Page 23 of A Hood Wife And A Rich Goon 2

“Enough has happened in the last forty-eight hours. I think we all need to regroup.”

“You right,” Bull agreed, swiping his pants leg and leaning back on the couch.

“I am?” Eazy replied, both brows raising.

Jewel tittered, pulling a carton of raspberry lemonade from the fridge and twisting the cap off.

Lotus shook her head, watching him drink right from the carton like he did when they were kids.

“Yeah. With Braxton out of the picture, it creates a leveled playing ground for all of us. Let’s let the dust settle. Don’t get comfortable. Stay on point.”

“You niggas saying we need to befriend this muhfucka again?” Jewel scowled, approaching the counter and standing across from Lotus and Eazy.

“I’m saying, let’s call a truce. For now. Midas is kept at arm’s length, but we need to keep an eye on this nigga. So, that means E, you gotta play nice with your sister. She don’t know no better.”

Eazy sucked his teeth. He wasn’t buying it. Essence was too grown and too fucking smart. Midas had brainwashed her. He could see it on her face. She was in deep with him. He hated to compromise, but somehow, he knew right now, it was the best thing. Moving recklessly was bound to cause some consequences that none of them were ready to face.

“The nigga ain’t about to be hanging out for Sunday dinner or no shit like that, but I’ll be cordial,” Eazy conveyed. “We need to come up with a plan though, and we need to make sure it doesn’t come back to us.”

“I already put in some calls to my team in LA. I got my boy Red sending some extra muscle. Braxton is out of the picture, but that doesn’t mean the threat is gone. I want somebody on Toni and the kids, Lotus, and Rhema and the girls. At all times.”

Eazy bowed his head in agreement.

“Fucking right. Me and Jewel cashing out at the gallery. I got a steady gig over there. Bitch Alyssa mad because the big dawg himself came in and promoted me over her. Ya boy on his way to becoming a private, very exclusive art dealer,” he boasted with a wide grin.

Inside Lotus’s mosaic and rose gold style bathroom, Toni studied her reflection in the mirror. She never thought she was ugly, but after seeing Essence and Chai, both who had been with her husband, she couldn’t keep her insecurities from showing. Neither of them seemed to be anything like her. Sighing, she swept some hair from her face and ran the faucet to wash her hands. When she was done, she exited and bumped right into Lotus heading to her room to get ready for her day.

“Hey! You okay?” she asked, noticing Toni seemed a bit taut when Essence was mentioned.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s been a rough couple of days. I’m still tired.”

“Girl, tell me about it. This pregnancy is kicking my ass. Please tell me it gets better,” Lotus whined.

Toni leaned against the wall and snickered. “It should. Both of my pregnancies were different. With Breeze, I was an emotional mess. I mean, I cried about any and everything. Surprised that boy ain’t a clingy little crybaby. Bijou was a walk in the park. I had nausea in the beginning, but once that second trimester hit, I was good. Take it one day at a time.”

“Hmm. Easier said than done when you got a nigga who has an ex back from the dead.” Lotus tucked her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, Bull told me about Niva. How about I raise you an old lover now married to the opps?”

“Essence?” Lotus’s brow dipped. “And Bull?”

“Apparently. I don’t have the details. I just know it happened. Did he seem a little bothered to you by the news?” Toni pried.

“Don’t do that.” Lotus shook her head. “I damn sure get the notion to have doubts, but Bull obviously is crazy about you and those kids.”

“Yeah,” Toni said, her gaze dropping to the floor. “I just wonder sometimes, after everything we’ve been through and how we ended up together. He was with my stepsister, of all people, and Essence too. Two women who are nothing like me.”

“Exactly,” Lotus pointed out. “You’re his wife. That holds weight. Don’t ever let another bitch make you question your position. I’ve seen him look at you, Toni. Trust me. He’s exactly where he wants to be.”

“Thank you for that, Lo.” She smiled and pushed herself off the wall so they could embrace.

“Of course. I have to get dressed so I can head to the library. I can’t be pregnant and broke. I want to update my resume and put some applications in. I’m even willing to sub for a while at my niece’s school. I heard they were kind of short staffed.”

“Speaking of, how do you feel about being a nanny? Is that something you’d consider again?”

“That depends.” Lotus eyed her with suspicion.

“Well, I also want to start working on some things career wise, and Bull and I were talking about needing someone to watch the kids. I could really use the help. Breeze has pre-school, but Jou Jou is busy, and she makes it hard to work sometimes because she’s so temperamental and needy.”