Chapter 4

Monday morning, it was time for Elise to do her thing. Now, even though I made more than enough money to care for myself doing extra-curricular activities, I still had to lead a normal life. And that’s where Elise came in.

I got dressed in a pair of yellow slacks and donned a blue and white striped shirt and yellow pumps. I wore my hair in luscious pin curls and my lips were a nice brown and peach ombre lip color.

Since I was still tired from being out on the water all day Sunday, a stop at Starbucks was necessary. I was definitely going to need something to calm my nerves to keep my mouth tame at work, since most of my coworkers were unbearable.

I walked into the place, got to the counter, ordered a tall hot mocha and a slice of banana nut bread, then proceeded to wait off to the side. Then I heard my name, “Good morning, Elise.” I turned to see him dressed nicely in a pair of black pants, a black shirt, grey vest, his bald head, nice and shiny. I smiled, “Jefferson, hi.”

“Are you still not giving nice guys a chance.” He asked.

I chuckled, “Well, not a lot has changed in the two days since we met.”

He nodded, “I just think, you should judge each man or person by their own merits and not by the actions of others in the past.” His smile was dreamy. Inside, part of me wanted to, but my mind always went there to what happened in college.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”

“I tell you what, if our paths happen to cross again, then I’ll take that as a sign.”

I heard the barista call my name, I walked up to the counter and reached for my items, “Thank you.” I said to her and turned to leave.

He smiled, “I’m gonna hold you to it.”

I grinned on the way out the door. How was he going to see me again? I was a homebody for the most part when I wasn’t being Onyx.

I got to work and went straight to my desk. I didn't spend a lot of time chatting it up with folks. Because people loved to gossip and I didn’t play that.

I got to my desk; I had a few moments to myself to enjoy my snacks before I began work. I worked in the financial department of my company, reviewing records, receipts, approving travel and expense reports. It was a tedious job, but hey, someone had to do it.

As soon as I bit into my banana nut bread, I heard, “Morning Elise, that looks delish.” In that fake as fuck voice that most influencers use on the internet these days. It made me want to puke. I just wanted to shake her and say, “This is not how you really talk ma’am.”

I nodded and continued to eat. I really did not want to talk to Heather. She’s one of those people who liked to walk up behind you while you’re working on something, look at your computer screen and just start talking about what you’re looking at. Like heifer, if I wanted the entire office to know I was researching which tampons were the most absorbent, I would have sent out a memo.

So, I got wise and requested a screen protector. She switched to walking up to me and starting some kind of conversation. “We missed you on Friday, did you take the day off?”

I rolled my eyes and thought, obviously. I smiled, “Is there something I can do for you?” That was my hint to her. She flipped her golden hair and placed her hand on her hip, “Oh no, I’m good. Maybe we can do lunch today.”

“I brought my lunch, maybe next time.” I replied. She walked away to go gossip with two other coworkers. I shook my head. I didn’t bring my lunch, but I was not about to subject myself to listening to her and her messy ass friends talk about people for forty-five minutes. I’d rather watch paint dry.

The last time I attempted to eat with them, I almost went ham on all of them. It started with Casey, this biracial woman, that most likely didn’t identify much with her Black side, insulting me on behalf of all the White women.

“So, Elise, did you know that there’s makeup that you can use to make your skin look normal.” She said and they all chimed in…. Now, I didn’t talk much at work, so I suppose she pegged me for the quiet type. But when you grow up in the hood getting bullied by a bunch of idiots, you learn two things…first, how to get slick with your mouth and secondly, how to be quick with the hands.

“What’s wrong with my skin?” I asked. They all got nervous. I wasn’t one of those girls that took insults to fit in, nope…you’re about catch this smoke.

Heather smiled, “No she was just talking about the discoloration. That if it makes you uncomfortable, there are products—”

I laughed, “Well, I have a skin condition and I’ve lived with it all my life. This is my normal. So, if looking at me with my discoloration is so repulsive, I would suggest, poking your fucking eyes out because I’m not wearing makeup to appease anyone.” I smiled.

Heather and Rebecca’s faces got so red and Rebecca started to cry. They left the table. Casey looked at me in disbelief, “Damn sis, what was that all about?”

“We aren’t sistas.”

“Is it because I’m mixed?”

“No. That has nothing to do with it. It’s mainly because, no sista of mine would have allowed themselves to be used in a manner to hurt another sista.” I stood up and walked out of the breakroom.

Ever since then, Rebecca had been riding the ally train for people with vitiligo. I haven’t been able to tell if she’s really in it for the right reasons, but, at least, they are no longer harassing me about my skin.

As I finished the last bit of my banana nut bread, in walked one of the few people I liked at work, Henderson Davis. He was fabulous in every sense of the word. He stopped by my desk, “Hey babe, you look amazing.”

I smiled, “Thank you. How was your weekend?” I asked. His desk is across from mine, so we spent the day cutting up when we were not busy.

“Girl, it was fantastic. I went to Orlando and you know we cut up.” Henderson was handsome. And a lot of women wanted a piece of him in our office. I suspect that’s why I had so much shade thrown my way. They all thought he and I had something going on, but my dude was Gay.

“What did you do this weekend?” he asked.

I smiled, “Nothing much.” I replied. I never divulged the details of Onyx’s business to anyone.

“Girl, you need to get out and experience life. You should come to the house on Thursday night. I’m doing some stuff and we are having game night.”

The look on my face. He pointed, “Don’t give me that look. I expect to see you at my place.” He went to his desk and sat.

