Page 71 of A Capo’s Love: Featuring A Don’s Love

“She is… not doing too well. You were right… I should have⁠—”

“No should haves. Take care of her. I’ll be by to help, Royal,” he reassured me.

I started the car, put the phone on speaker then set it in the middle console. Saying nothing else, I rolled away silently with Luca still sitting on the phone quietly. The sound of Novae’s baby coos and the twins playing with her soothed my frazzled nerves. What kept me grounded the most, was my brother remaining on the phone with me until I made it home.

CHAPTER 18

Amaris

12.01.26

Black folks never waited long after Thanksgiving to start decorating and being in the holiday spirit. The weather was perfect, and so was everybody’s mood, including my father’s all of a damn sudden. I could hear the Christmas music mixed over trap beats floating through Spike’s lounge. The playlist sounded confusing as hell, thanks to Keisha’s ghetto ass.

I gave her the honors of being in charge of decorations, and it instantly pissed me off when I stepped through the front door. She had fake snow draped across the ceiling, and red, green, and white ornaments dangling from every wall.

I headed straight to my office to catch up on payroll and any missed emails that I might have overlooked on purpose. My entire office was painted what I considered to be my comfort and favorite color… yellow.

I was good with hiding behind my soft sunflower painted walls with real plants that helped me breathe better than being on the outside of this place right now. Everybody seemed to be on some fake weird shit or maybe my energy had been off for the last two and a half weeks going on three.

My office smelled like vanilla candles along with the lingering scent of my mint tea. I had a huge abstract painting of dark and light skinned women dancing together to display unity that my father gifted me one birthday. The gift itself was before he got so-called bored with his status as Kingpin.

In fact, I had a lot of gifts in here from him. I leaned back in my office chair, my legs crossed, now staring at absolutely nothing while holiday trap music drifted faintly through the floorboards from downstairs. I really didn’t want to be here today, and truthfully, since I returned back to my house, I didn’t want to be around anyone.

Especially my father. Ever since I came back home from Royal’s home… Jeremiah Reed transformed into an overprotective parent overnight. He called me constantly to check where I was when he already knew. He even stopped by the bar more frequently, acting like he gave a damn about offering a fake helping hand when really he was watching me.

I assumed he was trying to watch for the changes in me since he knew I willingly stayed at Royal’s even after the forty-eight hours. Guilt was eating his ass alive, which irritated me even further. Because where was all this same concern before he got tangled with the Bonetti’s when he never had to in the first place? My father wasn’t hurting for money; again, it was the fake boredom that made him take out a stupid ass loan.

Keisha was my girl, no doubt, but she made things worse too. Apparently, she’d been annoying my father nonstop while I was gone since I was her only friend, as she liked to put it. I didn’t want to know what their dilemmas were. I just all of a sudden found myself wanting to be left the hell alone with my thoughts of the one person I couldn’t seem to get off my mind.

My office door suddenly swung open without the person having the decency to knock. When the handsome rugged face appeared, I became even more annoyed.

Derrick.

My ex who thought he was ‘the gift’ instead of hell on two feet. A narcissistic, selfish bastard that felt like the sun should set on only him every day of the week.

“Mar Marrrr,” he drawled in a tone that instantly made my stomach churn in disgust.

Derrick was tall with blemish free beige skin. As always, he had a fresh line up with short dry curls. It smelled like he over did it with the woodsy Caribbean smelling cologne. He dressed like he had to prove that he had a lot of money, which never impressed me from jump. His designer jacket zipped halfway up with his diamond Cuban chains pressed against his chest.

I didn’t consider him as an ex; I didn’t even want to claim his ass. Unfortunately, we had history. He was an instant regret. Derrick was the type of man that went off of infatuation with a woman. Once the infatuation was gone, he was in the wind.

Till this day, I felt like Derrick wanted me because of his infatuation with impressing my father. What I liked about him in the beginning was he worked for my dad while he was in college. He smuggled a lot of drugs through the university and made a shit load of money while doing it. What turned me off, though, were multiple things.

The lies that he told to claim me as his girl. Him hiding a whole kid from me after I slightly fell for him. Then there was the little shit, like him never taking the lead in anything when it came to us. He didn’t break my heart to say the least… he was just a waste of existence and time.

“Now why are you here?” I asked flatly.

His smile dropped disappointedly.

The fuck? He really thought I’d feel honored to see him… I thought, annoyed with the visible audacity of this clown.

“Damn, no hello?” He took a few steps further into my space.

He laughed awkwardly then stopped just inches away from my desk. Before I fixed my lips to tell him to get the hell out, the reason he was here in the first place walked in. My eyes narrowed at my father.

“You invited him here?” I jerked my head back, blinking my eyes fast to keep myself from disrespecting my father.

“I thought it would be good for you two to just catch up.” My father shrugged.