see you soon.â
I heard Nanny B call for Jaylin, and soon after, he got on the phone.
âWhat took you so long to call?â he immediately griped. âIâve been worried sick about you. You promised me that you would call as soon as you got there.â
I ignored his comment and was so ready to tear into him. âAre you happy?â
âWhat?â
âI asked if you were happy.â
âVery.â
âThen, why did you lie to me earlier?â
âLie to you about what?â He snapped.
âAbout the travel agent, Jaylin. Before you get caught up, again, I must warn you that Mariah and I shared good conversation during our flight to St. Louis.â
âSo, she gave me her damn number. Whatâs the big deal?â
âAnd you threw it away, right?â
âI told you I did, didnât I?â
âI donât know what has gotten into you, but lying to me is unacceptable.â
âNokea!â he yelled. âHave you listened to anything Iâve said? The card is in the trashcan at the airport. Now, if you wantââ
âDonât yell at me, Jaylin! The f-ing card was in your pocket, where you left it! I already asked Nanny B to check your pocket. How in the heck can the card be in the trashcan at the airport, if itâs still in your pocket! Besides that, Mariah is not a travel agent. Sheâs a counselor and her card, that you clearly looked at, specified that. Now, Iâm asking you again . . . why did you lie to me?â He didnât say a word. âIf you donât talk to me, Iâm hanging up. You will not get another phone call from me. Iâll see you when I get back.â
âI lied because . . . I donât know. I guess I just didnât want to tell you the truth about another woman approaching me. I see how uncomfortable it makes you and I was trying to spare your feelings.â
âWell, lying to me does not spare my feelings in any way. I donât know what to say about you. If your concern was all about me, then her card would have gone into the trash like you told me it did.â
âLook, youâre right Nokea. Iâm not going to argue with you, baby, but I had no intentions to call her.â
âThatâs what your mouth says. Your true actions tell me something different. Either way, Iâm safely here. Iâll call you tomorrow. Iâm going to give you Patâs new phone number, but please do not call here constantly checking up on me. If you just happen to experience a funny feeling inside, remember, you brought those feelings upon yourself.â
âIf you gonâ put it like that, donât bother with giving me Patâs number. You know what you got at home waiting for you. If you feel as if another man can give you something better, then go for it.â
âThis has nothing to do with another man. Take responsibility for your own mess and donât go blamingââ
âDamn, Nokea! I said I was sorry. Now, I got a banging-ass headache. You act as if I fucked the bitch right there in the airport or something!â
âIâm sure if you hadnât screwed me, she might have been on your agenda. In the meantime, you need to watch your tone. Maybe youâve forgotten who youâre speaking to.â
âI know damn well who Iâm talking to. If you wouldnât be acting so stuââ
I hung up on Jaylin. Obviously, he just wasnât getting it. As always, he acted as if I had no right to question him. He was sadly mistaken if he thought I wasnât going to trip off his lying. I knew the thoughts of him would ruin my vacation, and so far, thatâs just what they were doing.
Chapter 3
Shane
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On Sunday, I was hard at work in my home office, sketching some new designs for The Mayorâs Group. Since Scorpio seemed so devastated from losing the baby, I started to spend a lot of time with her and her family. I was