A Rose From Concrete

Carne Asada

Chapter Three

Somehow Rose managed to beat James home. She didn’t question her excellent luck just hoped in the shower quickly and then changed her clothes and got cooking. Rose loved cooking and baking, and it allowed her mind to be free and relax.

She turned on her music and just started grooving. She was making carne asada tacos, with cilantro-lime rice, and strawberry cheesecake.

Rose was dancing to Beyonce’s Homecoming Live Album when James came in.

She was so engrossed in dancing that she didn’t notice him come in. James didn’t announce his arrival just stood there watching.

He loved the way her body moved, how her ass jiggled in the shorts while she danced.

Rose was mid formation choreography when she, she twirled and saw James standing there!

She immediately when to turn the music down.

“No, no leave it. I’m enjoying the show.” James told her as he stalked towards her. He grabbed her waist, signaling her to continue.

Rose, did just that, she let go of the anxiety she was feeling and danced with her man, it was moments like this that she loved, moments like this that made all the bullshit she put up with from him worth it! He wasn’t perfect, but no one was.

When the song ended, Rose turned in James’ arms and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hey, you!”

“No, hey you! I thought you said you weren’t getting off until 7.”

“Yeah, but our meeting ended early, and I told my boss I had to come home early and make my man his favorite meal.” She giggled.

“Oh? You don’t mean?” He questioned as he finally sniffed the air and checked the pots. “Wow, what did I do to deserve this?”

“Well, I just wanted to treat you. Dinner is almost ready, go wash up!” She kissed his cheek and pushed him towards the bathroom.

While he took a shower, she finished up dinner; it was quick, simple, and delicious.

Just as she was setting the dishes on the table, James emerged from the bedroom, hair still damp from his shower. He sat down at the table and waited for Rose to serve him.

It was of his habits that Rose hated, but she didn’t say anything, they were having a lovely night, and she didn't wanna ruin it.

She quietly made their plates, and James watched her every move. He was still annoyed about what happened at lunch, but her surprising him with his favorite meal and coming home early had lessened his anger for sure.

When the plates were made, the couple dug in, silently at first, just enjoying the delicious meal.

“So, how was the rest of your day?” James asked after eating three whole tacos. Rose had forgotten how much he loved carne asada.

“It was actually pretty good. My boos came in around 1 and then we sat in his office and prepared for a meeting. After the meeting, he let me come home early.” She told him.

“How was your boss? Nice?” James inquired.

“Actually he was pretty cool. I mean when talking about work stuff, he was serious and all about the work, but we joked around a little. He was also really receptive to my ideas, which was cool. Not at all what I expected, but hey, I’ll take it as a blessing.”

“What did you joke about?” The question seemed innocent, but Rose knew better.

“Surpinsgly... The Office! He apparently is a big fan like me, he can quote episode titles just from a few lines.” While that explanation was supposed to calm James, it didn’t. She was laughing and bonding with her boss.

“How did that come up?” Rose didn't want to tell him, not that she thought she did something wrong but because she knew that his anger was boiling and no matter what she said, he would be annoyed with her.

“Umm.. he knocked on the door, and I didn’t know it was him, and I said, “Come in,” and then laughed. He walked in, and I realized it was him and immediately stopped laughing. He asked me what I was laughing at. I told him that my telling him to come in made me think of my favorite show, and he wondered what show. I told him The Office, and then he named the episode. We laughed about it and then moved on.” Rose left out the comment about her being smart with good taste because while it was innocent, she knew it would only fuel the fire brewing inside him.

James sat quickly and tried to control his anger. He didn’t speak, and neither did Rose; instead, she cleared the plates and served the dessert.

A couple minutes passed before either of them spoke again. “So, how was your day?” Rose finally asked.

“It was good, pretty uneventful. Did you ever find out about the phone case?”

“No, I completely forgot about it. When I got back from lunch, I was immediately thrown into work. Speaking of lunch, do you remember John from lunch he invited you and me to game night on Friday with his friends.” Rose informed him excitedly. She was genuinely happy to possibly have some friends outside of James.

