Page 121 of Smoke

Forgetting all about my employees, I went to him, throwing my arms around his neck. Of course, I had to jump a little to achieve that. He’d caught me with one arm and lifted me in the air. Immediately, I planted a kiss on his lips.

He chuckled. “I take it you missed me, mama?”

“Very much.”

“I missed you too.” He placed me on my feet and handed me the flowers. When he looked up, he was met with the smirk filled crowd that made up my staff. “What’s up, y’all?” He spoke.

Various greetings went up around the room.

“I’m glad to see the building is still standing, and you all seem to be in good health. Since y’all kept your word and made sure my baby’s shop stayed afloat, I guess I should make good on my promise.”

He placed the bag on my desk and opened it. Inside were several thick envelopes, I assumed filled with cash. He motioned the crew over and disbursed them. Most of them looked shocked to see that he’d really given them the money.

“It’s a little something extra in there for each of y’all. I appreciate you keeping my lady stress free so she could recover and mother our girls. Now, I’ma need y’all to get out of here ‘cause I’ve been away for three days, and I need?—”

I covered his mouth, causing everybody to laugh. “Thank you all for the warm welcome. It’s time to open the doors, though.”

Danielle smirked. “I’m sure the doors ain’t the only thing about to open, boss lady.”

Behind my hand, Devin nodded his head.

“Bye, y’all,” I said, waving them out. “Oh, and somebody is cleaning up all this confetti paper later!” I called after them as they filed out of the room.

When the last person was on the other side of the door, I locked it. Devin scooped me up in his arms and set me on my desk. Plucking the flowers from my hands, he set them on the desk and crashed his lips into mine. We kissed heavily for a solid three minutes before he pulled back, leaving me hot and horny. Since having my first real taste of him, I craved him even more.

“How are my girls?” he asked.

“They’re good. Korri asked about you this morning.”

“I’ma head over there and have lunch with her.”

I smiled at that. We talked it over, and I added him to her approved visitor and pickup list. He’d made it clear time and time again where he stood in both girls’ lives and that he would alleviate the pressures of being a single mother wherever he could.

“I’m sure she will like that. How was your trip?”

“Well, I wasn’t there for pleasure purposes. Just know we handled business. You been good the last three days? Anything I need to know?”

“Nope. I told you, all is well.”

“Good. I’m going to see baby girl when I leave here, but I needed to lay eyes on you…” His fingers crept under my scrub top as he leaned in and kissed my neck. “Hands on you too.”

I giggled as he nipped at my earlobe. “Devin! They’re gonna hear us.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Take this shit off.” He pulled the top over my head and tossed it aside. “How long before your first client?”

“It’s Shar, and she comes in at eleven.”

“Good. That’s plenty of time.”

He pulled me from the table and placed me on my feet before turning me around and bending me over my desk. The hard slap to my ass as he pulled my bottoms down caused me to moan.

Behind me, he chuckled. “Spread them legs and show daddy how much you missed him.”

Since my nextappointment after Shar wasn’t until two, I decided to take her up on her offer to have lunch. We met Salima, Jaeda, and Mia at a bar and grill not too far from the shop. Settled into our booth, we ordered drinks and appetizers while we looked over the menu.

Salima clapped her hands. “Before we get too deep in conversation… I just wanted to share some news with you guys.”

We all looked at her, waiting for her to spill the beans.

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