“I know.”
“And your mama…”
I exhaled slowly. “My mama likes you, Gianna. One uncomfortable situation not gon’ erase that.”
“You sure?”
“I know my people.” I kissed her forehead softly. “Now my sister—she's probably ready to fight somebody for you right now.”
She laughed lightly. “She definitely looked like she wanted to jump him.”
“She did,” I chuckled lightly. Then my expression softened again as I looked at her. “But none of that matters to me as much as you being safe." I held her eyes. "And because I'm even more concerned about your safety now, I gotta ask you, beautiful…what's next?"
I didn't even have to elaborate what that question meant—she knew.
"You want me to quit?" she asked softly.
"I do," I admitted. "I know you have a goal in mind and I respect that. But what I wanna now is what's the number? How much is it gonna take for you stop right now?"
Her eyes widened slightly. "Remy—" she breathed out.
"Just tell me, babe. I don't want you going back there."
"Alright," Gianna nodded. "100,00. That’s my number."
Shit. All I could do was blink because I don't know what number I was expecting, but it damn sure wasn't that.
“A 100,000?” I repeated slowly.
Gianna nodded, but she looked almost uncomfortable saying it out loud now. “That’s what I need to comfortably walk away and pivot fully.”
I leaned back in my chair slightly trying not to visibly react while mentally doing the math.
That wasn’t impossible. But it also wasn’t small. Not the kind of money you just casually handed somebody especially not with a child, a business and responsibilities depending on me.
Gianna watched my face closely and started shaking her head. “See? This is why I didn’t wanna say it. It sounds crazy.”
“No,” I replied honestly. “It sounds expensive.”
That made her laugh softly through her tears. “I’m serious though, Remy. I’m not pulling numbers outta my ass. That would cover my debts, my savings cushion and be enough for me to transition into something else without panicking.”
I nodded slowly because honestly that was responsible as hell. Strategic. “You already thought this through,” I realized.
“Of course I did.” She wiped beneath her eyes. “You think I wanna do this forever?”
“No,” I answered. “I don’t.” I looked down for a second, rubbing my jaw thoughtfully before looking back at her. “How close are you right now?”
She hesitated. “I'm halfway there. 62k.”
So, she was off by $38,000. That's what it would take for her to finally be done with that part of her life. I didn’t even think any further of it. "I'll give it to you," I said.
She blinked quickly, mouth parting in shock. "Wait—what?"
"I can give you the money, baby, so you can be finally done with that."
"But…will that set you back?" She adjusted herself on my lap, searching my eyes. "You have a business, employees, a son—you have a lot on your plate, babe."
"My business, my sonandmy employees will all be fine. I'm doing well, Gianna. I won't break the bank giving you this money I promise," I assured her.
