Flippin' the Hustle Page 18

  “Um . . . Is this . . . um, Robert?” a familiar female voice asked in a nervous voice.

  “Yeah. This is he. Who is this?” he retorted.

  “Uh . . . this is . . . Melissa,” she stammered.

  “Oh! What up, Melissa! Is everything cool?” RJ asked, sounding concerned.

  “Yeah. Everything is fine. I just uh . . . wanted to um talk to you about something.”

  Instantly becoming apprehensive, RJ said, “Oh yeah. Well, go ahead and talk then.”

  “I . . . uh really wanted to see you in person.”

  Raising his eyebrows in astonishment, he said, “Oh, okay. But I’m not in the area right now. But if you’d like to meet me somewhere in an hour or so, I’ll be there.” RJ knew that his offer held an extremely important underlying answer. If she denied his offer, she was probably attempting some type of set up for her man. However, if Melissa accepted, she was ready to act on the attraction that he knew she harbored for him.

  “Well, Tierra is with my mom, so . . .” was all RJ needed to hear before his expression became a devious smile.

  * * * * *

  Derrick eyed the spectacle before him, allowing it to play itself out. Bop stood in the apartment doorway of the woman he knew as Tonya, frantically waving his arms, while she stood poised, eyeing him unenthused.

  Derrick couldn’t make out what the pair were discussing, yet it looked to be a lover’s quarrel.

  Deciding to make things a bit more complex, he picked up his cell phone and dialed Tonya’s phone number. Derrick slid down in the car seat as she slammed the door in Bop’s face.

  Almost simultaneously, she snatched the phone up. “Hello?”

  “Yeah, is this Tonya?”

  “Um . . . yes, this is she. Who is this?” she asked.

  “Oh, hi Tonya. This is Derrick. I’m sorry to bother you at home, but I’m having a problem balancing these books and I was um . . . wondering if—”

  She blurted, “I’d be glad to help you. Are you at the dealership?”

  “Yeah, I’m here,” Derrick lied, eyeing a visibly disgruntled Bop.

  “Well, just give me a few minutes to get myself together and I’ll be there.

  “Thanks Tonya, I don’t know where I’d be without you,” Derrick said, and then hung up. Keeping his eyes on her door, he wasn’t surprised when it abruptly reopened. After a brief interaction between the pair, Bop dropped his head and walked away.

  * * * * *

  RJ pulled into TGI Friday’s parking lot, eyeing the restaurant’s patrons closely. Although Melissa’s summoning sounded sincere, he still felt the need to be extra careful. Once he felt that the coast was clear, he parked his truck and entered the establishment. Stepping inside the festive atmosphere, he looked around in search of her.

  “Robert!” Over here!” she yelled from a booth close to the bar.

  Smoothly, RJ glided in her direction, garnering the attention of every female in sight. Sporting a bright leather coat trimmed in red mink and a pair of Red Monkey jeans.

  RJ stood over a visibly beaming Melissa. “So what’s up with you?” he asked.

  “Damn, Robert! Aren’t you at least going to sit down? My God! At least have a drink!” she huffed playfully.

  He slid into the booth and motioned for the waitress. Then he cast a grin in Melissa’s direction. He knew from the vulnerable look etched into her face that he could easily manipulate her.

  * * * * *

  After watching his former boss leave his current employee’s residence, Derrick rushed back to his car lot and waited for Tonya to arrive. While he fabricated some accounting problem, his mind raced furiously as he figured out which direction to take. He had abruptly converted back into his investigative self, using the tools of the agency to investigate someone from the agency.

  As he stared at the computer screen, he knew it was only one way to conquer women. Sex.

  On cue, he heard her CLK pull into the lot and shut off. Seconds later, she entered the establishment.

  “Hello! Derrick, are you here!” she yelled out.

  “Yeah, I’m in here!” Derrick announced behind the partially cracked door.

