"All facades fall sometime, then the mask comes off and the real heart is seen."
― Jessiqua Wittman, A Memoir of Mercy

XXXXX

I know, I should have left 10 minutes earlier if I didn't want to be late for my first day on the job.

I moved to Kings County soon after my promotion. I was excited and purchased a Black Corvette as a gift to myself. I had signed the lease for a really nice apartment. I was ready to begin my life in the new area that seemed a good enough place as any.

I was single. I didn't have any children even though I loved children. I wasn't surprised I got the promotion though. I worked hard for it. Never took time off. No vacation. Go Stop Insurance was my Life since I was 20 years old. I have been with the company for twelve years.

I didn't have time to nurture relationships so I spent a lot of time alone pretending I didn't need a man. Pretending that the years since I had one didn't phase me. I had a close relationship with Andrea who worked in the same Hub and rumors began to swirl about her and I. We were touchy feely with each other but Lesbians we were not. Andrea found it funny. I was annoyed.

I tried not to scowl a lot. I didn't want to seem like the angry black woman so I made it my goal to walk around with a silly grin on my face unless something really pissed me off...The scowl prevented me from promotions in the beginning. I hated when my name was mispronounced. My name is Michonne, not Meshawn. I couldn't help from scowling.

Men found me intimidating. When the lesbian rumors started the executives became more accommodating. Andrea and I played the role to ease their conscience since they wanted to be more conscientious in their hiring practices.

Men in the company didn't ask me out because they really thought I was a lesbian. I had to move. Andrea wasn't happy about it but she was a damper on my sex life.

Today was going to be a good day. I was dressed real nice. I just touched up my lips. I had cleavage but still looked professional. Pencil skirt...

I was pulled over for speeding. The deputy sheriff was handsome. He had a nice smile. Nice teeth. His skin looked smooth. He smelled of aftershave. I noticed the way his hands were on his hip, his gun belt and the plain wedding band that adorned his left hand ring finger. I flirted with him. I flirted with him and it caught him off guard at first. The way he was looking in his uniform was very right. In other words I was going to try to flirt my ass out of a ticket.

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"So you can take a long look at me like you are doing right now." He was checking me out. I had just put on a fresh coat of lip gloss and the right amount of cleavage and leg. If this shit didn't work I was screwed. I would have to take time off to fight this in court.

He was turning red. I embarrassed him.

"Do you like what you see?" I asked again. Brazen.

"From where I am standing I'm intrigued how you are handling a car like this."

"Just like I would handle my man."

"How so?"

"I rev the engine. I like how I can get a stick to cooperate. The older ones took some adjusting but the newer models are easy. I prefer older especially if I can still get them from 0 to 60 in a matter of seconds." I wasn't really referring to the older versus the newer model corvette stick shifts.

"Is that what you do to your man? Tease?"

"If I had one, but I see you are taken.

"If I wasn't?"

"Then I would give you a test drive."

"Is that so?"

"A man in a uniform is hard to resist."

"Resisting would not be advised."

"Out of uniform I don't think we would have a problem, officer."

"Registration and License, please."

The sexy motherfucker gave me a ticket and his damn phone number. I don't know why he thought I was going to call his ass.

The new office I was working in was huge. It was hard to keep names and faces straight but one woman behind her back was referred to as the Cancer lady. I had only spoken to her to get reports of employees and evaluations. She always appeared sickly after she was referred as the name given because I thought she may have been just your everyday anorexic, want to be chic and not eat.

I went to court to fight the ticket. He was there. Rick Grimes. I learned his name. He was even more good looking with his face clean shaven the way it was. Fresh.

The judge wanted to know if I was going as fast as I was clocked, and why didn't Deputy Grimes arrest me. He told the Judge that he was having issue with the radar and it was possible that I wasn't over the 20 miles an hour. I could have been well within the speed limit when his Radar clocked a slow moving vehicle as if it was going over the speed limit. The Judge looked at Rick like he had two heads.

I stood there ready to present my case when it was dismissed. My speeding ticket was thrown out.

I still had his phone number. I don't know why I still had it but I did. I called him to thank him. He was surprised that I called. Something about the ease of the conversation and the way he said my name.

We went down the rabbit hole together. Whenever we saw each other we flirted. It would just be a look we would give each other. Eyes in the coffee shop. The lick of the lips at the end of the grocery store aisle and I was at the other end. Random text in the middle of the night. He was sexy to me and when I eventually found out who his wife was I went from warm to cold. It was at the Christmas Party at Go Stop Insurance. Lori stepped inside with Rick.

I received a text later that night. I wasn't planning on responding but I caved.

Rick: Why are you ignoring me?

Michonne: Because

Rick: I don't want to stop

Miconne: We need to stop.

Rick: I miss u

Michonne: I'm her boss Rick.