There were more people in the church than usual, today. Stapleton church was very welcoming, so there were no sour looks at some of the new faces. Among the new crowd in the back left side of the church was Bonnie, his mother Nicki, Ember, Dalton and Lotus. White Locus sat near them since she came with them though she usually sat in the front.
Today was Nicki's last day in New York. She liked it here in the Big Apple—not more than Dallas, but just because of the closeness of being near her son. However they were in the middle of a war and as much as Bonnie loved having his mom around, he loved having her breathing more. So right after Mark's service she was going back home.
Nicki was a devout Christian and had been dying to find a church to come to before she went back to Texas. Just to compare the experience from the churches back in her hometown to a foreign one. All the places she looked up required the person to be a member of the church to attend.
Mark's church was an open door to anyone. So Bonnie came with his mother because it was their last moments together and he was the one driving her to the airport right after. Lotus came since he knew it would be a while before he saw Bonnie's mother again. He wanted to send her off as well out of respect for his best friend. Mark had also been begging Locus's family to come out and see him preach for a while. Therefore Ember and Dalton tagged along making it a group trip. They accompanied White Locus because she was always at one of Mark's sermons.
Everyone watched Mark on stage as he preached. Locus was so nervous. She hoped they were all enjoying his speech. He was a good preacher. Even though she didn't really come and listen to the words herself; she still wanted everyone else too and like it.
Bonnie sat next to his mother, his arm around her. She had her bible on her lap as she nodded her head at Mark's words. The subject he was on was revenge. "Peter 3:9 it says 'Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.'"
The church cooed in agreement and Nicki nodded her head as well. She was a little skeptical at first, because young pastors tended to drift from the bible and talk about things they thought would get attention. She was glad to see Mark was traditional.
Nicki rested her head on Bonnie's shoulder and he kissed the top of her head. It was the only woman in the world he loved and had respect for. Even right now the church thing was making him a little uncomfortable. He was the last person who should've been sitting in a church, but for his mother he would.
"Now I have a confession...I've never been through anything where someone wronged me enough for me to feel like I needed to take vengeance upon them. So I don't know what that feels like." Mark said, turning his head to the left side of the church to give the people on that side some attention. "But I can tell you, that is not the work of the Lord. Holding onto hate will only cause you self-destruction. It's crucial for you to let go."
"That's right." Nicki whispered, tears clouding her eyes. She thought about when her late husband cheated on her. She was so angry and hurt, but she had forgiven him. So this sermon was really hitting home for her.
Ember sat next to Locus, noticing her daughter's tenseness. She leaned over and whispered in her ear. "You alright honey?"
"Yes, I'm fine." She said back; giving her mother a small smile. The church was quiet, she didn't want to keep talking before attention ended up on them.
"Yes Jesus!" Someone yelled, bringing the church alive. Some started to clap, others cosigning with their own two cents.
"Revenge is the worst form of sickness." Mark stated.
"Amen." The church said in unison.
"When you avenge does it make you better than the man that wronged you?" Mark preached. "The real glory is letting God do his work. In Proverbs 20:22 'Do not say, 'I'll pay you back for this wrong!' Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.'"
The church stood, giving Mark a standing ovation. He wasn't a loud energetic pastor, but his voice and words alone could rock a room. He had a certain power when he was on stage. The service carried on nicely after that, the last hour of it going smoothly.
After church of course a crowd brewed as church members conversed amongst each other. This time Mark reserved his time for the people who came with his fiancée. He approached the small group, giving Locus' mother a polite kiss on the cheek and shaking Bonnie's mother's hand warmly.
"Hello Bonnie." Mark said putting his hand on his shoulder for a split second. He returned his attention back to Nicki. "Miss?"
"Nicki."
"I hope you enjoyed my service miss Nicki."
"It was beautiful! Every word you spoke resonated with me."
