Page 38 of The Smoke Hour

ME:You’re so corny.

SMOKE:Not really. Just want to get to know you more.

ME:If you’re looking for another round of strip Truth or Dare, just say that.

SMOKE:I’m thinking I want to slow this train down. I’ve tasted you. I want to get all inside of your mentals now. Let’s take some time to connect on another level.

Fiya

2 ½ Months Later

“Thank you for your order.” I handed the customer the Kai’s Kandles magenta and gray bags.

“Thank you, Kaifiya.”

“You’re welcome. And your receipts are in the bag.”

I moved from behind the counter and went to straighten some of the products on my shelves as my customer left. I hummed happily as I prepared for closing.

I looked forward to spending time with Smoke this evening. It was busy today, and I didn’t have time to eat lunch. I knew that Tamara was right and that I should hire some help, but I still hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

As much as I wanted to close early today, I couldn’t afford to do that. I still struggled to repay Terry, and I only had three and a half months remaining to pay him. I had only been able to repay him forty-five grand thus far, and most of that had come from my savings. There was no way that I would be able to repay him the balance by the deadline.

I heard the bell tinkle over the door. I looked up, and my heart plummeted to my belly. It was as if I had conjured his ass up.

“Terry,” I greeted in the most cordial tone that I could find.

He pulled a tape measure from his pocket and measured the front counter.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

The doorbell tinkled again, and a curvy chick walked into the shop. I remembered her from his office. Devorah Jenkins, his receptionist. Before he could answer me or before I could say anything else, she teetered over to him on tiny heels.

“Terry, baby. I don’t know if this one will suffice.”

Baby? Oh, how quickly I was replaced by someone who had been underneath him all along. I knew his ass hadn’t been heartbroken over me. Not that I gave a shit about him moving on because I’d spent the last couple of months getting to know Smoke better.

But Terry had made life hell for me. Every Friday, he had these big, burly men showing up at my door, demanding payments.

It was embarrassing when customers were here, and it tormented the hell out of me. I hadn’t told anyone about it because I was afraid that it might get back to Smoke. In the last few months since we had been seeing each other, I realized that he wasn’t a joke, and I didn’t want or need drama at my place of business.

“Excuse me. What’s going on here?” I demanded.

“I think this is the perfect space for your bookstore. The space next door is up for lease, and I was thinking that I should be able to negotiate a sweet deal on that space. Knocking the wall out between the two spaces will give you the coffee shop you want to add on.”

“Terry…” I warned.

“Kaifiya, I think you remember Devorah. She’s my fiancée. We’re looking for a place for her bookstore. It’s going to be a great success.”

“My, how easily we get over heartbreak,” I replied snidely.

“Oh, he was never heartbroken, sweetheart. You were a means to an end. But my man has found other ways to get to where he needs to be,” Devorah stated as she looped her arm through Terry’s.

“So, you were fucking her all along while you were trying to convince me to have sex with you?” I asked.

“You and I were just a business deal, sweetheart,” Terry stated, mocking me with the words I had spoken a little over two months ago. “Nothing less and nothing more. After all, don’t you think that I should have gotten something out of the deal? I dropped a quarter of a million on you, and I haven’t seen a return on my investment.”

“You should have thought about that before you agreed to do it. You were trying to manipulate me, and it didn’t work out for you too well.”

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