Be Bad For Me(3)

     



 

Two weeks later, they would meet again at the employee Christmas party.  It was held at a big mansion owned by one of the managers. She hadn't  even noticed him until he sauntered over while she was talking and  laughing with three other girls and interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, Priscilla. Denise. How you been, Amanda?" He knew all of their  names. When he turned to her and said, "What's up, Annette?", she was  surprised. How did he know her name? She didn't know him like that.

"Anthony! How you been?" Amanda stepped forward and moved closer to  Anthony. The look in her eyes told everyone that she was into Anthony.

"You know me … workin' … gettin' money … havin' fun."

"You been havin' anymore private parties at the club, lately?"

"Yeah. There's one this weekend at Club Scarlet. You comin' out there?"

"If you want me to … " Amanda's tone was suggestive.

"Here you go … " Anthony had reached in his back pocket and pulled out a  few flyers and handed one to each of them. When she reached up to take  her flyer, Anthony held it tight and didn't let go. "Don't take it if  you ain't comin', Annette, a'ight?"

"How do you know my name?"

"Don't worry about that, homegirl. Can we talk for a second?" He had  smiled at her, showing his perfect set of white teeth and lips that  looked so soft she wanted to test them out.

"Go ‘head," she said, finally pulling the flyer from his hands. She  looked up at him, her head tilted, waiting on him to say something. When  he didn't say anything, she looked down at the flyer announcing a  private party in the VIP section at Club Scarlet hosted by Anthony and  Leroy.

"Can we talk out there?" he said, gesturing towards an area outside on the deck.

She pretended to be thinking about whether to say yes or no. Anthony had  an irresistible charm about him that she didn't need to think about  anything. She wanted to say yes from the get-go.

"All right." She shrugged her shoulders, nonchalantly. She waved her  hands to excuse herself from the girls and Anthony followed her outside  on the deck.

They had talked so long outside on the deck that they were among the  last people to leave the party. Finally, he had walked her out to her  BMW and they leaned on the trunk of her car and talked for at least  another hour. When she noticed that it was past her bedtime, she had  politely excused herself.

"I could talk to you all night, Shorty," he had said.

"Don't call me a shorty," she had warned him. She was smiling, but yet  still was serious. She hated when men referred to all women as a shorty.

"I apologize. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"I don't know … Can you?"

"You're a little tease, aren't you?" He pulled out his phone. "You gonna give me your number, or not?"

"Well, it looks like you so sure that you going to get my number. You got your phone ready and everything," she teased.

"So, you not gonna give me your number? You been talkin' to me forever. So, you're sayin' you don't want to talk to me no more."

"You found out my name on your own, so maybe you can find out my phone number, too."

"I can," he teased. "But, I would rather get it from you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. But, that's not gonna happen, cause you gonna give me your number tonight."

"Why should I give you my number?"

"Because I'm gonna take you out tomorrow night." He was smiling at her  and moved from beside her to in front of her. She was between the trunk  of her car and his body.

"Is that so?" She wanted to reach out and touch his chest and the diamonds on his chain.

"Yeah. I'll pick you up at six, but first I need your number."

"I had plans tomorrow night. I--"

"Well, break them."

"I don't know … I'm not convinced enough that I want to break my plans to see you again. I might be … disappointed."

"Disappointed?" It came out of his mouth as half laughter, half  question. He moved in closer to her and she could feel the warmth of his  body against the cold chill of the winter night. He had been so close  that he was looking down at her, his lips only inches from hers. "Can I  kiss you?" His whisper was soft, his voice sexy.

She felt herself nodding her head, lightly, and before she knew it, his  lips met hers in a sensual kiss. His body felt so good up against hers  as he enveloped her in his arms. At that moment, she became hooked and  had been hooked ever since.         

     



 

Now, as she sat in the booth seat waiting for Anthony to return from the  restrooms, she just couldn't imagine life without Anthony. She had  hinted to Anthony several times she wanted to move to the next level.  Anthony seemed comfortable right where he was. He had been dating her  for two years and showering her with gifts, jewelry, money, anything,  but still thought of her as his homegirl. However, he had made it clear  to any man that stepped to her that she was his. Anthony came back at  that moment and sat back down next to her.

"Are you still going to move out of your dad's guesthouse?" she asked.

Anthony had moved back into his dad's guesthouse after he graduated  college and left the college campus. He still paid monthly rent to his  dad for the use of the space. Every time she visited Anthony there, his  crib reminded her of an efficiency apartment, only it was a lot bigger  and the only bedroom and bathroom was on the second level, almost like a  loft.

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

"Are you looking anywhere right now?" When Anthony had first mentioned  that he wanted to move out of his dad's house, she had asked him if he  considered living with her. She knew that old-fashioned her aunt would  be against "shacking up", but at this point in their relationship, she  felt that it really didn't even matter. They spent the night over at  each other's house whenever they could and after giving Anthony two  years of her life, she really didn't see breaking up. As far as she was  concerned, she was in this relationship for the long run. His reply back  then was, "I might."

"Well, you know Leroy's lease is almost up with his roommate, so we might go half on a condo or something like that."

She tried to hide her disappointment. She wasn't surprised that Anthony  would want to move in with his best friend since high school over her,  his girlfriend of two years.

"Well, you know my lease is month to month so I can get out anytime," she said.

The waitress brought their drinks and appetizers to the table and asked  them for their entrée orders. She decided to dismiss the subject, but  made a point to address the issue again. It was time that she told  Anthony what was on her mind.





Chapter 3





Annette, Bianca, and Denise were sitting outside on the patio at a deli  located across the street from the hair dresser's shop and nail salon  that they had just pampered themselves at getting their hair done,  manicures, and pedicures.

Annette met Denise Brown at the radio station where she interned at  during college. Denise worked at the radio station full time as an  accountant. She and Denise were never as close as she and Bianca, but  they always kept in touch and went out to lunch at least once every blue  moon.

"Annette, I forgot to tell you the other day that they have an opening  in our department for staff accountant. I can put in a good word for you  with my manager," Denise said, squeezing a packet of ranch dressing  over her salad.

"Denise, you know that I left there the first time because I didn't get  along with Ted. I just can't see myself working there again."

Annette had quit her internship when she and the office manager, Ted,  got into it about how she did her work. Ted had a very military-like  management style that she couldn't identify with. So, when he started  constantly making a fuss about her taking fifteen-and-a-half minute  breaks instead of fifteen-minute breaks and going to his superiors about  how she was always out of place by pointing out all the errors that he  was making in his reports, she politely resigned. Ted wanted everyone to  be perfect, but he was far from it.

"Ted doesn't work in that area anymore. We have a new manager and she's a lot nicer."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm on with a temporary agency doing accounting  and bookkeeping here and there. They really like my work, so every time  an assignment comes up, they usually include me on the first to call  list," she said, stirring the ice around in her glass of peach raspberry  iced tea. "Besides, I like working on contract. Most of the work is  temp to perm, so I can almost test out the company every time before I  decide that I want to apply for a full time job there or not."

"That could be a good thing for you," Denise replied.

"What about that job you were on last week," Bianca asked. "I thought  you said they offered you a full time position in their accounting  department."