The latest post fromMs. Tea followed me from breakfast at the Hudson Café with Hendrix, all the way up to a few seconds ago when someone’s grandma called me a dirtbag as she waited at a red light. A few days ago, I probably would’ve told her off, respect be damned. But today, I simply waved at her and kept it moving because Ms. Tea had just performed a good deed, albeit at my expense.
For three days straight, it had been one thing after another. The emergence of another blogger who claimed to have exclusive information about me and my family kicked things off on Monday. Fortunately, this person wasn’t anonymous. I knew her.
Samira Jackson debuted her new gossip page, The Tea Whisperer, hinting that she’d be sharing inside knowledge about the elite Black families of Detroit. Since she’d positioned herself to be direct competition for Ms. Tea, she’d teased an exclusive Batchelor story in her first post.
The breaking news about my family was, of course, about me. It had started sweet enough, with her contacting me to set up an interview to tell my side of the story before it aired. Things took a turn when I declined her offer. Moments later, she released a video “revealing” that I had a three-year-old daughter in Wellspring, Michigan, and had never paid a dime in child support.
All hell broke loose shortly after my attorney got the video taken down before it gained traction.Thank you, Albany.She had been tracking Samira’s social media activity for days and received a notification that Samira had gone live before it gained traction.
Samira doubled down on her attack by interviewing my so-called “baby mama” to prove that I was a deadbeat father. She’d also uploaded a second video about the wedding shower with scathing commentary about Kay, Brianna, and Albany.
Countless content creators latched on to the drama, dragging Kay for being careless with Amir’s feelings—and me simply because it was popular. The ensuing drama pitted several families against one another, and long-term relationships were strained under the weight of the scrutiny.
A lawsuit was filed.Batchelor versus Jackson.
Kay called off the wedding.
Granny banished me to my home office until the drama simmered down.
Another lawsuit was filed.Cobb versus Jackson.
Hendrix and Brianna called it quits again.
Amir left the dental practice.
Kay disappeared to parts unknown with Brianna.
And Albany limited contact with me to short texts. No mention of the progress we’d made, the kissshe’dinitiated.
Then Ms. Tea posted her blog. And all the other influencers, including Samira, switched gears to cover yet another episode in the nonexistent Wesley Batchelor drama.
Is it totally untrue?No. According to Granny, I could get fired any day. How did Ms. Tea know that?
Even though the “breaking news” kept me in the spotlight, I was glad Kay wasn’t the topic of discussion. But the timing was strategic. It posted thirty minutes after the Garland contract was finalized. Too late to impact the deal. Too convenient to be a coincidence. Which begged the question …
Is Ms. Tea someone close to me?Absolutely.
Albany must’ve thought the same thing because she called.
“Hey,” I answered.
Her voice filled my car over the Bluetooth speaker. “Did you see the latest post?”
“I did.”
“I told you it was someone you know.”
“Very likely,” I agreed.
She grumbled a curse and let out a heavy sigh. “So, we should probably sit down and talk about it.”
Unable to help myself, I laughed. “Will it kill you?”
The sound of her soft, airy giggle settled into my heart and squeezed it tightly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I don’t know. You’ve been acting funny.”
She gasped. “What?”
