CHAPTER 4
Antonio leaned against a wall near Jackie’s door.
If her assistant had interrupted a second later, he wasn’t sure what he’d have done.
When Jackie looked up at him, he felt the axis of his world tilt.
He wanted to kiss her so badly, to crash his lips against hers and devour her.
But that would have been the most unprofessional thing on the planet.
Not only because they were colleagues, but because he hadn’t been alone in a room with Jackie in ten years and things were… complicated.
She doesn’t need that shit. Jackie had a hard enough time as the only Black woman at Elite. She didn’t need any new rumors swirling around about her.
But she looked so goddamn good in that suit, the red popping against her cocoa skin.
Her top dipped low enough to give a hint of cleavage.
Her hair was short and spiky, like she was adorned with a crown.
Those thick legs in those heels, the smell of her perfume…
Lord, the woman took his breath away. If he was going to work with her, he was going to have to learn self-control, fast.
Heading back toward his temporary office space, he was met by a grinning Donny DiMaggio. Antonio winced. He’d heard this guy was an ass-kisser. In fact, folks had cautioned Antonio to watch what he said around Donny. Antonio hated gossips.
Donny extended his hand. “Hi Tony! I’m Donny, nice to meet you.”
Tony? Antonio raised a brow. No one on this earth called him “Tony,” not even his parents. Friends called him “Ant.” Jackie had just called him Ant. Maybe he and Jackie could be friends… Were they friends?
Reluctantly, he shook Donny’s hand. “Nice to meet you too. It’s Antonio.”
Donny nodded, still smiling for no reason. “Oh. Okay. Cool. Did I just see you coming out The Viper’s office?”
“The Viper?”
“Yeah man, that’s what we call her. She’s deadly with the deals. All sleek and smooth. She’s all bite, no real poison. But she is certainly a b—”
“Buddy, you don’t want to finish that sentence,” warned Antonio as he adjusted his cufflinks. It might have been his first day, but he damn sure wasn’t going to tolerate any Jackie slander. “Not a good look on our first day working together, you think?”
“Right,” laughed Donny, clearly uncomfortable. “Maybe we can get drinks later? The guys and I usually go to The Buckhead Club after work.”
“Not really a big drinker,” Antonio lied as he attempted to side-step and head down the hall. But Donny was making that impossible.
“Well, maybe we can catch a game. Or maybe the strip club is your thing. I know you probably hit up Magic City a time or two when you were in the league. Maybe we can—”
Antonio frowned. What was this dude’s problem? Clearly, he wasn’t taking the hint. “I gotta get back to work on this merger.” Antonio gave Donny hard pat on the shoulder, making the guy wince. “Good to meet you, Don.”
Antonio nudged past Donny, making his way back to his office. A few boxes were piled in the corner, and the walls were lined with plaques. The room wasn’t arranged like he liked it. Even though it would be temporary, he wanted to make it feel a little homey.
He slumped at his desk. If all the dudes at this place were like Donny, there was absolutely no telling the crap Jackie had been going through. What a jackass. He felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket.
PJ: How’d day 1 go?
Antonio smiled, brain jumping to his private interaction with Jackie. If he had kissed her, it would have been inappropriate and messy. But on another level, it would have been a perfect start to his time here…
ANT: It was cool.
PJ: Aiight. U talk to Jackie?
ANT: Kind of.
PJ: WTFDTM?
Antonio grunted. He hated trying to figure out these new-age acronyms. He wished folks would just spell stuff out.
ANT: We got interrupted.
PJ: So you didn’t tell her?
No. I was too focused on her lips.
Antonio erased that message. PJ didn’t need to know that.
His stomach roiled at the thought of the talk he still needed to have with Jackie.
He didn’t know how she’d take it. Would she feel deceived?
She didn’t like him for a myriad of reasons.
He didn’t need to add fuel to the fire right now.
After the dust settled with the merger, he’d tell her the truth.
One: Despite all that had transpired between them, he’d never stopped loving her.
And two: Despite Jackie’s annoyance, he’d never be out of PJ’s life. He would always be there for the kid. It was non-negotiable.
Antonio refocused his attention on the text thread with PJ.
ANTONIO: Tell her what? That I am not trying to steal you as a client? Repeatedly.
PJ: You know what I’m talking about. Tell her the truth.
ANT: Honestly, I don’t think this is the time. Does it matter, really? Maybe your mom is right.