Mark placed a hand on his chest, showing his heart stopping smile. "That means a lot to me." He said wholeheartedly. "Any suggestions on what I should work on?"
"Oh no, nothing at all! You're perfect."
"Please come back, it was a pleasure having you."
Mark then turned to Lotus and offered a small smile but looked away, remembering the awkward moment where he found him and Locus having sex at the high end store.
Mark turned and smiled at Dalton. They were really cool. "Hey Dalton, what are you doing today? Any plans? You gotta let me know when you're free, we can do something one day."
"Sure." Dalton said. Mark always asked but Dalton figured he was saying it to just be nice. He was always free and had nothing to do really but stay home and read all day. He chuckled nervously. "Well I'm free right now, actually. I'm always available. I know, sad."
"Really?" Mark said, looking at his watch. "We can do something right now if you want. What do you feel like?"
Ember and Dalton looked surprised, even Lotus. They realized he was serious. Locus was the only one that sported a frown. She wanted to travel to Ohio and ride him in the pool in her living room. Not have him ditch her for Dalton's blind ass.
Lotus looked around and realized Bonnie and his mother had left. He turned to his mother. "I'm gonna go say bye to Nicki before he drops her."
The small group overheard him and they all decided to come and do the same. The sunlight hit them as they walked out the church; but the temperature was in contrast to the brightness. It was a little chilly since it was now the Fall. The month of September.
The black Escalade for transportation was across the street. Bonnie was packing Nicki's suitcases in the trunk while she stood next to him. They had already put the house Lotus rented for her during her stay here back on the market.
"Nicki!" Ember called from across the street, waving her arms.
Nicki came back toward them and started hugging and kissing people goodbye. Everyone was giving encouraging words and expressing how much they loved having her. Locus was the only one who stood in the back, not caring to really mingle with the woman.
"Ma, come on!" Bonnie said, she still had a flight to catch and the airport always had issues.
Lotus's phone began to ring and he took it out. It was a blocked number, but he didn't hesitate to answer. In this business that sort of thing wasn't uncommon. He figured it was a burner phone the runaway crew was calling with.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Hunter, you're a hard man to get into contact with."
Lotus stared at Nicki who carefully made her way back across the street. Bonnie closed the trunk with all her stuff and the two stood talking. Lotus narrowed his eyes and looked off when he recognized it to be Pranav's voice.
Lotus closed his eyes for a split second and walked off from the crowd to have some privacy. He opened his eyes knowing he messed up. To find out the cause of all this were his own people. There was nothing he could say to Pranav now to end this. They had already attacked these people, so now he had to keep the war going.
"When I catch you and anything associated to you, I am not responsible for how my team and I decide to execute you. You kill my father and sister and attacked a child's birthday party. Where my child and mother of my child was? Just to get to me?" Lotus said, knowing he didn't do it.
"You and your sister had my men in Dallas slaughtered like pig. There was so much blood the news report said. One man said you could smell their flesh from up the block. All of that because you think I had something to do with your father and your sister?"
"You did." He said.
"Yeah? And where is your sources for that?" He quizzed. "You don't have any sources, you just jumped right into concluding for yourself and went out and massacred those people. People like you have no respect for the art of this profession. Real bosses aren't so loud with their craft, they're subtle."
"Sometimes you need your message to be loud so everyone can hear."
Pranav nodded his head, "I got a pretty loud and clear message for you. I never killed your father and sister. But now, I don't care to explain. I'm going to pluck every single one of you Hunter brats off the face of the earth."
"Mm." Lotus replied like he was in agreement.
"You and your sister are like playground bullies. You can't just tease and keep moving forward. You gotta come back and torture the person over and over again. You already took my uncle and his wife...two years later you come back and take my cousins and friends lives and now you're still reeking havoc on my people over some bullshit I didn't do?"
Bonnie hugged his mother tight and walked her around to the other side of the jeep. She was a little short and the jeep was tall. He opened the passenger door and helped her inside. Closing the door he walked around to the driver side. He tapped the jeep like he was telling her he was coming right back and began to walk in Lotus's direction.
