by Ebony Garris
Sean was so tired of chilling in this damn club. He had been in Dreamz for the past three hours waiting to see Paris’ next move after her and Miles exited their private VIP section. He was chilling in the cut with a newsboy cap on and a graphic tee on. He blended in well with the crowd, which was exactly what he wanted. Finally Paris emerged from VIP looking like a true dime. He wished she just saw things the way he did. She did she just didn’t know it yet, in his eyes and he would stop at nothing to make sure she saw it. He finished up his cognac and headed out to follow the two as they left out.
Chapter 13
Me and my Crazy World
Kim sat idle in her Mercedes waiting for Paris to make a move. She was really hoping to find out some dirt on her, other than her mingling with drugs. If she was going to bring this bitch down she needed much more than some weed laced with coke. Smoking rocks and blunts was like a rites of passage in the music industry. Hell how else do you think Bobby Brown got the name king of R&B! Let’s put it this way it damn sure wasn’t based on his talent. Kim had to admit Paris squeaky clean image in the industry made it awfully hard for her to get Paris out of Miles life. As she waited for Paris and Miles to leave she did notice a familiar face that kept popping up, the new artist from Kanye’s label who kept turning up at Paris’ events! Kim decided to go over and introduce herself, if anything maybe he could keep her time occupied while she spied on Paris and Miles. “So you’re just as fed up with this club as I am huh?” Kim asked moving in closer to Sean. At first Sean was reluctant; he needed to keep his attention on following Paris but a little R&R with a pretty lady wouldn’t hurt. “Fed up is an understatement joe.” Sean said letting his true Chicago swag sneak out! “Joe… you must be from the Chi.” Kim said with a smirk on her face. “I grew up on the Southside until I hit high school then me and my family moved to LA.” Kim could detect his Chicago demeanor from a mile away when she peeped his newsboy cap, who does that in the A? As the two chatted Kim asked Sean what he was doing standing outside the nightclub, pressing him to ask her the same exact question. After the two engaged in a little more convo they realized they actually knew a lot of the same people including Paris! Unbeknownst to them both they actually had the same agenda but neither was bold enough to lay out all their cards on the table. Little did they know they would need each other sooner than they thought! Just off GP the two exchanged info via their crackberrys and decided to keep in touch! Hell if anything maybe Kim could strike a new gig from Sean he looked like he was in bad need of a stylist.
Paris packed up her things at the W and made her way down to the lobby. She had a couple more shows to do next week and had to catch a red eye out to LA. She had to admit she was living the life and she never felt better. As she stood in her hotel suite she couldn’t help but be amazed at how her life had changed. She had the man of her dreams and a glamorous life not to mention a dream career.
As she did a check up on herself in the bathroom mirror she realized that her period was delayed. She had been really active doing show after show not to mention her new walk on the wild side with street meds aka narcotics. She didn’t want to think she was pregnant but it was possible, hell her and Miles hadn’t used protection since the first time they were intimate. Just the thought of being pregnant made Paris sick to her stomach, she had way too much stuff on her schedule to be bogged down with a kid, and Miles wouldn’t be much happier. He never even mentioned kids and he sure wouldn’t have the time his schedule was just as busy as hers intensified by ten. This little project would have to wait until her return from her promo tour for the album. She had an appearance on the Today Show tomorrow as well as radio spots on Hot 97 with Angie Martinez and WBLS with Wendy Williams. As she rushed out to catch her flight she put the pregnancy thought way in her back mind and decided she just must be tripping cause there was no way in hell she was pregnant! Her cycle just needed to catch up with her life and the way she was moving that could take weeks!
Jihan and Tammy awaited their flight which would be boarding in the next thirty minutes. They had three layovers in all just to get to their destination. They had been flying since yesterday morning and Tammy was exhausted. Why in the hell was Jihan in such a mood to become a jet setter and why couldn’t this shit wait until after she gave birth! I mean she was only 6 and a half months pregnant but damn a bitch was tired. She could tell something as on Jihan’s mind, it had been every since they left for Fiji she thought maybe it was just jitters about the baby and all but he’s been acting strange way too long for it to be that. She just put her headphones on and blasted the Gap Band’s greatest hits through her Ipod as she let her mind drift into deep thoughts. Jihan on the other hand was the total opposite; he squirmed in the hard ass airport chair as he kept his eye on this Puerto Rican dude who conveniently found himself wherever they were. From the flight in Fiji to their destination gate now this dude was on Jihan’s ass. Jihan knew hat was up and he wasn’t about to let it go down! Miles was smart but compared to a nigga from the streets Miles didn’t know shit. Jihan got up and told Tammy he was going to the restroom as loud as he could to detour the hitman who was watching his every move, because Tammy had on her Ipod it didn’t look odd that Jihan had to yell it! He immediately went to the customer service desk. “Thank you for choosing American Airlines how can I help you today? Asked the Caucasian women behind the counter with beads of sweat gathered around her upper lip as she put down her steaming cup of what looked to be coffee on the desk and looked up at Jihan. “Well mam I’ve had a little emergency which has caused a change in me and my wife’s plans and we need to change the destination of our flight immediately. “That may not be a problem sir where exactly were you going and where exactly do you need to go now?” asked the woman. “We were destined to go to Rome, Italy but I need to change it to Durham North Carolina, said Jihan quickly hoping his speedy sentences would push the woman to move a bit faster. “That’s not a problem at all sir I just need your tickets and passports” said the woman as she typed much faster than she talked. As the lady rearranged the tickets Jihan called Tammy and informed her that their gate had changed and for her to immediately come to Terminal C gate 16. The lady handed Jihan their tickets after he paid the change fees and assured their luggage would be moved. Their flight wouldn’t be leaving until three hours later and until that time Jihan had to figure out a way to stay out of sight and out of mind with the hitman. Tammy gathered her things and wobbled her way to change terminals. The last thing she remembered was walking to the terminal everything after that was a blur.
