REASON
“My nigga,” Basheer greeted as I approached the table in the back of the restaurant where we were meeting.
Basheer Buchanan was my confidant, something like a big brother, and my business partner. He was an alumnus of the college I attended, but he still had dealings on campus, which was where we met during my junior year. And we’d been tight ever since.
When John left me in charge of the TV network, there were no questions about it—I was bringing Basheer along with me.
When I wasn’t available, he found the talent, met with clients, and traveled all over the world.
Basheer was currently in New York, meeting with a potential client who wanted to pitch a TV show. Every meeting I had in this city, he was right there. Since this was his hometown, and he knew it inside out, I usually let him handle all the affairs here.
I had some free time, so I thought, why not join him for this business trip and use our spare time to catch up.
“What up, dawg!” We dapped, and I took a seat.
“Mr. St. Pierre, it’s good to see you again.” The young, petite waiter waltzed over, welcoming me as soon as I sat down.
Basheer and I were regulars at this Soul Food spot when we were in New York, so everyone in the vicinity knew who we were. Even the owner, when she was present, would serve us our meal personally.
“Hi, Ashlyn. How are you?”
She smiled from ear to ear, batting her lashes.
Basheer gazed at the young girl before his attention shifted over to me.
I knew what was up. Ashlyn always made it a habit to flirt, but like every other time, I brushed it off.
I never entertained women in a way that would disrespect my wife.
My vows were something I took seriously.
It didn’t matter how cute or how hard a female tried to throw the pussy my way; I was never catching that shit.
As Aslyn stood there all googly eyed, all I could think about was how lucky she was that Saje wasn’t here. My woman would’ve checked her twenty-something year old ass without hesitation.
“I’m great… now… Mr. St. Pierre,” she said, switching her voice to a more seductive tone.
Yeah, it was time to place my order and send her on her way. She was already lingering at our table far too long.
“Ashlyn, I’ll have the usual.”
I glanced at Basheer, hoping he’d get the cue to get this girl away from us.
“I’ll have the same,” he told her.
“Perfect. Pot roast, mashed potatoes, and mac n cheese coming right up.”
After gawking, she licked her lips and prepared to walk away.
I stopped her.
“Yo, Ashlyn.”
“Yesss?”
She turned around, eyes beaming, and probably hoping I’d finally give in to her advances.
“Have one of the other waiters bring our food out, aight. I’m sure you got other tables to handle.
“But Mr.…”
I cut her off. “It’s coo, take care of the other guests. We’re straight.”
The smile she wore just seconds ago was wiped clean off her face as she hurried off.
“Damn, bruh. You ain’t have to do the girl like that. All she wants is to get fucked by a rich nigga… well, you, specifically.” Basheer laughed, slapping his hands on the table.
“Nigga, Saje is all I need. Can’t no other woman take me away from what I got at home.” That fast, my body heated up from thoughts of Saje, remembering the position I had her in before I left to come to New York.
“I mean, I guess,” he said. “Some married niggas get new pussy from time to time. You one of the only ones I know who’s still loyal to your wife. I salute you, my nigga. I hope to be just like you when I grow up.” He let out a loud laugh again.
He got a kick out of this. If Ashlyn was on him, it was likely Basheer would’ve had her spread like an eagle in one of these hotels before the night was over.
“Shit, if it was me, I would’ve had her ass pinned against the window in one of these high-rise hotel suites, giving her all the dick she could handle,” he confessed, proving my point.
Enough about this irrelevant shit. I quickly changed the subject and asked, “Man, how you been? You’ve been ripping and running around; we’ve hardly had time to chop it up.”
He grabbed the glass and took a swig of the dark liquid. “I’ve been straight. Making sure we’re hiring people who can elevate the network. We need a variety of programs and daytime shows for the young folks. And at night we can cater to the grown and sexy.”
“So, what do you suggest?”
“I have a few things in mind. Once I finish bringing my plan all together, I’ll present it to you.”
“Aight, sounds good.”
A new waiter brought our food out, and she was young too, but different from Ashlyn. There was no eye contact, no small talk, just professionalism and an “enjoy y’all food” before she walked off.
Basheer and I dug into our food, putting a pause on our conversation. Annie’s Soul Food restaurant hits every time. Every meal served here was finger licking good.
Basheer was halfway through the meal when he looked up with a serious expression. “Reason, you been good? My fault, bruh. I was so excited about mentioning my plan for the network that I forgot to ask sooner.”
I swallowed my food and took one more bite before responding. There was something I never mentioned to Basheer that had been plaguing my mind for a minute.
“I’m ready for Saje and me to have a baby,” I blurted.
He stopped chewing and took a long pause.
I continued when he didn’t say anything.
“That’s the one thing I feel like we’re missing.
I got everything: a beautiful wife, an amazing family, a TV network, money, investments, mansions, cars, business deals…
the list goes on. But what I don’t have is a little person yelling out “da-da” with excitement when I come home after a long workday.
” I took a second to imagine a little mini me running around. “I long for that feeling.”
“Reason, I never knew you wanted kids. In all these years, I never heard you talk about ’em.”
“Yeah, because I wanted to get my career started first. I was tryna be considerate of Saje’s career too. But I believe we’re finally at the point where we can slow down some and shift our focus to bringing life into this world.”
