I met his gaze, narrowing my eyes on him. “No. This is howI’mtreatingyou.” Under normal circumstances and with clients who didn’t try to get me to play Hide and Go Get It with them as kids, I would’ve never taken it there. But Langston? I didn’t give a fuck about him or his micro-penis. Yeah, women talked, but so did money. And he had a lot of it.
Langston cleared his throat. “You haven’t changed, Dallas. You’re still a bitch.”
“Thanks. I’ll be that for you.” I processed a refund of his retainer and fed the contents of his file into my paper shredder.
“Maybe you should think about who you’re talking to. I’m not the same boy you grew up with.”
“You look the same to me. Sound the same too. Lame. Let’s not pretend to like each other anymore for the sake of our parents.” Folding my arms, I stood. “Find another attorney.”
Langston frowned. “You can’t do this. I paid you.”
“And I refunded you,” I said with a shrug. “We’re all set here.”
“I need this done,” he argued.
“Hire someone who’ll do it.”
“Look, I’m sorry. You know I was just playing with you. We’ve known each other for years. We have history.” He stepped forward, reaching out to grab my hand. “You—”
“Don’t touch me,” I warned. “And don’t bother making up a lie to your mother. I’ll be sure to tell her myself that you’re full of shit.”
After a long pause, he apparently thought better of arguing with me, because he simply nodded and left the office without another word.
Closing my eyes, I let out a slow, cleansing breath before I made my way to the window. On the street, I could see Langston practically running to his car. I also noticed a photographer in front of the building next door.I hate this.
Sometime ago, a few of my siblings and I had the bright idea to combine our resources and purchase an office building. My parents were entrepreneurs, operating several successful businesses. All of us had followed their lead. It just made sense to have a central location, where we could see clients, work our own businesses, and collaborate with each other.
Located in Ann Arbor, the spacious building had nine office suites, one for each sibling and an extra for guests. Currently, Dexter, Bliss, Blake, and I worked there every day. We called the space “Young Haven.” It didn’t matter what happened throughout the day—knowing that at least one of my siblings was around made all the difference. It was one of my safe places. Now, I had to worry about strange people camped outside my place of work. And I didn’t like that.
A few minutes later, Dex poked his head in my office. “Took you long enough.” He stepped inside and sat on the small sofa near the window. “Now I owe Blake money. I thought he wouldn’t last thirty minutes.”
I shrugged, joining him on the couch. “I really tried. But…just no. Not all money is good money.”
He gave me a fist bump. “Exactly. Mom called. She wants us to be at the field early for a family meeting.”
“About?”
“Shit, I don’t know. I just show up.”
“Fine.” Resting my head on his shoulder, I said, “Did you see that Keisha T vlog about me?”
Since Kimball had tilted my world on its axis, I’d been followed by random people wherever I went and received threatening messages from obsessed fans. And my inbox was inundated with interview requests from wannabe reporters. Speculation about my life and my character had become fodder for news outlets looking for a story and lyin’-ass vloggers vying for clicks. Which definitely didn’t make a potential political campaign viable. The latest video was a “documentary” about my love life and the slew of men I’d left heartbroken.
“I saw that shit,” he grumbled. “I want to know where that loud-ass Keisha T even found those people to interview. I was watching it like, who the hell is that? Talking about they ‘grew up with you’ and had ‘inside knowledge.’ Da fuq?”
I laughed. “Right? I’d never even seen those people before. And the one chick who said we hung out together in college? I met her one time at a party.” I only remembered that encounter after Demi had refreshed my memory. We’d met the woman at a party, and she’d said two words to me. “Hey, girl.” That’s it. How that translated to her being my former friend, I had no idea.
“Yeah, I remember her too. She tried to get with me a few times.” Dex and I had chosen to buck tradition and go to an out-of-state college. We’d both attended Hampton University for our undergraduate degrees. It had been scary as shit leaving the comfort of our hometown, but having him and Demi there had made all the difference. I knew without a doubt, I wouldn’t be the woman I was today if I hadn’t experienced HBCU life. “Did she even graduate?”
“I have no idea,” I murmured.
“Are you okay?” There was something about Dexter’s voice, the way he was, that made me feel secure enough to be vulnerable with him. He had a calm demeanor, spoke in a soft tone, and never overtalked anyone. He was a magnet and people wanted to talk to him, to confide in him. He was the gentleman talking to the shy person in the corner and boosting their confidence to work the room. It was a superpower, really, and the reason why he was successful in his career as a professional wingman. A relationship coach. A real-lifeHitch. While Bliss matched people with their potential soulmates, Dex helped his clients approach potential partners—among other services. And he made a great living at it.
I shrugged. “If I said I was, would you believe me?”
“No, but I wouldn’t push you.”
Opening myself up to share bits and pieces about myself to anyone—including my siblings—had always been hard for me. I’d always loved that my family allowed me the space to come to them when I was ready. It was the benefit of being the offspring of Stewart and Victoria Young. In hindsight, I realized their habit of letting us set the rules of conversation had been intentional. They’d encouraged us to think about the right time to speak, what we needed to say, and how we wanted to say it. They’d also taught us the power of acceptance, of community, of trust, of love.