"Well then you should know bullies don't ever stop. I'm going to come after you until you're in somebody's newspaper." Lotus replied.
"How mighty of a statement. The bully does always underestimate his victim. Until one day his victim snaps and kicks his ass. Well, this is me kicking your ass." Pranav hung up.
BOOM!
The Escalade with Nicki exploded, picking up the vehicle and sending fiery orange car parts flying in every direction. Onlookers screamed in horror as the smell of charred flesh permeated the air. The charcoal jeep sat engulfed in hot flames as people ran around frantically, screaming and panicking.
"Maaaa!" Bonnie's lungs seemed to break a sound barrier. His voice had never reached an octave like that in his twenty four years. The large veins against his neck were like vines, maximizing his anguish.
He watched pieces of the car on the street, charred, orange flames still dancing ferociously on the detached parts. The vehicle had been stripped of everything from the explosion. No car doors, no windows, no hood, no trunk door, no tires. Just the body of a now burned piece of metal. There was no human body either, his mother had perished instantly.
Bonnie ran toward the jeep, but was caught by everyone. He fought to get free, trying to save his mother. "Get the fuck off me!" He barked, salivating. This didn't seem like real life. He had just seen his mother get blown up in front of him.
Eventually they let him go and he almost hit the floor with the amount of force he was pulling with. He staggered to the scene, the flames so hot he could feel it before he even got within ten feet. He ran around to the passenger side, fire pouncing at him viscously.
"Ma! Answer me!" He yelled, his mind not allowing him to think she was dead. He turned, ignoring the looks of the crowd standing a healthy distance away from the scene. He looked to see if she had hopefully got out the car, or if the fire had ejected her from the car before it exploded. "Ma!"
Bonnie dropped to his knees, the blood curdling scream haunting every onlooker in attendance. They had never heard any man breakdown like that. Ember was hysterical, being consoled by Mark and White Locus. They were stunned at what they just witnessed.
They could hear Bonnie from across the street. Lotus approached Bonnie, ignoring the heat from the flames. They were only a few feet away from the burning car. He crouched down low, clenching his jaws. He had never seen Bonnie cry, not even when he lost his father.
"Bon," His hand hesitated to touch him. But soon he rested a soft hand on his back. "She's gone."
Bonnie fell into his arms, crying like a child. Lotus wrapped his arms around his best friend. Bonnie's muffled cries were so horrific. How could this be? She was literally just here seconds ago. She was on her way back home right at that moment to escape this same thing from happening.
He didn't need to be told this was from the cartel. How could he have let this happen? The pain in his heart was something he had never felt before and he wanted to die more than ever.
******
White Locus and Mark laid cuddling in her king size bed. It was nightfall by time they made it to Ohio. The two had showered, then went straight to bed. Mark wasn't even in the mood to eat anything. Witnessing that woman blow up today in front of him was a permanent fixture in his mind.
He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it all day. He didn't know her, but she was still a person. A person he had literally just spoken to minutes ago before it happened. Mark thought only things like that happened in movies.
He had just shook her hand and told her it was a pleasure to meet her. He watched her smile and invited her back to the church. How did she literally die minutes later right in front of him? Locus's head rested on his chest as he stroked her hair. He was shaken up but he was trying to be strong for the both of them.
Locus wore her sunglasses to hide the fact she wasn't as bothered as she let on. She felt bad for Bonnie, she did. Somewhere in her there was a slither of care for him. She did know him since she was a little girl in elementary school. He grew up with her brother back when they were little boys. However, White Locus was feeling more than okay.
She just wanted to seem a little shaken since it was her brother's best friend's mother. Part of it wasn't an act though, she was shaken. The next car explosion could be Mark or perhaps even her mother. Pranav was getting too close. He must've got the drop and followed them to church and had his people plant the bomb in the truck.
