Living With The Enemy

Chapter Ten

Prince sat in the chair with the phone cradle in his lap, and the telephone pressed to his ear. The phone cradle and cord moved up and down to the rhythm of Prince's tapping foot, causing his legs and thighs to generate movement, too. He was grinning from ear to ear as he waited for Xendrea to answer the phone. His lips were having marks imprinted on them from his teeth as they pushed on the sensitive skin, and his tongue was sticking to the roof of his mouth. Michael was speaking with Amir in the other rooms, and though Prince couldn't care less about whatever they were talking about, he was curious nonetheless. 

    His eyebrows rose when he heard the faint "hello" of his assistant. 

      "Ah, and hello to you, too, Ms. Williams. Have you been my busy, busy bee lately?" he asked as he stopped tapping his foot.

      "As busy as ever, Sir. How have things been going between you a--"

      "Ugh. Don't even ask about that motherfucker. He's been irking my nerves since I got here. And...why do you sound so far away from the phone? Are you doing something I don't know about, X?" he asked cautiously. He heard her chuckle, indicating that she wasn't being far too serious as she should have been.

      "Well, I'm unpacking some boxes that came in the mail today, and they are filled with the new tambourines and Rumba shakers you ordered. I can't unpack and hold the phone against my cheek at the same time, so I left it on the table until I finished." She grunted as she opened the other two boxes, "Secondly, you've only been there for about twelve hours and he's already gotten on your nerves?"

      Prince shrugged to himself. "A lot can happen in twelve hours, Xendrea. Besides, I learned a bunch in these few hours, and arrogance is his number one favorite thing about himself."

    He couldn't see it, but Xendrea rolled her eyes in annoyance. She feigned a gasped, picking up a tambourine. "Michael Jackson? Arrogant? Boy, Sir, don't that just remind you of somebody? And who knows, that somebody can be closer than you think," she teases. Prince scoffed and blew out a breath of denial. He didn't see himself as arrogant (which is a big mistake on his part); just a narcissistic perfectionist. 

      "Haha, X. Very funny, hilarious, a knee slapper," he said very dryly sarcastically. "First things first, I am not arrogant, Xendrea. I prefer the phrase 'altruistically challenged.'" Xendrea almost wanted to laugh, but she knew ir would get her into some trouble, and she sure didn't want to hear him give another lecture about respect towards him. She just shook her head as she placed a box on top of another. 

      "So...selfish. Sir, why can't you just see that you are kind of...self absorbed? I mean, I know that as caring as Mr. Jackson seems on television, he could never act like you act. Maybe if you just gave him a chance, then you could see the real him, and see that he's not so bad." 

      When Prince was about to respond, a knock sounded at the door. "Hold on, X." He placed the phone in his lap. "Come in," he said loud enough for the person to hear. The door opened and in came Amir, his second enemy. "What do you want, Williams?" 

      "Huh?" a confused, muffled Xendrea spoke.