Anthony #3
“What, you mean the same way you were trying to do us? Telling the press lies about me. Not sticking up for me and falling on your sword and taking the rap for that shit that happened at LSU. ‘Twan you wanna know why my spoiled ass got that money? Because Ma’s ass decided that she needed more money than what you were giving her. That ten g’s with all her bills paid didn’t satisfy her I guess.
Called me up crying and lying about everything that you’d stopped doing for her.
Said bills were running behind. So, I gave her everything I had.
I know you thought I was just tricking off my money all the time and I wasn’t.
Not every time. She got my deposits redirected to her.
So I ain’t have shit but I was making do by being a regular college student.
But then she called me saying some shit about taxes being due on the house and she needed the bread for it.
So I asked around about how I could get some money quick and that’s why I got caught. ”
“How much did you get paid for the story?” I looked up and saw Aphrodite’s eyes locked on Jill’s.
“What you talking about, AP?”
“You seem to forget I've gotta a shitty parent, too. One who loves to feed information to the press about me so that he can still feel like he’s in control. Power is his drug, money is your mother’s.
I wouldn’t put it past her to have tipped off the people about whatever you had going on so that she could get paid for letting them know about the story first. Being the whistleblower and getting cash from the publication while also pocketing the money that you secured for her.
” Aphrodite was ticking off facts and with the way Billy nodded her head this must’ve been something she suspected all along.
“You trifling bitch!”
Rye lunged at Jill and Antwan barely looked like he wanted to hold her back but he did.
I wasn’t sure why, since I was thinking of letting AP handle this shit, but he did.
Rye looked just as mad as AP and I thought about scooting closer to her to keep her in place but a part of me knew Jill needed to get fucked up one good time.
“You calling me trifling when you’re the reason I had to even do that shit!
Getting in Antwan’s head about cutting me off put me behind on some people who needed their money.
I wasn’t about to get in trouble because Antwan wanted to be stingy.
Got that big ass contract and was still only giving me the same amount of money every month.
My account should’ve doubled just like his did!
” Jill slapped her hand down on the table like she was truly offended by my brother not giving her as much money as she wanted every month.
“You really are the world’s worst mother.
Pandas are better mothers than you even though they’d trade their kid for a fucking apple.
But you're shady enough to trade your kid for your own gain. I never thought you were behind that shit. Shows how badly you had me fooled. It ain’t take me long though.
Just a few months of being back at home and hearing how you talked about Antwan I understood you were the issue all along.
There was nothing you’d said that had been the truth.
I knew that you’d lied about the money, but lying and setting me up?
I had put that past you. Now I see that was my first mistake. ”
I sat back because I felt like I’d been stabbed in the back.
The physical pain might’ve been phantom, but it was there and throbbing like I was bleeding out in this conference room.
For my mother to have been my biggest opp had never crossed my mind.
She’d been neglectful, even absent, but to be purposefully harmful to us… well shit look at where we were now.
“You gone listen to some girl—”
“I don’t have to. You ain’t denied it yet.
You just blaming Rye, Antwan, everybody but yourself.
You ruined my chances at finishing up my college career and being drafted.
Of graduating with the rest of my people all for some fucking money?
You played me and then got paid and didn’t give a fuck what happened to me, as usual. ”
“How much did you get? They normally don’t pay a lot unless it’s something big. Not to knock you, baby, but a college kid doing college kid shit wouldn’t have been that big of a national story until it was tied to your brother since he was pro.”
Phro having to be calm meant that she was putting together pieces to this puzzle quicker than I could even think to ask questions.
But now she had captured my interest with what she was saying.
It was clear she was selling stories to someone with whom she had a good relationship.
There was no other reason they’d believe her so easily unless she’d done this shit before.
Which meant every conversation we thought we were having with our mother was being run back to people whose only desire was clicks and views. Ain’t that a bitch.
