Chapter 10

10

N eko

It was taking everything inside of me not to go to WSC to see how my sweet girl's interview was going. I was honest when I said all I did was have HR put her application at the top of the list, but with it, I included a note for Chapel telling her Malorie was my future wife if that had any weight at all.

I knew Malorie would get the job on her own if she got an interview, but I was concerned her lack of experience would keep her from getting a call back, and that was the only reason I stepped in. I really needed her to get this job, and Chapel and Jeremy were known for hiring people who had experience so the transition into the company would be a smoother process.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I decided to grab pastries for my office and theirs to take down there. I wasn't expecting to see Malik at Brewed and Booked, which was a Black owned coffee shop and bookstore. In fact, the sight of him caught me so off guard I froze. From the looks of it, he'd gotten a book from the lower level and a small box of pastries, and I knew that shit wasn't for him.

At the sight of me, his eyes widened, and he gripped the box tighter.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked, walking over to him with a chuckle.

"Huh?"

"If you can huh, you can hear. Who is this for?"

With a sigh, he shuffled slightly on his feet. "Lil shorty I was with last night."

"She got you buying her books and pastries and shit?" I teased, looking into the small bag to see what book he had, but he quickly pulled it away.

"Mannn, say. I needed to come get her a coloring book 'cause the way she swallowed my seeds and babies all night and morning I know baby gon' be acting real childish today."

As hearty of a laugh as I released, I didn't plan to let his joking hide the fact that he was buying something for a woman—which he never did.

"You can talk that shit, but you really like her huh?"

Though a smile remained on his face, his expression grew more serious. "She's… tolerable for more than the bedroom. That counts for something right?"

For a few seconds, all I could do was stare at him. Of all the years I'd known him, I'd never known of Malik to express wanting more from a woman than sex. Blinking rapidly, I nodded adamantly.

"Y-Yeah, for sure. That definitely counts for something. You finna take that to her job or something?"

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe this was a good start to seeing her outside of the bedroom. Maybe I'll take her somewhere to get something to eat this weekend. I'on know."

I didn't want to put too much weight on it to scare him off, so all I did was nod and smile. "That would be fun for y'all I'm sure."

"Check this out though." He patted my chest with the hand that held the book. "Her best friend… bruh. She bad as hell . I'm tryna put you on her. Maybe y'all can join us."

Without even knowing what she looked like, I declined with a shake of my head. "Nah, I'm good on that."

His head tilted as he eyed me. "Look, I promise I won't put you on another crazy girl that's going to come after you if I do something to her friend."

All I could do was laugh at the memory. The last time we talked to friends, I ended up having to get a restraining order on the girl because he cheated on her friend, and she stalked me to get to him.

"It's not that," I said through my soft laugh. "I'm seeing someone, and I really like her… may even love her. I want to be with her for the long haul."

A frown covered his face, but I knew it was confusion and not anger. That's just how his mean ass looked.

"How you in love with someone and I ain't even met her yet? Type of shit is that?"

With a sigh, I took a small step back and squeezed the back of my neck. "It's… complicated. We're not official and we laying low with it. There are some things we need to work through before we start meeting the family and shit."

"I feel you. Well get it together. I wanna meet her."

"You'll be the first to know when the relationship is official. I just… gotta make sure we're worth it, you know?"

"You are. Make sure she is." He stepped closer and eyed me as he added, "You probably the most stand up nigga I know. Any woman would be lucky to have you, brother. For real. I know I joke with you a lot but you're a good man."

His words were bittersweet. A part of me wanted to tell him the woman was his sister to see if he still felt that way, but I didn't. Instead, I shook his hand and hoped he'd remember how good of a man I was when it came down to Malorie.

I was so thrown off by the exchange I left without getting anything. I decided to go back to the office to wait for Mal to tell me what I already knew. Even with her lacking experience, she was smart, great with numbers and people, and a wonderful addition to any company. Plus, with my priority and recommendation, there was no doubt in my mind that my sweet girl would get the job. And if she did, that would be one less thing to worry about that could potentially pull her away from me and cause her to leave Rose Valley Hills again.