Biting her tongue, she cursed to herself for that mouth fart. “My friend Lola, she heard… well, she heard you’re well endowed.”

“And?”

“And you’ve got all these women going crazy.”

“I don’t have all the women going crazy,” he defended himself. “What they think I have has all the women going crazy.”

“Is it true?” she questioned.

“I will only say two things about this matter,” he said leaning forward. “One, some women in my pasts have difficulty with me sexually and I think over exaggerate the matter and two, what they are saying has caused a lot of conflict in my life and hence I just choose not to talk about it anymore. I know you’re taken and that is a sexual matter you don’t ever have to worry about.”

“That’s understandable,” she agreed in honest relief. “No more talking about it anymore.”

They spoke on the details for the weekend and then she left. Yes, it was crazy to go out of town with a man she had just met, but she’d been doing some crazy things lately and he was really a nice guy. Plus, with his reputation and his draw to women, she could probably get some really good contacts for her designs.

Regina was always using her contacts for business, which didn’t make her any less like her mother, although she wouldn’t have blackmailed anyone to get her way. Getting in the car with Jesse, she said, “Tell my mother, I hope she never does that ever again to get me something. I felt really bad.”

Jesse only nodded as he drove her home.

Just as she was getting out, Jesse touched her arm and said, “What are you and your friend poking your nose around in at the second precinct?”

She was shocked he heard her conversation, but only shrugged. “Just some stuff about my weird neighbor,” she lied. “Thanks Jesse.” She jumped out quickly and slammed the door hurrying into the house.

Soon as she walked in the door, her phone rung and she knew already it was her mother.

“How could you?” she asked appalled.

“What do you mean?” Juanita asked innocently.

“You blackmailed a congressman’s daughter?”

“There were pictures leaked of her going too far at her bachelorette party. Jesse acquired them and I’m holding on to them, but I wanted you to have the best, so I used them.”

“What other blackmail items do you have, Mother?”

“I’m a politician Regina. You really don’t think I play fair. I do what I have to do.”

“Well, don’t ever use me again like that. I was truly upset knowing I knocked someone off his long list just to get in.”

“And how’d it go?”

“It went well. He said I’m healthy as a horse. Whatever that means, but I don’t have anything to worry about as long as I stay away from sex for the next five days when he’ll prescribe me a birth control.”

“Well, that’ll be easy for you since you’re not seeing anyone, unfortunately. And you of all people know how to keep your legs closed.”

“Mother!”

“Well, it’s true, Regina. You are a prune. I’ve said it before.”

“Just for your information, I’ll be going on a weekend trip with the doctor to Flint.”

Her mother squealed in excitement. “Yes! Yes! I’ll be a grandmother in the next two years.”

“NO! It’s just arm candy. If I’m using him, he said he’s going to use me.”

“No matter. The two of you will look so good at my inauguration.”

Regina really needed to get off the phone with her mother and was glad Lola was calling in. “I’ve got an important phone call, Mother. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

She clicked over to Lola. “I thought you were going to be into your afternoon delight.”

“I’m about too, but I need a favor before I forget. I got a lot of things you need to know. I scribbled a bunch of notes in a cloud note for us and we’ll go over it in detail, but I need you to look up to see if this Margareta had a son. The cop said right before all the shit hit the fan the lady had a kid that got into a lot of trouble.”

“Sure. I’ll go through the news articles and see what I can pull up online. Have fun.”

“You know I will. Love you, G.”

“Kisses back.” Regina said and hung up her phone.

She jumped in the shower and then looked through her closet for a weekend black dress. To get her mind off the temptation of looking at her phone, she worked on the Bellini designs and then when that didn’t distract her she did the research on Margareta’s son.

Come to find out… it was Reginald Stevens!

Small world?

He’d gotten in a lot of trouble with some malicious destruction of property charges against another police officer. Just before Margareta died, she was under investigation, but the paper never said what the investigation was. Reginald was sent to live in the foster system and his name didn’t surface until the Elly Barker incident.

After that, he was never heard from again.