PJ: No offense, but this is my life. I don’t care what my mom wants. Jackie has to know.
ANT: Then why haven’t you said anything?
PJ: Because…Marilyn scares me.
Antonio had to laugh. When it came to PJ’s mom, scary was an understatement. Marilyn Dawson was a terror, most of the time.
ANT: I’ll make it a top priority. But this merger comes first.
PJ: The merger is the main reason you need to do this. Shit is gonna get weird.
ANT: You’re right. I’ll handle it.
PJ: Bruh, you better.
Antonio winced. He hated when PJ called him bruh, like he was one of his homies or his older, cooler uncle. Just once, he’d like for him to call him something more meaningful. Something that conveyed how Ant, at least, truly felt.
Something like…Dad.
Finding out PJ was his son had upended Antonio’s bachelor life out of the blue.
He’d had no idea that his beautiful, smart, and talented son existed until ten years ago—by that time, PJ was already twelve, nearing six feet, and a basketball phenom in the making.
A one-night stand on the road, back when Antonio was in the league, had resulted in a child.
Marilyn, for lack of a better word, was a groupie.
That was no shade to Marilyn, because Antonio was wild back then too.
He was young, rich, and handsome—and completely irresponsible on all fronts.
For years, Marilyn had believed that PJ’s father was one of Antonio’s teammates—she had hooked up with another guy on that same road trip.
After the supposed father repeatedly insisted on a DNA test, Marilyn finally relented, sure it was a waste of time.
When the results came back negative, she realized that the only other person it could have been was Antonio.
When she got in touch, Antonio took his own DNA test, confident that he wasn’t a dad.
He swore he’d worn protection, but then again, that whole road trip was one big blur of alcohol-fueled bad decisions.
That reckless chapter of his life caught up with him one fateful July morning when a phone call from Marilyn changed everything.
Including what could have been with Jackie.
Now with the merger, and with his son as Jackie’s star client, Antonio’s life had the potential to become messier than it already was. His life felt like a big ball of yarn, tangled with no easy way to unravel the confusion.
He had to figure out how to do just that, without losing it all.
Antonio’s phone buzzed again. This time, PJ was FaceTiming him.
Antonio answered, and a sweaty PJ filled the screen, blond-tipped locs flopping in his face.
He looked as if he was tucked in the corner of the locker room.
There was a look of worry on his face that made Antonio sit up straight.
Jesus, had something happened? Did he get hurt?
“What’s wrong? Something happen at practice?”
“Nah.” PJ frowned. He wiped the sweat from his brow on the end of his jersey. “I was just wondering if you were coming to New York on Thursday?”
Antonio raised a brow. “New York? For the shoe campaign?”
“Yeah, man. The campaign. Listen, you ain’t gotta come or nothing. I mean, Jackie’s gonna be there, so I know I’ll be fine… I just thought…I’m just not trying to fuck it up.”
The corners of Antonio’s mouth lifted into a slight smile.
He’s nervous. This was highly uncharacteristic of a guy who hit buzzer beaters from past the three-point line and had taken his college team to the championship three times.
As much as PJ tried to play it cool and aloof, being the face of a major campaign was getting to him.
It was the stuff little boys dreamed of in their rooms.
“PJ, it’s cool. You’re gonna kill it. Jackie securing this deal for you is unheard of. It’s major. A lot of rookies don’t get stuff like this.”
PJ ran his hand through his locs. “I know. Jackie did her big one with that deal. It’s just a lot of pressure. You know what it’s like, that’s all.”
Antonio did know what it was like. He’d had his fair share of endorsements as a player—none this major, but still. The fact that PJ recognized his experience warmed his heart.
After pretending to look at his laptop—knowing damn well he didn’t have anything scheduled for that day—Antonio said, “Well, I think I can move some stuff around. I’ll be there, PJ.”
PJ returned the same crooked, dimpled smile. Besides height, it was the one thing he inherited from Antonio. “Cool. Let me head back out there. I faked like I was going to the bathroom, and they probably looking for me. Don’t need them thinking I got the runs.”
Antonio chuckled. “Bet. See you Thursday.”
“Later, Ant.”
Antonio felt honored that PJ wanted him there as a calming presence. It was the kind of stuff Antonio’s own father would have done for him when he was a rookie in the league.
But Jackie…. He had no idea how he’d explain his presence to her.
Antonio groaned. It was time to start unraveling that ball of yarn.