Chapter 28
I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. My gut told me this conversation was about to go wrong. Harper and I sat down and talked a few days ago, and she wasn’t happy with what I said.
“Aye, can we talk?” I pulled up on Harper at her office. The shocked look on her face caused my eyebrows to raise as I pushed my way inside.
“Hey, baby. Umm, what are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
“Is everything okay? You never come to my office.” Her nervous energy had me on high alert as I walked further into her office. Rather than replying, I headed over to the empty seat in front of her.
“What are you trying to say?” Harper sat there looking like a lost puppy.
“As a man, I need to be honest with you about how I feel. I’m not ready to get married, and it wouldn’t be right to string you along.”
“It’s her, isn’t it?” she snapped.
“I don’t know who you are referring to, but this has been on my mind for a while. I need to get my life in order. With my children being in my life, I have to set the best examples I can. It has nothing to do with another woman. In my heart, I know I’m not the person who can give you the life you deserve,” I explained. I should have told her this before Sunny and the boys even came into the picture, but when she told me she was pregnant again, I felt like I needed to do the right thing.
When she miscarried, I thought it would be insensitive to rescind the proposal, so I went along with it. I figured we could coexist the way we always had, but things changed. The feelings between us were surface level at best, and she deserved better than that.
“Why are you doing this? We are months away from our wedding, and you have decided to call things off now?” she hissed, pacing the floor of her office.
“I apologize for the timing of everything, but it was better than letting you go through with the wedding and embarrassing you.”
“Well, it doesn’t feel better. Is there anything I can do to change your mind? We’ve put so much money into this, and it feels wrong to walk away when we’re so close. What about our history? Does it mean nothing to you?” I swiped my hand down my face before I spoke.
“I appreciate the time we spent together and for the memories I have with my daughter. However, I’m not in love with you, and I can’t change that. You’re still young, and you have time to meet someone who can give you the life you deserve. I just know it isn’t me.”
“Please don’t do this, Money. What if we take a break or something? I will give you space to get your mind right and decide what you want. I think you are making a hasty decision based on temporary emotions. It’s understandable, but we have to be realistic. I’ve been by your side since college, patiently waiting for the day you would finally take our relationship seriously. I don’t deserve to be left at the altar like this. I love you.” Harper cried. A small part of me felt guilty, but this was the best decision for both of us.
“I understand what you’re saying. It was never my intention to hurt you, but I would be doing that if I married you, knowing that I’ll never feel the same for you that you feel for me.” This conversation wasn’t progressing, and I needed her to accept things and move on. When I peered over at her, I saw her wipe her tears with the bottom of her shirt.
“I forgive you. You are only trying to do what you think is right. Fortunately for you, I know what’s best for you. I’ll give you some time to reconsider, and I promise not to hold this against you. We are end goals, Money. You are going to see it one way or another.” Her tone was calm, but I heard the underlying threat in her tone as well.
“I don’t know what part of this you don’t understand, but I’m going to make myself abundantly clear. We’re done. I will be more than happy to pay for your move and all the expenses that come with it. I’m not doing this to punish you, but I have to be true to myself.”
“So, you are leaving me for that lying bitch? You don’t even know if the new baby is even yours. I can’t believe you let that dumb bitch come into our lives and try to ruin all that we have built!” Harper shouted. It took me by surprise, so I stepped back.
“Sunny has nothing to do with this. We just aren’t right for each other.”
“And you think she is right for you? Oh, come on. All she has ever done is lie and run from her problems. You are being a fool, and it’s only going to blow up in your face. I love you enough to wait for you to learn things the hard way, but I won’t wait forever.” I grew more and more irritated as the conversation continued. Baby girl had to have bumped her head because she wasn’t picking up what I was putting down.
“Aye, I’m gonna head out of here. I’ll give you a month to find a new spot, and after that, I’m done. Please don’t make this any harder than it should be. You only know one side of me, and I would hate to introduce you to the other side. Take care of yourself, Harper.” With that, I walked out of her life and her office. Now her father wanted to speak to me. Mentally, I prepared myself for the bullshit waiting on the other side of the door.
“Come in!”
I took a deep breath while whispering a small prayer.
“What’s up, Coach. You sent a message saying there was an urgent matter you needed to talk to me about. How can I help?” My face remained emotionless because I was too busy reading his body language.
“Hello, son. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” He stood from his desk to greet me. “You may have a seat. This won’t take long.” I decided to go along with it because I wasn’t planning on being here long either.
“What can I do for you?” I repeated my original question.
“You seem to be in a hurry, son. Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all. However, I’m not a fan of small talk, so I prefer to get right to business.”
“Fair enough. I have a friend of mine who is on his way up. We can get started as soon as he—” A knock interrupted him. “I guess I spoke too soon.” He got up from his desk to answer the door. The two men greeted one other before the man stepped into the office.
“How are you doing, young man? My name is Anthony Howard.” He held his hand out to me, but something about him rubbed me wrong. His appearance reminded me of those corrupt attorneys you saw on those law shows. “Very well then. Have you already briefed him on why he’s here?”
“No. I wanted to wait for you to get here before we got into the topic. We can get started now,” Mr. Monarch urged.
“I’ll let you take the floor first, and I’ll fill in if there are any other questions.” My jaw flexed as they continued to talk as if I weren’t in the room.
“Money, I have considered you to be a very dear friend and son of mine. For many years, I have watched you grow and thrive on and off of the field.” My eyebrows raised because it seemed like he was giving me a termination speech.
