me & tomfoolery

Privacy pt. 3 | Jayson Tatum Short Story

The queen of saving the day made sure that there was a nice sized delivery at Clover within the next two days. Reagan outdid herself on this last minute deal and Al was appreciative. She was now off in New York. Things in Boston seemed to be fine.

Jayson was also grateful but he wouldn't express it. A thing that bothered him was the fact that his thorns showed more than his roses. He hated his vulnerability showing and that's what it was with Reagan. He had no sense of covering, no sense of privacy, everything was out there.

This was a new person that had access to his business and he didn't know her. This was a new woman that clearly he couldn't impress with anything he had because it was currently falling apart.

Jaylen, Grant and Marcus were enjoying guys night and Jayson assumed his role as a grouch. "Nigga, get into this game of spades!" Marcus hadn't seen any of them since the white party and it felt good to be reunited with his guys.

"I'm cool."

"No, I need a partner. Bring your ass on." Jayson trudged over to the small black card table and proceeded to be throw with a million questions. "Now that we finally got this bright ass nigga here. He can answer some shit." Marcus started.

See? Lack of privacy.

"What's this shit with you and Malcolm's cousin?"
"I know Malcolm's cousin?"

"Mitch or Reagan? Whoever she wanna be." Grant cut in. The group shared a laugh.

"Makes sense why I can't stand her ass." Jayson found Malcolm to be annoying. He didn't do much but it was something about his face rubbed him the wrong way. It also surprised him he never caught her first name and this a first time for that too.

Why wasn't he paying attention before?

Petty shit.

"That lady ain't do shit to you. She helped your uptight ass."

"Smart right. If that's your new plug, just mellow out on her. Beefing with her fine ass is not gonna get you nowhere. Al not gonna be able to mediate all the time." Jaylen added.

"And you know I agree with you niggas."

••••

"Always a pleasure." A kiss on the hand warmed Reagan's skin. "Always, tell your father I said thank you."

Javier was a nice man, just a little older than Reagan and was a huge flirt. His father Reuben was a big contributor to her business and always looked out for her.

She was planning on meeting them in Miami but Javier came to New York to meet. Some reason they wouldn't be in Miami next week but home in Mexico. Now she could use her time and just relax until her next call.

"You want a long term deal?" Al called and wanted to extend the business relationship but Reagan was resistant. Granted it was one of the biggest profits she made in her career. The tension between her and Jayson was a damper to a possible expansion. "What do i have to do to convince you?"

"It's your partner that's the problem. We do not get along and I don't want to torture myself with being around someone who is rude to me."

"I'll talk to him. Come back to Boston. Come to the club box. Bring Malcolm too, I wanna talk to him."

That was interesting. Malcolm insisted that Al and Jayson had issue with him and that's why they never worked together, but here Al was building a bridge they could walk over. She hoped her cousin was willing to meet at least one of them, if not both.

The frequent flyer was on a flight back to Boston with her feet kicked up in first class. Soft life girl was what she aspires to be off the clock. Sometimes that was interrupted when she had to grit it out. It was a dog eat dog world and it was male dominated. She had to be tough.

••••

Club box at the Celtics game was the Clover team's idea of relaxation. They didn't have to interact with anyone they didn't want. Well, everyone except Jayson. He looked at Reagan laughing with Grant about something unimportant.

Fuck is so funny?

His feet moved faster than his brain did because there he was standing in front of them.

"Grant, maybe these women would take you serious if you weren't an asshole to them. Like just be polite and it could get you somewhere. You're already funny."

"Don't lie to him."

Grant smacked his teeth, waving Jayson's comment off. "I'm funny, you just a hater. Nobody ever laughs with you, they laugh at you."

Reagan's snicker caused Jayson to raise his brow. "Something funny?"

"You. I'm laughing at you. That's what's funny." Grant proceeded to mingle with other people leaving the two alone. With her back turned to him, she continued fixing herself a plate of catered food. Jayson pressed into her before leaning over her body to grab a plate.

"Really Tate?" She stopped in her tracks while he still moved around her to get his own food. "Problem?"

Reagan wasn't sure if he was serious or being playful. From her experience he was only negative toward her and bad business. But in general she didn't hate his personality. It actually what she was attracted to which angered her.

Jayson was young, driven and in his drive he was successful. He was wildly attractive from his eyes, to his lips, the maintenance of his body. It drove her crazy that he was a jerk because if he acted right, he could get it.

"Not arguing with you today Mitch." She didn't even like how it sounded from his mouth. She preferred he called her by her first name. "Fine, we won't argue."

"Good."
"Good."

She slit her eyes at him. He was doing that on purpose and for some reason when it came to Jayson she allowed him to take her there. Normally poised and polished, she was ready to slap the back of his freshly cut head.

She grumbled and stomped her foot before going back to her seat. This triggered an eruption of laughter to release from him. Grant quickly understood what was funny as he watched Reagan seethe with disdain.

For the rest of the night, Jayson made it a habit to do things that ultimately annoyed her. The game felt like an eternity.

"Not gonna lie Malcolm it was good talking to you." Jayson firmly shook his hand.

Maybe he wasn't as annoying as he thought.

"I agree. Now that we got that weirdness out the way, maybe we could work on something."

Jayson fully agreed that would be beneficial for both parties.

"Can you not lean over me?" Reagan turned her nose up at him. He had been bumping and leaning on her all night.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom before we leave Rea." Malcolm stepped out of the room while everyone else began grabbing their things.

"Yeah Rea, relax." Jayson's large hand covered her thigh. He gripped it softly before slowly retracting it.

His hand felt good in that spot and she hated it. Reagan wouldn't relax. She felt like she sucked herself into a bad situation because with this partnership, she would be around him often and it wasn't ideal for her. She was out of her element around him and had no sense of control. She hated being out of control.

She needed to regain the energy she had the first night she walked into Clover or she was a goner.