All of Me

Not a Chance

So, admittedly yes, she is making the most bank in this apartment, but she wanted to live in this bougie ass building. I do try to compensate for the fact that I pay less than half the rent by helping her with her hair and occasionally cooking.

"Damn, I can't even get a 'hello'?" I quip as I put my things down and follow her into her room.

"I'm sorry, girl! My hair is such a mess and you know I need to make sure it stays the whole night. Even with the high ass A/C, I still end up sweaty as fuck," she says with rushed speech, sitting in the chair in front of her mirror.

"It's all good. I gotchu." I look at the situation on her head with slight bewilderment in my eyes as I try to figure out exactly what she was trying to do here. The woman can beat her face to the gods, but she can't do hair for shit. She seems to have two buns...? Or ponytails...?

Gianni must notice me trying to figure out what the hell she was trying to do because she finally speaks up. "Can you do braids in the back that feed into space buns?"

"Ohhhhhh, that's what this was supposed to be?" I tease as I take her attempt at the style out and pick up a comb from the dresser.

"Whatever," she grumbles. "You're home later than usual. Did you guys have a long happy hour or something like that?"

"Nah... You know how I told you I was interviewing that should-be-billionaire guy? Well, I ended up showing him around the city for a few hours."

"Isn't that creep Nicolas that you work with his nephew? He didn't wanna show him around?"

"I expressed a similar sentiment to the man himself and he looked at me like I had two heads and proceeded to say 'Ms. Monroe, I'm asking you.' And so I obliged."

"Humph," Gianni purses her lips with a huff. "Sounds like he probably wanted a tour of more than just the city."

I burst out laughing as I part down the middle of her hair and push her head down to begin braiding one side. "Whatever, the man was way too fine to be interested in me for anything beyond a quick fuck— Ow!" I'm cut off when Gianni punches my leg. "Bitch, what was that for?"

"Bitch! Stop doubting yourself. I thought you were supposed to be confident and shit."

"I'm not saying I'm ugly, I'm just saying that when we look at societal beauty standards, I literally do not fit."

"Sounds like bullshit to me all around... Are you sure that shit that happened when we were freshmen isn't still—"

"No!" I cut her off as I finish the first side of her hair and start on the other. "I'm just not about to be this man's bootycall, okay?"

"Would it be so wrong for you to get some dick? How long has it been? I've never seen you bring anyone home here. Has it been since college?"

"Two years," I mumble. I had an epiphany two years ago that my desire for sex wasn't so much horniness as much as it was a desire for affection or the feeling of being wanted. The discovery pretty much fucked up my sex life because it was also around the time that I gave up on finding love. Yes, it was a young age, but I was developing my app and preparing for a career as a journalist, so I'll continue to allow those things to occupy my mind.

"Two years?!!" Gianni exclaims and turns to look up at me.

"Yes. Now, put your head back down," I snip as I finish up the other half of her hair.

"But seriously? Two years untouched?! Have you at least kissed anyone?"

"Well..." I hesitate. I'm not uncomfortable with telling Gianni about my kiss with Mr. Laurent, but I'm afraid to say it aloud because something about that makes it feel even more real. That, in turn, would probably make it harder to convince myself that the kiss was nothing as I work on getting over the fact that it'll never happen again and he probably just did it thinking I'd easily become his latest conquest. Whatever, I'll just tell her. She usually knows when I'm lying anyway. "That was the case until Mr. Laurent kissed me on the SkyView tonight."

Her head is lifted at this point while I finish the final space bun and she holds me by my wrist to stop me as she looks at me through the mirror. "Bitch! This man kissed you on a Ferris wheel and you're acting like it's nothing. You mean to tell me that you're not interested?"

I shake my head as I get a brush and gel to start on her edges. "Girl, the man is attractive and philanthropic. I already know my feelings would get involved and I can't risk it if I'm just gonna be his bootycall. So, it's better if I let it go now." The man would actually be perfect if there was a chance of him being genuinely interested in me.

"I guess..." she surrenders with a sigh. "But I wish you'd stop acting like the idea of someone wanting you is so farfetched."

I love Gianni to death and she's always encouraging me, but she's never lived life as a fat woman and therefore doesn't know just how shallow men can truly be. It's not something I bother talking to her about either — it's already depressing enough to live through it, I don't need to talk about it too. "I know," I respond. "In brighter news, your hair looks good and I know you're gonna make bank tonight."

She looks at herself in the mirror with a big smile. "Thanks girl."

###

Sebastien Laurent

"You took her on the Ferris wheel and kissed her? Without an NDA?!" Joseph says in disbelief, eyes wide as he speaks to me. "What if she tells people? What if she writes some expose on you?"

"Why should I care if she told people that I kissed her?" I raise a curious brow.

"Okay, Mr. Laurent... Men like you typically have their flings sign NDAs so that they don't go blabbing around about whatever weird fetishes or... tastes that you have."

"I'm not interested in a fling with Naomi, Joseph."

"What?! Then why would you kiss her?"

"Because she's an attractive and interesting woman and I'd like to take her out... Though, I'll confess that the kiss was impulsive."

Joseph is taken aback, bewilderment clear in his face. "Sorry, Mr. Laurent, I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. Are you telling me that you're actually interested in that? I just thought you wanted time with her because you needed some relief for the pent up nerves you had and you thought she'd be an easy lay."

"You mean her?" I correct him. "Yes, of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I feel my nostrils flare, annoyed at the language he's used to describe her, the tone in his voice, and the look on his face. I've never seen Joseph behave in this way.

"I mean... I wouldn't say that she's ugly, exactly, but you could do much, much better, Mr. Laurent... You know, like maybe with a woman who's about half her size."

Now I see. Naomi isn't a small woman, but why should that matter? I've always found the idea of size being used as a factor for someone's attractiveness as wildly ludicrous and in either case, I like Naomi at just the size she is.

"Interesting..." I ponder aloud.

"What?"

"You've been my assistant for going on six years and I never thought of you as foolish until right now."

"Sir! I didn't mean to offend—"

"That's enough, Joseph," I interrupt. "Let's just focus on your job as my assistant. I'll be spending the next week in Atlanta to see if it's worth getting involved with some of the startups here, so cancel my flight for tomorrow and get us one for the following week. Find a temporary office space I can use while I'm here and convert all my California meetings to virtual formats."

"Y-yes, sir. Of course. But, I can't stay in Atlanta the full week. I have a few commitments back home that I need to make—"

"Then go home, Joseph. Your job can be done virtually. That'll be all," I say before dismissing him.

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A/N: Thank you for reading! Since this is my first short story, I'm going for a faster pace than the others, but am also hoping that this won't be half-assed either... Anyway, things are gonna pick up from here!