“I just made up my mind fifteen minutes ago. Why? You want me to leave?” she said, pushing her plate away and moving away from the table.

“Calm down, ma. You’re always overreacting. I’m glad you’re back,” Trent said, kissing her on the forehead.

“Can you get my bags out the car?” Kendra asked with a mouthful of food. “Baby, you did your thing.”


*****

After dinner, they talked a bit. “I’m taking some time off from school. Instead of graduating this summer, I’ll graduate next spring,” Kendra informed Trent.

Trent sat back and listened. He was thankful to have his wifey back in his life.

“Baby, I just want to say that I apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing you pain,” Trent said, looking deeply in her eyes.

Kendra’s eyes drifted away. She didn’t want to reveal the pain that was still inside of her. “Babe, I accept your apology. I just want to move forward and stop dwelling on the past. Can we do that?” Kendra asked.

Trent nodded his head in agreement as they kissed again. With everything back on track, Trent stayed in the house the majority of the time. Kendra thought he was showing a new side of himself. Truth of the matter, Trent was keeping a low profile. He wasn’t ready to catch a case, so he left the hustling to his protégé Marquise, while he and Marcos stayed at the trap house. Trent was cool with how the situation had turned out. It just gave him more time to be at home and more time to stay in trouble with Nicole. Now that Kendra was back, Trent planned to keep dwelling in his love triangle.

Since she had not been at work in over a month, Kendra had a lot of catching up to do on her first day back. She was swamped with messages and files. Within her first hour, she was in need of a break, and she needed one fast. The secretary buzzed through the intercom and said, “Ms. LaSalle, you have a call on line two, and Mrs. Harrison asked to see you.”

“Thank you, Morgan. You can transfer the call through,” Kendra answered.

When she picked up the phone, the caller asked, “Hey, baby girl. Are you available to meet me for lunch?”

Kendra was stunned as she spoke in the receiver. “Wiz, is that you? How do you know where I work?”

“I told you. I’m a man who gets what he wants, so how about lunch?” Wiz asked again.

Kendra agreed to meet up with Wiz only because she was curious to know just how much he knew about her. A part of her thought he was a stalker, but the thrill made it just that more exciting. She watched the clock carefully on the wall. “Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes,” Kendra kept saying to herself until it was her lunch time. Kendra looked in the mirror and did a once over, making sure no strand of her hair was out of place. As she exited the office, she decided to walk instead of drive. She didn’t want to get caught up in lunch hour traffic.

Kendra’s heart skipped a beat the moment she saw Wiz standing there, looking good. He wore a Yankee fitted hat, a Polo sweater with Evisu Jeans, and Gucci shoes with a belt to match. Wiz gestured for Kendra to join him in line while he ordered a venti caramel macchiato without the whip cream.

“And the lady will have a grande frozen green tea,” Wiz told the cashier.

He paid for their drinks. Once they took their seats in the back, Kendra cut right to the chase.

“You seem to know a lot about me. You have peaked my curiosity!” she said.

Wiz cleared his throat and said, “Well, I did my homework on you, Miss Kendra. When I see something I want, I usually get it.”

Kendra laughed. Then, seductively, she asked, “And what makes you so sure that I’mma be yours?”

Wiz relaxed a bit more in his seat and answered, “Well, for starters, you wouldn’t be here having lunch with me if you weren’t a little interested. You need to leave that little boy alone and deal with a real man. He’s not going to be around forever. Trust!”

Wiz was pretty sure that Kendra was going to be his. He just wished he could have met her under different circumstances. Wiz had a vendetta against Trent, and what better way to get back at him than through his wifey.

Kendra smiled. Then, she politely said, “Well, Wiz. My lunch is almost over, and I walked over here. Don’t mean to be rude, but I have to hustle back.”

When she rose from her seat, Wiz stood up and said, “I’ll walk you back to your office.”

Kendra smiled, “Sure. Why not? Thank you.”

They walked hand in hand and chatted until they reached her office. Wiz snuck a kiss in, which caught Kendra by surprise. She pulled away quickly and asked, “Nigga, have you lost your damn mind?”

“Please accept my apology,” Wiz said, as he pulled a Tiffany bag from his pocket and handed it to Kendra.

Kendra smiled. Something about him made her want to give him a chance. She accepted the gift.

