A Love Like This: His Replacement Girl

By Brittney Alexander

They say business and pleasure don’t mix; I tell ‘em mind their business.

Unlucky in love and down on her luck, Essence Montgomery finds herself in a bit of a snag. Single, unemployed, and in desperate need of a job, just as it seemed things had reached rock bottom, she receives a phone call from her best friend, Lori, who offers her a chance to interview with one of R&B’s hottest acts, Andre Sangs. There’s one problem: Essence doesn’t work for men. In no position to turn down such a great opportunity, she decides to give it a try and finds herself interested in more than just a job.
Andre Sangs, an up and coming R&B sensation, struggles to find balance in his life. Between the fame and fake friends, there are only few people he can turn to. Replacing his long-time personal assistant seems almost unbearable and entirely too stressful to handle, until he comes across Essence, who makes him wonder if there are any other positions she may be sent to replace in his life.
Little do the two know, their meeting, although seemingly heaven sent, was no accident. As the two find themselves twisted and tangled in a web of deceit and lies by those closest to them, will the bond they’ve created be enough to get them through it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Royalty Publishing House
• Release date: May 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781648407840

Book preview

Katariina stood in the living room peering down at her phone. Pistol told her earlier in the day that he was going to be pulling up on her so they could kick it and discuss the whole Ernest Sam situation. But that was hours ago and he was now two hours late. She called him at least five times the first hour and two the second, and sent him a few texts to see what happened, without receiving any kind of response or a call back.

This can’t be happening. I know he didn’t stand me up time I lay valuable information on him. Katariina slipped out of her heels and retreated into the kitchen to grab something heavy to drink. She’d been dealing with so much, coffee wasn’t the answer anymore. It stopped being the answer when Belinda was murdered.

Katariina grabbed her bottle of Stella Rosa Black from the refrigerator and headed over to retrieve the corkscrew. Once she opened the bottle, she took a swig right out of it without caring to pour it in a cup. Her life was one big mess. Ernest Sam had the nerve to show up and tell her, in so many words, to end her investigation. She wasn’t sure if the reason he didn’t want her digging into the case was because he was scared for his life, or because he was the one that murdered Belinda. She just painted him as a monster until proven otherwise. However, she had to really figure out what she was going to do about him altogether. She had a million and one loose ends to tighten up.

I don’t know how long I can deal with this. Katariina took a seat at the kitchen table where her life seemed to hang. She’d taken so many seats at that table reading over files, crying her eyes out and everything in between. It was like her second bedroom.

Yo Mom. I’m gon’ head out for tonight. My homies want to, like, shoot dice down in Kirkwood. Darrius made his way into the kitchen in a better mood and paused in his tracks when he laid eyes on Katariina. She was sunken in her chair with a wine bottle in her left hand like it was the worst day of her life.

You had a date that didn’t go through or something?

You know you’re still on punishment, right? We’ve talked about this Darrius. I can’t believe you walked down those stairs and told me you’re going out this time of the night after I just got you back from being on the streets. Katariina placed the wine bottle on the table while she kept her eyes on Darrius. He expressed to her how hurt he was feeling like he was the one who caused her marriage with Demarcus to suffer. He cried his eyes out with conviction in his heart and Katariina tried her best to comfort him, but she was still set on making sure he was on the right path. He was her son and she would’ve done whatever to make sure he had a brighter future than what the hood was offering.

Mom, I’m not gon’ be slanging any dope down there. We just gon’ be chilling, shooting dice and that’s it. Demarcus was trying his best to get through to Katariina about how he learned his lesson, but all he was saying was going through one ear and escaping out of the other because he hadn’t earned her trust. She had to really witness him doing better by getting focused in school again and finding a new crowd of friends to hang around for her to bend a few rules.

You will not step foot in Kirkwood again. Do you fucking hear me, Darrius? That whole crowd of friends you had over there is over. Do you know how many people lose their lives due to gang violence? Did your aunt’s death not mean shit to you? It’s like every chance you get, you’re trying to be over there in the hood proving a point to people. Katariina tried to stare into Darrius’ soul. He already knew she meant business, so he wasn’t going to just up and tell her where he was going or storm out of the house. His ties with Devil’s Apostles were over and done. Pistol pulled him away from having anything to do with the gang, and as long as Katariina kicked against it, he wasn’t ever going to be welcomed back until he was grown and could make decisions for himself. But still, Pistol wasn’t going to let him reenter out of respect for Katariina, the woman he’d fallen for.

Mann, dam— Darrius cut off before he could finish what he had to say. He knew Katariina was looking out for his best interest, but it was hard for him to stay put inside of the house after tasting the fun life he was offered before he was snatched up from the streets. His square life couldn’t compare to the way he lived when he was always on the go, slanging drugs, and hopping in and out of cars to confuse the feds. He got a taste of the fast life and was having a hard time readjusting to his normal life.

Don’t you have other friends from better neighborhoods that have a similar upbringing like you? Katariina grabbed her phone from her pocket. She placed her index finger in the air to let Darrius know to give her a minute until she was off the phone.

Nevaeh, what’s up? Katariina answered the phone with urgency. Normally, whenever Nevaeh called out of the blue, she had some serious shit to discuss.

There was a shootout at Blue Moon. We’re here investigating now. You may want to head over. Pistol was part of the shooting, and he’s been rushed to the hospital downtown, Nevaeh said as she walked under the yellow caution tape. She was always one of the first to know when something went down. She tried her best to stay in the loop of everything, and her friends on APD kept her informed on almost everything, whether the local officials hated the FBI or not.

