I looked with dissatisfaction through the glass window of my office to the view of the city beyond as that seemed to be the only thing that thrilled me in my office and my casino as well.With my back turned on my desk and my gaze facing the view outside, I let go of all my worries for those few couple of moments. I knew that I would be caught up in the worries again as soon as I turned back to face that desk. But somehow, I drew comfort from the fact I had made contact with Randy, Tamika's ex, and that he was willing to work with me on the undertaking that I had suggested to him. That gave me just the slight ray of hope that I had been looking out for.I wasn't sure what it was, but I was sure that there was something wrong with the sudden elopement between my younger brother and the famous Tamika Fisher.He had it all— the looks, the money, the status, the charisma. But then, I was sure that those weren't enough to get him a woman as wonderful as Tamika Fisher was. To make it all e
“Seems like this is the best year yet,” Aaron said, as he walked up to me from behind and kissed me on the neck before reaching for the cookie jar in the cupboard above. “What makes you think that?” I asked looking back at him, as he mouthed a cookie. “Hey, easy on that. You're trying to watch your weight, you know.”“Yeah… I know,” he said, almost sounding like the cocky twenty-year-old hotshot I had fallen in love with, nearly a quarter century ago. “I'm just going to have a couple of bites and that would be it.”“Ugh…” I couldn't stand him munching on those extra calories as it made me feel guilty. “Well, Dolph is about to get married, and I'm happy for him.” Aaron smiled as he gave his unrelated excuse, which had me thinking.“That's why you want to gain a few calories, huh?” I asked as I recalled my last meeting with Tamika. It had been a few days since we had met, and I recalled seeing a slot of her trends online. “Of course,” Aaron said, as he shut the jar. “I have never bee
With Robert came thoughts of my past which I had desperately wanted to get rid of. I noticed that his smile slowly faded when he spotted me standing beside Dolph. He was probably feeling as awkward as I was. “Hello, Dolph,” he said, as he put his smile back on and shook hands with Dolph. “Such a pleasure to see you here, with your…”“Here's Tamika,” Dolph said introducing us both, as I hoped Robert wasn't going to make things awkward by telling him that we already knew each other. “Tamika, here's Robert. The brain behind the team that's going to make you famous again.”“Oh… nice to meet you, Randy,” I wasn't new to putting up acts, and that made it much easier for me to act calm in those few awkward moments of pretending not to know the man who had dated my sister but had wanted me instead.It was all a weird story, and I hated the fact that I could recall every detail of it perfectly. It all began with him coming over to our house one day. “Hello,” he had said, with those eyes that
Dolph suddenly walked in when I was about to give the harshest reply to Robert, whose very presence was getting on my nerves with each passing moment. It felt like the air was just stiffened with him around me. But then, I was soon distracted by the seemingly troubled look on Dolph's face. Normally, I wouldn't give a hoot, but at that point, anything would do if it could get my mind off of Robert. “Dolph… are you all right?” I asked, as the loving and caring wife-to-be that I was trying to portray at every slight provocation. It seemed like he had received some sort of bad news from the phone call. “I'm sorry, but I've got to run. Something important came up at work and I got to handle it right now.” Dolph sounded like his mind was already made up. “I guess I would have to leave you to Robert, so you could both finalize plans of what you want to do.”“What…? No…” I said, in abject refusal, almost sounding rude and rebellious. Immediately, I regained my composure and continued in a
“What the heck are you doing here?”It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I was staring at Tamika's annoying ex, who just didn't know when to quit. But then, I didn't have a problem with that. I was only concerned with what he had come to Dale's office for.“If it's not the trending Dolph Martin, who else would it be?” Randy asked rhetorically, as he was staring me in the eyes. He almost seemed like he was consciously fighting the feeling of intimidation around me. “Well, I also happen to be the one your girl left you for. And fortunately, I can now see why. It's unbearable standing around you. But unfortunately, I have to stand and ask what exactly you are doing here.” I loved the reaction I was evoking from him. “Sadly, you're not in charge here. You can't call the shots here…” Randy was even more annoying in person than I had expected. It had me wondering where Tamika had put her so-called high taste when she had fallen for this fool. I didn't know why I just co
It had been quite a day of drudgery as I had never been so glad to be back in Dolph's home which I had never thought I would ever get used to. That day was an exception, as I had been left alone in the terrible predicament of being all alone with Robert. “Ugh…” I said, as I just couldn't come to terms with the fact that I had spent that much time with Robert in the same room. It was quite one of those uncomfortable moments which one would like to forget in a hurry I made for Dolph's wine cellar, as I hoped to drown out my thoughts in a good drink. But then, I had a second thought about anything alcoholic as that had been what got me into my current predicament in the first place. With that in mind, I slowly took my hand away from the cold sweating bottle of Chardonnay. But on a third thought, I just needed to get Robert out of my mind as soon as I could. That was the best I could do for myself at that point.“Come here, baby…” I said as I took out the bottle, and stared at it one l
I was frozen still and stiff like a mannequin as his lips were now on mine. They wreaked of liquor, but also passion as well. It was a moment worth capturing on camera, as it almost felt like he was being controlled by some unseen force.“Dolph…” I muttered, as he slowly pulled his face away from mine like he had just had a taste of something sumptuous and wasn't ready to let go anytime soon. “What are you…”I immediately lost my appetite for the drink, as that moment alone had made it nearly impossible for me to breathe, let alone have another sip. It all happened too rapidly for me to be able to keep track of it. That moment felt more like time had stopped and just restarted in the twinkle of an eye. I turned to see him, still with that disturbed look in his eyes. I put down the drink on the table as I turned to face him and possibly calm him down.“Dolph, please… calm down,” I said drawing closer to him without knowing that I was soon going to regret ever engaging in that particul
“Are you all right, Dolph?” My mother questioned as she and Tamika tried to get me back on my feet. Their hands came on my body in search of any possible injuries.I was a bit groggy while trying to get up, and that was quite a way to start my day. All thanks to my meeting with my annoyingly villainous older brother on the evening of the previous day, I was about to mess up the present day. After my encounter with him in his office, I felt quite defeated by the way he had me trapped by the way he had me by code of the Martin family which said that siblings were never meant to sue each other in court over anything. I had been so devastated to know that my older brother was going to be exploiting my funds without me being able to do anything about it, all because of that crappy agreement that my father had gotten us all to sign. The devastation had led to me going to one of my hotels and getting drunk, even though I knew how badly I acted when I was intoxicated. It was at that moment