Chapter 11
Eleven
BLEU
She upstairs talking to her baby daddy, alone….
I tuned out Mr. Jackson’s rambling as I sat on the barstool inside of his small kitchen space pissed off.
I should’ve had my ass at Maison Langston’s this morning, instead I woke up pissed that Truly snuck out before I could get her number.
Not only did she sneak away from me, she left all the items I bought her. That felt like a slap to my face.
People didn’t walk away from me. Not without a final conversation.
“Cook Cook?” Princess nudged my arm.
Princess was the only name that the little beauty deserved to be called. I was against junk food, often times like now, I had a strict diet to follow. Intermittent fasting is what I lived by; I didn’t eat until past noon and stopped at seven pm Monday through Friday.
“Thank you, Princess.” I reached down and gently took the cookie from her.
Her big doe shaped eyes stretched just as big as the smile plastered on her face.
“That’s my baby.” Mr. Jackson gushed out.
I wanted to laugh but withheld. Him standing behind the island big and tall with a pink apron on for his granddaughter spoke volumes about his characteristics as a man.
He loved his family unapologetically, I admired it.
It took little to no effort to get Mr. Jackson’s address in order to pop up and bring all her shopping bags along with me.
I watched Princess walk over to her plastic pink barbie table. She sat down and picked up her glass of milk. Her big eyes widened at the pile of cookies stacked high on the plate before she picked up one from the bottom causing the cookies at the top to fall down from the stack.
It’s been ten minutes too long…what the fuck is she doing up there? I had this strong urge to stand up and walk out of the kitchen and up to Truly’s room.
Play it smooth, there’s no way she’s fucking him…I know that pussy still hurt from the beating I gave it. I smirked then got right down to business with Mr. Jackson.
“Mr. Jackson,” I waited for his full attention before continuing. “Truly spent the weekend with me.” I took a big bite of the cookie and had to look down at it in disbelief.
This is good!
“Spare me the details, Bleu.” He gave me a warning look.
I mocked surrender with my hands and tugged at my beard.
“I need a wife.” I blurted the words out too anxiously.
Mr. Jackson eyes grew big before he tugged at the apron until it detached from his body.
“Your parent’s told me that already. I had Calissi at the Gala to see if you two would mesh.” He said.
His welcoming eyes turned into a cold glare.
“We didn’t mesh but I promised her a six-figure job and I must say, my mother is disappointed in her refusal.”
“Refusal?” Mr. Jackson shouted.
“She hasn’t responded to my assistant’s email. Offers like the one I gave Calissi aren’t easy to come by. She has the model look; she would thrive in the company.” I added.
Calissi was indeed beautiful, I could picture her on the cover to Maison Langston’s magazines and walking the runway with her long athletic legs.
We embraced diversity, Calissi was a great fit.
I planned to launch a new clothing line for women of all shapes and sizes.
I hadn’t come up with a name for it yet, but it was meant to cater to black women.
“I’ll have a talk with her. What are you going to do about finding a wife since you didn’t like Calissi on a romantic level?” He asked.
My brows slowly raised at his question. Mr. Jackson was a smart man, right now he sounded dumb as hell. I purposely let my silence answer his question before I spoke.
“Truly spent the weekend with me, Mr. Jackson—”
“I said save me the details on that…wait!” he held his hand up.
His face went through multiple emotions, shock, anger, then it returned to stone.
“You’re not considering my Truly, are you?” He asked carefully.
“I am.” I answered confidently.
“Now wait a minute, Bleu.” He took his time to walk around the counter.
He stopped a few feet away from me and talked very low.
“Truly been through enough, she’s a very hopeful girl. She doesn’t deserve to be married off to you just because your mother is forcing you to do so.” He spat out.
“And your oldest Calissi does?” I asked getting pissed off.
It wasn’t because of him offering Calissi hand in marriage. It was simply because Calissi was the oldest. I understood how it felt to have all responsibility placed on you just because you were the first born.
“No, I offered Calissi because she can get with your ass. All your bullshit, and womanizer ways, Calissi would humble you. Just how you’re in the marriage for the wrong reasons, Calissi would be too.
For her, it would be about the money. She won’t wait up at night crying her eyes out behind whatever keeps you away.
She’d be in bed with someone else or checking her bank accounts before going to sleep. ” He spat.
“Oh, she’s a whatever you can do, I can do better type of woman.”
Those were the worse type. Women like Calissi didn’t view their bodies as a temple. They viewed it as a weapon.
“Truly is different.” He sighed and placed his eyes on Princess.
Princess dipped a full cookie into milk for seconds too long.
I imagined the cookie to be soggy by the time she put it in her mouth.
I returned my attention back to Mr. Jackson.
His eyes were sharp; it reminded me to how serious he was whenever he entered a court room to defend my family’s name. His jaw clenched before he spoke.
“Truly has a heart that loves too easily, and it breaks just the same. She’s kind. She cares more about people than herself. She’s trusting, even when she shouldn’t be.”
I remained silent, as I listened to every word he said.
“She’s also lost sometimes.” He continued.
“She’s searching for something that won’t hurt her this time. And the last thing she need is some powerful man with money trying to control her life like it’s a puzzle he can solve.” His stare pinned me.