Mark thought she left New York and came down to her house out of fear. However, it was for safety reasons, to keep him safe. She didn't want him to be in New York right now for him to be the next one. Even her mother and Dalton were here in guest rooms. Pranav couldn't get past the twenty cameras, ten armed men and super efficient police response time out here.
In fact, Locus had people watching Mark's house just to make sure no surprise would be waiting for him when he came back.
Mark kissed the top of her head, his arm around her. The scent of the Eucalyptus mint on his skin was soothing.
Bonnie's gut wrenching screams played out in Mark's head like a movie and he shook his head. "May God be with that man." He said. "I feel so bad for him."
He had lost his own mother, but not like that. Natural causes had taken her. At least she had gone somewhat peacefully.
White Locus's stomach was grumbling. She was tired of talking about this. "I'm hungry...shit, I don't have broccoli."
She was suddenly really in the mood for grilled salmon with carrots and broccoli. She remembered she didn't have any broccoli and she needed it, else it wouldn't complete her meal. She wasn't big on cooking, but certain things she could do.
"I'll go get it, is that all you need?" Mark asked. There was a local supermarket that closed at midnight a couple minutes from where she lived.
"Yeah. My guards will escort you." She said, getting up and going for the bedroom door.
"It's okay Lo, it'll be quick."
"I know but you still need them."
Mark smiled. "Seriously it's fine."
White Locus didn't return his friendly gesture. "I'm not asking, Mark. They're gonna go with you."
"Locus I'm not going to the grocery store for broccoli with four armed men behind me."
She didn't say another word as she made her way out the room. Mark was perplexed at how serious she was. He went to the closet to find appropriate clothes to put on. By time he made it downstairs to the living room, he saw two men standing by the front door waiting for him. She obviously was not joking.
"Excuse me, where's Locus?"
One man pointed toward the kitchen and Mark made his way over. Something was strange and he was starting to think her coming here and having her guards so close to her was for a deeper reason than she was letting on.
At first when the car exploded Mark thought it was a faulty engine, or something was wrong with the car. Nothing more than a freak accident. But now because of Locus's paranoid behavior, it made him remember the family whispering amongst each other after the explosion. Almost like they knew what happened. Not at all hysterical and lost like the civilians around them.
Now her trip to Ohio seemed like she ran here on purpose. Not because she was a woman that was just scared and wanted to hide. The security wasn't necessary unless they knew what happened to that man's mother wasn't an accident. And even if it wasn't, how did it relate to him needing to be protected?
Mark found Locus searching her refrigerator. When she closed the fridge door and looked at him, she saw the questioning look in his eyes. All Mark could see was his own reflection in those black lens and it was so mocking at this point. He was tired of looking at them.
Mark slowly reached down and removed her sunglasses. He told her plenty of times she had sad eyes; but there was something so empty inside them. He felt a feeling of heaviness in his chest when their eyes met. It was almost like looking through the glass window of a store and seeing nothing inside.
He just didn't know that look was for him. That could've easily been him tonight Pranav did that too. What would she have done had that been him in that explosion?
He placed her designer shades in his back pocket. Mark stared at her intently, like he was trying to read her. Locus didn't like that so she looked away from him.
"Don't do that, don't shut me out." He said. Reluctantly she looked back at him.
He had a gut feeling that something was really off with this whole ordeal.
"What's going on beautiful?" He whispered.
Locus wanted to melt. He was such a good man and the more time she spent around him, the more tainted he was becoming. Out of all the men she's been with, Mark was the only one who didn't deserve to fall victim to her world of mayhem and deceit. Mark had no clue he was in love with a bad girl. A woman who was capable of horrendous things. This was a man who preached every Sunday. He had no clue what the woman he laid with at night was like.
"If you don't want to go anymore that's fine, Mark. I don't need to have it."
"What is going on?" He repeated. "Why are you so adamant I take these men with me?"
