TEMPTED. ||BEYNIKA

Oh Shit. 7

ONIKA rang the doorbell of the large two-story house. She'd hemmed and hawed over going for most of the afternoon, and still wasn't sure that she'd made the right decision. The door opened, Jerry's wife Monica beamed at her in delight, and she was suddenly glad she came.

"Onika! Honey, it's so good to see you. I keep telling Jerry to invite you over for dinner, but you know him. He just grumbles about keeping his professional life separate and sneaks off to his shop in the back to tinker with his cars. Which is silly because the man loves you like you're one of his own daughters."

Onika flushed a little and Monica laughed. "It's true. I know he acts all gruff and serious at the office but he's such a softie. Oh, he'd kill me if he knew I was telling you this." She looked around before leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially, "You've always been his favourite at the office."

Onika laughed. "Well don't you tell him this, but he's always been my favourite as well."
Monica looked her up and down. "You look lovely tonight."

"Thank you," Onika said. "I wasn't sure if this was a formal or casual event, so I threw a skirt on rather than my jeans just in case."

"You would have looked just as lovely in jeans, my dear. Besides, it doesn't matter what you're wearing - we have a mixture of everything tonight."

"It was really nice of Jerry to do this," Onika said.

"I thought so too. Jerry thought it would be good to have a bit of a shindig for everyone at the office. You've all been working so hard for the last six months, and the company has been doing so well that you deserve a night of celebration."

Onika was still standing on the doorstep and Monica smacked herself in the head. "Oh, for heaven's sake! Come in - come in! I didn't mean to leave you standing on the doorstep like a lost waif."

"The others are gathered in the living room and the dining room. Go start mingling and I'll grab you a glass of wine," Monica said.

Onika went down the hallway and into the living room. She scanned the room. Nearly everyone from the office was there, and the living room and adjoining dining room were filled with people. Alex was standing by the fireplace talking with Aaliyah and Chris. Jerry was standing next to Carol and gesturing wildly, his face already a bit red from the wine.

She scanned the room again, refusing to admit to herself who it was she was looking for. When she didn't see her, her pulse, which was thudding loudly in her ears, quieted down. Ignoring her disappointment, she headed toward Solána who was standing next to the large bay window.

"Oh my God! Look who just walked through the door." Solána couldn't hide the glee from her voice. It was just over an hour later. Onika was telling Solána about the time her cousin had tried to stuff her into the dryer, when Solána had interrupted her with a soft squeal. Onika glanced behind her. Beyoncé had walked into the living room. Immediately her face flushed, and her heart galloped into a stroke level rhythm. She turned away swiftly.

"Damn, she looks good," Solána said. "I wonder where she's been for the last two weeks."

Onika shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care."That was a bold-faced lie.

Two weeks ago, she'd been in Beyoncé's bed having the best sex of her life and not caring that she was her boss. But she thought grimly, a lot could change in two weeks. The Monday after the weekend she spent with Beyoncé, she was on cloud nine but that changed quickly. By Tuesday she was gone from the office and no one knew why. Not even Carol knew, and she could always be counted on to know exactly where anyone was at any given moment. Onika had overheard her and Aaliyah talking in the lunchroom one day and Carol had shrugged when Aaliyah had asked her about it.