I heard Onyx’s hotline sound inside of my purse. I pulled it out and checked. I had received a message from Lucio Silva. I listened and his Brazilian accent nearly made me wet on the spot, “I’m in town tonight. I was hoping to see you. It’s been a while. Call me.”

I grinned on the inside. It had been nearly a year since I had last been with him. He was into real estate and land. This man gifted me a plot of land. He was just like, “Build a house, make a business, having land in your name is important.”

And he was right. I opened up a small food truck center and rented out slots for business owners to set up and sell food and beverages to their customers.

It was nice. Clean bathrooms, seating, even a stage area for groups to perform on nice days. It was a great money-making endeavor. And I usually didn’t bring out Onyx on the week days, but for him, I was willing to make an exception.

I responded with a text message, “Send me details and I’m there.” Within minutes, he provided me with the location where he wanted to meet later that night.

I bit my lip, excited. Opened my computer to check my workload for the day. Now, our team should have had ten people, with an assistant manager and a manager. However, our manger moved to another location, leaving our assistant manager Vivian Meeks to fill that duty and leaving me as the most senior auditor as the acting floor manager.

Vivian entered the area, “Alright ladies and gentlemen, I have some news.” I was hoping she was going to say, that they finally decided to give her the promotion, since she had been doing the job for months.

“So, we’re getting a new manager.” She smiled. She was always positive even in the midst of bullshit, “He’ll be here this Friday.” I looked at Henderson and we made a face. That was bullshit. There was a little murmuring, but she reassured us that it was fine and that we should give the new person our complete support.

I went to her office after the announcement. She sat at her desk deep in thought, “Hey Vivian.” She looked at me with a smile. I closed the door, “Are you okay?”

She chuckled, “Chile, you know how these folks are, it’s all about making deals and doing favors. I wasn’t really expecting them to give it to me.”

I nodded, “I’m here if you want to talk.”

“I’m fine Elise, really. But tell me how you’ve been?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. A young beautiful woman like yourself, quiet, don’t get out much. Is everything okay?”

“Of course. I just like to live a relatively simple life. No fuss.”

“I hear ya. Okay, I’m here if you need me, even after hours. If you want to hang out, go do a spa day, grab a meal.”

I smiled, “Sounds good.” I replied and left.

With the work day behind me, and an exciting night with Lucio in front of me, I had to get ready. This sexy little black dress, that exposed one shoulder, it only went to mid-thigh. Lucio loved legs and I wanted to show them, just for him.

I got to his room and immediately, we embraced like two lovers that hadn’t seen each other in months. Oh how I missed him. His skin was nearly the color of midnight’s sky. He had these pretty full lips, this head full of thick curly hair, that I loved playing in. He kissed me, “You look amazing.”

He wore these neatly pressed slacks with a with button down shirt sleeved shirt. His muscular arms looked nice and felt good when he hugged me, picked me up slightly and placed me down.

The room was basically a small apartment, it had everything. He walked over to the kitchen, “I got us some food.” I looked and saw those raw oysters and made a face. He laughed, “You have to try at least one.”

He poured me some wine and handed me the glass, “Let’s drink.” Our glasses touched at the base and we drank. He smiled, “I heard that you’ve done well with the land.”

I nodded, “It’s doing well. I’m glad you gifted it to me.”

“Now, when you finally decide to settle down, you have a legacy to leave behind.”

I smiled. That was his way of hinting that I should stop fucking around and just pick one man. But really, there weren’t many. I had Gianni, but I saw him rarely. There was Hassan, but he was married and couldn’t devote as much time to me as he wanted. There was Gil, but our relationship was not sexual. Then, there was Darren whom I had just met and there was one other, but I had not heard from him in a few weeks, this guy named Ashton Robles. He was mutli-ethnic mixed Jamaican, Puerto Rican and Indian. And of course, there was Lucio.

“There you go again with that. I’m happy with my life as it is.” I replied.

He smirked, “Are you?”

I laughed, “yeah, of course.” He lifted an oyster to his mouth and swallowed it, he picked up another and placed it to my mouth. I shook my head.

He laughed, “You promised.”

“No, I didn’t.”

He got closer and placed his lips on mine, “Do it for Lucio.” I opened my mouth and allowed it to touch my tongue and swallowed. Immediately, I drank a sip of wine and then he kissed me. I felt the moisture of his mouth as we kissed.

I felt his hand on my inner thigh, he traveled up until he found me ready. He smiled, “Let’s go to the bed.”

The sliding glass door that led to the balcony had an amazing view of the ocean, was open. I could hear the sound of the waves as they crashed against the shore. He laid on top of me, my right leg over his shoulder, his body chiseled to perfection. I ran my hands across his chest and abdominal muscles as I watched him work. His hip action was insane, those strokes had me in ecstasy.

He released my leg and lay flat on top, his chest pressing against my breasts, him kissing me in the mouth, me moaning out of my mind, “Lucio, Lucio, Lucio.” I said. He smiled and continued until he melted on top of me.

The next morning, I woke up early. He met me in the bathroom, “I have something for you.” He handed me a box. I opened it and found a set of keys. “What’s this?” I asked.

He smiled, “call the number on the card and go pick up your new spider.”

I laughed, “Wow, a spider. I never thought about getting one of those.”

“Now you have one.” He kissed my head, “I want you to come visit me in Rio in a few months. We’re opening a center for children. I would love for you to see it.”

I smiled because he had taken my advice to give back to the area he grew up in. “That’s awesome. I would love to.”