“Reason, I never knew you wanted kids. In all these years, I never heard you talk about ’em.”
“Yeah, because I wanted to get my career started first. I was tryna be considerate of Saje’s career too. But I believe we’re finally at the point where we can slow down some and shift our focus to bringing life into this world.”
“Have you talked to Saje about it yet?”
“Nah, haven’t had a chance to lately. But that conversation will come soon.”
Basheer wiped the corners of his mouth with the napkin as I took the last bite of my food. By now, both of our plates were empty.
“How do you think she’ll react?”
“I don’t know,” I answered without putting my wife’s business out there.
The truth was, I really didn’t know what Saje would say if I were to mention this to her now. It had been some time since we had the ‘baby’ talk when she expressed how much she wanted to become a mother but feared that her body couldn’t make that a reality. When I proceeded to ask further questions, she started breathing heavily, and tears smeared across her face until she could no longer speak because she was hyperventilating. Where the baby topic had taken her mentally and physically was never my intention. I didn’t want to push her any further, so I dropped the conversation and hadn’t mentioned it since.
“Well, my brother. Maybe it’s about time you found out. You scared or something?” Basheer’s fingers curled around the glass as he waited for me to respond.
“Nah, I ain’t scared, man. It’s just a touchy subject, but I’ma figure it out.” I picked up my glass of rum and Coke that I had barely touched and gulped some down.
“Well, if y’all ever need a surrogate or some shit like that, let me know. My childhood friend and his wife own a surrogacy company.”
I raised my eyebrows. “A surrogate? Nigga, now you jumping the gun. Why the hell would we need a surrogate?”
“I’m just putting it out there. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with having options.”
“I’m sure that won’t be needed, but if it ever does come up, I know who to hit up.”
Basheer nodded and extended his glass toward me, causing me to pause and look at him.
“Cheers to you having a successful baby making discussion with your wife, bruh.”
We both chuckled and clinked our glasses.
My entire flight back to Miami was spent thinking about my conversation with Basheer. I had everything I wanted and needed in my life, but the one thing missing was a baby. I longed to have a daughter, son, or maybe both. My legacy couldn’t end with me. That thought didn’t even sit right with me.
Despite my busy schedule and running UTN, having a baby was one thought that kept popping up. No matter how much I tried to distract myself when those thoughts appeared, they never truly went away.
I was a man who rarely got nervous, but meeting with Saje later for dinner had my stomach in knots. I had protected her feelings and disregarded my own needs. It was time for us to talk aboutcreating life. If she was concerned about not being able to get pregnant, we would cross that bridge when we got there. With the new technology and resources that were available now, nothing was impossible.
I briefly shook away my thoughts as I pulled into my designated parking spot at my headquarters. Once inside, I greeted every employee I encountered. Seeing them reminded me that it had been a while since I bought lunch for everyone. I put it on my mental to-do list to hire a variety of food trucks to come through during their lunchtime. Their access to food would be unlimited, and they wouldn’t have to come out of pocket for anything.
I wasn’t one of those bosses who believed I was bigger than the program. I looked out for everyone as much as I could. My employees were like family, and I treated them as such. As long as they didn’t cross me in any way, it was all good. Thankfully, no one had tested me and brought out Reason St. Pierre from the hood.
I made it to my office and instantly basked in the sunny springtime skies that warmed and illuminated my office. “Thank you, God,” I silently whispered.
I had a flashback of the first time I mobbed into John’s office as an intern, completely in awe the moment I stepped inside. John sat behind his desk, looking straight-up like ‘Don Dada,’ watching me frantically scan his large space, trying to take in as much as I could in such a short amount of time.
Who would’ve ever thought I’d be in the same position one day?
I sat at my desk and turned on my computer. My plan was to audit a few reports and then head out to meet Saje for dinner later. I didn’t need to come into the office and could’ve worked from home, but I needed a distraction. Anything that would keep my mind at bay for now.
From time to time, I reviewed the budgets, revenue reports, and advertising performance. Granted, I had people to oversee these things, but I had taken a page out of John’s book. He always stayed up-to-date with everything concerning his business. He had meetings with his team whenever there was an update, change, or concern that needed to be addressed. There were times he personally reviewed reports instead of just trusting the words of his employees.
He would say, “I don’t give a fuck how trustworthy a person deems themselves to be. I’m always going to be on top of my shit. I built this network from the ground up, and I’ll be damned if I allow anyone to ruin what I’ve created over something thatcould’ve been easily avoided. That’s why you always got to carve out time to check your operation with a fine-tooth comb.”
As a business owner, it was smart to always know what was going on. Therefore, I made it part of my monthly routine to ensure my business matters were exactly what they claimed to be. It didn’t matter how much I trusted the people who worked for me.
I spent the next couple of hours going through bills until I came across a few that looked wrong.