“Apology accepted. Just don’t let it happen again. Thank you once again, Wiz. I’ll call you in twenty minutes,” Kendra said, giggling and giving Wiz a hug.

He whispered in her ear, “You know you’re gonna be mines.”

He kissed Kendra on the cheek. When Kendra returned to her desk, her boss informed her that she would be leaving early because she had to be in family court. Kendra used that opportunity to relax. She was happy she didn’t have to go out in the field. It was Friday, and the majority of the caseworkers were already gone for the day. Kendra called her sister and gave her a brief update. No matter what, Kendra always looked to her sister for advice. Her conversation with Nia lasted until it was time for her to go home. As she ended her day and drove home, all she could think about was Wiz. She was even more attracted to this mystery man. She planned on seeing him again. Fuck! If Trent can fuck other bitches, then I can go out with Wiz. Hell! I may just give him some, she thought.

When she glanced at the Tiffany bag sitting on the passenger’s seat, another smiled spread across her face. She parked the car in front of the house. Before she could completely step out the car, Wiz was calling her cell phone.

“Hey, beautiful! I know this is short notice, but I was wondering if we could meet by the Ladera Center?” Wiz asked.

Kendra huffed in the phone and said, “Right now? Wiz, I just got home from work. I haven’t even stepped a foot in the house yet, and remember I do live with a man that I haven’t seen all day,” Kendra said, making a statement.

Wiz just wanted to make sure to get Kendra as far away from the house as fast as possible. One of his boys had contacted Wiz and told him that Trent was en route to his home. The idea was, as soon as Trent stuck his key in the door, they would tie him up and rob him.

“If you don’t mind, you can meet me at my house. That way, you can relax, chill, and watch a movie,” Wiz said.

Kendra couldn’t ignore Wiz’s tempting request. Besides, she figured she owed him more than that, so Kendra gave in.

“Okay. Just tell me how to get there. I’m on my way,” Kendra said excitedly.

Wiz gave Kendra his address, and, as promised, Kendra was there in twenty minutes flat.

Wiz met her at the door, holding a bottle of wine.

“Welcome to my humble abode. I’ll be your server Mr. Belvedere,” Wiz joked.

They shared a laugh. Wiz guided Kendra through his home. “I hope you’re hungry because I slaved over the phone and ordered a lot of food,” he said.

“Mmm. It smells delicious. What are we having?” Kendra inquired, licking her lips.

“Glad you asked. We’re having a feast, straight from Italy- spaghetti and chunky meat lasagna with all the right herbs, chicken Alfredo, salad, bruschetta and your choice of red or white wine,” Wiz said, looking at Kendra and smiling.

“Oh, wow! I don’t think I’ll be able to eat that much. I’ll just have a sample of all you have.”

Kendra was very modest because she most definitely didn’t want to pig out and scare the man.


*****

Trent drove around his neighborhood for more than a hour. He wasn’t sure, but he could have sworn that a souped up Monte Carlo was following him. Trent had it in his mind that he would play a game of cat and mouse, and he knew for damn sure he wasn’t going to be the mouse. Trent made a quick left turn on National and another left on Robertson. Every turn Trent made, the MC made as well. Trent was going over eighty miles an hour. Instead of turning on Cadillac, he smashed to Guthrie, making a right at Corning Street. Trent hit the lights, pulled behind an apartment building, and waited for the MC to pass. He, then, reached under his seat and grabbed his.357. He sat it on his lap with his finger on the trigger. As soon as the Monte Carlo drove past, Trent waited for a couple minutes. Then, he pulled out of the alley, making sure he kept a short distance. When he was sure that they knew he was following them, he took his gun, aimed, and started shooting. He blew the back tires out, and he shot again. This time, the bullet shattered the back window and grazed the driver’s head, causing the driver of the MC to crash. Trent drove past the car to see if he could recognize any of the assailants, but the only thing he could see was the color black. Trent knew it was just a matter of seconds before the ghetto bird came lurking, and he knew that whoever was chasing him wasn’t going to say anything. Since he knew everyone in the neighborhood, he didn’t have to worry. They damn well wasn’t going to talk. Trent wasn’t sure what the assailants wanted. He figured that they must’ve wanted money and knew where he lived, so, instead of going home or to his mom’s house, he drove to Nicole’s, thinking no one would think to find him there. Trent tried calling Kendra, but she wasn’t answering, so he sent her a text message, giving her instructions not to return home and saying that he would explain later.