Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop: Part 10

          I enjoy watching the Awkward Black Girl web series, but when I went to work the next day, I felt as if I was living an unseen episode of it. Rich and I exchanged icy glances, confused glances and finally, angry glances when we both realized, we had a project to work on –together.

                It was about 10 a.m. when he walked over to my desk. “Morning,” he said.

                “Good morning, Richard,” I said with a forced edge of cheerfulness in my voice. “I have some files I’d like to go over with you – when you have time.”

                “This is how we’re going to play this?”

                “What? I’m doing my job. Being a team player and all.” I thought I smiled, but I felt the corner of my mouth roll up into a snarl. And as luck would have it, Amie Mullarski, the main broad on my job who had an issue with me not kissing her ass, walked by.

                “Rich,” she said, her Georgia roots seeping through her voice. She was annoying as hell. “What’s going on with the project?”

                He cleared his throat nervously and I simply rolled my eyes. “This project has nothing to do with you,” I said.

                “It’s . . . I can’t believe you two are working together,” Amie said.

                I rose from my desk and tilted my head to the side. “Don’t you have a cigarette to smoke? We were in the middle of that project you’re so interested in.”

                She smiled, but her dead blue eyes told me that she wanted to say something, but at least she had the good sense not to. After a few seconds, she clicked clacked down the hall in her Payless specials. I looked at Rich and shook my head. “Do you want to take a look at this file or not?”

                “You just don’t get along with anyone, do you?”

                “Listen,” I began and Rich had the never to put his index finger to my lips.

                “I messed up last night. I owe you an apology and I don’t like whatever this is between us right now.”

                Leaning in to him, I smiled. “We fucked. That’s all.”

                Rich shook his head. “This is your game? Act like a man, look like a lady?”

                “Is that a Steve Harvey book?”

                “Everything is a joke to you, right?”

                “You’re kind of turning into a joke. See, this why I should’ve just taken a cold shower. My mother is right.”

                “What does your mother have to do with this?”

                “She always said I like the penis more than the man attached.”

                “You’re a real bitch.”

                I leapt to my feet. “And you left five inches of space in your Magnum!”

                Obviously, I was a little louder than I thought, because the next thing I heard was, “Mimi, my office. Now!”

                Damn!