She was sixteen and lived in rural North Carolina and even though my boyfriend was rich, my life was pretty boring so I wasn't sharing anything that would be off the charts interesting to her. She'd been on my page recently, liking all sorts of pictures that I’d posted of the puppies, but why wouldn't she look at my other pictures?
I'd looked at all her pictures once. She was a cheerleader. She had a kinda cute, kinda ugly boyfriend who ran track with Kaleigh. She loved her grandma and De'Bonay. And she remembered seeing a few pictures of me with Michael. So she showed the girl from the bus, who showed the boys from the bus and then the girl from the bus caught my sweet, trusting, unassuming Kiara in the hallway for confirmation, who called me crying right before Michael’s last interview, saying that she was so, so sorry but Tae Brown—that was the little snitch’s name—had tweeted The Dish over and over until they took her news of our engagement seriously.
They harvested half my Instagram and the few pictures I’d posted of us on Facebook. I didn't say anything about it to Michael right away because other than doing something reactionary and dickish like threatening the gossip sites with a lawsuit, there’s wasn’t much we could do. Mostly because nothing particularly bad had happened. The only reaction in this case was no action. Still, the invasion of privacy—even though, I know, I know, the pictures were public—just added another layer of crap to the weird, shitty way I was already feeling.
I should have known that Michael was up on the whole situation. Very little happened in his universe without him having at least an inkling. As soon as we dropped Ruben off at his hotel he turned to me.
“How are you holding up?” His warm hand brushed my temple then slid down my arm. I didn't want to be touched just then, but I didn't move away.
For some reason, I couldn't look at him when I answered. “I'm fine. Just tired.”
“I'm sure you saw this. I saw you typing like mad on your phone.” He tilted his cell toward me and showed me the revised post from The Dish, saying he wasn't a free man.
“Yeah. I saw it. Daniella sent me the link. Some girl from the twins' school was nice enough to provide them with the photos.”
“Are you upset that people know?”
“No. Are you?”
“Not in the slightest. This is just how the gossip cycle goes. My purchasing the team was actually pretty big news outside of the world of sports. It's not shocking that people dug into who I am and who you are. Some actual celebrity will do something stupid over the weekend and we’ll be old news by Monday.”
I changed the subject before I sarcastically screamed “Oh! Okay!” in his face.
“How do you feel about today?” I asked. “It seemed like everyone really liked you.”
“I think it went very well, all things considered. The fact that I'm not out hiring contract killers helps. I have some new things to think about, things to consider in terms of making positive changes for the team, but it's all good.” He smiled at me, still after the longest day ever, calm as can be. I kinda wanted to choke him.
My annoyance was displaced, but it was like a heat-seeking missile and he was the closest warm body, the one person in my life who generated the most heat. I leaned up and kissed him instead, feeling confident that my brain might actually be broken.
Vera had dinner ready for me when we got back to the Manse of Excess. I ate while Michael showered and changed. Ruben and I were going to hit a club, but as soon my meal settled in my stomach my whole body declared it was done for the day.
I collapsed on the couch with Penny and sent Ruben a text.
I can't. Too sleepy. You can't make me.
He must have reached the same conclusion at the very same moment because his response was lightning fast.
Oh thank god. I'm getting room service and knocking out. We have more meetings in the morning. I need rest. Ruben needs rest!
“Great,” I muttered out loud. “So much for that a.m. quality time.” I dropped my phone and picked up the remote to the jumbo television. Just as I figured out how to get the cable to work, Michael came walking into the living area with Patch trailing behind him. I clicked my teeth for him to come join Penny and me on the couch.
“How do I look?” Michael asked. He looked great. The dark grey suit and the light blue shirt worked well together and his slicked back hair made him look downright fuckable.
“How are you so perky and alert right now. Are you on speed? You can tell me.”
Michael laughed as he leaned over the arm of the couch to kiss me. “No, baby. I can't say that I am. Let me get going.”
“I'll see you Sunday night some time?”
“Hilarious. I'll be back by eleven. I'll wake you up for some butt stuff.”
“Can't wait.” I shouldn't have sighed because then he did that thing. He stood back and looked at me for a second. I was still in my houndstooth dress, my lashes were still glued into place, but I knew what I looked like. I looked like shit and I was sulking.
“Are you okay?” he asked for the fourth time.
And then I did that thing 'cause the answer was obviously no, but his driver was waiting and he had to go out and work so we could afford to do things like stay in a mega mansion in Miami. And the answer wasn't simple. I hadn't even wrapped my mind around the full answer.
It was the day. The whole week. The ring on my finger, and the man who was walking away from me. And not because he didn't love me. He did and I knew it, I felt it every moment we spent together, but he had to go do the things he did best, the things that brought us together in the first place. But the answer was definitely no, I was not fine, I just didn't know why. And how do you open talks and negotiations on an issue you haven't discovered yet.
“Yeah. I'm just sleepy as shit. Ruben and I are going to stay in tonight. We’ll South Beach it up another night.”
