Chapter 33
My mama didn’t tell me the whole story but she was upset when she called.
All she told me was that one of Gianna's clients came causing a scene and yelling her name. As soon as I got off the phone with her, I called Gianna. My first instinct was to make sure she was okay. That was my priority.
When she answered, she sounded kinda upset but like she was trying to hide it. I asked her to stop by the restaurant so we could talk. I just wanted to see her, look her in her eyes, and get to the bottom of what was happening.
This was why I was so worried about her all the time. I knew her work was dangerous. Rich men or not, it didn’t stop the predatory nature of some men. Men who probably spent a fortune for her time and now felt entitled to her and her life.
Not on my watch. Not with me.
I was outside trying to gather my thoughts when Gianna finally pulled up. I directed her towards my private parking space and met her in the lot. I opened her door and as soon as she stepped out, I was hugging her close to my chest. I could feel her body trembling slightly in my arms.
Kissing the side of her face twice, I rubbed her back. "Are you okay?" I kissed her face once more before pulling back to look at her.
She nodded. "I'm okay. I just—" she squeezed my arms trying to find the words.
"Let's go to my office. We can talk."
She nodded again and I laced my fingers through hers leading her inside.
I led her through the back hall and into my office, shutting the door quietly behind us. The second it closed, Gianna let out a shaky breath.
“Come here,” I murmured.
She didn’t hesitate. I sat down in my chair and pulled her gently into my lap, wrapping my arms around her while she tucked her face into my neck. I just held her there for a minute, rubbing slow circles into her back while trying to keep my own emotions under control.
Seeing her shaken like this did something to me. “You wanna tell me what happened?” I asked softly.
She was quiet for a second before nodding against my shoulder. “It was Bishop,” she admitted quietly. “The client I told you about.”
My jaw tightened, but I kept my hands calm against her back. “He followed you there?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed pulling back slightly. “Maybe. But he came up to the table while I was having lunch with your mama and Angel.”
I closed my eyes briefly. What the hell? “My mama said he caused a scene.”
“He did.” She swallowed hard. “At first, it was calm. He asked to speak to me privately and I went because I didn’t want to make things awkward at the table.
” She shook her head, already upset with herself.
“But then he started talking crazy. I told him I didn’t want him booking with me anymore. That he needed to leave me alone.”
My brows furrowed. “And how did he react to that?”
Her eyes lifted to mine finally. “Bad. He grabbed my arm when I tried to walk away,” she continued quietly. “I snatched away and then he started yelling my name in the restaurant.”
I felt anger crawl up my spine instantly. “He put his hands on you?” I asked carefully.
Gianna shook her head quickly. “Not like that. He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”
“But he still grabbed you.”
She didn't respond. She looked away.
I exhaled slowly through my nose trying to keep myself leveled because this wasn’t the moment to make it about my feelings. She was already overwhelmed enough. “What happened after?”
“Security stepped in. We left.” Her eyes dropped down into her lap. “I ruined everything.”
“You didn’t ruin anything,” I corrected immediately.
“Yes I did.” She shook her head harder now. “Your mama looked so disappointed in me when I told her I had still been seeing him.”
That made me pause. Still been seeing him? I leaned back slightly to get a better look at her face. “Gianna…”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I know.” She pressed her lips together tightly. “I know I should've told you.”
“How long?” I asked quietly.
She hesitated. “Just a week. He booked me for seven days, but I haven’t seen him since.”
Damn. Seven whole days.
I looked away for a second, dragging my hand slowly over my beard while I processed it. This was different because she knew he was becoming emotionally attached. She knew I was uncomfortable with it, and she knew he was escalating. But she kept seeing him anyway.
She lied to me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
Her face crumbled a little at the question. “Because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”
“That’s not a reason to hide it from me. I thought we agreed on transparency,” I pressed.
“I'm sorry, baby,” she replied quickly. “You're right. I just…I thought I could handle it myself.”
I stared at her quietly for a long moment.
Then finally I nodded once. “That’s the problem though, beautiful,” I said softly.
“You keep trying to carry dangerous shit by yourself. Look at what happens when you don’t let me know what's going on. I could’ve protected you, Gianna. That's what you have a man for."
She cupped my face in her hands. "I know, but I don't ever want to put you at risk because of me. I would devastated if something happened to you."
"And how do you think I would feel?" I challenged softly.
She opened her mouth then closed it, speechless.