I can’t come down there, Nevaeh. I have to go see if he’s alright. He has to be okay. Katariina placed her hands on top of her head with pain traveling over her chest and running down to her stomach. She hadn’t even known the man for a long time and was sick as shit with the news.

Do you know where he was shot at? Is it fatal?

They didn’t give me all of that information. Right now, we’re snapping pictures and getting DNA samples before the coroner comes to remove the bodies. Nevaeh stopped in her tracks for a moment. It looked like blood and gore in Blue Moon, and all the bullet shells sort of jumped out at her.

I hate to leave you there alone with pricks you don’t get along with, but I have to go check on him. And we pretty much know how he’s rolling anyway. There’s no sense in me investigating when I can get all the answers from him. He’ll tell me who was there during the shooting, or who did the shooting. Katariina sounded like she had all kinds of faith that Pistol would pull through and tell her everything about the shootout. It made her question her own sanity. Like, was she living in a bubble making herself believe that she had that kind of impact on his life?

Don’t let it be a conflict of interest. Nevaeh held the phone for a moment waiting on Katariina to reply, but Katariina dodged a reply and hung up the phone. She was too deep in her thoughts about Pistol to even think clearly on what Nevaeh said. All she knew, above anything else, was that she was going to check on Pistol.

Something happened? Darrius widened his eyes. He wasn’t a stranger to his mother’s line of work and when duty called, she was on the go and forgot the world around her.

I…uhm…I’m taking you over to Momma’s house so she can keep an eye on you, then I have to go take care of an investigation. Katariina tucked her phone away, grabbed the wine bottle off the table, and poured what was left down the drain. The she went to grab her keys and look for her gun. She was all over the place and hadn’t even said another word to Darrius. All he was supposed to do was agree to go over to Daphne’s house and wait on her to pick him up, which could take well into the next day. He was over her whole busy life; it was the main reason he lashed out the way he did. Steering clear of the life she paved, he wanted different. He wanted to be seen, and for once to be praised for something he loved doing.

I’ll just stay here. You don’t want me leaving the house then cool, I won’t fuckin’ leave, but I refuse to go across the city to stay with some old lady like that until you decide to pick my ass back up. Darrius followed behind Katariina while she kept double checking to see if she had all of her items so she could leave the house.

I’ve told you to watch your language around me. I’m not one of your friends you be hanging around in the hood—you used to hang around. And plus, you haven’t really spent time with your grandmother in years. You’re going and I’m not about to argue with you on this. I don’t have the fucking energy. Katariina did a final check around the house before slipping into her sneakers. She was so worried about Pistol, she hadn’t even noticed that she was leaving the house in a red, polyester evening dress that came above the knees, and a pair of beat up sneakers she’d had for ages.

The way Katariina was acting, Darrius dropped his argument altogether. He didn’t have time to bring more stress on his mother after they had been on good terms for the last few days. As her son, he kept telling himself that he would stop seeing things just from his perspective and give her a chance for once, instead of shutting her down.

The waiting room was packed with people from all over. The shooting happened hours ago and the crowd kept growing. The more the word got out about what happened at Blue Moon, the more people showed up. Katariina couldn’t wait. She didn’t have time to wait to see what was going on, so she went straight to the nurse’s station to get information.

I’m FBI Agent Katariina Desilva. I’m here to get information on Princeton Washington. The name didn’t even sound right coming out of her mouth. His street name stuck with her more. He didn’t even look like a Princeton to her. He was too rough around the edges to have such a noble first name.

He’s still in surgery, and the doctors haven’t given us any vital information. The nurse shot Katariina an apologetic smile.

You mean to tell me you don’t know a damn thing? Katariina felt like slapping the woman across the face. She was sitting behind the desk like the world stopped and fell to her feet, and she didn’t know a damn thing that was going on.

Then what do you do? Just sit behind a computer and do nothing? I need to speak with somebody who knows what’s going on. I need to know something. Katariina hit her hand against the counter with her blood boiling on ten. When she was trying to get information, she pushed and pushed until somebody told her something. It was how she was; a demanding person.

Agent Desil— the nurse cut off when Katariina placed her index finger to her lip.

No, you only speak to me when you have information. Do you know any damn thing? Katariina pulled out her phone not sure who the hell she was about to call, but her fingers went to pressing buttons with tears welling in her eyes. She knew the life Pistol led and that the streets never let up for anybody. The streets made a prime example out of Belinda. She was as loyal as they came, but loyalty didn’t stop her from losing her life though. In fact, it was loyalty that caused her enemies to multiply and plot for her downfall.

Michael Samuels was pronounced dead upon arrival, and Mr. Washington was rushed right into surgery. That’s all I know. The nurse swallowed hard. She hadn’t met anyone as intimidating as Katariina. The way she spoke and asked questions would cause anybody to tremble in their shoes.

Thank you. Katariina turned away from the desk and headed back towards the waiting room. Instead of staying inside, she walked back out through the exit doors. There were too many people in there sobbing for her to wrap her mind around her next move. Dwelling on tears never solved anything, so she always tried her best to keep crying to the bare minimum.

Everything is going to be okay. This too shall pass. He’s going to be straight. We’re going to get Ernest Sam. It’s okay. Katariina kept talking to herself to get a grip on her emotions. She pulled her phone out and dialed Nevaeh with the speed of lighting. When the phone stopped ringing and she heard Nevaeh on the other line, she was able to really breathe and she didn’t know why.

Is he straight? Nevaeh sat in her car with her hands resting on her