16. Omiri
Omiri
“ N o, hell no.” Makari shook her head and glared at me.
I had been putting this off for weeks but after the situation with my father, Vanessa finally put her foot down.
I paid her to make sure my name and image remained clean, so it was counterproductive not to trust her advice.
She insisted we do an interview, even though I was opposed, but she felt it would work.
More or less presenting Makari and I as a united front, and whether I liked it or not, it was a good idea.
“Can you hear me out first?”
“Yep, you can say whatever you want and I’ll sit here and listen but my answer is the same. Why the hell would you want us to sit in front of a camera exposing ourselves to the people who are trying to drag every detail of our lives?”
“I don’t like this any more than you do but we’re in the thick of this shit. I don’t necessarily care about people’s opinions of us but I do care what this is doing to your image…”
“People can say what they want about me. I don’t care.”
“You care. That shit is weighing on you. When was the last time you been outside of this neighborhood, or hell, outside of this house?”
I studied her face and Makari’s expression tensed. “I go outside.”
“Nah, you really don’t.”
“An interview won’t fix what they think about me, this situation, or us.”
“It won’t but it lets them know who and what we are.
We’re not on some fake family bullshit and you’re not here trying to drain my accounts.
The season’s about to start and when they print your name I want it to be a headline about you watching me break last year’s record next to pictures of you rocking my jersey. ”
“I don’t have a Hayes jersey. I have Lowe.” She smiled smugly. Lowe was the QB who retired the year I entered the league. He was good, I respected him and wouldn’t talk shit, but she damn sure wouldn’t be rocking his name over mine. Fuck that.
“If it has a Sharks logo and doesn’t have my name on it, then you don’t have that shit.”
Her smile expanded. “So you’re telling me who I can support now?”
“Bruh, don’t get cursed out. Stay the fuck on topic.”
“What exactly are we supposed to say? We had a one night stand that gave us Avi, we’re cohabiting and occasionally have sex because that’s the sum total of our relationship.”
“I know you know better than that and how about we leave off the part about occasionally having sex because you also know I stay knocking them walls down on the regular.”
“I was being sarcastic. We’re not saying any of that, but seriously, how am I supposed to sit in front of a camera and share what we are when I don’t even know my damn self?”
She had a point because fuck if I knew the answer to that. Friends who shared a kid, co-parents with benefits, roommates…
Neither of us wanted to define what was happening between us because that meant acknowledging that we had to be responsible for the feelings we both had.
“All they need to know is that this is real, our personal lives. We’re co-parents who are focusing on our daughter and careers. We leave it there but establish boundaries and give enough truth for them to accept what we are and leave us the hell alone.”
“They’re not going to respect our boundaries.”
“Some will, some won’t, but so far all they have are dry ass statements from our teams. They need to see us in real time. Then you can get back to your life.”
Her eyes dropped to where Avi was in front of me. She had her little hands on my knees, smiling as she bounced in place.
“Who?” She sighed and tucked one leg under her, dropping back into the sofa.
“Kaz Rivera. Van thinks it’s best to have a woman because she’ll be more respectful of the situation and you.”
Makari nodded. “I’ve seen her work. She’s fair with athletes and won’t try to sensationalize this.” She sighed. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”
Thank fucking goodness…
“So you’re down?”
“One interview and limited topics. No details about us personally.”
“We need to confirm that we’re together.”
“Why?” She seemed too damn annoyed by that and her reluctance pissed me off. I also couldn’t give the real reason I wanted it confirmed… So niggas wouldn’t be pushing up on her anymore, and if they did, I had the right to check them because she was mine.
“As much as the co-parent thing works, it still leaves things open to interpretation as to how we got here. They think you’re on a paper chase…”
“I’m not.” She said that shit quick as hell and I grinned.
“Bruh, relax. My point is, if I’m confirming we’re together and this is my decision, then it shuts all that down. Co-parenting can be anything…”
“Like me trapping you with a kid you don’t want just to get a check.”
I nodded. “This ain’t that. If you’re worried about what she can say or ask, I’ll get Raaj to draft an agreement about what can and can’t be discussed. We’ll have pre-approved questions so what we share is controlled and our decision.”
“I want final approval on the questions.”
“Aight, you got that.”