“What exactly do you think you can give her?” he asked.
I hated that the first word out of instinct that popped into my head was, control.
I already knew I couldn’t control, Truly but I could make her surrender.
Control and loyalty were something that was pressed and ironed into me since a kid.
I could also give her security and purpose.
Without saying that, I knew it was the wrong answer to his question.
I was a truthful man; it wasn’t in my DNA to lie.
“A future, and friendship…I can give her a life she deserves, her and Princess.” I answered.
“Princess?” He asked confused.
“Doesn’t she look like a princess to you, Mr. Jackson?” I nudged my head in Princess direction.
“Oh, of course she does.” He smiled.
“Does Truly know?”
“She doesn’t, I don’t plan on telling her until I decide that marriage is something that I really want.
I’ve already told my mother that it will come out of her pocket since it’s her forcing my hand as always.
I don’t need my mother’s money, but I came up with something that could work in Truly’s favor.
Help her with all of her many creative ideas, this could possibly help her find the right direction in life itself,” I smiled.
My smile wasn’t a cocky one, it was sincere.
Truly was the type of person that didn’t want to do just one thing.
Even if she found her passion, there would be other passions to follow.
She needed something to call her own. My mother had lots of money that she would never use the type of money that would continue for generations to come.
My plan for Truly was probably over the top, I viewed it as an opportunity to shut down her naysayers.
“Wow, that’s impressive…She’s my middle child…the one I worry about the most. I try to give her whatever and support her as much as I can. I don’t think marriage is a fix for her or you.” He stated.
“Friendship first, of course, if she agrees to marriage then things will be made clear. Even my personal affairs,” I said.
Mr. Jackson remained silent. His silence was full of unspoken words and doubt that I could feel radiating off of him. That silence was occupied by the sound of Princess happily munching on her cookies. Next, I heard footsteps and arguing coming from the staircase.
“I’m not walking away…” I said, standing to my feet.
There’s something about Thickumz that I don’t see myself walking away from…
what the fuck? I couldn’t believe my own thoughts; it couldn’t have just been the taste of her or the way her pussy fluttered around my dick and squeezed.
There was this feeling of fate that blossomed in the pits of my soul.
A feeling that spoke to me and conveyed that she was placed inside of that gala for a reason.
It was beyond the marriage that my mother wanted in order to make our family name look good.
“You just better be ready to prove to her that you’re not just another storm in her life.” Mr. Jackson uttered.
I nodded my head then excused myself from the kitchen. Me and Mr. Jackson would definitely continue this conversation some other time. I stepped into the narrow hallway that led to the living room, just as they came into view.
Princess’s father was in front, Truly behind him.
The sight of her stirred something inside of me.
Her blonde pixie cut was damp; it clung to her head in soft waves.
It was proof that she’d just stepped out of the shower.
Her skin glistened with oil. She was still beautiful standing in a simple pink graphic shirt of Janet Jackson and black leggings.
The leggings were better than couture, her curved filled the fabric in ways that defied logic.
She had hips that didn’t just sway, they commanded space and attention.
Her waist made me want to walk right up to her in front of her baby daddy and hold it tight.
Her thighs curved at the right angle, from the front, you already knew that the ass was swollen behind.
Dammit. I licked my lips and inhaled from afar. Her soft perfume was dainty enough to tickle my senses. For a moment, I forgot every word her father just told me. Every warning, and the lines I would surely cross.
All I saw was Thickumz.
There was this strong ache of wanting her again. They hadn’t even noticed me yet, his eyes were glued to Truly with possessiveness that made something dark coil in my chest. His gaze locked onto her like she belonged to him.
“Lolani stays with me, Aubry. For the entire week, I deserve that after all she’s been through.” She said to him in irritation.
What had Princess gone through? I wanted to know. I cleared my throat to make my appearance known then stepped fully into the living room. She was so busy with Aubry that she hadn’t looked on the living room couch to see all of her shopping bags there.
She turned to the sound of my voice. Shock covered her face first followed by panic.
“What are you doing here?” She practically whispered the words out.
“You left.” I took a couple of steps until I was in front of the couch.
I noticed the redness around her eyes from crying, exhaustion weighed down on her shoulders.
“Mr. Jackson is my family lawyer on retainer. I brought your things that you left at my penthouse.” I said simply.
Aubry scoffed beside her; he took a step forward and squared up like he thought he could intimidate me. I smirked at him then frowned when Truly placed her hand on his arm to stop him.
“She doesn’t need shit from you no more. Truly and I are working things out for the sake of our daughter. You can take—”
“That’s for her to decide. To be honest, it doesn’t matter if you stay or leave… I’m not going nowhere, and I know can’t nobody in this house move me.” I cocked my head to the side.
I took a step forward and unbuttoned my suit jacket. The air between the three of us pulsed. It was inevitable. I could see Aubry’s anger visible along with his insecurities as a man. Worried dimmed his stare down with me, so he comfortably flicked his eyes over to Truly.
He should be worried. Only a fool stands between a man and what he’s already claimed…even if the claiming isn’t complete just yet…