Chapter 9
I wasn’t sure if Navie meant she’d take her chances. She looked serious as fuck, but I couldn’t let her do that. So, I gave in to her demands, praying I didn’t regret it.
“Where are we?” Navie asked.
“Home.”
Climbing out of the car didn’t erase the inevitable argument. Only delayed it as Navie climbed out, taking in her surroundings. I paused at the door, allowing her to catch up. Placing my hand on the scanner, the door to the building opened.
“Good evening, Mr. Westbrook.” Rylo greeted us.
“Wassup, Rylo?”
“Nothing much. It’s slow around here today.”
“Good, then it shouldn’t be a problem getting Navie added to the security system.”
“There’s no problem a bad bitch can’t solve, and you definitely got one. Hey, beautiful,” Rylo waved dramatically, chomping on gum, making my ears ring.
Navie was too busy twisting and turning her neck like a feature on Bop It, taking in the lobby. Rylo’s comment was her sole reason for being here. I had a problem, and I was convinced there wasn’t much Navie couldn’t solve if she tried other than getting over on me.
“She’ll need the works.”
“ The works ?” Rylo popped his lips, eyebrows bouncing, because he was nosey as fuck.
If Rylo were a dog, his ears would be standing straight up. I had never given a woman complete access to my crib.
“That means you’re sticking around, huh?”
“Navie, this is Rylo, the concierge.”
“Security Liaison!” Rylo corrected with attitude, “Get my title correct.”
“He’s good at his job, just nosey as fuck. Speaking of which, what you got for me?”
“Fallon dropped by earlier, but I’m sure you already know that.”
“So why don’t you tell me something I don’t know?”
Rylo extended his hand, and I knew what time it was. He didn’t do anything for free, but I could respect it. Digging in my pocket, I grabbed a few bills while Navie remained at my side, giving the building more attention than the conversation.
“Miss Johnson restricted her husband’s access this morning.”
“Why?”
Rylo rolled his eyes, “She was sobbing too damn hard to give the full story, but something about another woman. You know you dog ass nigga’s can’t be trusted. Be careful, girl,” Rylo said, tossing a hand toward Navie.
“Keep talking shit and yo’ ass will be back bussing tables for extra money.”
“ Anyway ! I'll let you know when I find out the rest,” Rylo confirmed.
Nodding, I guided Navie to the elevator. Once inside, she turned and insisted, “I need to go home.”
Her voice was so soft I almost missed it. I pretended I had done so until we reached the top floor.
“Do you hear me, Treason? I need to go home.” The elevator opened, snatching, watching, she was about to say. I stepped around her inside, and after a moment, she followed but didn’t leave the foyer while I headed for the kitchen. “Treason!”
“You are home. I had Fallon put your things in the guest room. It’s the first door on the right.”
Navie moved down the hallway in disbelief, shoving the door open. In seconds, she was back in the hallway with dark-rimmed eyes.
“You moved my stuff out of my apartment! Are you fuckin’ crazy?”
It sounded crazy to cancel her lease and move her belongings, but Navie was a fighter. Shutting down every escape route was essential for my plan to work. Plus, I needed to keep a close eye on her. With my busy schedule, it was easier to accomplish that here.
“Only when I have to be. How often that happens is on you.”
“I agreed to play your girlfriend! Not be treated like a slave.”
“That’s an insult comparing marble floors and a panoramic view to a fuckin’ plantation.”
“Just because it’s luxurious doesn’t make it any less of a prison. For all this, you could’ve left me at the station!” she yelled, her frustration getting the best of her.
“Unlike plantations or jails, the walls are soundproof. You can stop all that damn hollerin’.”
She shrieked again, sounding like a herd of elephants trampling to the guest room, and slammed the door.
If this is what raising a teenager felt like, I owed my mother.
It seemed like the hardest job in the world with no pay, which is why I didn’t want any of my own.
Navie was proving to be a handful all by herself, and with any luck, our genes would create a mutant worse than us.
Like a teenager, Navie remained locked in her room for the night, so I retreated to my office. I had work to catch up on, and she definitely needed space to adjust.
“Wassup, Fallon?” I answered.
