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"Like the rainbow after the rain, joy will reveal itself after sorrow,"
- Rupi Kaur

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Holding up her glass of wine, Amelia toasted with Kelsi who smiled brightly and happily for her friend. "Congrats on getting the job bitch, so tell me what is the job like or from what you saw today .. how do you feel aboout it?"

Taking one last sip of her drink, she sat it back down with a big smile on her face as well. "The job seems amazing, the people were so friendly and welcoming and Lamar .. he is just I can't even think of a word to describe him..." She trailed off.

"Let me guess for you, fine as hell." Kelsi joked. "Probably got a big dick, I say seven inches on soft .. nine on hard."

Amelia shook her head laughing, before reaching over and hitting her playfully. "Lamar is very attractive, but despite his looks and what he may have in his pants .. he is a wonderful man. During the interview he explained the work enviroment and what he expects and other things of that sort, then he started talking about how he likes to reward his employees constantly to show his appreciation but he said he likes for the rewards to be a surprise but sometimes they can be life changing."

Tapping her nails against the bar they sat at, Kelsi looked around before focusing back on Amelia with a skeptical look. "So like is he hiring anytime soon? Cause a bitch would love to get a life changing surprise, and some life changing dick."

Covering her mouth, Amelia almost spit out her wine. Finally being able to swallow without anything spilling out. She hit Kelsi once again, "What is up with you and dick? I could have sworn you had a man .. does the name Quincy ring a bell or two?"

Eating a few of her fries, she shrugged. "Nope, never heard of him."

Cutting her eyes at Kelsi, she nudged her with her foot. "Now you know.."

Throwing her hands up, she sighed. "Alright fine, just like I assumed .. he was wasting my precious time. I came to him being respectable as I can be and I asked him what is this between us .. I admitted my feelings and expressed to him how I really wanted to take things further between us.. I mean its been a year Amelia, so anyways he of course got quiet for a moment .. then stated the one lie niggas love to use, I'm not really looking for anything serious right now, like okay that's understandable but why drag me along this whole time and have me believe its something more between us. Shit is dumb."

"Oh, I'm sorry Kels .. have you guys talked since then?"

She shook her head no, "No, the moment I left his house was the day I left him alone for good. You don't lead someone on for that long just to tell them you aren't looking for anything serious, but steady treating me as if I am his girl .. like just admit and be real that you still wanna be able to fuck around and not have to answer to anybody .. I would have accepted that answer better than that dumb ass lie he gave me."

Doing a hair flip, she chugged the rest of her drink down then forced a smile. "But tonight isn't about me, it's about you and your success on getting this job. I'm very happy for you and I hope this job is everything you imagined it to be and comes with many blessings. Now enough of the mushy and gushy shit, let's get fucked up."

          Later that evening Amelia found herself at an ice cream parlor with Desmond. Last minute he had asked her out for ice cream and due to her lack of interest to go home she accepted his offer. "So you really got the job? How do you feel emotionally about everything? I remember you saying how stressed you were and anxious on knowing if you were gonna get hired or not."

Taking a scoop of his ice cream, she shrugged. "Relieved mostly, because I know for a fact this job will not only help me financially but it can really help me get out of a bad situation that I'm in."

Desmond nodded understanding what she meant, "That's good, I've heard a lot about Lamar. A lot of people who work for him say he's a very understanding and overall good boss."

Amelia had to agree with that statement, since she too has heard that about him. "After doing my research I saw that too, its like that man can do no wrong. He's damn near perfect seems like."

"Yeah, but they say the most perfect people be having the biggest issues behind closed doors." He shrugged.

Clearing her throat, she nodded trying not to shift the mood. "Yeah, that is true."

"Yep, but uh I'm glad you accepted my offer tonight .. I really wanted to see you again, but I ain't even gon' front .. I lowkey thought you were gonna decline it, since you love staying home."

Smiling at his words, she ate some more of his ice cream to hide the blush. "Well I figured since I had turned down your movie date request that I could make it up to you by accepting this offer .. plus I guess I can admit I wanted to see you again too."

Smirking, he looked at her skeptical. "You guess? That's cute."

Laughing, she gazed up at him and just stared for a moment taking in his features. Desmond was beyond attractive, and she was honestly shocked that someone like him was even interested in her. She figured he'd be the type to go after a model looking type of woman, not some basic average woman much like herself.

