Jayla
This is how life is supposed to be.
My professional life was thriving, the addition of Khalid to my roster of clients paying off in a major way as more and more companies were reaching out to work with him which meant his asking price was steadily increasing. My personal life was showing major improvement, my decision to upgrade from the basic package to the premium proving itself to be worth it in more ways than one. And the best part about it all, there were no qualms about either.
I was happy.
Legitimately happy.
So happy that I wasn’t even pressed when I walked down to the lobby and saw Khalid talking to one of the younger woman assistants from my agency, a sight that would’ve easily made me suspicious with anyone else - i.e. Jason. But as expected, things with Khalid were just… different.
Even though we weren’t in any official relationship, I somehow still felt secure in where we stood for the moment, felt secure in the fact that he’d keep me in the know if things were changing, and knew our lines of communication were wide the hell open. And not only that, but he respected the hell out of me, was more honest than a shady toddler, had the patience of a saint, and was equipped with a heart of gold; all things I needed as if my doctor had prescribed it herself.
Once he saw me approaching, he stood up from behind his desk, giving the politest nod to say, “Good evening, Jayla.”
Returning his nod with a knowing smirk, I replied, “Good evening, Khalid. Shawnie.”
Shawnie gave a little wave, the flirty vibes I had peeped from afar turning a lot more professional when she said, “Hey Jayla. I was just telling Khalid he should think about bringing some of that star power to the company party in a few weeks.”
My eyes flashed back to Khalid who was clearly looking for an out from the situation according to the pleading look in his eyes; an out I had no problem giving him when I leaned into the top of his security desk to reply, “He is coming. With me.”
Even though I hadn’t formally invited Khalid to the company party, it was really a no-brainer to bring him as my plus one; especially after our conversation about doing a “little bit more” together. And if nothing else, his presence would make it easier for me to tolerate some of my associates who I did my best to avoid otherwise.
Khalid seemed legitimately surprised by the invitation, his eyebrow piqued when he asked, “Oh, word?”
“Of course. I mean, you are one of my most profitable clients. You deserve to be celebrated,” I replied with a little more emphasis than I probably should’ve been using in this setting. But I honestly couldn’t help myself, that “organic progress” finding ways to grow almost daily in the best way possible.
It was clear I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t help myself considering the way Khalid licked his lips to say, “I’ma remember that,” pairing it with a look that told me we’d be celebrating with a lot more than just the company party. And now that I was on the premium package, I was really looking forward to it, completely forgetting we had an audience until Shawnie spoke up.
“I’m… gonna get out of here. I’ll see you guys later,” she pushed out awkwardly before hustling out of the door without peeking back. And once it shut behind her, Khalid and I looked at each other and instantly busted out laughing.
“You think she’s onto us?” I asked, not really caring either way.
But it was interesting to hear Khalid answer, “Oh, most definitely. Cause before you came over here, she was talking about all the things she wanted to do to me after the company party; not that I should come. But once you staked claim with that invite, she fell back. So thank you for playing along, boss lady.”
It felt good to be helpful, but it didn’t feel good to turn all territorial over someone who wasn’t really mine. So with a sigh, I rested my elbows on his desk to admit, “I probably shouldn’t have done that. I mean, I don’t wanna interfere with you finding your true love. And Shawnie is pretty, seems nice, clearly has a good head on her…”
My compliment spree was interrupted by Khalid giving me the stalest look when he said, “Jayla, with all due respect, shut up.”
My lips snapped closed in shock before my frown settled in, prompting Khalid to come from behind the desk as he gushed, “Awww. I hurt your little feelings. Come here. Lemme make it better.”
He pulled me into a hug that I was only pretending to resist, giggling as I dodged every kiss attempt he tried to land on my face. And just when I was about ready to give in without a care in the world of who saw, I heard a familiar voice behind us say, “Jayla?”
Without needing to see his face, I knew exactly who it was who had said my name, his tone forever ingrained in my head as if we hadn’t been apart for months now. But it was because of the years we had spent together before that that I felt myself grow cold when I peeled away from Khalid to respond, “Jason. What are you doing here?”