“Jaleb is losing his shit. Call him back.”
“Not tonight.”
“Yes, tonight. If he pulls out, then what, Tre?”
“Jaleb isn’t pulling out. Relax.”
“This love at first sight bullshit isn’t like you. What is it about this woman?”
It wasn’t love at first sight, but curiosity at first glance. I needed to know more about Navie. They say attention is the beginning of devotion, and right now, she had mine.
“I can only take one woman at a time giving me shit. Navie’s already taken today.”
“How did you think she’d respond to being locked out of her home and wrongfully arrested. This isn’t a cute romantic story. It could put you in a hole too deep to climb out of. Are you really okay with that?”
“Did you confirm my attendance for the Urban Growth & Opportunity Forum?” I asked, focusing on shit we could actually change.
“Yes. Do you want me to pull looks for Navie to match what we picked for you, or start from scratch?”
“Nah, it should be fine. Mom’s on the other line. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Clicking over, I leaned back in the chair, “Hey, Mama.”
“You sound stressed,” Inez assessed.
“You got all that from two words?” I smiled, leaning back in the chair.
“That’s all I need. You are my son, you know.”
“You won’t let me forget it, but I’m not stressed. Just tired. It’s been a long day.”
“I saw. It’s insane, I had to find out my only child is in a relationship, watching the evening news.”
“I wanted to keep things private longer, but twelve left me no choice,” I lied.
If she knew the truth of how Navie got arrested in the first place, Inez would kick my ass. That was one fight I’d always run from.
“They’re always messing with innocent folks. Is Navie okay?”
“Yeah, she’s straight.”
“You make sure of it. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I nodded as if she could see me.
“So, how did you meet?”
“You’ll have to wait until brunch to get those details,” I stalled.
“So she’s joining us?”
“I didn’t say all that. I don’t know if we’re at the meeting parents stage.”
“You made a public declaration on television, but I can’t meet her?”
“Of course you can, Mama. I just didn’t say when. A lot is going on right now. Be patient with me.”
“She’s beautiful,” Inez complimented as if she expected anything less from me.
“Thanks. How was your day?” I asked, changing the subject before Inez asked more questions I hadn’t sorted out. “Did the gremlins give you hell?”
She chuckled at the nickname I gave the kids at her school. Inez started as a teacher and eventually transitioned to being an assistant principal. She was tired of being tethered to a classroom, but being in leadership didn’t seem much better.
“They tried. We had three teachers out today, and they thought it would be a free-for-all.”
“I know you shut that down.”
“Sure did. They know better anyway.”
“I need to check on Navie. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, give her my love.”
“Will do. Love you, Mama.”
“Love you too, baby.”
Talking to Mom made me jot down a few notes to address tomorrow. If she had questions, so would everybody else, and right now, I didn’t have the answers. I ordered takeout for dinner before walking across the hall. Navie put her stubbornness on display, refusing to respond or answer the door.
Then she repeated that behavior for the next forty-eight hours, locked in the room like I was the fuckin’ Boogey Man.
I tried my luck and knocked with a peace offering.
Each one ended with the quiet rustle of sheets or the muffled sounds of her ignoring me.
I was trying to be patient, but Navie was really pushing it.
The phone hadn’t stopped ringing since news broke about my relationship, but I had meetings and other shit to prep for. It wasn’t ideal, paying Rylo to babysit, but he was loyal to his pockets, which meant he was loyal to me for the right price.
Stepping off the elevator, I heard the door slam shut while Rylo sat on the couch, snickering.
“Is she still running from me?”
“Like Trump from the IRS. You got a side baby on the way?”
I laughed, pulling my tie off, “She told you that?”
“Nope, but I can only speculate the way she talks in circles. Whatever you did, she’s pissed.”
“What did she say?”
“Oh, that’s going to cost you,” Rylo replied, holding his hand out.
“I already paid you top dollar to sit on my fuckin’ couch all day.”
“Nobody told you to get your side bitch pregnant. That’s on you.”
“Nobody is pregnant. Say it again and you’ll be fired. Desperate, I dug in my pocket and slid the free bills into his hand. “Spill it.”
He counted the bills, smiling at the total.