"Did you not see what happened to Bonnie's mother today? Do you want that to happen to you?"
"Why would it?" He asked. "You would only feel this way if you thought I was in danger. You obviously do, your brother and your mother are here as well. You have about ten men surrounding this whole house and you and your family were whispering and conspiring away from me before we left for Ohio."
"Mark nothing is going on. I saw a lady blow up in a car today. I can't just be worried for my mother, my sibling and fiancé and want to bring them to my home? We all witnessed something terrible today. I just thought the family support would be good. That's all."
Mark didn't believe that was all. He did believe they cared, but something else was going on. Now instead of a faulty vehicle he was thinking it was on purpose. Like an explosive put in the car meant for the lady. Either her or her son.
"What happened was eight hours away in another state. It would be mind-boggling for it to happen again. Don't you think?"
White Locus didn't answer.
"I want you to look at me and tell me you're acting like this because you're scared. And not because you don't know anything about what happened to that lady."
"All these extra precautions is only because I'm nervous."
Mark was upset she could look him in his face and lie so easily. They had this talk before about her being deceitful. He pointed his index finger at her. "This is the same behavior when you lied to me about the jewelry business."
"I'm not lying!" She said raising her voice.
"Locus you're lying to me." Mark said calmly, not backing down.
"I'm not."
He slowly nodded his head up and down. A small smirk on the left side of his mouth. "So we're getting married in two months and this is what our marriage will start off with, lies. You know everything about me, everything. My background story, my age, where I'm from, what I want in life. And here I am trying to decipher if what's coming out of your mouth right now is true, for the second time in our relationship."
White Locus couldn't stand to look at him anymore. She found herself damn near ready to tell him everything. That she was a queenpin, that they were in the middle of a cartel war and that her whole family were dangerous high class criminals. But she knew she couldn't. That would mess up her entire life with Mark. There would be no wedding, no relationship and no friendship even. Nothing would let her lose Mark. Not even her own better judgement that knew he was better off without her.
"Are you going or not? These men don't have all night."
Mark felt hurt at how she was shutting him out. They stared at each other and didn't even break eye contact when they heard someone coming down the grand staircase. The movements were slow, it sounded like someone was dragging their feet against the floor.
Someone entered the kitchen and Mark glanced over. He saw Dalton with his hands out in front of him. Like he didn't want to bump into anything. He knew people were in here, he followed the sound of the voices.
"Hey D, how're you holding up?"
"I'm fine, thanks." He replied, knowing he was talking about the incident from earlier. He kept it to a minimal knowing his family secret.
"Do you need anything outside? I'm going out."
"Potato chips would be fine if you can, thank you."
"Potato chips." Mark repeated to himself. Mark barely looked at Locus before he walked off, heading toward the door. Security moved out his way, but followed him out.
Locus stared until the front door closed. Angry, she turned toward Dalton. "What!"
Her yell startled him. He never really interacted with his little sister. If he had she had to be five or younger. Ever since she was old enough to think for herself she had never looked his way.
Dalton became like a shy little boy. "Oh, w-water. Do you have?"
Locus glared at him for a second longer. She grabbed a glass from the dish rack and turned on the sink.
"Oh, um...do you have bottled water? Tap water has led, so—"
Locus never met someone so annoying. He was almost worse than fucking Iris. Luckily nobody could beat that whiny bitch. He was lucky he switched to bottled, because she felt like spitting in his cup.
Annoying bastard, She thought, swinging open her fridge and grabbing a chilled $20 dollar bottle of Veen 5 water. She couldn't believe he was coming in here acting like tap water was deign to him. His blind ass couldn't even see, he wouldn't even know if she gave him toilet water.
Locus wanted to throw it at him but only refrained because it was glass. Her mother would have her head if anything happened to her disabled son. Dalton clutched the bottle to him.
"Th-thank you, Locus I—"
"Just go!"
