Chapter 10
peace graham
. . .
After I brought our bags inside, we bathed and put on some fresh clothes.
By the time we finished, our food arrived.
For some reason, I assumed Dreaux would order us something simple, but I underestimated him.
The bag of food came from a restaurant I never heard of before, but they gained a new customer.
There were scrambled eggs, shrimp and grits, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits, and waffles.
Promise, and I ate until our hearts were content and we were completely full.
After breakfast, we lay on the couch and watched movies on my phone.
The two of us eventually dozed off, and we stayed asleep until I heard a knock on the door.
It turned out to be another food delivery from a different restaurant.
It was the afternoon, and even though I wasn’t hungry yet, I was sure Promise was.
For her to be so small, she ate like a big kid.
“Let’s see what Doe got for you.” I thought her attempt at his name was adorable.
At first, I worried about her getting attached to him and his family, but they were good with her.
Dominique and Dana had my number and sent me pictures of all the activities they did with her.
They loved her as if she were a part of their family.
“Yay! Shicken!” Promise squealed. I didn’t know anyone who loved chicken as much as her.
She didn’t care whether it was tenders, nuggets, or wings.
She loved them all. Dreaux loaded us up with way too much food, but I wouldn’t dare complain.
There was a chicken, bacon, and ranch wrap with waffle fries in one container and some kind of seafood pasta in another. I decided to save the pasta for dinner.
I grabbed my phone to tell him we received the food and thank him. He was rude and complicated at times, but I would be in his debt for a lifetime for the way he showed up for me.
Me: Thank you for the food
Boss: Did my baby eat?
I stared at the phone in disbelief because he completely ignored me to ask about Promise. I wanted to cuss him out, but I decided to give him a pass.
Me: She’s eating her food now, dickhead.
Boss: Alright, bet. Tell her I’ll see her later. My sisters want to see their baby, so don’t be surprised if they call her on FaceTime.
“Wow.” I placed my phone down and finished my food. Promise insisted we watch Trolls for the thousandth time. Arguing with a toddler was pointless, so I settled in and watched a movie with her.
Once it finished, there was another knock on the door. Dreaux mentioned there would be a few deliveries, so I figured it was for them until I opened the door and found a pretty brown-skinned woman on the other side.
“Hi. Are you looking for someone?” I noticed one of those heavy-duty wagons behind her, filled with bags and boxes. It confused me even more because she didn’t seem like a delivery person, given how she was dressed.
“You’re Peace, right?” The fact that she knew my name confirmed that Dreaux sent her, but I still wasn’t sure why.
“Yes, I am. How can I help you?” I observed her from head to toe. Her beauty was undeniable, and she carried herself with confidence. Her long butt-length braids complemented her, and I wanted to ask her who did them.
“I’m sorry, my name is Ciyani. Dreaux sent me here to bring some things. I hope I’m not interrupting anything. He told me it was okay for me to stop by.”
“Umm, sure. Come on in.” I stepped back as she pulled the rolling cart into the house.
I went to close the door, but she let me know that some other people were coming in as well.
A few minutes passed before a couple of men walked in with boxes and furniture pieces.
I recognized the troll’s headboard the moment they brought it in the door.
Most of the items went right into Promise’s room, and they began to set everything up.
There were three men in the house, all working on something.
I had to bribe Promise with ice cream to get her to leave them alone.
She was so excited when she saw all of her things, and they were all kind to her.
“Alright. My sister-in-law is on her way over here to help me with everything. Dreaux told me that your favorite color was red, so I used that to help me pick out a few accent pieces. If you don’t like them, don’t hesitate to let me know.
I told him most women like to pick out their own decorations, but listening isn’t his strong suit.
Plus, I still have his credit card, so we can always go back to the store and get what you need. ”
Ciyani seemed like a nice girl, but I couldn’t help but wonder how she was connected to Dreaux. He took me as the type to have a harem of bitches on his arm. A part of me wondered if she was one of them. Promise was glued to her hip as she moved around the room.
