When the call ends, the women in the office—plus DeShaun—stand up and cheer, while the men grimace and stare at Vance, who retreats back into his office with his head still hanging. I don’t know how to feel as the cheers die down and my friends surround me with smiling faces and excited exclamations, but whatever this feeling is that Nas just gave me in front of everybody, I fucking love it.

Chapter Fourteen

The anticipation I feel for Nas’s arrival tonight is more than I can put into words. I feel it in my gut with every move I make, the same way I did as I went about my day at the office, watching the clock like a hawk for the end of business hours. After the show he put on while on speaker phone, I was being congratulated like I’d won the lottery by everyone I walked past throughout the day, and even my friends treated me like I was a celebrity, although they were a little shocked to learn that Nathan Booker’s real name is actually Nasir. Nas’s voice and humiliation of Vance really had an effect on everybody fortunate enough to hear it, but if it merely affected them, it put a spell on me.

I didn’t expect things to turn out the way they did between Vance and me, but that’s the way relationships work, I guess. When it ends, it can be ugly, so by the time Nas asked to be put on speaker phone, I was ready for Vance to be put in his place. He was being rude and utterly ridiculous, and I was wishing upon a star that somebody could swoop in and knock him down a few notches. As the ex-girlfriend, it’s hard to figure out how to dismantle our ex’s ego, but Nas did it like he’d been practicing in his spare time. It felt incredible to watch Vance shrink in on himself, and I can admit that I took great joy in watching him mope around the office all day afterwards, carrying the weight of his embarrassment like a giant backpack for everybody to point and laugh at.

Listening to Nas fight for me without having to lay a finger on Vance was incredibly hot, and his ability to use his words as weapons was even hotter. He’s not just talented with the written word, he’s gifted with the ability to come up with greatness off the top of his head, and there’s just something about a man who can put his words together so perfectly. What can I say? It’s fucking hot, and did nothing to douse the fire I’ve had burning for him and his words for years. So, waiting for him now makes me feel antsy. My nerves are extra sensitive, and when he knocks on the door, I nearly jump out of my skin.