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Happy after St Patrick’s Day? I guess.

Yes, you’re stuck in the house and so am I and you’re probably like Sylvia should be posting more often because she’s sequestered.

I’m not sequestered.  I work from home plus, I’m not posting every day, because I want to give this story a lot of depth like I did Black’s Innocence. Yet unlike Black’s Innocence where I was posting out every ten days, I am giving myself at least a week to post, although I posted twice last week to give you guys a treat.

Don’t get used to that.

On top of that, I’ve been going through some tough times.

My mother died.

yes, I’m going through something deep, but she wouldn’t want time to stop writing. I’ve been taking longer than usual breaks.

On top of that some not looking driver hit me and the entire left side of my body just hurts like heck.

Bruised and battered, I’ve been doing my best to sit in a chair and work.

My hubby and I are sequestered at home and both of us work. He works during the day and I work during the night, which is usual for us, but now we’re just a room away.

We like it, but it’s only #3 day of quarantine so I’ll update you in the next week if we aren’t choking each other. LOL. I doubt it because I love just laying in bed watching movies in with him and eating chocolate ice cream.

So without further delay, here’s chapter five

Chapter Five – He Touched Her! AGAIN!!

Was she dreaming?

Time seemed to stop. Her heartbeat rapidly accelerated until Zuri thought it was going to explode.

His hand continued down her posterior firmly and then moved up her dress. This was no accident anymore. He knew what he was doing, and she had a feeling he was very aware that her body was enjoying every single second. Their outer appearance showed nothing to anyone around them, but inside, she felt like a tsunami hammering her insides harder and harder.

The doors of the elevator opened, but it wasn’t her floor. One person got off, and two people got on. 

Yet, Zuri was paying more attention to his hand, which had moved inside the stockings, and he slipped his index and middle fingers between her already moistened womanly folds.

Her body gushed even more.

Closing her eyes, she put her hand on the side of the elevator wall, glad she was close, and took a sharp breath in.

His touch felt so damn delicious, and she knew it would only take a few seconds if they had more time. Abruptly, his ministrations stopped, and his hand moved away.

“Ma’am, is this your floor?” Someone else in the elevator questioned as the doors were being held open.

Her vision had blurred, and she straightened her back to look at the open elevator doors. Breathlessly, she asked, “Is this three? B-Black and Knight Law firm?”

“It’s three,” the voice confirmed.

Gathering her composure, Zuri staggered off the elevator. When she turned around to look back at him, the doors had closed, and she missed the opportunity – again. Damn! 

What the entire salacious fuck had just happened? 

He Touched Her! AGAIN!!

Leaning against the wall to gather herself, Zuri took several deep breaths and then made sure her skirt was straightened. Her initial steps faltered a bit, but then, as she approached a black door, she composed herself. Using the badge against the keypad, the door popped open, and she walked right into Tyler Black’s personal office.

The first thing she noticed was the view of the city that stretched the entire length behind his desk, and Tyler Black, an imposing white man sitting there, was cutting his obsidian eyes at her. 

“What the hell was wrong with you?” he questioned. “Are you ill?”

Flustered by his crudeness, she said, “No.”

“Why were you leaning on the wall for support?”

Damn! The lawyer was watching her walk down the aisle. “S-Something happened in the elevator. It made me dizzy,” she answered. This was partly true, except it wasn’t something, it was someone. 

“Sit,” he ordered, pushing a file over to her. 

Zuri was glad to do so. 

Tyler was Caucasian with chiseled features. His black hair and black eyes were a high contrast against his swarthy olive skin, and he was brawny, she suspected, over six feet tall. 

All the time with Rodney, her eyes had never wandered. Yet, this guy on the bus… was she attracted to him? Her body sure loved his fingers. Can someone just be loved by one body part? Well, he had used two fingers…

“I said,” Tyler’s voice was hardened. “What was on the elevator that took you off guard like that?”

Straight up lying, Zuri said, “I don’t know.”

Sitting back in his chair, he narrowed his eyes on her. “Ms. Carter, for me to help you to make sure I do right by the trust left in my hands, I need complete honesty.”

Taking a deep breath, she admitted with the highest blush across her face, “I was aroused suddenly by the guy standing next to me.”

The lawyer stared at her for a long moment, but then said, “How involved are you in the trust? How much do you know about what your father did?”

Zuri was so glad Tyler changed the subject because she couldn’t explain any further what had happened to her. Answering Tyler’s question, she said, “My father died while I was in high school, and my mother said it was a whole bunch of legal jargon I wouldn’t understand, so I let her deal with Mr. Bellini most of the time. She thought it best if all correspondence came from me, though, which was why she had access to my email. Even after I became of age, I just let things go in her hands because I was so involved in life.”

“You mean Rodney,” he said.

Frowning, Zuri asked, “How do you know about my ex-fiancée?”

