Nina sighed, “I’m sorry… I’m currently trying to find Jio’s lying ass.”
“Is he lost?”
Those three words made her pause and think about what she was spending her time focusing on right now. Danyelle was right, that nigga was not lost.
“No, he’s not. You want to get a drink? I could use a glass of champagne.” She had a change of heart.
“What about a chilled shot? I’ve had a rough ass morning,” Danyelle admitted.
“I’ll take a double. Let’s meet at the St. Regis bar. I’m fifteen minutes away.”
“Pulling up right behind ya, friend,” she said happily.
They ended the call and Nina blasted her music as she sped through the streets.
He’s not lost… so why was I about to go looking for him?...She couldn’t help but to ruminate on the thought.
A couple of hours later, she swore that she didn’t plan on pulling up on anybody, but she couldn’t help it. She could easily blame it on the liquor. Danyelle was such a good time. Nina loved her energy and it was needed after today’s incident at the bank. Nina was unsuccessful in talking herself out of popping up on Jio at the club. It felt like her life was falling apart and she didn’t want to become that girl.
The girl whose whole day turned upside down because of a man or the one who canceled plans to chase a nigga around the city.Jio was not lost… Danyelle’s words played back in her head on a loop. She didn’t want to have to confront him in public over his happenings with another chick. Nina checking locations, replaying conversations, calculating his time when he wasn’t with her… she didn’t want to do it. It’d never been her and she didn’t want to start now. She was supposed to be above all of this. Nina was a boardroom baddie. She didn’t go back and forth with women in an attempt to prove her worth and her position. She led meetings, not riots. But her common sense always seemed to fade whenever Jio was involved. Nina sat stupidly in the back of Roberto’s truck, rehearsing what she was going to say to him. She’d been too drunk to drive and so she dialed the person who was paid to drive her around in the first place. Every now and then, Nina missed hopping behind the wheel and today was one of those days. She stared up at the entrance of VIBES, Jio’s club. Was she angry enough to cause a scene? Did he mean that much to embarrass herself in front of a crowded space?
Unfortunately, the answer was yes. He meant every damn thing to her. To be this madly in love was sickening. Nina prayed she recovered soon.
The bank teller’s words wouldn’t slip her mind.
You can ask Jio what it is. He tends to say it… a lot.
Nina tried to act like it didn’t bother her, but oh, when she got to drinking, her feelings exploded and so did her heart. Shehad tried to be above it. She was smart enough to know that the girl was only trying to get under her skin because that was what women like that did. They wanted proof that they mattered. She needed to feel powerful enough to disturb the woman who really had his heart. Right? Nina didn’t fuckin’ know, but she did know that she was past disturbed. She wanted answers. Did she care if Jio was really cheating on her? Or was her only concern being if he wanted them or was just using them for sex? Was it pure entertainment or was he distracted by their sex appeal? Nina knew that she didn’t give off “fuck me” vibes. She liked worn hoodies and dusty sweats. A good time in her eyes was a new puzzle and the last few chapters of a book that she needed to finish up. The bank teller lady looked like she did all the nasty shit Nina would probably gag at.
However, one thing she did know was that Jio’s love was too obsessive to spread around. He wasn’t exerting that much energy on other folks. He wanted them. Used them. Got entertained by them. Distracted by them. Maybe even comforted by them when he was mad at Nina and too prideful to come home. Nina didn’t want to ever grow comfortable with being disrespected by a man who claimed he would burn the world down behind her.
Roberto glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Are you sure about this, Ms. Marcelle?”
Nina looked towards the double doors that led into the club.
Two men stood outside in black suit jackets with earpieces tucked discreetly into their ears. A small group of women posed near the door, laughing too loudly. Their dresses too short for the chill in the air. She hoped that they didn’t catch a cold. Music thumped from the inside, deep enough to vibrate faintly through the truck, but she wasn’t in the mood to dance.
“Yes,” Nina said, grabbing her purse. “This shouldn’t take long.”
Inside, the club was darker than she remembered. Security knew exactly who she was, so she figured that someone was alerting the boss that his woman was here. It was rather difficult to not ask them how many bitches had the same access that she did. Nina moved through the room with grace. If Mr. Gotti were watching her on the cameras, he wouldn’t be able to tell that she was hurting on the inside. She couldn’t wait to see his facial expressions in person. He’d been calling her throughout the day, and each one went to voicemail. As far as he was concerned, she was busy working. Nina had to cut back on being so readily available. The way her mind had wandered all day about his past whereabouts… the tables were about to turn. Kobie was just a call away. Jio better buckle up for the ride because payback was a bitch named Nina.
She scanned the VIP sections first.
No Jio.
Her eyes moved toward the bar.
No Jio.
The private lounge.
Still no Jio.
Her irritation increased, but only because she knew that he’d been notified by now that she was in the building. The last text he sent her was,“At the club if you call and I don’t answer. Moving around boo.”
Nina didn’t respond. She was thankful for his location though. She called it a night with Danyelle and headed to VIBES.
She had come ready to burn down a room and the man she planned to confront wasn’t even inside it.