  Tonya entered the office wearing a pink J. Lo velour set that accentuated her every curve.

  Derrick sat behind his large red oak wood and eyed her voluptuous frame as if seeing her for the first time. In fact he was. No longer was he Derrick. At that moment he was officially back in character.

  “So you ready to handle this little problem that I’ve got?” he asked, full of sexual overtones.

  * * * * *

  RJ sat on the small couch inside a suite in the Hilton Hotel, eyeing Melissa.

  Swaying her body toward him, dressed in a skimpy pair of lace panties and matching bra, Melissa was the epitome of sex appeal.

  RJ could hardly believe the aggressiveness that she had displayed after only a few drinks. Although he knew that she harbored a childhood crush for him, her disclosure of the kinky things she wanted to do to him left him befuddled.

  Methodically moving toward him, Melissa dropped down to her knees and began to crawl animal-like in his direction. Once she was upon him, she looked up into his eyes and seductively licked her lips. Reaching between his legs, she grasped his growing member and stroked him. Skillfully, she slid her other hand to his testicles and fondled them.

  As soon as her hand made contact with RJ’s skin, he gasped, “Oh shit!”

  “Damn Robert, you big as shit. I don’t think I can take all of this.” Releasing his manhood from its confines, she ran her tongue from its base to the head. Once she’d reached the head, she placed it in her mouth.

  “Oh fuck! Shit! Got damn, girl!”

  In response, Melissa attempted to put as much of him into her mouth as possible.

  Grabbing the back of her head, RJ rubbed his hands through her thick tresses as he enjoyed the feeling of her warm mouth.

  She rose up. Melissa made eye contact with RJ as she attempted to swallow him whole. She abruptly took him out of her mouth. “Fuck me, Robert! Please fuck me!” she begged.

  * * * * *

  Hovering over Tonya’s shoulder as she frantically tapped away at the keys on the keyboard, Derrick unconsciously enjoyed the smell of her body spray. He moved closer and closer to her as she desperately attempted to fix his financial equation.

  “It’s just not balancing out!” she announced, abruptly turning to face Derrick. Once she swiveled in the chair, she and Derrick were face to face.

  Silence engulfed the room as they looked deep into one another’s eyes. Their faces were so close, Derrick could actually analyze the texture of her flawless honey-brown skin.

  Lost in Derrick’s gaze, Dominique Peters sat frozen. On numerous occasions since she’d been investigating him, she’d been caught off guard by Derrick’s sharp features and bulging muscles, leading her to make several trips to the restroom whenever he was near. However, now that she was face to face with him, her heart pounded in her chest while her body was experiencing some sort of paralysis.

  Attempting to break their silence, she said, “I . . . I . . .”

  Derrick smoothly placed his finger over her lips, silencing her. His eyes pierced hers. Immediately, he noticed her repressed emotions come to life. Unable to maintain their short distance, Derrick covered her lips with his own lips.

  * * * * *

  RJ crawled behind Melissa on the large bed. Eyeing her curvaceous cheeks from the rear, he licked his lips in anticipation. RJ’s manhood throbbed under the sheath of latex that covered it.

  Melissa looked over her shoulder and urged, “Come on, Robert. You know you’ve wanted this pussy since we were kids. Now get it!”

  This only caused RJ�
��s shaft to ache even more. Straddling her, he ran his fingers between her legs until they were coated in her juices.

  “Oooh! Yes, Robert! Please put it in. I ain’t been fucked in soooooo long!” she panted, wiggling her buttocks.

  Pushing his middle finger deep into her hole, RJ felt her muscles grip his digit snugly. Smiling to himself, he withdrew his finger and maneuvered himself behind her until his shaft pointed directly at her opening. Teasing, he rubbed the head into her, instantly lubricating the condom.

  “Please R . . . J . . . Please put it . . . in,” she pleaded.

  Unable to hold out any further, RJ pushed his full length into her and instantly felt her flaming core consume him.

