Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Zander
I’d met with Frasier to get an update on Ebony’s divorce.
The temporary restraining order had been granted, mainly because of who I was.
Technically she hadn’t done enough vile shit for them to consider her a threat to me, but when I made it clear I was losing my patience with her ass and would handle things my own way if she popped up again, the judge granted the order.
According to Frasier, her husband wanted a noncontested divorce to get it done as quickly as possible.
He didn’t want her cheating on the record.
Ebony was making his life miserable too because she refused to sign the marital dissolution agreement.
Since I wasn’t her attorney, I reached out to Chandler to see if I could convince him to pay her off to get rid of her.
If he did, there was no doubt in my mind that she’d forget about me too.
He agreed to meet with me, so that was good.
I thought since I’d beat his ass the night he approached us that he’d automatically say no.
While I fixed myself a cup of coffee, I thought about my sweet girl.
She’d been heavier on my mind and heart than usual.
As much as I wanted to reach out to her, I refrained.
I figured if something was wrong with her that she’d reach out to me.
It had been hard as fuck not talking to her, but I wanted to give her the space she needed to have a healthy relationship.
By the time I was done, it was nearing three, which meant Chandler would be arriving soon. I pulled out my phone and considered checking in with Navy. Instead, I called my sister to see what information I could get out of her.
“Hey, stink,” was her greeting, making me smile.
“Wassup, baby? How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?”
“Good. And how’s Navy?”
The line was silent for a while before she burst into a fit of laughter. “I should have known you were calling me on some bullshit. Navy is fine. Well, she’s okay. Honestly, I don’t know how the girl is.”
My smile dropped. “Why not?”
“She kind of cut me off. She said talking to me made her miss you and she’s trying to get over you. We text every day, but I haven’t heard her voice in like a week, and we haven’t hung out since you broke up with her.”
Groaning, I massaged my temple as my head throbbed. “I didn’t break up with her, Twy. You know that.”
“Mhm. As close as y’all were, it was damn near like a breakup. Now I’ve lost my best friend because of you.”
“Don’t be dramatic. Y’all will make your way back to each other. If she needs time to get over us no longer being in each other’s lives . . . she’s allowed that.”
“I know, but I’m allowed to not like it.”
I smiled before taking a sip of my coffee. “I’m sorry, Sis. I didn’t really take into consideration how this would affect y’all friendship.”
She sighed. “It’s okay. I know it’s for the best. A part of me always thought y’all would end up together. If that isn’t going to happen, maybe it’s best if y’all stop being friends.”
“How could you think we would end up together, Twyla? We’ve always only been friends.”
The longer she cackled, the more it pissed me off. “Boy, please. You can lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to me. You love that girl . . . and not just as a friend.”
I ran my hand down my face and sat back in my chair. “It doesn’t matter anymore. She obviously likes that nigga and I want her to have what she wants.”
“Stepping back was noble, but if they break up, I want you to go after her, Zander. That’s my sister and I love her. I love you. And I love how things would be if the two of you got together.”
“You trust me with her?”
“Of course! I know you have your ways when it comes to women, but I also know why you were acting the way you were. You wouldn’t do that with her. You actually like her.”
That was true. I didn’t like, care about, or respect the women I’d been dealing with lately. That was fucked up to say, but it was the truth. If I did somehow have the chance to be with Navy, I’d treat her like the queen she was. I’d give her the love she deserved.
“Well, as long as she’s with him, I’ma stay out the way. If that changes . . .”
“I’ll let you know.”
Knocking against my door had me ending the call. I motioned for Marion to let Chandler inside. I stood and greeted him before pointing toward the empty chairs in front of my desk for him to select a seat. Since I didn’t want to waste either of our time, I jumped right into it.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I wanted to discuss how we could get Ebony out of both of our lives. My temporary restraining order is only good for two weeks. When we go to court, I’m not confident I’ll get a permanent one.
I will likely have to press charges against her for harassment and build a paper trail before I can be free of her for good, and I don’t have the patience for that. ”
He chuckled. “A part of me wants to tell you her harassing you is what you get for fucking a married woman, but Ebony is just crazy. You’re lucky all she’s doing is harassing you. She’s been terrorizing me like I’m the one that did wrong just because she doesn’t want a divorce.”
My head shook as I sat up in my seat. “She doesn’t care about you divorcing her; she wants money. If you offer her a settlement, she’ll sign those papers.”
“Nah. I feel like I would be rewarding her for her bad behavior.”
“And I get that,” I assured him quickly, “but Ebony is used to being a kept woman. She’s acting out because she hasn’t had to take care of herself in what .
. . ten years? I don’t see her getting a job and taking care of herself, which means she’s going to keep coming after us.
