Page 15 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

RANSON

T hey’re back in LA, and as predicted, Parker has released a statement that his investing partnership with his son, Ranson Hamilton, has officially ended.

He’s also suing Ranson for breach of contract which could end up tying up all of his money.

Ranson took the news well. He had mentally prepared himself for it.

He didn’t get an official email from Morris disinheriting him until later that day.

He and Lyric are currently having lunch in the back room of a Brazilian steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

Being with her has made everything make sense.

He’ll continue investing in small businesses.

Granted, he won’t be able to help as many people without his father’s money, but it’s about time he stopped using it as a safety net.

“I hope you ordered enough food for me,” Braxton says, as he appears in the entrance.

Braxton is big, like Ranson, but his skin tone is lighter. Height definitely runs in the Hamilton side of the family because all six brothers are six feet tall or more.

“Hey!” Ranson gets up and greets his brother with a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t tell him?” Braxton smiles at Lyric.

Ranson turns to Lyric. “Tell me what?”

“I was waiting for her to get here.” She addresses both brothers.

“Her, who?” Ranson asks.

“Her me.” Liliian enters the back room.

Ranson’s eyes light up like a kid at Christmas. “Momma!”

He pushes past his brother and gives his mother a tight hug, even lifting her up.

“Boy, put me down.” She lightly taps his shoulder and laughs.

Ranson sets her on her feet. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed I’d visit you in April.”

“Well, when this young lady found me, she explained her plan, and I had to make sure my baby was okay.”

Her plan ? Lyric found my mother . I don’t know whether to be shocked or impressed that she was able to do it .

Ranson made sure his mother was very well hidden. Living in LA gave her a taste of what the spotlight brings, and she hated it. She tolerated it because she loved the kids.

“Momma, you didn’t have to come out to LA and check on me, and how did Lyric even find you?”

“ My momma. I called her, and she called Aunt Eunetta, who got on the horn with her ladies’ auxiliary church group—and those ladies don’t play. They tracked down your momma in under an hour.”

Ranson snickers. “Damn, I did not take the church lady grapevine into consideration.”

“Well, when Ms. Lyric told me that you needed my help, of course I came.”

“I figured there was a chance that your mom had some money squirreled away to make sure she wasn’t beholden to your father in any way. It’s something my mom and a lot of the women in my family would do, and I was right.”

“Momma, I don’t want you mixed up in all this,” Ranson complains.

“Hush and listen,” Lilian says.

Ranson nods at Lyric, urging her to continue.

“My first instinct about you was that you’re a man who looks out for the ones he loves.

But it’s more than that, you’ve made yourself their official protector.

You do it in a multitude of ways. Whether it’s making sure your nieces and nephews see you as a safe space, making sure your siblings don’t struggle financially, or risking the ire of your father to help one of the women who raised you.

You’re an extraordinary man, Ranson Hamilton. ”

Ranson has tears in his eyes. “Wow. Damn, Lyric. I?—”

“Baby, I’m not done.”

“Oh, sorry. Please continue.”

“The problem is, you don’t seem the realize that the people you protect can, and will, protect you too,” Lyric finishes.

“But Parker will?—”

“Parker won’t do shit,” Braxton says. Realizing his faux pas, he turns to Lilian. “Sorry, Momma Lily.”

“Don’t let that happen again, Braxton Shakim Hamilton.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says.

Braxton turns back to Ranson. “It’s a shame the old man is so obsessed with power and control. Maybe he would have noticed that all of his children inherited his business acumen.”

“Brax, what are you talking about?”

“Momma Lilian managed to raise a small fortune with investments and gave me and Kordell seed money to build a business. We’re partnering up with Rossmore Wines, thanks to a hookup from Mike.

We’re going to make our own brand of Jamaican rum inspired by mom’s roots.

We’ve asked mom to wait until our first year’s profit until we give Lee the financial backing for his start up.