He looked as well-groomed as he always had been, his tailored suit giving off those “stand-up guy” vibes that only annoyed the hell out of me since I knew that shit was far from the truth. But it was part of what made him who he was, the fact that he could sell that persona to anyone he got in front of; my mother included.
Even now, he was putting his best foot forward, his tone incredibly passive when he slipped his hands into the pockets of his slacks and asked, “Is there somewhere we can go and talk?”
My gut told me to say “no”, but my head was too curious to find out what could’ve possibly been important enough for him to bring his ass to town - and to my job of all places. So against my better judgment, I replied, “I was just getting ready to leave, but I suppose we can go talk in my office.”
I figured talking here was a better option than letting the man come to my apartment, or even going out in public since I wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation would end up and I didn’t want to catch a case. But I was tempted to change my mind once I saw the dirty look he gave Khalid on the low; a look that prompted Khalid to whisper near my ear, “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Jayla. I’ll get him outta here, no questions asked.”
With a hand to his bicep, I assured him, “I’m fine. Really. We’ll be right back.”
By the expression on his face, I could tell Khalid wasn’t as convinced. But he really had no choice other than to let me go, Jason following a few steps behind me as I led us out of sight towards the elevators. And of course, once it was just the two of us, Jason wasted no time breaking character to ask, “So you’re out here sleeping with hourly wage niggas now, huh?”
“Excuse me?”
The little chuckle he added only irked me even more as he stepped closer to me in the already confined space of the elevator to explain, “The guy at the front desk. I saw the way he was all hugged up on you when I came in. That’s what you’re on now?”
The chime of the elevator arriving at my company’s floor was the only thing that saved me from going straight Solange on his ass, the fresh air allowing me to keep my emotions in check when I replied, “First of all, it’s none of your business what I’m on. Second of all, he’s my client.”
Once again, he followed a few steps behind me on the way to my office, waiting until we made it inside to ask, “So you’re sleeping with a client? Come on, Jay. You’re better than that.”
Was mixing business and pleasure risky? Sure. But for him of all people to act like it was some anomaly was utterly ridiculous, only amplifying my annoyance when I asked, “Why are you here, Jason?”
His demeanor was a lot more subdued as he brought his hand to the nape of his neck and pushed out a heavy breath before he answered, “I… haven’t heard from you, and you blocked me on everything since the divorce was finalized. So I guess I just wanted to check on you. Make sure you were alright.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I quickly fired back, “I’m living, breathing, and the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. Is that the update you were looking for?”
Instead of responding, he changed the subject. “Your birthday is coming up. Any big plans for the big three-o?”
“What’s it to you?” I asked, surprised he even remembered considering the three birthdays that had passed during our time together were spent with him doing who knows what on one of his little business trips.
Just the thought made me sick, even when he acknowledged, “I know you think I was an awful husband, but I had actually booked a trip for us. For your birthday. Eleven-day tour across Europe.”
Coming from anyone else, eleven days in Europe would’ve been a dream come true, the perfect way to spend my birthday. But coming from Jason, it only made me angry since I knew there was probably more to his agenda than just celebrating my birthday; a more that I couldn’t keep myself from addressing when I asked, “Why? So you could visit some of your international bitches?”
For whatever reason, that got him riled up enough to defend, “Because I loved you, Jayla! Damn.”
I wasn’t at all moved by his admission, even when he continued, “I was… fucked up, wrapped up in the fast life, getting money and whatever women I wanted when I wanted them for the thrill of it all. But I always loved you, Jay. I still love you.”
Naturally, my blood began to boil at that, seeing right through whatever he called himself trying to do by showing up here. But I refused to give him the satisfaction of even a raised voice when I replied, “I stayed, Jason; through the bullshit, the lies, the excuses, the blatant disrespect of our vows. I held it down, played my role, did the whole dutiful wife thing because that’s what they say you’re supposed to do. And you know what? That only made you bolder; only made them bolder. There were women I had never even seen before coming up to me talking about the interior design in the home we shared, giving details on the things you did to them in the bed we shared. So, no. I’m not here for any of that, “I still love you” shit. You never loved me. You just loved the idea of me always being there for your trifling ass to walk all over.”
