Page 21 of Plea
“I know you didn’t come here to run down me and my partners’ credentials, so what’s on your mind, sunshine?”
Venus didn’t respond right away, but when she did, she said, “I just wanted to ask you not to buy me another choker. I loved it, truly. It was my favorite color. I love anything green, any shade of green. But if you do, he’s only going to take it or try and break it, and I don’t want you to waste your money.”
“I will only agree not to buy it if you don’t want it. I’m not going to not buy it just because you’re trying to appease him, Venus.”
She sighed and sat back in her seat. “I can’t say I don’t want it, but I can say I can get it for myself.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” I reasoned.
“But I can,” she countered.
“I’m not saying you can’t.”
“Why’d you get it for me anyway?”
Smiling, I looked out of the window as Natalie, my EA, walked by. “In some cultures, chokers symbolize protection and possession. Submission.” My eyes returned to her when I confessed, “I bought it for you because even though I knew there was a chance you never would be, when I saw you wear it, I wanted to visualize you as mine.”
I saw the moment she stopped breathing. I saw the lack of movement in her chest. Standing, I walked over to her. As I looked down at her, she avoided my eyes.
“Can I buy you another choker, sunshine?”
“Yes,” she almost whispered, voice trembling.
My hand went under her chin, and I tilted her head, so she’d look into my eyes. “Louder.”
The whimper she released made my dick twitch. “Yes, Carson,” she moaned before biting down on her bottom lip, and it took everything in me not to moan myself.
“Good girl. Now go, before I forget I’m a man of integrity.”
“Mhm,” she agreed, head nodding as she stood. Her eyes shifted, settling on a picture of me and Asia that I’d forgotten to take off my wall. “That’s…” She cleared her throat.
“We’re not together,” I reminded her quickly.
“No that’s…” She wrapped her hands around her neck, as if she didn’t want to say the words that were threatening to come out. “Jesus.” Resting her hand on my shoulder, her head shook. “Carson, I don’t want to disturb your happiness, but I have to tell you the truth. I hope this doesn’t make you resent me.”
“Tell me the truth about what?”
“I didn’t know who she was, but I overheard her conversation when she was getting her hair done.” She paused. “She’s pregnant right?”
Damn.
She knew.
“Yes, she is.”
“You need to get a DNA test. There’s a chance the baby isn’t yours.”
“What? What makes you say that?”
With a sigh, Venus took a step back and put some space between us. “She was on the phone with someone, and she said she didn’t know if you or Dru was the father of her baby. Eitherway, she said you couldn’t find out and that Dru wasn’t going to be there regardless or something like that. I can’t remember her exact words, but from what I heard, Dru isn’t an option, and she didn’t want you to know, because she didn’t want to raise the baby alone.”
I knew Venus had no reason to lie, and the fact that she knew Asia was pregnant was even more confirmation that she was telling the truth. And if she was, that meant there was a chance Asia’s baby wasn’t mine. Not only that, but she knew and planned to force me to raise a baby that wasn’t mine.
“I have to go,” I mumbled, gripping her arms and placing a kiss on her cheek absently. “Thank you for telling me.”
“S-sure,” she said as I headed out of my office. I didn’t bother to grab anything since my keys, wallet, and phone were already in my pockets. I needed answers, and I needed them right the fuck now.
After burstingthrough the door of Asia’s office, I slammed the receiver down and ended the call she was on.
