Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
INTUITION
“Itold you not to bring him!” Emeric Whitaker hissed at his wife, Darcy, the moment they stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor of Blackmoor Construction.
She bounced their baby boy, Neo, in her arms, with his diaper bag slung over one shoulder.
Her dreams of being a mother became a reality when she was blessed with Neo.
Now she didn’t want to let him out of her sight, but her husband insisted on taking her along to be the sprinkle on top of any deal.
It wasn’t above him to basically pimp his wife out if he thought it might make a difference.
She’d been humiliated and discarded more times than she cared to count.
Emeric wasn’t always like this. In the beginning, he was charming.
He doted on her and rescued her from the hell she knew as home in the St. Anne projects.
In a lot of ways, he was her hero, but as soon as he got too comfortable the monster freed himself from the cage.
She thought at first he just had a temper, but as time went on, Emeric became a narcissist with a control complex.
Darcy stayed because he provided a lifestyle for her that she quickly grew accustomed to.
She came from nothing. Raggedy couches, mattresses on the floor, paint and tile chipping all over their two-bedroom apartment, which housed not only her parents but also her and her six siblings.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Darcy bounced and cooed at her baby boy. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He woke up fine. Maybe he needs a nap already.”
“Either way, you should have left him with a fucking nanny. He ain’t a fucking purse!” Emeric voiced.
“Why are you so upset? He’s our son.”
“Darcy, don’t fucking play with me. This baby was supposed to make you better. So far, all you doing is finding more ways to spend my money and staying up late with his crying ass all night!” Emeric’s brows bunched together as he snarled.
That was how much disdain he had for her in that moment.
He agreed to adopting a child so she would shut the fuck up.
Now it was another mouth to feed, and he made more noise than anything.
For the past few months, Emeric had resorted to sleeping in his man cave to tune out the noise.
Darcy wanted a baby, not him. She was his wife, though, and it was a good look to start expanding their family, so he finally gave in.
He knew he wasn’t built for having a bunch of them running around, though.
Neo fussed in Darcy’s arms, and Emeric took in their surroundings.
The few eyes that moved around the lobby and reception booth pretended like they didn’t hear what was going on, but it was hard not to.
“Is there a problem?” Kong queried, rounding a corner with a black leather embossed folder tucked under his arm.
Darcy was stricken immediately, plastering a false, secure smile over her lips while Emeric shifted into his stance completely. Shoulders back, he extended a hand to Kong.
“Kong, nah, man. Just a little disagreement about little man here.” Emeric covered, briefly glancing at his wife.
A glance she knew far too well, which meant ‘go along with it’. She knew her man like the back of her hand. He’d trained her that way. Emeric stroked his beard, his bronze skin shining and coordinating well with the fresh navy Tom Ford suit with a powder blue shirt underneath and brown Ferragamos.
“I appreciate you taking the time to meet us today.”
“Follow me.” Kong nodded over his shoulder, and the couple trailed him past the large, hotel clerk style desk where the receptionist took a call.
Neo whined the whole time. Emeric’s jaw tightened, frustrated as his fists balled the noisier the kid became.
Kong wondered what was wrong with him and just wanted to soothe him.
Darcy was doing her best as they walked through his large office.
He marched right over to his desk and tossed his folder on top.
Darcy settled in one of the leather chairs across from his desk, but Emeric remained standing.
Kong stroked his beard and skimmed the surface of his desk for the paperwork pertaining to Emeric and the deal they had.
He was agreeing to it for more than one reason.
Having leverage over someone like Emeric was beneficial to him.
It wasn’t so much about who he was, but more about who he knew.
Kong learned a long time ago how to keep those type of people around too.
Once he located Emeric’s file, he picked up the phone from his desk and noticed he had a few missed calls and messages.
Seeing that Ayla was one of them, he wasted no time getting right back to her.
These days, it didn’t matter if he was in the middle of taking a shit or pistol whipping a motherfucker; she came first.
“Hold tight for one second.” He held up an index finger for Emeric and listened to Ayla’s phone ring.
“Hello.” She picked up like she was out of breath.
“What’s good, mama? What you need?”
