Excerpt from The Plan
Featured in Love Won’t Let Me Wait
Chapter 1
"Man, look at her. Look at her!” Jerry whispered.
“Hey, keep it down,” Aaron warned. “She’s not that far away. She might hear you.”
“Cuz, she’s not close enough to suit me. Your secretary makes Beyonce look like LeBron James.”
Aaron looked up from his desk at his cousin and shook his head. “You’re stupid…and sick.”
“Nah Cuz, I’m a red-blooded man, and that babe out there is a fine, red-blooded female. And I’m talking fine with a capital ‘Oh my God, she’s fine!’”
Aaron had to laugh. His cousin was a definite fool.
Jerry looked down at him. “What – you don’t think she’s a dime?”
“I didn’t say that,” Aaron answered. He held up his left hand, displaying his wedding band. “But I can’t work with it. That’s not how I roll.”
“So what, Tonya gave you a ring and you gave her your peter? That’s not a fair trade, Cuz.”
“It’s all good. That’s the way it is in the life. One day if you ever get married you’ll understand where I’m coming from.”
“Oh, I understand that,” Jerry said. “What I don’t understand is why, as a married and obviously painfully faithful husband, you’d want to torture yourself by tempting yourself with something as hot as that sister out there.”
“It’s not a temptation if your mind is right.”
Jerry punched Aaron playfully on the shoulder. “Well hey Cuz, if you’re happy then I’m happy for you. And if I didn’t thank you before, I’m thanking you now for hiring me. You can’t beat getting paid to look at that little honey all day.”
“Well, don’t get used to it. I hired you for the new store, so you won’t be seeing Jeanette too often.”
“That’s her name – Jeanette?”
“Yep.”
“Damn, so you’re keeping her here with you? What happened to that old sister that used to be your secretary? Come on Aaron; don’t tell me you fired that old biddy to hire this young trim.”
“No fool, Doris is still with the company. She transferred over to the new store. What I’m doing is sending about a third of the employees here to the new store so that I have some people who know how things work and how I want things done over there. And I put new people here to learn from the remaining veterans.”
“Yeah, that’s how you always were, Cuz.” Jerry said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you always planned everything out in advance. Even when we were kids, you’d want to set up ten plays ahead of time just to play a pick-up basketball game.”
“Yeah well, I believe that if you plan things out in the beginning, things will go smoother in the end.”
“I guess that’s why now you own your own computer store and are getting ready to open another…oh, damn, here she comes!”
Aaron looked up and saw Jeannette stepping through the doorway to his office. Today was casual Friday, so she was dressed in low cut jeans that looked like they were held up only by the swell of her hips under a tank tee that barely covered her tight midriff.
She smiled at them and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Moore. I’m done for the day, unless you need something.”
Aaron had to admit that Jerry was right. Next to Jeanette, Beyonce was downright homely. But he couldn’t let himself be distracted by her beauty. He hired Jeannette because she could type faster than most people could talk, and had computer skills that put most geeks to shame.
“No, I’m good Jeanette,” he said. “You have a good weekend.”
They watched Jeanette’s sway with deep appreciation as she walked back to her desk in the front office.
When she was gone Jerry said, “Damn, those back pockets are full! Just tell me that if she offered it to you, you wouldn’t take it - just tell me.”
Without looking up Aaron said, “Not as long as things are straight at home.”
Chapter 2
“Girl, don’t tell me you’re planning on going to Tyrell’s house!” Linda exclaimed.
Tonya was studying her freshly manicured and decorated nails. Without looking up she said, “Yes I am.”
“Ooh girl, Aaron is gonna kill you!”
Tonya glared at her friend. “How’s he gonna know? Besides, nothings gonna happen. I’m just going to see what the brother is talking about. I mean, he’s been asking me to come over for the past two months – every time he sees me in his shop. And it’s not like I have anything better to do, with Aaron working all the time.”
“Well, your husband working all the time is why you drive that brand new Lexus, and why you’ve got a Coach handbag for every day of the week and two pairs of shoes to match each one of those,” Linda said.
Tonya cocked her head and put her hands on her hips. “What, are you jealous, Linda?”
“No, I’m not jealous, but I’d think you’d at least appreciate what you have.”
“Look, I know my man makes serious money. That’s all good. And having all this nice stuff – the cars, the house, the clothes - that’s all good too. But I want to be able to enjoy my life. I want to go places, to travel around the world, to go out to fancy restaurants where you gotta wear a tuxedo and an evening gown just to get in the door. I want to go to parties where the hors d’ oeuvres are champagne and caviar instead of beer and chicken wings. What’s the point in having money in the bank if I can’t spend it? What’s the point in having this if all I do is sit at home while Aaron’s at work? I am so sick of being bored!”
“There are plenty of things you could do. Take those tennis lessons you’ve been talking about.”
“I don’t want to be getting all sweaty and messing up my hair.”
“Then take some classes.”
“For what? I’m not trying to get a job.”
“You could do volunteer work -”
“Look, if I ain’t gonna work for money why do you think I’d want to work for free? Linda, you just don’t get it. I’ve got the money. Now I want to live the life.”
“So how does Tyrell Johnson fit into all this?”
Tonya smiled. “Maybe he can keep me from being bored.”