I decided to put on some music while they worked since movie time was over. After the first two hours, more boxes and deliveries arrived at the door. Another pretty chocolate baddie showed up at the house with shopping bags piled up in another wagon.
“Hey, boo. You must be Peace. I’m Janae.” Her aura gave off a sexy, vixen vibe as she stepped into the house. Once again, I felt myself wondering if Dreaux ever touched her. These women were extremely gorgeous, and I found it hard to believe he had been around them without crossing the line.
“Hey, pooh! I see you finally made it out of the mall. I already know that the black card is worn out.” Ciyani greeted her sister-in-law with a hug, and the two laughed together.
“Damn sure did. Dreaux said there was no limit, so I added a new pair of heels to the tab. I was gonna stop and grab a seafood boil bag, but I didn’t want the car to smell like crab legs.
You know I love my crab legs and lobster tail.
” The two of them talked back and forth until Ciyani stopped to look at me.
“I’m sorry, girl. We weren’t trying to exclude you or anything.
When I get around my sisters, I forget where I am.
I gave you my name earlier, but I’m sure you’re probably wondering who I am.
I’m married to Dreaux’s best friend, Justice.
This is my best friend and sister-in-law, Janae.
We married brothers, but we’ve been best friends since we were kids. ”
“Thank you. I apologize for monopolizing your day. I’m sure y’all have better things to do than spend your day with a stranger.” The two of them looked at each other before they burst out laughing.
“Girl bye. We’re getting paid to shop and decorate all day.
Who would turn that down? Plus, Dreaux is basically another one of our brothers, and he rarely asks for anything.
When he called and asked us to get you and baby girl together, it was a no-brainer.
I just hope you like the stuff we bought,” Ciyani expressed.
“Oh, I’m not worried about her liking my shit.
One thing I know how to do is put some outfits together.
Now, Dreaux told me to get you some clothes for work and around the house.
I went ahead and got you some clothes for every occasion.
We love to go to lounges or random lunch dates, so I need you to match our fly.
” Janae’s words warmed my heart because she included me in their plans.
She rolled her cart into my room, then asked one of the men to get the rest of her things out of the car.
When she started opening the bags, I almost passed out.
Chop spoiled me with a few designer pieces now and then, but we never went overboard.
I wanted to tell her to keep the items in the bag because I was sure she spent way more money than she should have.
“Should I pick out the items I like the most so you can take back the rest?”
“Take back the rest? Girl, are you crazy! All of these are for you. If you see something you don’t like or can’t fit, then you can return it.”
“I don’t know. This seems like a lot. I’m honestly a homebody, so all I really need are a few lounge sets and a couple of outfits I can rotate at the office.
” Janae’s face twisted in disbelief before she whipped out her phone.
It only rang twice before I heard the familiar voice come through the speakerphone.
“What’s good, sis? You’ve got my bank notifications going crazy.” Dreaux chuckled, but he didn’t seem upset about it.
“You gave me a job, and you know I don’t play.
That’s actually what I’m calling about. She’s over here talking about taking some of the clothes back because it’s too much.
I need you to talk some sense into her because I would hate to ruin our future friendship by smacking her.
” Janae passed her phone over to me without warning.
The moment I saw his handsome face on the screen, I grew nervous. Our interaction this morning left me with so many emotions, and I hated how vulnerable I felt.
“I thought I made myself clear when we spoke this morning. My sisters are there to make sure you and my baby girl have what you need. All you need to do is figure out where you want your things and make sure pretty girl has enough toys,” he declared.
“All I said was that this was a lot of money. I don’t need a lot of stuff, and I don’t want you wasting any more money on me than you already have.” I whined like a little kid.
“It’s not your money to waste. Furthermore, you don’t get to tell me how to spend my bread.
I’m grown as fuck, and I do what I want.
Please stop giving my people a hard time and let them do what I paid them to do.
” There wasn’t a smirk or smile on his face, which only confused me more.
Dreaux was such a hard person to understand, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to.
“Yes, sir,” I replied sarcastically.