"I need help, I almost fell into your pool on the way down. I don't want to hurt myself on the way back up. Mom is sleeping so I didn't wake her to escort me down." Dalton switched the water to one hand, holding the bottle by the neck. He held out his other free hand. "Please?"
She frowned at his chubby hand. "You don't have to touch me, just walk. I'll tell you where to go."
"Alright." He mumbled, turning and using his free hand to put in front of him as a shield so he didn't bump into anything. His feelings were extremely hurt.
Locus trailed behind him with her arms crossed, mumbling directions. Her father's face flashed into her mind. Emery adored Dalton. She didn't think her father had favorites, but she knew Dalton had a special place in his heart. Dalton always got special care because of his disability. Her parents loved him like he was a helpless child even as he aged into a grown man. She knew her father would be turning in his grave at how she was treating him. Just the love for her father made her ease up.
She sucked her teeth and walked ahead of him yanking his hand. She pulled him and went around the pool, damn near dragging him up the stairs. Once they reached the top she walked over to his room door and let his hand go.
"Thank you, Locus." He mumbled.
She didn't answer him but walked away loud enough so he would know she was no longer there.
******
When Lotus awoke to an empty king sized bed, he knew he would find Lisa doing something trivial. Sometimes she got restless at this kind of time in the morning. He travelled downstairs and found her by the large glass bay windows.
It was a house full of nocturnal people. So she wasn't shy about only sporting one of Lotus's t-shirts. The brown cotton clung to her body like a second skin. All her curves stretching the material out, especially over her hips. It made Lotus's tongue dart out from behind his lips. The shirt stopped just below her ass, making him wonder if she wore anything underneath.
Goddamn, Lotus thought. That was all his woman and he was proud. Appearing behind her, his large hands slid down her sides, cupping the sides of her legs as he pressed his chest against her back.
Lisa didn't flinch, just continued to stare out at the darkness. The incident with Bonnie's mother had been bothering her all day. She was glad Egypt hadn't gone, she was almost gonna tag along at the last minute but changed her mind. Too into the book series she was reading to want to leave the house.
The shootout from the kids party was enough. Lisa didn't need her daughter witnessing someone blow up in a car. It even made Lisa worry about Bonnie. He'd been sleeping here with them in one of the guest rooms for the past few days.
All he did was sleep. He was heavily medicated by the private doctor who came to the home and did checkups on him when need be. Lotus wouldn't leave him by himself for him to commit suicide. Though it wasn't Bonnie's style, when a man lost his mother there was no telling what he would do.
Lotus kissed Lisa's shoulder, enjoying that the night was silent for once and there was no bush crickets. The sound of those insects drove him mad sometimes. "Why'd you leave me in bed alone? I need my pillow." He said gripping her breasts.
Lisa turned around to face him. "Bonnie should not be here."
Lisa wasn't annoyed that he was here. She wasn't the type of woman that didn't want her man's friend around when he was in time of need. She just didn't think being here was helping his case in any way.
"What do you mean?" Lotus asked calmly. He knew she wasn't coming from a bad place, so he didn't take offense.
"He needs to be in a psychiatric hospital right now. He just lost his mother, sedatives are not gonna work. That man needs help. Being locked up in his friend's room and treated by a greedy doctor, who's gonna continue to stuff him with pills for a paycheck from you, is not helping Bonnie. Plus how long is he gonna keep being fed pills? Until he becomes a junkie? He needs to move to a more professional place."
Lotus always let Lisa speak her mind. He was never one to make her feel like it wasn't her place to speak on anything. Even things that didn't have to do with her, he openly seeked her opinions sometimes.
"He's not a nut."
"Being in a psych-ward doesn't necessarily mean you're crazy."
"I know that, which is how I know they'll treat him like he is. He'll get the same treatment as the real crazies. At those places they'll do even worst. Stuff him with pills he doesn't even have problems for and keep him drugged up. They neglect and abuse those people."
