“I’d tell you yes, too,” Brandi answered, right before she answered a walkie-talkie call.
“Rich One here,” she replied before the crisp sound that cuts off the radio transmission.
“You’re needed in the control room,” the response crackled through.
“On my way,” she turned to me. “Sir, are you ready to retire for the evening?”
“In five minutes,” I waved her on. “Go on; I’m good.”
“Rich Three, please replace me at the lake with Sparrow One,” she said while looking at me.
“Brandi…” I started to object, but she held up her hand.
“Your safety is my job, sir,” she reminded me. “I take it very seriously, always.”
She looked at the lake, and then said, “There are enemies everywhere.”
With that, she turned and shared some information with the guard who had swiftly come to replace her, which threw me completely fucking off. I only came to the lake to be near her. Now I was left with Barber.
The still water drew me to its very existence, my eyes remained glued to it as my mind remained fixed on Trent’s words. The new man he’d become, the loving way he’d spoken of his wife and kids. Fucking Trent Richardson was not only married, but a faithful husband. His black wife had changed his whole existence, and despite the very racist way we’d been raised, he gave not a single fuck.
I gave up on that racist shit a long time ago. The army got that out of me. Black, brown, yellow, or white, when we hit combat, there was no color. It was foe or friend. Period. It never made sense, and later, as a businessman, it really made no fucking sense. The only color that mattered was green.
Thursday morning, I reviewed my schedule, to see one of my monthly appointments with Regina. I had been doing this for the past three years with a rotation of women. It started with one and then grew to two and then three. They all knew they were on rotation and that it was just sex. I did not communicate outside of our timed dates every few months. They weren’t paid or monetized in any way. It was a simple fuck and if it was good, I might stay for a few hours. Never overnight. Never anything else. I lost one woman, because she tried to get me caught up. She thought because she could suck a mean dick that I was going to give her whatever she wanted. Jessica was her name. She’d had big eyes, pouty lips, and creamy skin. She had long black hair that I always had wrapped around my hands. She was the only woman who could deep throat me, I’d give her that, but that just meant she could swallow a big man. Sucking dick was never a prerequisite to tie a man down. It just meant she had a whole lot of fucking practice.
What got her off the rotation list was after we fucked, then fucked some more, she came back from the kitchen with a heated-up plate of lasagna.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I hissed at her.
“Just thought after we, you know…” For the first time, she seemed unsure. “Um, I thought you might be hungry.”
“Did Phil not explain this situation to you thoroughly?” I asked her with a look of contempt and disgust. “There are to be no deviations to the plan.”
“Yes, of course.” She placed the tray of food on the dresser. “I just thought, you know, that you’d be hungry. I usually am after a good fuck.”
“No,” I snapped. “After a good fuck, I want to fucking leave.” I got up and walked toward the door, but she fell to her knees and began to crawl to me.
Naked, mind you. Her creamy, perfect tits were moving like she was a lioness on the prowl. Shit, I’m a man. I stopped and let her suck me dry again. And when she finished, I zipped up my pants and left. I took her ass off the rotation list, and that was the end of that.
I went about my day, reminded every hour of tonight’s appointment when I checked the schedule: “Appointment with Regina (Fuck).”
It wasn’t until six that evening, when Brandi came to my door, that I decided to make a move.
“Sir, are you ready?” she asked, peeping her head through the slightly ajar door of my office.
“Excuse me?” I turned to view her.
“You have an appointment,” Brandi looked down at the sheet in her hand. “Looks like it’s with a Regina.”
Those eyes hit me, and I felt that troubling tug that was becoming so familiar. Her gaze looked so deep, as if she had a secret that nobody would ever find out.
Except me…but she didn’t know that yet. Trent’s words about Brandi began to ruminate through my mind, and without warning, I burst out laughing.
“Sir?” she asked, looking puzzled at my reaction.
“Let’s go.” I shook my head at the absurdity of this woman and me together.
I wasn’t interested. She was intriguing, but I was a businessman, and I found a lot of people intriguing. It had nothing to do with me fucking someone else. After all, we weren’t fucking. She was my gotdamn employee. Why was I letting these fuckers get into my mind?
Picking up my billfold, I tucked it inside my jacket breast pocket and led the way to my car.
On these evenings, I selected one of my Benzes. They were sleeker, demonstrated wealth and style. On business days, I just needed to generate casual wealth. Not “new money” wealth. Real wealth needed no flaunting, it whispered. I agreed. It was demonstrated by the walk, the command of a room, life, etc. I could always tell when people didn’t have it, and damn sure when they did but didn’t know what to do with it.
We arrived at the hotel. I knew Regina would be wearing the chiffon outfit I picked out for her from the designer a few weeks ago. She’d be sitting by the door in the lingerie with one of her tanned legs crossed over the other. She was the more exotic of the three and of Cuban descent. Her accent was sexy as fuck, to make matters better.
My driver, Boomer, knew the drill, but Brandi had not been briefed on this particular mission.
Before I exited the car, I told her, “I usually stay for two hours, but it might be longer. I always text Boomer and let him know when to swing around. Now that you’re on board, I’ll text you as well.” I noticed her staring at me as I got out of the vehicle.
To my surprise, after Boomer opened the door to let me out, Brandi was standing on the other side of the car and closing the door behind her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked with confusion laced in the question.
“My job, sir,” she calmly replied, those dark eyes of hers remaining on me.
Unwavering.
Demanding.
Daring.
In order for the two of us not to have a shouting match over the car, I intended to get close enough to tell her to get her ass back into the car. Yet, when I reached her space, I found it was way too close. I smelled her feminine scent. No perfume, just her.
“You need to stay in the car,” I declared, meeting her head-on, since she looked prepared for a fight.
“Sir, with all due respect, I cannot do that. My job is to protect you, and you yourself stated I should be at your side at all times. So, I’m going inside with you. Your companion has been fully vetted by my team, but the hotel itself has many unknowns. That makes me very uncomfortable.”
That was true, but the idea of her waiting in the hall while I fucked another woman was too much.