Page 15 of Tap In

“Derrick, you should get into that steak. Lark, is there anything we want to say to him?” I was doing a great job at masking how pissed off I really was.

She was quiet for a moment. “Derrick, I appreciate the apology; however, I don’t feel it’s genuine. The only reason that you’re here is because it didn’t work out with Polly Pocket. Now you want to circle the block to see if there is still anything viable. As you can see, there isn’t.” She glanced at me. “I’m perfectly happy where I am.”

That made me feel good, but it didn’t take away from my anger. I stopped the waitress as she passed by and asked her to box up Lark’s food. “Derrick, we thank you for the apology, but like my love said, it wasn’t genuine. It would behoove you to not reach out to us again.”

The befuddled expression that sat on his face was comical. The waitress came back with the to-go box at the right time. I stood up, pushed my chair in, then reached for Lark’s hand. She took it, stood, then stepped to my side.

“I wish you well with your future endeavors, Derrick. Have a good night.” Lark gave him a warm smile.

We walked out of the restaurant together. Both of our Ranges were valeted, so we waited silently. When our vehicles arrived, I kissed her lips then told her that I would see her at my house. I planned to ask her to move in with me soon.

Lark got to the house before I did. When I walked in, Lark was sitting at the kitchen island with a bottle of water in front of her and one across from her. I set my messenger bag down in its rightful place and took my suit jacket off, then walked over to the kitchen island to take a seat.

“First, I want to apologize. I should have told you that he reached out to me and wanted to meet me. I shouldn’t have gone,” she blurted in one breath.

My body leaned forward onto the counter. “Lark, I want to know why you didn’t feel comfortable to come to me and tell me that he reached out. I’m not upset that you went. If that was what you needed for your closure, then that is fine. My issue is that instead of you telling me about the situation, you opted to lie. Lark, my love, I don’t like liars. My woman lying to me is an affront to my manhood because I would never do it to her.

“There is nothing that I would knowingly keep from you unless it is a surprise that will bring you love, peace, and happiness. At no time should you feel comfortable to lie to me.”

A tear rolled down her cheek. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have lied. I was just scared that you would think it was something that it wasn’t. I love you, and I didn’t want to hurt you.”

That was the first time that she told me that she loved me. It felt amazing to now know that. I wished that her feelings would have been revealed in a better situation. “I love you too, Lark. Telling me the truth will never hurt me as much as lying will. Let me ask you. Was that meeting with him what you needed for closure?”

She sat there for a beat before she responded. “Yes, yes it was. I didn’t realize that I needed the closure until he reached out. It’s like when he was out of sight, so was the hurt. Now that I’ve talked to him and gotten an apology, regardless of how disingenuous it was, I can officially say fuck you to the hurt and move forward with love and you. I hope that makes sense.”

“It makes complete sense. I’m happy that you got the closure that you needed.” I picked up my water from the counter, then walked around the island to Lark. “Give me a kiss.”

She hesitantly stood from her seat and walked into my arms. Our lips locked. When we pulled back, she stared at me. “So, what now? Are you going to be an asshole to me now?”

This is the unsure side of her that she shows in our relationship.Professional Lark was never unsure, or at least she never showed it. I noticed that her professional personality was a stark contrast to her personality within a relationship.

“What happens now is we move on. You explained how you felt and apologized. I’m not a man that lets things linger within my relationships. I only ask that you never lie to me again.” After she assured me that she wouldn’t, my ear lowered to my shoulder. “Lark, I will tell you that you have a loyal friend. Her ass lied for you on demand, and something tells me you didn’t even tell her that you were going to Derrick’s apology stop.”

She chortled. “Hey, my bullshit is her bullshit. Now I just have to tell her about my bullshit.” Her cheeks drew back, her teeth showed, and she let out a little hiss. “Matter of fact, she texted me, but I didn’t look at the text.” She grabbed her phone from the island, pressed some buttons, then gazed down at the screen. She began laughing before she handed me the phone.

Best Fren:

Look bitch! I don’t know where the fuck you at but your man just came over here looking for you. I told him you ran to get snacks. I told him I’d tell you to just go to his house. Heifer, stop at the store and get some snacks so he see you went to the store. Make sure you get stuff I like too so it’s believable. We gonna talk later about your sneaking ass.

I shook my head with a chuckle. These two were hell. See, I didn’t have to get in her ass about this because I knew Jacobia would.

* * *

A SHORT TIME LATER…

“Yo, I can’t believe Eve went out like that,” Travis said in disbelief.

We were in my office toward the end of the day. It had been a long, exhausting day. I was ready to leave the office, go home, and lie up under my baby. After what happened earlier, I sent her to the spa, then home.

Earlier today, I sent Lark out with another agent to do a shadow. A little over a month ago, my baby came to me about getting her real estate license. If I didn’t know that she was meant for me before, I knew it then. Lark would be an excellent real estate agent. I wasn’t saying that because she was my woman.

Every time that I sent out an after-close feedback form, there was always feedback about Lark which wasn’t asked for. The overall feedback was that her personality and input during showing was the pebble in the level to push them into the sale. She had a canny way of fitting the client’s family and life into the feel of the house. The agents also loved that she did it, because they got the sale and the commission. I would love to have her as an agent under me, pun intended.

I told her to use the company account to pay for her classes. One day, when my father handed the business over to me 100 percent, I would have her by my side. By that time, she would be my wife.

Today, when she shadowed Autumn on a showing, something crazy happened. Apparently, the person who requested the home showing was a friend of Eve’s. The point of the showing was to vandalize one of my company vehicles. While Autumn, Lark, and the fake client were touring the house, Eve’s stupid ass was outside vandalizing Lark’s Range. When they came outside, the fake client was so appalled that we would show her a house in an area that she described as crime ridden. She immediately pulled out her phone, got on live, and tried to slander our business.

“Yeah, moving out of emotion will get you every time. It was the quickest that I’d ever seen a plan unravel.” I shook my head at the thought of how everything played out.

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