  “Oh, yesss! That’s right, Robert! Yes! Fuck me!” she urged.

  Devilishly smiling, RJ gripped her ass cheeks and pounded into her.

  * * * * *

  Derrick tore at Tonya’s clothes in a panic as she relieved him of his own.

  Once they both managed to undress one another without breaking their deep kiss, Derrick frantically slid every artifact on his desk onto the floor, leaving a clear space for the rendezvous that was about to take place.

  Carefully laying Tonya back onto the desk, Derrick looked down at her flawless body as if he was seeing her for the very first time. Her large nipples sat on extremely dark areolae. The contrast made her breasts seem edible. Allowing his eyes to travel down over her body, they stopped at the neatly trimmed bush of her womanhood.

  “Take me, Derrick. Take me now!”

  Derrick moved to where his penis head dabbled in her juices.

  “Please, fuck . . . me! Please, I can’t wait any longer!” she cried, urging him on.

  Instantly, her body became stiff as a board as her mouth hung open. “Ah . . . Ah, Sh . . . it!” she gasped.

  * * * * *

  While both RJ and Derrick were enjoying the pleasures of other women, both Naria and Trina were huddled in Naria and Derrick’s bathroom waiting for the results from Naria’s pregnancy test.

  “Girl, I don’t think I’m ready for another child just yet,” Naria announced.

  “I feel you Ria, but you gotta stay on your feet and off your back then,” Trina joked.

  “Fuck you, Trina,” Naria quipped. Then she picked up the thin, pink pregnancy test and scrutinized it.

  “What it say?” Trina asked.

  Naria eyed the small apparatus.

  “What does it say, Naria?” Trina asked more firmly.

  “I’m . . . I’m, pregnant.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Derrick had succeeded in getting Dominique to become an important ally in his operations, but not without paying a healthy price.

  She had fallen in love with Derrick, and her only tool of leverage was the investigation that she was basically in control of.

  Derrick, being the manipulator he could be, so much as promised her that for her unadulterated loyalty he would ultimately leave Naria and be with her.

  Walking into his car dealership, Derrick noticed Dominique behind her desk giddily chatting on the telephone. He ignored her penetrating stare, going straight into his office and closing the door. He knew he had to string the naïve woman along until his plan came to fruition. Yet, her hungry appetite for sex was beginning to wear on him.

  Looking out of his window, Derrick noticed the normal flow of drug dealer traffic at RJ’s detail shop had quieted. In fact, he hadn’t talked to his partner in almost two weeks. He grabbed his phone from his waist and called RJ.

  * * * * *

  RJ had begun to neglect nearly everything besides money for the lure of Melissa’s sexual trysts. Driving through the city in his Escalade, he was en route to drop off a package of drugs to one of his newfound Brooklyn distributors.

  He bopped his head to the pounding bass of Buster Rhymes’ latest single. The vibration from his cellular phone caused him to decrease the music a few decibels and retrieve his phone. “What’s up?” he answered.

  “Yo, son, what’s the deal? You MIA or what?” Derrick asked.

  “Nah, man. The question is, are you MIA?” RJ retorted, “’Cause I’m out here in these streets right now.”

  “I feel that. I feel that. But, um . . . maybe we should hook up a little later or something,” Derrick offered.

  “Yeah, maybe later, yo.”

  “A’ight, so I’m a hit you back later, B.”

  “Yeah, that’s cool. Hit me later, man.” RJ pushed END on his cell phone and tossed it in the passenger seat.

  * * * * *

  After being presented with the fact that his long time friend was sexing his child’s mother, Damien completely lost it. Although he agreed to cooperate with the DEA, he still kept numerous things under wraps. Not only could those things get RJ life, but they could very well get Damien life also.

  Nevertheless, after coming to grips with the raw irony of his situation, Damien made his choice.

