Ruin Me (PREVIEW)

The Situation-NO-Ship...yet.

The woman was devastatingly beautiful with a modelesque physique that put most women in their late 20's and early 30's to shame. She wore her caramel complexion well and kept her long dark hair swept into a low elegant bun that revealed high cheekbones splattered with the faintest of freckles. She obviously called herself keeping her look simple because she hadn't gone as full out as she normally did. She must've been feeling angelic (which was the complete opposite of who she was) because she wore an all-white jumpsuit with a pair of nude red-bottom pumps and a nude bag with red accents to match.

"There you are! I've been waiting on you forever." She huffed, despite Zahra only being a mere fifteen minutes late. She hadn't even known she was the "client" she was supposed to meet, otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted the meeting, but leave it to Esther and her ever-growing sneaky ways. She'd set up an appointment under another name because she knew that Zahra would turn her away. "Well, we've got things to discuss for the wedding..." Here she goes yet again, she thought to herself.

"With all due respect Mrs. Holloway," She began while sitting her purse on top of her desk, "Ahmir and I have everything under control. I've already told you that the wedding planning has been handled and it's going just fine." That's right. Zahra wasn't even allowed to address her by her first name despite her future nuptials to her oldest son. Esther folded her arms across her chest with her frown growing deeper, "Excuse me?" She really seemed taken aback with her eyebrows nearly coming together on her forehead. "Ahmir told me that I'm more than welcome to help with any involvement..."

"Well, Ahmir told you wrong. It's my day, and I'd like to plan it as such. It won't be about anyone else besides me and your son." Zahra conveyed, her gaze now focused on her computer screen. It grew silent between the two with the exception of the echoing of her fingers padding across her keyboard. She began to focus on her work, trying to figure out an aesthetically pleasing home decor for the clientele she'd spent most of her day with yesterday. Soon, she was so engrossed within her morning grind that she barely noticed her 'mother-in-law-to-be' was still present.

"I don't know why my son wants to be with you. Obviously, you don't know how to put him, his needs, and his decisions first since you'd rather spend all your time on your little projects and side hustle."

That grasped Zahra's attention and forced her concentration away from her screen. She could feel the anger draping over her demeanor in thick sheets. She was in no mood to deal with her disrespect. It was bad enough she had to quietly deal with it whenever Ahmir was around, but since he wasn't this was the time for her to set her straight without being damn near chastised for doing so.

It truly angered her to nearly a point of no return whenever Esther insisted that she was only marrying Ahmir to secure the bag and a piece of Holloway Corporation. She had her own and she prided herself on being a woman that could and would always provide for herself. It was definitely one thing she was big on - not needing a damn man except to help her keep her bed warm at night!

"I'll tell you like this Mrs. Holloway... if you're going to insinuate that my job is a petty little side hustle, then you can kindly find your way out of my office. I won't have it. No ma'am, not today." Zahra tugged at her freshly braided jumbo box braids before tucking them behind her ears. She leaned back further in her seat, allowing the soft confinement of the cushions to placate her. Esther hopped to her feet with a sudden angry quickness, "Don't you ever speak to me like that! Ahmir is going to hear about this..."

Zahra rolled her eyes as she continued to fuss. "Okay, that's fine," Deciding that she wouldn't waste any more breath going back and forth with her, she grabbed her phone to shoot a text to Jacoby to send him out on a coffee run. "And another thing, you look like a trollop in that outfit, dear! I'm sure you've drawn every man's eyes more than the one who should be looking at you." Zahra scoffed with a chuckle opposite of actual amusement. She already suspected that the disapproval in her looks was coming. She was also convinced that her ebony skin complexion was another reason why Esther just couldn't find it in her to show anything other than disdain for her. It made no sense to Zahra especially when it came to her husband and their two sons sharing a skin tone darker than her own.