18. Faith
It had been two weeks since Reed and his crew got to the bottom of the case of the counterfeit chips, and Paula was still missing in action.
For the same amount of time, Jada and I had been getting used to being at Reed’s house full-time.
Well, I was getting used to it. Jada was having a ball. I admit I loved it there too.
My main struggle was giving up my old place.
I wanted to trust that things would work out, but it felt crazy to just give up my own home on a whim.
It wasn’t that Reed wasn’t showing up for us.
He was literally everywhere. He had been dropping Jada off at school.
He’d helped me make dinner. He brought flowers home from work.
He even made breakfast for me on his way out this morning, knowing that I was going in to see Cassidy Lee and Barbara.
I didn’t exactly have the story that they were looking for, but I had a story.
The owners of Cashville were innocent. It was the people closest to them who were behind the dirt yet again.
I finished my eggs and bacon before heading out to the office.
It was crazy how much Reed’s house felt like home.
Reed had successfully convinced me to move my things into his house, not that I didn’t have every single thing I needed there. I just needed a few of my own things to make it feel more like home. I vibed out to Shanel’s latest album as I took the short drive to The Daily Word.
I found a spot right near the door and hopped out with my trusty tablet.
I spoke to a few familiar faces on my way to Barbara’s office.
The best thing about my position was that most of my work was done in the field.
As much as I loved what I did, I didn’t like being tied down to an office all day.
When I made it to Barbara’s cracked door, I knocked twice before pushing it open.
“Well look what the cat drug in. I hope your friends yielded a promising story.”
“I think they did,” I said, smiling as I passed the tablet over to her.
She scanned the screen for a few minutes before looking up at me.
“What the hell is this? You were supposed to be getting dirt on the so-called Cashville Kings, not proving them innocent.”
“I report the facts, Barb. Not what you want to hear.”
“So, this assistant did all that dirt on her own?”
“She had help, but it wasn’t Cashville’s owners.”
“And where is she now?”
“Who knows? She has at least three hundred thousand dollars to run with.”
“Is that all she got?”
“I think me coming to investigate the financial systems put a wrench in her plan. The only thing I detected while I was there was counterfeit chips. She hadn’t had the chance to make any more exchanges.”
“I see,” she muttered.
“You say that like my story was a flop. This is major fraud.”
“I’m really wondering if they got to you.”
“Got to me? What the hell do you mean?”
“I mean, I don’t see how an assistant could make all those transactions without inside help. Something in the milk ain’t clean. Of course, you let your rich friends get in your head and make you think otherwise, or either you’re protecting them.”
“How dare you question my integrity! Have I ever done anything to make you question my work?”
“Not until now, but we have never dealt with your friends until now.”
“The only reason you sent me to Cashville was because you know I had history with the owners. If you thought I would be biased, you should have considered that before you set me up. You know what? Fuck you and your fucking report.”
“Why I never!” Barbara said, clutching her imaginary pearls.
“If you ever question my integrity again, you fucking will. You know what? I don’t need this shit. My man said I didn’t have to work anyway.”
“And there it is! I knew one of them got to you. Talking about integrity when you have zero of your own,” Barbara spat.
“No, you just realized that you couldn’t get to me. I’m not putting out a fake narrative just to get views. That’s your thing. I’m done with this conversation and you. In case it’s not apparent, I quit,” I informed her, turning on my heels and marching right out of the building.
“This is it.” I sighed as I walked from my bedroom to the living room.
I had lived in my house for years, but now it felt strange. It felt empty, although the majority of my things were still there. Every nick in the wall and scuff on the floor had a memory behind it.
My house used to feel warm and cozy. Now color-coded stickers labeled, storage, take, and donate were plastered on everything.
The movers were coming in two days, but I didn’t think I could stomach watching them move my life, no matter how excited I was about the change.
It was bittersweet to leave, but I actually looked forward to a future with Reed.
Jada couldn’t be more excited about moving in with her dad, and that made it all worth it. After a final walk-through, I looked down at my phone. I had about twenty minutes before I needed to pick Jada up from school. It was a six-minute drive, but the lines were horrific at pickup.
With that in mind, I was already late. Grabbing my purse from the kitchen counter, I took one final look around as I headed to the door.
The second I opened the front door, I froze in place.
Jasper stood there like he was just about to knock before I opened the door.
He was as handsome as ever, tall with broad shoulders and his ever-present work boots on his feet.
“Hey,” I spoke first.
“Hey. You moving?” he asked, his eyes drifting past me into the house.
“Yeah, in a few days.”
His thick brows snapped together. “Why? What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m just moving.”
“Just moving? Out of the blue like that?”
“I guess so. I was actually headed out,” I said, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
He rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Where are you moving?”
“Closer to work.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly true since I’d quit just a few hours ago.
“You moving in with him?” he asked, cocking his head to the side to wait for my response. There it was. I should have known that was the real question.
Shaking my head, I sighed. “Jasper, I really need to go.”
“Answer the question. Is that what you’re doing?” His voice had changed, and there was no trace of his trademark grin. “Are you OK? Is he making you move?”
My head snapped back at his question. “What?”
“Is he making you move? I could see how controlling he was the night I stopped by.”
Uninvited, might I add. I decided not to push that issue. Jasper was a nice guy. He just wasn’t the one for me.
“No, he’s not making me move. We just reconnected.”
“Oh wow, y’all reconnected, huh? I’ve been trying to connect with you for almost a year, then overnight, some punk in a fancy car shows up and has your daughter calling him daddy.”
“Not that I owe you an explanation, but he is her daddy.”
