When I'm With You

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next morning, I go into hiding at a safehouse that Hernan has. I get settled in and he kisses me softly and asks "Are you sure about this?" I kiss him again and say "Yes baby. Do what you need to do but just remember, no sex." I tell him. "I'd never do that to you baby. I promise." he says. I look at him one more time and say "I love you." He smiles and says "I love you too." I tell him to leave before I change my mind and he goes.

An hour later, Hernan walks into Mariah's office. "Shades, what do I owe the pleasure?" she asks. "Thought we could talk." he says. She motions to the chair across from her and he takes a seat as she takes hers. "What would you like to talk about?" she asks. "I've been doing some thinking. I sent Sophia back home. She's not cut out to help me rule Harlem." he tells her. "That's unfortunate." she says. "Really? You know you wanted her out of here and you were right, I belong to you." he says. She looks at him confused and he says "I need someone that's headstrong. Someone that has a good head on her shoulders and knows how to run an empire. I need you by my side." he says. "Well, I can't say I'm not surprised by this change but..." she says before walking around the desk to stand in front of him. "Maybe we can work something out." she says. He stands up, puts his hands on her hips. Leaning forward, he kisses her lips softly before pulling away. "So, where do we start?" she asks.

After they talk for awhile, he heads out to talk to Cornel. Walking into Cornel's office, Hernan says "I have a proposition for you. But it needs to be kept secret." Cornel looks at him and says "I'm listening." Hernan smirks and says "I work for Diamondback. He's willing to offer you some financial backing. I know you get your funding from Mariah but Diamondback is willing to offer larger amounts of cash faster than Mariah and taking this deal will protect Mariah as well." Hernan says. "And why are you concerned with protecting Mariah?" Cornel asks. "Because she and I are together now." Hernan says and Cornel smirks. "But this has to stay between us about where you're getting the money. I don't want Mariah knowing I'm helping on this deal." Hernan says. "What kind of funding are we talking about?" Cornel asks. "Enough to help you take over Harlem on your own." Hernan says. Cornel nods his agreement. "Just let me know what you need and when you need it." Hernan says before shaking Cornel's hand and leaving the office.

Getting into the car, he pulls out a burner phone. Having given me the other he calls me. "Hey baby." I say as I answer. "Hey beautiful." he says. "Are you okay?" I ask. "Yeah. Everything is set in place with Cornel and Mariah." he tells me and I can hear something in his voice. "What's wrong?" I ask. "Just I had to kiss her and I wanted it to be you." he tells me and I can't help but smile. "Baby. I know you love me. I have no doubt about that. But this is just business. All you're doing is insuring our future. We got this baby." I tell him and it seems to ease him. "I miss you already." He says. "I miss you too." I tell him.

It's been two weeks since I have gone into hiding and two weeks since I have seen Hernan but we have spoken every night. Hernan has a plan of his own to end this so that I can come out of hiding and we can be together. I hear a knock on my door and look through the peephole and see Hernan standing there. I open the door and pulls him inside. Pulling him close, I crash my lips with his and he laughs against my lips. Pulling back, I cup his face and look into his eyes. "It's done." he tells me. I look at him shocked. He pulls me to the couch and sits down and pulls me into his lap. "Tell me everything." I tell him. "I did what you said. I got close to Mariah and when she found out that Cornel was getting his money somewhere else, she flipped. Apparently the paperwork for the club stated if anything happened to Cornel, it all went to Mariah. She was pissed. She called me to help her. She killed him. I had convinced her that if anything happened to her, that Cornel was malicious and that she needed to protect her assets. She signed papers giving me everything if anything happened to her. She confronted Cornel about where he was getting his money and he told her it wasn't her business. She flipped and killed him. That meant everything was hers. She lost it. Proof came out that she was the one that killed Cornel and instead of going to jail, she killed herself." he tells me. "Holy shit." I say shocked. Looking at him I say "That means..." I start and he says "Everything is ours." I kiss him hard before standing up. Pulling him with me, I pull him to the bedroom and say "I need you Hernan." He doesn't hesitate. He crashes his lips with mine and we start to shed clothes. Entering me slowly, he makes love to me for the first time in weeks.