“And even if we confirm that we’re together, we don’t discuss our feelings for each other.”
“You don’t want me telling them how you’re in love with my dick.”
“Would you be serious?”
“I’m deadass, now say I’m lying.”
“I’m just as addicted to that…” She pointed to where my hand rested on my lap. “As you are to this.” She smiled and dropped her eyes to her lap. I grinned and shrugged.
“No argument.”
“When are we doing this?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Shit, that’s fast. I need time to?—”
“Kari, chill. This is your thing. You can do this in your sleep.”
“With my clients, yes, but this is my life. It’s very different when it’s personal.”
“It’s personal for your clients. You let them stress like this?”
She glared at me and I almost fucking laughed. “Okay, I’ll relax but if this goes left…”
“It won’t. I promise I got you.”
“You better,” she mumbled, untucking her leg and standing up. “I’m going to go watch some of Kaz’s episodes. You got her?”
She was about to study the hell out of Kaz and there wasn’t a damn thing I could say to stop her so I decided to let Makari do her thing. She needed this. “Yeah, I got her.”
When Avi dropped down on her butt and crawled off, I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Vanessa.
“Am I dropping you as a client or are you doing the interview?”
I grinned at how Vanessa answered the call.
She was always trying to throw her weight around and it was funny as hell but I also didn’t play because she would damn sure drop my ass.
Vanessa didn’t do complicated, no matter how much you paid her, and over the past couple months my situationship with Makari had truly complicated her ability to represent me.
“She agreed.”
“Good, I have the interview set for three. We need you there by two-thirty and…”
“Hold up. How do you have an interview set for three?”
“Did you really think either of you had a choice with this?” Her tone was serious and I chuckled.
“And if I said no?”
“You weren’t going to say no, now back to the details.
You need to be there by two-thirty. Suit no tie for you, navy or gray.
Makari should be in a dress, not a pantsuit, something that stops just above the knee, cap sleeve or sleeveless, but not spaghetti strap and a light color.
Nothing red or black; both of those will make her look seductive.
We’re going for wholesome but confident and form fitting but not tight and definitely no cleavage, please. ”
“The fuck. How are you running down what she can wear?”
“This is all a game, Omiri. You know how it works. She has to look the part. A woman who loves her daughter, handles her own business enough not to be in your pockets, but is still attractive enough to hold your attention.”
“She’s all that; so fuck playing dress up.”
“I don’t know her nor do I know what she is. What I do know is what we want to present to the world to erase what they believe they know about her. Let me do my job, Omiri. Make sure she’s dressed appropriately and I have the rest covered.”
Avi crawled back to me and pushed her body between my legs so she was leaning against the sofa steady enough to put her arms in the air.
I grinned at her wanting me to pick her up so I lifted her into my lap and she dropped her head on my shoulder and reached for my beard, raking her tiny fingers through it.
Her mother did the same thing but it produced two very different reactions.
“Kari wants final approval of the questions.”
“As long as she’s dressed appropriately, she can have whatever she wants.”
“Bruh…” I chuckled and kissed my baby’s cheek.
“Don’t bruh me. I’m not playing about this. We have one shot. This can either go incredibly well or tragically wrong.”
“Aight, damn. We’re gonna be straight.”
“Yes, you are.” She paused and I heard clicking like she was typing. “She’s good though, so I’m not necessarily concerned.”
“What do you mean by she’s good?”
“Surely you don’t think I dropped the ball on doing my job the minute she entered the picture.”
I was annoyed at what Vanessa was implying. She was basically telling me she had picked Makari’s entire life apart enough to know the minute she was born and what doctor helped her escape her mother’s pussy.
All of which I paid Vanessa for. Her job as my publicist was to know the details of everyone attached to me in an effort to protect me from being exposed and hidden bullshit.
However, knowing she had moved through the details of Makari’s life, dissecting and analyzing every single layer of her existence, annoyed me.
“You’re not warning me to stay away from her so I assume you didn’t find anything alarming,” I muttered.
“If I did, would you want to know?”
Would I?
“Nah, what she tells me is what I know.”
She snorted. “That has to be the most irresponsible thing that has ever left your mouth and you’ve said a lot of dumb shit since I’ve been your publicist.”