Epilogue
SERRA
EIGHT WEEKS LATER
NEW YORK
“Be so fuckin’ for real right now.” I sighed and shook my head while staring down at my phone.
Labor Day was a week away. The press conference Zoya had arranged the day before the 4th of July was in the past. At least that’s where I planned for it to stay. Social media on the other hand, had a different plan.
Sports agent Serra Ward is having fun ‘n the sun sailing the Chesapeake Bay with new beau Noah Jordan. Apparently, she didn’t get an invite to the star-studded gender reveal happening on the same day! No worries, though, boo, we’ve got all the pics of what you missed!
That was the caption beneath two pictures—one of me and Noah on the yacht he’d rented last weekend at the Crab Fest on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
My back was to the camera as I leaned into Noah, his hands firmly on my ass in the white bikini he’d eventually peeled off me.
The second photo was of Adrian and Lindsey, also dressed in white, but posing in front of a ‘Free Throws or Bows’ backdrop.
His hand was on a much larger than the last time I’d seen her belly, and they were smiling like that was the happiest day of their lives.
I actually hoped it was. After the night at the lake house, I hadn’t thought about Adrian again until Noah found out where that picture of us that night at the bar had come from.
Apparently, a woman named Traneeka who’d been in Providence for the summer and Noah had turned down, was the culprit.
She’d been outside of the restaurant waiting for Noah to get off so she could convince him she was a good catch, I guess, but when she saw us together, she got mad and snapped the picture.
That anger and most likely too much time spent on social media led her to Lindsey’s DMs where she negotiated the sale of the pic.
The next time I heard from Adrian had been when Freddie called to tell me the league had concluded their investigation.
Zoya had immediately planned that press release, and at the last minute, Adrian’s PR team asked if it could be a joint statement.
For three days I listened to the strategy versus optics debate until I felt like my head would explode.
“Let’s just do it,” I’d snapped on what felt like the millionth Zoom call with my team. “I want this shit over with.”
Noah hadn’t accepted any argument I had for him to stay in Providence. On a sunny day in a hotel lobby in New York, he stood—looking absolutely delicious in an expertly tailored charcoal gray suit—and held my hand while cameras flashed and Zoya gave her statement.
“Ms. Ward would like to thank the league for their professional and expeditious handling of this investigation. There was never any doubt that she would be cleared of any wrongdoing and she’s excited to get back to work.
Especially with the signing of two new clients: Ellis Colby and Prosper Young. ”
Zoya’s smile had been dazzling as camera flashes clicked incessantly and reporters yelled questions her way. She didn’t answer any of them, only stepped away from the podium to allow Adrian’s publicist his moment to speak.
Directly across from where Noah and I were, Adrian stood with his hands thrust in the front pocket of his black slacks.
He wore sunglasses, his face void of any of the bruises from the beating Noah had given him a couple of weeks prior.
If I had to guess, I’d say he still had a scar over his left eye though.
I’d overheard Del telling Noah that Adrian had to get five stitches for a gash Noah caused.
Beside Adrian, wearing a form-fitting beige maxi-dress that punctuated her baby bump, was Lindsey.
“We have appealed the league’s suspension and imposed fines, and Mr. Bowman is confident his innocence will prevail.
In the meantime, he is focused on building a future with his new family and taking some time from the spotlight.
” Adrian’s publicist received even more questions, to which he attempted to answer.
At that point, Zoya declared us finished and we left.
That was the last time I’d seen Adrian and the mother of his child.
Until today, when I opened the app to see the debut of Prosper’s first sneak peek photo shoot.
I returned to work on July 5th and signed Ellis and Prosper on the 7th.
Two weeks later, I closed a multi-million-dollar deal with CK Davis Designs.
Prosper was the ambassador for their new men’s line that would be premiering at Paris Fashion Week.
After putting all his focus into racing, Prosper was nervous about modeling but he looked like a natural and was fine as hell in a herringbone three-piece suit.
Of course, the gossip blog had tagged me in their post about the gender reveal, so it popped up on my timeline seconds after I scrolled away from Prosper’s post. Now, though, I exited out of that app and dropped my phone onto my desk.
Protecting my peace had become a daily task, but one I was attempting to master.
Ready to re-focus on more important matters, I tapped the bar on my keyboard to bring the dual computer screens on my desk to life. I pulled up my inbox and was just about to tackle the emails that had come in after I left the office last night, when my office door opened.
When I looked up to see who was rude enough to just walk in without knocking, I wasn’t surprised. I mean, I was surprised to see him, but not at his audacity. Peron Ward did what he wanted, when he wanted, and something as simple as a door wasn’t going to stop him.
“Daddy,” I said before chastising myself. I wasn’t a child, but the combination of shock and cautiousness made me not only sound young, but weak.
“He wouldn’t let me buzz you,” Shonel, my assistant, said before my father turned and closed the door in her face.
Clearing my throat, I sat up straighter and squared my shoulders. “You don’t have to be rude.”
He didn’t respond to my remark, just turned from the door then crossed the short space to the guest chairs on the other side of my desk.
“It’s one thing not to listen to me.” He took a seat. “It’s quite another to think you’ll ever be grown enough to tell me what to do.”
I knew better than to address any parts of that statement.
“What are you doing here?” My father loved to travel, had always said seeing the world was as educational as it was relaxing.
But that only applied to him, since growing up my trips had been limited to Providence in the summer, Pennsylvania for college, and Disney World twice when my mother was alive.
He narrowed his gaze, his graying eyebrows bunching as he scowled. “You have plenty of questions, but no answers. When Sawyer told me you stopped answering his calls and texts, I knew it was time to get this shit straight.”
By ‘this shit’ I assumed he meant me, and I bristled. “Like I told Sawyer the last time we spoke, when he decides to speak to me like I’m his adult sister that he loves and cares for, then I’ll take his calls and speak to him in the same manner.”
The call I referenced had come the day after the press conference.
Sawyer wasn’t happy to see Noah standing beside me in the video stream.
He’d done everything but come right out and call me stupid for leaving Adrian to be with Noah.
As always, there’d been no holds barred on the names he called Noah, and I was sick of that shit too.
So, as much as I did love my older brother, I told him in no uncertain terms that I could easily never speak to him again if he didn’t start showing me some respect.
It seemed like today would be the day I told my father the same thing.
“This has gone on long enough.” My father’s voice was booming and stern.
He was a big man. Six feet three inches tall, with shoulders like a linebacker. His black suit fit him perfectly, the cool gray tie mimicking the iciness of his continued glare.
“I want you home and in the office by Monday morning. Delta’s already hired a moving company to take care of everything in your condo.
You’ll stay in the guest house for two months.
That should be more than enough time to find yourself a home to purchase.
Delta’s going to email you the realtor’s information, and you are to contact him as soon as you touch down in Boston.
” He smoothed a hand over that undoubtedly expensive tie and continued, “Your office is waiting, and Saylor will brief you on your caseload. Since you’ve been into contracts here, you should be able to dive right into the ongoing corporate cases we have.
We’ll need a reception to formally introduce you into the firm and the community.
That’s Delta’s area of expertise as well.
You’ll require a new wardrobe, I’m sure. ”
I almost glanced down at the sage green slacks I wore with a white blouse. My jacket was a sage and white checkered pattern that I’d hung on the back of my office door when I arrived this morning. But I kept my eyes focused on my father.
The man who was supposed to show me how a man should treat a woman, who was supposed to protect me, encourage me…hell, to love me. But what I saw was the studious attorney, one of the Black legal community’s elite and the person who’d disappointed me most in this world.
“Are you finished?” I asked when he finally paused.