Melissa's POV
I woke up feeling driven, accomplished, and ready to take on the day. Leaning over my nightstand, I grabbed my planner and looked over some things to do for the day. Climbing out of bed, I took a nice hot shower, I got out and wrapped my hair in a towel and threw on my pink silk robe. I grabbed my phone and called Nicki, hoping that Kylan would be up.
Nicki and I talked for a moment and said that Kylan was just waking up. Since Nicki would be keeping Kylan until this weekend, I grabbed Kylan's Gucci overnight bag and glanced around his nursery for more clothes and diapers. I let Nicki know that I would be at her place in an hour and proceeded to finish packing Kylan's bag.
I missed my baby boy so much and it was hard to believe that I had been away from him this long. It's still hard to believe that James is away from us, I miss my man so much. As I went through Kylan's closet, I couldn't help but feel emotional as I found an outfit that James had picked out for him. Placing the Nike tracksuit in the bag, I grabbed a few more things before packing some extra diapers and wipes.
Placing Kylan's bag in my bedroom, I walked into my closet and found my casual grey suit to throw on for work, I wanted to keep up this boss lady image; but I wanted to be a little laxed today. I decided not to wear my extensions today and I wanted to feel a little free. To add to my "free" look, I decided to go for a neutral face of makeup.
I grabbed my brown Louis Vuitton and Kylan's overnight bag and left the penthouse. I got in the car and drove to Nicki's. Arriving, Nicki opened the door with my son in her arms. I instantly blushed as his cheeks turned red at the sight of me, he showed all of his gums as I picked him up and kissed him happily. "Mama missed you big boy!" I shouted. "Thank you again Nicki!" I said as we walked inside. "Girl you look good!" Nicki chimed as we sat on the couch.
I couldn't get over how happy Kylan was to see me, I missed him so much! "Thank you mama! I really don't know how to thank you for doing this for me" I said taking off my jacket. "Oh please, girl we family!" Nicki said glancing into the kitchen, "You want some breakfast?" she questioned. "I could eat!" I said playing with Kylan. Nicki got up and headed to the kitchen to fix me a plate of food, "So, I know last night went well, how does it feel managing the club?" she questioned. "It's pretty good, I mean, I can't say too much. I do know that I want my girls in tip top shape when it comes to those drinks though!" I chimed.
Nicki came back with my plate of grits, bacon, and biscuits. She took Kylan from me and spoke, "How do you like being head honcho and what not?" Nicki asked as I stuffed my face with food.
Wiping my mouth and laughing, I spoke, "I haven't learned everything yet, but it's definitely going to be a challenge. But James left some information with me and if I have any questions I have Dre to help me" I said knowing that Nicki would question me. "Dre..." Nicki's voice trailed, "The same Dre that you used to tell me about?" Nicki questioned. I nodded my head in agreement, Nicki raised her left eyebrow, "How you feel about that? Working alongside him?" she questioned while Kylan pulled at the rings on Nicki's finger.
I chuckled while biting a piece of bacon. "Nicki, I just take it day by day. I'm here for business and to keep my man's empire on lock while he's away on business. I can't worry about a peasant." I said adjusting the imaginary crown on my head. We both laughed, Kylan began to clap his hands in agreement. "Petty baby!" I joked as I poked his stomach. Holding my arms out to hold Kylan, I fed him a small spoonful of grits.
"How are you holding up? Without James?" Nicki asked on a serious note. I sighed as Kylan whined for another spoonful of food, "It's hard not waking up next to him, not seeing him watch Kylan grow up. It's extremely difficult because I'd love for him to see me run Truth, but, had he not left, none of this would be happening you know? I probably wouldn't be working right now" I admitted. I wasn't ready to tell Nicki the truth about James yet. I just knew that she couldn't hide it from Don, so it's best that she doesn't know that James is in rehab. Don would kill me if he knew that I was still willing to work on this relationship despite the fact that James put his hands on me.
"Well, I know that he would be very proud of you! Just like my little man Kylan! I mean, look how happy he is to see you!" Nicki said with a smile. "Thank you, thank you!" I said to Nicki. I glanced at my phone noticing the time, I texted Dre and asked him to meet me at Truth. I finished my plate of food and threw my plate in the trash, I danced back into the living-room with Kylan in my arms. "You better have been a good boy for cousin Nicki" I said to him. Kylan blew spit bubbles at me as I sat down. "Girl please, Kai's been watching him for than me, she thinks that Kylan is her baby." I laughed.
"Mel, I'm serious. She's been telling me when to feed him, when to change him and she's been teaching him how to share" Nicki admitted. I laughed, "I hate I'm missing everything. Where is she now?" I questioned. "Girl she's upstairs sleep, she's probably tired from 'being a mommy' " Nicki said in air quotes.
