EBONY

Good morning, awesome 😊 Hope that you slept well, have a nice day !

After writing her message more than ten times, she finally set on something and sent it to Chresanto. Last night didn't really end on a good note and it left this uneasy feeling for Ebony, mainly because she didn't know exactly what went wrong during the dinner.

She didn't know what happened, but she noticed that after Chresanto got this phone call, his demeanor changed completely. His usual chill vibes were gone. He stiffened and didn't seem to be able to calm down. He was agitated, his eyes were looking everywhere as if he was expecting someone to come out of nowhere and attack him, and it seemed like sweat was forming on his forehead.

Ebony noticed all of this, and it got her worried.

She first wanted to call him this morning, so she could hear his voice and really make sure that he was okay, but she didn't want to invade his space. She really didn't want him to think of her as being invasive, so she decided to just send this message first and give him some time to cool off on his own. She waited two whole minutes to see if he was going to reply, and she was disappointed when she saw that he still didn't even open her message.

Maybe his phone is dead or he's too busy, she thought to herself as she shrugged her left shoulder.

She put her phone down and went to her bathroom to get ready for the day. She took a ten-minute shower as she kept replaying the dinner in her mind over and over again.

Who was on the phone ?

Who got him to act this way ?

Once she was clean, she got out the shower and dried herself before going to her bedroom and moisturizing her body with her cocoa butter Nivea lotion. After that, she put on a black panty and bra set, then walked into her closet to choose an outfit.

"I have too many clothes," she said to herself, shaking her head while making a mental note to sort them apart this weekend so she could give away what she wasn't using.

It was stupid to keep those in there, collecting dust while someone else could make good use out of them. She thought about asking her sisters to come over so they could take some things, but then she remembered that they also had too many clothes on their own.

It took her fifteen minutes before she came with something. She did have two meetings today with the client she Skype called with a few days ago, and the second one was with this moving company which wanted to renovate their offices.

She went to put the outfit on her bed, then she was back in her closet to do her makeup. She didn't want to do much, but she also wanted to look glamorous, so she put on foundation, contoured and highlighted her face, made sure that her eyebrows looked perfect, she baked, and she put on false eyelashes, mascara and eyeliner. She finished by lining her lips with a burgundy MAC lipliner and put the matching lipstick on; she then set her face with a spray. She decided to not do eyeshadow, so it wouldn't be too much.

After that, she took off her bonnet and combed her hair a bit. She liked how wavy it was, so she let it like that and checked to see if the lace front was still glued down. She laid the baby hair, then proceeded and dressed up.

She put on her black Daphne jumpsuit, some black socks and her black Balenciaga heel boots. She then added her accessories, which consisted of a Charlotte Russe velvet choker and layering necklaces; Greek goddess earrings; a golden set of rings on her left index finger; and her gold/white Marc Jacobs mini Riley bracelet strap watch. She then put her phone and other necessities in her black Balenciaga metallic edge nano city bag.

Since the weather was still somewhat cold, she put on her white maxi Azzedine Alaï Mongolian lamb fur coat. She sprayed herself with her favorite Lancôme perfume, which was La Vie Est Belle, then grabbed her iPad, bag and walked to her kitchen to get a water bottle.

And she was out the door.

While she was driving to the nearest McDonald's to grab some breakfast, Chresanto came back into her mind, so she decided to finally visit him at his shop.

Forget about giving him time to cool off then.

She got her food and something for him too, not sure that he would actually eat it, but she took it anyways. It was almost nine when she arrived at the shop, and she was happy to see that they were already busy in there. It meant that her boo was making money and being productive.

She liked it !

She hurried to get inside so the food wouldn't get cold. Thankfully, she didn't take long to come, so it was still warm. And luckily, she found Chresanto at the reception desk, so she didn't have to look for him.

"Good morning ! " she greeted him with a smile, holding up the McDonald's bags. "I hope you didn't eat yet."

