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When he dropped her off at Synovent a few minutes later, she was feeling pretty good. As far as co-parents went, Tazeem was a dream partner. The more she watched him with Jay, the more certain she became that he wasn’t quite the villain she’d made him out to be. Now, she regretted the choices she’d made in the past. Maybe if she’d let him be a dad earlier, he would’ve shown her this side of himself.
However, as soon as she stepped into the office, Tazeem was forgotten, and her work issues took centre stage.
Chess found several of her coworkers, including Derrick and Evie, milling around Donna’s desk. Though they were all acting like they’d come to ask Donna for something, their attention was on the hallway that led to Richard’s office.
“What is going on?” Chess asked Derrick. “Why is everyone out here?”
“It’s Mark,” Derrick said.
“What about Mark?”
“He’s getting chewed out by Richard,” Donna jumped in before Derrick could answer. “Someone canceled all of their team’s pre-screening entertainment. Now they have to scramble to find a replacement, and KGM is threatening to take their business elsewhere.”
Before Chess could even digest all that information, Evie turned to ask her, “Did you do it?”
“Chess would never sink so low,” Derrick jumped in before Chess could answer.
“Thank you.” Chess offered a friend a grateful smile.
“Well, everybody thinks you did it,” Evie offered with a shrug.
“Then everybody is an idiot,” Chess retorted. “I didn’t even know what acts he booked.”
“I’m just saying,” Evie continued, “I’d prefer not to be involved in you and Mark’s issues. Please don’t try to sabotage me.”
“Girl, ain’t nobody interested in sabotaging you,” Chess snapped back with a roll of her eyes. “Besides, you’re doing that all on your own. I heard two of your team members already quit because they thought your leadership was substandard. Plus, you misspelled the game’s name in all your marketing materials, and you’re already over budget. You need to worry aboutthat, not who’s sabotaging who!”
If words were a knife, Evie would’ve bled. Her face was bright red as she quietly tucked her tail between her legs and slinked away to her office.
Chess headed to her office too.
Sure, Mark’s downfall was delicious, especially after what he’d pulled with the Tazeem-Jay meeting thing. But she had work to do and a VP spot to win.
Later in the day, she heard that Mark was telling anyone who would listen that she was behind the entertainment cancelation, and that it was her way of taking revenge. But he was too much of a chicken to confront her directly, and that was fine by her.
19
W
HOEVER SAID ‘TIME HEALS ALL wounds’ knew what they were talking about. A few weeks into his and Chess’s co-parenting relationship, Tazeem realized that most of his anger at her had receded, and the lust was coming back.
On Tuesday when Tazeem dropped by her house for their usual morning routine, he discovered that he had a fetish for women in office wear. As soon as he saw Chess in her long-sleeved, striped, blue and white shirt and snug, pencil skirt, all his cells came alive. The outfit couldn’t be considered indecent by any standards, but it showed off all her luscious curves and left him itching to touch.
“You look great!” The words slipped past his lips before he could control them.
“Thank you.” She turned around and started towards the kitchen. “Come on in.”
As Tazeem closed the front door behind him, his eyes remained glued to her voluptuous backside. Jeez! Wasn’t it illegal to be so sexy in the morning?
“Hey.” A thought struck him as he followed her to the kitchen. “You’re usually not ready for work when I get here. What’s up with today?”
“I have to get to work a little early today. There were some issues with the TV ads that I need to solve before nine,” Chess revealed while stirring the pot of oats that was on the stove. “Are you okay with taking Jay to school on your own?”
“Yeah,” he easily agreed. “Sure.”
“You’re sure? You haven’t done it alone before.” Chess offered, “If you need some help, I can get Senia to ride with you guys so you have some support.”
“There’s no need for that.” Confidently, Tazeem insisted, “I can take Jay to school on my own. Besides, this is an opportunity for us to start spending time on our own.”
