Page 19 of Rich and Rotten

Even as I stood behind the bar, discreetly squeezing the bottle while fighting to keep my composure, I wanted to run into his arms and feel them wrapped around me as he apologized. The old me would have tossed aside all the pain and hurt he caused, but the new me couldn’t do that. Nazir had promised he’d never leave me. Yet, he did. He left me in the middle of the night, and I never heard from him again. It wasn’t like I could go looking for him to find out why. And I didn’t know his family, so I couldn’t even reach out to them. Nazir knew so much about me, and I knew very little about him other than he handled his business and promised he wouldn’t stay down for long. Now, standing in front of him, with his scent mesmerizing me, I saw that he kept one of his promises––never staying down for long.

I purposely checked my watch to signal he was on my time, and I didn’t have much to give. It was something I learned from my father. He would do it whenever he wanted to send the message to someone that they weren’t important or worth his time.

“Mr. Kane, you have no right to call me anything but Mrs. Sterling. This is strictly business, and your job here is to protect my family––nothing more. We’re two strangers from our past, and that’s how we’ll remain. Thank you for taking us on as clients,” I said, reaching across the bar to shake his hand, which he accepted.

I slid my hand into his large hand, and I gave the firmest handshake I could. My hand trembled slightly because his touch still incited the same emotions inside me.

“Mom! I bought you back some butter pecan ice cream,” I heard my daughter singing as she came running down the stairs, and my heart jumped in my chest.

Here I was trying to stay professional with a man I shared a child with––a man who didn’t know he had a child who was literally his namesake.

Nazira zoomed around the corner and crashed right into my arm, holding a bag of ice cream.

“Thank you, baby. You know how much I love butter pecan.”

She looked up at me with a smile she shared with her father––the man who was sitting across from us. “Bloom wanted to make it up to you.”

I laughed because Bloom knew I was upset with her. She knew she shouldn’t have left without at least telling me that she was leaving, so she was going to do whatever she could to get back in my good graces.

“Oh, really?”

Nazira laughed. “Just forgive her, Mom. She’s really sorry.”

I kissed her forehead a few times and brushed her curls out of her face.

“Oh shit.”

The voice snapped me back, reminding me that Nazir was there and watching us.

Nazira turned and smiled at him. She stayed at my side, but she was now focused on Nazir.

“Hi, I’m Zira. Who are you?” she asked.

“Hi, Ms. Zira. I’m part of the security team that’s going to keep you safe. My name is––”

“Baby,” I quickly interrupted Nazir, handing her the bag, “why don’t you run upstairs and put this in the freezer before it melts?”

“Okay, Mommy,” she said before skipping off.

I took a slight breather, then slowly turned my attention back to Nazir, who was staring a hole through me.

“Tata… my mom has the same birthmark.”

“It’s Mrs. Sterling. And a lot of people have the birthmark Zira has,” I quickly defended, then poured another shot and threw it back, unbothered by the burning in my throat.

Nazira had a distinctive birthmark on the side of her face. I never knew where it came from; I just saw it as part of my beautiful baby’s uniqueness. It never crossed my mind that it could be hereditary. Nazira loved her birthmark and had never struggled with accepting it.

“Who’s her father, Tatiana?” he asked.

I quickly stepped from behind the bar. “I’m not getting into—”

“Tati, I’ve got to run real quick,” Jonah said, coming from the back. “Some shit is always happening.”

I exhaled, relieved that the interruption had saved me from having to answer Nazir.

“Is everything alright?”

Jonah kissed the side of my head. “Yeah. Some shit is always happening, and I need to make sure shit’s straight.”