CHAPTER 41
Jackie’s stomach was in absolute knots. The fluorescent lights in the jail gave her flashbacks to the night she fought with Katrice.
She wanted to bolt. She’d hoped by the time they made it back to Atlanta, PJ would have been bailed out.
Antonio had sent the money as soon as they ended the call.
They arrived in Atlanta about two hours later, but now—three hours since their arrival—there was still no sight or sound of PJ.
Antonio hadn’t said a word since they stepped inside the jail; his facial expressions vacillated between paralyzing fear and scorching rage. Jackie prayed that by the time that PJ was released, Antonio would be in a better headspace.
They finally heard the door buzz as her friend from law school, Dedrick Ealy, emerged from the back followed by PJ, who was wearing big, designer shades.
Even with the shades, he looked like death warmed over.
His clothes looked a mess, his shirt untucked, stained, and wrinkled.
His locs were all over his head, not neatly pulled back as usual.
He was staggering a bit, seeming to be unaware of where he was.
Was he okay? Sick? Jackie looked around and saw another visitor trying to slyly snap a picture.
Jackie let out a breath. This wasn’t something she could control—by the time they set foot outside, this was going to be on every blog, every social media account, and definitely in that trashy Sports Ragz tabloid.
Jackie stood and hugged Dedrick. He was one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the city; she knew he was busy. “Thanks for doing this for me.”
“You know I’ve got you, Jack. I wouldn’t have passed the bar without you.” He looked at Antonio and extended his hand. “Dedrick Ealy.”
Antonio gave a weak smile and shook. “Antonio Steele.”
“Yo, I know who you are, man,” Dedrick chuckled. “That play in the big game in the fourth quarter with like seventeen seconds to go was major.” Dedrick looked at Jackie with a sly grin, no doubt wondering about the nature of her relationship with Antonio.
“We work together,” she blurted out, even though no one had asked.
“Right.” Noticing the onlookers, Dedrick motioned toward another door. “Let’s step inside here for some privacy.”
All four of them entered the empty room. It was giving Law & Order vibes, with a metal table and two chairs. Was this an interrogation room? Jackie cut her eyes at PJ, who was in the hot seat.
“So,” Dedrick continued. “Looks like we got an issue.” He looked at PJ. “You want to tell them, or should I?”
PJ sucked his teeth and folded his arms. “Man, it wasn’t nothing.”
“If it was nothing, your ass wouldn’t be in jail,” Antonio snapped.
“Can I talk?” PJ asked, annoyed.
“He’s right, Antonio,” Jackie said gently. “We don’t even know what happened. So, tell us, PJ? What went down to land you here?”
“I went out partying with some folks I know. I had been drinking a little. I was on my way home, and I admit, I was speeding. And I got pulled over, that’s all.”
“So, it’s a DUI,” said Antonio. “That’s a misdemeanor, right?”
“Not so fast,” Dedrick said. “There were controlled substances in the car.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Jackie could see Antonio’s nostrils flaring. He was gripping the back of the metal chair, his dark knuckles going ashen. She tried to subtly put a hand on his wrist, but he moved out of her way.
“It was just a little weed. And some percs,” PJ said. “The percs wasn’t even mine. They were hers.”
“Hers?” Jackie narrowed her eyes. “Her, who?”
PJ looked at his father, then back at Jackie.
“Who was it?” asked Antonio through his teeth. “Either we find out now or later.”
“India Inkwell,” Dedrick answered. “She was in the car with PJ, high as a damn kite.”
“You can’t be serious,” Antonio said. “Of all people to be caught up in some shit with! That girl is a magnet for bad press. Seriously!”
“Man, it ain’t even like that. We just cool. I mean, we hook up sometimes…but we cool. Just friends.”
Jackie felt her temples throb. “Oh lord. And where is India now?”
“She got bailed out a while ago. Some dude she knows,” Dedrick shrugged.
“Figures,” mumbled PJ.