He let out a short chuckle. "Good morning to you too. And thanks, I was about to send someone to get me some food actually. I really appreciate it. Follow me." He grabbed her hand and led her to his office, so they could have some alone time.

While they were walking to the elevator, she could feel eyes on her, so she turned around and realized that a young black girl was sending her death glares as if she had done something to her. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that she had seen her before.

Once she recognized Arietta, everything made sense to her, mainly after the conversation she had yesterday at dinner with Chresanto. Ebony was basically stealing her man.

She let out a small laugh before entering the elevator.

"Oh...I like it ! " she complimented the decoration in the office. It looked mannish with the dominance of dark colors, but also classy and modern with the furniture and how harmoniously they were organized. But, something was a bit off though.

"Really ? You approve ? " he questioned as she placed the bags on his coffee table.

"Yes. The furniture scream Chresanto, it's masculine, clean and chill. Everything is well put together. No corner seems too charged. And I like how you set like a little living room here to make it seem more cozy. But..." She trailed off, making a little grimace, which caused him to chuckle.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "But what ? "

"It's a bit too dark. You need more light. But don't worry, you don't have to do a lot to make it brighter, just replace some of the dark brown furniture with some lighter ones. Tortilla and peanut, or tawny and caramel, or...mocha and hickory. Then you can also replace some of the black furniture with grey ones. With three colors, you would have a perfect balance, it won't be too dark nor too bright. And--" she interrupted herself when she saw the look on his face. He seemed amused.

"So, you don't like it. You can re-decorate if you want, I have no problem with that."

She nervously bit on her bottom lip. "You sure ? I don't want to impose myself. If you love it the way it is...then it can stay like this. The most important is you feeling comfortable in your work environment."

"No, I really don't mind. Actually, I've been wanting to re-do the decoration here. I feel like an old man living in a young man's body when I step inside. It doesn't totally scream me."

She hummed quickly. "Well, okay. Tell me when you're free so we can do that."

"Alright."

While they were talking, Ebony couldn't help but analyse his behavior. He didn't look as tense as he was last night, so she concluded that he had calmed down since then. She was still wondering what that phone call was about, but she wasn't going to question him on that because at the end of the day, it wasn't her business.

What if it was Christee though ?

She let out a loud aggravated sigh at this thought, getting Chresanto's attention. They were now sitting on his couch and eating the breakfast she brought. "What's wrong ? " he asked after swallowing what he had in his mouth.

She frowned, not realizing that she sighed so loudly. "What ? "

"Something is bothering you, what is it ? You haven't touched your food yet and you're sighing as if you're living the longest and most annoying day of your life."

"Oh no, it's nothing. I was just...thinking." She fanned it off, then grabbed her egg and bacon sandwich and took a bite.

"Okay." He let it go, seeing that she wasn't going to open up.

They ate in a comfortable silence for the next ten minutes, until something came into Ebony's mind. She cleared her throat to get his attention again. "Uh...I hope that the little Arietta ain't plotting on me. I'm too young and too cute to die now."

They both laughed. "Don't worry, she won't touch you. She's just in her feelings right now. I saw the look she gave you before we entered the elevator. It was cold."

"I know. Damn, Santo ! You're out here, crushing little girls' heart and shit. You wild."

"Am I wild ? It's not my fault ! I wish I didn't have to do that." Right after he said that, someone knocked on his door and before he could tell the person to come in, they already stepped inside. "Oh, look who is here ? " he exclaimed, watching Arietta walk towards them.

"Excuse me." She pushed Ebony a bit so she could make her way to the middle of the couch and sit between them. "You're a bit too close. Let him breathe, girl," she told Eb before digging in her plate, grabbing her sandwich and finishing it.

"What in the..." Ebony was speechless.

No, she didn't !

"Hey, your mother didn't raise you like that. Where are your manners, young girl ? "

"Oops, I forgot. I sincerely apologize, sir. Oops, I mean...what's your name again, sweetie ? "

This is a kid, and you don't fight kids. Don't hit her, she repeated in her mind, trying to control herself the best way she could.

