13. Keyshawn
“My name is Bernice James, and I’m the creator of BerJam, Security!”
In the video, Bern had her hair pulled into a neat, sleek ponytail. Her smile was pearly white, and her makeup was soft. She wore a pantsuit that sculpted her body perfectly. Her voice was confident, and she had me clinging to every word she said.
If anybody knew what I’d spent the last few hours doing, I’d have lost my playa card for sure. I’d done a deep dive on Bernie’s life after she left my home. I found her website and watched the welcome video. I searched the internet for her socials and found a few accounts for her business. She was just like me, though. She only posted business-related content and kept the media out of her personal business.
Once I’d gotten the location of her business from the website, I called my florist. I had them make two bouquets of her favorite flower, alstroemerias. I chose two colors that complemented each other: pink and white. Once I picked up the flowers, I went to the grocery store to pick up her favorite brand of dark chocolate. After I gathered my arsenal to make her day, I made my way to the address on file. When I pulled up to a ten-story building with a connecting parking garage, I was impressed.
My lady has beaucoup money.
She made me proud.One thing as a successful man, my biggest concern was being with a woman who only saw me as an ATM. With her having her own money, I was certain we’d never have financial issues in our relationship.
As I sat in the visitor section of the parking lot, my mind became polluted with doubt and fear. What if I was doing too much? What if she thought it was weird I found her place of business and pulled up on her? What if there was a nigga already in her life trying to make her his wife?
I rubbed my temples. “I’m Krash mothafuckin Williams. No nigga could ever compare to me. Bern is my lady, and I am going to get her back, one way or another. I just have to make sure she understands how deep my love is for her.”
After my pep talk, I emerged from the black SUV. Today, I drove myself and gave my driver the day off.
I didn’t want anyone in my business, especially with me trying to swoon Bernice off her feet and back into my warm embrace.
“Good morning. Welcome to BerJam, Security’s main location. How may I help you?” the receptionist asked.
“I’m here to see Bernice James,” I explained.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. She installed a deluxe package at my property yesterday. I wanted to show my thanks with a few gifts.”
The woman smiled. “I’ll call her office to see if she’s available for a visitor. If not, I’ll leave your name and number with her secretary.”
“Thank you.”
She placed the receiver up to her ear and pressed a few numbers on the telephone. She waited a few moments before she hung up the phone. “I’m sorry. She didn’t answer. I’m going to call her secretary now.”
As she picked up the phone to dial the second number, the elevator doors slid open, and Bernice came into view. Today, she was clad in a cream dress with long sleeves and a pair of black heels. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, and her skin was blemish free and smooth.
“Cancel my five o’clock meeting, Malaysia. I don’t want to be here that late. Tell everyone we’ll reschedule it for next Wednesday.” As she stepped off the elevator, she hung up the phone. Then her eyes met mine.
“Keyshawn?” Her lips tugged into a grin.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
I lifted the flowers and chocolate for her to see. “I brought you some of your favorites. At least they were your favorites back in the day.”
She poked out her bottom lip. “Aww! Thank you!”
“No problem.”
She took the flowers from my hand and lifted the petals to her nose. She closed her eyes and inhaled. When her eyes opened, the twinkle in those brown irises was unmistakable.
“I wanted to know if you were free to go to lunch,” I added.
She smiled. “I can be. Let me call my secretary to tell her I’ll be taking a longer lunch, and we can head out.”
“You want to ride with me?”
“Sure.”
The smile was small on my lips. “Cool.” I placed my hands in my pockets as I waited for her to handle her business.
“Hey, Kayla. Can you send these up to my office and tell Malaysia I’ll be taking an hour lunch instead of my usual grab and go?” Bernice asked the receptionist.
Kayla nodded a confirmation. “Yes, ma’am. I got you. Be safe.”
Kayla’s eyes darted toward me before she grabbed the flowers and chocolate to take upstairs to whichever floor Bern’s office was located.
I offered my arm for Bernice to wrap her hands around, and she did. The feel of her hands on my skin made me tense for a moment. I missed how my body reacted to her touch. I missed how powerful her presence was to me. She grinned as I led us out to the parking garage to my car.
“It’s been a long time since we rode in the car together,” Bern stated as I opened her door and helped her climb into the SUV.
“Facts.” I closed her door and walked around to the driver’s seat. I started the engine and turned down the AC.
“I like the big body. You’ve come a long way from your Granny’s old Altima.”
A chuckle filled the air. “You ain’t lying. I love the big body SUVs now. I be feeling presidential and shit.”
“You’re a mess.” She laughed.
“I’m speaking facts. The all-black whips make mothafuckas aware I’m that nigga when I pull up somewhere.”
“Period. Don’t play with you .” She snapped her fingers in a circular motion.
“Do you know where you want to go get something to eat? I don’t want to do a crowded spot because when I pull up, folks always asking for a picture and shit.”
“My bad, superstar! I’m cool with wherever you’re comfortable with sitting down to eat. Or we can go through a drive-through and eat in my office or something.”
“You’d parade me around your office?” I asked with a smirk.
“Well, when you put it that way… no. We can eat out here in the garage.”
“You want to hide me from the world? I can respect it. One of these days, we’re going to have to make an announcement so these groupies can leave me alone,” I joked.