“Right now, I really don’t give a damn about India,” Antonio said. “We need to be focused on you. What were you thinking? What about your endorsements? Your career just started! You have a televised Christmas Day game in a few weeks! Do you want to miss that because of something so reckless?”
Jackie cut her eyes at Antonio. “Ant, he knows that. Trust me. And it isn’t your job to remind him of that. It’s mine.”
“Sorry.” Antonio stood and walked to the corner of the room, trying to calm himself. Jackie could tell he was trying to remember the breathing exercises from Mexico to center himself.
“I just went a little too hard last night. That’s it.” PJ slumped in his chair.
Dedrick held up his hand. “I’m going to need you to not just brush this off, PJ. You are lucky that India copped to the drugs. But we are still talking fines, a misdemeanor. Possible probation. Your blood alcohol level was right above the legal limit.”
“I’m sure you had more than that in your system,” Antonio gestured toward PJ. “You look a fucking mess. What if the league drug-tests you?”
PJ bristled, confirming he had more than drinks in his system. Jackie’s wheels were spinning. Once the league got word of this arrest, they would most certainly test him. She had to get ahead of this some kind of way.
Jackie leaned against the table. “And let’s say you come back with a dirty drug test? The league is going to suspend you, PJ. They don’t play about drugs. And even if you come back clean, with the DUI, they will likely suspend you. This isn’t good.”
“And all this right before they start voting on Rookie of the Year? Do you even care?” There was an edge in Antonio’s voice that Jackie had never heard before. But PJ didn’t flinch, not even an inch.
“Do you remember the CBA you signed? That includes anything that leads to court convictions,” Jackie reminded him.
“Listen to Jackie,” Antonio said. “She’s right.”
“Oh, so you all a team now? You two ganging up on me?” PJ scoffed. “Seriously, Rookie of the Year is all you care about! That’s all any of you all care about.”
“PJ, that isn’t true,” Jackie said. “I care about your future. I’m not saying you gotta be perfect, but—”
“I damn sure gotta come close, though, huh?” PJ interrupted. “I can’t make mistakes.”
“You can’t afford to make mistakes, son!” Antonio yelled. “You got a lot riding on this year. Use your brain!”
“Oh,” PJ chuckled dryly. “So now you wanna come in and give me some advice, like you’re my daddy.”
“I am your father,” Antonio said. He tented his hands in a prayer, taking a deep breath. “And I’m asking you to listen to me. For once.”
Jackie heard Dedrick say “Whoa,” under his breath. She’d have to explain later.
“Some father you are.” PJ waved Antonio out of his face. “Trying to come in and play daddy all of a sudden! You ain’t been around half my life and now you wanna step up? Dude, fuck you.”
“What did you say to me?” Antonio stared hard at PJ. “I suggest you take that bass out your damned voice.”
“Nah, you don’t get off that easy. You’re a father when it’s convenient. Most of my life, I’ve been nothing more than an inconvenience to you. You a little too late, playboy!”
“I’m late?” Antonio’s voice went up an octave.
“Who’s been with you this entire season?
Every step of the way. Who’s been there when you had questions?
Who just posted your bail, huh? Me, dude.
I sure as hell don’t see your mama here now, do I?
Let me guess, you called her, and she didn’t even bother to pick up the damn phone. ”
“Hey, leave my mama’s name out your damn mouth!” PJ yelled. The expression on PJ’s face told Jackie that Antonio had hit the nail on the head. The thought of a mother not answering her kid during a crisis made her feel sick, bringing back far too many memories.
Dedrick looked wide-eyed between the two men. “Settle down, you two.” He pointed at the glass. “There is no telling who can hear us.”
“Yes, you two cut it out!” Jackie said through her teeth. “People were out there snapping pictures and whatever else. I’m going to have to do a lot of damage control.”
“You ain’t gotta do shit,” PJ said. “You’re fired.”
It was like hearing a record scratch. Jackie blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” PJ said. “This relationship isn’t gonna work. Especially since you’re fucking my dad. You’re his smash buddy. It’s a conflict of interest, right?”
