He glanced back and forth between the road and me like I had some hidden answer.
“I bet you he’s going to meet with some of the boys in the office, or even with Uncle Lou.” He sighed. “This could be bad for us, London. This whole situation could be very bad for us. Did you know anything about this before tonight? Did your mother tell you this was going to happen?” Harris asked, cutting a glance from the road to me. “And stop slouching. It’s not ladylike. What type of example are you setting for my daughter?” He shook his head.
I sat up in my seat to appease him, because I hated when he took that tone. I hoped this mood didn’t last too long. I hadn’t seen him this uptight since before my father asked him to work for the company full-time right after I got pregnant with Mariah. I guess he was really hurt by Daddy choosing Orlando over him to run the business. He did seem to fancy himself Daddy’s son, despite the fact that he was only a son-in-law. As much as I loved him, he just didn’t get it. He was family, but he wasn’t blood, and to LC Duncan, that meant everything.
“What about your father? Did he say anything about this?”
“Honey, we both know you spend more time with him these days than me,” I replied, stifling a yawn as I watched the streetlights roll past. “Home and kids, remember? Suzy Homemaker, that’s me. You make it; I spend it.”
“And that’s the way you like it. Remember?” he shot back. “Time to shop, do lunch with your girlfriends, get your nails done, and do charity work with your mother. No more worries about the business, which used to stress you out. You got everything you ever wanted, and we only have one kid so far.”
“But no stress over that, right?” I sighed. “Except when you bring it up.”
“What do you want from me, London? I come from a big family.”
I rolled my eyes but kept my mouth shut. I did not want to fight with him. I wasn’t in that type of mood. I’d had a few drinks earlier, and all I really wanted was to get home, put my daughter to bed, and have my husband make love to me. That would be a perfect end to the evening.
“Well, maybe if we had sex a little more often, we’d have another child.” I tried my best to sound encouraging, but there was a lot of frustration behind my words. “We could work on that tonight, when we get home, if you’d like.” I ran my index finger up the side of his thigh. “What do you think? Wanna make a baby?”
Harris’s BlackBerry interrupted us before he could reply. I watched him slide it out of its holster and glance at it. Rather than answer it, he did something he rarely ever did: he hit the ignore button.
“Don’t you need to take that call?” I asked.
“Nah. We’re talking,” he said, but that didn’t make sense, because he always answered his phone. “Now, what were you saying about working on expanding our family?” He gave me this bullshit grin that just screamed guilty. The question was, guilty of what?
“Honey, let me see your phone for a second, please?” I didn’t get indignant. In fact, I asked nicely, like the lady I was.
“Huh?” He placed both hands on the steering wheel.
“Don’t huh me, Harris. Now, can I please see your phone?” I calmly repeated to my suddenly deaf husband.
There was a pause before he answered me. “London, please don’t start.”
“Sweetheart,” I said coyly, “I’m not trying to start. I just want to see your phone.” I stuck out my left hand and waited.
“Why?” he asked, now determined to pay more attention to the road than me.
“Because I’m not stupid, Harris, that’s why. I think we both know I’m a highly educated woman. Now, may I please see your phone?” I moved my hand closer to him.
“You’re barking up the wrong tree on this, London. That phone call was business.”