Page 67 of Rich and Rotten

I ignored the call from my lawyer and placed my phone on the machine behind us. “Okay.”

“Give me a chance to make things right between us in the process. Let me love you and give you dick until tears spill from your eyes again, baby. Tata, give me a chance to break down those walls.”

“Nothing has to be figured out today,” I said, repeating his words, unsure if I wanted to grant him permission to break down my walls.

It was because I knew that he would. He would break them down and have me back in love with him. I couldn’t deal with that right now, and he respected that.

The softness of his lips caressed mine as he went to get up.

“Mommy?”

I heard Nazira’s voice at the top of the stairs. “Yes, baby? I’m working out.”

“Can I come down?”

“Yes, of course.”

Nazir went and sat on one of the sofas off to the side. I heard her feet coming down the steps.

She noticed Nazir first and smiled. “Hey, twin.”

“What’s going on, pretty girl?”

I melted when he called her “pretty girl” and looked at my baby. She came and climbed right into my lap as I kissed her on the head.

“Did you sleep well?”

It didn’t matter how old she got. She would always be my baby girl.

“I have to talk to you about something, Mommy,” she whispered.

“Okay, is it a secret? Why are we whispering?”

She had a serious expression on her face, and I became serious, too.

“What’s wrong, Zira? You’re worrying me.”

“Mommy, I saw Bloom kissing Pop-Pop,” she replied.

I looked over at Nazir, and we shared the same expression.

Chapter Eighteen

Jonah

Carlotta called me hysterical because someone had sold the jet. She was confused because she would never sell the family’s jet. Raphael had purchased that jet for their anniversary a few years ago. He knew how much she loved flying down to Boca Raton with her friends, and he figured the jet would make her life more convenient.

That shit showed me that was the exact way I wanted to treat my woman. It was exactly how I wanted to treat Yalina. I wanted to make her life easier, make her softer, and get her to see that her man would handle shit for her.

She knew I was a nigga that took care of business, and she witnessed it with her best friend. I had been here since Karim passed, and I wasn’t going anywhere. I was going to handle any problem Tatiana had because I hated seeing her stressed.

That was what I wanted to do for Yalina, while giving her dick in the process. I wanted her to look into my eyes and know that the promises I made to her would never be broken. All she would have to do is make a call, and I would make sure it was handled.

Feeling her body on me while she slept felt like I had hit the lottery. My baby was able to rest without worrying about shit. As pissed as I was that my room had been overbooked, it was meant for me to be in her room that night.

I was supposed to witness her unravel, because she was a woman who didn’t come undone. She couldn’t become undone because she had too many people depending on her. Aside from her role as Tatiana’s assistant, she took on many responsibilities, making sure to provide for her family. Although she was only a few months older than Bloom, she took on the role of the older sister–– always trying to direct her to the correct path.

Bloom was free-spirited and did whatever she wanted, while her sister was the opposite. Not to mention the fact that she was holding Sav’s ass down while she was locked up. There wasn’t anyone to see her unravel at the seams when she was alone. She did that shit on her own, and I was meant to see that. It told me that I needed to apply pressure and show her that I wanted to love her. Shit, I wanted to let my own walls down and be real and open with her, too.