Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

14. No more wasted time

Grace's eyes fluttered open slowly as her eternal clock went off, waking her up. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the bright sunlight that poured in through the open balcony door of Joseph's bedroom. Grace furrowed her brows, sitting up quickly looking around for her cellphone to check what time it was. Grace was completely nude and her fresh silk press was now sweated out and frizzy as she didn't wrap her hair before falling asleep last night. Scrounging up Joseph's grey Egyptian cotton sheets, she held them against her body while flinging the covers around looking for her phone frantically.

The sun was way to high in the sky for it to be early morning which meant it had to be some time in the afternoon and she should've been at work by now. " Joseph!" Grace called frustratedly, still half asleep. Joseph appeared in the balcony doorway in nothing but a pair of tight black briefs and house shoes with a durag tied securely around his head. In one hand he held a lit blunt and in the other his phone which he held up to his ear. He furrowed his brows at the tone of her voice, nodding his head 'what'.

" Where is my phone?" Grace asked. He disappeared from the doorway and came back handing Grace her phone while still continuing his phone conversation. She pushed her brows together looking at him crazily. " Why did you have my phone?"

" Because it kept ringing," He said, hitting his blunt.

" Who was it? Why didn't you wake me up?"

" I tried to wake you up and you swung on me so I let you sleep. It was your boss," He said nonchalantly. Grace wasn't a morning person and still till that day she wasnt. Joseph had his fair share of bad experiences trying to wake her up. If she don't get up the first time he tried then he just let her sleep.

" You should've woken me up, I have to go to work," Grace said frantically throwing the covers off and kicking her feet over the side of the bed. " Where are my clothes?" She groaned seeing they weren't on the floor where she'd tossed them after stripping last night.

" Verna doing laundry, she probably grabbed them,"

" Joseph I have to go to work," Grace stressed growing irritated with his nonchalant manner.

" You not going to work today, I called off for you,"

" What????" She asked. " Why would you do tha—"

" Go grab some money out the safe, I'm on the phone," He waved her off not trying to hear her gripping and groaning. Joseph had never met any one else that just woke up on ten like Grace did.

" That's not the point Joseph!" Grace raised her voice sitting on the bed nude and exposed but she didn't even care. She was annoyed and still half asleep.

Joseph kissed his teeth coming back into the house from the balcony with his phone still pressed to his ear and walked out of the room reentering after a few minutes with stacks of cash wrapped tightly in plastic wrap setting them down onto the bed in front of Grace which just made her more irritated. " I don't want that shit Joseph, get off the damn phone!" She yelled pushing the money off the bed like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

Joseph sucked his teeth hanging up and coming back into the house closing the balcony door. " That was important," He said agitatedly.

" And so is my career! You can't just call off for me and try to hand me money to make up for it! How did you even get into my phone anyways?"

" You're predictable, it's Kash's birthday,"

Grace glared at Joseph.

" I'm sorry okay? I need your time today, and your boss was cool with it,"