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

the question she tried so hard to avoid. Her chest dropped into her stomach as she swallowed the large lump in her throat. She bit her lip while looking way avoiding eye contact.

"Uhhh here you go." he spoke sarcastically as he picked up on her sudden facial expression change. She looked back up at him, ready to get this over with and tell him what's really going on. She knew he was going to ask eventually. "King." she spoke his name slowly. She hated giving him bad news but she knew honesty was very important to him. She had no other choice other than to tell him what was going on.  "I think Pumpkin knows about us." Her eyes nervously traveled up to meet his. 

Suddenly Reese felt Kings hands drop from around her waist. He took a few steps back as he took a deep breath. "What do you mean she knows about us?"

Reese nervously cracked her knuckles, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I didn't tell her anything, I promise. Ever since you dropped all that money on my new apartment, things haven’t been the same between me and her. It’s like she doesn’t want me around at all."

He smacked his lips, almost as if he didn’t believe her. He shook his head, his demeanor becoming offensive. "That’s how she is. Punk is very bossy and extremely overprotective of me. I told you that." Reese shook her head, feeling as if King were indicial. Pumpkin had inner issues that Reese could see right through and he refused to admit it. Pumpkin was in love with King and desperate that she couldn’t have him the way she wanted to have him. Reese was tired of him taking up for her.

"She saw the extra key on my key ring. She flipped out."  Reese took a moment to let him absorb what she just said. He clenched his jaw as he stopped responding. She cracked her knuckles. She hoped King didn’t think she was flaunting because she wasn’t. Reese wanted nothing more than to keep her and Kings romantic life a secret. Pumpkin was very attentive and didn’t miss anything. Reese never thought to hide her key ring because she never thought anyone was paying that close attention.   "She flipped out about a house key?" he asked making sure he heard her correctly.

"Exactly. You hear how crazy that sounds right??" she stepped forward, "And to put the icing on top of the cake, she fired me King." 

He appeared shocked as he cocked his head to the side. "What??" he asked. "She fired you? No fucking way."

She nodded her head. "It's true. She claimed it's not working out. But I called her bluff! I told her she’s doing this because she can’t be with you. And she got really upset about that."

The mood in the room shifted as she felt King cut his eyes at her. She stopped talking, pressing her lips together as if she just said something wrong. She bit her tongue, wanting to slap herself upside the head for talking too fast and not listening to what she was saying. "Why would you tell her that?" he questioned her, suddenly making her feel as if he were backing her into a corner. 

 "Because." she bit her lip, feeling her hands shake as she answered. "Because it’s the truth. Right?" she asked for reassurance. For a moment, she began to think maybe there was another reason behind Pumpkins crazy. Maybe King had been leading her along after all. 

"Even if it was. That's not your place to speak on that." He spoke firmly.

Reese stood still, feeling like an idiot as she stopped responding. King was right. She had stuck her foot in her mouth too many times and had no business speaking upon King and Pumpkins relationship. As mysterious and questionable King was, she trusted him, and she honestly believed there was nothing going on between him and Pumpkin.

He placed his hands on her shoulder, looking her deep in the eye as he pulled her back in. She took a deep breath. Thank God he wasn’t upset. Their bodies touched as he began to cradle her again, softly holding her in his arms. "Maybe Pumpkin is right." He spoke even softer. "Maybe this job is too much for you to handle." Her mouth dropped open, shocked to find out he was agreeing. She placed her hands on his chest as she attempted to wiggle from his embrace, but he held her even tighter. "What??" she asked, shocked because she honestly believed he was going to stand up for her.

 "Look, it's for your own good. I told you I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. I got to do what I got to do to keep you safe."

Her chest weaved up and down as she felt her breathing quicken. Anytime he mentioned keeping her safe, it made her nervous as if she were in actual danger. She felt there was something King was keeping from her and knew it had a lot to do with Pumpkins ex best friend Trix. She wished she had known from the beginning, but there was no turning back now. She was in too deep. 

"I can't go back to being broke King." she pleaded with her eyes. She looked up at him. King more than likely never had to struggle the way Reese had. She remembered those nights having only $2 dollars to her name. That was the most depressing time in her life. She never wanted to go back there or be in that space ever again. 

He ran his hands up the nape of her back, still holding her close as if he never wanted to let go. "You won’t. As long as you are with me, I'm going to treat you like the queen you are." He continued to rub her back. His queen. Those words sounded so powerful as he spoke. She was in disbelief.  "Wow." she let the words creep from her mouth. She still couldn’t believe all these women in the world, she chose her. 

