Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
Khaleesi
PRESENT DAY
“Oh yeah, we are familiar with Michelle. That’s all we need from you. Thank you so much for choosing our venue to host your event,” Andy confirmed with a head nod.
“Thank you for having us. The DJ is going to give a fifteen-, ten-, and five-minute countdown to ensure that people are preparing for their exits on time. The birthday boy and his immediate family will be departing in a few minutes,” I explained.
“Bet. You have my number. I’ll be in my office at the end of this hall if you need anything else,” Andy notified me, licking his lips, pointing towards the door at the end of the hallway. “Anything.”
“Are you flirting with me?”
“Shit, the business is almost done. I can’t let you slip away without shooting my shot. Can I hit you up and take you out sometime?”
I blushed, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, pondering over this handsome man’s features.
He was tall, fuck boy handsome, and flashing the sexiest smile with a perfect set of teeth.
After being single for six years, I still wasn’t in a place where I wanted to jump into a new relationship.
The last one was too distracting. However, a long-distance situationship couldn’t hurt.
“You know I don’t live in Miami, right? And I’m a very busy woman.”
“I remember every conversation we’ve had leading up to this event. You’re beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but I’m more attracted to a woman’s drive, and I’ve loved your ambitious spirit since the first time we conversed.”
“My drive is usually what scares men off,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
“Well, you gotta stop fuckin’ with them insecure ass nigga’s,” he shrugged. “I love it. Ion mind if my lady wants to be put up, but I still want her to have something for herself.”
“Wellll, in that case,” I grinned. “You can text me, and I’ll let you know if we need anything. But everything has gone so smoothly that I doubt we’ll need anything,” I assured him.
“Alright,” he nodded, towering over me, his eyes searing into me for a moment. He was filling out the button-up and slacks so well, and I was too busy to notice until that moment. “I’mma hit you tomorrow.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I beamed, spinning around to head back into the party.
The bass from the speakers positioned throughout the venue greeted me as soon as I stepped through the double doors.
Everything seemed to be running smoothly, giving me a second to lean up against the nearest wall and let out an exhale that came from the pit of my stomach because I was exhausted.
My back felt like it was about to fall off, my feet were throbbing, and I couldn’t wait to melt into the seats of the Sprinter Van.
“You really did your big one with this party, Khaleesi!” Mama Marissa, Q’s mother, shouted over the music, bouncing over to me with Yaseer following close behind. Her elevated tone and the glossy eyes told me that she was lit.
“Yeah, you did your thing,” Yaseer added, sipping from his bottle of water. It was rare that they came out for events unless it was something major for Q, like his birthday.
The event space wasn’t overcrowded due to the strict guest list, but the blunts in rotation still made it just as smoky as a packed club.
Mama Marissa’s hair was pulled up into two ponytails with crimped ends that fell past her midback.
Big gold rectangular door knocker earrings peeked through her long crimped hair, and Yaseer’s name was sprawled across them in cursive.
She wore a bordeaux velvet Gucci jacket with matching pants that mirrored Yaseer.
Outside of my Auntie Anila and Vincent, they were my favorite older couple.
Two shots were clasped tightly in her hand, and she shoved one into my grasp once they were within arm’s length.
“No, I don’t drink when I’m supposed to be working anymore,” I laughed, passing the shot back to Q’s mother.
The last time I drank while I was handling work business was about five years ago.
I got drunk as hell at Q’s video release party, and Vincent, Mama Marissa’s uncle, had to carry me up to a room until my ex came to pick me up.
Definitely not my finest moment, but you would never catch me in a compromising position like that again.
My eyes swiveled around the venue, taking a moment to breathe and admire the perfectly executed event coming to an end.
I had to agree with Mama Marissa; I really outdid myself for Q’s birthday party.
He was turning twenty-six, and I was excited to plan the surprise party when Jameera and Mama Marissa came to me with the idea.
On top of Q celebrating his twenty-sixth birthday, he recently dropped his third album and secured the number one spot on Billboard.
He had so much to celebrate, and I was happy to bring their vision to life.
As Q’s creative director, I defined his aesthetic and ensured every visual element aligned seamlessly with his brand.