“PJ! Watch your damn mouth,” Antonio said. “Show Jackie some respect.”
“Whoa,” Dedrick repeated, under his breath. He looked at Jackie. She felt her face heat with both anger and embarrassment.
“Fire me?” Jackie put her hands on her hips. “I think you better check yourself. I know you’re upset, but I’m not the one or the two. I’m the one who called Dedrick. I’m the one who you hired to help you with stuff like this.”
“Well, your services are no longer needed,” PJ said. “Shit. I need to call an Uber or something. My car is in impound, I think.”
“You don’t have a phone, PJ!” Jackie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Are you even thinking right now?”
“Clearly, he has half a brain cell left,” mumbled Antonio.
“Antonio,” Jackie hissed. “You’re not helping things.”
“Listen,” Dedrick held up his hands. “Everyone chill. I’ll give PJ a ride home.” He turned to Jackie. “And I’m going to call you later, Jack.”
Dedrick gave her a questioning look before exiting with PJ. It was a what the hell have you gotten me into? look. She was gonna get an earful from him, for sure.
Jackie and Antonio were alone again. The hum of the AC in the room was the only noise that filled silence between them.
“I have never had a client fire me,” Jackie said softly.
“He’s just upset. I’ll talk to him.”
Jackie held up her hand. “Don’t.” Antonio tried to each out for her, but she took a step back. “I should have known this would be a mess.”
“C’mon Jackie, we been through this already,” Antonio sighed. “It’s as complicated as we let it be. It doesn’t have to stay a mess. The kid is just hungover.”
“Your son just reduced the years I worked for him, my blood, sweat, and tears to…to me being your booty call,” Jackie said, frustrated. “Do you know how demeaning that is?”
Antonio rubbed a hand down his face. “I know. That was wrong of him.”
“I told you from the beginning…” Jackie’s voice was unsteady. “Me, you, and PJ, we all lose if something goes wrong between us. Then what? We’re left to pick up the pieces. You don’t have a son. I don’t have a client.”
“Jackie, he’ll come back around.”
“And if he doesn’t? I can hear the assholes at the firm saying, ‘We knew she’d fail.’”
“Then leave the firm,” Antonio said. “You don’t fucking need them.”
Jackie shook her head, scoffing at his naiveté. “Of course you’d say that. You’re Antonio Steele. Former football star. You’d be you with or without AMW-Elite. But who would I be?”
“You’d be Jacqueline Miles. Marcus Miles’s daughter. And your dad wouldn’t want you to—”
Jackie pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare. You don’t get to bring up my dad. You don’t know me like that.”
“I don’t?”
Jackie knew that last part probably stung. Right now, she was too hurt and angry to care. “I don’t care how much I love being with you. I don’t care how it makes me feel. This…us… We should have let it stay in Vegas. We should have never crossed the line again.”
Antonio stared at her, dumbfounded. “You can’t mean that.”
Jackie wasn’t sure if she meant it or not. In the moment, it was the closest she could come to the truth. Wasn’t that what Mother Mary had told her? To be truthful? To speak with her heart? Her brain was moving faster than she wanted, and her words were trying to play catch up.
Antonio moved closer to Jackie, attempting to place his hand on her shoulder, but she moved out of his grasp. “This weekend, I thought we were…” His voice trailed off.
Jackie looked up. She could feel the beginning of tears stinging, but she refused to cry. She put a hand to her throat. “Like I said, Ant. I don’t think we should—”
“Jackie, please,” he interrupted. “Let’s not do this. Please. Don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”
Jackie looked up into Antonio’s face. His lips trembled, as if he was barely holding on to his emotions. The pain on his face mirrored her own, but she wouldn’t let him see her hurt. Her anguish. Her embarrassment.
“Fine, I won’t.” Her words came out in a whisper. Jackie grabbed her clutch from the table, walking past Antonio and out the door.