were swollen with muscle mass. His arms were decorated with many tattoos, each looking to tell a story. My heart raced, staring at his handsome physique. It turned me on knowing that under his expensive suit were all these tattoos.
"Mila, are you good?" he repeated.
I snapped out of my trance. "Yeah, why do you ask?"
"Your face shows otherwise. You looked irritated while looking at your phone."
I sighed. I hadn't realized my face showed the disruptions Kyle had caused.
"Ex-husband/ baby daddy stuff," I commented.
It didn't feel weird discussing this with Tremaine. He knew my situation now.
"Block him," he advised.
I shook my head. "I can't."
"And why the hell not? If he's harassing you, block his ass!"
"I'm using this as evidence for the custody battle. I know I can't afford a decent lawyer, and on paper, he is better than I am as a parent. I need all I can to make sure I keep my child. Even if that means having to deal with his harassment."
Tremaine stared at me. His gaze made me nervous. I couldn't tell whether he was judging me or supporting me.
"Sorry if I'm imploding on you with all my life problems. You're my boss. This isn't your business."
"Nah, you're good. Sometimes, you just need a person to listen."
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. For the first time in a long time, a rush of something lit up inside me. I was used to Chasity and Trina listening to me vent, but not a man like Tremaine.
"Thank you for listening."
"I told you about thanking me. It's all good, but look, though, I think I got your microwave fixed. Let me show you something."
I followed him to the kitchen. We made it to the microwave that was above the stove. Due to my height, I had to stand on my tiptoes just to look inside.
"So..." Trey paused.
He looked down at me and grinned.
