28. Reiana
Reiana
Afew days later, I had Mona and Taryn on speaker while I worked at my desk. We had been talking for a while before I finally brought up the conversation I had with Lennox.
“He still wants me and Rhyse to move to Cannon Hills,” I told them. “And he wants to change Rhyse’s last name.”
“Well… the last name makes sense,” Mona said. “That’s his father.”
“I already agreed to that. It’s the move I’m still thinking about,” I responded.
Taryn was quiet for a second before saying, “Ree, stop fighting that shit and go be with that man,” she fussed.
“I’m not fighting it,” I lied.
“You are,” Mona added.
“I have a company here. Rhyse has school here. Y’all are here. It’s not like I’m deciding whether I want to spend another night at his house,” I deflected.
“And nobody said it was,” Mona replied. “But you already know none of that has to disappear because you move. You can still run your business… Rhyse can change schools, and we’re not going anywhere,” she concluded.
“You spent years building a life that worked for you and Rhyse. That doesn’t mean you have to stay stuck in the exact same version of it forever,” Taryn added.
I looked down at the paperwork on my desk. Lennox had said almost the same thing without saying it that way. He wasn’t asking me to shut RéIA down or stop working. He wanted me to figure out what worked and bring the rest of my life with me.
“If you’re worried about being farther from us, I can talk to Q,” Mona said. “We’ve already talked about moving back before. I’m not promising anything, but I can bring it up again.”
“Mona, you are not moving because of me.” I frowned.
“I didn’t say I was. I said I’d talk to my husband. There’s a difference,” Mona insisted.
Before I could argue with her, Taryn cut in. “I’ll just come with you. Lennox has enough house, so I know there’s a room somewhere with my name on it.” I could hear the laugh in her voice.
“Bitch… no,” I laughed.
Mona laughed while Taryn continued making her case like she was serious. I let her talk because I knew what both of them were really saying. They didn’t want me making the decision based on fear of losing them.
“We just want you happy, Ree,” Mona said after Taryn finally stopped. “That’s all. You’ve been through enough, and if being with Lennox is what you want… you deserve to be happy.”
“I am happy,” I answered honestly.
“Then stop looking for some shit that ain’t there, Ree,” Taryn said.
A knock sounded at my door before I could answer.
Tasha stood there with a folder in her hand, so I told the girls I had to go and ended the call.
Tasha came in and sat across from me while we went over a few accounts.
None of it took long because she had already handled most of the details before bringing them to me.
I signed the last page and handed the folder back before looking at her.
“Tasha, would you want to run this location?” I blurted.
“Run it?” She quizzed.
“Yeah… run it. You’d have the authority to handle things without checking with me every time,” I explained.
“Are you going somewhere?” She asked as she eyed me.
“Maybe.” I folded my hands on the desk. “I’m thinking about moving back to Cannon Hills.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Lennox asked me and Rhyse to move in with him. I haven’t made a final decision, but if I do, I’m keeping this location… it’s the foundation. I’ll still be involved, and I may eventually expand into Cannon Hills, but I need somebody here I trust,” I told her.
Tasha looked down at the folder in her lap before meeting my eyes again. “And you want me to do it?” He asked again.
“Yes.” I nodded.
Her eyes immediately filled, and she laughed softly while trying to blink it away. “Okay. I wasn’t expecting that.” She simpered.
“You already do more than you probably realize. You know the clients, you know the crews, and you know how I want things handled. I wouldn’t leave this location with anybody I didn’t trust,” I spoke sincerely.
“I’d be honored.” She wiped her eyes. “I’d be happy to do it,” she finally agreed.
I smiled, but seeing her emotional had me fighting my own.
“You deserve to enjoy your family too,” she continued.
“You built this company so it could grow. You shouldn’t have to be in this office every day for it to happen. ”
I got up and walked around the desk, and Tasha stood before I reached her. We hugged, and for a second, I just held on.
“Thank you,” I said when we pulled apart.
“For what?” She asked.
“For being somebody I can trust with this,” I stated.
“Always.” She smiled.
I left work not long after that to pick up Rhyse from camp. He got in the car talking about his day, bouncing between a game they played, something one of his friends did, and what they had planned for the last week of camp. I listened until he finally slowed down enough for me to get a word in.