“You fucked over Ant and then had them people going through my shit with a forensic accountant to make sure I hadn’t taken bribes back when I was in school. You could’ve fucked up my deal with the Desperados and then where would you have been?”
“So how much?”
Rehashing this with her was pointless. Billy wanting her here for us to get everything out before she took action was a courtesy that Jillana didn’t deserve.
“Five.”
“Five? Five thousand dollars? You fucked up my future for five thousand dollars?”
Now I was up and Antwan was holding me back.
All I could think about was what I lost. The shame I’d carried all because I’d tried to be a good son.
I’d told her I was willing to sign a promissory note to get Antwan paid back when I got drafted but she said none of that was guaranteed.
That I needed to capitalize on my playing now while someone still gave a fuck.
Her words had fucked up my confidence and of course I’d run to prove myself so that she could see me for once. And all of it had been for nothing.
“Your daddy needed—”
“FUCK THAT NIGGA!” ’Twan punctuated each word while he hit his fist into his palm. “You once again trading on my brother’s life, his future all for that nigga? Where he at, huh? You forsaking everything to be his ol’ lady and he let your stupid ass take the fall solo EVERY TIME!”
Antwan kicked his seat behind him knocking it over and I had to move away from the table and gripped my hands over my head as I paced. Aphrodite put her body between me and the table knowing it was the only thing that would stop me from reacting.
Jillana got up laughing as though all this was funny. “I don’t know why y’all called me here but thank you for the ride on the private jet. This entire conversation can probably get me a TV special or something on Sports News . A magazine spread at the least.”
“Oh, please do, I’m begging you.” Billy hadn’t moved despite the chaos in the room and I swore this lady was up to something.
Jillana laughed arrogantly but the sound was filled with disdain. “You always think you smarter than everyone else in the room.”
Billy’s brows rose and a smile played on her lips.
“Than you? Always. But tell me how you think you’re going to answer the fraud charges that could be brought up against you for defrauding not only the federal government and the state of Louisiana but multiple charitable organizations.”
Everybody paused but Rye who was smirking as she watched the panic come over Jillana’s face.
“That was so long ago—”
“And you’re Black in a state that can be racist as fuck especially when they think you have two sons who will go to bat to keep your name out of the media.
Their daddy spends so much time locked up I’m not surprised he doesn’t have a prison bitch doing life he keeps getting cased up to spend time with. ”
Antwan snickered and that pissed Jill off even more than before.
“Do whatever you want, I’ll still have my money.”
“The government will freeze and seize any assets you have that they believe can be sold to pay off your debts. Fuck with me if you want but I don’t like you, bitch.
You’ve come for everybody in this room, people that I consider my family and whom I love dearly.
I will put a bug in the ear of everyone I can to make sure your ass is in prison stripes right along with that nigga you keep trying to sacrifice the lives of my brothers for.
The only reason I didn’t step in before was out of respect for them but that shit is dead. ”
Did I feel some shit in my chest when Billy said brothers ? Yeah, ‘cause it solidified the words she’d been saying to me all along.
Love in action.
“I’ll sue both of you bitches! Lie and tell people that y’all attacked me.
You think that the money I wanted before was something, how you think my account is going to look after I get done with y’all?
I’ll have so many bruises they won’t think twice about coming after y’all and only a check will shut me up.
It’s gonna be so good to take that tennis money away from you. ”
She laughed and pointed at Aphrodite so hard she missed Rye coming around the table. By the time she did, Rye punched the shit out of her. Jill looked dazed as fuck that Rye had hit her and just stood there with her mouth open leaking.
“Now it ain’t a lie, bitch. That’s for talking all that shit about my daughter and stressing out my husband.” Rye looked like she was about to swing on her again but Choo high-stepped his ass around the table to snatch her up.
He had to bear hug her from behind so he could talk to her little ass but she was nodding her head in agreement with what he said.
It was funny cause her eyes didn’t hold a lick of remorse.
Matter of fact, she started to grin like she was gone slap the taste out of Jill’s mouth again as soon as he let her go.