"I want you to manage my hair salon." he stated out of the blue.

Reese felt her eyes widen in disbelief. She clutched her chest as he completely caught her off guard. “What??" she asked, making sure she heard him correctly. Her mind revisited the hair salon which sat secluded and deserted in the abandoned parking lot. The salon was so fancy and upscale, she had no idea why he never talked about it or opened it up. He looked her in the eyes, no signs of deception. He was serious.

"Queens’s hair salon managed by Clareese Bivens. How does that sound?" he asked.

Queens’s hair salon? Clareese Bivens? She didn’t know what to say or how to respond. She hoped it wasn’t pulling her tail right now, but the expression on his face indicated he was serious. She took a deep breath, suddenly becoming overwhelmed. 

"Really King? You want me to manage your salon??? Why me??" she was in shock as she stood in front of him with her mouth still hung open. He smirked at her while running his hand on the side of her cheek. He stroked her. "I don't want my woman hustling. I will give you 60% profit on whatever income the salon makes."
She stood still, his surprise being the biggest. She couldn’t catch her breath as she attempted to recollect what he just said. Never in a million years could she have imagined her life changing so much so fast. Just a few weeks ago, she had nothing. Reese was extremely down bad on her luck not even having two dimes to rub together. Now here she was, dating the richest man in Baltimore. She was about to manage her own businesses. Something she dreamed of for years. "But...but...” she felt herself stammering feeling like an idiot.” I don’t know how to do hair King." she looked up at him, hoping that her lack of experience wasn’t a deal breaker. She never ran a business yet alone touched a strand of hair in her entire lifetime. He smiled at her. "You don’t have to baby. You can hire who you want. Fire who you want. I want you to build your own foundation." 

She stared into his eyes, feeling as if she were falling in love with him at this very moment. She attempted to shake the image out of her head. It had only been 2 weeks, there was no way she could love a man that fast. But something inside her made her feel this was real. She never had a man sweep her off her feet the way he was doing right now. It wasn’t the money or the material things. It was something about King that made her feel so connected. She felt intertwined with his soul, she couldn’t let that go. Running her finger down his chest, she held him closely. She was so appreciative for this man at this very moment. Meeting King was the best thing that ever happened to her. Reese didn’t care how Pumpkin felt or how any other woman felt for that matter. She was here to stay. She was falling in love.

"You want me to be your woman?" she asked as her eyes nervously traveled up to meet his. He stopped responding for a moment. She held her breath, feeling at any moment he was going to wake up and realize what he was doing. Reese wasn’t perfect by a long shot. She couldn’t figure out in her mind what did he see in her? Of all the women in Baltimore practically throwing their selves at him, why did he want Reese? 

"Listen," he spoke sensually as he pressed his body into hers. She felt his erection grow inside her crotch area, which immediately made her weak to the knees as he pressed his manhood against her. "I told you, you are mines. There’s nothing else to discuss about that." He placed his hand underneath her chin, lifting her up to kiss her on the lips. She closed her eyes as his skin touched her lips. He kissed her softly, massaging her lips with hers. He clutched her around the waist, holding her tight. His touch felt so good. So strong and comforting. "Mmmmm." she moaned in between his kisses. She felt his hands drop down to her jeans. He began to unbuckle her jeans slowly. She placed her hand on his chest to pull him back as he continued to devour her in kisses. "Babeeee." she stuttered after breaking apart. "What about dinner?" she asked as she looked over the stove which was lightly brewing. He continued to unfasten her jeans, ignoring her. He unzipped the zipper, pulling her jeans down to her ankles. She stood still, letting him do whatever he pleased. King stood up to face her, looking down at her black and pink laced panties she was wearing. He licked his lips as he quickly removed the sweater from around her shoulders. "Lift your arms up." he ordered her. She obeyed. He quickly whipped her t-shirt over her head, exposing her matching black and pink laced bra. She stood half naked as he helped her step each foot out of her jeans. She loved it when he took control this way.  She didn’t resist or fight it. He could have her any way he wanted to. He dropped to his knees, pulling her panties down past her waist and to the floor around her ankles. He looked up at her as he inched closer. "You’re so beautiful Reese." he leaned over, kissing the outside of her lips making her juices drip down her inner thigh. "Oh my god." her breathing quickened as he flicked his tongue, teasing her as he continued to press his lips around her pussy, kissing the outside. "Kinggg." she placed her hand on the top of his head, guiding him closer. Slowly, she felt his tongue slip inside, breaking her walls apart. "Ahhhhh." she felt chills