He pulled out his phone as he walked and sent Jenny Yang a text he immediately regretted. While he waited for Jenny’s response and the shitstorm that would definitely come after, he googled therapists, specifically Black men who focused on families and anger management.
Chapter 6
Lily-Grace felt herself cringing as she watched some man try to explain why it was perfectly reasonable to hold his neighbor’s dog ransom in exchange for some knee pads that were taken off his porch. It had been a literal eternity since she’d watched daytime TV She usually spent her free time with her nose in a book. Her life felt so noisy, reading always offered her a little quiet.
She’d gotten a lot of quiet though, since she’d been home. All the books on her Kindle were romances and biographies of strong women, and she wasn’t right there at the moment, emotionally. So today she settled onHot Bench,aka Judge Judy on crank. That morning she’d silenced the email notifications on her phone. Someone had finally told someone she’d left Ulway for good and her inbox was blowing up.
Requests for interviews from various websites and magazines; former colleagues checking in; former colleagues wanting the truth about what had really happened and why she’d seemingly just disappeared without notice. She knew at some point she should release a statement. Her friend and sometimes publicist, Margy, was in the loop and completely understood why Lily-Grace was hesitant to speak up. She knew she had to say something. She obviously couldn’t go back in time and protect other women, and Ulway had made it clear that they weren’t going to get rid of Douche Face, but she wanted something to go down in the Google of Record. People should know.
For a few more days though, peace and quiet, and quality time with her father. And back-to-back episodes ofHot Bench.
Her phone chimed in her lap. A text notification. She glanced at the screen. A smile wiped away her grimace as she looked at the screen. A text from Jenny.
Please come help me fold linens right now. I need to tell you about the text I just got, in person.
“Uh, Vinny come crawling back?” Lily-Grace mumbled to herself. She sat up and lowered the volume on the television like that would help her type better.
I don’t have a whip right now.
Papa is in town.
He went back to work.
Took his car.
Just tell me.
Okay I’m calling.
Another text won’t do it justice.
Lily-Grace glanced up at the Life Alert ad playing on the TV, until her phone started singing in her hand. She hit accept. “House of Beauty. You’re talking to a cutie.”
“You’re on speaker and I’m only mostly alone,” Jenny replied.
“What does that mean?” Lily-Grace laughed.
“Mama Yang is around here somewhere. We have a few clear days until more guests arrive. She’s giving the rooms a real hose-down while I do the beds.”
“Who doesn’t love a hose-down?”
“You know I do, just don’t swear.”
“Like hell I won’t. JK. What’s up?”
“Jesse Pleasant just texted me and asked me for your number.”
“Ugh, so disappointing.”
“Why?”
“He couldn’t even draw this out. It’s been like forty-eight hours and he’s already in love with me.”
“Who’s in love with who?” Mrs. Yang yelled in the background.
“No one, Mommy! Hold on.” Lily-Grace chuckled to herself as she heard shuffling and then the clarity of Jenny’s voice. She’d been freed from the speaker function. “See. There are ears everywhere.”
“Is the line secure now?” Lily-Grace teased.