“Nothing,” she quipped, and he visualized her shaking her head and brushing whatever it was off.
“Lala.” Kong grunted.
“I had a good day. I just wanted to talk about it. You’re busy—” Like he thought, she was trying to minimize herself.
“How good of a day?” Kong flipped open Emeric’s folder and gave his contract one more skim to make sure everything was how he wanted it.
“Kostner, it is the middle of the day. I’m sure you are swamped—”
“Never too much for you.”
“And I appreciate that,” Ayla whispered.
He heard the resistance in her voice as she breathed lowly on the other side of the phone. “I know you’re putting in the effort, okay. I’m trying too.”
“I know you are. You called.” He straightened up and moved the phone from between his shoulder and ear so he could grab it in his hand. “I didn’t have to pry the details of your day from you. Sounds like it was productive.”
“Oh, my God, I shot my first podcast! It was so fun!”
He chuckled, his heart warming as he thought about how big her grin was on the other side of the phone.
“Aight, so let me wrap up this work day. When I’m finished, I’ll bring the food and see you around eight-ish,” he suggested.
“It’s Friday night.”
“Woman, I know that.”
She giggled, and it made his dick hard.
“It’s also supposed to storm. I know you not trying to come through and leave my favorite two little people somewhere.”
Kong couldn’t even be mad that Ayla preferred he showed up with his kids. They loved her. Ever since she’d been back, they’d been extra clingy. Her condo had two bedrooms, and one of them was designated for when they came over.
“I’ll grab them. I’m sure they’ll love that.”
“I want sushi, Kong!” Ayla perked up.
“Whatever you say, mama.” Kong smiled before hanging up.
Emeric couldn’t relate to that. No bitch had ever had him open to be having that kind of caked up conversation in public. Darcy, on the other hand, was impressed by how out loud Kong was with his affection for his woman. After ending the call, Kong slid his phone into his pocket.
“Sorry about that. Here is the paperwork. You can look it over, give it to your lawyer, whatever you want to do. My family is having a barbecue tomorrow. Kind of annual thing my pops does for some clients and the families of those who work for him, where we can all get together, at the same time, and clock out for a few hours. Kids are also welcome.” Kong came around the desk to hand Emeric the papers.
Neo wasn’t letting up in Darcy’s arms. Homie just seemed to be upset for no reason.
All that fussing was stressing Kong out, though.
So, while Emeric flipped through the papers, Kong reached for Neo in Darcy’s arms. He made a few other selective noises before nuzzling into Kong’s chest as if he were relieved.
His breathing calmed, and slowly, he brought his little fist to his mouth.
Eyes on Kong, he made the cutest little sucking noises.
“That is crazy. You like the baby whisperer or something?” Darcy jested, watching Neo’s brown eyes linger on Kong’s.
“Nah, I got two of my own, though,” he admitted, reaching out to stroke Neo’s fist. “I think he can sense your tension right now more than anything.”
“Mmm,” Darcy muttered, eyes drifting to the side.
“My kids knew all the time when something was up with me or my wife.”
“I didn’t realize you were married.” Darcy studied him.
Kong smiled at Neo. To be a newborn, he was very alert and observant, like he was taking in all of Kong’s features.
“Widowed. Then divorced,” Kong voiced.
“I’m sorry,” Darcy replied, bowing her head.
Kong lifted his head. She sounded genuine, which was something he wasn’t used to. Darcy was so used to not being seen that she came off timid as hell. Emeric seemed satisfied with what he was reading, but he dialed his attorney to make sure he had time to go over it soon as well.
“It’s all good,” Kong assured her, swaying back and forth with Neo comfortably in his arms.
“So, the girl from the doctor’s office… is that who you were talking to?” Darcy was nosy and curious.
Kong wasn’t like any man she’d ever met, so anything he told her, she would hold in high regard. The smile that came to his lips told her everything she needed to know.
“That’s my heart,” Kong admitted, something he was still getting used to.
He made a promise not to take Ayla for granted if God ever granted him another chance with her, so he was standing on that.
“Lucky girl,” Darcy muttered, although a tinge of envy lingered there as well.