I noticed my phone lighting up and Kylan leaned over to grab it. "Oooh, Nick I have to go, that's work" I said as I looked at the message. "Girl go ahead! Me and Kai will take good care of Kylan" Nicki chuckled. "I left him another bag full of clothes, I'll take the other bag with me to wash" I said. "Girl it's fine, I've washed everything for you, you can take the bag home and put his clothes up" My heart sank with gratefulness.
"Thank you so much!" I said hugging Nicki. "Mommy's gonna miss you big boy! I'll be back to get you" I said kissing Kylan. I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of us. "See, now you'll be with me all day at work" I said tickling him as he let out a giggle. I handed Kylan back over to Nicki and grabbed his clean bag of clothes and headed out the door.
**
I walked into James' office and opened the blinds to let some sunlight in. Taking a seat in his big, comfy chair, I placed my purse on the desk and opened my planner. Sighing, I instantly felt emotions take over as I thought about James. Who would've thought that he'd leave me with such a big responsibility? I could only imagine what James is going through. I missed his presence so much, despite everything, I miss looking in his eyes, feeling his warm skin against mine. I missed spending quality time with him and just watching him make our son smile. I was immediately knocked out of my daze when Dre knocked on the door with a bright red jumpsuit.
"You wanted to see me, Boss?" he questioned. I chuckled, forgetting that he used flattery on me. He stood in front of the desk, admiring my outfit. He smiled, "No extensions today? Natural beauty" He said before taking his seat. I kissed my teeth and looked the other way at his comment rolling my eyes. "So, what's up Mel?" he asked finally giving me the floor. "I was wondering if we could get some of the bar girls to come in early today" I said leaning into the desk. "What for?" Dre asked.
"The other night, a customer complained about a Manhattan that was made, and I was thinking that the girls could use some training on making the drinks. Maybe even, adding a new drink or two to the menu" I said hoping he'd like my idea. Dre shook his head, "Who's going to do this drink training?" Dre asked. "I uh..." said nervously, I looked around the room and back at him, "I was hoping you could help arrange it. I'm sure you could pull some strings with a mixologist on short notice" I said shrugging my shoulders.
Dre chuckled, "So because of one complaint, you wanna do all this? Don't you think this is a bit much?" he questioned, with a raised brow.
I sat up from the desk and walked over to him, I leaned against the desk and folded my arms. "Before I could even make my first drink by myself, you held a mandatory training for 2 weeks. Why can't I?" I questioned. Dre smiled smugly, "I just wanted to make sure that this command was made within reason, Boss Lady" he remarked.
I rolled my eyes, Dre rose from his seat and stood in front of me. "You call the shots, I'm just here to back you up and show you the ropes" he spat as his breath hit my neck. I eyed him a moment as he got closer to me. I sighed and turned on my heels as he took my arm gently. I glared at him, "What time should I schedule for the girls to be here?" I questioned. "I'll let you know, I'll get on the phone with Phil Wills in a few" Dre said letting go of me.
I took my seat and adjusted my blazer as I thumbed through my planner noticing Dre's eye never left me.
"What?" I asked feeling uncomfortable. "Boss Lady, are you happy?" Dre asked. I closed the planner and rolled my eyes. "Yes, Dre I'm happy. Does it bother you that I'm sitting in this seat and not you?!" I spat. Dre smiled, "Still a cocky motherfucker" he chuckled, "Nah, it doesn't. It pleases me to see you in power, standing on your own. You deserve this" Dre remarked. His words resonated with me, causing me to shift in my seat as my facial expression changed. I couldn't look at him.
"James told me that he'd be away for awhile. He said he needed some help. I think he'd be shocked to see how well you're doing. You have potential and I see it in you, you've always been too smart for this club shit. He deserves to be wherever he is, he doesn't deserve to see you like this... Not how I see you" Dre said getting up from his seat, he walked around the desk and leaned against it in front of me as I moved away from him in the chair as the sunlight hit our silhouettes. I shook my head disagreeing, "I know he's proud of me. He trusted me to do this for us, to provide for us and make a good life for our son. He's doing what he has to do for me right now. And I support him one hundred percent" I said as the words rolled off my tongue as I stared at Dre, eyeing me seductively.
"You don't know how long it'll be before he comes home. I know you get... lonely" His voice trailed off as he looked back at me. I felt a puddle forming in my panties as I watched Dre lick his lips, knowing the salacious tone of voice he had, and the way his eyes looked through me; I had to keep my cool and not take it there. The disrespect that I would feel, and the shame that I would endure for committing such a lustful act in the very room where all of this started with the man that I love, who can't be here to cheer me on.
"Lonely, but not weary." I said getting up from my seat as my eyes met his. "Lonely, but not desperate" I spoke as my hands trailed the side of his face. I stared in his eyes as I brought my face closer to his. He placed his arm around my waist, not breaking from his stance "The love that I have for you, doesn't surpass the love that I have for James and my son. Let's commit to keeping it professional and leaving things as they were. I don't want to mince words or confuse anything between us. I'm just here to fulfill a role until my time is up" I spoke softly as our lips came close to touching.
