All Up In My Business by Lutishia Lovely Read Free Book Online

following you. What’s going on?”
    “Bobby said he saw me.”
    “Saw you spit in sistah-girl’s food?”
    “And
put my hand in my panties.”
    Zoe took another long drink of her chilled white wine as she pondered this tidbit. “Girl, young blood is probably just trying to get
in
your panties. He’s been sniffing your behind from day one on the job.”
    “He’s trying to apply pressure … says he captured what I did on his camera phone.”
    “And you believe him?”
    “I don’t want to.”
    “Did he show you?”
    “Not yet. A large party came in and we got busy. I had to leave as soon as my shift was over to pick up the kids.”
    “So what’s he want? Some money or something?”
    “Hell no, girl. What do you think a jacked-up-looking fool like him wants?”
    Zoe smoked her cigarette as she pondered this question. She’d brought a plate home from the restaurant but hadn’t eaten, so the chardonnay had gone straight to her head. “Well, he’s a stupid fool is all I can say. He knows you don’t make much more than him. Don’t know what else he could use the pics for unless he’s trying to come up in the company. Or unless he’s … Oh, damn.”
    “Exactly. He wants a little taste of that juice I stirred in Shyla’s entrée.”
    “His ass is so hard up that he’s got to blackmail somebody for sex?”
    “Are you surprised? One look at his face and you can understand that shit. When God was handing out looks, he ran out of ‘handsome’ and just slapped a dose of ‘butt ugly’ up against Bobby’s face.”
    Zoe laughed despite the relative seriousness of the situation. “Are you going to give him some?”
    “Hell no! Have you walked close to Bobby lately? He smells like fifteen kinds of funk on a good day, and his breath is worse than a fart generated from refried beans. I’d rather kiss Uncle’s pit bull in the mouth.”
    “Ooh, Chardonnay. Why you want to lie about a man like that? True, Bobby ain’t much to look at, but he’s a hard worker. He’s always working double shifts. I even heard Mr. Livingston talking about how dedicated he is. You could do worse in a father for your kids.”
    “Oh, really? Then why don’t you give him some? I’m trying to come up with somebody like Toussaint.”
    “Toussaint? Please, you’re never going to get a man like him.”
    “Humph. You’re just saying that because you want his ass. Girl, let me get off this phone. Yak is trying to beat his sister in the head with a rib bone. Don’t tell nobody what I told you.”
    “Who am I going to tell? Bougie Shyla Martin? I might have to ask her how she liked the cabbage, though.” Zoe started laughing again.
    “Heifah, you’d better keep your mouth shut. I ain’t playing.”
    “Girl, your secret’s safe with me. I’ll holla later.”
    The conversation she’d had with Zoe stayed with Chardonnay for the rest of the evening, even while she bathed her kids and got herself ready for bed, and even as she rolled up a blunt and settled on the couch to watch another crazy episode of
Bad Girls Club
. She thought about what it would be like to sleep with Bobby. And then she thought what it would be like to ride a fine brothah like Toussaint all night long. It was a no-brainer. If she was going to delve into the company dick pool, Chardonnay decided she’d aim straight for the top.

7
    T oussaint smiled as he snuck up on his mother. He tiptoed up to the island in the center of the designer kitchen and placed a light kiss on her neck.
    Candace screamed as the Caesar salad dressing she’d been making flew off the whisk and landed everywhere. “Boy! What is wrong with you?” She took the whisk and popped Toussaint in the middle of the forehead. “Trying to give your mama a heart attack?”
    “Dang, Mama!” Toussaint said, still laughing as he walked over, calmly reached for a paper towel, and wiped the dab of salad dressing off his face. “You’re about to turn that whisk into a deadly weapon.” He