Page 14 of Virgo Type Sh*t (BLP Signs of Love #1)

Since I started my work with Galiana, I’d been out on four assignments.

I didn’t do any manual labor or anything.

It was more like I observed and gave feedback.

Galiana asked me about different methods or if I thought something could have been done differently.

I learned methods to get rid of bodies, create cover stories, and what went into making sure that cover story panned out.

I got a glimpse of how the behind the scenes worked as far as the story cover up.

For my situation, a week after they were reported missing, Mauri was able to create a deep-fake phone call of James and Faheeta to their mothers to let them know that they were in Paris.

I didn’t know how she planned to make that shit seem plausible.

Mauri and Taelyn proved why they were beasts at what they did.

Somehow, they placed James and Faheeta’s names on a flight manifest to Paris, in the TSA system, to show that they went through it, and camera feed.

When I asked where she got the camera feed from, I was told that the lovely couple had taken a trip already to Paris and that was why that location was selected.

Taelyn hacked into the system, retrieved the footage, and manipulated it for what we needed it for, then erased the original footage.

The shit was epic. They even went as far as to place them on the records of a hotel, with an open-ended stay.

Someone on their team in Paris pulled footage of James and Faheeta there as well.

It was all impressive, but it was also maddening.

That nigga took her ass to Paris, and I got bitched at if I wanted to go to Miami.

From the recording of the call that was made to the mothers, they were in a little disbelief, but it was what it was.

Faheeta’s mother was in more disbelief than James’s.

“Cool, we’ll get gone. I got one question though. Why da grave so shallow? I thought you supposed ta bury a body six feet deep,” T.J. asked after Galiana told them that they could leave.

I was the lead on this assignment when it came to how we were to dispose of the body. I had a week to come up with a proposition to run it by Galiana. She was impressed when I told her what I wanted to do.

Galiana’s head turned toward me with a smile.

When she nodded at me, I smiled. “Well, I prefer green conservational burials. Six feet deep is too deep for natural decomposition. That’s the anaerobic soil layer, which means there is no oxygen.

Without oxygen, it slows decomposition which causes that nasty smell that creates methane.

” I felt the sparkle in my eyes as I talked about the science behind the why.

I pointed at the grave. “Um, the best depth for green conservational burials is three feet. That’s the aerobic soil layer.

That’s where the oxygen microbes thrive best. What those do is break down bodies naturally and, more importantly, efficiently, which returns the nutrients of the body back to the earth.

Also, native plant roots can’t reach six feet deep, but they do at three feet.

The wildlife in the area and the fungi will wrap up everything beautifully.

So, although this fuck boy was hell on earth, his body will be able to give back to the beauty of life. ”

Ned stared at me blankly. T.J. had a wide smile and starry eyes. “If it wasn’t unprofessional, I’d take your ass ten trees over and fuck the shit out of you.”

“Yep, it’s time for your ass to go,” Galiana said with a full laugh. She glanced at me with a prideful smile. “Now you see why I wanted to put her under my wing.”

T.J. stepped into my personal space. “Yeah, I do.” He leaned down and kissed my lips. “I’m going to see you later?”

My smile was cheeky. “No, I’m going to my apartment. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said before I lifted myself on my tiptoes to kiss his lips again.

I knew he didn’t like that answer. Since the beginning of our relationship, we’d spent every day together. I wasn’t saying that I was sick of him, but I wanted to sleep in my bed alone. He didn’t say anything with his mouth, but his eyes said a lot. “Bet.”

He smacked my ass before he walked past me.

Ned snickered as he followed behind him.

By the time we left, the men were almost finished filling the grave.

Earlier this week, I came out to see what kind of plants were dominant in the area.

After research, I went with wax myrtle and let Galiana know that we needed seeds.

It was a great source of food for wildlife, which was what I wanted, and it provided the cover needed.

It was the perfect season for them to grow where we were.

Before they tossed the final bit of soil on the grave, the seeds were sprinkled. “Damn, you really thought of everything. I’m good at what I do, but I would have never thought to plant seeds that are native to the area.”