And I’m in love with him, Jada loves him, and I don’t remember the last time I felt so happy. None of that was Jasper’s business, so there was no need for me to elaborate. Plus, I wasn’t trying to hurt his feelings. I just wanted him to leave.
He took a step back like the words hurt him anyway. His jaw tightened as he took a step forward. Silence lingered between us for a breath before I spoke up again.
“Well, let me go.”
“Nah,” he said, grabbing my forearm. “No wonder you played me to the side for so long. I get it now.”
“What’s there to get?” I asked.
“You been letting me run behind you like a sad puppy, while you were holding a torch for that dude. I bet you were probably waiting for him to get out of prison or something.”
“You know what? This conversation is over,” I said, snatching my arm from him.
That only made him tighten his grip.
“Come on, Faith. What are you gonna do when he goes back to jail? Dudes like that don’t stay on the street long.
He’s too flashy. I saw those cars he’s been picking you up in.
Anybody in their right mind can see that there is nothing legal affording him those kinds of rides.
Wearing a suit don’t make you a businessman.
” He released my arm but never moved his imposing frame out of my way.
“Is this really what we’re doing right now?” I asked, stretching my eyes as I waited for his answer. I really wished that I had that mace Hope always told me to carry. I was sure it was packed up in one of my boxes, completely useless right now.
“I’m asking if this is what you’re doing. Are you being smart, or are you being a sack chaser? I never saw you as a gold digger, baby girl.”
This situation felt like it was escalating, but I tried to play it cool. I didn’t need him to do anything crazy. I just wanted to make it to my car.
“What time is it?” I asked as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
Ignoring the fact that it was now fifteen minutes to pickup, I hit Reed’s name to call him.
It figured that my call went straight to voicemail.
Instead of ending the call, I shoved my phone back in my pocket just in case I didn’t get an opportunity to make another call.
“Answer my question, Faith. I need to know you’re thinking straight.”
“I’m thinking straight. Thanks for your concern. Now can you go? I’m already late.”
“Can I go? Really? Nah, can you stop fuckin’ playing?”
“Playing?” I asked, lifting my brows for him to elaborate. My car was only six yards away. All I had to do was get off the damn porch.
“Yes, playing. That’s what you like to do. Admit it.”
“Jasper, go home. Nobody is playing. I’m just trying to go get my daughter from school.”
“Go home!” He chuckled. “Bitch, are you serious? You wasn’t yelling for me to go home when I was cutting your grass every other week and taking out your trash.
You wasn’t hollering about me going home when I came through and laid traps to catch that mouse for you.
You think I liked doing that shit for your ungrateful ass? ”
“Jasper, don’t do this. You know we have some nosy ass neighbors.”
“Fuck these people. Where were they when I was coming through every couple of days to make sure you and Jada were straight? They didn’t give a fuck about you then, and they don’t give a damn about you now. You certainly weren’t telling me to go home then.”
“I appreciate everything you did. I really did, but we never went past a cordial relationship. I felt like you were being a good neighbor.”
“Bullshit! Don’t act like you wasn’t feeling this shit.
You let a nigga in a fancy car with a few dollars in dirty money come over here and get in our way, and you don’t think I’m supposed to feel no kind of way behind that?
As a matter of fact, you never said shit about me going home until you found a new man to play games with.
How far do you think that shit is gon’ get you, Faith? ”
“Nobody got in our way. There was never an us.”
“Don’t do that,” he ordered, shaking his head.
“I’m just being honest. I never meant to lead you on. Yes, maybe I took advantage of you letting you do those things. I tried to stop you at first, but you insisted. If I would have known you were keeping score, I would have taken out my own damn trash.”
His nostrils flared as he took another step forward, making me back up until I was standing in the doorframe again.
“You weren’t talking all that sassy shit when I was out here running around in circles behind you.”
“I apologize, but I really didn’t mean to lead you on.”
“You let that nigga get in our way. What’s so good about him other than being Jada’s daddy? I been here a whole year, and all of a sudden, he shows up.”
“That doesn’t matter. There is nothing between us for him to get in the way of.”
“Don’t fucking—” He closed the space between us, backing me into the house. OK, now I was genuinely afraid. I had never seen this side of him, and I wasn’t a fan.
“Jasper, can you please leave? I have to go pick my daughter up from school.” Since my other requests fell on deaf ears, I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
This time, I wasn’t calling Reed; I was calling the cops.
I hit the buttons on the side of my phone five times to activate emergency services.
I wasn’t sure where this was going, but I knew better than to spend too much time trying to figure it out. We had gone back and forth long enough.
Jasper’s eyes fell to my phone. “Oh, you calling your man on me? He can come over here and get fucked up too.”
Before I knew it, he had a firm grip on my hand and the phone.
“Stop!” I screamed, tussling with him for the phone. My phone went clattering across the floor, but he didn’t let me go. “Jasper, stop!” Pain shot through me as he wrestled me into a bear hug. “Let me go.”
“Relax. You know nobody is trying to hurt you.”
“Well let me go!” I demanded, kicking, twisting, and fighting to get out of his grasp.
“It didn’t have to come to this, but you’re such a stubborn bitch,” he snarled as one of his biceps moved up to crush my esophagus.
There was no way I was going to die like this.
I continued to fight, stomping his feet and clawing at his arms to free myself.
Out of all days, I picked this one to not wear heels.
Who would have thought moving would turn into a violent attack from a trusted neighbor?
This was definitely not on my bingo card.
Eventually, I could no longer scream. I couldn’t even breathe. Tears burned my eyes and streamed down my face as I continued to struggle. I didn’t have much fight left in me. The room was going dark. With nothing left to do, I still had the wherewithal to pray.
Lord, please don’t let this man take me away from my baby.