Chapter 11 Remy
Remy
“Glad we finally have some sister time, Twin,” Taylor said, setting my lunch on the table.
“You’d think we’d see each other more now that we live in the same city,” I said, checking my plate.
Taylor had called me earlier in the day and said lunch was on her. So, who am I to deny a free meal from my sister?
“I came by because I had something that I wanted to tell you.” She said, giving me a sneaky grin.
I put my food down because I wasn’t in the mood. I should have known that she was buttering me up for something. It’s like the little sister’s right of passage.
“Don’t look at me like that, Remy.” She scooped up a spoonful of rice and ate.
“Girl, tell me before I lose my appetite.” I rushed her along.
“I’m engaged,” she said, causing me to choke, and I wasn’t even eating.
“So, your daddy got to you again?” I questioned. She gave me a stone-faced expression, and then we both burst into laughter that I’m sure filled the hallway of the building.
She laughed so hard she cried. But once she was able to compose herself, she said, “No, bitch. I don’t know if that’s shade to daddy or you think I can’t get a man.” She said, wiping her tears.
“You could find a man in the parking lot, on the way to your car,” I reminded her. The material for my baby sister was all there. But she was hard on men. I mean hard. She ran a strict program, and if anyone had stuck around long enough to actually propose, and she accepted it, that was major.
“It’s Mars,” She said, causing me to just about fall out of my chair. Mars is my father’s plug from Louisiana. I knew that she had been spending a lot more time back home, but I thought she was just homesick.
“Wait a second, Tay. Are you about to marry Mars? How the hell did this happen?” I didn’t expect her to name anyone that I knew. Especially not Mars. He had always been around us, but I never thought they had a relationship.
“At your engagement party, I asked you were you ready. You looked me dead in my face and told me, ‘find the best dick and lock it down’.” She said, making me chuckle.
“Why were you taking life advice from me when Storm was literally holding my head back and pouring liquor down my throat? Is that what you’re doing?” I asked.
"Second-best dick, but not about sex," she said, rolling her eyes. I already knew what she meant.
“Let it go, Elsa,” we laughed because I knew she was talking about Judah.
For weeks, after I told her that I had seen Judah out with Ivy, she constantly brought up how Jaxon and I ruined her life by getting out of the arrangement.
Their situation might have been fun, but they never would have worked.
They were both the same person. Judah had found the person to calm him down, and apparently, now so had she.
“I’m serious, though, he proposed, and I said yes.”
“Do you love him?” I asked.
She thought about it and then shrugged. “I think I do.”
“Listen, you are a tough critic. But that’s what I love about you.
I’m happy for you, and I’ll support you in any way that I can.
Just let me know what you need, and it’s done.
” I walked around my desk to bring her into a hug and then took my seat across from her again.
I was just about to pry so I could hear all the details about her love life and how they got together.
“Knock, knock,” My assistant said as she made her presence known. I always thought it was funny how she always said it versus just knocking on the door.
“Come in,” I said as we both turned toward the door to see what she needed.
She came in with a beautiful bouquet of roses and brought them over to me, setting them on my desk.
“Thank you so much,” I said as she sat them down, then rushed over to Taylor, and they embraced.
“See, Rem. Pimping was cool, but I’m giving that life up. I’m ready to settle down and have my husband send me flowers every week,” She motioned toward the flowers that sat nearby me.
“And I love that for you,” I said honestly.
My phone rang, and my husband’s picture came on the screen. I smiled as I answered his FaceTime call.
“You look good, Mama.” He said once his face came into the phone.
“Thank you, baby,” I blushed, making Taylor roll her eyes at me.
“Taylor brought me lunch today. She’s here in the office with me.” I said. That was just my way of making sure he didn’t say anything crazy while we were on the phone. There was no telling what would come out of his mouth from one minute to the next.
“Hi brotherrrr,” She sang as I turned the camera toward her. She leaned forward and waved at him.
