Page 89 of Perfect Rhythm

“Aw damn, that’s right. I forgot you had to fire Lee’s thieving ass. Who did you get this time? I hope it’s not another broke ass nigga that can’t keep his sticky fingers out the cookie jar.”

“Hell no. I didn’t even choose a nigga this time. I felt like it was time for a change, and thankfully, I found her.” A smooth grin spread across his face, which meant she probably did more than the job he’d hired her for.

“Damn, you fucking her already?” I spat.

“What? No.”

“Yeah, okay. I know you.” I pointed at his phone. “Show me a picture. I know you got one.”

“I’m not showing you shit.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not.”

“Mmhmm. You know if I see a picture, I’m going to know the truth off the rip.”

He waved me off, then dropped his phone in the top drawer of his desk, taking another pull from his cigar.

Ocean definitely had a type. Tall, naturally bad, and legs for days. And if she was a dancer...game over. He always said that dancers had a kind of flexibility other women didn’t have, and based on experience, I couldn’t disagree.

“Enough about me.” He sat up, eyes narrowing with a smirk. “What I want to know is, when did you become the type to brawl in public over casual pussy? You fucking Nyx Fenton?”

I folded my arms over my chest, my head tilting to the side. “First off, you know better than to believe everything you see on the blogs. Second, it wasn’t a brawl. We just exchanged some words.”

“Hmm...okay. But are you fucking Nyx though?”

“No!” I lied.

He didn’t need to know the full truth yet. No one did.

“You sure? Because that’s not the vibe I’m getting.”

“I don’t give a damn about your vibes. I just did what needed to be done. That fool put his hands on the wrong one, so I checked his ass. That’s it.”

“So what, y’all a thing now or some shit?”

“Nah. We’re just friends.” I ran a hand down my face. “That’s it.”

He narrowed his eyes. “But you're trying to be more than that, huh?”

I paused, trying to find the right words. But who was I kidding? Pretending like I could bottle this shit up and hide the truth was a joke. I wasn’t just talking to some random ass nigga off the street. Ocean knew me too well. Even if I didn’t say a word, he’d see right through me, eventually.

“Hell yeah,” I finally admitted.

He dragged a hand down the back of his head and let out a low whistle. “Damn. I never thought I’d live to see this shit.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So, what’s up? You claim you’re not smashing, but baby girl got your nose wide open. You must’ve gotten a whiff of the pussy or something. That’s the only logical explanation.”

“Damn, man, does everything have to be about pussy with you?”

“Oh, really? This is coming from the same nigga that just accused me of screwing my employee?”

He had a point. But I’d die before admitting that shit out loud.

“Man, whatever. Whether or not I’ve been anywhere near Nyx’s pussy isn’t the topic of discussion.”