The church thing was a gamble because those Christians went hard about living together and having sex unmarried, but she hadn’t brought it up and I’ve been happy as hell about it. I loved having her with me. There’s nothing like coming home to a sexy ass woman every night. One that didn’t press you about the events of your day or complain about theirs. She was cool. But to a certain extent, a little too cool. Rayna had yet to express her desires for marriage or a future. I’d been quite confused.
Either way, I had to man the hell up and take the leap. This clown ass Thompson had to be dealt with. There was no way that I was losing her to his sucka ass. I’m no fool. I understand she’s an attractive woman and I’m not the only man who is attracted to her. But this dude was a known adversary. There’s nothing wrong with having a little competition to keep me on my toes. I’d fix his ass if he took it further though.
This meeting was dry and I honestly didn’t want to be here. My partner took lead on it, but the Canadians wanted both buyers there. This is the part of this business I hated. Your organization is failing. We got the bread to bail you out. Give us a reasonable figure and keep it fucking moving! I’d been advised that this is simply how it is at the beginning. So I waited in complete boredom.
I played around on my Mac-Pro notebook and checked my ever-abundant amount of e-mails. Then I saw that I had a video message from “RayChoppa.” I chuckled each time I saw that profile name. Why she chose it was beyond me, but it’s a testament to her humor. I must admit, I was completely thrilled at seeing this notification. Rayna had been throwing shade for nearly a week. It would be easy to say it was due to me missing the show on Saturday, but it started before then. Something was up, but there was so much that I could do from across the country. I slipped in one of my earpieces, not wanting her message being heard by my business associates. I was being rude, however I was also playing the role of bad cop this evening. So, fuck it.
I hit play and the video loaded. Soon I saw the ever-beautiful and glowing Ms. Brimm with a head full of bouncy curls and a tastefully made-up face, hunched over at my side of the bed, appearing glum. Tamia’s Officially Missing You is playing loudly in the background. I know Tamia’s husband from around the way. I’ve also seen her live and was a little familiar with her work.
But what the fuck is it with her and Tamia?
This time her music didn’t work to my favor. She lip-synced the song as if she was shooting a video. Rayna looked…sad. I guess that’s what the message was all about. She was lonely. She wore my white tank T-shirt that fit her like a dress. From the clear view of her pebbled nipples I could see she wore no bra. My dick got hard. I looked around, making sure no one had a clue of my private and intimate show.
Damn! Is she wearing panties? I gotta get the fuck home. Baby girl was lonely and apparently purring. Before I knew it, she sat up to end the video.
Fuck!
My mind started running a mile a minute. I had to get home. This shit could not go down like this. I felt like I was being caught with my pants down and ass in the air—fucking vulnerable! Rayna had gone AWOL on me emotionally a few days after I’d left her for this trip. Initially, I didn’t understand why. Our first Facetime session proved to be successful once I got my shit together. But almost right after that night she began distancing herself from me, not taking my calls and creating long response periods for my texts. Shit, I’d almost flew home, fearing something had happened to her.
When I wasn’t able to make her dancing event, her moodiness didn’t let up. Shit, I knew it wasn’t that time of the month for her, I know her cycle well enough to know that she wasn’t menstruating. She finally let up last night when I called to check in and she answered. Our conversation was short, but I’d at least heard from her on first my attempt. This shit is driving me crazy.
I checked the time. One thirty-nine a.m. I looked at the time stamp on the message. She left this an hour ago. I signaled my partner before stepping out of the hotel’s conference room.
Answer the phone, Brimm...answer.
She deeply inhaled, “Hello?” She was sleeping.
“It’s early.”