Before I could say anything, she said, “I will be back in two days, Draylah.”
“Got it. But I wanted to talk to you about maybe telling Lily the truth about who I am to her. I know you’ve raised her and had her this whole time, but why not be honest with her now instead of waiting until she’s older.”
“Excuse me? No. You’re lucky I even allow her to see you, which I don’t have to do.”
“Antonia, do you realize you obtained my child illegally?” I raised a brow. “Because you didn’t know, and because you’re innocent in this process, I haven’t gone to the police, but I most definitely could.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. I just … I just don’t want Lily to know, okay? I already don’t like that you two have become so close, and if she finds out that you’re her real mother, she won’t want anything to do with me.”
“I understand, but all I’m asking is that she know the truth. I don’t want her growing up and finding out when she’s twenty-five. Because then she’ll hate us both.”
“Let me think on it while I’m gone. But, Draylah, do not tell her anything until I say it’s okay. At the end of the day, she is my child.”
I didn’t say anything as I watched Antonia walk off. Closing and locking the door, I went to the den to see Lily using her coloring book.
“Hey, baby, you ready?”
“Yes!” She jumped off the couch and grabbed her bag up.
“Okay, come on.” I took her small hand into mine and led her up the stairs. I went towards the bedroom on the other side of Ricky’s and mine, and then opened the door.
“Oh my freaking gosh!” Lily screamed at the bedroom Ricky and I had designed for her. It was a Disney Princess theme, which she loved, and in it we had the furniture of a princess; canopy bed with lace curtains included. “This is my room?”
“Yep,” Ricky appeared.
“Ricky!” Lily dropped her bag and rushed to him. He picked her up and she hugged his neck tightly. “I wish I could live here with you guys and the babies,” she said sadly.
“We’re working on that,” Ricky replied, and I gave him a look. He gave me one back that said he meant what the hell he’d said.
“Yay! Oh, Ricky, Draylah and I are doing masks tonight. Are you gonna do it?”
“I told you real niggas don’t do shit like that, Lil,” he explained as she rubbed his fade gently. She was so funny, and they were so cute together.
“Pleeeeaaasssse!”
“Aight, this one time, for you. But if you tell anybody, I’m gon’ post on the Internet that you still pee in the bed.”
“No I don’t!” She giggled.
“It don’t matter, that’s what I’m gon’ say.”
Lily began chortling heavily, and I just watched them both, wishing like hell my aunt had never done what’d she’d done.
After I let Lily meet Camellia and Frederick Jr., who were both soundly asleep, thankfully, I made us a quick meal, and then we got to doing the masks.
We decided to try these peel off ones, and the whole time Lily and I were putting it on Ricky, he was talking shit.
“I swear to God if this is that shit from Instagram, I’m dunking y’all fucking heads in the toilet bowl after I drop one,” he said with a serious face.
Lily and I just snickered, since I’d told her not to say anything. We waited the amount of time directed, and decided to take Ricky’s off first.
“What the fuck!” he shouted when I ripped a piece off of his cheek. Lily and I were laughing so hard we couldn’t talk. “Draylah!” he shouted again when I grabbed another piece. “Nah, fuck this shit.” He got up from the couch.
“Baby, you have to let me get it all off!” I yelled, laughing through the tears along with Lily.
“I knew I shouldn’t have fucked with this shit.” He yanked a piece off of his forehead and closed his eyes tightly as he winced. “On Crips, this shit is the worst pain in the fucking world. And I don’ been shot and fucking stabbed, bruh. This is the damn devil,” he spoke, while looking into the bust mirror on the wall of the den.
My side was hurting from chortling so hard.
“Ricky!” I screamed when he caught me off guard and snatched the whole left side of my mask off.
“Shut yo’ ass up then.”
“Baby, that hurt,” I whined.
He brought me into him and kissed down the side of my face gently, before our lips met.
“You always doing fucked up shit and then making a nigga feel bad when I do it back,” he talked against my lips, making me chuckle, before we kissed again.
