“Are you and Ms. Göbel engaged?”
“Do you have an injury or not?”
“Is this your last season with Bundesliga?”
“Did you— ”
I raised my hand to cut off the next question. “As far as my physical health is concerned, I have met the league’s fitness requirements to be on Bayern Munich’s active roster. However, my left knee is not as strong as I’d like it to be. So, as soon as the season is over, I will submit to the care of a physician for necessary treatment to restore it to its maximum strength and performance capability.”
“Will you stay with Bundesliga or not?” someone yelled from the back of the crowd.
“I don’t know. I would like to retire in this league a few years from now, but it depends on certain factors.”
The same pesky gentleman from my press conference finagled his way closer to me and shoved his microphone in my face. “Does your decision have anything to do with Ms. Göbel?”
“I assure you that Ms. Göbel is not a factor in any aspect of my life because we are not involved. She and I had not seen or spoken to each other in nearly a decade before my press conference on the twenty-ninth of December. She is to me like each of you—a reporter wishing to dig into my personal affairs. The kiss she gave me that has been circulated around the globe by the likes of you, was some twisted scheme of hers to make it appear that we were in a relationship. But I swear to God we’re not. Unfortunately, her actions caused a rift in my current relationship, but I’m optimistic that it’s reparable.”
“Who are you involved with?”
“Please give us a name!”
“Viper! Viper! Tell us who your girlfriend is!”
I couldn’t believe how one sentence had caused such excitement. The reporters had become as animated as a group of children in a toy store. I looked at Selig, and he offered me a knowing smile. Then he tilted his head slightly to the right. And that’s when I saw Ilsa standing alone a short but comfortable distance away from her colleagues. They didn’t notice her because their undivided attention was on me. I swallowed a few times, nervously when a vibrant vision of Natalie suddenly appeared in my mind.
“I am romantically involved with a very beautiful and talented American woman who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s someone who you all know or at least have heard of. I’m sure of it. She’s an amazing singer and songwriter. Fans all around the world love her music, but I am her number one fan. I reserve the right to keep her name under my cuff at this time, but she and I will make a public appearance together in the near future. That is all. Thank you.”
Selig ushered me through the throng of reporters as I ignored their requests for additional information. I had given them enough red meat to chew on for a little while, so they should’ve considered themselves lucky. I sure as hell felt a stroke of luck coming my way.
“You did fine, sir…very fine indeed,” Selig praised, clapping my shoulder with a wide smile on his face. “I predict brighter days ahead for you and a certain singer.”
“Damn, I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Natalie
“Okay, I’ll see you guys in the morning at ten o’clock sharp. That goes for you too, Pinky. If you’re late, I’m going to fine your ass fifty bucks. Try me.”
My longtime, alto backup singer smacked her lips and threw her hand up. “I hear you. Bye, girl.”
“Later, Eesh!” Wanda, my other alto yelled.
The rest of my crew waved and rushed to their vehicles in the cold January drizzle. Looking up into the sky at the looming, dark clouds, I predicted a full winter rain was coming. I turned and re-entered the house, closed the door, and locked it. I padded across the foyer en route to the great room where Ravie was waiting for me. We needed to go over some specifics on the contract that Medallion Studios and the executive producer of the Ruth Brown HBO biopic had sent me before a meeting with my attorney later.
I was honored to have been offered the opportunity to play Ms. Brown because it would be my first lead role ever. And I adored the woman. I had studied her voice and watched hours of video footage of her singing live when I was in high school. Granny loved herself some Ruth Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. So, when Ravie and I were little girls, she’d have us sit with her in her parlor and sip hot tea with lemon and honey while we listened to all those fabulous black female singers of her era. Although we were just children, we could appreciate the quality of their voices and tried like hell to mimic them run for run and riff for riff. I could even scat like Ms. Fitzgerald, and Granny used to make me show off my skills to anyone who dropped by for some juicy gossip and a cup of tea. Those were the good old days.