I felt my heart sink as I spoke to him solemnly and straight faced. Dre pulled away from me and stared at me as he backed away from me. "I'll be downstairs, on the phone with Phil. I'll let you know when to text the girls." You could hear the hurt in his voice, but I knew if I didn't stop this now, who knows what could happen.
**
Hours went by before Staci, Jenelle and Lexi arrived at Truth. To my surprise, Mr. Phil Wills was standing at the bar with glasses in hand ready to work. "I'm so glad that you guys could come in early. I wanted you guys to be trained with the best of the best, so I asked Mr. Wills to join us tonight. He's a world renowned mixologist who has made drinks all over and even offered to add a few more drinks to our menu. Melissa and I thought that it would be a great way to get more acclimated with making drinks, as well as suggesting YOUR signature drink of your own to customers. The more money, the better right?" Dre exclaimed.
The ladies smiled and agreed, "So, we'll let Phil take the floor and show us all a thing or two, I hope you're ready for some taste tests! I figured that we would collectively pick three drinks that should be added to the menu and each one of you could have your own signature" I added.
"Alright, well I'm sure each of you lovely ladies know the basics when it comes to pouring liquor by the ounce, through counting right?" Phil questioned. "I wouldn't mind a refresher!" Staci chimed as she grabbed a glass and a bottle of vodka. Janelle and Lexi moved away from the bar to give her some room while I walked behind the bar to stand next to Staci as Phil instructed her.
"So, in general, every one "count" is equivalent to a quarter of an ounce. You guys do use the standard 1.25 to 2 ounces?" Phil asked me. "Yes" I said. "Alright" Phil said. As the two continued to do liquor counts, Phil then went through the counts with Janelle and Lexi as well. As soon as I volunteered to count with them Dre cleared his throat. Sighing I walked over next to him, "What seems to be the problem?" I asked. "This training is for them, and not for you. What are you doing?" he questioned. "I was once them, now I'm a boss. Gotta start somewhere" I stated before walking back to the bar to join the few.
"Alright, so do we have garnishes?" Phil asked Janelle. "Right here" she said grabbing a small plate of pineapple, cherries, lemons, and oranges from the mini fridge. "We've got a few drinks to make tonight and I'm gonna start with the Triple Nickel shot and the Off Base drink. After that, I'll go over a few more drinks and then by Monday I'm gonna come back and we'll collectively decide on which three drinks we wanna add to the menu. Sound good?" Phil stated.
I was so happy and pleased with how things were going, I felt just like one of the bar girls, I wish I received training like this when I first started. I decided to let the girls have some alone time with Phil and soak up all of the energy that would be needed for tonight. I also wanted to give the girls autonomy in what drink would be their best seller.
**
The night went great as normal, and with Phil's help we raked in an extra $2,000 for the night. It may not sound like much, but having him behind the bar helping the girls, giving them a few extra pointers on perfecting these drinks I'd say that it was a win win for the both of us tonight. I arrived at the empty penthouse missing my son, and James. It's been a month and though work has been keeping me busy, I couldn't hide the fact that I dearly missed having someone at home with me. I missed Kylan's laugh, especially when James would do stuff to make him giggle.
I missed lying next to James in bed, despite everything I know James wants to get better and do right by his family. Sitting on the bed sighing at the thought of it being empty next to me, I glanced down at my ring. A flood of emotions came over me as I remembered the day that James and I went ring shopping, I was so happy. Of course, I didn't know if he would truly leave Naomi, but I knew that getting this ring would be a step in the right direction. We've been through hell and back with each other, but I'll never forget the violinists playing while James asked me to be his wife.
I'll never forget the look in his eyes and the tears that fled when he kissed me. I felt tears fill my eyes as I thought of the day I held Kylan for the first time in my arms, James was so happy. The best day of my life was short-lived when he was ripped from Kylan and I that day, when James spent that brief moment in jail it felt like an eternity. Now that James is gone again, that's exactly what it feels like—an eternity. These past few weeks have been such a blessing, but so empty with this incomplete family.
I sat there in silence feeling James' presence all over the room. I lifted myself from the bed and picked up my purse and planner from the floor, placing them on my ottoman in front of the bed. I stripped myself of my clothing and took a quick shower before bed. Getting under the covers, I couldn't shake the feeling that James was near, though only a figment of my imagination.
The yearning feeling just doesn't seem to go away, no matter how much I miss James. I sat alone in bed, in a dark room; Lord knows I miss my fiancé so much, if only these tears that I cried tonight would bring him back.
A/N: Were y'all surprised when Mel curved Dre?? 👀 Let us know your thoughts!! Thanks for 15k!!