In the music industry, image was everything, and I was responsible for keeping Q’s brand and visual identity consistent.
Everything down to his birthday party was a visual statement.
If it was going to live forever online, it had to align with the image we worked so hard to build around Q.
He was the first artist to give me a shot; we basically came up together, and I would always be thankful for that.
Q’s favorite movie was Paid In Full, and that was the theme they chose to go with.
The decor fit the theme. Large cutouts of Q from his ‘80s-themed birthday shoot, which we tricked him into taking last month, were positioned around the room.
The custom floor wrap displayed his latest album cover with that number one spot on Billboard.
Everyone was dressed in their best ‘80s gear, the liquor was flowing, and Q was standing in front of the airbrushed photo backdrop that mirrored the East Coast Ballers backdrop in the movie. His brothers, Quincy, Tech, and boy Corey, surrounded him while they took a few final pictures. They all took the dress code seriously, looking every bit of 80s drug lords, with champagne bottles, custom Gucci and Louis Vuitton two-piece sets, and big rope chains to match. I glanced down at my Apple Watch, and it was thirty minutes before we were scheduled to vacate the venue. It was almost time for us to head to the afterparty at Mama Marissa and Yaseer’s Miami home.
“Your duties are over, the cake is cut, and you can have a shot to celebrate. You look like the world beat your ass today.”
“It did,” I exhaled, gently holding my lower back.
“That’s exactly why you need to take this one shot. It isn’t going to have you throwing up in the middle of the party. Plus, Xain and his team are going to make sure everybody makes it back to the house safely,” she urged.
I rolled my eyes and flattened my lips. “He’s the last nigga I’m going to trust with my safety,” I quipped.
“Oh, I forgot y’all don’t get along. Y’all are the same person. That’s why y’all can’t stand each other,” she snickered.
“No, we don’t get along because he kidnapped me and he’s rude as fuck,” I retorted.
“Oh, I forgot about the kidnapping,” Mama Marissa cringed. “You know he didn’t mean any harm. He was just doing his job.”
I stared at Mama Marissa blankly, realizing I was speaking with a woman who grew up as a mafia princess. Of course she was so no harm, no foul about Xain holding me hostage in a hotel to cover her uncle’s misdeeds.
“Fine, I’ll have the shots for the both of us,” she shrugged, tossing them back one by one. “I’m in Miami, and my daughter is safely with her grandparents. I’m about to have a tiiiiiiiiime.”
“Oh, when we get to the after-party I’m having all the shots. Y’all did say family was welcome to spend the night, and I’m family because I was on the text thread.”
“Of course you’re family, Khaleesi. We locked in,” Mama Marissa assured me.
I smiled brightly. She always lived up to the Mama part of her name, so I could see why the nickname just stuck for her.
“The Sprinter Vans are in place,” Xain notified Yaseer as Mama Marissa came to stand next to me against the wall.
Yaseer nodded, then Xain walked off, heading towards the fellas who were still taking pictures, with their wives and girlfriends now added in the mix.
The ladies had various updos, and the nostalgic smell of Spritz hit me every time I was within a few feet of one of them.
Seeing everyone enjoying themselves without the stresses of the world made me smile until Xain’s side profile came into view.
Lord knows I couldn’t stand that nigga. The thumb-sized keloid on the side of his head, where hair hadn’t grown back since I split his shit open with a vase six years ago, was physical proof of that.
“Excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room before we leave,” Mama Marissa announced, waving over one of the banquet servers to pass her the empty shot glasses.
Mama Marissa embraced me with a hug while Yaseer finished off his water and passed it to the server as well.
“We’ll see you back at the house,” Mama Marissa waved before pulling Yaseer towards the hallway that led to the bathrooms.
Xain and Duke, his second in charge, informed the birthday boy and his siblings that it was time to wrap shit up.
I joined the herd, heading towards coat check with my ticket to retrieve my jacket.
When Mama Marissa and Jameera initially tossed out the idea of the surprise party, we decided to have it in Miami to escape the cold weather.
Much to our dismay, the entire state of Florida was about to see temperatures in the thirties and forties during the last week of January.
We turned lemons into lemonade though, and everybody went all out on their coats to fit the 80s party theme.