Like the true coward that he was, he kept his mouth shut, unable to even defend himself since he knew I was speaking nothing but the truth. But saying it out loud only made me more upset with myself for letting it all go on for so long, speaking more to myself than him when I continued, “I just can’t believe I was so caught up in who everyone wanted me to be, in who you wanted me to be, that I completely lost my sense of self. But you know what? I’m excited about the woman I’m learning now, the woman I’m becoming, and I damn sure don’t need that sad ass excuse you call “love” as validation. I’m good.”
“Jayla…” he started, but I quickly cut him off with a raised hand.
“If you don’t have any relevant news, I suggest you see yourself out before I call security who also just so happens to be the man I’m screwing on the regular.”
I knew it was petty, but it slipped out of my lips long before I even considered taking the high road. And of course, it was that that really got Jason’s attention as he shouted, “I knew it! I knew you were fuckin’ that nigga.”
With a shrug, I replied, “Sure am, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m no longer yours, Jason.”
He was visibly seething, but the facts were the facts, something he couldn’t seem to get through his head when he insisted, “We still share a last name.”
“Or do we?” I asked, cocking my head to the side with a smirk and glancing down at the new nameplate - Ms. Jayla Mitchell - that had just gotten delivered last week.
“Talk about perfect timing,” I thought as Jason started, “When did this…”
“I found time in between blocking new numbers and throwing those bullshit bouquets you sent every week in the trash,” I explained, missing the mark yet again on that whole “high road” thing. But nothing about this situation really called for being polite, or politically correct, or... Mrs. Anthony.
No, this situation called for Jason to become more acquainted with the new Ms. Mitchell; not the silly one he - and my mother - had convinced to marry him years ago.
“So that’s really it, huh?” he asked as if I hadn’t already made that clear enough; as if the papers we both signed hadn’t already made that clear enough.
But even if he wanted to play dumb, I had no problem serving him a reminder when I asked, “Umm… did you miss that whole divorce thing? Or were you too busy trying to keep up with your roster of women to even notice your wife was missing?”
He had the nerve to plaster on an arrogant smirk, shaking his head as he answered, “Nah, I didn’t miss anything. And neither has my bank account.”
Now I was the one seething.
The alimony payments my lawyer had worked in was a lot more her idea than mine, something she claimed I deserved even though I was just fine without them. And once I found out how much money Jason was really making compared to what he was showing me, I decided I deserved it too, using the money as a safety net during my transition from my last job to this one. But now that I was on more than stable ground, it made me angry to have him throw it in my face since, “You act like I need your money, Jason.”
“And you act like that’s not why you got with me in the first place. You saw the lavish lifestyle, and you wanted in. You and your thirsty ass mama,” he spat, my scowl instantly tightening at the mention of who was really his co-conspirator. The woman who was still rooting for him even after knowing what he had done, and the one who had probably encouraged this little visit.
With all of that on my mind, I really had no choice but to tell him, “Get out.”
“Jayla, I’m…”
“Get. Out,” I stated a little more firmly, this time looking him straight in the eyes to let him know I wasn’t bullshitting. It was either he leave, or he was catching a stapler to the forehead.
When he didn’t move right away, I started thinking if I wanted to leave it in its regular position or open it so it could latch right into his skin on contact. But you would’ve thought he noticed exactly when that level of crazy started brewing in my eyes the way he dipped out in a flash, the chime of the elevator the only thing that snapped me back to normal.
Or, relatively normal.
Even when I released a heavy sigh, my shoulders still felt tense, my chest still felt heavy, and my head felt especially cluttered with all the things I thought I had been able to erase from my memory. But leave it to Jason to bring it all back to the forefront in the worst way possible, causing frustrated tears to form in my eyes even in his absence.
What a jackass.
Before they could fall, the sound of Khalid’s voice coming from the doorway snatched my attention. “Hey. You good?”
