Oh Lord, Help Me Keep My Panties on - By Lynda Burton Page 0,44

Do you think you can take a break around two?” “Let me check my appointment book, hold on,” I said in a nonchalant tone. I placed him on hold and did a dance around the office. Before I picked up the phone I regained my composure and cleared my throat. “Hello, Cory,” I said in my best business voice, “I should be free around that time. Do you want to meet me halfway or do you want to pick me up from my office?” “Where exactly in Manhattan is your office,” he asked. “Cory, I work uptown, Lenox and 125 Street,” I stated. Hesitantly, he responded, “Well, that’s kinda far for me to travel, if it’s okay with you, would you meet me halfway?” I cleared my throat and said, “Sure, no problem, in fact you just gave m an idea.” So I told Cory about a Mexican restaurant in midtown that I frequent regularly and he agreed to meet me there. Around one-thirty, I informed my coworkers of my lunch date and gave them the name of the restaurant just incase an emergency arose. I hopped on the train and was in midtown within ten minutes. Cory had already arrived and was already seated when I walked in. His face lit up with excitement when I walked over to the table. He stood up and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and extended his arms to greet me with a bear hug. “Damn, girl, you dress like that for work? Damn, am I over my head or what? Never the less I’m impressed with that corporate flair you have going on.”

I laughed and said, “You have to keep this part of my life a secret. Cory, as you can see I lead a double life,” and smiled. I had on a navy blue cotton-tailored suit, with an off white off the shoulder top, navy pumps, and my hair was pinned up in a bun. Corporate down! It was defiantly a big change from my casual club attire. Cory and I laughed all throughout lunch. He was full of stories, and before we new it, two hours had passed, I had to go back to work. I kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him for lunch then headed back to my office.

After having such a wonderful and entertaining lunch, I decided to give Cory a quick call and thank him again for a wonderful lunch again. Only to find out that his cell phone had been disconnected. Damn, Cory needs to take care of his business, I thought to myself. How could he possibly expect me to take him seriously and date him? Damn, Cory can’t even keep his phone on, and he’s out trying to impress me with lunch, I thought to myself. The brother’s got to get his priorities straight! I finished up my day around 6:30 PM and gathered my things, locked up, and alarmed the front door then headed home. Out of nowhere, my thoughts shifted from work to Jordan, and I began to cry while sitting at a red light. I pulled over and contemplated on whether or not I should call him. I also thought about driving past his building, but decided to do neither. It would be just my luck for him to be out walking with his girlfriend and the baby and see me in the vicinity. I didn’t want him to think I was stalking him or obsessed. I knew I had too much pride to make a fool of myself, so I dried my eyes and continued to head home.

I was on the Grand Central Parkway fast approaching the Cross Island Parkway when Kavon called. “What’s up, Shortie, are you home from work? And by the way, got plans for later, he asked?. “No, I’ll be home shortly, but I do have a couple of things that I have to take care of, but I should be finished around eight o’clock,” I replied. “Okay, I’ll come by later,” then he hung up. As I pulled into my driveway, I noticed Sean’s car was parked in front of my house. I unlocked the front door and walked into the kitchen where I found Sean and Monica seated at my kitchen table. “Did we have plans that I forgot about?” I asked. They turned around and looked at me as if they were about to commit murder. Sean told me to have a seat while Monica reached for three