The waves in his head was enough to make anybody sea sick, and how neat and sharp his shape up was she mentally nodded impressed with his appearance. Even though this was a small last minute meet up, he still managed to come up here presentable and well dressed and she liked it and plus he smelled amazing.

She loved guys who wore cologne that lingered and smelled good, when he hugged her she honestly didn't even want to let go of him.

Looking up from his now empty cup of ice cream, he smiled when he noticed her staring. "Nobody ever told you not to stare at people, that's rude." He joked.

Laughing, she cleared her throat looking else where. "Uh, I really was staring was I? I'm sorry."

Leaning back in his seat, he shrugged. "I'm just playing, I don't mind it. I know people tend to stare and gawk at something that catches their eye and I've been finding myself doing that all night." He flirted as they locked eyes for a moment.

Smiling, she shook her head. "That was smooth, real smooth. But okay, what catches your eye about me? And don't say looks either, because I am not all that."

"But who's to say you're not all that to me though? What catches my eye and attention is your vibe, from the moment we bumped into each other you instantly caught my attention for some reason and since we've been talking and texting damn near everyday, I see why now .. you're sweet, you're a good listener and just listening to you talk about this poetry thing that you're so into is just refreshing since the women here in Cali are mainly focused in on Gucci bags, Balenciagas, and other high priced ass items .. but you're different and I like that." He admitted truthfully.

Looking at him for a moment, they held eye contact for a moment but his stare was intense and even though she wanted to look away she couldn't. When he smirked and that smirk turned into a full smile, she damn near melted at the sight.

Fuck, he's gonna be trouble, she thought to herself.

          Pulling up to apartment complex, Amelia stayed seated in his passenger seat dreading the moment of getting out since going home was the last thing she wanted to do. But Desmond didn't mind, holding her hand in his he rose it up to his lips and kissed the back of it a few times before he started playing with her fingers.

The gesture was simple, but it was also sweet and cute in her eyes.

"Let me take you out on a real date next time, its somewhere I have in mind that I think you would love that I wanna take you too." He blurted out.

"When?"

"This Friday, I can pick you up from work and go from there." He offered.

Thinking about it for a moment, she nodded. "Yeah, that sound goods to me."

Smiling, he nodded. "Good, but be sure to bring a change of clothes .. nothing too fancy or anything just wear casual clothes like jeans, shorts .. you know things of that sort."

Nodding at his words, she unbuckled her seat belt knowing she needed to get her ass inside. "Alright, then its set. I'll see you this Friday."

Leaning over he placed a kiss on her cheek, then kissed the back of her hand before releasing her. "You don't need me to walk you up to your door?"

Quickly declining his offer, she laughed. "No, it's a far walk and you already have a long drive to make. It's fine."

"You sure? I don't mind." He pressed, not really wanting her to walk alone at night.

"I'm sure."

Nodding his head, he started his car up and unlocked the doors. "Alright, well good night beautiful. Text me when you make it inside safely."

Quickly kissing him on the cheek, she slipped out of his car and headed towards her apartment. Watching her walk until she disappeared, Desmond pulled out of the apartment complex with a smile on his face ready for their date that he already had planned mentally for them Friday.

Entering her apartment, Amelia kicked off her heels and took down the bun she wore on her head and sluggishly made her way down the hall to her bedroom where Jay slept peacefully.

Thanking God that he wasn't awake, she walked into their bathroom and removed her make-up and clothes before slipping into bed with him.

Turning on her side facing away from him, she closed her eyes with a smile plastered on her face as thought of Desmond clouded her mind and the million of things she envisioned them doing Friday on their date.

The following day at work Amelia walked along side Lamar as he toured her around the building showing her the ins and outs since she will have to eventually run errands for him around it. The building was huge and massive, but she knew it wasn't going to be too hard to find rooms and areas here since he had every room labeled with a sign on doors.

"This here is the copy and fax room, if I ever message you and say I need you to grab something off my copier this is where you will go. This copy machine on the left is for my employees, this copier on the right is for me only so none of my paperwork will get mixed up with the others."

Amelia nodded, "Makes sense,"

"Yeah, and remind me to get your number once we get back to my office. But come, its a few more important areas in the building that you need to see."