If you offer her something, as a sign of good faith, I will too.
I’ll have Frasier write up a new agreement with an amendment that makes it clear she isn’t to contact you and even push for her to leave Rose Valley Hills if you’d like. ”
He thought about it for a while before going on a tangent about all the crazy shit she’d been doing lately—breaking into the home he kicked her out of, slashing his tires and throwing a brick into his windshield, calling his job all day, making it impossible for clients to get through, putting animal feces on his parents porch, showing up to his daughter’s school and trying to get her to leave with him knowing he’d taken her off the approved list. He said his baby mama had been looking for her to beat her ass, and that was the only reason she hadn’t reached out to him in a few days.
“Look, I’m telling you, all that will cease if you pay her to get rid of her,” I said. “Whatever you give, I’ll match. I want her out of my life, and I don’t blame you for wanting her out of yours too.”
I was glad I’d started the legal process to handle her because it sounded like there was levels to her crazy and I didn’t have time for that shit.
I didn’t know when she’d start acting crazier with me.
Thankfully, she couldn’t come to my home because of security and I had a driver, so she couldn’t get near my car without Deno seeing her.
A part of me felt like I’d been lucky up until now, and I didn’t want to jinx it.
“If you can get her to sign something stating that she will leave me the hell alone, I’ll pay off her car and sign it over to her, pay a years’ worth of rent for a house or apartment out of state, and give her fifty thousand.”
My head bobbed as I made a quick note to pass off to Frasier. “I’ll match the fifty and she’ll have six figures. If she signs off on it, Frasier will let you know.”
We stood and shook hands before he left, then I went to Frasier’s office and made him aware of the plan. He told me he’d reach out to Ebony and see if she was down. I knew she would be. Her ass was acting out because she wanted money. With what Chandler was offering, she’d be more than good.
After that, I worked for a couple of hours before leaving for the day. Navy was still on my mind and heart to the point where I had Deno drive me to her home. I didn’t even know if she was there, but at this point, I just wanted to be near her. To feel her. When we pulled up, I called her.
“Hello?” she answered sweetly, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Sweet girl.”
“H-hi.”
“Where you at?”
“Home, why?”
“I’m outside.”
She gasped then hung up the phone. With a chuckle, I got out of the car.
Their house was so damn big, I knew it would take her some time to get to me.
Her parents were truly like the hood version of the Huxtables, without having a million kids.
Luke was a doctor and Melanie was a lawyer.
She had her own firm, and he had his own practice.
The large wooden door opened, and she rushed into my arms. I could barely get a look at her. All I saw was a blur of movement before she was hopping into my arms and onto my chest. I didn’t mind. At all.
The longer I held her, the more it felt like my heart finally returned to its normal beat. Every day without her, it beat slower and slower. A quiet moan escaped me as I buried my face in her neck.
“Damn. I missed you,” I confessed.
“I missed you too, bookie.”
She rested her forehead against mine. When I tried to put her down, her grip around me tightened. That made me feel good as fuck. I decided I’d never put her down again. Not unless she wanted me to.
“How are you?”
“I miss you,” she repeated.
“Are you happy?”
That caused her to put a little space between us so she could look into my eyes.
“I’m happy with my life in general. With my relationship . . . no. Not having you might give me more time to spend with Ian, but the more time I spend with him, the more I want you.”
“Want me how?” I confirmed as she finally wiggled out of my arms and stood in front of me.
Navy swallowed hard and avoided my eyes.
“As my closest friend.”
Chuckling, I gripped her chin and forced her to look in my eyes. “That’s all you want from me, sweet girl? Or are you not brave enough to express the truth?”
“The truth?” she whispered, slanted, dark eyes sparkling as she looked up at me.
I took her hands into mine and kissed her palms. She bit down on her bottom lip, watching my every move.
“I love you, NaeNae.” I tried to swallow the words back down, but they refused and came up.
“I’m in love with you. I always have been, and I always will be.
Out of that love for you, I stepped back so you could focus on your relationship with him.
But if you end things with him, make no mistake about it, I’m coming after you, and it will not be to be just your damn friend. ”
“You love me?” she repeated.
“I love you.”
“You have to go.” My scowl had her shaking her head and taking a step back. “I-I have to break up with him before we finish this conversation. But we are going to finish this conversation, Zander. Soon.”
Before I could prepare, she hopped up and gave me a quick, sweet kiss before dashing back into her home.
Featherlight. I had no time to form my lips to even kiss her back before she was pulling away.
But just that small, soft, quick kiss was enough to make my dick hard.
It was enough to cross the line that had been drawn, chained down, and buried under cement for over a decade.
It was enough to give me the strength to walk away from her one more time, because when I came back for her, I’d be back in her life and heart . . . for good.