“Just that y’all fought. You’re moving too fast, demanding things she’s not ready to give. She doesn’t trust you. You’ve been single for a minute, so let me remind you relationships aren’t shit without it.”
“I shouldn’t trust her, but I’m here.”
“She needs to feel it, otherwise it’s just smooth talk,” he coached, leaning against the counter, “Navie’s been through some shit. You need to meet her where she is if you want it to work. Once a baddie resents you, it’s no coming back from that.”
“She told you that?”
“Of course she didn’t. People who have don’t share it with the first friendly face. I can just tell. She’s in defense mode,” he said, his voice lower now, “and for someone who talks a good game about protecting people, you’re doing a terrible job of taking care of home.”
I arched a brow, lips twitching. “And you know all this, how? You don’t even like women.”
“I have a sister who’s done enough crying about nothing ass nigga’s to learn a thing or two.”
“Don’t lump me with those losers your sister fucks with. This ain’t that.”
“She’s got the same hurt on her face, so maybe this is that to her, ” he scoffed, delivering a pointed look, “and I don’t need to like women to know you need to get in the field and fix shit with your woman. Act like you know what to do with a bad bitch.”
Rylo walked to the elevator and paused for the doors to separate before adding, “Y’all look too cute together to let it go to waste. Maybe try asking her what she needs instead of bossing people around. Just a wild idea.”
I flipped my middle finger at his sarcastic statement just before the elevator doors closed.
After a shower, I locked myself in my office like Navie did the guest room.
It was a lot harder to focus with the sound of Rylo’s husky voice in my head, so I detoured to making a dinner reservation for tomorrow and spent extra for a long-distance delivery from the Indian restaurant near her old place.
When it arrived, Rylo brought it up wearing a cocky grin that made me rush his ass back downstairs.
“Vie, open the door.”
I knocked again, and still nothing.
“Give me something before I let myself in.”
One of her belongings hit the other side of the door, letting me know she hadn’t found a way out of the twentieth floor.
“Dinner is in the kitchen when you get hungry.”
Since I had a girlfriend, I relaxed on the sofa, reviewing briefs to prepare for the next day. I’d lost track of time when the door finally opened, the light from the guest room illuminating the hallway. Navie crept out in black shorts, a tank top, and a scarf, tying her hair up.
“How did you know I love this place?” she asked, realizing that nothing was by coincidence. Despite my extreme methods, this partnership could work if she calmed her ass down.
“You don’t want me to answer that. Just know you’re worth the trouble.”
“I know.”
“Damn, I ordered your favorite food and can’t even get a smile?”
“It’s not my favorite,” she quipped, sitting at the table. “But thank you.”
“It was better fresh, but you were too busy throwing shit to come out of the dungeon.”
“What are you doing up?” she asked, looking disappointed.
“Can’t sleep. What are you doing up?” I countered.
“I got hungry.”
“Food helps your attitude. Noted.”
“Not being moved around like a chess piece also improves my attitude. Write that down, too.”
“I have to work in the morning, but Rylo will come up before I leave. He’ll finish adding you to the security system.”
“Then what? I sit in the tower all day, playing with my hair, and wait for your return.”
I tossed my notebook on the coffee table and walked around the couch to give her my undivided attention.
“I didn’t take you for the Disney Princess type.”
“I’m not, but unfortunately, you seem to be following their script. I guess that makes you the evil witch.”
“Rapunzel dreamed of something more, right? Maybe this isn’t the tower but the bridge to everything you’ve ever wanted.”
She hesitated, not expecting my response. It was evident she was used to nigga’s that couldn’t hang with her. Throwing a wrench in whatever comeback she pre-planned, Navie moved on.
“How did you know about that cop making comments to me? I never told you that.”
“He was looking at you the way I do. I have an early morning. My door is open if you get scared. Goodnight.” My hand landed on her shoulder, causing her frame to tense and jump. “You can’t do that in public, or we’re dead in the water, and I plan on living a long time.”
I kissed her head, while she muttered, “Night,” the heat from her gaze burning my back as I walked to my room.
Navie didn’t have to like me. Not yet, anyway, but I was confident that it would come in time. For now, she had to need me the way I needed her.