Found a Real One

By Mo Howard

Jada Anderson is a 23-year-old hustler. She has been blessed with a privileged life, but she works like someone is trying to take everything she has. She recently landed a job at one of the biggest financial firms in the country and she will not waste the opportunity. She knows that it’s hard for young black women to be taken seriously in corporate America so she tries hard to maintain a professional reputation that she can be proud of. Her life seems to be perfect, but her fiancé, Nick, isn’t. Nick is trying to figure out what he wants out of life, and even though they’ve been together since high school, Jada is starting to feel like she’s outgrown him. She’s starting to question if they should get married.
Omare Wilson is a 28-year-old bachelor who is mesmerized by Jada as soon as he met her. He sees that she has the drive and ambition to do more than what she’s doing, but he doesn’t want to push her. He has to respect the fact that she’s engaged, but he can’t help feeling an intense connection to her. Omare is a man, who gets what he wants, but Jada is making him prove himself in ways he never had to before. When she discovers Nick’s true colors, Jada is glad that Omare is around but she doesn’t know if she agrees with his lifestyle.
Will Jada choose her high school sweetheart who is the safe choice or will she take a chance on Omare and risk putting her career and future on the line?
Found a real one is an amazing love story that encourages you to think about life from multiple perspectives. Life is not always as it seems and everyone is not on your team.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Royalty Publishing House
• Release date: Sep 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781648405877

Book preview

Chapter One

Whippin’ the yam, whippin’ a fifth of the yam/Turn the whole brick to a Lam

Been rockin’ the dope, soon as it get off the boat/Keepin’ it soft like a mink

Gold on my link, coke in the sink/ Choppin’ that work like karate/ Swerve in a new

Maserati/ I’m in a new Maserati…

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Jada Anderson rapped along to her favorite song as she sped in and out of traffic. She was headed to her first day of work at J.P. Morgan and she did not want to be late. She’d recently graduated from Lincoln University and landed a wonderful job as a junior analyst in the investment banking department.

Slow down, her 23-year-old boyfriend, Nick, demanded while he grabbed the handle above the window of her 2014 Lexus, which was a graduation present from her parents.

I told you to drive, Jada said as she changed lanes again. Her job was located near Lenox mall in Atlanta, and even though she was only 10 minutes away, she wanted to make sure she got there in enough time to prepare for the day.

You’re not even running late though, Nick said as he glanced at the radio which read 6:30a.m. Jada didn’t have to be at work until 8am.

I always tell you when you’re early you’re on time, when you’re on time you’re late, and being late is unacceptable. Jada repeated the mantra that had been drilled into her head since birth by her parents.

But you’re going to be there a whole hour early, Nick complained as she exited the highway. Nick and Jada had been dating since 2006. They met on the first day of school in ninth grade and they’d been inseparable since then. Nick had brown skin that reminded Jada of a roasted almond. He wore his hair in a low fade and his brown eyes fit his squared face perfectly. He’d always been told that he favored the actor Pooch Hall from The Game, but he didn’t believe it.

Bae, you know how I am about time, just chill, Jada said while turning up the music. She would be glad when his car was out of the shop. For the past two weeks, they’d been sharing her car because his needed new brakes and he didn’t have the money for it at the time.

After they graduated, Jada was able to land a good job, but Nick was still looking. He went to school to be a teacher, but he hadn’t found a school system that he really liked yet, so currently, he was attending Netflix University from the comforts of the sofa that was in their apartment. Jada’s family wasn’t happy that Nick wasn’t working, but they loved him so they tolerated it. He was a good guy and came from a good family. They weren’t surprised when Nick proposed to Jada on their graduation day back in May; everyone knew that were destined to be together. His parents loved Jada and her parents were crazy about him too. The next logical step in their relationship was to get married.

When Jada turned on Peachtree Road NE, she spotted the building and instantly felt nervous. She hoped that today would be a good day and that her supervisor would love her. She turned down the music that had been blaring through the speakers and started to mentally prepare herself for the first day.

You know today is going to go well, Nick said while grabbing her thigh.

Yeah, I feel it will, Jada said with confidence. She had gone over her daily affirmations three times this morning while getting ready, so she knew that today was going to go well. What do you have planned for today?

I’m going to fill out some more applications and make some phone calls.

That sounds good. I know you will find a job soon, Jada said as she turned into the driveway of the building. She believed that Nick would find a job one day, because she was a naturally optimistic person, but she wasn’t pleased with the effort or lack thereof that he was putting into looking for a job. When she got to the front door, she put the car in park and flipped down the mirror so she could make sure her makeup was still on point.

You look beautiful, Nick said as he kissed her on the cheek.

Thanks, bae. Jada reached in the back and grabbed her lunch, which consisted of spaghetti that she’d made the night before. I get off at 5, so you need to leave early so you won’t get caught in traffic, Jada instructed Nick as she opened the door.

I got it, baby. I won’t be late, Nick said as he came around the front of the car. They were now standing in front of her car. He placed his hands around her waist and kissed her on the lips.

I’m serious, Nick, Jada said as she broke away from their brief embrace with a smile on her face.

