Chapter 16
Sixteen
Mila
I t was day two of the conference, and I had met so many people from all over in a short period.
The people were so friendly and super excited to know that I worked for Tremaine Houston.
I didn't interact with Tremaine as much due to him being a hot commodity here at the conference, but once the events wrapped, I gave him all of me and vice versa, whether it was physically or mentally.
Things for Tremaine and me had taken off. I felt safe and seen for the first time in a long time with him. I couldn't get enough of him, and I could tell it was the same from him.
Today was the day of speakers, and Tremaine was the last to speak.
I was seated in the front row. It was hard for me to pay attention to the other speakers because my attention kept going to Tremaine, who sat on stage in a cream-colored suit.
He wore a burgundy button-up and a gold Rolex.
He held a few index cards in his hand, but he told me he only used them for props.
He was going to freestyle his entire speech when it was his turn.
The longer I watched him, the more my heart raced.
Tremaine had impacted my life in such a short time.
A part of me feared jumping all the way in with him, but my soul had leaped.
The trauma of my divorce still resonated in my heart.
I couldn't help but walk in a sense of fear, thinking about what would happen if I got to that point with Tremaine.
At one point in my life, I looked at Kyle as my forever.
I never imagined I would have to fight for custody and deal with his erratic behavior.
I didn't want that with Tremaine. I wanted this feeling to last forever and not let time ruin it.
I felt myself tearing up as I thought about how devastated I would be if that were to come to the forefront.
Before a tear could fall, the host of the event came to the mic.
She was a tall, light-skinned woman with sister locs.
She was wearing a navy blue top with light blue pants and nude shoes.
She wore big, thick black glasses and red lipstick.
She was an excellent host because of her upbeat spirit.
"Alrighty, folks, now to the man that you've all been waiting for," she said while looking back at Tremaine. "The real estate mogul himself."
The crowd cheered. I smiled big as I watched him smile at his introduction. Tremaine knew he was good at what he did, but I think his getting those alcaldes from others sealed the deal.
"Tremaine Houston!" she loudly introduced, clapping at a rapid speed.
That triggered the audience, and people stood to their feet, hooting and hollering as Tremaine made his way to the stage. He let everyone get their cheers out before he spoke.
"Alright, y'all, go ahead and sit down. Thank you for the love." He smiled. "And thank you to the beautiful Mallory for having me and always hosting such an amazing event." He looked back at her and smiled.
The crowd cheered, and Mallory smiled from ear to ear. I wasn't sure if she was thrilled by the crowd's response or by Tremaine calling her beautiful. I don't get jealous one bit. Tremaine was a low-key flirt, and I knew he didn't mean it that way.
"How y'all doing?" he asked the crowd.
A few people responded with "good" and "well" before Tremaine continued.
"I'm going to start off by letting y'all know I'm not here to discuss real estate the whole time. All three speakers have been up here discussing real estate, and I know y'all are tired of hearing about it, no shade."
The crowd laughed, including me.
"I'm here to discuss life."
The crowd mumbled in confusion. Everyone expected Tremaine to come in and drop gems. That was all everyone talked about, but he had other plans.
"With success comes sacrifice, and with sacrifice comes success.
We all know that. We see it in real estate all the time.
We work long hours, we lose some, and we win some.
That's real estate, but do you ever think about life outside of real estate?
We're programmed to think that success comes at the sacrifice of missing out on the things right in front of you.
Not having the ability to enjoy life because work is beating the shit out of you.
I was that man for many years. All I wanted to do was work, work, and work.
My motto was 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' .
The more money and success that I had could equal happiness. "
He paused.
"But then I came across something that made real estate fall to the wayside.
No matter how hard I tried to bury myself in work, I couldn't escape the feeling.
Never in my life had I ever felt that way.
I would go to sleep at night trying to figure out how to get back in the habit of only thinking about real estate.
Then one day I woke up trying to figure out how to handle what I was feeling.
The feeling was foreign but thrilling. Excitement fueled my body because it was a new adventure that I was willing to explore.
