Chapter 45 Raya
Raya
“He looks like he’s in a good mood,” Ace says as he peers through the glass at Taylor Lexus.
“How can you tell?”
“He’s drumming his knuckles on top of the desk. That means he’s counting his money.”
He grabs my hand and we make our way through the dealership.
Ace speaks to half a dozen happy employees as we traverse the large space.
I remember him telling me he used to sit in this office at ten at night doing homework, waiting for his father to finish up.
He grew up here, which explains his relaxed posture and easy smiles with the workers.
I, on the other hand, am nervous. Maybe it’s Ace’s fucking baby making me anxious, but I’m actually invested in the outcome today.
Giving a fuck about things feels so strange to me.
We reach Jackson’s office. He smiles when he sees Ace. When he sees me? Not so much.
“You busy, Pop?”
“Nah. Come in.” He stands and rounds the desk. “Good to see you.”
After a stiff hug, he nods at me without making eye contact, then Ace and I sit across from his desk.
“What’s this about?”
He looks just like he did last time. Crisp suit. Head bald and shiny. Perfect goatee. But he lacks the confidence and control he had when I was in here last. Now, he looks just as nervous as I feel.
“I’ll just go ahead and come out with it,” I begin. “I’m so, so sorry, Mr. Taylor. I didn’t mean to send that video to you.”
He clasps his hands together on top of his desk, his jaw working before he speaks. “I don’t understand how something like that happens by accident. Who did you mean to send it to?”
Ace shakes his head. “She didn’t mean to send it to anybody. She taped it on her phone for herself. It’s real easy to hit the wrong button.”
“Exactly. I was watching it for my…own enjoyment,” I say, a little embarrassed and a little turned on by my own lie. “I would never in a million years do something like that.”
His gaze drifts back to me. He’s skeptical, and rightfully so, but damn, this is the one time I actually didn’t pull some bullshit.
“I’ll be honest,” he says. “It made me very, very uncomfortable.”
“Understood.”
“That’s understandable.”
Ace and I say this in unison.
“I’m really sorry," I repeat. "I’d like to move past it if we can. That’s not who I am, I promise.”
Everybody in this room knows that that’s exactly who I am, but we all have a part to play, here.
Ace tilts his head, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “You’re not sure if you believe it, right?”
He laughs, which makes me laugh, and Jackson very decidedly does not laugh. In fact, he looks disgusted with the both of us.
Okay. Plan B.
“It’s important to us that we’re able to move on,” I say. “Because…Ace, tell him.”
He grins. “Raya’s having a baby.”
Jackson blinks twice, then his eyes go wide. “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” I say. “And it’s not yours.”
Ace bursts out laughing again, his hands spread and his eyebrows furrowed in a gesture that says Come on, Raya.
“Sorry,” I say, laughing too. “I had to. The joke was right there.”
Jackson just shakes his head. “What the fuck is wrong with y’all?”
“My bad, Pop. Our humor is…it ain’t for everybody.”
“Yeah, it ain’t for me. Take that shit elsewhere.”
He stands abruptly and comes back around the desk. He pulls Ace into a firm hug, patting his back as he says, “Congratulations, son. Proud of you.”
He keeps his distance from me, but he does say, “Congratulations,” to me.
But I’m sitting here wondering if he watched the video. I know he saw the thumbnail, at least.
Awkward.
“You’re gonna be a grandpa,” I say. “What do you want the baby to call you?”
He considers it for a second. “I’m gonna have to think about that one.”
“Take your time,” Ace says. “You got a minute.”
Jackson stares at Ace like he’s studying himself in a mirror. “I’m truly happy for you, son. You’re about to be a father. This is where it gets good.”
Ace beams. “Thanks to this woman right here.”
He’s not moved by that at all.
“Well, we’re gonna let you get back to work,” Ace says as he moves toward the door. “Thanks for hearing us out.”
“Mm hm.”
As we step past the door of the office, I glance back over my shoulder. Jackson’s still frozen in his spot, watching us with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.
And I wink at him.
Just a little goodbye that lets him know I'm playing but I'm not playing with him.