Page 71 of The Aries Alliance
As we did every Friday, War and I ate lunch in the small conference room of our Aries Alliance headquarters. Without shame, I took in his muscular form.
“This is a lot different from that first day in my office, huh?” He lifted a forkful of homemade chicken salad to his mouth and chewed.
I finished my bite of Caesar salad and smiled.
“It is. If you’ve taught me nothing else, I know for sure that you can never judge a book by its cover.”
“I couldn’t have done this without you. Scar. You’re the glue that pulled this, and us, together. So many people are blessed by you every day. Thank you for being obedient to your call.”
“If I’m the glue, you’re the one who offered the pieces that need to be held together. We’re a perfect team. In and out of the bedroom.” I wagged my eyebrows.
War looked at his watch.
“We have fifteen more minutes before lunchtime’s over, so how’d you like for me to show you how perfect we are?”
As had also become our habit, we ended our Friday business meetings with a quick romp in our new space. There was something about that fire and irreverence that kept me on my toes and reminded me never to get caught up in the status quo.
I pulled an extra-large condom out of my purse as War drew the shades and locked the door. As we undressed and gave each other quick kisses, I smiled.
I never thought I’d find a partner who accepted everything about me that others said was too fiery or arrogant. In my weakness, War pulled out exactly what I needed to thrive, not merely survive. For that, I was grateful.
Eleven MonthsLater
Things moved quickly for Scarlett and me after we launched The Aries Alliance. Once Cairo Kinney attached his billionaire brand to our work, people around the country contacted us to revamp how they did business. Although diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts were killed by the U.S. government, companies everywhere turned to us once employees started following our blueprint for exposing corrupt organizations.
To celebrate the growth of our business, Scarlett and I planned a joint fortieth birthday party at the exclusive Ember Falls Rooftop Hotel. Val, Tiffany, our parents, clients, and those who joined us on our quest for justice, feasted on foods from Black-owned restaurants in the city along with a bottomlessbar that had several people tipsy and grooving to an old-school playlist like they were at an Earth, Wind, and Fire concert.
Since Scarlett was the social butterfly of the night, I barely had time to embrace her in a sequined red dress that made her look like an R-rated Little Red Riding Hood. When she stepped away from a small group of former employees, I pulled her by the hand into a storage room at the back of the venue and turned on the light before closing the door.
I pressed her body into a stack of boxes and placed my hands behind her neck.
“Hey, baby,” I spoke against her jaw as she leaned back and arched her back.
She grabbed my waist and pulled me into her.
“Hey, back.”
“Since you were the belle of the ball, I needed to snatch you away for a minute.”
Scarlett pressed her hand into my chest and shook her head.
“You’re so demanding.”
“And ready to have you to myself.”
“We can’t leave our guests. They’re here to celebrate us.”
“Maybe this will change your mind. Happy birthday, Scarlett.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a long jewelry box.
Scarlett shook her head.
“I thought we said no expensive gifts. All I got you was a sports coat.”
I shook my head and peered at Scarlett, who pulled the charm bracelet from the box and held it to the light. After I fastened it on her delicate wrist, she examined and lifted each charm.
“Fire, justice, a peace sign, the Aries zodiac sign, and . . .” She squinted and flipped the smallest charm around. “What is that?”
“Look closer.”