“That’s the advantage of having an analytical perfectionist on your team.” That was what I was. “This field of work makes me think of the most efficiently, perfect way to do things.”

She smiled before she gave final instructions to the men. “Come on. We can go.” Our walk back to the car was silent until Galiana broke it. “You know that boy is probably going to be parked outside of your apartment when you get home, right?”

I burst into laughter. “Why do you say that? He said it was cool.”

“No, ma’am. What he said was bet. That does not in any way mean it is cool,” she said. “This your first Charleston nigga, so I’m gonna give you grace, and I hope he does too.

I waved her off because it wasn’t that serious. It was already after one in the morning. I had to report to work at seven o’clock, and T.J. had meetings all day. He’d be alright sleeping in his bed alone for one damn night.

I didn’t get to my apartment building until around three in the morning. When I parked, my head was on a swivel as I looked for T.J.’s car. What Galiana said sat at the forefront of my mind. I blew out a breath of air when I didn’t see his car.

To get into the neighborhood, you had to have a passkey on your car or a code.

I had yet to give T.J. either, so I wasn’t sure why I thought he would be here.

This neighborhood was one of the safest that I ever lived in.

War and Yetti made sure of that. A passkey or code was needed to get into the building as well.

I climbed out of my car and locked the door. It took me less than a few minutes to get into the building and on the elevator. I lived on the third floor in a two-bedroom apartment. The apartment was fully furnished, and I loved that, but I did bring my own mattress.

As soon as I got into my apartment, I threw my bag on the couch. I just wanted to get into the shower then the bed. It was a habit of mine to turn on my candle warmer when I came into my apartment.

“What the fuck!” I walked into my room, turned on the light, and got the surprise of my life. “T.J., what the entire fuck?”

This man was in my bed asleep. His eyes fluttered open before he stretched his arms above his head. “Baby, why you so damn loud? People live above and below you. Get in da shower so you can get into bed. We have ta go ta work in da morning.”

“T.J., I told you that I would see you tomorrow.” I spoke with my eyes closed. I didn’t want this to be our first argument, because I hated arguing.

When his lids opened, he stared at me like I had two heads. “Mekole, when you told me dat, it was before midnight. Babe, e afta three in da morning. It’s tomorrow.”

There is no way that he is serious. “Tumnus, I’m not going to do this with you tonight. I’m going to take a shower.”

My feet paused on my way to my bathroom when his ass mumbled that he told me to do that anyway.

This man was a lot. He was more of an extrovert than I was, so it was sometimes hard to balance.

I was a true introvert, although a lot of people were fooled because of what appeared to be my outgoing personality in social settings.

What people didn’t know was that it took a lot out of my social battery to do that outgoing shit.

On top of that, there was a time limit on it that I literally set my watch to. When that alarm went off, I was gone.

I took my time in the shower. When I got out, I grabbed what I needed to moisturize my skin and walked out of the bathroom. T.J. was still awake, which annoyed me. Without words, I walked out of my bedroom to go into the other bedroom.

Three minutes hadn’t passed before the door I closed was opened. “Aye, what you doing? Why you in here?”

I shot him a glare from my leaned over position as I rubbed body oil on my legs. “I’m about to go to bed. I want to get a few hours of sleep before I have to get up for work.”

He leaned against the doorframe. “Oh, so we sleepin’ in here?” He didn’t wait for my response before he walked toward the bed.

I jumped up! “No, T.J.! I want to sleep alone, please.” There was a panic in my tone that took me aback.

T.J.’s head crocked to the side. He didn’t say anything for a second before he walked around the bed and stood in front of me.

He pulled me into his arms, then kissed my forehead.

“What time you need me ta wake you up?” After I told him the time, he kissed my lips. “I’ll see you when you get up, Meek.”

As he walked out of the room and closed the door, I felt bad for a few seconds.

It passed quickly. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be around him.

I just wanted to sleep alone. He said that he would wake me up, but I still set my alarm clock for half an hour before I told him to wake me up.

Sleep didn’t have to find me. I was wide open to the taking.