Page 14 of U + Me : The Finale
After my dad gave me a hug, he left out, leaving Darius and I alone.
“Well, that was awkward.”
“It was only awkward for you. Evidently, it’s more than just a coincidence that we keep running into each other. Your dad and I have been communicating for the last month and not once did I connect the dots. We never really talked about anything personal until today, all our communication had been business related only.”
“I believe you, it's just weird. You’re the last person I expected to be meeting with us today. Not once did you mention to me what you did business wise. I didn’t know you were in the trucking business.”
“You never gave me the chance to get into all of that.”
“That’s fair.”
“Trucking is big in the south and once the NFL was no longer in my reach my dad linked me with one of his homeboys thatwas looking to sell his trucking company. He had just purchased a brand-new Peter-built-It and he had a steady client base but mainly in the southern states. When I started looking into logistics companies to expand with, Kendall Logistics was one of the first ones to come up. Not only is y’all’s company very reputable, pretty successful and in my hometown, it was a no-brainer for me.”
“Well, I honestly don’t know what else to say. I just hope us working together won’t continue to feel weird cause this is crazy to me.”
“What can I do to help you not feel so uncomfortable?”
“I really don’t know if that is possible to be honest.”
“The last thing I want is to make you feel some type of way. I know you want your space and all but at least let me take you to lunch. We can talk it out and whatever you decide I will respect.”
I wanted to say no thank you, but I couldn’t turn him down. The way his tailored suit fit him perfectly along with his cologne and the look in his eyes made it hard for me to turn him down. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t really be mad at Darius. As crazy as it sounded, a whole decade had passed and every time I saw him, all of my feelings for him came flooding back. Darius was my first and only true love. Even though we were friends that ended up having sex that led to nothing, I still loved him down.
As we walked through the parking lot headed to our cars, I walked behind Darius and all I could think was I hoped that I was making the right decision. In my heart I really didn’t want to turn Darius down, I just couldn’t take getting hurt by him again. As I watched him smoothly walk over to his car, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to ride his pipe. I just had to stand my ground and really think about how far I was going to allow things to go with me and him. What I did know was if I allowed myself to have a taste of the good wood, I wouldn’t be able to think clearly.Plus, I had been using sex for the longest as a means to ignore my true feelings and I really needed to chill real bad on that.
As much as I tried to disconnect my emotions from the act of sex, the truth was, I really couldn’t, and Lord knows I had to learn that the hard way. I just didn’t understand how easy it was for men to fuck with no feelings cause truth be told, I just couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. Those PnP parties and hooking up with random men just made me realize how much of myself I was giving away and for nothing for real but to be left with a wet ass because I truly got nothing in return but a few seconds of pleasure and it wasn’t worth it. One thing about Darius, I knew he would be well worth the risk, I just needed to decide if I was capable of handling all that came with him.
KARL KENDALL
The meeting with Darius went better than expected. Not only was he a very valuable asset to our business structure but he also had a very impressive resume. After Kimmie got herself together after showing up late and spilling coffee in the conference room, it was obvious that they knew each other. Once the meeting was over and the small talk began, I was able to put one and one together to get a solid two. I remember when Kimmie first came to live with me, I took her to hang out with her friend that was graduating high school and moving away, and that friend was Darius. This was also the same Darius that protected her in my absence.
Back then, I never got the chance to meet her friend and now that I knew that person was Darius, I had major respect for him because he looked out for my daughter at a time in her life when my access to her was limited. To hear that he risked his future on the strength of protecting Kimmie from Todd made him alright in my book. When I told him that I looked forward to him becoming a part of the company I truly meant that. Darius was a go-getter and the way that he pivoted when he didn’t make it to the NFL and started a successful trucking company was beyond impressive.
He reminded me of myself from how he carried himself and how serious he took himself. A businessman knew the gravity of wasting a person’s time, including their own. It could have a negative impact on business and something that shouldn’t be tolerated or done. Knowing that he and Kimmie would be an integral part of Kendall Logistics, expanding and becoming worldwide, gave me a sense of comfort so that I could now begin to focus on my retirement amongst other things.
After the meeting and once they left, I went to my office to take care of some paperwork. I went through my emails and responded to them all as I waited for my primary care doctor to call me regarding my recent appointment. To be sixty-two, I was in pretty good health for the most part, yet for the past few months I hadn’t been feeling my best and I couldn’t pinpoint why. At first, I thought that I had come down with a virus, it seemed that ever since that horrid covid outbreak some years back that the world hadn’t fully bounced back yet including myself. I honestly didn’t think we could because different strands of covid still lingered, and all sorts of viruses have been running rampant.
I unfortunately caught covid, but thankfully I didn’t have to go into the hospital. Pamela came to my house while I was quarantined in my bedroom and nursed me back to health. Once I recovered from it, she got sick, and I took care of her just as she took care of me. Ever since that poison got into my system, I hadn’t been right sense.
The only thing that I had to eat today was a bagel with cream cheese and some coffee. Now, my stomach was growling from hunger pains as I checked my Patek to see that I had a good fifteen minutes before my scheduled video call with my doctor. Just as I was finishing up with my emails, my phone started ringing. Not really paying attention to the display on my phone, I answered the call thinking it was my doctor.
“Hey, you, just checking in on you. Have you talked to your doctor yet?” Pamela asked as soon as the line clicked.
“Hey, pretty lady, I’m sitting here waiting for him to call me now.”
“I’m up by your office. I just did a little shopping in Gurnee and worked up an appetite. Wanna meet for lunch?”
“I’d love to. My stomach touching my back and talking to me now,” I laughed, causing Pamela to laugh also. “Where you got in mind?”
“Nothing too fancy. I see they have a Texas Roadhouse by the mall now. I can go for a big juicy steak with them rolls and that butter.”
“I got something big and juicy for you.”
“Oh, is that right,” Pamela chuckled.
“You know what it is. Texas Roadhouse sounds good. My doctor calling in on my other line. Grab us a booth and I’ll meet you there shortly.”
I clicked the line disconnecting Pamela’s call and answered for my doctor before he hung up. The thing about those video calls was if you missed it, you not only had to still pay a copay, but they charged a late fee as well. Not that money was an issue, but I wasn’t someone that liked to spend it irresponsibly just because I had it.
