Rewind. At 40 years old, Bree*1 had been working on her career - hard - for years. She had also been collaborating with people who shared her passion in providing opportunities for Black children, and they finally formed their company. Through her impressive networking, she strategically looped in every part the organization would need. Bree won the respect of her community and was quickly making the organization renowned throughout the entire state of Iowa. During all of this, however, Bree knew she longed for male companionship and the perks she fantasized would come with it...and then finally admitted that to herself. She met Lamont shortly after this discovery. He seemed to understand her busy schedule and limited free time in the beginning. They both said they wanted to keep things simple, and for a while they did. As Bree got more comfortable, she noticed Lamont getting territorial with her. Trying to get her to call him “her man”; trying to coerce confessions about her time spent when she wasn’t with him; getting beyond pouty when she declined an outing. They A few days later, she heard what sounded like someone trying to open her garage. As she tried to tell herself she must have imagined it, her phone rang. It was Lamont asking her if she meant to leave her mailbox open. Her kids had just caught the school bus moments earlier. She shuddered when she realized he was lurking outside her home again while her children were out there.2 She weren’t exclusive, he wasn’t “her type”, so she started backing away from regular communication. When she accidentally picked up his call while trying to answer another and found an irritated Lamont on the other end, that was the push she needed to tell him she wanted to stop seeing him. She had no idea this would happen next. Bree came home late one night a few weeks later to find someone had left a bag of food on her porch. She carefully walked up to the package. Visually inspecting it, she found Lamont’s handwriting on the outside of the bag, “thought you might be hungry”. She threw it away and rushed into the house. Seconds later, her phone rang. It was Lamont asking, “Did you see your dinner?” Bree firmly instructed him not to come over to her house unannounced and uninvited ever again. She felt herself being swallowed by an avalanche of feelings. #1: Furious! How dare he take a photo of her naked body! #2: Terrified. What else was he capable of doing if he is this bold? #3: Nauseous. How could she have allowed herself to be in a compromising position with someone clearly this unstable? As her presence of mind foggily returned she looked at her phone again, and the 2nd text message showed his threat: “If you leave me, I’ll ruin your life. Don’t think this is the only picture…” Before she knew it she had dialed his number and was screaming all the cuss words she could think of weaved around a declaration, “you will stay away from me, my kids, and MY HOME!” As she hung 19 was much more firm this time when she demanded that he stop. In mid-sentence, her phone buzzed. The photo that showed up in her text messages was her - under a sheet with her back to the camera - partially nude. What?! They had sex one time - just once - and he had to have taken it while she slept.
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