Page 46 of The Brooklyn Way

The two of us engaged in a short staring contest. Finally, she conceded and walked toward my desk, leaving the door closed but not locked.

“So, it’s true then?”

“What’s true, Tiara?” I didn’t have time for her bullshit. I needed to lock up my wallet so I could head to Carrington’s bridal boot camp. I wanted to beat the women there and have everything set up.

“You told your cousins that the seamstress girl is… that one.”

“That was four weeks ago. Why are you bringing that up?”

“Because I thought you were just talking shit and trying to keep Isaac from fucking behind you. But now it feels like every time I see you, I see her. Now it seems like you two might be… close.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled it in a sigh. “I’m trying to figure out what that would have to do with you. If Brooklyn is that one, if we are together—if we are close, what does that have to do with you?” I made eye contact with her, holding her gaze until I was sure we were locked in. “You’re in a relationship with Ethan. You’re that one to him. You two are always together. He’s your ace-in-the-hole, Tiara.”

She stomped her foot against the floor and folded her arms across her small chest. “I don’t want him.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Am I the one you should be telling that to?”

“Yes, because you’re the one I want!”

I didn’t need this shit. “You sound about six years old. Grow up and read the room, ma. There’s nothing happening here. I’m not interested in you. You hanging around and professing your desire to have me won’t change that. I like you as a person. You know I think you’re cool. But I don’t fuck with you on any kind of deep level. We’re as surface as surface can be. I don’t like the way you move. I would never trust your motives, Tiara. And now that I know you were fucking up on Isaac…” I let my thoughts trail off.

She refused to admit defeat. “I thought you and this girl were a summertime… thing.”

I didn’t respond because the thought on the tip of my tongue was that summer wasn’t over. I didn’t want to give Tiara any indication of what Brooklyn and I had going on. It wasn’t any of her business.

She filled in the silence. “What’s gonna happen when summer ends and you have to go back to Chicago? You planning to take her with you? Because otherwise, you have to know that somebody’s gonna fuck behind you, and it might very well be Isaac.”

“As long as it’s not every nigga on the island.” Fuck! I thought to myself as soon as the words left my mouth. That was harsh. It wasn’t fair of me to slut-shame her. That wasn’t even my style. I was trying to protect Brooklyn. “Yo, my bad. I’m sorry for insinuating anything about you and who you’ve spent time with. That’s none of my business.”

She stared at me coolly. “Fuck you, Cameron. You’ll be leaving for Chicago at the start of September. You won’t be here to protect… that one. You’d better hope she knows how to protect herself, because if she gets near anything else of mine, I’m fucking her up.”

“I’m not yours!” I called to her retreating back, before locking my wallet in my desk drawer and heading out of my office.

I walked into the bridal boot camp workout room just in time to see Tiara flounce toward Brooklyn, who was standing there looking like she was ready for class to begin.

“Excuse you.” Tiara shoulder checked Brooklyn as she passed, causing Brooklyn’s body to spin slightly.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Brooklyn questioned as collective gasps and murmurs traveled through the room.

It was Carrington’s voice that rang out the loudest. “What the fuck is your problem, Tiara?”

I said her name in a frustrated sigh. “Tiara.”

She ignored everybody except Brooklyn, retracing her steps until she was back in Brooklyn’s space. With her finger pointed in Brooklyn’s face, she spoke. “You better—”

Brooklyn cut her off before she could finish, roughly pushing Tiara’s hand. “Get your hand out of my face.”

The elevated volume of Tiara’s voice reverberated against the walls in the room. “Don’t fucking touch me!” She gave Brooklyn a push.

Practically everybody in the room started moving toward the two women at that point.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” When Brooklyn shoved her back, Tiara’s petite body wasn’t ready. She stumbled backwards a few steps, lost her footing, and landed with a thud on her ass.

Tiara was an athlete, though. She was back on her feet in milliseconds. I deftly slid between the two angry women. Before I could speak, Carrington spoke.

“Tiara, you need to leave. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you don’t get to come in here being a bully and putting your hands on people. You need to go.”

“I’ll go.” Brooklyn huffed, before stomping over to her things, swooping them up and leaving the room.

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