Going into her email, she noticed Lola had sent her an invite to a Google Document, she accepted the invitation and just downloaded the document but didn’t read it deciding to wait until she spoke with Lola to go over everything.

She was still tempted to grab her phone and call his number. Damn those urges he evoked in her even when he was not around.

Huffing, she left her phone in the living room and went into her room to go to sleep. The farther she left her phone the better.

***

After getting up the next morning, she decided to work until she knew Lola would swing by, but when three o’clock came and there was no Lola, Regina called.

She was immediately sent into voicemail, but that didn’t bother her. Lola had a very active life filled with meetings, networking and unexpected plans with clients that she appeased. The life of a professional party planner wasn’t as luxurious as people thought and Lola took her job very serious.

Regina was just the same when it came to her clients, but lately she’d been off the scene unless she was going somewhere with her mother for her political purposes and would pick up clients then. Her mother’s schedule had kept her very busy picking up clients but now that her mother would be the Mayor of Detroit in a few months, Regina would actually have to start getting back out there on her own again.

This wasn’t a bad thing, but she really didn’t have the wardrobe anymore and needed to get some new items.

She shopped online for about a couple of hours and then got involved in more extracurricular designs. Checking her phone, she saw Lola had not texted or phoned at all.

Now she began to worry. It was going on eight at night. She packed for her weekend in. Dr. Jefferson was going to be picking her up tomorrow morning. She wanted to be ready.

She really wondered what the stranger was doing and probably saying about her. He was most likely angry she hadn’t gotten in touch with him.

It took every fiber of her being not to think about him or call him, but she wouldn’t tell him that.

Let him suffer. She was suffering worrying about whether she was pregnant or not.

Getting out the shower, before going to bed, she stopped in front of the mirror and looked at her flat stomach. Could life be growing underneath now?

Is this how her mother felt the first time she was pregnant?

Regina refused to call her mother. Instead of going to bed, she decided to work some more.

The brisk wrapping on her window at nine in the morning startled her. Jumping from her workstation where she’d fell asleep with just her robe her, she rushed to the front door to see Dr. Chance Jefferson filling the frame. Literally he was filling the entire frame.

“You weren’t expecting me?” he asked looking down at her open robe over his sunglasses.

She gasped and shut the robe. “I was… I fell asleep. It’s morning? Already. I’m ready. Just let me throw on some clothes.” She ran to her room and threw on a nice dress and stockings. Her hair was a hot mess so she took a big glob of gel and smoothed every follicle down. She was an expert of putting on her make up in a hurry and was ready to go in less than fifteen minutes.

Her bag was already at the front door and when she appeared again in front of him, she was fresh faced and ready.

“You look nice,” he said.

“So do you, Dr. Jefferson.”

He handed her a small lunch bag with a box inside. “If you could allay my fears and use this. I can wait here while you see the results.”

She took the bag and opened it. There was pregnancy test inside and she went to the bathroom to use it. The results took five long agonizing minutes and when she came out to show him the results, he looked just as satisfied.

“That’s good news,” he said.

“Very good news, Dr. Jefferson.”

“Chance,” he insisted. “This weekend, I’d prefer it if you’d call me by my first name.”

“I can,” she appeased him.

He handed her a small pink container. “I picked up your birth control for you.”

She laughed. “Thank you. Do you often do door to door service?”

“Oh gawd, no!” He chuckled. “And don’t tell anyone about me doing that. My friends already think I’m their personal gynecologist for their women.” He picked up her suitcase and walked outside.

Like a gentleman, he waited on the porch for her to come outside. Her laptop was already packed as well and she just grabbed her purse and phone, which was dead. She hadn’t put it on the charger when she’d left it in the living room, so if anyone had called she wouldn’t’ know.

“Would you happen to have an Android charger in your car?” she asked.

“Yes, I would, ma’am.”

She locked her door, received his extended arm and let him lead her to his diamond white Lexus GX. He helped her in the passenger side and she watched him get behind the wheel.

“Ready?” he asked passing her the android cable to charge her phone.

“As ready as I’m going to be.” She leaned back and decided she was just going to enjoy herself this weekend.