“You know summer is almost over,” I mentioned once he finished telling me about his day.
“I know.” He sighed and looked out the window. “It went too fast.”
“It did, and school will be starting before you know it.” I waited a second before asking, “How would you feel about going to school in Cannon Hills?”
“In Cannon Hills?” He repeated.
“Yeah… I’m thinking about moving back there,” I stated.
His eyes widened when it clicked. “With Dad?” He asked.
“Yeah… with your dad,” I confirmed his excitement.
“Hell yeah!” He cheered causing me to snap my head in his direction.
“Boosie, watch your mouth before I go in it,” I warned him.
“Sorry, Mama.” He tried to calm himself down, but the smile on his face wasn’t going anywhere. “But I wanna go. I could see Dad all the time, right?”
“As much as you want,” I admitted.
That was enough for him. He started asking when we would move and whether he would still get to see Lennyn when she was at Lennox’s house. I had to remind him more than once that I hadn’t made a final decision yet, but I could tell he had already made his.
For the rest of the drive, I thought about how easily he had accepted the possibility. Rhyse wasn’t worried about changing schools or starting over somewhere new. All he heard was that his father would be there and was all that mattered.
The move still came with things I needed to figure out, but one by one, the reasons I had been holding onto were becoming easier to work through. Tasha could handle more at RéIA. My girls supported me and Rhyse wanted to go. And if I was being honest with myself, I wanted to be with Lennox too.
***
A little while later, I was back in Cannon Hills looking at office space for RéIA.
Once I agreed to move, I started making plans instead of just talking about them.
Tasha was preparing to take over more of the day-to-day operation in Arbor Point, and I had been looking at spaces that could work for a second location in Cannon Hills.
I wasn’t trying to duplicate everything overnight, but I wanted something here that belonged to me too.
The space I toured that afternoon was the first one I could actually see working. It had enough room for a reception area, two offices, a small conference room and storage area. The location was good… the parking was decent, and the numbers were within the range I had already set for myself.
The realtor went over the lease terms with me before we walked through the space one more time. I asked a few questions about improvements, signage and how soon I could take possession if I decided to move forward.
“I really like it,” I told her when we made it back to the front. “I want to go over everything again before I make a final decision, but this is probably the strongest option I’ve seen.”
“That’s fine. I’ll email you the updated terms and everything we discussed today,” she confirmed.
“Perfect. I’ll get back with you soon.” She smiled.
I thanked her and headed outside feeling good about how the meeting had gone. I was already reaching into my purse for my phone to call Lennox when I saw the one person I could’ve gone the rest of my life without ever seeing again… my mother.
For a second, I just stood there. It had been years since I had seen my mother, but none of the distance between us had softened anything. Seeing her brought back feelings I had gotten used to not having to deal with, and judging by the way she stopped when she noticed me, the feeling was mutual.
“I see you still got that same nasty-ass attitude. I guess some things don’t change,” Reina laughed humorlessly.
“Neither does knowing when somebody doesn’t want to be bothered, apparently,” I countered.
“I wasn’t bothering you. I asked a question.” Her eyes moved toward the building again before settling back on me. “But I heard you were back messing with Lennox, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you over here.”
The fact that she knew anything about me irritated me more than it should have. We hadn’t spoken in years, yet somehow she was all in my business.
“Who I’m with and why I’m in Cannon Hills has nothing to do with you,” I spat.
“Trust me, I’on give a damn who you’re with.” Her mouth curled slightly. “I just find it interesting that after all these years… you still haven’t learned that everything you want doesn’t end well.”
I stared at her, and something in my chest tightened. She didn’t have to say another word for me to know where she was going.
“Don’t do that shit, Reina.”
“What shit?” she asked, even though both of us knew.
“You haven’t laid eyes on me in years, and the first chance you get, you’re already trying to bring Daddy into it. Leave him the fuck out of whatever problem you have with me,” I argued.
Her face hardened at the mention of him. “You don’t get to tell me when I can talk about my husband,” she snarled at me.
“And you don’t get to keep using my father’s death to punish me,” I shot back.
“He wouldn’t be dead if you hadn’t been such a brat!” She pointed her finger at me.