Chapter 1
Now
“I don’t know how to feel, Micah,” Ryan Jones from SportsTalk commented from the mounted TV across the room.
“Jahlil Savage and his team declined Los Oceania in the draft seven years ago and now he makes a knee jerk decision to come back because Ocean City lost in the playoffs last year. TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE SEASON STARTS?!”
Micah Rhodes, a retired NBA player from Majestic Heights chuckled. “I think it was his decision to make. Seven years in the league, one of the best players we’ve seen. He reserves the right to chase the ring. And doing it in his hometown isn’t a bad choice.”
“N-n-now, Ryan!” Angelo Stephens chimed in. “I don’t agree with you often but the boy made a punk move!”
“You can’t call Jahlil Savage, the best forward in the game right now, a boy,” Micah spoke. “I played with him, he’s all beast.”
“If he wanted a ring for L.O., he could’ve done that when Brody was the owner of the Crystal Ball. Comin’ back now, a punk move made by a boy!” Angelo spoke, doubling down.
Emani sighed, looking back at her phone as her hair stylists whipped her mane into shape.
The news about Jahlil coming back to the west coast had her mind and home in a frenzy since yesterday.
All the dreams she thought were tarnished after the first year of him being gone were back and on replay on a highlight reel.
She tossed and turned, woke up to her boyfriend glaring at her.
Malik had paced the floor on the phone with the front office trying to block Jahlil’s trade.
Emani hadn’t paid attention to it because Jahlil was married.
And had been with the love of his life since he planted his feet in the sand of Ocean City.
One minute there was a gut-wrenching goodbye, a congratulations text that was left on read when he was drafted in the first round and then there was a girlfriend, and then fiancé, child’s mother and a wife.
Malik was worried about someone that Emani no longer had any rights to.
Promises be damned.
“Every morning you listen to this, for what?” the hairstylist, Derrick, asked as Emani’s main stylist rushed into the room. “About time you showed up.”
“My bad, my sitter was late,” Joanna buzzed. “How are we doing the hair?”
“Updo, the 90’s look with loose curls. It’s going to be a vibe,” Derrick spoke, running the hot comb through Emani’s blown-out, waist-length hair.
“Jo, I told you to bring my godbaby when the sitter is tripping. I don’t mind him running around the set.”
Joanna huffed, swiping her face, the shine from the diamonds on the tennis bracelet catching Emani’s eye but she didn’t think anything of it. “I know. I know. Even though we’re locked in, I still want to be a professional. And his ass is bad, E. You know that.”
“He’s busy. Not bad.”
“You’re the only one he listens to,” Joanna replied, moving over to the rack of preselected lingerie pieces.
Emani was in the middle of recording an album, launching her lingerie brand, and doing promo for a TV show she’d just wrapped.
Booked and busy was an understatement. Outside of what the public knew about – and what Malik knew about, she had several businesses with her college friends.
Donnée oversaw all of her business deals and contracts, Carson and Ashton found and managed investments, and Kyrie was the plug for all of the deals.
While he, Carson, and Ashton all managed some part of Jahlil’s life, they did the same for Emani.
From the collective of the groups’ standpoint, minus Jahlil, it was important to protect Emani while she swam in the sea of sharks.
The entertainment business was ruthless but they weren’t going to eat her alive.
Emani laughed softly. “I’ve been told I have the Midas touch when it comes to kids.”
“And yet you haven’t given Malik a kid yet,” Derrick stated as Sandi walked in.
Joanna grunted. “That body cannot be swollen with a baby.”
“And she has so much to do, Malik can wait,” Sandi buzzed.
“I’m just saying… that baby would be so cute,” Derrick gushed.
Emani’s eyes were back on her phone and a series of texts from Malik. First the apology for showing his ass all night into the morning robbing her of sleep.
Malik: baby I’m sorry. I was tripping.
Second, the balm to the wound.
Malik: after you shoot, bring some of that shit home. Let me take it off
Emani wanted to scoff and reply, take it off for what? Three minutes of huffing and puffing. She didn’t. While Jahlil danced in the back of her mind, Malik was who she was with. Malik was safe, enough.
Third, the recovery.
Malik: we’re doing dinner tonight, I sent Joanna with something
“Where does this trade leave Malik?” Micah asked the other cohost.
“I’ll tell you,” Ryan spoke up. “Riding pine. He’s been playing horribly.”
