Business And Pleasure

9

I sat in my house watching Chowder on rerun in the dark. I wasn't even concentrating on anything as my door opened and Antoine came in, two bags of chicken and chips under his arms and a bottle of coke in his hand, car keys in the other.

"A grown ass woman like you watching Chowder?" he gasped as he dumped everything on the island counter.

I looked over my shoulder at him, not caring about my appearance because I had no reason to bother myself since I had no job and no boyfriend.

"Aawww, my baby." Antoine came over and sat beside me, pulling me into a hug and kissing the top of my head. I snuggled into his hug and he let me. "I heard about your job."

"That's not the worst of it," I grumbled as I looked up into his grey eyes.

He looked at me. "What do you mean?" He unconsciously started rubbing my arm and I found myself enjoying it.

"I found out that Aurel is an asshole." I looked back at the TV as Chowder began to eat his spaghetti. "Chowder kind of sounds like Gumball when he speaks."

"Oh my!" Antoine said exasperatedly. "Some people never grow up. What should my son watch when grown women like you keep taking what's theirs?"

I got off him really quickly and stared in amazement. "You're pregnant? You and your girlfriend? Are you pregnant?"

He laughed. He outright laughed. "No. I was just saying."

"Uggghh." I walked over to the counter and began to dish out the food then went back, eating with my best friend and watching Chowder.

"You were saying Aurel is an ass. May I ask why, madam?"

I looked at him with a furrowed brow. "He has a child with some other girl."

The chicken bone in Antoine's mouth actually fell out and I shrieked as it fell in my outstretched hand. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" he yelled and I smiled while flailing my hand to get the chewed bone off. "I  wish that ass was still alive and I would beat the daylights out of him! What a douche! And he told you that he was neither married nor did he have a child! That-We should go and dig him up wherever he is buried and whoop that lifeless little shit!"

I laughed for the first time in 3 days since I quit my job and found out that my boyfriend was a baby daddy. I looked at Antoine and smiled gratefully. "I love you so much," I whispered as I hugged him.

"Ncaaaww," he said with a mini pout. "I wish my girlfriend could hear you say that and whoop your ass as well."

I playfully hit him on the shoulder and took our plates to the sink.

"I love you too," he laughed as he stood up and poured himself some Coke. "Um...don't hate me for this but..."

I turned to him at the speed of light. "What did you do? Antoine...what did you do?" I said through clenched teeth with my eyebrow raised like I did when I was about to show somebody what I was made of.

He walked to the other side of the island, away from me. "I talked to the CEO when he told me the news about the job and I pleaded on your behalf for him to hire you back."

"That's not the bad part. I know. What did you do?"

"I...I kinda told him that you thought that you were pregnant with Aurel's baby and you were traumatised because he was dead and that he should give you a few days off to cool off which means you have to be at work tomorrow morning at 7 am."

I breathed in deeply, trying to calm down which seemed to be what I had been doing lately. "Just be glad that you're my best friend," I whispered. "If Trent asks what the heck happened, I'm blaming it all on you!"

Antoine gave me a questioning look. "Trent? Oh! So we're on nicknames now? No wonder he looked a little unhappy when I told him that you might be pregnant."

I turned back to the dishes at the sink. "Antoine is crazy and I don't have time for crazy, " I hummed, turning the tap on.
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I composed myself as I headed over to the reception, getting stares along the way from various colleagues.

The girl working the reception gave me a huge smile and gave me a little gift bag. "Congratulations, Joera! I can't wait!" she said with a grin. "Mr. Buscemi is waiting for you in his office."

I gave her a small smile and took the gift back with me straight to Trenton's office.

I knocked and a second later, he opened the door, looking yet different again with a few days' worth of stubble. He was dressed in a grey suit and baby blue shirt. Who was fixing his wardrobe? Fixing him?

"Good morning, Mr. Buscemi," I said as I stood upright like a soldier awaiting command.

He glared at me. Ok? So we were back to square one, just like before Aurel died. Cool.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself?" he simply asked, his voice sounding surprisingly calm.

I stared everywhere else but at him. "I'm sorry for what I said to you a few days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me that you were pregnant? Huh?"

I sharply looked up at him. "You're the one that told the whole firm? I kept getting congratulations and....um...the girl at the reception gave me a gift bag!" I opened it and found two small yellow booties. "Did you tell the whole firm?"

He shook his head. "A couple of people overhead my conversation with your friend. Why didn't you tell me that you are pregn-"

"I'm not pregnant, OK? It was just a mistake. I'm not pregnant."

He glared at me. "So your friend lied to get you your job back?"

I know it was wrong but I did not want to stay at home another day or I would go crazy so I did what I was good at. I lied. "I took another test and it came back negative. The first one was wrong."

"Oh! I'm...I'm sorry to hear that." He looked truly sorry and I instantly felt bad for lying to him. "Your office is just as you left it and...Um...welcome back."

I smiled, deciding to taunt him a little. "Awww, did you miss me?" I said in sweetest voice ever.

He gave a small chuckle. "No but Bassey almost left with her money when she heard that her case might have to be given to someone else."

I stopped smiling. Bassey had been right and I felt pretty sure that she knew even more than she was letting on but I didn't want to taint the memory of Aurel I had even further than it was tainted. "Can't you do something about transferring her case to someone else? I can't deal with her right now. Maybe you could take it?"

"Not really. She wanted you and I swear she was just about ready to up and leave when she heard that you had quit. I don't understand your relationship with her. It's a love-hate type."

I snorted. "It has no love in it, believe me. Fine. I'll continue with the case and trust me, the next time she tries me, I will show her that us African girls whoop ass and you won't be there to stop me next time."

"But then I will have to fire you myself instead of watching you quit on your own. I'm sure being home alone for the whole day is depressing for a workaholic like you."

"Touché," I laughed. "I know we're not work buddies or anything but how many have you scored with the new look since I wasn't around to witness it. How many 'Ooh papi'?"

Trenton gave me a hard stare. "Get out of my office right now," he said rudely, pointing at the door and I quickly walked out before he fired me on the spot.

I kept wondering why his mood and demeanor changed every time I made the husky voice. And then my jaw dropped.

Maybe that high voice turned him on? Oh my goodness! Trenton was a freak! I walked to my office and sat down, deciding to distract myself with Bassey's case again. As much as I hated the woman, she was telling me some of the things that took a lot of courage and trust to reveal which meant...coupled with the fact that she almost dropped the case because I wasn't working on it...

"Oh my goodness!" I exclaimed in shock. "She trusts me! Bassey trusts me!"

"Of course she does," a baritone voice said and I looked up straight into the face of her almost ex-husband.