Chapter 3
I had been reeling since Chanel confronted me with those pictures of Muffin and Alex yesterday.
I hadn’t told anyone about that meeting, because I needed time to calm down and figure out my best plan of action.
There would be hell to pay, but I wanted to make sure whatever I did that I would have no regrets.
“Hey, Willow, call Shaniece.”
“Calling Shaniece,” my voice activated virtual assistant, Willow, replied.
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I navigated the suburban neighborhood where my sports agent lived. I was on my way to meet with Amélie about the meeting I had with Chanel. The news I needed to share, along with the pictures, wasn’t something that I wanted to share over the phone.
It was bad enough that when I found out about the pictures I learned that they had come from an anonymous source, meaning there was no telling how many people had already seen them. The last thing that I needed was for someone to get their hands on either of our phones and see the pictures.
“Hi, Ash,” Shaniece Everson, my personal assistant, greeted cheerily.
“Hey, how’s your day going?”
“It’s been a wonderful day. I just finished cleaning my house, picked up my coffee order from Brew ‘N’ Sip, and I was about to dive into some reading. What can I do for you?”
“Not a lot, because I’m not trying to ruin your weekend, but I do need a favor.”
“Anything, Boss Man.”
“I need you to send a dozen tulips, a box of Schroeder’s bourbon turtle chocolates, a bottle of Macallan, and a card to Chanel Dubois that reads: My apologies and gratitude, Ash. It needs to be delivered in the next couple of hours.”
“That’s an expensive order to be sending to a sports reporter. Care to tell what you did that put you in the doghouse?”
“I don’t.”
“Are you sure that Muffin won’t get jealous about you sending a gift of over a grand to another woman just to apologize?”
I didn’t like her insinuation, but I ignored it. “Niecey, you gon’ do your job or what?”
“Sorry. You’re right. I’m on it right now.”
“A’ight. Enjoy the rest of your day or whatever.”
I ended the call just as I pulled into Two Slices, a popular upscale sandwich shop.
I parked right next to Amélie’s Mercedes, thankful that the restaurant didn’t seem too crowded this early.
It was shortly after eleven, which was probably why she wanted me to meet her at this hour.
People were out and about shopping, but they hadn’t gotten around to eating lunch and crowding the restaurants yet.
“Hey, Ash.” Amélie stood from her table near the back, but in front of a window, and hugged me.
I bent down and wrapped her in my arms. “Hi, Amé.”
“I took the liberty of ordering a roasted turkey, Cajun chicken, and black forest ham club on a brioche roll for you,” she declared just as one of the servers walked up to our table with a serving tray.
“Excellent.”
After the server left us alone, Amélie spoke up. “All right. What did she do to piss you off?”
I bit into my sandwich and chewed thoughtfully and slowly as Amélie glared at me. I knew she was pissed that I was taking my time, just as she knew I was doing it to get underneath her skin. I was like an annoying younger brother to her.
“Okay . . . okay,” I declared, laughing at her. “She told me that Muffin was cheating.”
“Well, shit. That’s nothing that we don’t already know,” Amélie declared and forked some of her salad into her mouth.
“Yeah, but Chanel shared pictures, Amé—and the pictures are of her and Alex.”
“Alex who?”
“Curry.”
Amélie’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. Her fork fell back onto the table and hit the edge of her bowl with a loud clatter.
“Are you fucking serious?”
I pulled out my phone, scrolled to the photo app, and pulled up the screenshots that I had taken of the actual photos. I only showed her the ones of them kissing, because the last thing I wanted to do was put Muffin’s ass out there like that.
I pulled my phone back before she got to the photos of Muffin straddling him without her bikini top and him sucking her breasts, or the one where she’s clearly riding him.
“What else is on there, Ash?” Amélie asked, knowing I hadn’t shown her everything.
“It don’t even matter. Bottom line is she’s out there like this and with him. He was supposed to be my boy. We’re family.”
I watched as my agent dragged her hands down her face and blew out several breaths before she looked at me. She gripped the edge of the table. “I’m going to say something to you, but don’t bite my head off.”
“What?” I growled.
“We need to get in front of this before someone else gets the story out. It’s always best for us to have a grip on it before someone else does. The best defense is a great offense, and you know this.”
“What are you saying, Amé?”
“I’m saying that we need to put the pictures out there, let the world know that she’s being unfaithful to you before someone else puts a spin on them.”
“Hell no, Amé. You know I’m not about to do that.” My voice was deep and harsh like a dog barking before he attacked.
“That’s the problem, Ash. I don’t understand why not.
That woman has cheated on you for the last few years, threw that shit in your face, had a man staying in your condo in Vegas for a couple of months, had another man driving your Bugatti, which you sold, because you would rather sell it than let her have it or you drive it after that bullshit, and yet you still stay loyal as hell to her ass, and I don’t get why.
You’re an intelligent man, Ashton. You’re faithful, kind, and compassionate.
