Page 5 of Platinum Pressure

“Perfect. See you soon.”

We ended the call. My mind played with the idea of who the client could be and the opportunities awaiting me. Cade’s Cove had quite a few celebrities in the area. Rappers, singers, athletes, billionaires, and more called the city I loved home. The list of possibilities was long.

As I stopped at a red light, I quickly tapped the screen on my phone and started a group FaceTime call with my family. We were a close-knit bunch who always checked in with one another daily.

Michael and Ebonee Edwards made three beautiful girls and raised us all to be strong, independent, successful women. Daddy was a lawyer. Mommy was an ob-gyn. Essence, my older sister by four years, was a dentist who was married with two kids. Ye was a good man who was also a dentist, who took great care of Yasmine, Elijah, and my Essie Pooh.

Evie was the youngest. I had four years on her. She would graduate this spring with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. We had a couple bets going around the family about what route she would take, but she wouldn’t announce it until after she got her diploma.

“Hey, toots!” Essence was the first to join.

“Hey, Essie.”

The light turned green, and I continued my drive to HQ.

“Ye’s in the car too.” Essence gave a warning. Whenever we were in mixed company, we had to warn the others because we could over share a lot in the family chat.

“Hey, brother!” I shouted.

“What’s good, Dow?” he replied.

“What’s up, y’all!” Evie was the next to join.

All three of us looked like someone put our mom’s picture in an AI generator and said replicate her beauty—only AI couldn’t quite get the details identical. We all shared her deep, cocoa complexion and naturally curly hair. Essence had her deep dimples and doe-like eyes. I had her round face and round nose. Evie had her short height, but everything about her features was Daddy’s but more feminine.

“Tell me why I just got a call from HQ telling me about a client opportunity that’s going to make me drop Miss Nette.”

Essence and Evie both gasped audibly.

“Girl, it must be a big-ass celebrity because Miss Nette is your girl!” Evie exclaimed.

“That’s what I’m saying. I just left her house and was about to head home, but I’m taking a detour back to HQ. I do not know who it’s going to be, but it will most likely involve an NDA if they’re big enough.”

“Boo!” Evie teased. “We won’t tell nobody when you find out.”

“Right! We’ve got secrets we’re taking to the grave. One more won’t hurt.” Essence giggled.

It was true. Even though there were four-year age gaps between all of us, our bond was strong. We’d all gotten into our fair share of trouble and things that our parents would never find out.

“I’ll think about it and make sure we’re good before I go blabbing to my sisters.”

“If you don’t tell us, you’re for sure telling Aida’s ass. I’ll have our future prosecutor interrogate her in a couple of days,” Essence joked.

Aida Henry was my best friend. We’d met freshman year of college and been inseparable ever since. She was also a nurse, but she worked in one of the busiest hospitals in Cade’s Cove, so we hardly spoke anymore. It didn’t matter, though. We could go months without talking and catch up like no time had passed.

“Sneaking that in there is hilarious, Ess. Nobody will know until after graduation.” Evie smirked.

Conversation shifted to a more playful banter as we teased Evie and caught up on how each other’s weeks had gone. My sisters were my rocks. We kept each other grounded throughout life. We all went in our own direction but always held space when we needed it.

Whoever the client was would just have to understand.

Pissed.

Nah. This was deeper, stronger, more powerful than pissed. The level of anger I felt coursing through my body was nothing less than rage—blind, hot rage.

“PJ, please calm down, baby.”

Even the soft, gentle tone from my mother wasn’t enough to extinguish the fire burning within my veins. My mother could usually pull me out of most moments and keep me grounded, but I was too far gone.