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Chapter 20
Quintessa
We flew home Saturday morningand after a long flight, we spent Sunday resting. Today, Monday, it’s business as usual. I’m sitting at my desk for the first time in nearly two weeks. I’m exhausted. It took two cups of coffee to keep me from nodding off and that was around ten something, so when Zahara comes to get me at noon, I spring up from my chair, eager to get some lunch. It will afford me the opportunity to wake myself up.
She floats down the hallway next to me, nearly skipping. I’m jealous of her energy. She has on a wooden necklace, today, a green top, yellow pants and black sandals. It’s giving Jamaican vibes – not to mention her hair is done in long, waist-length knotless box braids.
We sit at our usual table. I crack open a Pepsi and chug it. More caffeine is just what I need.
I say, “Your hair is pretty. I meant to tell you that this morning, but I was basically sleepwalking to my desk.”
“Long night?”
“More like a long week.”
“You didn’t even tell a sista you were taking some time off. Do you realize this is the first time we’ve had lunch together since the Dictator put you on a special assignment? It’s been like two weeks.”
“Hmm—it has, hasn’t it?” I glance up at her but return to eating this spring salad—or is it a summer salad? I don’t know what kind of salad it is, but there are cut-up strawberries on it.
“Yeah. It has. So, Greta told y’all about the assignment?”
“Yeah. She said she got clearance to hire two more people. I’m excited about that. We need more people on the team.”
“Yeah. True.”
“That way we don’t have to worry about Mr. DePaul complaining about our numbers all the time. Ugh…”
“Right,” I say, because I can’t add anything to it, can I? I’m not about to be sitting up here talking about my husband in a bad light. He’s not just the rude boss anymore. He’s the man I love.
“Jeez…speak of the devil…” she says.
I look over to where she’s looking and see Essex walking over to the coffee bar with Mr. Cruz.
The way my heart races…
I try to look and look away, but I can’t look away. I’m caught in a trance. I love the way he walks. That slight bow in his right leg just does something to me. Essex is fly, as usual, but it’s what’s beneath the suit that has my pulse out of control. Those muscles, broad shoulders, an Adonis belt made of steel and the eel—
“You better stop staring before he catches you,” Zahara warns.
And now I need more soda…
Zahara asks, “So, what have you been up to?”
“Nothing much,” I say. A picture of Essex’s steel pectorals and six pack hovering over me flashes in my mind. I feel his teeth grazing my neck, his hands grabbing a fistful of my hair and—
I blink back to reality, feeling warm all over. I chug more Pepsi.
She says, “Oh, girl…what did you think of the party?”
“What party?”
“The employee appreciation party.”
“It was wild. I didn’t expect it to be like that especially since Mr. DePaul is an astute businessman of order and organization.”
“That may be true, but them parties be lit! I won two hundred bucks in the money booth.”
“Nice. I didn’t even have a chance to get in there.”
