When A Woman Hustles, Danielle Martin [books to read in your 20s .TXT] 📗

her mind. Here was her only chance to get her infinity back. Apart of her wanted to snatch the car keys, run in the opposite direction, and leave Reese stranded here to fend for herself. Pumpkin decided against it. For the first time in her life, she was going to be the bigger person. Reese could keep the car. As long as she stayed the fuck away from King, that’s all that mattered. Reese’s house key was wrapped around the key ring. A third key was wrapped around the key ring also. Wait a minute... Something’s not right… Pumpkin couldn’t ignore the gut feeling that immediately rushed through her body. She sat forward. She was close to a nervous breakdown, it wasn’t going to take much to push her over the edge.

Pumpkin’s memory was very sharp. She didn’t miss a thing and was extremely vivid when it came to detail. She began breaking things down inside her head. She remembered the silver key ring she gave Reese to her apartment. It had a very peculiar shape. She kept a copy of the key for bookkeeping purposes so she knew exactly what it looked like. Her heart began to race once again.  A bronze gold key sat laced next to the silver one. She closed her eyes, giving herself a moment to relax. She may have been overreacting. It was just a house key. But Pumpkin knew better. That gold key was not for Reese's apartment. So if it wasn’t for her, whom was it for?

Reese was oblivious to Pumpkins observation. She sat across the table with her arms crossed across her chest, pouting like a child. Pumpkin took a deep breath. Calm down, calm down. She meditated to herself for the last time.

"That’s not your house key." Pumpkin spoke underneath her breath. She was emotionless, too overcome with feelings she didn’t know how to voice them out loud without making a scene. The mood at the table suddenly shifted. Reese looked down at the key, snatching it up from the table and dropping it into her purse. Pumpkin hoped Reese had a good ass excuse. She examined her expression. Reese was avoiding eye contact. Pumpkin could see the guilt all over her face. 

"That's the key to my roommate’s apartment. I never gave it back to her." Reese bluntly came up with a lie.

Again, Pumpkin’s body shook. She began to feel the room spinning. This feeling was all too familiar. "Reese." she calmly whispered her name with her eyes still closed. She was so angry right now, it was scary. Mentally, she could feel herself drifting over to the dark side, and unless Reese started explaining the extra key on her key ring, there was going to be a serious issue.

"Did you forget I was with you when you went back the next day to move your stuff out her apartment?” Pumpkin called her out on her life. Again, she was very vivid when it came to detail. She didn’t miss a thing. “I watched you give her the key back." Pumpkin’s entire demeanor had gone cold. This meeting had turned left real quick.

"What is your reason for lying?" Pumpkin asked. She was curious to know but terrified to learn the truth. There was a truth behind Reese's deception. She hoped Reese would come up with a believable excuse, not a flat out bold faced lie

"I didn’t give it back to her that day." she lied again. Pumpkin couldn’t take the lies anymore. She was fuming and suddenly could feel herself about to snap. She held it in. There was a place and time for everything, and here was not the place.

 "Why?" Pumpkin asked. She needed better answers because she did not like the ones she was receiving. "Why the fuck are you lying about a house key Reese????" she snapped loudly. The couple sitting at the next table turned around shooting them a funny look. She didn’t care about making a scene anymore.

"Enough!" Reese shouted while grabbing her purse. "This is ridiculous! I'm leaving." Reese scooted her chair back and abruptly stood up from the seat. Pumpkin stood up after her, walking around the table so she could stand directly in front of her. She sized her up. "You’re a real sneaky bitch. Do you know who you dealing with???" she questioned. Clearly, Reese was underestimating her right now,

 "No, obviously you don’t!" she shot back at her. "You bring me here to fire me then you have the audacity to question me about a damn house key??? What is wrong with you???" she asked. Pumpkin clenched her fists by her side. She wanted to punch this bitch in the face so bad right now for playing her. She looked around. There were too many people in the restaurant and she couldn’t afford any witnesses. She focused her attention back on Reese. "That better not be King's house key. I told you what's up. I hope you didn’t deceive me and go back there."

 Reese shot her a crazy look. "Deceive you??" she questioned her. "I don’t have any loyalty to you and clearly you have NONE towards me. So how could I deceive you???" she challenged her. Pumpkin glared at this ungrateful bitch. This was the reason why she kept to herself and stayed away from females. This was the exact reason why.