“Protecting me is my job. Not yours.” I held her wrist. "You can't keep secrets from me, babe. I don’t like them and I don't want them affecting our relationship. I want you to trust me completely, but I gotta be able to trust you too, That's the only way this works."
She nodded slowly, sniffling away tears. "Do you hate me?"
My face softened. “Babe…" I shook my head pulling her closer against my chest again. “No. I don’t hate you.”
She let out a shaky breath, but I could still feel the tension in her body.
“I’m hurt,” I admitted honestly. “And I’m worried. But hate you—never.”
Her eyes closed briefly. “I underestimated his attention,” she whispered. “At first, he was just intense. Then it started becoming…more.” She swallowed. “He started booking more time. Spending more money. Pushing harder.”
“That sounds like obsession,” I replied quietly.
“I know that now.”
I brushed my thumb beneath her eye catching another tear before it could fall.
She rested her forehead against mine, her hands sliding around my neck while we sat there quietly for a moment.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “Not just for today. For all of it.”
“I know.”
“And your mama…”
I exhaled slowly. “My mama likes you, Gianna. One uncomfortable situation not gon’ erase that.”
“You sure?”
“I know my people.” I kissed her forehead softly. “Now my sister—she's probably ready to fight somebody for you right now.”
She laughed lightly. “She definitely looked like she wanted to jump him.”
“She did,” I chuckled lightly. Then my expression softened again as I looked at her. “But none of that matters to me as much as you being safe." I held her eyes. "And because I'm even more concerned about your safety now, I gotta ask you, beautiful…what's next?"
I didn't even have to elaborate what that question meant—she knew.
"You want me to quit?" she asked softly.
"I do," I admitted. "I know you have a goal in mind and I respect that. But what I wanna now is what's the number? How much is it gonna take for you stop right now?"
Her eyes widened slightly. "Remy—" she breathed out.
"Just tell me, babe. I don't want you going back there."
"Alright," Gianna nodded. "100,00. That’s my number."
Shit. All I could do was blink because I don't know what number I was expecting, but it damn sure wasn't that.
“A 100,000?” I repeated slowly.
Gianna nodded, but she looked almost uncomfortable saying it out loud now. “That’s what I need to comfortably walk away and pivot fully.”
I leaned back in my chair slightly trying not to visibly react while mentally doing the math.
That wasn’t impossible. But it also wasn’t small. Not the kind of money you just casually handed somebody especially not with a child, a business and responsibilities depending on me.
Gianna watched my face closely and started shaking her head. “See? This is why I didn’t wanna say it. It sounds crazy.”
“No,” I replied honestly. “It sounds expensive.”
That made her laugh softly through her tears. “I’m serious though, Remy. I’m not pulling numbers outta my ass. That would cover my debts, my savings cushion and be enough for me to transition into something else without panicking.”
I nodded slowly because honestly that was responsible as hell. Strategic. “You already thought this through,” I realized.
“Of course I did.” She wiped beneath her eyes. “You think I wanna do this forever?”
“No,” I answered. “I don’t.” I looked down for a second, rubbing my jaw thoughtfully before looking back at her. “How close are you right now?”
She hesitated. “I'm halfway there. 62k.”
So, she was off by $38,000. That's what it would take for her to finally be done with that part of her life. I didn’t even think any further of it. "I'll give it to you," I said.
She blinked quickly, mouth parting in shock. "Wait—what?"
"I can give you the money, baby, so you can be finally done with that."
"But…will that set you back?" She adjusted herself on my lap, searching my eyes. "You have a business, employees, a son—you have a lot on your plate, babe."
"My business, my son and my employees will all be fine. I'm doing well, Gianna. I won't break the bank giving you this money I promise," I assured her.
"Remy—are you absolutely sure?" she asked again her face still skeptical.
"Will you leave today if I can guarantee you I'll have the money wired to you by tomorrow?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"Then I'm sure, beautiful." I nodded confidently.
Tears sprung to her eyes. "Why do you wanna do this?" she whispered.
"I love you, silly. Duh." I smiled gently.
Emotion flooded her face before she let out a watery laugh and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you too. Nobody has ever…” she stopped, swallowing hard before trying again. “Nobody’s ever tried to help me carry my life before.”"
I wrapped my arms around her tighter kissing her temple. "I told you to trust me. I got you. We're going to get through this together."
She nodded against my neck.
"Look at me, beautiful." She withdrew her head and looked at me with those big brown eyes which were glistening with tears. I thumbed her tears away gently. "No more secrets, alright?"
Gianna nodded. "No more secrets, baby."