Page 12 of The Strongest Whiskee

“That’s him?” she confirmed.

I nodded, blinking slowly.

She accepted the call and lifted the phone to my ear. Clearing my throat, I ran my hand down it and tried to force something to come out.

“H-hello?”

“It seems like you struggling over there with what you want to say to me. You good?”

As much as I didn’t want to, I smiled. “Yeah, I’m good. And you’re right, I didn’t know what to say. I just… felt the need to say something.”

“You don’t have to say anything, Whiskee.”

The sound of him saying my name made my heart skip a beat as my eyes closed. Pulling in a deep breath, I tugged my bottom lip between my teeth.

“I do. I um… I think we should maybe figure out how we can be allies. You were upset about this too, maybe not as much as me, but still. I don’t see myself talking to my brother or your father about this any time soon.”

“I agree. How about I scoop you for breakfast in the morning and we can go over a few things?”

“That’ll work. What time?”

“Will you need to go home and change first?”

“Nah. I have clothes here.”

“Cool, then eight. Does that work?”

That was a little early for me. Since I didn’t work, I usually didn’t get up until after ten. I was sure he had tons of things to do, so I agreed. After disconnecting the call, I put my phone on the charger with a smile on my face. For some reason, the thought of seeing Beethoven in the morning made me happy.

9

Whiskee

My energy shifted. Sleeping on everything didn’t make me feel better; it made me feel worse. I woke up angry. Angry at Carlos and Tim. Angry at this situation. Angry at the fact that my first marriage was a damn business arrangement.

Mahogany was on her way to her office, where she filmed a lot of her brand videos, when she stopped in the guest bathroom and asked, “You need me to bring you anything back?”

Shaking my head, I pulled my hair up into a loose ponytail. “I’m good, sis. Thanks.”

“All right. Call me when you get back from breakfast and let me know how it goes. I can’t wait until I get back home to hear about it.”

Chuckling, I nodded my agreement, and she left me alone. It was cooler today than it was yesterday, so I dressed in a white sweatsuit and a pair of red heels that matched my nails and Birkin bag. The excitement I had about seeing Beethoven had turned into dread. Were we really about to discuss a marriage of convenience like our lives were the topic of a damn romance book? My head shook as I applied my lipstick. All I could do was laugh in disbelief.

As I layered my two perfumes for the day, the doorbell rang. My heart dropped instantly as I clutched the edge of the sink.

He was here.

Pulling in a deep breath, I looked myself over once more before cutting the light off and heading out of the bathroom. The steps became harder and harder to take as I neared the living room. No matter how much I kept telling myself Beethoven was in the same position as me when it came to this, I couldn’t deny the fact that he was more willing to go along with this charade. I wanted to be upset that he could have agreed to the marriage, but I was grateful he did. Otherwise, the tension between us would have been horrible.

When I opened the door and saw him behind it, I smiled. Genuinely. All the ill feelings that flooded me seemed to go away with each second that passed of me being in his presence.

Beethoven was dressed down today in jeans and a black sweater. He looked just as good, though.

“Hey, you ready?”

“Yeah.”

With one bob of his head, he took a step back so I could step out. After locking up, I followed him to a black town car. Didn’t surprise me that he wasn’t driving today. Robert Carter never drove himself when he was handling business.

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