When I reached the great room, I sat down on the sofa next to Ravie. I snickered at Big Quad because he was laid back in the La-Z-Boy snoring like a nasty hog. I looked at the 96-inch TV and immediately, my heartbeat accelerated to three times its normal rhythm.
Hayden…
“Why the hell are you watching that?” I reached for the remote control in Ravie’s hand, but she switched it to her other one real quick and slick.
“Well, since I’ll never get to meet my favorite soccer player in person, I’ll have to spend the rest of my life TV and cyber stalking him. I’ve been following his fine ass on the internet on the regular. His first game since his suspension is tomorrow at six o’clock his time, and I’m going to watch it right here.”
“You play too much, Ravie. Your ass don’t even like soccer.”
“Wrong. Before I discovered Viper Drachenberg, I didn’t like soccer because I didn’t know anything about it. But now I’m a big fan of the sport and the man .” She rubbed her protruding belly and smirked. “Your god son is going play soccer when he grows up. I told Chip a few days ago, and he thinks it’s a cool idea.”
“Whatever. I think you’re being messy as usual.” I stared at the TV and saw a cute little Sandals Resort Grenada commercial. When it went off, I turned to Ravie and asked, “Why do you have to watch the game at my crib tomorrow?”
“I don’t have these premium and international channels and shit at home, so this is where I’ll be sitting at one o’clock after the noonday news, boo. And I’ll have lots of snacks too. Oh, you’re invited to watch the game with me as long as you promise to root for my favorite player and his team.”
I dismissed Ravie’s shade and refocused on the TV. I didn’t want to look at Hayden running down the soccer field, kicking a ball, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. My heart was naturally drawn to him although I had tried everything in my power to forget that we’d ever met, kissed, touched, or made love. I wanted to bury those memories forever and never visit them again, but they constantly harassed me, and I hated it. There wasn’t a day God sent that I didn’t think of Hayden and the love we had found and shared in our little tucked-away space in the Blue Ridge Mountains. My body craved his touch and I longed to hear his deep bass voice dripping with that damn panty-dropping German accent.
“Happy New Year to you. I love you, Natalie.”
I shivered at the memory of those words. I heard them replay in my ears often at the most unexpected moments. And each time they floated around me, I could hardly breathe. It was bad enough that Hayden invaded my dreams at night and haunted me in my thoughts all throughout the day. Despite the fact that we were an ocean away from each other and no longer involved, I missed him so much at times that my heart ached. And at least twice a day, every damn day, I cried when I was reminded of something simple he’d said or done while we were up in the mountains. God, I loved him and wanted him, but I couldn’t trust him. Hell, I didn’t even know him.
“Oooh, look, Eesh! It’s an interview Hayden did earlier today!” Ravie elbowed my shoulder before she aimed the remote control at the TV and blasted the volume.
“I assure you that Ms. Göbel is not a factor in any aspect of my life because we are not involved. She and I had not seen or spoken to
each other in nearly a decade before my press conference on the twenty-ninth of December. She is to me like each of you—a reporter wishing to dig into my personal affairs. The kiss she gave me that has been circulated around the globe by the likes of you, was some twisted scheme of hers to make it appear that we were in a relationship. But I swear to God we’re not. Unfortunately, her actions caused a rift in my current relationship, but I’m optimistic that it’s reparable.”
“Who are you involved with?”
“Please give us a name!”
“Viper! Viper! Tell us who your girlfriend is!”
I couldn’t see Hayden’s handsome face through the fresh flow of tears falling from my eyes. And Ravie’s plump and very pregnant ass had hopped up from the sofa and started dancing and shouting like a Baptist church mother on Sunday morning, so I couldn’t hear all that well. I wiped my eyes and saw Hayden standing before the reporters looking ruggedly delicious just the way I liked him. I could read his eyes. He was contemplating his next words in his sudden silence. He was about to say something real heavy. The millions of butterflies fluttering in my belly told me so.