Bringing her to the cafe, she looked around at all of the people either talking, eating or working and smiled. "This is where you guys have the option of getting breakfast, lunch and dinner from all for free. We have a buffet here and its open all day until we close. So if you're ever running late and forget to get breakfast you can always stop by here and get it. 8:30 through 11:00 in the morning is breakfast time, 11:30 through 3:00 in the evening is lunch time and 3:30 through 6:00 at night is dinner."

"It smells lovely in here," She admitted feeling herself grow hungry at the sight of pancakes and bacon.

"Are you hungry? I was actually gonna grab me something before we headed back to my office and got ready to leave."

She shrugged, "Yeah, I can eat and you're going somewhere?"

He shook his head, while leading her to the line as they waited behind the other people. "No, but we are."

Handing her a plate, he smiled and waved at a few of his employees. "Wait? We? Where are we going?"

"Just a few places that I need to check on and things of that sort." He explained briefly.

When his phone started ringing, she moved away from him a little to give him his privacy while she piled her plate up with food feeling as if she was in food heaven. Taking his plate for him once she saw the phone call had gotten serious by the look on his face, she began piling it up with whatever the servers put on it since they knew what he liked.

Grabbing them some drinks, she walked back over towards him to see he was still talking to whoever called. Taking his plate from her, he thanked her then lead the way back to the office while she took that time to eat this delicious breakfast.

"You guys promised me that by today the building would be completely done. The grand opening is in two weeks, this is unacceptable." He huffed annoyed.

Rolling his eyes and nodding his head to whatever they were saying, he got on the elevator with her and the whole ride he fussed at whoever was on the line while Amelia silently listened and ate her food.

"I don't care, I'm coming down there today to see what all still needs to be done. I appreciate all that you guys have done, trust me but I really needed this place done by this week so I can start placing furniture and getting it ready for the grand opening. I'll be there in an hour." Hanging up the phone, he stepped off the elevator and lead the way to his office completely pissed off at this point.

Taking a seat on his couch, Amelia finished eating her food. But once she saw Lamar sitting at his desk staring off into space and not touching his food, she knew that phone call must have really pissed him off. "everything okay Mr. Hughes?"

Looking over at her, he simply shrugged. "I don't know, I gave these guys a deadline to have this homeless shelter finished and built by today .. and the way they're talking its no where near done and it may take at least three more weeks to finish and the grand opening for it is in two weeks. So we gotta head over there and see what all we working with so I can hire more men so this place can be done by this week. So if you're done eating, we can head out now."

Wiping her mouth, she nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Grab your work cell phone, laptop and journal off your desk. I'll meet you downstairs, I have to go and inform someone of something."

Nodding her head, she walked out of his office and dumped her trash into he trash can behind her desk. Grabbing her purse, laptop, work phone and journal. She made sure she had everything she needed before turning and making her way towards the elevator.

Seeing three women standing there waiting for it as well, she approached them with a big smile which they all gladly returned. "You're the new Miranda right?" One girl questioned.

Looking at them weirdly, she frowned not knowing what they meant by that question "Miranda? Who's Miranda?"

"Miranda was Lamar's old assistant before you got hired. I'm Kayla by the way and these two lovely ladies are my friends Gordy and Ashle and we work up here in Lamar's recruiting department." Kayla introduced just when the elevator opened and they stepped on.

Shaking each of their hands, she smiled warmly at them. "I'm Amelia, and its nice to meet you ladies."

"The pleasure is ours, so what do you think about the job so far girl?" Gordy asked before reaching in her purse and pulling out a bag of chips.

"Uh so far it seems chill, and Mr. Hughes doesn't seem too bad to be around. Like although I had did my research on him and nothing negative popped up about him, I was still a little worried that he might still be a prick." She expressed.

The girls nodded, understanding what she meant. "Yeah, Lamar is the best girl. You really have nothing to worry about honestly. I'm personally glad he got rid of Miranda." Ashle mumbled the last part, but she meant it.

Amelia laughed a little, now curious. "Why? Was she that bad of an assistant?"

The girls shared a look before laughing together, "I'm not one for gossip, but let's just say she fucked her way up. Sis started off as a cleaning lady and don't get me wrong, I don't knock anybody's hustle especially with my past. But sis was caught with multiple guys who worked up there with us and Lamar and next thing you know shawty moved all the way up and landed the job as his assistant and she was rude as hell at times. She messed with a lot of the guys in the building so whenever she saw a female talking to one of them she would trip, but we always tried to keep the drama and shit like that away from Lamar since that is one thing Lamar really hates." Gords explained before they all stepped off the elevator together.

