“Thanks, Wanda, but from now on I don’t want you to give her any information as to when I’ll be in the office. Just take a message and that’s all.” I hung up the phone and sighed. Not only had Justine been blowing up my cell, she was calling my office every morning.
At one point, I longed for our old friendship to be intact again, but she only wanted to talk about us getting back together as a couple. No matter how many times I told her it wasn’t going to happen, she couldn’t bring herself to believe me. What was it going to take to get it through her head that it was over?
I spent a few minutes answering messages. My nine o’clock meeting quickly approached, and by eleven my team had assembled a plan, handling every detail for the DOD’s project down to the letter. I didn’t even have to be here. That’s how well they had written the plan. It felt good knowing I could count on them in my absence. I congratulated each of them on a job well done and exited the boardroom.
Justine approached me and frantically wrapped her arms around my waist. "Jacob!" she screamed, causing everyone to look at her. "Jacob, I've missed you so much. Please tell me you’re not leaving town anytime soon."
I patted her back, as my VP team exited the board room behind me. "Hi Justine," I said, observing her as I drew back from her intrusive embrace.
I had to admit that she looked good with her nude makeup, flowing blonde curls, and eyes beautiful as the sky on a sunny day. She was toned and tight, and I didn’t see one flaw in her appearance. And, to top it all off, she smelled delectably good.
"Jacob, we need to talk," she said, sounding somber.
"I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can I call you to talk about it later?" I spoke tight lipped.
"No, we can’t talk about it later. This is urgent. I've been calling you for a month and you haven’t answered. Who do you think I am? I don't like the way you're treating our relationship, and we need to talk about it, now," she said in a quivering voice that got more pitiful as she continued.
Wanda looked up from her computer with wide-eyed shock. A few other workers paid close attention to our exchange, showing sympathy for Justine, and that’s when I knew I had to get her out of there.
"Come inside my office." I stepped inside my office and closed the door behind us with her following close behind. “Justine, you can't come into my business making a fool of yourself. You know we’re not involved anymore, and I don't know what else to tell you other than the truth."
She grabbed my hand and held it close to her face. "Tell me that you're still in love with me the way I'm in love with you, Jacob."
"I can't do that," I said removing my hand from her face.
"Why? Why can't you, Jacob? Why can't you tell me that you love me? I know you haven’t lost your feelings for me so soon after we broke up."
"Because…I—" I ran my hand over my beard and stared into her eyes—the same eyes I turned to for consolation at points in my life when I needed it most. "Justine, I do love you, and I always will. We’re friends and have been the best of friends for years, so I will always love you that way.”
“But you aren’t in love with me?” she asked painfully.
“No, I’m not.”
“It’s her isn’t it? That damned black—”
“Don’t do it, Justine,” I warned, and she paused mid-breath, as I dared her lips to move. “Yes, I’m in love with Destiny,” I continued. “And, from the moment I fell in love with her, I’ve known for sure that I never was in love with you."
She toppled over in anguish as if she’d just been shot in the chest. Clasping her heart, she wept, "Jacob, I can’t believe what you’re saying to me. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I’m sorry we ended the way we did, but I’ll never be sorry for loving Destiny. She’s the new woman in my life. I love her, and I want you to at least respect what we have."
"I will never respect that, and I don’t understand how you expect me to! This is just going too far, Jacob. I stepped aside and allowed you time to go have your little jungle fever, but you can't be serious about this nigger," Justine said, peering into my eyes as if she were the one pissed. I thought I knew Justine well. She had never said anything disrespectful like that in all the years I’d known her.
I closed the space between us and grabbed her by the collar. "Didn’t I tell you not to disrespect Destiny? When you called her a bitch, I overlooked it, because you were suicidal. But don't you ever again come out of your stupid ass mouth with anything like that about her ever in your miserable life. Since I’ve known you for so long, I’m going to give you another chance to get your head right," I spat fire and brimstone in Justine’s face as I spoke, only pushing her away when I got my point across.
"Jacob, she is a nigger and a bitch. You need to get used to hearing the truth about people like her. I mean, you are a fucking billionaire and you want to run off to the hood and settle down with the first hood queen you find," she said nastily.
"That’s it. Get the fuck out of here and don't ever come back, Justine." I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door. “It’s just as well if we never see each other again,” I added.
"This is not the end of this, Jacob," she said, holding her arm and grimacing in pain. “You will hear from me again.”
"Oh, this is the end, Justine. I thought I knew you, but, with the way you’re talking, we can’t even be friends."
Her tone softened. "Jacob, we can get past this. We can fall in love again. All you have to do is forget about her and try to love me."
"Even if I believed that I could turn my feelings off and on like that, I don't want to get past what just happened here," I said, disappointed in the person standing before me. "I don't even associate with people that would say the things you said today. I don't want to ever see you again," I said, not believing that our friendship had come to ruins like this.
"Fine," she grated out through tight lips. “But it’s not me who changed. It’s you that I don’t know,” she tossed over her shoulder as she rushed out my door and through the reception area.
