Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
BILLION
Iknew something was wrong with Kaizleigh before she ever opened her mouth.
She had been pacing through the sitting room for the last ten minutes with her phone in her hand, stopping every so often to type something before starting right back up again. I had been trying to finish going over numbers for the hotel, but every time she passed in front of me, I lost my place.
The first few times, I ignored her. By the sixth, I closed my laptop.
“Whatever it is, say it.”
She stopped near the fireplace and looked at me.
“I don't know if I should.”
“Then stop walking around looking like you about to tell me somebody died.”
“Don't say that.”
“Then what happened?”
She looked back down at her phone. That was when I knew exactly who this shit was about.
“Nyrobi?” I quizzed
Kaizleigh's eyes came up.
“What about her?”
“You tell me. You've been staring at your phone all evening.”
“She won't answer me.”
“That ain't unusual.”
“Yes, it is.”
I leaned back against the sofa.
The sitting room was probably one of the least used rooms in the house. Kaizleigh had spent months picking out furniture for it, then somehow we always ended up in the family room or upstairs. Tonight, she'd been in here when I came home, so I'd sat down with her.
Now I was starting to wish I'd gone to my office.
“She works, maybe she busy,” I said.
“She left work early.”
That made me look at her differently.
“How you know?”
“Tiffany called me.”
“Why?”
Kaizleigh hesitated.
“That's what I'm trying to tell you.”
I waited.
“Nyrobi got put out.”
I frowned.
“Put out of what?”
“Her apartment, Billion.”
I sat forward.
“What you mean got put out?”
“Evicted.”
“I know what evicted means. I'm asking what happened.”
“I don't know everything yet.”
“How Tiffany know?”
“Nyrobi left work because her mom called saying somebody came to the apartment with papers. Tiffany said Nyrobi was already stressed before she left, and she told her it had something to do with the apartment.”
“And you called her?”
“Like four times.”
“Four?”
“Maybe five.”
I stared at her.
“Kaizleigh.”
“What? I was worried.”
“And she ain't answer?”
“No. She texted me finally.”
“What she say?”
Kaizleigh walked over and handed me her phone.
I read the messages.
KAIZLEIGH: Hey. Tiffany told me you had to leave work. Is everything okay?
Then another.
KAIZLEIGH: Is your mom okay?
Another.
KAIZLEIGH: Nyrobi call me.
Then finally Nyrobi:
NYROBI: We good. Just dealing with some moving shit. Mama good. I'll call you later.
I looked up.
“That's it?”
“That's it.”
“She said they good.”
“They're not good.”
“How you know?”
“Because Tiffany called me again.”
I handed the phone back.
“What she say?”
“She said Nyrobi called asking if she could pick up extra shifts.”
That told me enough.
I rubbed my hand over my beard.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“She just signed a quarter-million-dollar contract yesterday and she asking for extra shifts?”
“Exactly.”
“Did she get any of her first payment yet?”
“No.”
I already knew the answer. I just needed to hear it. That contract looked good on paper, but paper wasn't paying Nyrobi's rent tonight.
“Where are they?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“Billion, she won't tell me!”
“Did you ask?”
“Yes!”
“And?”
“She said she had somewhere for them to go.”
I looked at my wife.
“You believe that?”
“No.”
“Neither do I.”
Kaizleigh sat across from me.
“I don't want to embarrass her.”
That was the first thing she'd said that stopped me from immediately reaching for my phone.
Because I understood that. Nyrobi had made one thing clear since we'd met her.
She didn't want to be anybody's charity case.
The girl had a car begging to be put out of its misery and still got offended when I asked if it was reliable.
So, yeah. Calling her and saying, I heard you homeless, what you need? Probably wasn't the move. But neither was pretending I didn't know. Especially now…
“She got her mama with her,” I said.
“I know.”
“Her mama got heart problems.”
“I know, Billion.”
“And she's supposed to start medication soon.”
“I know.”
I looked at her.
“Then what the fuck we talking about?”
Kaizleigh frowned.
“What?”
“Move them.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“Move them.”
“Move them where?”
I stared at her.
She stared back.
“Billion, where are we moving them?”
“One of the houses.”
“What houses?”
“Our houses, Kaizleigh.”
“I know that. I'm asking which one.”
“Whichever one makes sense.”
She sat back.
“You serious?”
“Why wouldn't I be?”
“Because we can't just move Nyrobi and her mama into one of our properties.”
“Why?”
“Because…”
She stopped.
I waited.
“Exactly.”
“No, not exactly. I'm thinking.”
“About what?”
“Boundaries.”
I almost laughed.
“Now you worried about boundaries?”
“Yes.”
“You hugged that girl three times at the lawyer's office.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“You damn near cried on her shoulder.”
“I was emotional!”
“You always emotional.”
“Billion, I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
I stood and walked over to the bar.
I wasn't even drinking. I just needed to move because sitting there talking in circles was starting to irritate me.
“We got empty properties.”
“I know.”