“What’s up, sis? You good?” He questioned.
They spoke back and forth for a bit before I interrupted them.
“I was just about to call you, baby; I got the flowers that you sent me. They’re so pretty.” I said as I kept eating.
“Huh?” He asked, confused.
“The flowers you sent me? They’re pretty. I love them. Thank you.” I broke it down.
He laughed. “Stop playing with me, Rem.”
“You were acting like you didn’t understand English, babe.” I did a happy dance as I bit into the broccoli.
"Nah, Ma, I mean the damn flowers. I didn’t send you any," I glanced at Taylor, then at the flowers.
I turned my phone camera around so that he could see them. I saw him sit up and get closer to the camera like that would actually make a difference.
“Who the fuck is sending you flowers, Remy?” He snapped.
“I literally don’t know. Let me see if they sent a card.” I pushed the chair back, walked around the desk, and looked through the flowers. There was a card tucked away. I picked it up and opened it.
“Here’s to new beginnings and partnership.”
I read it out loud, and if looks could kill, I would be cold and stiff.
“Probably somebody from the event the other night, I made so many different connections. Don’t think too much about it.
” I tossed the card and kept talking to my husband for a couple of minutes, but I could tell he wasn’t all there.
He was still focusing on who the hell had sent me flowers.
I told him to leave it alone, but I knew that he wasn’t going to.
We hung up the phone, and Taylor looked at me with a grin.
“He is not letting that shit go for a second,” She cackled.
“Not at all, but fill me in on how you and Mars came to be. Don’t leave out any details.” I changed the subject.
The conversation started again, but I couldn't stop glancing at the flowers, frowning. If my husband hadn’t sent them, then who would have?
***
“These shirts are so cuteeeee,” I screeched as I looked around at all my staff members with their yellow Remy Rich Foundation shirts on. We were closing down the office today because today is Mr. Black’s family fun day.
I was actually excited for it. I hadn’t let down my hair and just had a good time since we took the kids to Disney, and I was actually ready to be a big kid.
The fact that they had turned the event into a carnival for all the families was even better.
It had literally been years since I had been able to go to the Louisiana State Fair, and I wanted to see if the funnel cakes, turkey legs, and candy apples still hit as hard as I remembered.
We all gathered in the lobby and waited for the trucks to pull up.
Today, we were about fifteen trucks deep, courtesy of my husband.
Zo was leading a sit-down today, and he wasn’t going to be able to make it to the carnival until after he handled business.
So, in his absence, he made sure to triple security.
“Everybody ready?” I asked as my detail stepped out of the car and waited for us all to exit the building. He stood nearby as my assistant closed down the building and locked it.
The ride to our destination wasn’t far, but it was at the back of some ranch that took us miles to reach. There were already so many people there, and the event was just about to start. I knew that by the end of the night, it was going to be swamped.
When we pulled up, all eyes were on us. The fleet of black trucks couldn’t be missed, but neither could the armed guards surrounding us. It was a family-friendly event, but we showed up like SWAT.
“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Richardson. Mr. Black has been expecting you.” The woman I assumed to be his event coordinator said as she greeted us.
“No problem, my team is also here. If you need extra hands, don’t hesitate to pull either of them in that direction,” I said as I shook hands with her and slipped past her and through the gates.
I walked around, looked at all the carnival games, the people in dunk tanks, and people trying to win their children prizes, and smiled. When I told Zo I was going to bring our kids, he looked at me like I had two heads, and I didn’t even bother to debate with him.
“Remy, where are you going?” My assistant asked me as she jogged to catch up to me.
“To go get a funnel cake,” I laughed as I walked around the carnival on a mission. I finally found a vendor and stood in line to get one. I felt a hand touch my shoulder. It was Mr. Black.
“The man of the hour,” I said as I reached out to shake his hand.
“Hello, Mrs. Remy,” he said as he shook my hand. Then he placed another one on top of it and held it for a bit. It was the second time he had done that, and the second time my body reacted that way.