Gnawing into my lip, I leaned against my desk for support as I considered his question. “Am I good? No. But did I just survive an interaction with my ex-husband? Yes.”
“Should’ve just let me beat his ass,” he insisted as he made his way further into my office, his attitude towards the situation enough to make me crack a half-hearted smile even though I knew his suggestion wasn’t a good idea.
And since the reason his suggestion wasn’t a good idea was the same thing that had set me off just a few moments before, having to explain it only annoyed me even more when I told Khalid, “Jason knows people in high places all over this country. You beating his ass would’ve done nothing but made your life a living hell, and probably cost you a lot of money.”
He wasn’t at all intimidated by that, offering a shrug as he matched my position against the desk and replied, “Well it would’ve been worth it, especially since I know my shorty would’ve just helped me make some more.”
Once again, I couldn’t help but crack a smile, even when I told him, “I’m glad you believe that strongly in my abilities, but there are no guarantees.”
“Wait. How’d you know I was talking about you?” he asked, my face instantly flushing with embarrassment for assuming. But before I could even pretend to save face, Khalid started laughing. “I’m just playin’, boss lady. Lighten up.”
I wanted to laugh it off with him, but I didn’t have it in me, plopping down in one of the office chairs instead as I admitted, “I just feel so… drained. Spent all of fifteen minutes in Jason’s presence and he still manages to suck the life out of me.”
The whole thing honestly had me wondering how I had been able to do it for the few years we were together, made me wonder just how much time I had taken off of the end of my life from spending those years filled with so much… toxicity. But before I could continue whining to Khalid about it, he said, “Hold that thought.”
In no time at all, he was out of my office, leaving me to my thoughts that were only getting darker and darker by the minute. And by the time he returned, I had written off the entire male species in my head, getting ready to take my hate out on him until I saw one of my mugs in his hands.
“Cute. But I like my coffee a very particular way,” I told him as I accepted the mug, the aroma rising to my nostrils soothing me like the smell of his cologne.
But I didn’t want to ruin the mini-high by actually tasting it, even when Khalid insisted, “Will you quit all that talkin’ and just take a sip already?”
I shot him a skeptical glare that he met with an urgent one, all but lifting it to my lips for me to drink. And once I decided it was more about the gesture than if he got the impossible right, it was easy to take at least a short sip of appreciation; a short sip that ended with me immediately taking another one since the taste was damn near perfect.
In fact, it was so close to perfect that I had to ask, “How’d you know?”
With a sheepish smirk, he replied, “I’m not really into that, “If I tell you, I gotta kill you,” shit. But if I tell you, it’s definitely coming with a price.”
His light-hearted demeanor gave me mixed emotions, wanting to appreciate everything he was doing while also being distracted by the facts of the past; the facts that haunted me to the point of speaking them out loud. “I used to make coffee every single morning, the same way every morning, and Jason never even…”
Khalid didn’t let me finish before he dropped down to a squat in front of me, setting my coffee to the side so he could grab both of my hands when he said, “I’m not Jason, shorty. Never have been, and I never will be. I thought you knew that.”
“I do. It’s just…”
Once again, he interrupted, “Then I need you to believe it, Jay. At least give me that.”
The earnest look in his eyes made it way too easy to accept his request, bringing my hands to his cheeks and my lips to his to let him know exactly that. But when that peck of a kiss turned into two, and two multiplied to my hands buried in Khalid’s hair as I assaulted his tongue with my own, all bets were off until he chuckled into my mouth, pulling away just enough to say, “Gotta save all that energy for later, baby. I’m still on the clock.”
He started to push himself up from the squatted position, but I didn’t remove my hands, keeping his face right in front of mine so I could reply, “Well, I think… now is a good time to take your first fifteen.”
My suggestion made him smirk, clearly catching my drift according to the way he bit into his lip before he said, “I haven’t been here long enough to take a break already.”
“Who’s gonna check you?” I asked, knowing good and well the rest of the security guys were ten times as lax as Khalid was, meaning none of them had the leverage to say a word. And even if they did say something, I’d be more than willing to cover for him.