“I am romantically involved with a very beautiful and talented American woman who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. She’s someone who you all know or at least have heard of. I’m sure of it. She’s an amazing singer and songwriter. Fans all around the world love her music, but I am her number one fan. I reserve the right to keep her name under my cuff at this time, but she and I will make a public appearance together in the near future. That is all. Thank you.”
“See? I knew it! That man is in love with you! He’s been over there working on his return to the game and calling you day and night while you’ve been ignoring him like a damn fool! And he’s so freaking whipped that he’s still claiming you as his woman!” She folded her arms and rested them on her huge baby bump, shaking her head at me in disgust. “And he knows who you are, but he ain’t even mad about it! Hallelujah!”
“I never stopped loving Hayden, Ravie. I was just scared to give him the benefit of the doubt because I didn’t want him to make a fool of me like Tobias did. I should’ve talked to him and let him explain everything to me.”
“You’re damn right! You should have! Now, what are you going to do?”
I jumped up from the sofa and smiled at my cousin and BFF for life. “I’m going to Germany to be with my man.”
“Yasss! Yasss! Go get your man, girl!” Ravie got quiet all of a sudden and frowned. “But you’ve got an appointment with Attorney Tyson Maxwell Junior later today. And what about the recording session in the morning? You’ve got to get ready for your Chicago show too.”
I didn’t care about any of that work shit Ravie was rolling off. I ran straight past her ass on my way to the double marble staircase and yelled over my shoulder, “You’ll work it out for me! You always do!”
My truck’s tires screeched when Chip made a sharp turn onto the lane leading to the international terminal at Atlanta’s busy Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. I was running short on time to catch my late-evening, nonstop flight to Munich, but I’d be damned if I missed it. I had to be sitting in Allianz Arena by game time tomorrow, come hell or high water. The light thunderstorm had come and passed, so there would be no flight delay.
“Hold on, y’all. We’re almost there.”
“I hope you don’t kill us before we get there,” Ravie snapped and rolled his eyes. “You better remember your wife and unborn child are in this damn SUV too.”
“I know, baby. I know,” Chip acknowledged.
I whispered a quick prayer that once the truck stopped and Big Quad and I got out, we would be able to check in quickly, run like hell to the gate, and make it on the plane before takeoff. I was stepping out on faith, traveling to Germany without Hayden’s knowledge. But he had claimed me as his woman, and I was going the distance to claim him as my “Mr. Love.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Natalie
Munich, Germany
“What’s up, boss lady? You had me worried for a minute. I didn’t think you were ever gonna wake up.”
I smiled and took the seat across from Big Quad at the dining room table inside our presidential suite at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski. “Man, jet lag ain’t no joke. How did you sleep?”
“That bed was so comfortable that my eyes closed as soon as my head hit the pillow. This hotel is phat, Miss Z.”
I placed the carafe down without pouring one drop of coffee in my cup and narrowed my eyes at Big Quad. He was too busy stuffing his face with a muffin and fruit while skimming through a hotel guest’s pamphlet to realize I was mean mugging him. “After five years, why do still insist on doing that?”
He glanced up at me, looking just like a bald-headed version of DJ Khaled. “Do what, Miss Z?”
“That !” I barked and pointed my index finger in his direction. “I hate when you call me Miss Z , and you know it. We have been in each other’s life since the eighth grade. We sang in the church choir together until I had to go to LA to record my first CD. Our mamas are still best friends, and you have seen me damn near naked! So why do you insist on calling me Miss Z or Miss Zyeshia?”
“I do it out of respect, Zyeshia. And it’s a habit now. Yeah, we’re childhood friends and all, but you didn’t have to hire my ass and keep me on all this time. You believed in me and stood by me when nobody else gave a damn about me. Without you and this job, you know damn well just like I do that I would be in prison like the rest of the men in my family.”