After kissing for a little bit, we noticed Lily was watching while sitting on the couch.
“You guys should get married,” she beamed.
“We are, but first, I’m snatching yo’ shit off,” Ricky said.
“Noooo!” Lily screeched as he chased her out of the den.
I’d missed out on a good amount of Lily’s life, but that shit was gonna be over with. I’d give Antonia her time, but at the end of the day, Lily is my baby and I wanted her.
Chapter Eight: Virginia
Working for Wonder and Carla, as well as Frisk, was running me low. I didn’t think it would be this hard, but it really was. It seemed like during that time where I wasn’t working for them, Wonder and Carla had gotten busier. I was just praying for the contract I had with them to be up soon, because I was sure if I slipped up, Frisk would let me go. And with how much he was paying me, I couldn’t have that.
After I finished brushing, flossing, and rinsing my teeth, I sent out some emails and cooked me some breakfast. I hadn’t even finished washing my plate good before I heard someone beating on my door like they were trying to break a hole in it.
“Okay, damnit!” I yelled out, walking to the door to get it. When I looked through the peephole to see Wonder, I rolled my eyes. “What the hell are you beating on my door like you’re crazy for?”
“You dodging me?” Wonder seethed, stepping into my condo and looking around as if he’d find something.
“I’m not dodging you, but I explained to your wife that any work that needed to be done will be completed from afar. As you know, I have a new job.”
“How long is this shit gon’ go on, V? At the first sign of trouble, yo’ ass just runs off? I thought we were better than that!”
“Yeah, me too, until I found out your wife knew all about us like this is some kind of sick fantasy of y’all’s!”
“So what! You act like I cheated or something!”
“You probably did, and she told me she hasn’t stopped fucking you, so you were lying about that shit too!”
The look on his face said it all. His stupid ass expected to come over here and put me in my place, not knowing that I was well aware of the shit he’d been doing behind my back.
“What you expect, she’s my wife?”
“Pick a side, Savian. At first it was oh, she’s only your wife on paper, but now you have to fulfill your husbandly duties in the bedroom too?” I raised a brow. “You know what? None of this even really matters to me anymore, Savian.”
“Fuck you mean, it don’t matter to you anymore?”
“What I mean is that, I’m over the situation. I don’t really care whether you sleep with Carla or a whole new person. Do whatever you want because I have moved on from that.”
“Oh, you moved on.” He started towards me, and then towered over me with a scowl on his handsome face. Pushing his dreads back, he said, “You moved onto Frisk, huh?”
“I’d moved on mentally before I moved on physically, Savian. And I have things I need to have handled, so if you don’t mind, I’d like you to leave.”
I still had to call Vigo’s parents out in Connecticut to let them know of his demise. They’d cut him off long ago due to his drinking issues, but I was sure they’d still want to know that he’d passed. And hey, if not, then so be it, I had at least done my part.
“Nah, I’m not leaving. I’m about to sit right
here.” Wonder sat down on the couch. “I got some shit to talk to you about anyways, concerning business.”
“Like?” I folded my arms, waiting.
“Like the fact that you double booked me yesterday!” he shouted after a few moments of silence.
“No I did not. You had one meeting. Double bookings is some amateur shit, so you’re gonna have to come better than that homie.”
“Nah, you did. I had a doctor’s appointment already set, and you fucked me up making the time frames clash.”
“Well maybe it would have helped had you let me know something was scheduled that day. The calendar you guys sent me said nothing of the sort, making that day appear free and clear.” Inhaling and exhaling heavily, I said, “Savian, I do not have the time nor the energy for these games. I told your wife that I did not want to be in either of you guys’ presence unless it was mandatory, and this right here does not make the cut.” I pointed back and forth between us.
“Baby, I can’t do this without you. I ain’t realize how much you meant to me until late.”
“And that’s unfortunate, but you’re going to have to go.” I opened my door, and almost shit myself seeing Frisk standing there about to knock. He had a box of Krispy Kreme donuts, which I told him I was obsessed with. “Uh—”
“Well, well, well.” Wonder stood up wearing a devious smirk.
