“Thank you again, Ms. Woodard.”
“Deuce and Tres, come say goodbye to your mama!” Ms. Woodard yelled as they walked to the front door. Marli smiled as her boys came running to the door. They were so handsome, the splitting image of her. They were her whole world. Wrapping both of them in a hug, she kissed their cheeks.
“I love you.” Marli pushed their plaits out of their faces.
“We love you, Mama,” they replied. Their eyes darted back toward the back room, letting Marli know they were eager to get to playing.
“Have fun with Grandma and daddy. I’ll call y’all before bed.” She kissed them both again before letting them go back to playing.
“Alright, Ms. Woodard. I’m gon’ I’ll call Max and—”
“Just go, girl. I got Max,” she replied, pushing Marli out the door. The cold rain hit her skin immediately, causing her to run briskly to her car. She was grateful that the rain had slowed a little because she had to get to the other side of town in twenty-five minutes. Turning on her car, she rolled her eyes as her phone rang. As Max’s name flashed across the screen, she exhaled a deep breath and prepared herself for impact.
“Yes, Max.”
“Aye, what the fuck are you talking about, man!” The irritation in his voice only made Marli roll her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell your mama I was bringing the boys? She was completely caught off guard, and I was the one looking flakey.” Marli’s words were laced with so much disgust. Every time she spoke with Max, she wondered what she’d seen him. Well, she knew what she had seen in him, but she never imagined co-parenting would be this damn hard. Marli was seeing firsthand you never really knew a man until you birthed his child.
“I did, man. She must have forgotten.” The raised tone in his voice let her know he was lying.
“Whatever, Max. Luckily, your moms always come through unlike—”
“I don’t come through for y’all, Marli? Don’t start talking out the side of yo’ ass. I get my kids. I pay yo’ ass a nice amount in child support, too. I created the lane for yo’ ass to even be on that funky ass reality show. You got me fucked up!” Max’s voice thundered through the phone. Marli had lost track of how many times she’d rolled her eyes while he was giving his usual spiel about how he was the father of the year. She was sure if she rolled her eyes again, they would get stuck.
“Are you done? I’m late for my flight.”
“You eager as fuck to get on this lil trip with that bitch ass nigga Dru.”
“If you gon’ be more than a few hours getting the boys, call your mom and tell her.” Marli sighed. She ignored his last statement. She wasn’t about to entertain Max’s one-sided beef with Dru. This trip was about supporting her sister and brother-in-law.
“Yeah, I know I’m right. I’m a tell you right now, he bet’ not be around my…” Marli couldn’t hang up the phone fast enough. Glancing at the time, she now had twenty minutes to get to the airport. Kay said they would hold the plane for her, but she did not want to be a bother. This week was about her sister. She and Blue deserved this, especially after everything they had been through with the miscarriage last year. Marli backed out of Ms. Woodard’s driveway, ignoring the back-to-back calls from Max. Pressing play on her playlist, she let the sounds of her favorite ratchet artist soothe her.
“Fuck my baby daddy!” she screamed. She swore these ratchet songs spoke to her soul as she hit the gas and floored it to the airport.
Two
Dru
“What you saying, J?” Dru rubbed his hand across his forehead as he watched Janel move around the office in tears. He’d heard her loud and clear, but he needed her to repeat the shit.
“I can’t do this anymore, Dru. Eight years! Eight years I’ve been working here, and we have been fooling around all eight of them… but I’m still nothing more than the employee you fuck!” Janel’s voice grew louder as she spoke.
She was visibly upset, and all Dru could do was shake his head. He had expected this conversation to come a long time ago. Janel was right. They had been fucking around for eight years. She was one of the first people he had employed at his record label, Eight24 Records. In the beginning, it was just him, his brother Blue, and Janel. He never meant to start sleeping with her, but about six months into her working there, she was in his bed. Dru knew he had blurred a line, but when Janel didn’t protest it, he assumed she was cool with the arrangement.
“J…” Dru mumbled the nickname he had given her, attempting to get closer, but she held her hand out for him to stop.
“No! Don’t. I want a title, Dru! I want to know I’m not in love by myself. I want to be someone’s wife. Hell, I’ll even take long-term girlfriend at this point, but for eight years, all we do is fuck and handle business! I’m done, Dru. I can’t work here anymore.”
Her words sliced through him, and he just stared at her petite chocolate frame. Her beautiful face was makeup-free and damp with tears. Dru felt bad. He knew he didn’t want those things with her. In the beginning, he had real feelings for Janel. She was beautiful and supportive. She was amazing at her job, but he was afraid to commit to one woman so early in his career. He just didn’t want to end up like his father, hopping into a marriage or committed relationship before he was ready and breaking hearts. He’d seen the turmoil that his dad had caused his mom when she found out about his side baby. He had decided long ago that he would stay single until he was one hundred percent sure that he was ready. He liked Janel, but he just wasn’t sure if she was the one.
“I don’t want you to quit your job, Janel. You’re an influential part of this label. You helped Blue and I get this bitch up and running!” Dru tried to reason with her.
He couldn’t imagine the label without her. She’d started as their secretary, but she’d been moved up over the years to the head of A & R. He hated the thought of her giving up on all her hard work for him. He approached her again. She was being unreasonable. They could stop fucking around and she could keep her job if that was the problem.
“See! It’s all business with you! I can’t do this anymore, Dru. Do you know how hard it is to work under someone you love who doesn’t love you back?” Janel’s sobs pierced his heart. The respect he had for her, and everything she’d done for him and his label, was softening his usual hard-ass demeanor.
“Janel—” His head dropped.
“No, you don’t! You never loved me, and I was fool enough to think if I just kept giving you my body, you’d change your mind. You’d pick me!” Janel’s words held so much sadness. Dru lifted his head and gazed into Janel’s doe-shaped eyes. He had love for Janel; he just didn’t love her like that.
“I have love for you, J… I—”
“Then put a title on us! Tell me this all has been worth something. You’re rich, I get it. You have a lot of women throwing themselves at you. I never said we had to have a monogamous relationship. You can have side bitches, Dru. We can still have threesomes. I just need something more than what we’ve been doing.”
Dru didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want Janel to quit, but he just couldn’t give her what she was asking for. His heart was somewhere else, and it had been for a long time. The room filled with Janel’s silent sobs. She’d gotten the message loud and clear.
“I’m ending my employment at Eight24 Records in a week. That should be—”
“Janel, you don’t have to quit. We can end this shit between us, move you to a different office. This label is rightfully yours too.” He thought what he was offering her was a good deal, but it only seemed to make her cry louder.
“You’re going to be late for the flight. I’ll have my replacement trained by the time you get back. I take it you want to promote Daniel.” She retreated to her desk. Dru looked at the time and sighed. The plane taking his family to Turks for his brother’s vow renewal was leaving in less than an hour. He only stopped by headquarters to grab a few things. He didn’t expect to see Janel there packing up her office. She was supposed to be meeting him at the airport.
“Janel!” He called her name, causing her to turn around and face him. Her stained cheeks and smeared makeup made him feel bad as fuck for how things ended up between them. He wouldn’t force himself to be in a relationship that he wasn’t ready for, with a person he didn’t love. Janel would make some man happy, but it just wasn’t him.
“Blue and I will have a severance package in your account by tomorrow. It’s the least we can do. If you don’t like the numbers, let us know. If you’re not here when I get back, J, I wish you all the best.” He headed toward the door. As soon as he turned his back on her, the dam broke. Janel’s cries were so loud he could barely keep walking, but he knew that turning around would only give her false hope. Stopping, he took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry for wasting your time, Janel.” He somberly walked out the door.