You can be a bit out of control when triggered, but for the most part, you keep your shit in order. ”
“That’s only because you and Coach knows how to handle me. My initial response to most of that shit would’ve been to body their asses had it not been for y’all. You both came in and cleaned up my messes.”
“And that’s what I’m saying. Coach and I will be behind you one hundred percent on everything, but we’re tired of cleaning shit that isn’t your shit. You get what I’m saying? We’re walking behind you cleaning up shit that is actually Muffin’s, and I’m sick of it.”
I pushed my half-eaten sandwich away and dragged my hands through my hair. It was time for me to get it braided up again. Either that or cut it all off, which would piss my mom off.
“Well, we’re divorcing, so it won’t be your issue much longer.”
Amélie sighed and reached out and grabbed my hands.
“Baby, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that, at some point, you have to stop protecting her.
You may have argued with her over the stuff she was doing, cut off her credit cards, and temporarily kicked her out of the house for three months, but you let her come back.
Then you beat the shit out of that nigga in the condo.
That took everything in us to keep the media from finding out about that and getting those charges dropped. ”
“You did a hell of a job convincing them that I thought someone was breaking in my house, and I was defending myself.”
“That was easy, considering you were in town for a few days, and he happened to be away that night. When he came in the next morning with a key, it was understandable that it caught you off guard. But what was crazy was when your ass was about to destroy that car behind her.”
“Yeah, Coach did his big one on that.”
“But that’s what I’m saying. What if Coach hadn’t been with you that day to pull your collar?
What if I hadn’t been able to clear up that Vegas fiasco?
I have no idea what’s about to come from these leaked pictures, but you need to sit down and let us handle them.
Don’t you dare call Alex. She’s not worth all this.
If you go after Alex, it will be your third strike.
I don’t know how much more we can clean up. ”
“Maybe not, Amé, but just because we’re divorcing doesn’t mean I have to toss her to the dogs. She’s still my wife at this point, and by extension, she’s family, and you know I will forever be loyal to family.”
“You shouldn’t consider being loyal when family is fucking him, and by fucking him, I mean the entire team, because Alex isn’t the only one Muffin has cheated with.”
“What?”
“Ash, remember when I kept telling you not to trust Rush?”
I frowned. “Yeah, what about it?”
Jayden Rush was a former teammate of mine, who was traded to another team last year.
“I kept thinking the two of them were awfully close, but it wasn’t until after he left that I found out that they had screwed around.
There was no point telling you by then, because it was over, and you were always in your feelings whenever I brought them up.
Not only him, but I also know that she quite often flirts with Wade.
“The difference between Wade and Rush is that Wade is faithful to his wife, and he’s not about to mess up his home life for anyone. At the same time, he’s not going to say anything that will break the peace and harmony of the team.”
I stood from the table angry and pissed because no one had told me a damn thing. I was at a point that I trusted no one.
“Where are you going?”
“To pay Alex a visit.”
“Ashton, I said—”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
I stormed through the doors.
I didn’t bother to call and warn Alex that I was coming. I rolled up on his house and banged on the front door. I had to knock several times before he finally came and answered.
“The fuck. Nigga, what’s wrong with you knocking on my door like that?”
“Alex, is everything okay?” A woman came into the living room behind him, wearing a short robe. I noticed Alex only had on basketball shorts, which told me that I had probably interrupted a private moment, but I didn’t care.
“Nigga, what’s wrong with you fucking my wife like that?”
Alex’s eyes narrowed and then lit with humor. Shaking his head, he replied, “That’s what she’s telling you now? Listen, man, I don’t know what’s going on with Muffin, but I don’t want any part of y’all’s home issues.”
“Nigga, you made yourself a part of it the minute you touched my wife.”
“Alex, what is he talking about?”
“Baby, go back to the room. I got this. Look, Ash, I don’t know what the fuck Muffin told you, but—”
“She ain’t said nothing, my nigga. But these pictures said it all.” I threw the pictures at him.
The woman kneeled and picked up a couple. Pressing her hand over her mouth, her eyes watered, and she asked, “Alex, how could you?”
“Baby, those pictures are from before you.”
“If by before you, he means that you hooked up with him in the last few days, then yeah, it was before you.”
“You cheated with this man’s wife, Alex?”
“Baby, you don’t understand the type of woman she was.”
“I don’t give a damn what type of woman she was, she is someone’s wife!”
“No, she was a ho, who—”
Before he could finish that statement, I hit him in the mouth, and he stumbled backward. But he came right back with a left hook that caught me in the jaw. From there, it was on. We crashed into a shelf, and some glass figurines crashed to the floor.
The woman screamed and warned us to stop or she would call the cops.
It fell on deaf ears, and we kept fighting until the cops came knocking.
My black ass was the one who got taken away, because him and her both stood on the fact that he was simply defending himself after being assaulted in his home.