"Arietta, don't you have homework to do ? "

"No, Mr. Santo. But don't you have work to do ? Instead of having fun with your..." She looked Eb up and down with a grimace on her face, acting as if she was disgusted.

This is a kid, Eb repeated in her head.

"It's time to go. Right now ! " said Chresanto.

"But I want to stay here with y'all, Mr. Santo. We're having a good time, aren't we ? " She crossed her legs, then crossed her hands on her lap and smiled widely at the two adults.

"Yeah, it's so good that I actually have to go." Ebony had enough and she wasn't trying to hurt a child that could be her own kid or her little sister, or a niece. She refused to go down that road.

She did some wild shit in her life, but hitting a kid was never on the list and it would never be there. And since this one little girl was trying her like this, she preferred to leave before she did or said something that she would surely regret.

"Oh no, that is so sad." She fake pouted. "You'll be missed, unknown lady." Arietta gave her another fake smile, feeling more victorious than ever. She didn't care that Chresanto wasn't a good man; the heart knows what it wants.

Ebony could do nothing else but chuckle as she gathered her belongings. She had an hour to get to her meeting, which was perfect for her. She didn't have to rush.

"Well, let me walk you out, " Chresanto proposed, standing up as well.

"Oh, great ! Let's all walk out together."

"Arietta, you stay here." He stopped her, which didn't sit too well with the young girl but she didn't try to argue about this and sat back down. She got Ebony to leave, so she was good.

"Alright. Bye, girl ! " She waved, still displaying her big smile.

"Bye, crazy." Ebony waved back, before putting her fur coat on.

Once they were out the office and on their way to the elevator, Chresanto couldn't help but laugh at the scene that just happened. "Damn. I'm so sorry for that. If I knew she was going to do that..." He shook his head, then pressed the button.

"She's ready to go to war for you. Maybe I should leave you alone, " she said in a joking tone. "She's cute, but her little character will get her in trouble if she doesn't change it. But I'm sure it's just a phase." She really hoped it was.

"Hopefully. But uh, thanks again for bringing me breakfast. What are you doing tonight ? " he asked, thinking about all the alone time they tried to have, but every time was a fail.

Except their very first date and Valentine's Day, nothing else went as planned. And it was starting to make their relationship awkward, which he wasn't really comfortable with. He didn't know if Ebony was feeling the same, but he didn't want it to get worse, that was for sure.

She hummed, thinking about her schedule. She just had those two meetings today, then she was going to chill for the rest of the day. "I have nothing planned. Why ? "

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Uh, well, we can do something. A movie night or something like that."

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, why not ? At your place or mine ? "

"At your place ? I don't feel like hearing you criticize my decoration," he joked, causing them to chuckle.

"Okay."

It was almost seven-thirty and Ebony was finishing cleaning her bathroom, which she'd been cleaning for the past hour. As soon as she got in, she had changed into more comfortable clothes and gone to work.

Chresanto had called her earlier and told her that he would be there around eight, eight-thirty, and as the time was approaching this hour, she was getting more and more nervous. He was really coming here, to her place. Until now, the only thing he had seen was the door when he came to pick her up for their date.

This was a big step in their relationship. They weren't official yet, but they were already going to chill at each other's place. And they were starting with hers. The more she thought about it, the more she freaked out, and she didn't know why she was acting this way. There was nothing to freak out about. They were just going to chill.

Or did he have other plans ?

Was she ready for that ?

Was it not too soon ?

"Okay, calm the fuck down, " she said out loud, getting annoyed with herself. She put all her worries in the back of her mind and continued to clean. Forty minutes later, she was finally done and right when she was about to sit down and turn the TV on to relax a bit before her guest got here, someone rang her bell.

This was him.

She took a deep breath, dusted off her clothes and went to answer the door. She quickly checked her face in the mirror at the entry, before unlocking and opening the door.

To her surprise, it wasn't Chresanto.

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