"He can be sent to a high quality and reliable facility. Somewhere with the best care, where we know he won't get mistreated. But this," Lisa said motioning her index finger about the house. "Having him here with Egypt, no. I want him out Lotus. I love Bonnie too, but it's not safe here with him. What if he snaps and kills everybody in here?"
For the first time Lotus's face showed contretemps. "You think Bonnie would hurt us? I'm basically his brother, Egypt is his goddaughter. He met you back when we were all still in high school. He knows you're my future wife. He would never do something like that."
"A man in agony has no morals."
Lotus didn't say anything for a minute. She could see he was having an internal conflict. Lisa quickly turned his face toward her. She knew he was thinking of it as a 'choosing my best friend or my woman' thing, but that's not what she was trying to do. She wanted him to be there for Bonnie, just in the proper way.
"It'll be like when he was in the hospital. Remember we came and visited him almost everyday? We can do it just like that, but he needs a facility. I'm telling you that as a psychology major. Especially with what he does for a living; Bonnie has a high probability of being a live wire. Even if he doesn't hurt anybody in here, he might go out and do it to someone else and bring back problems this family can't afford to deal with right now."
Lisa was actually right, they were in the middle of a war and didn't need any more conflict. This was his lady and if she was telling him she was uncomfortable with something, it was his job to rectify it.
"Alright, tomorrow I'll spend the morning looking for the best place that specializes in psychiatric care and after lunch I should have him there. How does that sound?"
Lisa nodded and tiptoed to kiss his lips, appreciating that he was listening to her and not just brushing her off.
"While we're on the topic of mental state," Lotus said. "I'm truly sorry for how I been acting lately. There's no excuse, but I can't take it back now. I was being a dick and I'm so sorry for that. I love you and because of that my intentions would never to be deliberately mistreat you. I just had misplaced anger."
"Okay." She mouthed with a small smile.
Lotus smiled back, kissing her hair. Her short curls smelling like green apple shampoo.
"I was being a real asshole lately. You have my word it won't happen anymore. You were only trying to be here for me and I was acting like you did something to me. Forgive me, love, please."
Lisa couldn't lie, that little 'love' nickname thing got to her. She nodded her head vigorously, accepting his apology. She didn't have to warn him again not to do it, because they both knew he knew better.
"To show you how sorry I am, look at this." Lotus whipped out his phone and turned the phone to her to show her the screen. "Login to your email."
Lisa took the cellphone from him and did just that. She was quick with her hands, now waiting for the page to load. She saw she had five new emails but went to the newest one. She clicked on it and read the letter.
Congratulations Lisa Marshall,
We have looked over your academic accolades and talked to several of your recommenders who have vouched for your capabilities as a therapist. Starting Monday morning at 8:00am, you will be interviewed to potentially start working at Spark as a therapist! Please be on time and ready to answer questions about your work and private life.
From, Randolph Spark
Lisa turned around and looked at him. Spark was a popular company who specialized in therapy. To get a career there the school, grades and people you knew had to be top notch. It was like the career version of elite colleges.
The shock on Lisa's face made Lotus smile. "I put in a word, pulled some strings and they wanna see you on Monday. So don't be late, woman."
"Lotus really?" Lisa cooed. She had been dying to put her degree to work. She didn't need Lotus's permission, but after getting a degree and never using it, it would make it impossible for her to get hired. So it was thanks to him making a few calls.
"Yeah, maybe you could take me as a client." He said half-jokingly.
Lisa cocked her head back and let out a loud laugh. She quickly cupped her mouth forgetting there were other people in the house. They looked at each other and he chuckled at her crazy antics.
She groaned and tiptoed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pecked his lips several times. "Thank you so much, baby. Oh my gosh I love you so much."
"I love you too. Now come back to bed, I need my pillow back."
Lisa smiled and allowed him to intertwine their fingers, as they travelled back up the stairs.