I looked with dissatisfaction through the glass window of my office to the view of the city beyond as that seemed to be the only thing that thrilled me in my office and my casino as well.With my back turned on my desk and my gaze facing the view outside, I let go of all my worries for those few couple of moments. I knew that I would be caught up in the worries again as soon as I turned back to face that desk. But somehow, I drew comfort from the fact I had made contact with Randy, Tamika's ex, and that he was willing to work with me on the undertaking that I had suggested to him. That gave me just the slight ray of hope that I had been looking out for.I wasn't sure what it was, but I was sure that there was something wrong with the sudden elopement between my younger brother and the famous Tamika Fisher.He had it all— the looks, the money, the status, the charisma. But then, I was sure that those weren't enough to get him a woman as wonderful as Tamika Fisher was. To make it all e

With Robert came thoughts of my past which I had desperately wanted to get rid of. I noticed that his smile slowly faded when he spotted me standing beside Dolph. He was probably feeling as awkward as I was. “Hello, Dolph,” he said, as he put his smile back on and shook hands with Dolph. “Such a pleasure to see you here, with your…”“Here's Tamika,” Dolph said introducing us both, as I hoped Robert wasn't going to make things awkward by telling him that we already knew each other. “Tamika, here's Robert. The brain behind the team that's going to make you famous again.”“Oh… nice to meet you, Randy,” I wasn't new to putting up acts, and that made it much easier for me to act calm in those few awkward moments of pretending not to know the man who had dated my sister but had wanted me instead.It was all a weird story, and I hated the fact that I could recall every detail of it perfectly. It all began with him coming over to our house one day. “Hello,” he had said, with those eyes that

“What the heck are you doing here?”It took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I was staring at Tamika's annoying ex, who just didn't know when to quit. But then, I didn't have a problem with that. I was only concerned with what he had come to Dale's office for.“If it's not the trending Dolph Martin, who else would it be?” Randy asked rhetorically, as he was staring me in the eyes. He almost seemed like he was consciously fighting the feeling of intimidation around me. “Well, I also happen to be the one your girl left you for. And fortunately, I can now see why. It's unbearable standing around you. But unfortunately, I have to stand and ask what exactly you are doing here.” I loved the reaction I was evoking from him. “Sadly, you're not in charge here. You can't call the shots here…” Randy was even more annoying in person than I had expected. It had me wondering where Tamika had put her so-called high taste when she had fallen for this fool. I didn't know why I just co

I was frozen still and stiff like a mannequin as his lips were now on mine. They wreaked of liquor, but also passion as well. It was a moment worth capturing on camera, as it almost felt like he was being controlled by some unseen force.“Dolph…” I muttered, as he slowly pulled his face away from mine like he had just had a taste of something sumptuous and wasn't ready to let go anytime soon. “What are you…”I immediately lost my appetite for the drink, as that moment alone had made it nearly impossible for me to breathe, let alone have another sip. It all happened too rapidly for me to be able to keep track of it. That moment felt more like time had stopped and just restarted in the twinkle of an eye. I turned to see him, still with that disturbed look in his eyes. I put down the drink on the table as I turned to face him and possibly calm him down.“Dolph, please… calm down,” I said drawing closer to him without knowing that I was soon going to regret ever engaging in that particul

The phone was heavy in my hand, as I was about to make the one call I had been avoiding for a long time now. Each time the phone buzzed took me back to that feeling of days when I would be calling for help and no one would come through. It had been the darkest period of my life before I had been about to break out as a star in what I did. “You useless piece of crap…” the brutal words of my stepmother stung me mercilessly as I was about to be pushed into a world of numerous uncertainties. “There's no need for us keeping you here, you're like unwanted furniture which no one would ever want to keep by them…”What stung even more painfully was the fact that my father had stood right there and did nothing about what his new wife was doing to the only surviving child of his first love. At that point, I was wondering what exactly I could have done wrong to deserve what was happening to me. I had always been an ass-kisser for her daughter— my stepsister, Tara. I had been warned by her cru