He looked over at me. He smiled softly before continuing.
"Once I was able to accept my feelings, I made a promise to myself to live in the moment and enjoy it. No amount of work would keep me from it. I even went to the extreme of eliminating clients that would impede my enjoying this new thing in my life."
He rubbed his hand down the back of his head and smiled.
"I knew she was special the first time I encountered her. I didn't get off to a good start, but as time went on, I realized she was a diamond in the rough that needed to be cherished and reminded how precious she was."
The tears were now brewing in my eyes, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could fight them back.
"I planned to open two more offices, but I realized how much I would have to sacrifice when it came to her, and I'm not willing to do that. My success would be making sure that she makes it first."
My heart fell. That was not what I wanted for Tremaine. I didn't want him to risk his success for me. I didn't need him jeopardizing his goals for little ol' me.
"I say all that to say: success just isn't in real estate. It can be found in anything, in anyone. So, live in the moment, experience what you have never experienced before. Make those sacrifices."
Even though the crowd clapped, I couldn't bring my hands together because I was too stunned by his admission. Never did I want to come into someone's life and alter anyone's life goals. Tremaine looked at me, and I could tell I was under his watch. He tossed me a soft smile.
He cleared his throat. "Now that I've dropped a life gem for y'all, I will give y'all the opportunity to pick my brain. Who would like to go first?"
Dozens of people raised their hands. Mallory stood from her seat and grabbed the mic to take into the crowd.
My chest felt heavy. The walls felt as if they were closing in on me.
I quickly stood to my feet and bolted out of the conference space.
The memories of how much I regretted altering my life came crashing in like a wave.
My thoughts raced as I paced the busy streets.
I pulled out my phone and saw that I had five missed calls from my lawyer, eight from Chasity, three from Trina, and ten from an unknown number.
My heart raced as I called Chasity back.
As soon as she answered, I fired off a million questions.
"What's wrong, Chasity? Is everything okay? What happened? Where is KJ?"
My eyes watered. I knew it had to be something with KJ. There wasn't any reason Chasity would call me back-to-back.
"Chasity, say something!" I yelled.
She took a deep breath. "Are you with Trey?"
"Chasity, what is it?"
She sighed again. "We had to take KJ to the hospital. He was outside playing with the rest of the kids. I noticed he started wheezing. We made him sit, but it didn't get any better, so immediately we rushed him to the hospital. The doctors are saying he had an asthma attack," she explained.
My heart collapsed, and I felt my world instantly shatter.
"KJ doesn't have asthma! What are you saying?"
"That's what the doctors are saying, Mila."
"What else are they saying?"
They wanted the parents' consent for treatment, for more questions, and because of his age, they called in a social worker for questioning. I tried calling you, Trina tried, and even the lawyer. We had no choice..." she trailed off.
"No choice for what, Chasity?"
"I'm sorry, cousin. We had no choice but to call Kyle."
I could no longer hear the busy streets around me. All I heard was KJ, asthma, social worker, and Kyle.
"Chasity, I'll be home shortly. I'm looking for a flight now. Let them know I'm on the way."
"I got you, cousin. Trina is here with Owen and your lawyer. Kyle is here also with his baby mama. He's trying to argue with your lawyer because you're at a work conference. We got your back but get here as soon as possible."
I didn't even wait to say goodbye. I hung up the phone and immediately searched for flights back home. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump. I spun around. Tremaine stood there with a worried look on his face.
"You're crying. What's going on?" he asked.
I hadn't realized tears had streamed down my face until he pointed it out.
"KJ's hurt, and I need to get home. I need a flight right now!" I blurted.
"Hurt? What happened?"
"My baby's hurt! Chasity is saying he had an asthma attack! I need to get home to my baby! I need to be there! I need a flight!" I relayed in a panic as my chest rose and fell.
"Baby, calm down?—"
"Don't tell me to call down! My fucking child is in the emergency room. His stupid ass father is trying to take him away from me while I'm up here! I'm clearly forgetting about my responsibilities, which is KJ! So don't tell me to calm down!"