I plopped down in my chair, reached for the bottle of scotch I kept in my bottom drawer, and let out a deep sigh. I didn't bother getting a glass; I just drank it straight from the bottle.
"Sir, is everything okay?" Wanda peeked in to ask after Justine stormed past her desk.
"Everything’s fine now that she is gone. Make sure security knows that she's not allowed on the property anymore," I said.
"Yes, sir," Wanda replied. She went to her desk, leaving me to make sense of the mess that had become of a lifelong friendship.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DESTINY
Sunday Surprise
That next Sunday, I got up and got ready for church. I wished the kids were home to go with me, but their dad had taken them since he had to cut his last weekend short. Jacob was in Miami handling business. He had been gone since Monday and we hadn’t talked much. He had a lot to catch up with at his office. However, after the first full day passed without a call, my mind kept telling me he was with Justine.
I whipped into the crowded church parking lot, hoping a little spiritual cleansing would clear those negative thoughts from my mind. But, when I walked in and saw all of the couples together, I only thought about Jacob more. I shook the pastor’s hand and entered the sanctuary. My eyes scanned the pews from the front to the back, looking for a good seat. My jaw dropped open and I gasped, when Jacob stood up from a seat in the back and waved at me.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting to see you here. What are you doing here?" I asked when I reached him.
"Wait a minute. Is that how you greet me?”
“No, it’s just that…” I paused. “You’re here.”
“Can’t a guy attend church without being questioned?" Jacob joked.
"I guess so, but you’re supposed to be in Miami," I prodded, while wrapping my mind around the surprise of seeing him.
He slipped his han
d into mine. “No, I’m right where I’m supposed to be, Destiny.”
“I’m glad you came,” I smiled and took the seat beside him.
We read along with the scripture and sang along with the hymns. It felt like we were an actual family and the only thing missing was my two kids. Still, the thought of Jacob being with Justine when he was in Miami invaded my mind as the pastor began benediction.
"Want to go get a bite to eat?" Jacob asked, when service was over.
"Yeah, I would like that."
"Great, we can take my car and I’ll bring you back to get yours when we’re done."
"That’s fine with me."
We rode to the restaurant in comfortable silence. He pulled into the parking lot of Tazi's and I glanced at the smile on his face. "I figure this is as good a place as any to go. Ever been?" he asked, shooting me a teasing grin.
"Once or twice."
“Would you like to share a chocolate dessert with me?”
“I would love that.”
He opened my door and we headed into the restaurant. He got us a table and we took our seats. We had been there enough that neither one of us needed to look in a menu when we placed our orders. I glanced around the restaurant, taking in the familiar scenery before turning back to face him. His eyes focused on me.
"Seeing you at church today was a shocker. I don’t believe this is real, right now."
"I told you I'm wherever you are, so if you’re at church, I’m at church. I’m all in, and this is just another step in that direction," he said confidently.
"Bringing me to Tazi's, is that also to show me that you’re all in?" I asked, remembering our first encounter with a devilish grin splayed across my face.
"Well…that and the fact that someone hooked me on the three-layer chocolate mousse cake. From that day forward, I will never look at chocolate the same," he teased, biting down on his bottom lip.
"Hmm…" I said, tapping my finger on the table. "Is this someone I know?"
"Just some woman I met who introduced me to two dripping with sweetness, mouth-watering chocolate desserts in one day."
"Well, she must some kind of woman, Jacob. You should snatch her up and never let her go," I replied.
"Oh, she's scrumptious, and you bet I’m not letting her go. I’m following her around like a stray pup now," he opened his mouth and started panting.
We shared so many laughs before our food came out. We ate without missing a beat in our conversation. After we had eaten delicious deli sandwiches, pickles and chips, we ordered chocolate mousse cake for old time’s sake. Jacob paid for our meals and we headed back to the church to get my car. Our conversation in the car was light, until his phone rang.
"It’s Justine," he said, after looking at his caller ID. "She's been calling me nonstop since I saw her in Miami." He looked at me as if he wanted me to advise him on how to handle her, and I was about to chime in until I recalled what he said.
"Wait a minute. You saw her when you were in Miami this week?"
"She came to my office and I told her it was over, but she's insistent that we can work things out. When I told her that the only woman I want is you, she went off the deep end," he confided.
"How did she know you were going to be in Miami?" I asked, wondering if Jacob was even telling the whole truth.
"My secretary told her."
"Did you check your secretary about that?" I fumed.
Justine's persistence to be in the picture made me feel some type of way. They had a history I could never make up with him, and I knew the depths that a woman would go through to get a man. This had to be nipped in the bud before it spiraled out of control.
"Yes, I have everything handled with her. I don’t want you to worry about her, Destiny. After what I told her, she should have the picture."
"Why is she still calling you though, Jacob?" I sounded more pissed than I wanted to sound. “I’m not trying to sound rude. I just want to know what’s going on with her,” I rephrased.
"I haven’t been answering to find out.”