I nodded, fully understanding where Big Quad was coming from, but I wanted him to get on the same page with me. “I got you, but I need you to hear me too. You work for me, but you’re still like a big brother to Ravie and me. You always have been. We’re family , Big Quad, so you need to kill that Miss Z shit, especially when we’re alone. Call me the same thing you used to call me before I made it. I’m sick and tired of saying this to you, so please stop it. Cool?”
“I’ll try,” he agreed, grinning and nodded his fat, bald head. “Go ahead and eat, so we can see a few sights before we head to the stadium, Eesh .”
I reached for the carafe because a girl needed a cup of coffee bad even though it was way past breakfast time in Munich, Germany. “Yeah, that sounds much better, my friend.”
“I’m so damn nervous,” I whispered to Big Quad when he opened the car door for me and reached for my hand.
“Don’t worry about nothing. Everything is gonna be fine.”
Now, outside the midnight Mercedes limo, I took in the massive crowd of soccer fans all around me while Big Quad spoke with the driver. The guy spoke a little bit of English, so they’d made a connection earlier before we went shopping and touring the city. At the end of their conversation, Big Quad looped his arm through mine without a word and escorted me toward the entrance of Allianz Arena.
Lucky for us, the direction signs displayed high above our heads had English wording below the bold German letters. So, it was easy for us to navigate through the crowd and make our way toward the luxury sky box where Ravie had somehow managed to secure our seats. That girl was a miracle worker. She could make major moves in split-second timing. I smiled, wondering how the hell she had pulled off this trip on a whim.
Big Quad and I had traveled first class on a nonstop Delta flight to Flughafen München International Airport where we were received at baggage claim by a chauffeur holding a sign bearing my government name. Dude loaded our luggage onto a cart and led us out of the airport to a warm Mercedes limo. By the time we arrived at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski, we were dog-tired and ready to crash. Now, after much-needed rest, a delicious brunch, and a mini shopping spree and sight-seeing tour, I was hyped about watching Hayden play the sport he loved and reuniting with him afterwards. I was so excited, I felt like doing an entire concert.
“This way, Eesh,” Big Quad instructed, gently pulling me into an elevator.
I smiled at people as they studied me closely. Today, I wasn’t t
rying to hide. If fans recognized me, so be it. I wasn’t in Munich to perform or sign autographs. This trip was all about my man and getting our relationship back on track.
“Are you Zyeshia?” a very handsome man with green eyes asked the moment the elevator doors closed.
Before I could respond, Big Quad wedged his wall of muscles between us. I peeped around all three hundred and fifty pounds of his six-foot-six body and nodded with a smile. I extended my hand, and the young man took hold of it in a friendly shake.
As soon as the elevator stopped and opened, Big Quad rushed me out and started reading direction signs. My heart was pumping fast and furiously, but I kept my cool as he escorted me toward the sky box. Once we arrived, he scanned our tickets on the security panel and the door opened for us. I walked inside and smiled at the group of people already present. Some were sitting and watching the pre-game activities on the field while others were talking and enjoying food and drinks. I was surprised when a man with dark brown eyes, brunette hair, including a neat mustache, approached me with open arms. He was smiling too. My eyes bucked when he pulled me in for a hug. His smile grew when he stepped back and inspected me from crown to sole. I hoped I was looking cute in my fresh Bayern Munich gear I’d bought on the shopping spree.
“Oh, Ms. Taylor, it is an honor to have you in our presence. My name is Selig Ertz. Mr. Ellis has told me so much about you.”
My jaw literally dropped in total shock of his words. Then I quickly pulled myself together and asked, “Does he know I’m here?”
He shook his head swiftly. “No, ma’am. He has no idea. Mrs. Arrayvia Walden swore me to secrecy while we were arranging this last-minute surprise. I’m so glad she reached out to me for assistance. Come now. I want you and Mr. Jackson to relax and I’ll have someone serve you food and beverages right away.”
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