Page 43 of Caught off Guard

Cool metaphor for a basketball player, but what REALLY happened?

Me:

Need to wrap stuff up with Geoff. It’s about doing things decently and in order.

Lena:

SISSY…in ORDER to get that more than DECENT man, drop Geoff’s trifling ass in the closest garbage can. Expeditiously. *trash emoji*

Me:

You’re right. Will keep you posted. In the car. Can’t talk.

Lena:

U got this.

As soon as I shut down my phone, I pulled out my work phone. Although I turned it off at Cairo’s, with instructions for Whitney to contact me if she needed anything, I figured therewas no use ignoring it now that I was back in the real world of big responsibilities.

Calendar invitations for the upcoming week popped up, as well as emails from my provost and several students and faculty, with complaints about everything from poor housing conditions to a lack of shared governance regarding undergraduate curricular changes. I delegated several of the tasks to my chief of staff and closed my inbox before becoming too overwhelmed by the amount of work I would have to catch up on this evening. Like a medical doctor on call, the job of a university president never stopped, even if it was Sunday afternoon.

When we turned into my driveway twenty minutes later, I groaned. Geoff’s navy-blue Lamborghini was parked outside. He leaned against it with his legs and arms crossed, looking like a corporate police officer ready to pounce on somebody for driving under the influence.

“I’ll let you out behind his car,” Mr. Wayne said, frowning as he slowly entered my small driveway. “Are you going to be okay?” he added quickly, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror, no doubt picking up on Geoff’s sullen attitude.

“Geoff throws tantrums, but he’s harmless, Mr. Wayne. You can set my bags on the walkway, and I’ll have him help me take them into the house.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Once we parked, I thanked Mr. Wayne for his service. He gave Geoff a stern look. I made sure he was on his way before Geoff entered my home, rolling my suitcase behind me.

“Whose car is that, Zora?”

Instead of responding, I moved past Geoff into my living room and sat down. He was too overbearing to leave my house until he shared whatever was on his mind. It was better to get this argument over sooner than later.

“That’s none of your business. What I want to know is why were you standing outside my home, perched like a security guard overseeing your territory? I told you I was on vacation. How long have you been here?”

He sat beside me on the couch and frowned.

“Long enough to know you were in town and didn’t stay at your home two days.”

“Are you tracking me? Why are you in my business like that?”

To my surprise, he leaned into me and smiled, resting his hand on my shoulder. With a soft touch, he caressed his thumb over the base of my neck several times, similar to how he massaged me before making love. He positioned himself so close he could kiss me. The overwhelming scent of his expensive cologne tickled my nose, but nothing about his move was sexy. Instead of shivers of desire overcoming me, I was repulsed. I backed away and held my hands up. When I grimaced and didn’t respond to his statement, he bared his glimmering white teeth.

“That’s how you’re going to treat me?” He released me with a chuckle and retrieved his phone from his pocket.

Within seconds, he held his device up and thrust a photo in my face.

“Why were you at a Torch game dressed like a hoochie last night? Were you staying at Lena’s house? Why didn’t you just say that instead of hiding from me?”

My eyes homed in on the picture that Shavonna had taken of us in the suite.

“First of all, I look darn cute in that picture. I don’t know why you don’t respect boundaries. What I did this weekend was private.” I turned my head from the photo, rolling my eyes at Geoff’s off behavior.

Over the past few months, I’d been holding my tongue too much. Today was the last straw for Geoff treating me like hischild. I was tired of being afraid of speaking my truth because of my job and the fear that I might lose it without his help.

I knocked the phone out of his hand. He lifted his hand as if he was going to hit me but stopped when I reached for my purse and popped his hand back with it.

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