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“Sorry.” She stroked his head and face. “Mama had to work.”
Anyone watching would’ve seen the interaction as sweet, but to Tazeem it was just another reminder of what she’d stolen from him. She got a great welcome while he was treated like a creep. And his rage tripled.
“Can we go home now?” Jay asked.
“Just give me a few minutes.” Chess’s gaze moved to Tazeem. “Let me talk to my client for a little bit then we can go home.”
“Aaaaah!” Jay whined and stamped his feet
“Boy!” Chess reprimanded sharply, and it was enough to halt the drama. Turning to Tazeem, she asked, “Can we talk?”
Tazeem didn’t say anything for fear that he’d explode on the spot if he opened his mouth. So without a word, he stood then stalked towards her office.
Behind him, he heard Chess ask, “Donna, could you watch Jay for a few more minutes?”
“Sure thing,” Donna agreed.
And seconds later, Chess was rushing to follow Tazeem. Since Chess’s office was locked, Tazeem had to wait outside her door until she caught up to him. Avoiding his eyes, she unlocked the door then opened it. He followed her into the office.
As soon as the door closed behind him, trapping the two of them alone, she blurted, “I’m sorry.”
And it was the worst thing she could’ve said – not that he could think of anything she could’ve said to make things better.
Sorry? She was sorry? For what? For lying to him about their son being dead? For making him grieve for a child that never even died? For making him contemplate suicide because he’d thought that he’d lost his whole family? For forcing their son to grow up without a father? For making Tazeem miss out on eight years of their son’s life? And she was justsorry? A silly word like ‘sorry’ couldn’t cut it for all the evil that she’d done.
“Tazeem, I’m sorry,” Chess repeated. “I’m really, really sorry.”
Hearing that stupid word again made him want to press his hands around her neck and choke that word back down her throat. Tazeem had never been the kind of man who fought women – or men – but for a second, he actually considered it. This was what she’d brought him down to… Violence!
He’d only experienced this intense rage once. It was the day Chess had gone to labor. Some of his friends had offered to give him a ride to the hospital since he was too drunk to drive himself. On the way, they’d been stopped by the cops.
Imagine Tazeem’s surprise when the cops found drugs in the car. Imagine Tazeem’s horror when the cops chose to believe that the drugs belonged to Tazeem even though this wasn’t even his car. Imagine Tazeem’s rage when he was hauled to jail instead of the driver who the cops decided was innocent based on his skin color.
Even the judge who got Tazeem’s case on Monday saw it for what it was – bullshit – and dismissed it after giving the cops behind the arrest a scalding scolding. But by then Tazeem had already lost everything he considered important… or at least that’s what Chess had allowed him to believe.
And to think that all this time, his child was out there, being raised without a father.
Still not speaking, Tazeem just stared at Chess. In his mind, he was running through all the ways he could kill her. Even if he didn’t get away with it, his heart told him that it would still be worth it. What she’d done was awful enough to deserve execution.
Afraid that he’d actually do something psychotic if he stayed any longer in this room with her, he turned to open the door so he could leave.
“Please, Tazeem.” Chess stopped him by grabbing his arm. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“This way? Did you ever mean for me to find outat all?” The words exploded from him without his permission. It felt like they came from a deep, dark cesspool within him where only fury bubbled. He turned to her and repeated, “Did you ever mean for me to find out at all?”
“Uh…” She started but didn’t finish the sentence. She just stared at him with those wide, terrified eyes that were now filling with tears, as if begging him to have pity on her.
Her unfinished sentence was all the answer he needed.
Fighting the urge to shove her away from him with all his might so she’d never touch him again, he plucked her fingers one by one from his arm. He moved to the door and opened it. Once he was out, he slammed it behind him.
Fuck Chelsea Winters!
13
I
T HAD BEEN A WHILE since Chess had cried, but seeing Tazeem so angry and destroyed left her distraught. She burst into sobs as soon as she was alone in her office.