Amelia nodded taking all that information in, "Well you guys don't have to worry about that with me .. I'm nothing like that." She reassured.

"Good, well I guess we'll see you around Ms. Amelia."

Waving bye to the girls, she watched as they went to another part of the building while she made her way to the exit.

When she stepped outside, James spotted her and motioned for her to come his way. "I'm James, you and Lamar's driver. My number should already be programmed in your work phone and you call that number if you ever need me and I'll be there."

"Nice to meet you James, I'm Amelia." Shaking his hand, he stepped off to the side and let her in right when Lamar was making his way out of the building.

Slapping hands with James, he got inside the car and shut the door behind him before throwing his arm over the back of the seats. "It's gonna be a long day today, I just recieved a few calls so I hope you're ready for your official first day as my assistant and know that this is only the beginning." He smiled over at her.

Looking up at hin, she nodded with a smile. "I'm ready,"

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"You gotta train your mind to be stronger than your emotions or else you'll lose yourself everytime,"

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          Waking up out his sleep when he heard his phone vibrating against his dresser, he yawned lowly and looked over at Amelia who was knocked out sleep snoring lightly on her side of the bed.

Grabbing his phone, he unlocked it to see it was a text and a missed call from the person he has been waiting to hear from since he last them.

From Hailey🌺 :
I thought we both agreed to tell her about our relationship at the wedding, but instead like a coward .. you bailed on me last minute and ended up showing up with her and all night I had to sit and watch you two be caked up 😤 What do you want from me Jay?
- 4:21 am

To Hailey🌺 :
I've already caused Amelia a lot of pain, let me do this on my own time. Just know you got me and that's all that matters.
- 4:23 am

Sitting his phone back down, he rolled over on his back hating he started this affair with Hailey. She was clingy, annoying as hell and wanted more from him when all he wanted was sex.

The affair started back when they lived in New York and they messed around only a few times, but with her following them out to California the sex between them became way more frequent and due to the lack of sex him and Amelia were having she became convient to him.

He had her thinking he was going to leave Amelia for her, but he wasn't. He loved Amelia and Amelia only, and he would be damned if he ever let her slip away and had to watch another guy love on her.

Looking over at Amelia, he reached his hand over and rubbed his fingers through her wild hair. Moving over towards her closer, he spooned the back of her and engulfed her sweet scent of vanilla. Placing a kiss on her shoulder, she moved a little in her sleep before fully waking up and turning around to face Jay.

"What Jay?" She groaned hoping he wasn't about to start any shit with her right now.

Instead of replying, he continued leaving kisses down her back and shoulder. Reaching his hand over, he tried to slip it between her thighs but she stopped him. "I'm not in the mood Jay, I'm tired."

Staring down at her, he frowned. "Tired from what? You don't do shit but go to school. We haven't had sex in forever!" He snapped already getting pissed off at her.

Raising up so he was now hovering over her, he rose his hand up to her neck and choked her lightly but slowly tightened his hold purposely. "You giving up what's mine Mel?" He asked staring down at her.

Shaking her head no, tears immediately started to fall from her eyes when she realized what was about to happen. Lust was in his eyes and she knew he was about to do whatever to get his way.

Forcing her legs open with his knee, he leaned down and kissed her roughly despite her not even being into it. Trying to fight him off the best she could, she knew it would be no use since he was stronger than her and the hold he had on her neck halted a lot of her movements.

Sliding his boxers down, he smirked down at her before reaching his hand down and moving her panties to the side before roughly entering causing her to scream out in pain.

Despite her cries and yells for him to stop, Jay continued the assault not feeling an ounce of guilt due to him believing that since Amelia was his girl that she belonged to him and when he wanted sex, she was suppose to give it to him.

When she got too loud, he reached his over her mouth and continued pounding in and out of her roughly just trying to get his nut.

When he finished, Amelia laid there in pain and in shock that what happened had just really happened to her. Never in a million years did she ever think that Jay would rape her, and as she laid there in the bed while he was in the shower singing as if he didn't just commit a crime, she knew it was time for her to tell someone about what she was going through so she could leave.

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Thanks for the love & support!
- Denise 💋