Chapter 10

A little over a month...later

Justin and Beyonce sat on the balcony on the second floor eating their lunch and enjoying the view as it poured down rain. "Are you gonna hire another maid?" she asked, taking a bite out of her nacho with cheese. He looked up, gazing at the beautiful view in front of him.

"I don't know." he took a sip of his coke. "It was my mom's idea first of all. I didn't agree to it at first, but after I went ahead and did it..." he shrugged his shoulders. "...it wasn't so bad. Until I started seeing someone." he referred to her. "Terri's been working for me since Aaliyah passed and...she was very quiet and shy. I would have to ask her to come have a seat and talk to me. She was just the total opposite of how she is now."

"Did she ever try to seduce you?" a faint laugh escaped his lips.

"Actually, yeah. 'Bout two times already."

"And...did you ever want to give in?" he met her gaze, this smirk plastered on his face.

"Now if I say no, I would be lying. Don't get me wrong, I'm a man and I have needs. The first time Terri tried getting me to sleep with her was when we kissed." her eyes lit up interestingly.

"You guys kissed?" he nodded.

"Yeah. BUT for experiment." she shook her head pathetically. "Believe it or not, she helped me take the first step into moving on. You just helped me MAKE up my mind."

"Another question. Did you ever fall for her?" he chuckled, putting his focus back on his food.

"No. I never fell for her and I think that's why she likes me so much. She wants what she can't have. And I made it clear to her. More than once, she just won't take no for an answer."

"And you wanna know why? Because she thinks she will have a chance one day. You have to realize, you're a very sweet, kind hearted guy. And she came to realize that it's hard for you to say no. So she figures, if she keeps trying...one day you're just gonna get tired of her begging and you're gonna give her what she wants."

"That's what you really think?" she nodded.

"Yes, I do. Because for one, she's not ugly. You and I know that." his ears were alerted to a doorbell.

"Did you just hear that? Shit! I think someone is here." he stood up, entering the bedroom. He threw on a robe on his way out the room. Moments later, he had made it downstairs to the two front double doors.

"Who is it?" Beyonce asked, watching him peer out of the peep hole.

"Damn." he looked back at her. "It's Terri." she threw her arms up in aggravation.

"I'm going upstairs."

"No, no." he held her back. "Stay." she rolled her eyes while crossing her arms over her chest.

"This is..." she shook her head. He unbolted the door, gradually pulling it open.

"Terri..." his eyes slowly trailed down her damp figure. She wore a mini skirt and a white t-shirt that was now see through, revealing her harden nipples. He quickly looked away, clearing his throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I want my job back." he peered in her eyes with this ridiculous look on his face.

"You want your job back? Haha. And why should I give you your job back? Answer that for me?"

"Well first, can I get a towel? I'm freezing." he rubbed his forehead in thought.

"Yeah." he stepped aside, allowing her to enter the house. "Stay right here." he walked away, leaving her there with Beyonce. They both passed each other looks. For one, she knew she was only here to start trouble. "Here." she looked away, gazing at Justin who approached her with a big beach towel.

"Thank you." she accepted the item from him, wiping down her chest with it.

"Ahem, any way..." he began. "Again, why are you here?"

"Well, like I said...I'm here for my job." she wiped at her dripping legs.

"I don't know if you're getting this in your head, but um...I fired you a few weeks ago."

"I know, and that's why I'm here. I want my job back. You don't mind, do you?" she removed her t-shirt, exposing her bra.

"Oh my god." Beyonce mumbled, leisurely looking away. "This is pathetic."

"Terri, listen to me." he ambled towards her. "I want you to put back on your shirt and leave." he covered her up with the towel.

"But...no! Not until you give me my job back."

"Look, heffa." Beyonce pointed to her. "He's not obligated to give you anything, you hear me?"

"You stay out of this!" she snapped back. "The only reason why he fired me in the first place was because of you!"

"Excuse me?" Beyonce moved in towards her.

"Ladies..." Justin grabbed her arm, holding her back. "Terri, you can't blame nobody but yourself. You got fired because of your actions. You're behaving like a jealous girlfriend or something. I'm your boss! I mean, former boss." he corrected. "And you showed me no respect. Therefore..."

"I don't even know why you're explaining to her. Just give her the boot."

"I'm gonna give you the boot in a minute." she threatened.