“What? You just met him today, and he is already inviting you out.” James yelled, his anger finally bubbling over.

“Yes, he and Mona, the sectary on my floor are best friends, and they both invited me. I thought it would be nice to finally get out since I’m not slaving away working and going to school full-time. They invited you too.” Rose explained calmly.

“First of all, am I not friendly enough for you. Secondly, you know Fridays are my study group nights. I can’t go, which is probably why you agreed to go.” James’ eyes were bright red now, and so was his face.

“Stop it, you’re my best friend, but I want to finally be able to enjoy my 20s, and I forgot about your study group. I am sorry, but I really want to go, so I’m going. I wasn’t asking your permission I was asking if you wanted to come along. End of story.

***

With her final words, Rose stood up and began to clean up. When she got near his chair to grab his plate, he punched like a predator in the wild. In seconds, Rose was pushed up against the wall struggling to breathe. She couldn’t breathe. James was holding her neck so tight, she was near passing out. She was so scared and shocked! He had never raised a hand to her boyfriend. She was confused about how they got here.

***

Just as quickly as he grabbed her, he let her go. Immediately he was apologizing.

“Rose, I am so so sorry. I don’t know what came over me! I love you, please forgive me! I..uh.. umm.. goodnight.”

By the time Rose finally caught her breath, she was alone. James and left her alone to deal with whatever feelings she was experiencing.

She couldn’t even process what had happened, so she stood up, adjusted her clothes, fixed her hair, and continued to clean the kitchen. It was like she was a robot, finishing its mission at all costs.

When the kitchen was clean, she climbed into bed, plugged up her phone, checked her alarms, and turned off the light. She was sleeping in no time. Being chocked near to death takes a lot out of you.

Back at the office, Marcus was still hard at work. He didn’t have much to do, but he didn’t feel like going home, Samatha was always there for some reason.

He was so engrossed in what he was typing, he didn’t hear the elevator echo through the quiet halls.

“So, how did she do?” A voice asked as they walked through the open door.

Marcus didn’t have to look up to know who it was. No one other than Tyrone aka Ty, his best friend since freshman year of college. The two knew the good bad and ugly about each other. No secrets period! That’s how their relationship worked. They both led high profile lives, as they both figured they needed one person they could trust completely. They were each other’s person.

“Well, hello to you too!”

“Don’t stall! Did your hormones screw you over or what?” Ty asked as he plopped down on the couch.

“Yes and no,” Marcus told him not even looking up from his computer.

“Dude quit it with the cryptic s**t! Answer the damn question.” Ty groaned frustrated. Marcus loved getting under his skin.

“No, because she is a great PA, smart, motivated, dedicated, and ready to learn and collaborate. Yes, because this amazing woman has a boyfriend, she clearly loves.”

“Dude, I know your rule, so I know that sucks! Sorry, bro! So what you gonna do?” Ty asked.

“I’m going to keep her on as my PA and keep it professional. Can’t do much else. It is what it is! Can’t win them all. At least I finally got a competent PA. How goes your world?”

“Eh, you know the usual. Lots of hoes in different area codes and boring-ass board meetings. How long you plan on being here tonight?”

Marcus just shrugged. “I don’t know. I may spend the night. Sam would leave my place, man!”

“Dude, I don’t understand why you keep her around. She is clingy manipulative and all-around annoying.”

“I don’t know, bro. The s*x is good.”

“No s*x is that good, my guy! Cut the strings and move on.”

“Girls like Sam come a dime a dozen and with half the baggage.”

“I know you're right, but for now, I’m keeping her while I get over this lust for my new PA.”

“Yeah, yeah. When this comes to bite you in the ass, I’ll be there to say I told you so!” With that last word, Ty got up and left with just a nod.

Marcus knew he was right, but the last thing he wanted to think about right now was the complicated story of his s*x life.

So, he turned his focus back to his work preparing for tomorrow.

