Page 52

Bailey

I felt so raw. Emotionally, I felt and looked drained as I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror while cleaning my face.

However, I felt so much lighter. If there was any good news that came from today, I guess it was finally telling my brothers what happened, and how they comforted me afterwards and didn’t look at me with pity.

I took a deep breath after I rinsed my face because I knew my mom was going to be a different story, but now that my brothers knew, I felt in my heart that it would be easier to tell my mom.

When I finished in the bathroom, I went back into the kitchen and saw Kiara at the kitchen island filling a big ass container with mac and cheese.

I almost didn’t recognize her because she was wearing makeup, a black and red motorcycle jumpsuit, and her hair was flowing down her back.

In the short months that I’ve known her I never saw her with makeup, or her hair straightened.

She looked amazing but the only thing that was throwing me off was the black bandana around her neck. Maybe it was a motorcycle thing.

“Ok, bitch, I see you!” I shouted across the kitchen, clapping with my middle finger and thumb, making my nails click together. “Where you going?” I asked as she finished packing her food and putting it into a bag.

“Thanks boo! Oh, before I forget. I brought the clothes I said I was going to borrow,” she said.

“Not you still lying about borrowing her damn clothes,” Anthony said, shaking his head at Kiara but he was looking at her like she was the eighth wonder of the world, and I raised my eyebrow in surprise as I made a mental note to ask him about his feelings for Kiara later.

Then I burst out laughing because when Giada said she would ask her cousin to get me some clothes, I asked what she would do if she ran into Titan or my brothers, she said she would say she was there to borrow clothes.

“ Anyway ,” she emphasized, rolling her eyes, and purposely ignoring my brother, “I came by here before I went to Red Line with Fred because I knew Gigi was making mac and cheese and this shit got crack in it,” she said, packing another container.

When she mentioned Fred’s name, I didn’t miss the scowl on Anthony’s face.

I chuckled because he didn’t realize that the Fred she was referring to was my doorman, but I liked seeing him riled up, so I didn’t say anything.

I saw he was about to say something but was interrupted when his phone rang.

“I gotta take this,” he mumbled as he quickly walked out of the kitchen and to the front door while answering his phone.

I went back to the table and Titan patted his lap.

Once I sat down, he wrapped his arms around my waist, and I sighed as I relaxed against his big body.

His arms made me feel safe, and when he kissed the side of my head before I laid on his shoulder, I wanted to go to sleep because I felt so comfortable.

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I made a few calls to some news outlets and blogs I have a good relationship with to see who leaked this shit. Although I suspect it was Eva’s bitter ass, I want to be sure.

” I smiled because I loved hearing him take charge and be so protective of me.

Although I made the mistake of not going to him earlier when I felt like my world was turned upside down, I knew at this moment I would not be making that mistake twice.

“Thank you, baby,” I muttered against his shoulder.

I heard the chime of the front door open and close, followed by the sound of heavy boots. When my brother walked back into the kitchen, he had a big smile on his face and was wiping his hand onto his dark pants.

“That was my tech guy, Gig. He hacked into some systems and did all kind of nerdy shit, and he said the person behind this shit was some hacker named Chocolate Bytes. Said their identity and the codes they used to leak the stories was well hidden, but once he noticed a pattern, he uncovered that it was Eva James.”

“He did some more digging and apparently her and Angelo’s hoe ass are best friends, so I’m assuming that’s how she knew about what happened to you and leaked that bullshit.

Also, her father is friends with the Chief of Police.

So, that explains how she knew Giada was a potential suspect in that bullshit with Devin’s baby mama.

Eva and her husband are in mountains of debt because her husband loves to party.

He’s had a few charges for drug possession and soliciting women that were dropped, and the records were sealed but Gig unsealed those bitches. ”

Anthony continued speaking and I felt my anger rising with each word, because I wanted to beat the shit out of Eva’s jealous ass.

All of this shit was being started because she was jealous and bitter about the divorce she caused.

If she would have kept her legs closed to men other than her husband, maybe her and Titan would still be together.

I pressed my fingers to my temples. I started to feel a headache coming on and I wanted to lay down.

