Chapter 5 #2
Today was a little different though. I wasn’t alone when I walked into the firm my family built from the ground up. Genesis drew a lot of attention. So much that I had to start mugging people who thought pinching on Genesis’s cheeks was cool.
Dayton frowned as I walked into his office. “Whose damn baby is that?”
“Mine, now shut the hell up.”
His face frowned even harder. “Yo’ ass ain’t said nothing about a baby.” He threw his hands up. “Aw, bruh, don’t tell me that’s Dinky’s!” Dayton looked disappointed as if Genesis was his.
Chuckling, I shook my head. “Denisha could never.”
“I mean, I’m proud you a daddy and all, but what the hell? And why the fuck you been hiding him?” Dayton went from being concerned to being upset. “Lemme call Mama. She gon’ take a belt to yo’ ass ‘bout this shit.”
Laughing, I snatched the phone out of Dayton’s hand. “Would you calm the fuck down. This is Genesis Bell. Duval and his deceased side chick’s child. Maddie is going through the process of adopting him.”
First concerned, then upset, Dayton was now angry. “You fuckin’ wit’ me, right?”
“Naw,” I said. “I told you about finding Genika.”
Realization sank in. “Oh, shit!” He reached for Genesis and gently held him. “Aight, so this is my nephew.”
I nodded. “At some point, he’ll share our last name. I’m taking him to meet Pops and Mama after this meeting.”
“I’m proud of you, bruh. This is a big step, but I promise it’s worth it. I wouldn’t trade my wife and kids for shit.”
“Yeah, I know,” I replied just as his desk phone chirped.
“Mr. Cooley, the Grandisons are here to see you.”
Dayton pressed a button on the machine. “Send them up,” he told the receptionist.
I took Genesis from him and exited his office to head to the conference room.
Doing this deal brought back so many memories.
Once upon a time, I used to dominate the game of baseball.
Endorsement deals, a healthy check, and a life on the go were all laid before me.
At the time, it sounded tempting. Looking back, I was glad I didn’t let the lure of fame take me off my destined path.
Had I taken that route sixteen years ago, I wouldn’t have been holding this little boy whose innocent eyes were trained on me.
Maddie and her mama were out grocery shopping, so I took the opportunity to take Genesis off Maddie’s hands.
Mrs. March didn’t like it, but it was fuck her.
I wouldn’t let her and whatever demons she was hiding dictate how I moved with Genesis.
Bringing Genesis with me to Mobile to meet my family was a move I didn’t make lightly.
Kissing Genesis’s forehead, I asked him, “You ready to be a baseball team owner?” His eyes were heavy again, and within minutes he’d be asleep. Loving another man’s child wasn’t something I would ever struggle with. Love was love, and as long as I had breath in my body, I had it to give.
An hour and a half later, Dayton and I were one step closer to closing a deal with the Grandisons.
They were elderly twin brothers who opted out of passing their legacy down to their heirs.
The team moving wasn’t what they wanted either, so selling was the best option.
Although they had another offer on the table, Dayton and I made an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Being natives of Mobile, Alabama and with my knowledge of the game, the Grandison twins were more comfortable turning over their legacy to us.
As much as I didn’t want to take the lead with the team, I would have to.
By the time our respective lawyers went over the deal, dealing with the red tape of the league, and waiting for the check to clear, announcements about ownership change would be announced this fall.
We agreed to have the deal completed by the summer.
“Destiny. That’s what this is,” Dayton said after the Grandisons left the conference room. “You dodged baseball too long, bruh. Then you refuse to work here—”
“That’s not true,” I interjected with a chuckle.
“It is,” Dayton continued. “Don’t you see a door opening for you, baby? You won’t admit it, but you loved baseball too much to just walk away from it. You love Boss Lady that much that you gave up everything to be in her life any way you could?”
Dayton made me sound certifiable. Lusting after another man’s wife was beyond crazy. Plus, I wish a muthafucka would lust after mine. Fuck that it was hypocritical of me. A little delusion never hurt anybody.