  Sitting in the small holding cell in the United States Courthouse in Downtown Manhattan, Damien’s handcuffed hands sweated profusely. In a matter of minutes, he was due to appear in front of a Federal Grand Jury to disclose the unsolved murders that he and other members of the Black Tar Boyz had committed.

  As he stared around the small room with sand blasted windows and rickety wooden furniture, all he could see was Melissa and RJ making love in the bed that he had purchased.

  As the images in his mind became too vivid for him to handle, a voice said, “Mr. Gregory, it’s time to go.”

  “You’re doing the right thing, son,” an older United States Marshal said, leading him into the courtroom.

  * * * * * *

  Derrick nearly had to peel Dominique off him in order to leave. Her possessiveness was beginning to scare him. Derrick knew he needed to spend more time with Naria now that she was in the vulnerable stages of pregnancy, and that’s exactly what he planned to do.

  Sticking his key in the door, Derrick entered the house and made his way upstairs. Once he got to his bedroom suite and didn’t find Naria, he set out throughout the house to locate her.

  Peeking his head inside of Carl’s nursery, he found her seated in the overstuffed chair with their son in her arms. Naria looked to be the picture perfect mom until Derrick rounded the chair and got a closer look at the woman he’d come to love.

  “Naria! What’s wrong?” his voice boomed.

  Unable to answer, Naria just sniffled and continued to cry.

  “Answer me, baby. What’s wrong?” he asked.

  Raising her head to look at Derrick, she said, “You . . . don’t . . . love me . . . no more.”

  Derrick dropped to one knee in front of her and placed his hand over hers. “Naria, you’ve got to stop this, baby. I love you more than words can define. I want to be with you forever.” Once he noticed a flicker of light sparkle in her beautiful eyes, he said, “Naria, I want you to be my wife . . . Will you be my wife?”

  Naria’s entire facial expression changed from desolation to delirium in a second. Derrick kissed her tears, and then kissed their son and made a silent vow to make them number one from that point on.

  * * * * *

  Dominique joyously sang along with Mariah Carey as her bath water ran, filling the tub with fragrant bubbles. She was as happy as she’d ever been, with the promise of love and marriage on the horizon.

  All she had ever wanted was to be loved, ever since she was a child. Raised in Chicago on its rough Westside, her upbringing was no cakewalk. Her father had abandoned her and her mother when she was only nine. Throughout her life, Dominique’s mother stressed the importance of independence, yet all the young girl longed for was the masculine touch of a man.

&
nbsp; Dipping her manicured feet in the steaming water, she wished that Derrick were there so she could bathe him also. As if her wish was suddenly granted, her doorbell chimed to life. Without thinking, Dominique snatched her Kimono up and bolted to the door, knowing that her prince had arrived at her mental beckoning.

  However, when she abruptly pulled the door open, expecting to see Derrick, there stood Bop holding two flutes and a bottle of chilled champagne.

  “Hello, Dominique,” he crooned, “I see I’m just in time.”

  Allowing an exasperated sigh to escape her, she hastily replied, “What is it now, Bop?”

  “I just came by to ask about the good news.”

  Shifting on the balls of her feet in an agitated manner, she retorted, “What good news?”

  “The grand jury just handed down a 24-count indictment against the ‘Black Tar Boyz,” he revealed. “You’re on the case and you didn’t know?”

  Shock immediately registered on Dominique’s face. “But . . . how . . . when . . . I mean—”

  “I had a meeting with Gold. After I left, I overheard him on the phone saying they only got one count against Derrick, so they’re still going to need you to continue your undercover work.

  Instantly, the blood returned to her face. “So, um what count did they return on?” she asked carefully.

  “I think money laundering. But you know the US Attorney ain’t gonna want to unseal the indictment on him just yet . . .” Bop paused and looked around secretly. “Do you think I could come inside?”

  Hesitating for a split second, she gripped her gown closer to her waist and reluctantly stepped to the side, allowing him to enter.