“That sounds like a smart plan.” He kissed me again, a few times, on my lips and my cheeks and my lips again. “Get some rest.” And then he was gone.
I watched some crap TV, feeling more antsy and restless and overtired with every commercial break. On Vera’s assurance that the neighborhood provided a lovely scenic stroll, I took the puppies for their nightly walk. When I got back Vera showed me how to reach her down in the maid’s quarters (the fucking house had maid’s quarters) if I needed her.
She'd be there the rest of the night. I showered and changed into my pajamas, then climbed into bed with the dogs and my laptop. Getting any work done was hopeless. I was too tired to be creative, but too anxious to sleep. TV movies seemed like a great idea. The Sex and the City movie was about to start its fiftieth airing that week. I turned to it and ending up catching the tail end of Entertainment News.
“You ladies have been going crazy over this man all day. And some of the fellas,” Jay Lance, their one black reporter joked.
“Yes, this week the Miami Flames announced their new owner and today we got the first glimpse of the extremely attractive Michael Bradbury in action,” Liza Carino, their star reporter added. They showed a clip of Michael accepting the jersey at the press conference. “Many fans and a few members of our staff were devastated to find out that Bradbury is in fact engaged to graphic designer, Kayla Davis. The two reportedly met when Bradbury turned up to a mixer for AskCupid.com in Los Angeles last June.”
“That's a pretty short courtship,” the other reporter, Amy Mays, added, like anyone fucking asked her.
“You have to remember that Hollywood operates on dog years,” Liza replied. That got a whole round of chuckles. “But yes. Sorry ladies and some gents. Michael Bradbury is taken.”
“Good for you, my man. Snagged a basketball team and new fiancée all in one week,” Jay said, wrapping the segment up.
“As opposed to an old fiancée?”
“Well you know what I mean. That's all for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll be back with…”
My phone started ringing. I didn't recognize the number so I hit ignore, like I'd been doing all day. And
then I did the only next logical thing. I went to the Internet.
Yes, I went to the Internet and I did the only thing that could make things worse. I searched. Every gossip site had posted something about Michael and nearly every gossip site had posted something about me. I knew it would blow over in a matter of days. That's how these things went, but then I saw it.
New Flames Owner met with Racist Tweets Over New Fiancée
I wasn't stupid enough to click on the link. I knew what the post would say and I knew what the tweets would say. I sent the link to Daniella instead.
This was not my agenda for the week.
OMG. What did Michael say?
Don't know if he's seen it. He's out doing businessman things.
Are you okay?
Ehhhhhhh….
Do you want me to come?
Before I could answer.
Nevermind. I'm coming.
I didn't have it in me to lie and say I didn't want her there.
Get off the Internet and go to bed. I'll be there when you wake up.
I did the smart thing then, and took her advice.
I have no idea what time Michael got home, but he did not wake me up for butt stuff. He wasn't there one second, and then he was there and we were spooning, and the next thing I knew it was morning and that doorbell from hell was ringing again, and he was gone. I hid my head under the pillow until I heard voices coming into the bedroom.
“Wake up, Sunshine.”
I peeled back the covers and saw Daniella. She sat on the bed beside me, looking all adorable in her sundress and jean jacket like she'd hadn't just spent the last nine hours traveling. Michael was standing by his HIS closet door, putting on his tie. “You have company.”
“Hey. Thanks for coming,” I croaked.
“We’re gonna have a great day, right? We’re gonna get some work done. We're gonna take it easy. Maybe relax by the pool.”
“I didn't want you to come because I'm suicidal.”
“I know. We’re gonna shop and go get Cuban food.”
“That sounds like a plan. I love you both.” Michael kissed me on the lips and then gave Daniella a playful kiss on the forehead. “Stay the hell away from Twitter and don't answer the phone unless it's immediate family. And I think you might want to consider getting a Ruben so you don't have to field strange calls anymore period.”
“That's a great idea,” Daniella said with a firm nod.
“I’ll see you later.” Michael kissed me one more time and then he was gone for real.
“So I have good news and bad news,” Daniella said. “The bad news is that I looked at some of the tweets and they are just as awful and sorta worse than you'd expect. Lili’s been tracking basically everywhere your or Michael’s names pop up. But this will go away.”
“And the good news?”
“Check this out.” Daniella handed me her phone. The browser was open to this blog, The Flow. I’d visited it pretty frequently. It was run by a few young Black and Asian women and they covered gossip and fashion and entertainment. I looked at the headline.
IT’S BEEN 12 HOURS AND WE LOVE KAYLA DAVIS
They talked about how cute I was and my great fashion sense, how I was buds with De’Bonay and Duke, and then they talked about K&D and Queer Qards. They snagged the picture of Daniella, Lili and me from our About page on the K&D website. The final line definitely made me smile.
If you ask us, new Flames owner Michael Bradbury sure knows how to pick 'em. We’d marry you too, Kayla.
“See? Good, right?”
“Definitely good.”
“And we’ve gained a bunch of followers and Facebook likes in the last twenty-four hours. Ignore the assholes and enjoy your man and this ridiculous house.” She chuckled, looking up at the fifty-foot ceilings.