“I can’t even be mad ‘cause it worked out for you. If you fuck it up—”
“I won’t,” I smoothly interrupted. “Not ever.”
I waited all this damn time to have Maddie. She was lucky if I gave her ass another few weeks to heal. I was ready to move in on her, and fuck whoever thought that shit was foul.
Thinking of Maddie, my phone vibrated. I answered the call so quickly, Dayton chuckled. He got up and left the conference room just as I answered Maddie’s call.
“Are you checkin’ on me or the baby?” I asked by way of greeting.
“Well…”
“Genesis is fine, mama. You’re supposed to be grocery shopping. Mind you, I told you I would do it for you.”
“You’re doing enough for me, Cooley. And I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Hm, well, give me full reigns. I enjoy being at ya service. Now, get back to shopping. Genesis is good, and I would never let anything happen to him.”
“No, I know, and I’m doing my best to get through this grocery list. She’s driving me crazy,” she whispered playfully. “Instead of shopping, she wants to discuss why a certain man is catering to my every breath.”
“What’s ya answer?” I questioned.
She sighed and said, “Because he cares about me, Heir, and Genesis. And we’re family.”
“I’m glad you see things the way I do, Maddie.”
The other end of the phone was quiet for a brief moment. Then, Maddie asked, “May I ask you a question, Cooley?”
“Absolutely anything,” I replied.
Her heavy sigh seeped through the phone line. “Is it crazy to want someone to love me now? Is that asking too much? Is it wrong to want that so soon?”
“Wanting to be loved is never asking too much. Asking the wrong person to love you is the issue, baby. It’s an issue you no longer have.
Rest ya mind, aight. I’m not goin’ anywhere.
I cherish the thought of kissin’ you for the first time and what that experience will be like.
Trust me… The last thing you need to be concerned about is if I love you, Maddie.
And before long, you’ll feel the same about me. ”
Her silence was only broken by the sound of her crying softly.
“If I was there right now, I’d lick those tears dry just to make you shed some more while cummin’ all over me.”
In an instant, her cries shifted to heavy breathing.
“Once I have you, there’s no indecisiveness, no tears over another nigga, none of that shit. Aight?”
“Okay,” she croaked.
“I’ll be back in Niceville Shores soon.”
“Okay,” she replied again.
“Later.”
“Bye, Cooley.”
I swear she must’ve hurried and hung up the phone. I chuckled to myself. Maddie had no idea what the fuck she was in for.
Leaving the conference room, I headed back down the hall to Dayton’s office. My face frowned up hearing familiar voices.
“Oh, my God!” my mama shrieked as soon as I walked into Dayton’s office. She pushed my pops out of the way to get to me and Genesis. Although Genesis was comfortably sleeping, she took him from me and laid him on her chest. Unshed tears were in her eyes as she kissed all over his face.
“I thought Dayton was lying,” she stated. She glared at Dayton and so did I. He simply shrugged his shoulders.
“Figured I’d help you out just in case you got cold feet,” he said in explanation for why our parents were there.
I dapped my pops and peeped the way he smirked. In the next twenty-five years, I hoped to look as youthful as he did. This man was responsible for the amazing childhood I had. He was the anchor to this family and never once folded on my mother or his kids.
“Maddie’s not here?” my mama asked.
“Her mama’s in town,” I explained.
My mama made a face. “So, does that mean we can’t come stay for the weekend? I want to spend time with Genesis.” My mama looked like she would burst into tears if I said no. I was a grown ass man with a mama who still saw her children as her babies.
So, I replied, “You know you don’t have to ask me that. Give me some time to get things settled with Maddie before y’all run her off.”
Beaming brightly, my mama showed me exactly why she had my pops wrapped around her fingers.
“Okay!” she gushed.
This was something she’d waited a lifetime for.
It didn’t matter that it was all fresh. It didn’t matter that Maddie and I weren’t even official yet.
Just like I knew Genesis was mine, my folks knew it too.
I’d mentioned Maddie plenty of times over the years for them to catch a clue.
I was cool with them knowing how much she meant to me.