Aphrodite #2
“I’m treacherous? I’m a gold-digger? It sounds like you are projecting a lot of your worst qualities onto me, Jillana.” Rye’s smile was tight, her arms folded across her chest like it was the only thing keeping her from launching her body at Jillana.
Jillana flipped the platinum blonde bundles over her shoulder with a roll of her eyes. Her makeup was too heavy and her outfit too young for someone who had two grown sons here to play today. “You got my son to cut off my money—”
“HIS MONEY. It was and is his money. The only person in the world entitled to his money is his daughter. That’s it.”
Her voice was raised and the folks who had been focused on pre-game were now turned around. Sterling was holding baby Ami and when she stood up I had to wave her back down. Rich wasn’t about to get on me because his girl was out here trying to be super friend and jump into fights and shit.
“Rye, don’t let this woman get under your skin. Let’s have someone put her out and be done with it.”
Jillana ignored the threat of being put out and glanced behind us. I didn’t think it was possible but her eyes became even more hate-filled. “And here comes the traitor.”
I glanced behind us and caught Billy looking bored with this entire exchange as she got closer. I knew she was trying to keep it calm because her children were here but Jillana didn’t have that type of give a fuck about herself.
“Jill, I promise this isn’t what you want.
You snuck up here and made a scene, so now sneak back out.
The last thing you want to do is distract your boys.
I’m sure you want them to hit all those bonus metrics so you can come begging.
It probably won’t get you anything but I know how you love to count other people’s pockets. ”
“You think you know everything don’t you?”
“I know you. Take my advice and leave. If either of your sons wants to reach out, they will.”
She frowned at Billy and it deepened when she glanced at me. “Not with you constantly throwing your no good friends at them. I’m sure this one is now after the little money that Ant has since her season is over.”
Oh, we’re taking jabs at my health?
“Ma’am my hamstring is healed, if my win last night says anything.
I’m here to support my man and unlike you I was invited.
I tried to do the whole respect my elders thing but you’ve insulted two people that I know are damn good women.
The common denominator in their disdain is you so clearly you’re the one that’s the problem.
And if you want to count pockets I got a fourteen million dollar check hitting my account for winning last night. Count that.”
When her eyes widened I saw her damn near salivating and plotting on a way to get her hands on that check. My earnings were public record so I didn’t care about her knowing what I made.
“All you bougie bitches stick together.”
“Bougie? I’ve worked since I was nine years old so please miss me with that.”
She apparently had just as much respect for my work ethic as she did her sons. Like being successful was only necessary for the benefit of your parents.
“Whatever, little girl. You think that my son is going to want a future with you after he sees the way you disrespected his mama?”
“She hasn’t done a damn thing to you.”
“Nobody was talking to you, Billy.”
Billy laughed out loud and anyone with sense knew she was about to go off.
“But I was talking to you. Now I try to respect the elderly, the unfortunate and the unlearned and you clearly embody all three so I’m giving you grace.
But even I’m not an endless fount of it.
We are guests in this suite and you aren’t.
The owner wants you out of it. I will call security and have you revoked from being on this property if you can’t figure out how to stay the fuck away from us. ”
“Oh, mommy you said a bad word, don’t say that.”
All of us jumped at hearing the little voice coming from behind us. Billy turned and looked at her oldest daughter who was wearing her father’s number in white on a pretty Desperados blue tennis dress.
Billy crouched down in a silk shirt that was the same color as her daughter’s, the blinged-out 90 brooch sparkling as she moved. If I knew her husband it was real diamonds too.
“Go sit down with your brothers and sister, Destiny. Mommy will put money in your cuss jar when we get home.”
Destiny hesitated looking back at Jillana with narrowed eyes like she didn’t want to leave her mama alone with her. Billy gave her a girl didn’t you hear what I said? look. Before Destiny left she stuck her tongue out at Jillana before running back to her grandfather.
I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing but Rye didn’t care and was cracking up.
“You wanna tell me about being a mother but look how you’re doing.”
“Yeah imagine that. My child loves me so much she’d stand by me when stranger danger was around. I’m sure that type of devotion that wasn’t won by fear is foreign to you.”
Ouch. That hurt me, and I didn’t even have kids. From the way Jillana’s lips folded onto themselves, I could tell it struck a nerve with her too.
“We can walk over to the owner’s suite right now and I will happily tell them that you’ve been a danger and distraction to not one but two players and their partners.
Who do you think they’re going to care more about?
The absentee parent or the men that make this team run and the women that support them mentally and emotionally?
” Rye was covering her husband from one of his greatest triggers while also checking the fuck out of his mother.
I needed to learn her ways because it was obvious this woman wasn’t going to go away.
Instead of battling either of the women who had so happily put her in her place, she turned to me to feel like she could get the last word.
“You think that you’ve got Anthony but trust me, that’s my boy and he won’t stay with a bitch that disrespects his mother.”
I was a nice girl but one thing I wouldn’t do is let someone think they were going to bully me out of my position in Anthony’s life. If he wanted me to leave that was one thing, but having someone who hurt him think they held sway over him was a no-go.
“Thank goodness I’m not a bitch and you haven’t shown yourself to be worthy of the title of mother. Do you walk out of here on your own or do we call security to have them drag you out? The game is about to start and I’m not missing a minute of his playing dealing with you.”
“No need, I’ll walk her out.”
The fair-skinned man dressed in dual jerseys for both Anthony and Antwan walked up with his light eyes stormy. He’d been so happy talking about how much he loved his Gordie and Knuck but his face now was rage-filled. And it was all directed at Jill.
From the look on her face, she knew she’d crossed a line and she took a step back.
Looking spooked she backpedaled toward the door but not before lobbing out one final threat.
“Don’t worry, I’m going. But y’all are going to pay for turning my sons against me the way you have.”