“Well, until she stops calling, she’s going to be a problem. I know women who have been scorned and some of them are still pining over the men that left them behind.”
“See that’s the thing. I don’t want to leave her behind entirely. I wish we could have our old friendship back, but she wants more.”
“Of course she does, Jacob. Most women don’t cross the line and jump back over it on a whim. She’s probably dangerously in love with you,” I said, and thought about the implications of a mentally unstable woman grieving over the man I was involved with.
“I wish we never crossed that line,” Jacob said as he parked his car beside mine. “I might have to change my number."
“That might be the best thing to do. Because even if she’s listening to your voice message or just hoping that you’ll pick up may be giving her unjust hope that she’ll get through to you.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll have Wanda get me a new number set up tomorrow,” Jacob said before he got out and rushed around to open the door for me.
"Thanks for lunch, Jacob," I spoke, feeling a pit in my stomach as I exited his car. "But Jacob, I'm not going to deal with any more mess with Justine. If you ever choose to stand by her side over mine again, we're done."
"Destiny, wait. Don’t walk away from me!" I heard him call after me, but I stormed toward my car. I searched for my keys but couldn’t find them fast enough to get in before he reached me. He ran a finger under my jaw and I turned to face him. We remained in that position, eyes interlocked.
“What do you want to say, Jacob?”
"When we go out and have fun like we just did…it’s just so perfect. I don’t want you to leave upset with me. In my heart, I'm doing the right thing by you. I’ve told Justine that I don’t want to see her again and to leave me alone."
"Jacob, all of that is good. But before I met you, I was an independent woman, and didn’t feel like I needed anyone. I won’t let my feelings hold me hostage in this relationship, either, just because Justine is playing games, and she is. I know a woman’s games when I see them." I swallowed the lump in my throat, pulled away from him and got into my car.
"Destiny…" I heard his voice fade out as I drove away.
I didn’t want to lose him. However, the thought of him kissing Justine like he did the night I saw him at Lapidus reeled me back in from the fantasy world I’d been living in. I had to give some genuine thought to our future…for my kids and myself. I refused to get so far out in his ocean where I couldn’t reach the shore and ended up drowning in his love.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DESTINY
I Think I Love You, Again
I was finishing vacuuming when I heard the front door open. "Hello, we’re here," Montie Sr. called from the foyer. I was excited to have my kids back in the house, and had left the door unlocked for their arrival.
"Hello, hello," I called out, entering the foyer as well.
Junior and Montana ran to me.
“Mama, mama!” they both yelled excitedly.
"I’ve missed you both so much!"
Junior pulled away and looked up at me. "It’s only been a couple days."
"Oh, you're Mr. Big Guy today. You don’t miss mama?" I asked with fake sadness.
“Yes, I do, mama,” he said.
"I know you've only been gone a few days, but I always miss you when you’re gone." I rubbed his curly head of hair and roughed him up a little.
Montana’s eyes searched around the foyer.
"Lose something?" I asked, teasingly.
"Where’s Acob?"
I nearly fell over. I expected it from Junior, but Montana didn’t seem as aware of our connection.
"He’s home," I responded casually. "Why don’t you both say goodbye to your dad and we’ll talk about it later."
They ran back over and hugged Montie's legs. I heard their tiny muffled voices say, "Good
bye, Daddy,"
"Goodbye, see you both soon," Montie answered.
The kids left the foyer, and I turned to him. "Did you guys have a good weekend?" I asked.
"We did," he nonchalantly spoke, and then cocked his head. "I know I have no business asking this, but is everything okay with you and this Jacob cat?"
"You’re right; you have no business asking this." I walked to the door and opened it for him.
He didn't move, but instead kept watching me. "Seems a bit odd that you’re here alone; after all, since you started dating dude I don’t recall ever seeing you alone, and the kids say he’s always here."
"First of all, that’s not true. Secondly, again, it’s none of your business. Now, if you would please leave."
"You don’t need to get so defensive. I’m only trying to point out that it’s unusual to find you here alone. If he was out of town or busy with work then that’s one thing, but if you two separated, I believe that I have a right to know."
I placed my hands on my hips. "Why would you have the right to know? What Jacob and I do is our business! You don’t get the right to know everything about me. You lost that right the day we got a divorce."
"I do believe I struck a nerve," he said.
I couldn’t be sure, but for a moment, I thought he was smiling about that fact.
I looked away from him. “Montie, I don’t have time for your drama.”
"Destiny, I have the right to know who is and isn’t going to be in my children’s lives. It affects my parenting."
"How?”
“It just does.”
“Let me just put it this way. Jacob may not be here, but we are fine," I concluded our back and forth.
"Are you sure?"
"Ugh…" I groaned. "Just go! It’s not your concern and I don’t have any intention of talking about it with you."
"Fine." He moved to the door, but turned back around before leaving. "For the record, if he did something stupid then I stand by your leaving him." He winked at me and I stared at him in disbelief. "In case you were wondering."
He walked out the door.
I slammed it shut behind him.