Chapter 14
Love Lockdown
Paris stared at the little stick that held the fate of her life with the mark of two lines. She had taken five pregnancy tests and they all came back the same POSITIVE! She couldn’t believe it… The worst part of it all wasn’t the pregnancy. That she could live with; it was trying to figure out who this little being inside of her belonged to, that was freaking her out. Paris had wrecked her brain for the last hour and a half trying to piece together the weeks and months to see if the baby was Miles or Sean’s but it was too close to call. She couldn’t even bring herself to think about what would happen if this baby wasn’t Miles’. The two had plans of marriage and to think of another man’s baby being brought into the mix was like cutting off her life support. Shit what was she going to do? She didn’t want to tell Sean and risk him acting crazy in love like he had been lately and she didn’t want to lie to Miles! She would just have to hide this pregnancy shit until she came up with a master plan, she wasn’t showing and she had some time to spare, in the meantime in between time she set up an appointment with an off the record OBGYN to see how far along she was, and get some prenatal vitamins. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that this human being inside of her belonged to her and with or without a father being present she was going to provide a much better life for it than she ever had. She grabbed her Louie bag and the keys to her Range and was out the hotel room faster than the posit
ive stripe dried on her last pregnancy EPT test.
Miles entered the hotel room to find that Paris obviously left in a hurry. Her clothes were spread all over the place and the bathroom was a mess. He arranged for them both to have a romantic dinner seeing as this was Paris’ first and only night off but she wasn’t there. Instead he decided to just go along with his own plans and get some work done. He looked through his blackberry emails and saw an email from Sean the rapper signed to GOOD music. Miles brought up his number and dialed. “Hello.” Sean answered his phone unfamiliar to the number that showed up on his mobile. He was hoping it was Paris. “What up Sean this Miles from Golden Boy, I wanted to reach out and see if you would be in NYC at all this week so we could set up that meeting?” Miles asked getting straight to business he wasn’t the type of nigga to dance around the fences he hated wasting time. Sean contemplated on the offer. He had no intention of really signing with Golden Boy but thought that the opportunity to speak one on one with Miles would be great. He had a lot to get off his chest. “You know I will actually be in NYC next week lets set it up.” Sean answered after hesitating. “Ok great I’ll have my assistant check my schedule and get back to you with a time, from what Paris tells me you are a great lyricist so I can’t wait to chop it up my dude.” Miles said enthusiastic about possibly getting another hitmaker on his roaster. The last jab about Paris really hit a nerve and Sean felt himself getting really upset. He wanted to out Paris right then and there and crush Miles perception of his perfect little wifey, but decided to hold off the timing wasn’t right. “Yea if anyone would know how talented I am it would be Paris, so I look forward to meeting you too.” Sean said.
****
Jihad had paced the entire airport looking for Tammy. He wanted to personally escort her to the gate but didn’t want to draw any attention from the person following them. As a trained killer Jihad knew all too well that they watched and sat then moved in at the perfect time. Being a great assassin was all about timing and perfect planning, if they both were to get up and leave together not only would it draw attention but it would be a sure indicator that Jihad was on to the plan. As he bit his nails down further and further he couldn’t wait any longer and decided to return to the previous gate where he last left Tammy. When he got there all that was left were the airline employees at the desk. “Hi mam did you happen to see my wife?” Jihad asked the woman at the desk. “The taller pregnant woman who you were with earlier? The employee inquired. “Yes have you seen her?” Jihad asked a tad bit annoyed. “Yes sir she got up before we called boarding and I haven’t seen her since did you check the restrooms or maybe she got lost I can do a page for you.” The woman answered trying her best to help. “No that’s ok I will just continue to look and call her cell if I don’t see her I will just come back to do a page thanks.” Jihad said pissed as he stormed off. He didn’t see the mystery man that was following them or Tammy at the gate and he knew they didn’t board, this was not a good sign and he had to think quick before it was too late. Unfortunately something in his heart told him it already was.