Tyler tapped the folder. “Armando was doing some background on him. Seems Rodney was trying to find out about your trust with the lawyer behind your back, and most likely, when Armando wouldn’t give the young man the information he requested, Rodney decided to go after your mother. Armando had planned to contact you for a meeting when he came back from vacation, but as you can see, that’s taking longer than he thought.”

Zuri opened the folder to see copies of her trust documents and some notes scribbled on a paper with Rodney’s name clearly underlined. Below Rodney’s name, someone had written: DON’T TRUST.

Rodney wasn’t as stupid as she thought when it came to money. 

Had Rodney’s intentions all along been to get her father’s money?

“Whatever you’re thinking,” Tyler said. “The answer is, yes, Rodney is a son of a bitch, and he was using you.”

“I have nothing left, so that’s probably why he went after my mother. I don’t even have a good job.”

“There’s a provision in the trust. If you die, there’s a two-million-dollar payout, and with the insurance money, you definitely are worth more dead than alive, Ms. Carter.”

Zuri shifted uncomfortably. “My mother loves me. She’s just overwhelmed by Rodney’s attention, but she wouldn’t plan to kill me.”

“Probably not, but just the idea of getting you in a drug rehab again, I’m sure a little slip of too much of something could easily be done in a facility Rodney used to work at, and then their perfect plan worked.” He leaned forward, looking very dark. “And I hate happily ever afters if my clients aren’t involved.”

A chill went down her spine because she could almost feel Tyler Black’s hate through her veins. “My mother doesn’t seem like that type of person to want to kill her daughter, Mr. Black,” she insisted.

“I’ve found that if a person can lie, they can cheat, and if they can cheat, they can kill. A sin is a sin. When it has to do with family, it hurts even more, which is probably why you’re denying what she could do to you. What has she said to you since you’ve separated yourself from her?” he demanded to know.

Shrugging, Zuri said, “I don’t talk to her. I push all her calls to voicemail, and I’m definitely not talking to Rodney for any reason. I blocked his number coming up on the elevator.” The thought of the elevator made her pressure rise. Looking at the door, she was sure someone would be knocking soon and then… She needed a moment. “May I use your bathroom?”

He nodded to the other corner to another black door. “Do you mind if I see if they’ve left you any messages?”

After unlocking her phone, she gladly handed the device to him. Hurriedly, she ensconced herself inside the private bathroom and ran cold water over her face. She felt like a hot mess about to go overboard on the inside. 

First, seeing the stranger again today, and now the discovery of her mother and Rodney’s plan. 

Could her mother be so overwhelmed by Rodney that she would allow hurt to come to Zuri?

Fixing her face and making sure her skirt was righted, Zuri stepped out of the bathroom to see that Tyler had stood up and was leaning over his desk intently listening to a message on her phone. 

He stopped the message when she walked up to the desk. 

“This is the first out of six other messages like this she’s left for the past couple of days,” Tyler explained and played the message.

Brenda’s voice came over the line, deep with despair, pulling at Zuri’s heartstrings.

“Zuri, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I was stupid and weak to allow Rodney to come between us.” There was a deep sob, followed by a long pause. “I should have told you a month ago… I went to the doctor’s, and they found a lump… It’s cancer, Zuri, and I’m in my final days. I was hurt and lonely and…” Another huge sob came, and a lot of blubbering rolled out. “I’m dying … oh gawd, I’m so sorry, my love. I let him seduce me.”

Another long pause occurred, and Zuri leaned on the desk and hunched down, like Tyler had been doing, as her mother came back.

“I’ve ordered him out of the house, my love, but I know you have no reason to forgive me. At least let’s see each other before… well, I don’t have long. I don’t want to leave this world without saying goodbye. Please. We can meet at the place where your father took you on your first date. His favorite restaurant. Do you remember? This Thursday at noon. Please. I want to help you and give you the deed to the house, too. I know it means a lot to you.”

Zuri looked up at Tyler for help.

“You really don’t believe this baloney, do you?” The lawyer rolled his eyes.

“She’s my mother. She’s actually my only family member. My dad’s side didn’t talk to us, and my mother was fostered.”

“Which further says you’re expendable.”

She shifted uncomfortably because, as apparent as the implication was, Zuri didn’t want to conclude that her mother would harm her. “I’ve given my mother anything she’s ever wanted.”

“But the money you’re taking away from her household is substantial.”

“No, it’s not,” she refuted.

He narrowed his eyes again. “Let’s go back, Ms. Carter. How involved have you been in the trust? How much do you know about the trust your father left you?”

“I know my father left a large amount of money for my college, a general fund, and then there was the life fund,” she answered. “I know I’ve used up the hundred thousand that was left in the general fund. I received the letter a year ago to inform me.” She grimaced. “Most of the things were to pay off bills and expenses for Rodney.”

Tyler pulled up something on his computer screen. “That includes two brand new motorcycles, some apartment property, a timeshare in Florida, which you never used, or the various credit card bills you paid down?”

