Chapter 20 #2
“It’s late, man. You’re a gotdamn vampire. Midnight is late, Sov.” Kove smiled then glanced at me. “’Cause she doesn’t have her phone and why the fuck would you call this late anyway. Nah, she’s with me. Aight, hold on.”
He extended the device to me. “It’s Sovoya.”
“For me?” I dropped my eyes to the phone and he nodded. We shifted so he was on his back and I was straddling his waist. Kove moved his hands to my ass.
“Yeah, she said she needed to run something by you, and no matter what it is, if you’re not cool with it tell her ass no and I’ll deal with it.”
“You don’t tell me no, Yaakov,” I heard her say through the phone and smiled when I accepted it.
“Hello…”
“Hey, Xiah, sorry to bother you but I wanted to run a few things by you to make sure you’re good with them.”
“Oh, okay.” I frowned.
“First let me say I’m glad all of this is working out for you.
I personally understand your situation, well not the marriage, because fuck that shit.
” I smiled at the rebellion in her voice.
“But definitely being tied to a man who refuses to be what you need and refuses to let you go. It took me a long time to get my life back. I know how frustrating it can be to be to have a man holding you back and playing with your happiness. Fuck that shit too. But anyway, that’s not why I called. ”
“Why did you call then?” I asked, trying to make sense of this. She was Kove’s agent, so she could have possibly been trying to make a connection with me or warning me to stay away from him.
“I’m sure Koa let you know that Jase was working on the situation with your ex. You’re officially divorced, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he would have enough damn common sense to truly stay out of your life. I’m calling to say that deals have been signed to ensure he will.”
“Deals?”
My eyes lowered to where Kove’s were blazing on me, trying to figure out what was being discussed.
“Money makes things like this go away, so Jase had to throw money at this situation. Well not his money exactly, but he spoke to a friend who could assist. That damn man knows everybody and it seems that they all owe him a favor.” She sounded amused and annoyed at the same time.
“And that’s about me?” I asked, still not understanding where she was going with this,
“It’s about Yaakov. His image is the priority but it’s also about you because I pushed to make sure you came out okay.
Please understand that if we wanted, the end result could have been to save face with our client’s career no matter what that looked like for you.
You’re important to Yaakov, and like it or not, he was going to choose you.
So we did what was necessary to make sure choosing you didn’t fuck up all the hard work I did. ”
My brows pinched and I bit down on my lip because how was I supposed to feel about that? Regardless of my understanding of her role in his career, it felt invasive having someone pulling strings behind the scenes.
“I’m not sure if you’re aware of why your ex retired.”
“I wasn’t. It happened while we were separated and he never would have talked to me about his career.”
He lived lavishly. We shared a penthouse but that was where my luxury ended.
Kaden’s money was his own. I held to the idea that I was an independent woman and could take care of myself but was well aware that he was just selfish and didn’t want me to have a good life on his dime. One of many red flags I ignored.
“The fuck she saying, Xi. Put that shit on speaker.” Kove reached for the phone and worked it from my hands.
“Why the fuck you talking about that pussy muthafucker, Sovoya?”
“Because she needed to know what Jase put into play.”
“Aight, I’m listening.”
“You don’t need to listen. This is about Xiah, not you.”
“If it’s about her, it’s about me. Say whatever the fuck you gotta say, man,” he muttered with irritation present in his tone.
“Like I was saying, Kaden had a forced retirement. The team suspected things and did random testing. They discovered the use of performance enhancement drugs so they agreed on a forced retirement. The reason he only had one point two million in his account was because he had to forfeit the remainder of his contract or the Badgers were going to go public about the drug use. They didn’t want scandal connected to their team and Kaden didn’t want that connected to his career.
There were whispers about it. People still know but it’s not confirmed. ”
“And what the fuck does this have to do with Xi?”
“Relax, lover boy. I’m getting to that part.
” The look of annoyance etched on Kove’s face had me grinning.
“Perry has been trying to secure an announcer job but the industry blackballed him. Like I said, people know but they’re not saying it out loud.
He had a bad rep because the drugs tarnished his career.
No one knows how long he was taking them so… ”
“His accomplishments aren’t legit,” Kove said.
“Possibly. Part of the agreement for him to walk away from the situation with you assaulting him…”
“I didn’t assault him. I beat that nigga’s ass.”
“Yaakov…”
He smirked, unbothered.
“Beating his ass could have cost you an assault and battery charge and problems with your Royals contract. Jase handled it by securing Perry a job as a recruiter.”
“For CSA?”
“No, with a firm in LA. He was promised a four-year contract that will grant him a lot of money. Money he apparently needs after handing over half of what he owns to Xiah. He signed whatever we needed to keep his mouth closed about what happened at Shining Stars. Plus he’s moving to LA.
Everything was finalized just a couple hours ago. ”
A part of me always wondered how that would work.
Would he come back around out of spite or would he quietly walk away, accepting things for what they were?
Knowing this man spent years harboring anger because I chose me over him led me to believe he would resurface again.
This meant he wouldn’t, or rather couldn’t…
“What happens if he breaks the deal?” I asked.
“He loses a lot of money and risks what’s left of his career. He has a family to support, and based on the man’s arrogance, there’s no way he’s going to risk the only solid income he can count on to sustain the lifestyle he’s accustomed to.”
“You don’t know him,” I muttered.
“Yes, Xiah, I do. Maybe not him but I know men just like him…”
From her tone, I understood she meant the man from her past.
“Aight, so we’re good then?” Kove stated, ready to end the conversation.
“Yes, we’re good. Well, unless there are any other husbands we need to know about…”
“The fuck, Sovoya?” Kove gritted.
“No, absolutely not.”
“I already knew that but wanted to see what you would say. Van and I did what we should have done before the two of you went public, but couldn’t because Kove refused to put you on our radar. We know everything about you.”
Well, that didn’t feel good. Luckily Kaden was the only thing from my past I was concerned about.
I frowned but she added, “Alright, lovers. Get some rest. Kove has a game to prepare for.”
“Later, Sov.”
“And thank you. I really appreciate everything.”
“You better, because this is your one hall pass,” she said in a tone that made me smile instead of wanting to cuss her out. She was on my side.
Kove lifted a hand and brushed his thumb over my jaw. “You good?”
“I’m more than good.” I leaned closer and kissed him. When I pulled back, he searched my face.
“You sure?”
“Mhm, I’m perfect, and now I’m about to make sure my man is more than good.
” I lifted, moved down his body, and tugged at the waistband of his briefs.
When I freed his dick and let my tongue glide over the head before I took him into my mouth, the groan that left Kove’s mouth confirmed exactly what I expected, conversation over.