10th Commandment | Revamped

Chapter 5

Things took a wild turn for Taraji when she got home last night—her husband was so furious that he packed his bags and left the next morning.

When she arrived at work, she wasted no time and called Fantasia into her office.

"Looking for me?"
"What’s your game here, Fantasia? Trying to worm your way into my life by wrecking it?"

"I—I didn’t think it through," Fantasia stammered.

"You told my husband I was messing around with Triple 4? Are you out of your mind? Do you even think things through? I honestly wonder if you have any sense at all," Taraji snapped, slamming items on her desk. "That’s not even my main concern right now. I need to know why you would do this. Is my marriage just some kind of joke to you?"
Taraji was clearly hurt, hurling her iPad onto the desk.
Fantasia had seen her riled up before, but not like this—it left her feeling uneasy.

"No! I—I'm sorry! I was just bored and lonely, so I called you and didn’t think—"

"Is that what you thought? You could toy with my marriage, with nine years of commitment? Did you think this was just a funny little game? That’s my husband, Fantasia! The man I love, and I’m trying desperately to win back his trust. How am I supposed to do that with distractions like you around?"

Fantasia gulped, realizing how personal the conversation was getting.
"You know what your problem is? You see everything as a joke. You think killing people is just funny, let’s all have a good laugh. You think dealing drugs to teenagers is a joke, let’s make some easy money... Haha! You treat everything like it’s a joke, and you are so wrong. Grow up, Fantasia. Seriously." Taraji’s voice rose.
Fantasia glanced out the glass door—everyone was eavesdropping.

"You’ve ruined my marriage. I can’t ever forgive you for this. Now, get out of my sight!" Taraji shot back.
"And don’t even think about coming near my sister again," she added.
Fantasia hesitated momentarily before walking out, noticing everyone quickly retreating to their own offices. She returned to her desk.

Quitting crossed her mind, but that wasn’t a viable option right now; she was still building an image for protection and for her mother’s approval to finally get her off her back. Taraji stormed out of the office.
Fantasia could see how badly everyone wanted to gossip about what had just happened. So, she decided to leave too.

And wow, the noise level soared as people started mimicking Taraji's outburst.
Fantasia got into her car and spotted Taraji in her own vehicle, tears streaming down her face.
Feeling too delicate to approach her directly, Fantasia opted for a quick text.

*Taraji, I’m really sorry! 😭💔*
Not enjoying this moment at all, right...

After an hour of both sitting silently in their cars, Taraji finally drove away. Fantasia followed suit, heading to her warehouse.

Once inside her office, she flopped onto her couch.
"We’ve missed you around here, big boss," Rusty said, startling her back to reality. She opened her eyes, almost as if she was waking from a light nap.

"Hey Rus, everything good? Is your beautiful family doing well?"

"We’re great, big boss. Thanks to you, my daughter’s thriving at campus. I’ve never had a real chance to thank you for the tuition fund—Triple 4, you have no idea. She’s doing amazing."