"Terri, out! Now." he dragged her towards the front.

"No." she whined. "Okay, okay. Wait." he released her, watching her stand to her feet. "You're right. No one is to blame but me. This is all my doing." he noticed the tears in her eyes. "I was just...I was trying too hard. I was trying to get you to like me and that's why I wanted you all to myself." she cried. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody." she covered her face, sobbing faintly.

"Oh great." Beyonce blurted out.

"I'm sorry." she sniffled, wiping at her damp eyes.

"Terri..." he rested his hands on his hips. "For some reason, I'm not buying any of this. Just because you're crying doesn't mean you're really sorry. You're selfish. All you want is your job back so you can be near me." he surveyed her closely. "There's something else you should know. Beyonce lives with me now. She's a PART of me now. And you know what that means right? I care for her. I love her...and if you can build up the courage to disrespect her in front of me..." he shook his head. "...you definitely can't stay. I'm sorry." he yanked the door open. "You can leave now. Oh and next time you come here demanding your job back, you better do more than shed a few tears 'cause I'm over all that. I'm not stupid."

"Yeah, but there is something you aren't." she stopped in front of him. "Heartless." he watched her depart the house, ambling towards the front gates surrounding the house.

"Damnit!" he shut the door, leaning against it as thoughts wandered his mind.

"You regret letting her go, don't you?" he looked up, watching her approach him. "If your heart is telling you to give her another chance, then do it. Don't let me encourage you to do something you're against."

"No." he shook his head. "I'm doing this because I want to. What? You think I'm gonna give in that easy? She's gonna have to try harder than that. Especially after all the shit she's put me through." a smile slowly formed across her lips.

"You actually care about this girl, don't you?"

"What?" he flashed her an awkward look. "Well...yeah. I guess." she nodded.

"Go stop her. Give her another chance. If she fucks up this time, then it's really over." he burned a hole into her, realizing how serious she was.

"Aight, fine. But you do it. I wanna see how she behave towards you. IF she disrespects you, she's not coming back. Simple as that." she shrugged her shoulders.

"All right." she pulled the door open, gazing at Terri who was on her way out. "Terri?!" he stood against the door, looking on. "You got a minute?" she stopped, watching closely as she approached her. "Um...I think Justin had a change of heart. He wants you to stay." a smile slowly formed across her lips. "So what do you say?" she glanced at Justin who remained by the door.

"I wanna hear it from his mouth."

"Okay...no problem." she looked back at him, motioning him over. He ambled towards them, his hands in his pockets and a sternly look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Terri doesn't believe you want her to stay." he met eyes with the teenager, forcing a smile on his face.

"Ahem, well...it's all up to you. Do you wanna come back and work for me?"

"But I thought you just said..."

"I know what I said." he interrupted. "And just pretend like I never said it." she nodded timidly. "So you comin' back or not?" she bit her lip as she debated on whether to give it another try, as if she didn't want to. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably. This was definitely something she wanted to do.

"Okay. Why would I give up on that opportunity?"

"Great, but first...I need you to apologize to Beyonce. I know what happened between you two and YOU..." he pointed to her. "...know it shouldn't have happened. What did I say you're here for?" she looked away, rolling her eyes.

"To cook and clean." she spoke inaudibly.

"Louder."

"To COOK AND CLEAN!" she raised her voice.

"Much better." she gazed at Beyonce who stood there waiting for an apology.

"I'm sorry for...confronting you." she all of a sudden felt sick to her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was her phony behavior that did it or something she ate. "It won't happen again."

"Hold that thought." she ran full speed inside the house and to the nearest restroom.

"I hope she's okay." she replied, deep down feeling the total opposite. She didn't care how she felt. All that mattered was Justin and how he felt about her.

"I think I should go check up on her. Why don't you come inside. You can wear one of my shirts while you get those dried." she bit her lip teasingly as she followed behind him, her eyes glued to his butt.

"What a cute ass." she muttered, only loud enough for her to hear. I wonder if he's wearing something under that, she thought. When they entered the house, she closed the door behind her, locking it afterwards. He immediately twirled around to face her, slowly moving in closer.

"You blurt out sexual words about me again...I'm gonna write you up. Remember, three strikes and you're out." he warned, following the way Beyonce went.

"Ooh I just love when he talks like that." she spoke faintly.