Yeah, I was that desperate.
Still, no matter how desperate I was, that didn’t stop Khalid from trying to be the responsible one of the two of us when he reasoned, “I don’t have a condom on me.”
“I don’t care. I need this. I need you.”
For a moment, he went quiet, almost as if he was surprised by my response to what should’ve been a red flag. Or maybe he was just giving me a chance to take it all back. But instead of taking anything back, I only doubled down on my words as I started unbuttoning my blouse, Khalid moving to close and lock my office door the second my bra peeked through. And by the time he made it back, I was already perched on top of the desk with my skirt scrunched around my waist, waiting for him.
“Damn. It’s like that?” he asked as I lifted my hips to remove my panties, then handed them over to him with a smirk.
“In exchange for the almost perfect coffee.”
With a grin of his own, he stuffed them into his pocket as he replied, “Still not telling you my secret, but thank you, baby.” Then he slowly started to unbutton his pants, taking his dear sweet time as if we had an unlimited amount.
Knowing the circumstances called for the exact opposite, I took over, making quick work of his zipper before pushing both his boxers and work pants down just enough to get his dick out. And I suppose it was my obvious urgency that encouraged him to put some pep in his step as he yanked me to the edge of the desk and slammed into me with an easy plunge that made me shriek.
“Shhhhh…” he hissed, putting a hand over my mouth to keep me quiet as he continued to drill me with spine-tingling strokes that had me reaching for anything I could get my damn hands on - including the stapler. But now, its purpose had been totally redefined, getting pushed to the ground like everything else around us to make more room.
“You gonna be quiet?” Khalid growled into my ear, giving me steady deep strokes that made the question more and more complicated by the second. But somehow, I found it in me to nod, making Khalid move his hand from my mouth to my ass to go even deeper; the change causing me to scream again.
Just like that, his hand was back over my mouth, though the desk squeaking under the weight of our sex probably didn’t make things sound any better. But by this point, I had no cares to lend, far too focused on Khalid as he deliciously filled me to the brim over and over again.
So damn good.
He wasn’t letting up, but I already felt myself letting go, biting down into his fingers as I did my best to stay quiet under the pressure of my impending orgasm. But that only seemed to encourage him to go harder as he brought his face to the crook of my neck and took little nibbles of his own.
“Khalid, please,” I begged, my voice slightly muffled thanks to his hand. But it was clear my message was more than received when, instead of just giving me a few more strokes to make me cum, he pulled out and dropped to his knees in front of me, bringing my pussy to his face and using his tongue as a weapon against my clit to completely overwhelm every single one of my nerve endings until I saw static.
Until I felt static.
There was nothing to stop me from ending up on my back - on top of a stack of contracts, to be exact - while Khalid’s face remained buried between my thighs, landing all sorts of licks and kisses and nibbles that only made the static much more potent to the point that I was literally pleading with him to stop. But when he did, it was only so he could stand up and tell me, “We still have more time.”
More time meant more him; a thought that gave me some sort of second wind as I sat up on my elbows to find his face covered in my juices. And the sexy smirk he paired with it told me he was proud of everything he had done to me, a pride I wanted to experience myself as I slid to the edge of the desk and found my footing enough to push him into the chair I had been occupying earlier. Then I climbed onto his lap and slid down onto his dick that seemed even harder than the first time he entered me, as if eating my pussy until I came had only turned him on even more.
“Yeah, he deserves every bit of this,” I decided, kissing my flavor from his lips as I found my rhythm, his hands digging into my waist only egging me on the same way me biting his fingers had done to him earlier. And even with the metal arms of the chair imprinting my thighs, I wasn’t letting up until I heard those four magical words.
“I’m about to cum.”
It was supposed to be a warning, but I refused to stop until I felt his explosion inside of me, refused to stop until his carnal grunts subsided, wasn’t stopping until… shit, am I cumming again?
With another wave of static, my question was answered in the most pleasurable way possible as I collapsed against him, resting my forehead on his shoulder as his dick continued to flex with aftershocks. And once I finally caught my breath, I couldn’t help teasing, “I think he likes her.”