“It has come to my attention that you have chosen to end your relationship with my daughter. While I respect your decision to choose what you feel is right for you, I’m not in agreement with how it has affected my child. You see, Harper is my pride and joy. My sons have grown to become fantastic men, but there is something so special about a daughter. I’m sure you know what I mean by that. My job is to protect my child and her interests, no matter what it takes. I’m sure you understand my plight.”
“Not really. Your daughter is a grown-ass woman, and I’m not someone you need to protect her from.”
“I thought the same thing until my daughter called me, crying hysterically. I don’t take too kindly to my daughter being hurt. I realize she is a grown woman, as you so eloquently put it, but I’m still her protector.” Mr. Monarch passed me an envelope with a bunch of paperwork in it.
“What is all this for?”
“In those documents, you will find the details and records of the traffic stop you were involved in during your senior year at Douglasville. I’m sure you recall that night. When you and your friend were caught with drugs and alcohol in your vehicle.” My hands gripped the paper tightly while he spoke. This man was really going to try and blackmail me.
“What does my traffic stop have to do with anything? From what you advised, everything was handled.” I set the envelope back on the desk, then folded my arms across my chest.
“Yes and no. You see, I stuck my neck out and paid off the officers that night because I wanted to protect someone whom I considered to be a son. It was a very large price to pay, might I add. However, since you are planning to leave my daughter, I can no longer consider you a son. I’m sure you can understand. I have photos along with the bodycam footage to implicate you in possession of illegal substances with the intent to sell. That isn’t very noble or becoming of someone who is being considered for the Hall of Fame.”
“Are you serious right now?”
“Oh, I’m very serious. I have connections everywhere, and all I have to do is make one phone call, and you’ll be headed to trial for bribing a police officer and possession of drugs. Your legacy will be tarnished, and you will be known as a drug dealer. I’m sure that won’t look good on your records, nor will you be able to keep that nice cushy coaching job of yours. My daughter also has videos of the two of you participating in illicit sex with a stripper while supplying them with drugs.”
“I have never supplied them with a mothafuckin thing!” My nostrils flared as he attempted to railroad me.
“Oh, no? Is this your bathroom with lines of coke on the counter?”
When he placed the photos in front of me, I stared at them in disbelief. I’d never witnessed Porschea doing drugs in my home. There were a few times when I noticed her pupils dilated, but I never thought for a second she was doing all of this in my house. As I sifted through the photos, there were a few of her passed out on the bathroom floor. There was another photo of her snorting coke off my dick. From the looks of it, I must have been passed out. However, to the outside world, this would look as if we were doing drugs together.
“How the hell did you get these? I don’t have any cameras in my bedroom or bathroom.” My trigger finger twitched as I brewed in my seat. This dirty mothafucka must have been plotting on me for a while now, but the question was why?
“I have my ways. That’s all you need to know for now. I realize this is a lot for you to take in, but I can make all of this go away.” I chuckled angrily when the pieces began to come together.
“At what cost?”
“You need to get back with Harper and continue with your nuptials. My daughter has been patient with you, but my patience has worn thin. You will be getting married in a few months. Harper will happily welcome you back, and you will live happily ever after. If you agree to do this, I will make all of your problems go away. Anthony is one of my attorneys, and he has drawn up an agreement for us. If you agree to go through with the wedding, I will agree never to use this information against you. This allows us both to get what we want.” The fat fuck smiled as if we were making a business deal of some sort. Instead, he was threatening to set me up and ruin my life if I refused to marry his daughter. This felt like something you would see in a movie. Never in a million years did I see things going this way.
“Do you hear how crazy this sounds? You want me to marry your daughter, even though I don’t love her.”
“What does love have to do with anything? Hell, I’ve been married for three decades, and I can barely stand the bitch most days. I’ve already made myself clear. Whatever my daughter wants, I will do everything in my power to make sure she has it. If you leave her, not only will it destroy her emotionally, but it could also affect her financially. There are brands who have only offered her deals because of her relationship with you.
“Do you know how damaging it would be if you left before the wedding and then turned around and got back with that trollop? You have already hurt my child in private; you’ve got me messed up if you think you are about to embarrass her in front of the world!”
“Your solution is for me to marry her and pretend that I want to be with her? How is she even agreeing to something so crazy? I don’t want to be with her, and even if I were to agree to this bullshit, my feelings won’t change. If anything, this will only make me hate her. You are setting your daughter up to be miserable and unhappy.” I could tell from the dumbfounded expression on his face that reasoning had gone out of the window.
“It would be in your best interest to make the right decision. Otherwise, I’ll have all of this leaked to every blog and news channel within the hour. I’m sure your children would love to see who their father really is. What about that woman you love so much? How do you think she will feel once all of your secrets are exposed? Especially when we spin the story that you’ve been cheating on your loving and devoted fiancée after she recently miscarried and has been planning your wedding. She’ll be labeled as a homewrecker to a cheating drug dealer.” Visions of me beating his ass bloody popped into my mind. I’d worked hard on my anger problems over the years, but they were trying to bring that dark side out of me. I didn’t take well to threats, especially ones that had the potential to hurt my family.
“How long do I have to make a decision?” I murmured through gritted teeth.
“You can have until the end of the week. We will get the paperwork signed, notarized, and filed. Then, after that, you will be free and clear. Well, almost. I’ve already talked to Harper, and she is willing to forgive you and continue with the wedding. She would prefer you to leave your little concubine, but it isn’t a deal breaker for me. I’ve dabbled in my fair share of women. All I ask is that you make my daughter your priority. Try to keep your sidepiece in the shadows where she belongs.”
I turned and walked out of the office before I did something I wouldn’t be able to take back.