Chapter 4
HE COULD NEVER BE MY NIGGA
“Hello?” I called as I walked in the door of my parents’ house.
A few years ago, they upgraded from my childhood home to a gorgeous Southern style house with a big yard and a wraparound porch like my mama always wanted.
Regardless of it not being the house I grew up in, wherever my parents were would always be home to me.
“Hey my Baby Doll,” my daddy said as I rounded the corner to his man cave.
When they said that every spoiled ass girl has a bald ass daddy, I knew they were talking about me because I had that man and his bald head wrapped around my finger from the moment I came kicking and screaming into the world.
“Heyyy,” I sang as I ran into his arms. I had always been a Daddy’s girl, while my mom acted like her boys hung the sun. Our relationship was amazing too—my whole family was close—but I could do no wrong in my daddy’s eyes and vice versa.
“What you doing in here old man?” I teased once he finally released me from his bear hug.
“Not much, working on this old TV. Trying to see if I can get it to work again.” My eyes lowered to the mess of tangled wires and metal laying in front of him and I cackled. That man was always doing something.
“Daddy! This box TV? If you don’t throw this away! I will buy you a TV!”
“Now why would you go and do something like that? I got a perfectly good one right here,” he fussed as he waved his hands at me dramatically.
I shook my head and laughed again at the stubborn old man in front of me.
My parents had enough money to buy anything they wanted three times over, and if they didn’t, I would get it for them in a heartbeat.
Regardless, there were still certain things that he would never part with, no matter how old and decrepit they were.
I guessed that old ass box set that he had since MLK marched for freedom was one of them.
“So, how was your trip?” he asked, pausing his project to look at me. He never failed to give me his full attention when we had a conversation.
“A complete waste of time. He’s an idiot,” I huffed with an eye roll as Chase Andrews crossed my mind. I could still see his effortlessly flawless golden skin, penetrating brown eyes, and perfectly chiseled face, looking dumb as fuck.
“Baby Doll,” he scolded. “Did you cuss that man out?”
“I didn’t say anything to him that wasn’t true!
” I replied stubbornly, making him let out a thunderous laugh.
He knew his child all too well because I had cussed him out again via text that morning.
Imagine my shock when I walked into the office to take care of some paperwork, and that nigga had sent me five dozen bouquets of apology roses.
I was embarrassed as hell and knew I would spend the next few weeks dodging questions about whether I had a new man or not.
It didn’t help that Oliver and I went multiple rounds that morning about why I decided not to take him on. I politely reminded him that he told me I had a choice depending on how the meeting went. He did not like that shit.
“Amaya, what have I told you about that temper?”
“I really didn’t start it this time, Daddy. He’s just loud, wrong, and obnoxious! And now he won’t stop calling me trying to apologize!”
He stared at me for a full minute with a smirk on his face like he knew something that I didn’t.
“What?” He chuckled and shook his head at the perplexed expression on my face.
“So have you answered any of his calls to see what he wants?”
“Nope,” I shrugged like I didn’t care. “I told you, he’s trying to apologize. I’m sure his people told him that he needed me. If he acts the way he did at lunch the other day, nobody else is gonna deal with him.”
“Amaya.” He gave me a pointed look.
“Daddy.” I sighed.
“I’m not saying you have to take him as a client, just hear him out, Baby Doll. For me?” He gave me the same eyes that I was sure I tossed at him whenever I wanted something, and just like he always did for me, I immediately folded.
“Yes Sir,” I pouted, already knowing that I would do anything for his old ass. We talked about a few more random things before his eyes quirked like he just remembered something.
“You’ll never guess who I ran into last week,” he mused, a huge grin spreading over his face.
“Who?” My eyes rolled to the back of my head as an anxious feeling washed over my body. I knew where this train was headed before it even left the station.
“Malcom,” he said, pleased grin still plastered on like I was supposed to swoon and pass out at the mention of that man’s name. If he only knew.
“Daddy, he and I don’t speak, and I really wish he would stop trying to get in touch with me through y’all. It’s been years. He doesn’t even live in New Dawn anymore!” I whined with a soured expression on my face.
“You still never told me what happened between you two.”
I never planned to either. I told my daddy almost everything, but if I had a choice, that particular secret would go with me to my grave because if I didn’t, he would probably send that nigga to his on same day delivery.