“Oh, are you working right now? I thought you had the day off, baby.” Frisk frowned, looking back and forth between me and Wonder.
“Baby?” Wonder bellowed. “Wooooow! I knew you were fucking him too! You just can’t stay away from fucking ya bosses, huh?”
Oh. My. Fucking. Gosh.
The look on Frisk’s sexy face was full of confusion, as he cocked his head and stared at me for a little bit. He then turned back to Wonder, as he stepped into my condo slowly, placing the donuts down on the bar that separated the kitchen and the living room.
“You fucked him?” Frisk asked me.
“Yeah, she—”
“I wasn’t talking to you, bruh, I’m talking to her,” Frisk cut Wonder off quickly as hell.
“I ain’t ask you who the fuck you was talking to, little nigga! I just told you yeah she did! I was fucking her all the damn time too!” Wonder spat, smirking like the pig he was.
WHAM!
Without warning, Frisk swung on Wonder, and they began fighting hard as hell. They fought so hard they ended up on my front lawn, and my neighbor Geraldine was right there like a damn sports announcer with her nosey ass.
“Oh my gosh! Jason! Savian!” I didn’t know who to call because these niggas were not letting up anytime soon. “Stop!!!”
No one was listening to me, but thankfully, two of my older male neighbors saw what was going on and rushed over to pull the two men apart. I was thanking God for them right now, even though I usually hated when any of these people knew my business.
“Y’all are Black men! Y’all can’t be fighting out here like this! Y’all will end up in jail!” the older man named Rex who lived across the way shouted angrily. He was a plumber, and was always helping people who lived on the street when they ran into plumbing problems.
“Y’all got to do better,” the other, Samson, added. Samson lived on the left side of me and Geraldine was to my right.
Wonder and Frisk stared at one another panting for a few moments, before they finally calmed down. When they did, Rex and Samson left them alone and went back to their homes.
“Jason, can we please talk,” I whimpered.
“Oh, so he the only one you care about?” Wonder questioned, and I could tell he was hurt and felt betrayed, but I really didn’t care. I told his ass I was over him, so his feelings honestly didn’t matter to me.
Ignoring him, I kept my eyes on Frisk who walked past me and went into my condo. I gave Wonder one more look, and he shook his head in a disappointed manner before walking off.
As soon as I stepped into my condo and closed the door, Frisk gritted, “Why the fuck you ain’t just tell me? When I asked you, we weren’t even together.”
“I just didn’t want everyone knowing what I was doing with him, Jason. It’s not like sleeping with a married man is exactly applauded.”
“Still, how the fuck you expect us to move forward when you keeping secrets like that? Do you know he could have said that shit to me in public somewhere, and I would have been looking dumb as fuck? Here I am, thinking that the shit between you and I is special, but you fucked with ya old boss too.”
“It is different, I promise.” I sat next to him.
“How?” He turned to look at me with a serious expression. “Because if you can’t tell me the difference, then I can’t do this.”
I was caught off guard by his question.
“The difference is that we decided to go into this mutually. With Savian or Wonder, he kind of pushed up on me, and since I was vulnerable, I fell into it. Also, he was married, you’re not, which is a big difference. I don’t really know what to say, but what I do know is that I enjoy being with you much more than I did him. And that if you fired me today, I would still want to be with you, unlike with him. I just really don’t want to stop dating.” I chuckled, and cupped his chin to turn his face to mine.
“You just like this dick.” He sat back and smiled.
“I mean, it’s okay, but—”
“Lying ass.” He pulled me over into his lap so that I was straddling him, before we began kissing.
Thank God Wonder hadn’t ruined something that I wasn’t ready to let go of anytime soon.
Chapter Eight: Qamar
I was sitting in the conference room at Bankroll headquarters, sweating bullets. Greezy told me he needed to meet with me, and I admit I was shook like a muthafucka.
