Page 47 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

I couldn’t lie; for a minute, Rebecca gave me a run for my money. The difference is I had too much anger and hate built up inside of me that she couldn’t match. I was still raging way after she’d run out of energy and gave up. It wasn’t until I felt arms around my waist, lifting me off of her, that I realized I’d blacked out.

“All right, Lil’ Mama… you beat her ass.” Dre breathed in my ear as he held me tightly. “If you hit me in my nuts again, I’m going to make you suck them.”

Relaxing in his arms, I panted as I looked down at a whimpering and bloody Rebecca. Trying my best to get back to her, small cries from the other side of the room caught my attention.

“Oh, Briley! I’m so sorry.” I rushed over to my daughter, causing her to step back. “It’s okay, baby. Mama’s not going to hurt you, Briley Boo.”

Looking from Rebecca back to me, she ran into my arms. I held her as she cried and felt like shit for what she’d just witnessed. With her arms wrapped around my neck, she sobbed quietly. Each tear that hit my neck was another lick I wanted to give to that bitch. Hearing Rebecca groan as she rolled herself from the floor, I shielded Briley from seeing her bloody, beaten stepmother.

“You can kiss your mother goodbye because I’m calling the cops!” She huffed as if saying those few words exhausted her.

“I don’t want you to go to jail, Mommy! I don’t want to stay with her.”

Panicking, I patted my daughter’s back and watched Rebecca remove her phone from her purse. Before I could say anything, Dre had already grabbed it. “If I were you… I’d think before you did that. I mean, do you really want to involve the police?”

“Excuse me!” she shrieked as she winced in pain. “Do you not see my face?”

“I do.” Dre nodded as he lifted her chin and gave it a quick inspection. “You need to learn to bob and weave, baby. She fucked you up.”

“Hey, that’s a bad word!” Briley snapped her head and wagged her little finger at Dre. “Don’t say that.”

Dre smiled sheepishly. “You’re right, baby girl. Forgive me.”

Placing my daughter back on her feet, I told her to give the adults a few minutes and to wait in her room until I came to get her. She didn’t want to leave me, but I assured her I was okay. “If you go in the room and wait for Mommy, I’ll give you a gift when the grown-ups finish talking.”

Hearing that, she took off like a rocket to down the hallway. Rebecca said nothing as she watched the exchange through swollen eyes. Giving his attention back to her, he continued. “As I was saying… the cops are the last thing you want to involve in yourbusiness. How will your husband feel about that? A man like himself can’t afford to have any skeletons fall out of the closet, can he?”

I looked between the two of them as they communicated in a silent conversation. Slumping her shoulders, Rebecca walked over to the couch and snatched her purse before storming out the door, leaving her phone behind.

“She’s going to call the authorities—I know she is.”

I watched as he slid her phone into his pocket. “Nah, I wouldn’t worry about that. How about you go get cleaned up? I see I came at the right time because it smells good as hell in here.”

I watched as Dre made his way past me and into the kitchen. Gliding through the space, I chuckled as he looked into my pots as if he belonged there. I wasn’t in the mood to argue, so I walked down the hall for a quick shower before facing the music.

After twenty minutes of scrubbing that bitch’s blood from my hands, I redressed and went to find my daughter. Not seeing her in her room, I followed the sound of laughter into the living room. I couldn’t stop my smile at the sight of the two of them playing in the middle of the living room floor.

“Dre, are you Mommy’s boyfriend?” Briley asked innocently as she bit into her shrimp. He’d bought her a new Hello Kitty table set and had set it up for her. “She’s never had one of those before.”

“Is that right?” He chuckled as he sat in the tiny seat across from her. “What if I was her boyfriend? How would that make you feel?”

I knew I should interrupt her line of questioning, but part of me wanted to know what he had to say.

“Happy.” She smiled with seafood sauce all over her pretty face. “I want Mommy happy. She works a lot, and if she had a boyfriend, she would stay home more, and I could stay with her. The three of us could watch movies together, play games, and eat ice cream. So, you have to be her boyfriend because she likes you too.”

“Yeah?” he asked wide-eyed. I covered my mouth to hide my laughter. “She told you that?”

“No, I heard her when she was talking on the phone to my Unctie Jerome. She said?—”

“What are you two doing?” I startled them both as I entered the room. “Are y’all eating without me?”

“You may be late eating dinner, but you’re just in time for the tea.” He winked and stood. “Have a seat, and I’ll fix you something.”

Walking past him, he shocked me when he pulled me into his arms and placed a soft kiss on my lips. Too stunned to speak, we both stood and stared at each other. Clearing his throat, he let me go and nodded for me to sit down. In a daze, I did just that. So caught up, I was zoned out as my daughter bragged about how Dre was her new friend.

Today was supposed to be a chill day with my daughter, but it ended with dinner and a movie with her and Dre. As we sat on the couch, blaring the latest version of Lion King, my mind ran rampant with thoughts, but one thing stood out above others.

I was falling in love with Andre Boudreaux.

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