Pulling his head back to find my eyes, he challenged, “Like? Nah, my dick is definitely smitten, and for good reason. The condom did her no justice.”
“I’m not sure how I should feel about that,” I replied with a little chuckle, putting my Kegels to use as I squeezed another drop out of him that made him shudder and whisper, “Quit playin’.”
Then he spoke in a regular tone to explain, “Your pussy is bomb either way, but a nigga could definitely get used to the freedom if that’s something you’re down with. I mean, as long as we’re keeping this exclusive and you’re taking birth control on the regular and all that.”
The mention of birth control made me tense up, the subject a sensitive one since it had been the reason behind some of the biggest fights Jason and I ever had - outside of the infidelity ones, of course.
“We’re married now. Why are you still on birth control? You don’t wanna have my baby?”
Yes, we were married, and yes, I was still on birth control. Because no, I didn’t want to have his baby.
It wasn’t that I never wanted children, but I refused to bring a child into what was, by that point, already a hostile situation. And thinking back on it, it was one of the best decisions I had ever made, especially since having children involved would’ve only made the divorce a hundred times more complicated.
Either that or I might’ve felt trapped into staying even longer than I had, just the thought making me feel somber as I finally pushed out, “I… am. I have an IUD. But I don’t really want to talk about that right now because it means mentioning someone who has no business being mentioned right now.”
Thankfully, Khalid didn’t press, only replying, “Fair enough,” before he smacked me on the ass to urge, “Now go get yourself cleaned up.”
Climbing from his lap, I could already feel him oozing out of me as I replied, “You too, Mr. Security Man. You have a job to get back to.”
I found the package of flushable wipes I kept in my desk for other, less attractive emergencies, pulling a few out before tossing him the rest just as he replied, “Well I already took tomorrow night off since I have to travel, but I think you should take the day off too. So we can spend it together.”
The mention of him traveling wasn’t a surprise to me since I had booked the gig myself; an easy-money hosting gig at one of the clubs in the city. But the idea of taking off an entire day from work to spend it with him?
“I don’t know about that, Khalid.”
He was already pulling his boxers and pants back up as he reasoned, “Come on, Jay. You can’t tell me you couldn’t use the break. I mean, you been grindin’ like crazy since you been here.”
Nothing he shared was a lie, my determination to be the best in the field driving me to work almost twice as many hours as some of the others on my team. But the idea of taking a break just to stay in the same town where people could still access me felt like a waste, something I was sure to mention when I told Khalid, “If I’m going to use my PTO, it’s going to be for a real vacation. Not just to lay up all day.”
“Ever heard of self-care? And besides, it’s called a staycation. Better yet, a baecation,” he replied with a convincing grin that made me giggle as I snatched my panties from his pocket.
But instead of putting them on, I slipped them into my purse while tossing over my shoulder, “You gotta be my “bae” for it to be a baecation, Khalid.”
He was a lot closer than I realized when I stood back upright, his arms instinctively wrapping around my waist to pull me into him as he said, “Well if that’s your way of asking, the answer is an enthusiastic, “hell yeah”.”
Of course he knew I wasn’t asking, the teasing roll of my eyes making him laugh as he continued, “Seriously though, Jayla. It’s only a day.”
It’s only a day.
For whatever reason, the reminder struck me in a different way, making me really consider his offer. I mean, the fifteen minutes that had accidentally turned into thirty right now had been plenty magical. So what would a whole day feel like?
Before I could make an irrational decision, I told him, “I need to check my schedule. Make sure I don’t have any important meetings.”
I was already moving towards my desk calendar when Khalid caught me by the wrist to insist, “The only important meeting you have tomorrow is in my bedroom.”
“Silk. 1999. How old were you when that song came out?” I asked teasingly, catching his side-eye that only made me giggle even harder at my own joke. But if spending the day with him meant wearing this goofy ass smile all day long, feeling this giddy all day long, and getting as much dick as I could withstand…
Suddenly, the decision became a no-brainer.