I got you. Have a good day and text me when you have time, he said as he watched her walk away. Jada was 5’7’’, weighing around 170 pounds. She’d played volleyball in high school and college so she had an athletic body and curves for days. She reminded everyone of Dreka Gates; the only difference was her dark complexion. She had smooth, dark chocolate skin that blended with the night, and she loved it. Many people assumed that her parents had to be from Africa because she was so dark, but they weren’t. They were from Georgia. Her mother, Dianna, was an entertainment lawyer and she happened to be one of the best in Atlanta. Her father, Harvey was a teacher at North Atlanta High school. They’d met at Lincoln University when they were freshman so they thought it was cute that their only daughter decided go to their alma mater.

Nick admired the way Jada’s ass switched from side to side as she walked towards the front door of the building, and he couldn’t wait to get her home later today. When he could no longer see her, he got into her car and sped off. He wanted to get back home and go to sleep. He decided that he would wake up later and fill out applications.

Jada tapped her badge given to her last week during orientation, against the door to gain access to the elevators. She smiled at a security guard and said good morning before walking through the door. Jada would be working on the sixth floor and she was excited to see if she had a view of the city. As she rode the elevator up to her floor, she took out her headphones so she could listen to some music. When the elevator reached her floor, she stepped off and headed to find her desk in the sea of cubicles. She found her cubicle and was happy to see that it was by the window. She grabbed a pack of wet wipes that she’d had in her purse and began to wipe down her desk and keypad. When she was done, she went to find the breakroom so she could put her lunch away. She was happy to see that they had a Keurig and some of her favorite coffee cups. Jada was an avid coffee drinker. She didn’t drink it to wake up like most people did; she drunk it out of comfort. Growing up, Jada would drink a cup of coffee with her father every morning. They would sit outside on the porch and drink coffee together. Sometimes they would talk, and other times they would just enjoy the sounds that were created before the sun came up. While Jada made her coffee, she noticed a tall white man enter the breakroom out of the corner of her eye.

Being the southern belle that she was, she had to speak. Good morning.

Good morning, I didn’t even see you there, Ms. Anderson. You’re here early.

Yes, sir. I like to get settled before starting my day.

I agree. Well, we have a meeting this morning at 8am, but I actually have a video conference with a client at 7:30. Would you like to sit in on that?

Yes, sir, Mr. Lachiewicz. Will it be in your office or the conference room?

My office. Give me 10 minutes and I’ll see you soon, Mr. Lachiewicz said as he exited the breakroom.

Jada smiled to herself. Something told her to get to work early this morning and now it had paid off; she would be shadowing her supervisor on a conference call. When her coffee was done, she grabbed a napkin to wrap around the cup and headed back to her desk to get a notepad and pen. Today was going to be a good day and she was ready for it.

At 5:01pm, Jada stood up and stretched. She looked around and saw that everyone else in the office was packing up to leave. After she stretched, she took her purse out of the cabinet that was beneath her desk and checked her phone. She’d given her parents and Nick her desk phone number, so they could call her in case there was an emergency, but she left her cell phone in her purse so she wouldn’t be tempted to be on any of her social media accounts. When she looked at her iPhone, she had messages from her parents who had wished her a happy first day at work, and Nick had sent her an I miss you text. They’d been spending the past two months together after graduation so the feeling was definitely mutual. She wanted to call her fiancé to see where he was but before she could call him, he sent her a text message.

Nick: I’m stuck in traffic. Be there soon.

Jada rolled her eyes and chose not to respond. She’d instructed him to leave their apartment at 3:45 so he could be waiting on her when she got off. She had worked all day and all she wanted to do was go home and get in the bed.

Have a great night, Brittany said as she walked closer to Jada’s cubicle. Brittany was the other black girl that was a part of their team. There were 10 new hires in the investment banking department: six white males, two white females, and two black females. Jada wasn’t intimidated by being around white people. Most of her internships were with majority white financial firms, so she knew how to fit in. But, she was glad that there was at least one other black girl.

You too, girl, I’ll see you tomorrow, Jada responded with a smile. Brittany seemed to be a really nice girl.

Don’t forget to think about going to happy hour on Friday. I feel like we’re going to need it.

Yeah, you might be right. They worked us like dogs today, Jada added as she thought about how much work she’d completed today. Jada was a true perfectionist, so she only produced quality work. They were broken up into teams of five and asked to create a pitch of how they would bring in new clients. They had an hour to get their ideas together. When the other team presented, they stood up and took turns saying what they would do. Jada, being the overachiever that she was, created a PowerPoint and a handout to go along with the presentation that her group gave. The supervisor was impressed because he’d only given them an hour, and their pitch was perfect. He could actually use the ideas that they’d created to bring in new clients and help them see why investment banking is important.

Yep, but we did it. So we’ll grind it out for the rest of the week, and on Friday we will celebrate, Brittany stated.

Alright, sounds like a plan, Jada said. When Brittany left, Jada sat back down in her chair and decided to work on some tasks that were supposed to be on the agenda for tomorrow. She didn’t like to waste time so she decided to be productive. After about 30 minutes, her ringing phone distracted her and she saw that Nick was calling.

She