“That bitch gotta go. She fucked up when she brought Giada and Devin’s shit into this,” Kiara retorted as she put her bags into the bookbag she had. “Let me know what y’all have planned and I’m there,” she said as she walked out.

“My head is starting to pound, and I need to lay down,” I whispered to Titan.

“Ok baby, you want to go home? Or stay here tonight?” Titan started massaging the nape of my neck and I almost moaned from how great it felt.

“Let’s go home,” I whispered. He held me tighter and stood up with me in his arms. I looked at the entryway of the kitchen as I heard Kiara yelling as she walked in shortly after leaving.

“Giada! Can I borrow one of your bikes? My shit keep stuttering and not starting,” she said as Giada was now blissfully enjoying a piece of chicken that she shredded into her popcorn.

“What you mean it’s not starting? That’s an $80,000 motorcycle; you better take that shit to the dealership first thing in the morning.

But yeah you can borrow a bike. Pick whichever one you want,” Giada said, and when Kiara left the kitchen Anthony looked visibly annoyed as he leaned against the kitchen island.

When he started drumming his fingertips against the countertop, I saw they were black, and I rolled my eyes.

I suspected he must have done something to her motorcycle when he went outside to stop her “date” with Fred.

“I’ll see y’all later,” he mumbled walking out of the kitchen looking like he was in a foul mood.

“Damn, hold up! You’re my ride!” Dante yelled after him. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and promised to call me tomorrow before he ran after Anthony.

“Well, we’re going to follow suit, me and Titan are leaving. Thank you so much Giada for allowing me to hide out for a few hours.”

“No problem, call me later,” she said, drinking her root beer float.

I said bye to Devin and Zuri and Titan carried me outside, when he opened the door I was grateful he used the remote start and the temperature inside the car and the seats were perfect. After he buckled me in he slid behind the wheel, and we sped off.

I t’s been three weeks since the shit storm Eva caused when she leaked that bullshit about me.

Luckily, I didn’t have too much blowback from my own clients who thought the rumors were true.

The clients I did lose I figured they didn’t want to be my client anyway if they could leave before I had a chance to clear my name.

Titan and his brother Torrence were going to dissolve the grant they were going to award Eva’s husband, Brandon, quietly…

but since the shit she did, they were now going to announce it at a press conference along with Giada and her attorney, Malik.

She was going to announce a defamation lawsuit.

Giada didn’t need the money and knew Eva and her husband had no way of paying but she and Titan wanted to tear them down.

Titan was waiting to buy their company for pennies on the dollar once their press conference aired and I had no remorse for the shit she was about to go through, and my brother said he had something for Angelo’s ass.

I hoped he didn’t kill him; I didn’t want my brother to go to jail or feel guilty for ending another man’s life.

But other than that, things have been going so good between Titan and I and that bullshit “dick ban” he called himself putting me on, was lifted the moment we came home from Giada’s the night we learned Eva was the snake that leaked my personal information to the blogs.

Right now, I was at work going through my packed schedule before lunch.

I saw some of the side glances I was getting from my employees and the stopped whispers when I came into a room.

I wanted to cuss everyone out, but instead I decided to schedule a company meeting for tomorrow to address this shit.

I was working my ass off and when my phone rang I saw the time and was surprised that it was already time for my lunch.

“Hey, Marlow, what’s up?” I asked while stacking the papers on my desk.

“Hey, boo; you want to get lunch?”

“Hell yeah, you ready now?”

“Yep, I’ll meet you by the elevators,” she said, and we hung up.

W e were at a deli a block from our building, and I was tearing into a double decker BLT sandwich with a side of tomato soup.

I was surprised my appetite was so ravenous because my stomach felt like I was on a roller coaster.

But this soup and sandwich was the best thing I ever tasted.

I was practically moaning, especially when I added salt to the sandwich and soup.

“This is so damn good!” I said, adding more salt to the soup.

“I can’t tell with how much salt you been putting on your food,” Marlow said, laughing while eating her chicken Caesar salad. “I never seen you eat so much salt.” She was looking at me with her perfectly arched brow raised.