Her head fell back onto the headrest as she released a guffaw. “Keyshawn, I want you to be for real right now.”
“I am. We need to make sure we’re on the same page about our relationship.”
“We haven’t even been reunited for three days and you’re talking about a relationship.” She shook her head.
“Bern, do I need to refresh your memory?” I asked as I pulled out of the parking garage and pulled onto the busy streets of Downtown Houston.
“Yes.”
“About eight years ago, I told you I was sorry for letting distance break us up. I told you if I ever got the chance, I wouldn’t fuck it up,” I explained.
“Hmm. That did happen, huh?”
“And I vividly remember you telling me you hoped I cashed in on the opportunity. This is me putting in the work to cash in on the opportunity.”
“I like the initiative,” she replied.
“You’ve always been my first love, Bern. You were my safe space, my best friend, my soulmate. Shit hasn’t felt right since you left me, baby girl. I want us to get back to that point.”
“It’s a lot to process so quickly, Key. I want to feel the same way, but I have a lot going on in my personal life.”
My grip on the steering wheel adjusted as I took in her appearance. She was beautiful and smelled so damn good. The urge to kiss her was too strong, but I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
“I thought you said you weren’t dating anybody,” I recalled.
She nodded. “I’m not… It’s just complicated…”
There was a story behind her response, but I didn’t want to press the issue and push her away before we even got to the food spot. I pulled into the drive-through of the sub sandwich spot. I ordered and pulled around to the first window to pay.
“Oh… Oh my God! Y-You’re?—”
I chuckled at the young lady’s response to seeing me. Her mouth was formed into the perfect O.
“Yes. It’s me. How much is my total?”
“Um… I… It’s um…” Her gaze turned to the register as she tapped the screen. She read the total off to me, and I pulled out two twenties. As a celebrity, I always carried cash when I went to certain spots. The last thing I wanted was to have someone take a picture of my card and think they could cash out on my bank account.
She counted the change and held it out to me. “Here’s your receipt. Can I take a picture?”
I nodded. “Sure.” She pulled out her phone and leaned out the window to snap a quick selfie with me. I examined the picture to make sure Bernice wasn’t in the shot and gave her the phone back.
“Have a great day,” she said.
“You too, beautiful.”
I pulled up to the second window, and the employees were all staring out the window to get a glimpse of me. I shook my head.
“Hey,” I greeted them.
“Hi!” The youngest looking girl squeaked a reply as she held my bag out to me.
“I know you all want a picture, but I don’t have time to take individual pictures. I do think we can take a group selfie really quick,” I offered.
“If you want, I can take the picture in front of the store. Everyone, come out really quick,” Bern offered.
“Yes!” They all cheered.
I shook my head as she smiled. “I’ll see y’all in the front.” I pulled out of the drive-through and turned into the main parking lot. We parked in front of the building, and all eight or nine employees stood outside waiting.
When we got out of the whip, Bern grabbed their phones and snapped a couple pictures for everybody. They hugged me and asked a couple questions. I did my best to speed things along, but Bern insisted I have a moment with them. After about ten minutes of this impromptu meet and greet, we finally made it back to the parking garage. We drove up to the top and looked out at the city as we finally got to dig into our meals.
“If my sandwich would have been cold, I would have been pissed at you,” I stated as I bit into my meatball marinara sub.
“You won’t beat my ass, so what?”
“Maybe I would have.”
“Highly doubt it. All I’m saying is those teenagers at that store will remember this day for a long time. They got to meet a well-known celebrity who makes millions of dollars a year. That shit does so much good for the soul.”
“When did you become so wise?” I asked before I took another bite of my sub.
“Life experiences. I’ve gone through a lot since the last time we were a thing. I’ve learned to hold on to all the good because sometimes the bad can be very strong.”
Her words made me want to ask more, but I didn’t want to turn the conversation to a negative place. I wanted to keep things light and fun. Now wasn’t the time to pry. I’d make time to do that later.
“How was your food?” I asked as I rolled the window down to air out the strong scent of our lunch.
“It was good. I’ve been to the spot a couple times. I always get the same thing, but I think next time, I’ll order what you had because it smelled so good.”
“I would have given you a bite if you asked.”
She scrunched up her nose. “You might have cooties. I see your name in these headlines. You’ve trended more times than I can count about a woman claiming you are her baby’s daddy.”
“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?” I asked with a smirk.
“Boy, please. You’re a famous boxer. Even I can’t avoid the trending topics when the whole world has an opinion on them. I do think when those employees post those pictures, it’ll help with the media’s perception of you. They don’t want you to be great.”
“I appreciate the concern,” I explained.
“Of course.”
We were quiet for a few moments. I didn’t want our time to end. I wanted to spend the rest of the day with Bern, but she had to finish her duties as owner of a successful company.
“I know your hour is almost up, so can I get your number to plan the next date?” I asked.
She smiled. “Sure.” She grabbed my phone from the dock and unlocked it.
“Now that I’ve got your number, I’m going to do everything in my power to make you my girl.”
“Apply pressure, and we’ll see where the wind blows us.”
“Fa sho.”
Bernice doesn’t know it, but I’m about to be her Prince Charming.