Quiet Love

2

Jamal Roberts Jr. quietly sat in his car looking through his work emails as they came upon their final hour of the trip from New York to New Jersey. His phone was always on, and always charged. He was in control of a very large private security company that dealt all over the world. His business was extremely successful, he was Roberts, he was expected to have a successful business. His father owned a successful real estate investment company and was a investor on Shark Tank. J.R. understood the importance of picking the right woman to marry, knowing that his choice would never matter. His father would arrange a marriage for him, like he did for his brother, James, and how their grandfather, Lewis, did for Senior. His father had provided no information about the girl, only she was the daughter of Paul Henderson, the owner of a boating company that was failing.

J.R. knew his family's status, wealthy Black, and not because of sports, but because of intelligence and academia. They were constantly sought out, and craved by fetishizing white women, and baby-trapping women. However, this was not the reason his father was finally deciding to arrange a marriage for his son.

An hour had passed, and the family received a ring at their doorbell, causing Paul to quickly stir. "Alright Henderson Family, please be on your best behavior." said Paul, rubbing his sweaty palms on his black slacks. Within the hour, the family had made themselves presentable, fixing up their hair, changing clothes, and applying loads of makeup. Meanwhile, Lillian had touched up her hair a bit, and applied a bit of lip-gloss. Although, she had the same outfit on that she had arrived in, a light blue sleeveless dress that hugged her curves in all the right places.

"Come right this way." spoke Paul, guiding five individuals dressed in business suits and ties.

"Thank you for having us." spoke an older gentleman, who Lillian assumed was Jamal Roberts Sr. "This is my son Jamal Roberts Jr."

"I prefer J.R." he interjected, stepping forward and shaking Paul's hand. Lillian took a long look at J.R. He was a tall dark skin man with waves and freshly cut bread. She quickly shivered remembering she hated the feelings of beards touching her cheeks. He wore a dark navy-blue suit with black loafers, and a Audemars Piguet watch. She noticed the tattoos peeking out of the corner of the neck of his suit. He had a pearly white smile, and both of his ears pierced.

While Lillian was inspecting J.R who was doing the same to her. He first took notice of her height, relatively tall for a woman 5'8. He noticed the tattoo behind her ear, and the abundance of piercing on both of her ears. He was not fond of woman having every part of their ears pierced. As he traveled farther down her body, he noticed her perky breasts, poking through her dress and immediately recognizing that she had no bra on, and that her nipples were pierced. He reached her hips which were a nice curve, he could tell that she took care of her body, especially when he saw the French tip manicure and matching sets of toes. He finally rested back upon her face, noticing her clear brown skin, and round set of perfect lips. He could not deny that Lillian was beautiful, she was gorgeous, and had a set of straight teeth. But her beauty made J.R nervous, he'd known that this was a forced marriage for them both. His father had spent two years grilling him about the importance of finding the perfect wife, and constantly expressed his disappoint of the other women in his life. So, Senior decided to take matters into his own hands, and here stood Senior's choice.

Senior had done his research on Lillian Jayne Henderson before he decided to enforce their clause in the contract. She graduated from Emory University with a degree in Nutrition and received her master's from NYU. She worked as a Registered Dietitian in a chain of hospitals in NJ. In her spare time, she took Pilates classes three days a week, and taught part-time at a dance studio. Her social media was private and respectful, and most importantly, she had never been married before.

"Lillian, I want you to meet my son, J.R." spoke Senior, watching his son extend his hand in her direction, and returning the gesture.

The introduction conversation quickly transitioned into an exit conversation, and before Lillian could blink, she was hugging her family goodbye until tomorrow.

"Alright son, I'll see you tomorrow evening." said Senior, giving his son a hug. Then, he turned to face Lillian. "It was lovely meeting you. I look forward to seeing you again." he squeezed her before getting into one of the pairs of Black Cadillacs.

"Alright, we can go." spoke J.R, getting inside the opposite side of the vehicle, while Lillian got on the other. As she entered the vehicle, she noticed a woman dressed in a white blouse and black skirt, and two men dressed in black suits in the front two seats. Once the car pulled off, J.R immediately begin focusing himself on his cellphone.

"Hi, there! I'm Penelope, your new assistant."

"My assistant?" she repeated.

"Yes ma'am. I am here to fulfill any need you have, and help you transition into the family."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Our debut." he said sarcastically

"A charity event for raising money for HBCU scholarships." spoke Penelope. "First, we are going to stop by a hotel nearby to change, and fix up your hair, and makeup. The event is only for about three hours."

"Penelope, make sure her dress does not show her nipple piercing." he spoke, continuing to not make eye contact with Lillian.

"I can't wear this?" she asked in confusion.

"Nobody wants to see your nipple piercing." he scoffed, causing Lillian to roll her eyes. Unfortunately, for Lillian she was soon going to learn what being married to Roberts meant. The two-hour car ride was full of Penelope talking, while J.R. typed away on his cellphone. Once they pulled underneath the hotel awning, hotel staff escorted the pair to a private suite located on the 11th floor. The next thirty minutes were a blur, Lillian was being pulled in every direction. She was getting her makeup done, getting her hair re-curled, and having different colors placed onto her until they finally settled on a cream dress.

"Okay, Ms. Henderson, we have about five minutes for me to prepare you." spoke Penelope. "First, when you get out of the car, you can smile but do not engage with the media. Keep your eyes forward, and stand behind J.R." After running through a few rules of the night, Penelope had one final need. "We're going to need your phone." she spoke.

"My phone?" she repeated.

"Yes ma'am. It's for security measures. We will provide you with a new cell phone that is equipped with J.R. Operations grade firewalls and protection."

"I'm not giving you my phone." she spoke firmly, raising her eyebrows with certainty. "You have taken my freedom, my right to choose, and now you want my phone." she rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms.

"Ms. Henderson, please. I do not want to have to tell Mr. Roberts." she pleaded. However, seeing Lillian was not budging, Penelope rose from her seat, left the bedroom, and returned with J.R, who was dressed in a Black suit.

"Hand the phone over."

"No." she said firmly, causing J. R's eye to twitch.

"Lillian, I think you are confused." he spoke, pulling up a chair beside hers. "You don't tell me what you're not doing to do. Do not get confused with this arrangement." he spoke, pointing between them. "I make the decisions, and you follow them. Whatever my employees say, you do."

"Oh, do I." she attempted to stand up only for her forearm to be grabbed.

"Yes. And you do not interrupt me." he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Do you understand me?" he asked, receiving no response. "Do not test me." he threatened, snatching the cell phone from her hand, and leaving her speechless from the interaction. "We're leaving." he spoke, exiting the Presidential Suite with his security, leaving Lillian, Penelope, and the Glam Team alone. Penelope looked over at Lillian with sympathy in her eyes, but Lillian turned away in embarrassment.