“She needs somewhere to stay.”
“I know.”
“Her mama needs somewhere stable.”
“I know.”
“She's about to start putting medication in her body so she can carry our child.”
“I know!”
“Then what the fuck is the problem?”
Kaizleigh stared at me.
“The problem is I don't want her feeling like because she's carrying our baby, we own her.”
I stopped. That wasn't what I'd expected her to say.
Kaizleigh continued.
“We already pay her. We already own the hotel she works at. Now we're gonna own the house she sleeps in too?”
I leaned against the bar.
“We don't own her.”
“I know that.”
“Then don't make it sound like we do.”
“I'm saying how it could feel to her.”
I thought about that. She wasn't completely wrong. Nyrobi had already made comments about rich people trying to fix everything. She'd probably hear one of our properties and immediately start thinking there was some catch.
“Then make it clear there isn't one.”
“How?”
“It ain't part of the contract.”
“Okay.”
“It ain't coming out her two-fifty.”
“Okay.”
“She doesn't pay us rent.”
Kaizleigh's eyebrows went up.
“Nothing?”
“Why the fuck would we charge her?”
“I was asking.”
“Nothing.”
“For how long?”
I shrugged.
“Until she gets herself straight.”
“And if that's the whole pregnancy?”
“Then it's the whole pregnancy.”
“Billion.”
“What?”
“You can't just say shit like that.”
“Why not?”
“Because that's a whole house.”
“We got more than one.”
She stared at me.
“What?”
“You act like I'm saying give her the deed.”
“That is not what I'm saying.”
“Then what's the issue?”
She got quiet again. I knew what she was doing. Trying to figure out every way this could go wrong before we even did it. Usually that was my job.
“Which property?” she finally asked.
I thought about it.
“Windermere.”
Her eyes widened.
“The Windermere house?”
“Yeah.”
“Billion, that house is nice as hell.”
“And?”
“I thought you meant one of the smaller rentals.”
“Why?”
“Because it's just Nyrobi and her mom.”
“And the Windermere house is empty.”
“For now.”
“So?”
“We were going to list it.”
“We ain't listed it yet.”
Kaizleigh stared at me like she was waiting for the part where I changed my mind. But I didn't.
The Windermere property wasn't this house, wasn't even close.
But it was nice. Four bedrooms. Gated community.
Enough space for Nyrobi and her mother without them being on top of each other.
No stairs Mama had to climb to get to a bedroom because there was one downstairs.
Close enough to the hotel and the fertility clinic that Nyrobi wouldn't be driving all over Central Florida every other day. More importantly, it was empty.
Problem. Solution.
I didn't understand why we were still talking.
“That's actually perfect,” Kaizleigh said quietly.
“That's why I said it.”
“Don't start.”
“I ain't.”
She looked down at her phone.
“She's gonna say no.”
“Probably.”
“What we do then?”
“Ask again.”
“And if she still says no?”
“Then we make sure she understands what she's saying no to.”
Kaizleigh laughed.
“That sounds like you plan on making her say yes.”
“I can't make a grown woman do shit.”
“You sure act like you can.”
“I can make sure pride ain't making a decision her common sense wouldn't.”
Her smile faded.
“Don't say it like that to her.”
“I know how to talk to people.”
“No, you know how to talk to businessmen.”
“Same shit.”
“No, it's not.”
I looked at her.
“You wanna handle it?”
She immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“Exactly.”
“Because she'll tell me no faster.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows I'll back down.”
That was true. Kaizleigh would offer Nyrobi the house, Nyrobi would say no, and my wife would come home worrying herself sick while Nyrobi slept wherever the hell she planned on sleeping.
I grabbed my phone.
“Call her.”
“Now?”
“No, next week.”
“Billion.”
“Call her.”
She unlocked her phone, then stopped.
“Wait.”
“What now?”
“What if she really does have somewhere?”
“Then she can tell us.”
“And what if she thinks we're overstepping?”
“She probably will.”
“You don't care?”
“I care that her and her mama are somewhere safe.”
“And the boundaries?”
“We'll have boundaries.”
“How?”
“She lives there. We don't.”
Kaizleigh laughed.
“I'm serious.”
“So am I. It ain't like we gonna be popping up at the bitch every morning.”
Her face changed.
I knew that face.
“What?”
“I should check on her.”
I closed my eyes.
“Here we go.”
“What?”
“I knew you were gonna find a reason.”
“Billion, she's going through this for us!”
“She ain't even pregnant yet.”
“She's about to start medication.”
“And?”
“And somebody should make sure she's okay.”
“She has a phone.”
“That is not the same.”
I shook my head.
“Do what you want.”
“I was going to anyway.”
“Then why ask me?”
“I didn't.”
I looked at her.
She smiled.
I couldn't do nothing but laugh.
“Call Nyrobi.”
Kaizleigh hit her name.
It rang, but there was no answer. She called again and again no answer.
“She probably looking at your name right now saying, ‘This damn lady again.’”
“Shut up.”