I looked down at his hands and back at his face. He gave me a gentle smile. “I have a place for you and your team to set up and take referrals.” He said, still holding my hand. I gently took it back and patted his shoulder.
“I love the VIP treatment, thank you so much,” I glanced back at the line and took a couple of steps forward once I realized that it had moved.
“Enjoy yourself, I’ll be around.” He said as he slowly walked through the crowd, leaving me there with my assistant.
“You would not believe me, but I think that man has a crush on you,” she said as she watched him walk away, never taking her eyes off him.
“I think he’s just a nice guy who’s had a tough life,” I sighed. I kept the response short and sweet. I had come to learn that not every nice gesture was romantic.
When I finally made it to the front and got my funnel cake, I bit into it and moaned at how light and airy it was, just as I had remembered.
We walked through the park, stopping to talk to people and playing games with some of the families.
By the time that I made my rounds, I had two little girls stuck to me like glue.
They had been pulling me in every direction, and I was letting them.
We threw darts, and I even did the ring toss to see if I could get them a goldfish.
My phone rang from my pocket. I answered the phone and saw that it was Zo.
“Hey, baby,” I said as I held the phone with my shoulder so I could put the WNBA to shame with my three pointers. It was all net, and everyone around me cheered.
“What the hell are you doing, Remy?” he asked in confusion.
“I’m showing these people the thing that I do to you on the court when I cross you up,” I joked, knowing that I could never. I couldn’t even dribble a basketball or know what a cross-up was, for that matter, but I could shoot. It was the only thing that I had picked up from Zo and the boys.
He chuckled. “Oh yeah? I’m about to holler at Judah before I come that way. Make sure you stay with security. I’ll be there in a little bit, aight?”
“Sure, honey. Love you.”
“Love you too.” He said we hung up the phone, and I landed the next shot. I had two more to go before I won the girls the biggest prize available, and by now, I had gotten a crowd gathered around me.
The next two were like butter, and the attendant got down the biggest teddy bear there as the two little girls cheered. I handed the teddy bear to my security guard for him to carry while they dragged me to yet another place.
“Ms. Remy, can you go on a roller coaster with us?” The youngest of the two asked.
“No, I want to stay on the ground.” I laughed.
“Please,” The eldest tugged my shirt sleeve.
“Pleaseeeee,” The other sang. “I want you to come with us, we’ve been having fun together all day. That one over there is on the ground,” She held on to my hand. Looking me in the eye and giving me the biggest smile that revealed a silver cap way at the back of her mouth.
I chuckled as I looked down at her. I should have avoided the puppy-dog eyes she was giving me.
Because just like I could barely say no to Zoey, I found myself letting this little girl drag me to the line of the Gravitron.
It was enclosed and shaped like a spaceship.
Lights flashed everywhere, and the girls started dancing to the music from the speakers as we waited for our turn.
We neared the front of the line, and the attendant opened the gate and counted off the people ahead of me.
“Three more,” He shouted as I counted the two girls and myself. My assistant was behind me with the security guards, who were in line as well.
“Wait till the next ride,” The guard said as he shifted the teddy bear from one arm to the next like a single mother.
“No, I’m just going to go ahead and get it over with. It’s a damn carnival ride, just stay right here,” I said as I handed him my phone and walked through the open gate with the girls.
He gave me a warning glance, which I returned, and then continued walking through the gates.
The youngest grabbed me by the hand and skipped in front of me. I had to jog a bit to keep up with her.
Once we got inside, I was confused to see that it was a standing ride with no seats. But the attendant told us it’s meant to simulate gravity. He strapped the girls first, and then he came over to me.
As soon as he strapped me in, he gave me the coldest look and pressed something into my forearm.
“Aren’t you excited, Ms. Remy?” The little girl asked. But her mouth was moving in extra slow motion. I blinked a couple of times, and my head fell backwards. The next thing I knew, it was dark.