“It just didn’t work out,” I said, trying to keep my face as neutral as possible. Malcom didn’t know just how much it took for me to spare him, professionally and personally, but if he kept trying me, I was gonna let him find out.
“Okay, Baby Doll. You want me to heat you up some food?” he asked, making me smile. All the tension from before was immediately forgotten because of the way that man spoiled me. If a nigga couldn’t take care of me like my daddy did, he couldn’t be my nigga.
“I’m okay, thank you. I’m about to pop up on Momo and see if she wants to do lunch.”
“Tell my other child that she needs to bring her tail over here to see me! How’s she doing?”
“I mean… better, I guess. She hasn’t called me crying since she went to the funeral.
Maybe that’s what she needed?” I shrugged.
I wanted to be there for her, but she had been dodging me and throwing herself in her work.
To be honest, I had orgasms that lasted longer than that damn relationship, so I knew she would be okay.
“Okay, good. Tell her to call me if she needs anything.”
I said my goodbyes and headed out. The moment I started driving, my dash lit up with a call from none other than Chase Andrews.
I let it go to voicemail, and it immediately rang again.
I swore I could hear my daddy’s voice echo “For me?” and it scared me so bad that I quickly hit the button to accept it and turned around to make sure he didn’t sneak his ass into my backseat.
“Yes, Chase?” I huffed, picking up on the third ring.
“Amaya! Please don’t hang up!” I paused, my brain at war with my hands because I wanted to end the call immediately.
When I didn’t, he took his cue to continue.
“Okay, I fucked up—I mean, I messed up. I was way out of line for how I spoke to you the other day, and I sincerely apologize. Even if you don’t decide to take me on as a client, I had to tell you that because I can’t let that meeting be your last impression of me. ”
“They told you to say that, didn’t they?” I couldn’t hide my chuckle.
“Yes,” he replied with a chuckle of his own. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t mean it. Listen Amaya, I’m not always an asshole-”
“Somehow I doubt that!” I interrupted, making him laugh.
“Ma’am, I’m trying to apologize.” I shivered, turning down the volume on the call because something about the bass in his voice coming through my speakers made me want to start taking my clothes off right there on the highway.
“Go ‘head.”
“Thank you. But listen, I’m really not like that. I just… This whole thing is really messin’ me up. Chanel is the last person that I ever expected to play me like this. I just need you to know that I’m genuinely sorry, Amaya.”
I paused, the urge to be a smart ass was completely demolished by the sincerity in his voice. Doing what I did gave me a built-in lie detector, and I wasn’t getting any indicators that he was playing me, but I kept my guard up.
“I’ll consider it, but I have to ask you something, and don’t lie to me,” I said, tapping the steering wheel anxiously.
“What is it?”
“Did you do it? I mean even once. Have you ever put your hands on her?” I felt my breath quicken in anticipation of his answer—my nerves were on edge like my future was on the line.
“I… I thought you weren’t supposed to ask me that?” He cleared his throat.
“Usually I wouldn’t… but it’s important to me. Did you?”
“No. Never. Not even once. That shit goes against everything that I believe in, and I would never touch a woman like that. I never hit her, pushed her, grabbed her too hard… I rarely even raised my voice at her, and usually that was only to calm her down.”
“Okay.” I nodded to myself, believing him for some reason. “For the record, I still meant what I said about part of your brain being melted.”
“Good. Also, for the record, I still meant it when I said you sound like Darth Vader,” he chuckled.
“Fu-” I slapped my hand over my mouth to cover the cuss word and subsequent giggle that I was about to let out. “I’ll have Jocelyn set up another meeting so we can go over everything. Just you and me, without all the extra noise… and Chase?”
“Yes, Amaya?”
What the fuck was THAT?!
I looked down and told my pussy to compose herself because the way she jumped when he said my name was enough to have both of us in trouble.
“Don’t ever send me flowers again. That’s completely unprofessional, and I hate flowers.
Have a good day.” I said before hanging up quickly as I pulled into the parking lot of Pressing Matters.
Mona’s ass had been dodging me since the day of that funeral, and I had to see what was up.
I put the car in park and made my way inside, ready to let her have it for ignoring me.