The next time he looked at the clock, it was after midnight. He checked his phone and saw a text from Sam.

“Where are you?”

“At the office, leaving now!”

Marcus sent an email to Rose and then headed out.

By the time he got to his house, his brain was turned off, and all he wanted to do was bury himself in the distraction that was Sam’s perfect body.

Tuesday Morning

Rose woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. Nicki Minaj’s Itty Bitty Piggy coming through the speakers of her phone. She slowly sat up, and last night’s events came rushing back to her. She looked at the space next to her and realized that James never came to bed. She wondered if he came home, but that would be something to figure out later. She stretched and hopped out of bed and began to get dressed. As she walked past her vanity, she caught a glimpse of her neck and almost screamed. Her throat had clear bruising all around it.

“s**t!” She exclaimed. How the hell was she gonna hide that!

She quickly grabbed her clothes from her closet and got dressed in a black pencil skirt and lilac button-down with strappy sandals. She looked professional and comfy. She put her hair up in a tamed bussy bun and put her contacts in. She then went to work covering up her neck. To do so, she needed to do her whole face!

“f**k!” She ran to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and washed her face before rushing back to her vanity to do her makeup. 20 minutes later, she was made up, and she must admit she looked good. Checking her watch, she saw she was still ahead of schedule that God she got up with her first alarm and not her second.

She walked into the living and noticed that James wasn’t on the couch, guess he didn’t come home at all.

Instead, of dwelling on where he couldn’t be, she got herself ready for work. She made a quick breakfast and lunch. She liked having something light just in case she didn't have time for lunch. She also grabbed some snacks she bought for the office. Some of the kitchen and others for her office!

Her alarm went off telling her time to go just as she was locking the door. She leisurely walked to the subway, enjoying not rushing!

The ride to the office was quiet and quite quick despite being nearly thirty minutes.

Getting off the subway it was only 6:30, so she walked to Starbucks and ordered in person. By the time she had her coffee, it was 6:45. She sat down at her seat as soon as the clock strike 7!

Rose felt so accomplished.

She didn’t want to think about why she was so motivated this morning. Instead, she set the alarm for 8:45, so she could make coffee for Mr. Hightower and got to work. She threw herself into work, first transcribing the minutes' form yesterday, uploading them to the cloud and then knocking off all the things on the list for Mr. Hightower. The workload was welcomed. Rose had never been one to process her feelings. Instead, she challenged any negative emotions in her work. Studying and working herself to the bone until she was too exhausted to think, let alone feel.

When her alarm went off, she jumped up and walked to the kitchen and brewed the coffee. She also reheated the muffin she bought him from Starbucks. She poked her head out to Mona and asked her if she wanted anything.

“Morning, chica. Yeah, coffee would be amazing. Thanks.” Rose just nodded in response and went to work preparing the cups. She poured Mr. Hightower’s coffee in his thermos and Mona’s into a cup. She used a tray to deliver the goods. Stopping first in Mr. Hightower’s office to leave his coffee and muffin on his desk. Then she made her way to Mona.

“Thanks! You look stunning by the way. Hot date tonight.”

“No, problem, and no. I woke up early today and thought why not. Don’t get used to this cause it is a rare occurrence.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be! You look amazing. Somehow you make minimal makeup look spectacular.”

“Mhmm,” Rose said as she walked away.

Rose returned the tray to the kitchen and got back to work. She started by responding to emails from clients and employees. Her office phone ringing gave her a freight.

“Hightower Enterprises, Rose Down speaking, how can I help you?”

“Good Morning, Ms. Down. You can help me by telling me where you bought this coffee.” Mr. Hightower’s voice came over the receiver.

“Good Morning, Mr. Hightower. I’m glad you enjoy the coffee, but I didn’t buy it. I made it using the coffee you keep in the kitchen, here.” Rose informed him.

“Wow, well! Thank you for the coffee and the muffin. By the way, I hope you don’t have lunch plans because we have lunch meeting this afternoon. The meeting is at 1:00 this afternoon, so I figure we can start prepping at around 11. I’ll send over some of the documents now, so come in, read in and armed with questions and ideas.” With those directions, he ended the call.