Lacie had just given birth to our son, Lace. I missed the actual birth, but of course, I had him tested at the hospital, only to be proven wrong again; he was definitely mine.
Greezy had been eerily chill about the whole situation, and I just didn’t know what the hell to think. I did know that I didn’t need any more shit on my plate. Ricky and Bia being off me, my career circling the drain, and this new baby that I didn’t know how to feel about, was enough.
“Sorry about the wait, Qamar,” Joaquin spoke up as he, Greezy, and this dude named Jacob walked in. Around here, you rarely saw Jacob, so I wasn’t quite sure why the hell he was here, but it couldn’t have been good.
“Hey, how is everybody?” I tried to be as nice as possible, overlooking the elephant in the room; the fact that Greezy’s wife had just had my baby and was posted up at my spot like we were a family.
“Good, have a seat,” Greezy replied. “I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Jacob, but he’s Bankroll’s lawyer.”
“Umm, nah, I didn’t know that, but I have seen him around. How you doing, man?” I smiled, and he nodded with a smile; a sympathetic one. Fuck.
“So, Qamar, you are aware of how your overall career here at Bankroll is doing, correct?” Joaquin asked.
“I mean, it was good to go about a week ago, right?” I laughed, but none of them did, so mine ceased.
“Qamar, ever since these charges have been brought against you for the assault of Nadine Parrish, we haven’t been able to make a dime off of you. Every time we look up, there is a new cancellation. You had a tour coming up, and because of all the refunded tickets, the shows had to be cancelled. In turn, the venues—”
“Are suing. I already know that, Joaquin. I mean, but we gotta just let this shit pass. Just let it pass and we’ll be good.”
“We’re dropping you, Qamar,” Greezy spoke up, and waited for my response.
“Dropping me? Nah, come on, not right now. I don’t have the time to be out here looking for a damn label!”
“We tried to shop your contract around, Qamar, but no one wanted in. We tried every label from here to the East Coast, and nobody would take you on.”
“Bullshit.” I laughed, not wanting to face the fact. “Y’
all can’t drop me, I’m Qamar!” I hit my chest. “I don’ made this label a lot of fucking money!”
“Not as of late.” Jacob pulled a folder out. “Here are the documents detailing the eight lawsuits filed by venues, totaling in 7 million dollars. We need you to handle this bill.” He slid me the documents.
“Why the fuck is it so damn much?” I panicked. I was legit about to cry my ass off right now as my eyes scanned the documents repeatedly.
“Well, they had to pay back all of the people who got refunds, which was 90% of your audience. The other 10% got refunded as well because there would be no show. Then, all the setups we had installed in these places, cost them money to have taken down. Then you have to pay for their time, basically, all the other performers they turned down because they were booked for your shows. They’re now losing money because there will be no show on those nights. Then of course, the little bit of promotion they paid for.”
“Aight, I get it. Fuck. Look, 7 million dollars is a lot of damn money.” I put my hand over my mouth because I was baffled. “I’m gon’ have to sell my party house and all but one of my cars. Damn. Fuck, still ain’t enough! I’d need one million more.”
The three of them sat there like it was nothing, as I had a damn panic attack right in front of them. And the fact that I was getting dropped meant my income wouldn’t be replenished anytime soon. Not to mention, the 6 million the hospital was suing me for.
“We’re really sorry about this, Qamar, and we hope that in the future, you can bounce back from this.”
“There is nothing y’all can do? I can’t maybe pay this shit back in installments or anything?” I pleaded, and my eyes landed on Greezy’s.
“Nah,” was all he said, and I could see a sliver of a smile on his face. I don’t know why I thought he’d help me. Shit, I wouldn’t help his ass if he got my wife pregnant either.
“Take that to your lawyer, and have him call me so we can arrange payment for the venues,” Jacob advised as the three of them rose to their feet. “I would suggest maybe trying to sell the rights to some of your music, Qamar.”
She Got It Bad for a Heartless Gangsta Page 25
