Chapter 11 #3
Monroe laid awake at six o'clock in the morning thinking about Monae.
Life wasn't always fair, but men like Monroe knew how to make the universe tip in his favor.
He'd spent most of his life making things happen, and running an organization he never asked for.
Men old enough to be his father came to him for advice, while other men half his age hung on to his every word like scripture.
He had the keys to the city, influence that stretched across state lines, more access and resources than he could count, but when it came to his daughter... it meant nothing.
Monae didn’t care how much money he had.
She could care less about his street cred.
And his power and resources did nothing for him in regards to building a substantial relationship with his daughter.
A slow smile tugged at the corner of Monroe's mouth as memories from the museum replayed through his mind.
Her features, the sound of her voice, and the way she had embraced him the day they met had touched his heart in the most innocent way.
Monroe would never forget that moment. It was priceless.
The more he thought about her, the closer he felt to her...
and the closer he felt, the more he wanted to spend more time with her.
He wasn't thinking about the time he'd lost anymore. He was living in the present, and needed to take advantage of the time he had moving forward. Monroe had never believed in the concept of buying love. Love is action, not a product. Anybody could throw money at a problem. Anybody could buy expensive gifts, but that wasn’t the way he moved, and he highly doubted that the attempt would impress Monae because she was a part of him.
Things like privacy and quality time meant something to Monroe.
He was extremely private because he was taught to never let the left hand know what the right is doing.
Him being private when it came to those he cared about was also his way of protecting them, and by any means necessary, Monroe would die before he ever left Monae unprotected.
For men like Monroe, money didn't mean shit to him, he had it, and he spent it.
But when it came to his heart, that was a different story.
Monroe understood and thought about time differently than a lot of men.
If all he did was spend money on a person, he didn't give a damn about them.
If he spent his time with you, his money, his power, his resources...
everything that made him who he was would naturally come with his time.
Very few knew that about him, but those that had earned it...
knew they had something special with him.
Sitting up on the side of his bed, Monroe reached for his phone, and scrolled to Sienna's contact.
His thumb hovered over the message bar for a few seconds, until he decided he didn't want to text, and called her instead. A text ain't enough, he thought.
"Hello," Sienna answered before the second ring. "Good morning."
"Mornin'," he returned. "You sound like you already up."
Sienna giggled softly.
"I've been laying here for the last hour scrolling on Facebook. I need to get out this bed, and get my day started," Sienna stated, sitting up on the side of the bed.
Monroe chuckled. "You makin' money on Facebook?" Monroe quizzed.
Sienna laughed again, already knowing where this was going. "Nope. Not a dime."
"Oh, you wastin' time then," Monroe told her. "Ain't no damn way a nigga could waste time on anything that ain't bringin' me no bread."
"You still the same, I see," Sienna said.
"Hell yea. Especially in that regard." Sienna shook her head.
"You got plans for Monae today?" He inquired, standing up and stretching his hands over his head.
"Nope. We chillin'."
"Good deal. Ask her if she tryna beat in Uno today," Monroe said, knowing his challenge would be met with another one.
"Hold on," Sienna said, still holding the phone in her hand. She got up and walked across the hall to Monae’s room.
"Good morning, Muffin," Sienna greeted, leaning down to kiss Monae’s forehead. "Get up. Someone wants to talk to you."
Monae groaned dramatically. "Who's calling me this early?" she complained, pulling the pillow over her head.
Sienna laughed.
"Girl, you're a mess. It's your dad." Sienna told her.
"For real?" Monae asked, uncovering her head. She was half sleep, but woke slam up because her father had called her.
"Hello," Monae said with an infectious smile after excitedly snatching the phone.
"What's good, beautiful?" Monroe replied, unable to help the smirk that crept on his face.
"Nothing much, just waking up," Monae answered, tucking her feet under her thighs.
"You tryna come spend some time wit' me today?" Monroe asked, hoping she'd agree.
"Yes! What time can I come?" Monae asked.
Her answer came so fast Monroe laughed again.
"You can come whenever. Just don’t pull up thinkin’ I’ma take it easy on you ‘cause you my daughter,” Monroe said playfully. “Yeen gettin’ no mercy, babygirl. Come wit’cho A-game." Monroe told his daughter.
Monae gasped dramatically. "Yeah okay, you talkin’ big talk this morning, huh?" Monae shot back.
“I can back it up,” Monroe told her, walking towards the closet.
"That’s why I'ma win every game we play. Watch," Monae said, getting up and walking to her closet.
“Bet,” Monroe said, then cracked up laughing. He was glad to know Monae had a competitive spirit just like him. "Bet. I'ma see you when you get here."