“Oh okay,” Joanna spoke up as if she were offended. The scoff of audacity left her lips and Emani and Derrick both stopped what they were doing to look at her. “Horribly?!”
Sandi cleared her throat. “We should turn this off, yeah? Joanna is about to show everyone how much of a super fan she is.”
Derrick grunted. “Even more than the woman fuckin’ the man.”
Emani: okay. Are you sending a car or…
Malik: I’ll be home to take you. I love you, E
Emani: Love you too
She locked her phone and watched Sandi turn the TV off and shoot a tense glance at her sister before turning back to Emani. “After the shoot, you have a radio interview. I have the studio booked for the rest of the night.”
“Malik wants to have dinner so you can tell the engineer I’ll see him tomorrow,” Emani replied. “I can be in the studio all day.”
“OSU called, they said they know it’s last minute but they want you to perform at homecoming in a week and a half,” Donnée excitedly spoke, walking into the room not caring who was in the middle of what.
Emani looked up, brows pinned. “What?”
“OSU wants E. Rose on stage to headline the Endzone Block party. I know, I know they should’ve had you on the schedule to begin with.
I’ve already cussed them out for that. And I’ve told them yes, so scribble that down on your little iPad LaSandria,” Donnée said, flicking her wrist toward Sandi and her iPad.
“It’s Sandra. That weekend of homecoming is blocked out, she can’t do it,” Sandi spoke. “We’re in roll out season.”
Donnée curled her lip. “Homecoming season trumps everything else.”
“Excuse me, I’m sitting right here. I blacked those dates out so I can have some much needed me time while Malik takes his mom on her birthday trip. So I’m down for the homecoming concert, Donnée.”
She clapped her hands. “Good. Now what’s going on with you?”
Emani swayed her head. “I’m good.”
Donnée raised her brows looking at the cup of coffee, no food or water. The eye patches under her eyes and her face void of joy. “Did you sleep last night?”
“I didn’t sleep from midnight until,” Emani muttered lowly once Sandi walkaway to talk to Joanna. “He wanted to fight all fuckin’ night about this trade. Like I had something to do about it. In there pitching a fuckin’ fit.”
Donnée frowned. “He’s tripping about Jah coming back?”
“Hard. Like I’m thinkin’ about that nigga,” Emani scoffed to cover her scent.
Thinking, dreaming, resenting… all of that.
She was doing all of that. Donnée knew it.
She knew her cousin. She knew her heart and she knew that Jahlil was the second man in Emani’s life to let her down.
Sure the front was convincing seven years ago.
But Donnée and the rest of them saw straight through it.
Jahlil’s protest to come back and get her then was short lived.
“So I’m doing this on no sleep and a fuckin’ attitude and now he wants to wipe all of this away like he didn’t accuse me of everything but fuckin’ that nigga while I’m on the road. I’m irritated.”
“Shake it off. Focus on what’s in front of you right now. Deal with Malik when you get home. You’re a bad bitch the nigga should be sweating. And that’s not just because Jahlil is back but you can have anyone you want and you choose him,” Donnée encouraged while Derrick grunted.
“Anyone you want. Don’t forget that shit. Emani fuckin’ Rose. Number one female MC, fashion icon. You’re it and the IT girl. If anything, he should be dropping dick and gifts left and right to keep you. Trapped you with a few babies by now,” Derrick added.
“I’m just saying,” Donnée said, agreeing with Derrick and turning some music on. “Let’s get this shoot done.”
She spotted the sisters in the corner and poked her lip out. “What are they talking about?”
Emani was back on her phone, shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t know. Don’t care.”
Derrick muttered. “That sure is a nice bracelet. Nice clarity. Maybe I should charge you more so I can get one too.”
Carson: heard the news. You good?
Emani: hearing something you and Kyrie arranged is wild. I’m fine
Carson: wasn’t going to say shit until the ink dried
Emani: doesn’t matter, C. I have a life and he has his. Don’t make this a thing
Carson: tell Ashton that
Emani: I’m not telling that short shit anything. He’s ShadyPalms I swear
Carson: you hell, E!
Once she was primped and primed, Emani walked on set only to be welcomed by a massive bouquet of flowers.
From Malik, of course, to soothe the irritation he caused.
Emani shook off their fight and locked in with her work.
Anything weighing on her would have to wait until later. Jahlil and Malik included.