Page 46 of The Devoted Husband
Now, he was supposed to be heading to the office to grab some files, but he found himself back in bed with her.
“If you don’t stop, you’re never going to leave,” she warned, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Yes, baby,” she almost purred, wrapping her legs around him tightly.
“Then make a mess for me.”
And that’s exactly what she did. By the time they were done with their second round, there was a puddle underneath her.
They showered together again before he begrudgingly dressed to go to the office.
Since they’d been having a few days of peace with no communication from Jones, Dante had thoroughly enjoyed making their home into their personal cocoon.
He hadn’t left for a thing and loved every minute of the solitude.
“Do you need me to bring you anything back?” he asked as Sade fixed his tie.
“Can you bring me more canvases? Veronica wants me to create some custom pieces for her new office.”
“You sure you up for that?”
“Yeah. I’m inspired. I think it’ll be fun. She wants lots of babies of all different shades to line the walls.”
“That sounds dope, Smiley. I got you.”
After a few kisses and their declaration of love, Dante headed out. He was looking forward to returning to the office, even if only for a brief moment. But more than that, he was looking forward to getting back home to Sade.
It took Dante about an hour to update things on the company software and grab a few new files.
After what happened with Imani, he was meticulous about record keeping and used password-encrypted software only installed on his work computer.
When he finished, he stopped by Ian’s office to catch up with him.
As they headed out, they talked about their weekend plans.
Dante agreed to go out but made it clear he’d need to check with Sade first. She’d always been a loner, and being pregnant made her want to do even less.
To his surprise, she’d been talking to Jessica and Veronica more, though, and he hoped she had something planned to do with Jessica for the weekend.
When they stepped into the lobby, Dante saw Jones, and he had to keep himself from snapping.
Jones leaned against the window by the revolving doors, his ankles crossed, with a smug grin.
Dante ran his fingers down the corners of his mouth and took a deep breath.
Ian was still talking, but his words went in one ear and out the other as Dante set his files down and headed in Jones’s direction.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t lay your ass out right now,” Dante demanded through gritted teeth.
“That wouldn’t be a very professional thing to do.”
“You want to talk about professionalism after you had a woman attacked so you could steal her blood? Why in the hell aren’t you in jail anyway?”
Jones pushed himself off the wall. “I guess that’s something me and Sade have in common...getting away with things.”
“This is the only warning I will give you: stop with the antics. No more text messages, shit gifts, spam emails...Stop all of it.”
“And if I don’t, what are you going to do? Kill me?”
Dante scratched his nostril. “Try me and find out.”
Jones passed him, looking over his shoulder, and said, “Sade’s getting bigger and bigger. You know I was watching her while you were away. Are you sure that baby is yours?”
Before Dante could stop himself, he was turning Jones around and punching him—repeatedly. Had it not been for several sets of hands peeling him off Jones’s unconscious body, Dante would have beat him to death.
Ian shoved Dante out of the building, using his body to keep Dante from going back inside.
“Are you out of your mind!” Ian yelled, gripping Dante by his neck and shoving him backward. “We had clients in the lobby that saw that shit! What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking he’s been taunting my wife and needs to be stopped. That’s what I was thinking!”
“And you had to do that here?”
“Where else? He’s been a ghost!”
Ian released a shaky breath and squeezed the bridge of his nose as Dante paced. “Look...I’ve loved having you back, man, but this is too much. This isn’t a good look for my firm and—”
“Save it,” Dante interrupted. “You don’t have to fire me. I quit.”
Ian’s body crumbled. “Let me terminate you. At least that way, I can give you a severance package and bring you back when you take care of this.”
Dante scoffed. “I didn’t come here because I need the money; I came here to do what I love.
But I never intended this man to be a menace and not let me and my wife move on.
So, I quit. I know this isn’t a good look.
I apologize for doing this in front of clients, but I will never apologize for knocking him out. ”
“Get this taken care of so you can come back,” Ian pleaded, extending his hand for Dante to shake.
Dante shook it, nodding his agreement. However, even when Jones was out of the picture, he wouldn’t return.
The last thing he wanted was to be a stain on anyone’s reputation.
Money would never be an issue for him and Sade, and he didn’t have to work if he didn’t want to.
Maybe he’d take some time off until after the baby was born.
Hopefully, by then, Jones would be out of the picture, and he and Sade could finally settle into a life of normalcy.