“I know. I hate this place.”
“Well you and Michael won't even know I'm here. I’m staying down in the southeast quadrant. Do you feel better?”
“I do and I'm sorry I kinda panicked. You didn't have to fly all the way here.”
“It's not like you're staying in Siberia, and I have cousins here. Lili is so pissed I came without her, but I didn't have time to arrange anything with FedEx so she's gonna go into the office. I promised her next time. Besides I didn't feel like babysitting her. And… I might have made up with Duke.”
“Oh?”
“Okay, we haven't talked talked yet. But I miss him,” she whined. “I just didn't want to talk about all this love shit with him via text. Face to face is better.”
“Does he know you're here?”
“Yeah. I sent him the most passive aggressive text before my flight took off. He told me to call him when I got here. But let's pretend I'm one hundred percent here for you right now because you're my best friend and I love you. Let's you and me talk. Do you want to go shopping for wedding dresses today? Get the ball rolling?”
“Ugh, fuck no.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t even think wedding stuff. Michael and I have to talk.”
“Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, absolutely not. Hell no. I'm keeping this man.”
“Okay, so what's wrong?”
“I don't know. That's the problem. I've felt so off ever since the prenup thing and with everything that's happened this week, I feel like I can't catch my breath, but he's too busy to talk right now. And then I feel guilty because he works so hard.”
“But something is off.”
“I think I might be mad at him.”
“You don't know?”
I grimaced and shrugged.
“Wait, have you never been pissed at him before?”
I slowly shook my head. “I don't think so.”
“Ugh, I'm sure you haven't. He's pretty perfect. And you guys have never had a fight before?”
“I mean, not really. There was the thing with Adler, but he wasn't pissed at me. It was more like we just had a really intense conversation. We’ve never been pissed at each other. And I swear to god I'm not courting trouble, but I'm just having feelings and emotions, and I don't know how to deal with them.”
“Yeah that's tricky. Feelings and emotions are valid. I'm going to tell you what you would tell me.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“You need to talk to him. Exactly.”
“I’ll see if he can pencil me in some time next week.”
“Stop! You’re busy too. You have a life too.”
“You’re right! And you were saying something about Cuban food!”
Daniella laughed, smacking my arm with the pillow as she nodded toward my HERS bathroom. “Go get ready.”
Daniella was just what the doctor ordered. We took the puppies and had a delicious brunch of Cuban food and did some excellent lady bonding. Zia was coming before the family day event to do my makeup. If I was anywhere near Michael I knew I was going to be on camera, so I didn't object one bit. Daniella was pretty sure Duke was going to show up at the game, so she let Zia contour her up a little when she offered. Our gift baskets had been delivered while we were out and all three of us had a good laugh about that extra small jersey.
When we got to the arena, Paola found us and directed us to where we could find Michael and Ruben. It was tempting to find a corner where Daniella and I could observe and chat, but we threw ourselves into the mix, meeting a bunch of the players and their families, and some of the fans and their kids.
Some of the players' wives were... complete assholes to Daniella and me. Including Kaheem Howard's wife who, when Daniella excused herself to use the restroom, told me to watch her around Michael.
"She's cute, that one. I wouldn't bring her around my man." Yes, infidelity existed, but um no, and also bitch, we just met. Calm down. Kevin Mal's wife, Asia, was super sweet to us though. She was five months pregnant with their second child and she had some very sage advice for me about dealing with all the madness.
"Just focus on yourself and your man
and you'll be fine."
Once the game was about to start we found our seats behind the bench and Michael was whisked off to give his speech. They introduced the starting five and then Kevin Mal got the crowd all hyped and introduced Michael.
He wasn't a get-the-crowd-hyped type of guy, but he did his best.
"How's everybody doing tonight?" he asked, and that of course got some thunderous cheers. "Good, good. You know, I love this game," he said.
"I grew up poor in Detroit and all my brother and I had to look forward to was our trips down to the park so we could play three on three with our friends. This sport kept me sane, this sport kept me happy. Basketball kept me alive. Keeping my grades up so I could play basketball helped me get an academic scholarship to a top university. Without basketball I wouldn't be standing here right now."
"I didn't know any of that," Daniella whispered in my ear. I only knew about a fraction of it.
"When I look at all of these guys," he nodded toward the bench, "and when I look at all of you, I know I'm in the right place. We all love this game." The arena went nuts.
"Thank you all for welcoming me and my family to your fine city." He handed the mic off, and high fived and hugged most of the team as he made his way back toward our seats. Security escorted of course.
"How'd I do?" he asked as he slid into his seat beside me.
"They hated you. We should leave now. Save ourselves the embarrassment."
"I mean we can. I promised you something last night. Something of the butt variety."
"Yeah and you didn't deliver so you're gonna sit here and watch four quarters of this basketball you loooove so much." I was totally joking. I wanted to watch the game too, but I might have had a bit of an attitude.
SO RIGHT: A Sugar Baby Novella Page 8