Feeling like a straight-up fool for falling for Rodney’s sexual manipulation, she said, “Yes.”

Tyler added his voice filled with mirth, “Oh, let’s not forget all the watches, expensive clothes, and all the electronic equipment.”

“We were going to get married,” she tried to explain.

“Where are all these items now, Ms. Carter?”

“He totaled the motorcycles, and when I kicked him out after sleeping with his cousin, he moved in with her. She was malicious and sold all his stuff because she accused him of cheating on her.”

“And why did you take him back?”

“Because I’m stupid and I fell for good dick.”

“Finally, reality has slapped you in the face.”

Sourly, she snipped, “I didn’t need you to help me point that out.” 

“The timeshare is still in your name. Did you know the property you purchased was still in your name as well? Rodney’s been collecting the rent for you. I could see if I can get money for the timeshare. Still, I can definitely prevent him from collecting that money anymore and put a management company in charge of the two apartment buildings so you can at least get some income. Your father’s legacy shouldn’t be for nothing.”

She remembered buying the property for him, and the only smart thing she had done was keep it in her name, promising to add his name once they married, while giving him all rights to handle it, thinking he’d turn around and at least come back and support her. When they broke up, even though he cheated, she was still in love with him and too weak to ask for the right to start collecting the money from the property. 

Nor had Zuri told her mother she bought Rodney the property, too ashamed she’d wasted all her general money on him.

“I’ve settled up with the college, and actually, you have ten grand leftover in the college fund, which I can transfer over to the living expense fund,” Tyler said. “Sign those forms to allow me to transfer the account to your new bank and also serve as a proxy to hire the apartment manager. I’ll take the usual fees for my services, and you’ll have more than enough to live on, upping your monthly amount to twenty-five hundred. That should be enough for you to find an apartment until you find a job, unless you make another stupid mistake.”

It was more than enough.

“I won’t be making mistakes anymore with my heart, Mr. Black,” she said bitterly. “I definitely will never fall for another man to save my life.” She signed the papers in the folder he had pushed to her.

“Good, because your father entrusted you with a big responsibility – his legacy. Don’t waste it.” He took the signed papers and put them aside. He pulled out another form. “I’ll also insist you sign this personal protection order. I’ve sent those voicemails to my email, and I’m going to meet with a judge this afternoon to get them to sign this immediately. I’ll get them served by tomorrow morning.”

Knowing she wouldn’t be able to have any contact with her mother was going to be difficult. As mad as she was with her mother and knowing her mother planned to lock her away, Zuri still felt she needed answers, but signing this restraining order would mean she wouldn’t get them.

Tyler seemed to read her mind. “Sometimes you don’t want to know the answers, Ms. Carter. Sometimes, even if you get the answers from them, it may hurt more.”

Zuri hated that he could just read her thoughts so clearly, but she was known to have a hard time keeping her thoughts to herself.

“To help you relieve some of your stress, I will give you what Armando most likely wanted to discuss with you.” Tyler handed her an envelope. 

“What’s this?” 

“A letter from your father to your mother, which she received after he died. It was all he left her.”

Frowning, Zuri asked, “He left me his entire fortune?”

“Of course. You were his daughter.”

“But she was his wife,” she corrected. “They were married for over fifteen years.”

“Read the letter, Ms. Carter,” Tyler said, handing her a business card with sourness. “My cell phone number is there. Remember it. Are you staying in a safe place?”

“No,” she answered honestly. “It’s a run-down motel.” 

“I can see if I can arrange living arrangements.”

Knowing that meant more fees taken out and less for her, Zuri implored, “I think I can find my own place once the money is transferred into my account.”

“Sign that restraining order, and you’ll have that transfer by tomorrow afternoon,” the lawyer promised.

The enormity of her new life hit her, and with a slow exhale, she signed the restraining order.

Tyler took his cell phone out and took her picture with the flash right in her eye.

Blinking to see straight, Zuri questioned, “What was that for?”

“If I have to identify your body.”

“Anyone ever call you an ass?” she snipped.

“All day and all night, including my wife.”

Rolling her eyes in horror. “I can’t believe anyone would marry you.”

He smirked. “I know. I had to trick her.”

Zuri felt that was a story for another day, but she was very ready to get out of Tyler Black’s annoying presence as soon as possible.

Tyler warned. “Stay safe, Ms. Carter. I would sure hate to lose your father’s legacy. Don’t do anything stupid.”

She nodded confidently, glad she was being dismissed. Putting the envelope in her purse, she left the office the same way she came, almost terrified to get on the elevator again, but she patiently waited for the doors to open as she unraveled the stressful thoughts running through her head.

 

He Touched Me Chapter Five (c) 2016 Sylvia Hubbard @ The Literary World of Sylvia Hubbard.

Companion Books

• Stealing Innocence 1
• Black’s Innocence

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