We don’t want anything to do with dad or his money.

This is completely independent of him. Which is why he doesn’t know about it,” Braxton explains.

“So, where’s Kord?”

“He’s in Jamaica taking meetings.” Braxton tells him.

“How did this come about? Was this always something cooking up?” Ranson asks.

“Yes and no. We’ve received offers from a lot of folks to invest in something relating to mom’s roots.

A lot of folks want us to rep our heritage by partnering with them.

Turns out, Chris Rossmore has been looking to branch out from wine, and his fiancée, Izzie, has had incredible success with exploring the diaspora for hair care.

He wanted to do the same. So, Mike set up a meeting with us and Chris, and the gears are now turning.

We just need someone to be VP of finance for the brand.

The job is yours if you want it, Ran,” Braxton explains.

“Let me see if I have this straight. My mother gave you money, and you and Kord used it to partner with a popular wine company to build a brand of rum for said company just so that I could run it and not be beholden to our father financially,” Ranson remarks.

“Yes, and you can continue to be an angel investor. On your own terms,” his mother says.

He turns to Lyric. “And this was your idea.”

“Not the specifics, but having your siblings and mother help you was,” Lyric answers.

“And you used the money I give you monthly to do this?” Ranson asks his mother.

“Nope, I know that money comes from the profits of the businesses you invested in, so it has your daddy’s hands all over it. I invested my own money that I inherited after I sold momma and daddy’s old house.”

“Momma, how come you never told me you invested that money?” Ranson asks.

“Because baby. You would have insisted I not use it and let you continue to protect me. I wanted to make sure that I could protect myself. And you. And your siblings. I didn’t want you kids to be reliant on your daddy.

I knew he’d snatch it away at a moment’s notice.

I know you thought working alongside him would make things different, but that man will never change.

Money, power and control are his lifeblood.

I’m just sorry you had to learn it the hard way. ”

Ranson lets out a breath. “Me, too.”

He hugs his mother.

“What do you say, Ran?” Braxton asks.

“Yes, thanks, y’all.”

He hugs his brother again and then takes ahold of Lyric and hugs her.

“You really are good at your job.”

“I know,” she smiles.

Lyric

The following Friday, Ranson hosts Patrick and Aimee’s meet and greet. Ranson borrows Braxton’s yacht, which he so cleverly named Sexy Times so he wouldn’t get it confused with his regular yacht. Lyric can’t believe she’s dating someone who has a family member with a regular yacht.

“Okay, Aimee.” Lyric does her makeup.

Once the blindfold is off, Aimee is going to see what this dude looks like, and he’ll see her. She wanted to make sure she’s ravishing, so Lyric is getting her ready. Meanwhile, Aimee has on nothing but a robe.

“This is by far the craziest thing you’ve done, and I want all the tea when you finish. Ranson doesn’t know, but Big Head has some security nearby just in case his friend turns out to be a fucking psycho. Not Roc or Pete, though.”

“Too bad, I could have had a fun night with all three of them.”

Lyric and Aimee laugh.

“You nervous?”

“No. Horny. Let’s do this!”

“And on that note.” Lyric shakes her head.

She takes out her phone and texts Ranson, letting him know Aimee’s ready.

Ranson arrives with a blindfolded, handsome bald-headed brother.

“Okay, we’ll leave you two to it.” Lyric takes Ranson’s hand and exits.

They close the door behind them and hear Aimee and Patrick going at it.

“Oh, I do not need to listen to this,” Lyric says.

“Me neither.” They head to their side of the yacht where they can’t hear their friends, and toast with a test batch of the rum.

“To you, Lyric Fuqua. You entered my life, and now I can’t picture it without you. I love you.”

“I love you, too … Rancid.”

Ranson rolls his eyes.

“I’m sorry. That shit is still hilarious.” Lyric claps her hands and cackles.

Ranson pulls her to him and tickles her, making her burst into a fit of giggles.