Chapter 15
Regret
Paris entered the hotel room with a thousand bricks weighing heavy on her heart. She wanted to tell Miles about the baby but didn’t want to tell him prematurely not knowing if Sean was the father. After thinking she felt in her heart that the unborn child would be Miles baby. Hell her and Sean did sleep together unprotected but just because they slept together that didn’t make Sean the father. Not to mention her and Miles had way more unprotected sex and the chances of him being the father were higher. Just as she was coming to a conclusion she was interrupted by Miles. “Hey babe, where you been all day?” Miles asked. “Oh just had some running around to do and I wanted to take some creative space to do some writing for some new music that Antoinette sent over.” Paris lied quickly on her feet, something she picked up from being in the strip game. Lying with her eyes was also a specialty hence why she had kept her coke habit a secret so long, Miles had no clue. After catching up on the day Paris and Miles went to dinner and discussed plans for the wedding. Miles also filled Paris in on talking to Sean which made her almost choke herself to death. What the hell did Sean have up his sleeve she definitely knew that their meeting had little to do with business on Sean’s behalf. Miles informed Paris that he wanted to sign Sean on to Golden Boy and buy out his contract with GOOD music. “Well I don’t think that will happen Sean loves Chicago and goes hard for the whole Good music fam.” Paris said a little aggravated by the whole concept. “Well he seemed interested and I think you can help persuade him that is your boy right?” Miles asked sensing the change in Paris voice. “I can try babe but it may be a lost cause. More importantly we need to lock in a date for the weeding so we can reserve the Plaza the waiting list is bananas.” Paris said trying to change the subject quickly. Paris wanted to focus on something positive not to mention she was trying to forget about the pregnancy issue. Sometimes she was down for the thought of a family and other times she just didn’t know what to do. Either way she had to make a decision quickly and let Miles know it just had to be the right time. But with a situation like this no time would ever be the perfect time.
Jihad did everything he could to track down Tammy but to no avail. He knew she had to have been kidnapped. Now the only question was finding out where she was and to do this he needed Miles. His mind was only focused on that and that only. “Hello.” A familiar voice that Jihad had got accustomed to hearing picked up. “Hey Sean it’s Jihad, remember the original deal we had set in stone on bringing Miles down, well there’s been a slight change of plans, I’ll be coming into O’Hare tonight I need you to meet me there.” Sean quickly agreed and was more happier than Jihad to get the ball rolling on murking Miles. Jihad got a call from Sean a while back asking him if he wanted to work on an assignment for killing Miles Crawford. Sean had no idea that Jihad and Miles knew each other and he was actually paying him for a job Jihad planned on doing anyway. Jihad figured that he would now be able to kill two birds with one stone. Ask Miles where Tammy was and be prepared to kill the muthafucker if he didn’t want to tell him. He quickly went to the kiosk and brought a ticket for the next available flight to Chicago.
Jihad boarded his plane later that evening putting together a master plan to get his girl back, he worked way too hard to keep both of them alive and happy to let Miles come in and fuck it up. He knew he would have to pull out all the stops for this one to work. Miles know people in high places and if his plan had any room for error it would be unsuccessful. He was going into a war that he was more than ready to fight.
After dinner Paris couldn’t contain her secret anymore and decided she had to tell someone. She called the only person she knew would be able to give her sound advice. Kim’s blackberry went off and she was surprised to see Paris’ number pop up. She immediately picked up and wondered what had Paris calling her at this time of night. It better be good she thought to herself as she picked up the phone.
Chapter 16
Bittersweet
Kim was completely speechless after hearing that Paris was pregnant. Paris revealed to Kim her true feelings for Miles and how she wanted them to be a happy family but wasn’t sure how he would react to the pregnancy. Kim felt sorry for Paris for the first time ever and in a way felt touched that Paris decided to open up to her of all people. She told Paris to meet her at Serafina’s for dinner later that day so that they could talk further. She assured Paris that everything would be ok and not to worry. She assured her that everything in life happens for some reason or another and it isn’t our job to worry over it but to just live it the best way we knew how. She reaffirmed to Paris that a child is a blessing and she should be happy in the moment. After hanging up she figured that her meeting with Paris would put them in an intimate setting where she could really probe her for information and see if she knew anything about Tammy or if Miles ever mentioned her. With Paris being vulnerable she was sure that Paris wouldn’t have
her guard up and would probably sing like a canary. As Paris hung up with Kim she was happy that she finally could confide in someone and she was happy that she could trust Kim. As she drifted off to sleep she sat in Miles arms thinking that no matter what mess she got herself in one thing was solid and that was her love for Miles Crawford. She fell asleep hoping that when she woke up tomorrow morning this whole thing would just go away.