As soon as Rose put down her phone, her computer dinged signaling an incoming email.

Right away, she went to work printing the documents and close reading, soon her margins looked like those of a professor grading a college essay.

Her alarm went off, and she gathered her things headed to the kitchen made another cup of coffee for him and knocked on his door.

“Come in.”

Rose entered, sat down the coffee, and then took her seat opposite him. She wiped out the papers and her laptop, awaiting his directions.

When Marcus finally looked up, he was floored, she looked magnificent. She had some makeup, and it managed to highlight all of her features. Wow! She is stunning.

“So, did your boyfriend enjoy dinner?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, he did! Loved it!! Thanks again! Speaking of thanks, I never thanked you for the new tech. Especially the accessories, it’s all things I was planning on buying myself with my first check. Super cool!”

Marcus tried to hide his excitement that she liked his gifts, he had given many girls gifts, but something about her genuine satisfaction and gratitude or simple presents made him happy. “No, sweat. I'm glad you liked them. I had Mona pick the accessories, she grabbed ones she liked, so you have her to thank for that. Plus, we’re a tech company, it would look suspicious if the CEO’s PA had shooty tech, right?” Marcus laughed. He hoped she believed him, looking in her eyes he could tell she did.

“Well, nevertheless thank you.”

“So, what did you make for dinner.”

“Um.. carne asada tacos, cilantro-lime rice, and strawberry cheesecake.”

“Sounds, yum. Now, down to business. The company we are meeting with is a marketing company we have worked with in the past, I like the company, and when I heard they were looking to sell, I jumped at it. This meeting is informal because as I’ve said, I’ve worked with them before. If all goes well, we will leave the table with a verbal agreement. So any questions.”

As soon, as Marcus was done talking, Rose fired off some questions and comments. For the next hour, the two went back and forth with ideas and comments. It was the battle of the minds.

“Time to go,” Marcus said at 12.

They both gathered their things and took the private elevator. As they descended, she sent a text to Mona letting her know they had left.

The ride to the restaurant was quiet and pleasant both people lost in their own thoughts.

They arrived at the restaurant before the rest of their party, and so they got to pick their table.

“Marcus, baby.” Someone greeted as they approached the table. Rose looked up from her laptop and was faced with a damn supermodel, she almost instantly felt like an ugly duckling, thank God she dressed up a little today.

“Sam, Mr. Wallace, good afternoon. May I introduce you to my PA, Rose Down. Rose this is Mr. Wallace and his daughter and V.P. Samatha.” At being introduced to the girl, Sam finally looked at her. She was floored, this girl was stunning, even under the makeup Sam could tell she was a knockout but the way she carried herself, Sam knew this girl didn’t think so.

Sam stifled her jealousy and put on her business face.

“Lovely, to meet you, Ms. Down. Great to meet another PA of Marcus’s, he goes through so many. I do hope you can stick around.”

Rose could tell Sam was shady, but she couldn’t understand why. Rose didn’t want Mr. Hightower; however,, she was never one to back down from a challenge.

“Lovely, to meet you as well. I do hope to stick around, I am not as easily scared off as Mr.Hightower’s previous PAs.”

“Let’s have a seat and get started.” Mr. Hightower suggested.

The foursome quickly ordered their food and began discussing business. When the check came, Marcus grabbed his corporate credit card to pay.

Rose took a peek at the check and laughed. She leaned over to Marcus and said.

“What’s a pretty hefty charge to expense. You sure Toby will approve it.”

Almost automatically, Marcus caught the joke.

“Yeah, I think I’m good. I’ll just tell them I had to cheer you up because you’re in love with a coworker that’s engaged to be married.”

The two then started bursting out laughing. Sam watched extremely annoyed, they had inside jokes, how the hell did they have inside jokes, this was only her second day.

As their laughter died down, Rose looked up and saw James.

“James?”