 "You better not be messing with King.” Pumpkin narrowed her eyes. “You will regret it, I promise.”

 Reese didn’t take kindly to the threat. She huffed up her chest. "Pumpkin, give up!!!”  She shouted in her direction, "King is not going to want you no matter how many women you push away! You need to stop this shit! It’s getting sad." 

Pumpkins mouth dropped open. No one ever disrespected her this way. No one had the guts.  Reese nudged past her heading towards the exit. Pumpkin followed her with her eyes. She watched as Reese walked away. She stood still as she began to reevaluate her life. She loved King. She never denied it. She was in disbelief that some bitch who had only been around for 2 weeks had some nerve to call out a 16 year relationship that she knew nothing about. She replayed Reese's voice inside her head. You need to give up Pumpkin! King is not going to want you no matter how many women you push away!

Pumpkin quickly rummaged through her purse and slapped a 10 dollar bill on the table to pay for her drink. Her hands were shaken. She was numb. Afraid that her gut feeling may have been right all along. She was frustrated. She had been trying to get to the bottom of this for days now. King and Reese were both tight lipped.  Mama may have raised a thief but she didn’t raise no fool.

She stomped across the restaurant, her vision blurred with anger. She made sure to follow close behind Reese's tail. This was not over. She had another trick up her sleeve. She needed answers. Pumpkin was going to get to the bottom of this. 

 

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 

What the hell was that? I should have seen it coming! How could I have been so stupid???

Her mind rushed as she walked up the clear pathway clutching her sweater by her side. The sun had fallen and it grew a little chilly out. Reese threw her car keys over her shoulder, clicking the lock on her shiny red infinity that she recently had polished. She took a deep breath as she pushed the car into the back of her mind, attempting to make sense of everything that happened today. She knew Pumpkin was upset but she had no idea she would take it this far. How dare she? I put my entire life on the line for this bitch and she got some nerve to toss me to the side like im nothing?  Reese began to feel her anxiety rush as she approached the front door. She couldn’t figure out what made Pumpkin so suspicious. She slipped up spilling the beans about the inner harbor condo, but that was it. She was tired of the speculation and disgusted by the way she was treated today. She retrieved the house key, being cautious to separate them while looking for a specific one. After locating the gold bronze key, she slipped it into the key hole and unlocked the doors to her newly found kingdom. She stepped into the long hallway. A pleasant aroma floated from the kitchen area. Steak and homemade potatoes. She closed her eyes as she inhaled. Mmmmm. Reese floated down the hallway, feeling as if she were on cloud 9 and suddenly forgetting all about tonight’s turn of events. She approached the double doors while walking into the living room. She smiled from ear to ear as her eyes fell upon the man of her dreams standing in the kitchen over the stove. He met her gaze, smiling as soon as she walked through the door. She leaned against the door frame as she admired how good he looked standing over that stove. "I'm back." she smiled at him even wider. King seductively licked his lips as she walked through the door. He smiled at her, causing her insides to jump outside of her body. He nodded his head for her to come over. "You said rib eye steak was your favorite right?" She smirked as she walked across the dining room. He really did listen to her during pillow talk and that was so sexy. She approached him, lifting her chin to greet him with a kiss. He leaned down, softly pecking her on the lips. "I missed you." He smirked. 

She laughed. "I only have been gone for 3 hours." Reese admired King as he turned towards her, placing his arms around her waist pulling her in close. She gazed into his eyes. Nothing had ever felt this right in her life. Ever. Suddenly she began to feel everything she went through in her past was for a reason. If she hadn’t met her lowest, she would have never met the man of her dreams.

 "It felt really good to hear you come through that door using your key. I'm not used to this, but I like the feeling." He held her tight as she cradled him in her arms. She soaked up every word as she melted in his embrace. Reese decided she was going to enjoy this moment and not let Pumpkin ruin it the way she had done from the beginning. There was no way in hell she was going to let that chick scare her away from her man. This was destiny. She held him, completely pushing Pumpkin in the back of her mind deciding to get to that subject later. "Is it really my key?" she asked as she reiterated his statement. Reese eyed him, hoping he wasn’t going to shoot her down. 

  "It's yours if you want it to be. But i don't want you to think I'm moving too fast." She stared at him, never giving thought to whether or not she should slow things down. Ever since their first night together, it seemed as if their souls grew closer. She didn’t want to slow it down. 

"So how did your meeting go with Pumpkin?" he asked