“Have you talked to Saje about it yet?”
“Nah, haven’t had a chance to lately. But that conversation will come soon.”
Basheer wiped the corners of his mouth with the napkin as I took the last bite of my food. By now, both of our plates were empty.
“How do you think she’ll react?”
“I don’t know,” I answered without putting my wife’s business out there.
The truth was, I really didn’t know what Saje would say if I were to mention this to her now.
It had been some time since we had the ‘baby’ talk when she expressed how much she wanted to become a mother but feared that her body couldn’t make that a reality.
When I proceeded to ask further questions, she started breathing heavily, and tears smeared across her face until she could no longer speak because she was hyperventilating.
Where the baby topic had taken her mentally and physically was never my intention.
I didn’t want to push her any further, so I dropped the conversation and hadn’t mentioned it since.
“Well, my brother. Maybe it’s about time you found out. You scared or something?” Basheer’s fingers curled around the glass as he waited for me to respond.
“Nah, I ain’t scared, man. It’s just a touchy subject, but I’ma figure it out.” I picked up my glass of rum and Coke that I had barely touched and gulped some down.
“Well, if y’all ever need a surrogate or some shit like that, let me know. My childhood friend and his wife own a surrogacy company.”
I raised my eyebrows. “A surrogate? Nigga, now you jumping the gun. Why the hell would we need a surrogate?”
“I’m just putting it out there. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with having options.”
“I’m sure that won’t be needed, but if it ever does come up, I know who to hit up.”
Basheer nodded and extended his glass toward me, causing me to pause and look at him.
“Cheers to you having a successful baby making discussion with your wife, bruh.”
We both chuckled and clinked our glasses.
My entire flight back to Miami was spent thinking about my conversation with Basheer. I had everything I wanted and needed in my life, but the one thing missing was a baby. I longed to have a daughter, son, or maybe both. My legacy couldn’t end with me. That thought didn’t even sit right with me.
Despite my busy schedule and running UTN, having a baby was one thought that kept popping up. No matter how much I tried to distract myself when those thoughts appeared, they never truly went away.
I was a man who rarely got nervous, but meeting with Saje later for dinner had my stomach in knots.
I had protected her feelings and disregarded my own needs.
It was time for us to talk about creating life.
If she was concerned about not being able to get pregnant, we would cross that bridge when we got there.
With the new technology and resources that were available now, nothing was impossible.
I briefly shook away my thoughts as I pulled into my designated parking spot at my headquarters.
Once inside, I greeted every employee I encountered.
Seeing them reminded me that it had been a while since I bought lunch for everyone.
I put it on my mental to-do list to hire a variety of food trucks to come through during their lunchtime.
Their access to food would be unlimited, and they wouldn’t have to come out of pocket for anything.
I wasn’t one of those bosses who believed I was bigger than the program.
I looked out for everyone as much as I could.
My employees were like family, and I treated them as such.
As long as they didn’t cross me in any way, it was all good.
Thankfully, no one had tested me and brought out Reason St. Pierre from the hood.
I made it to my office and instantly basked in the sunny springtime skies that warmed and illuminated my office. “Thank you, God,” I silently whispered.
I had a flashback of the first time I mobbed into John’s office as an intern, completely in awe the moment I stepped inside.
John sat behind his desk, looking straight-up like ‘Don Dada,’ watching me frantically scan his large space, trying to take in as much as I could in such a short amount of time.
Who would’ve ever thought I’d be in the same position one day?
I sat at my desk and turned on my computer. My plan was to audit a few reports and then head out to meet Saje for dinner later. I didn’t need to come into the office and could’ve worked from home, but I needed a distraction. Anything that would keep my mind at bay for now.
From time to time, I reviewed the budgets, revenue reports, and advertising performance.
Granted, I had people to oversee these things, but I had taken a page out of John’s book.
He always stayed up-to-date with everything concerning his business.
He had meetings with his team whenever there was an update, change, or concern that needed to be addressed.
There were times he personally reviewed reports instead of just trusting the words of his employees.
He would say, “I don’t give a fuck how trustworthy a person deems themselves to be.
I’m always going to be on top of my shit.
I built this network from the ground up, and I’ll be damned if I allow anyone to ruin what I’ve created over something that could’ve been easily avoided.
That’s why you always got to carve out time to check your operation with a fine-tooth comb. ”
As a business owner, it was smart to always know what was going on. Therefore, I made it part of my monthly routine to ensure my business matters were exactly what they claimed to be. It didn’t matter how much I trusted the people who worked for me.
I spent the next couple of hours going through bills until I came across a few that looked wrong.
This shit ain’t adding up.
The descriptions were vague, and the companies listed weren’t ones I remembered approving. No contact names. Just logos and payment addresses.
Media Works?
Oceanpark Inc?
Lighthouse Studio?
Miama Skills Corporation?
What the fuck are these?
I searched each logo name. Nothing. No online presence. No history. Nonexistent.
Everything came through me for approval. None of these rang a bell.
I wrote down the inconsistencies, pressing hard enough that the fountain pen almost tore the paper. I took photos of the screen, then I printed the reports.
By the time I stood up, my chest felt tight, and my patience was gone.
Before I did anything reckless, I decided I’d interrogate every muthafucka involved in financial oversight.
Someone had some explaining to do.