Page 25 of Mister Artist

“I feel you. Well, I’m here, so if you need help with anything just let me know.”

He looked around me. “Where your bags at?”

“At the hotel until my apartment is ready Monday.”

His head shook adamantly. “Mal, no—”

“There’s no way I’m staying here, Malik.”

“This is your home.”

“This is your family’s home. You’re raising your babies here with your wife. I’m good, brother. I swear.”

He eyed me skeptically for a few seconds before hugging me again. We walked inside, careful to keep our voices down so we wouldn’t wake up the twins.

“Even with you being tired, you look really good and happy,” I complimented. “Fatherhood looks good on you. Love in general.”

“I want this for you, Sis.” He took my hand into his. “I feel connected to Pops because I’m a father now. I can never have him again, but I can be to my babies what he was to me, and that keeps him in my mind and on my heart daily. On some WWVD, what would Vincent do type shit. You deserve this too. To love and be loved. Tell me I didn’t fuck that up for you.”

My mouth opened and closed, but no words would come out. “What do you mean?”

He gripped my elbows, as if he feared his words would make me want to leave. “I mean… both you and Neek are still single after all these years. Hell, I don’t even recognize the way he moves when it comes to women these days. I feel like I might have broken him in some way. I feel like I kept y’all apart and that’s why y’all are still single… because y’all were supposed to be together.”

Blinking rapidly, I avoided his eyes. I certainly wasn’t expecting him to say that. Gently, I pulled myself away from him and made my way to the kitchen, hoping he still kept the alcohol in the same place. A sigh of relief escaped me when I found it in the cabinet. I pulled down a bottle of tequila and took a big swig, not even bothering to pour any in a glass. After wiping my mouth, I sat at the kitchen table.

“What do you mean you don’t recognize the way he moves?”

His mouth twisted to the side and head tilted. Malik didn’t respond right away, actually thinking about the words that came out of his mouth, which had been one of the biggest changes in him over the years.

“Maybe I should say I recognize them… just not as his traits. He’s more like the crew and less like himself—especially since his big brother came home. The way he handles women now… it’s like his heart is hardened.” His head shook. “I’m just glad you decided not to date him. How he’s moving, if he did this to you, I’d try to bury my best friend, Mal.”

My heart dropped. Could Neko have changed that much over the years? I wouldn’t say I regretted taking time away from him because I needed it for myself. Now that I was sure I wanted him, regardless of how anyone felt about it, it seemed it wouldn’t be as easy as I thought it would be for us to reconnect. Malik didn’t seem to have much faith in Neko anymore, but I did. Regardless of how he’d changed, I owed it to both of us to continue with my plan to get the guy. All I could do was pray the guy I got was the one I’d fallen in love with years ago.

20

Neko

Daisha had just swallowedthe last of my seeds when my office phone rang. My nut was so strong I couldn’t even answer immediately, but I knew if I didn’t, my assistant would be coming back to my office. As I grabbed the phone, I pulled in a deep breath. Daisha stood from under my desk and wiped her mouth with a satisfied smile.

“Yes?” I answered, wiping the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead from the tension and release.

“Mr. Peterson, I just got a call from HR. The new accountant just finished her onboarding and Kyle wanted to know if you wanted to come meet her. Your brother did before he left.”

With a sigh, I sat up in my seat. “Yeah, I’ll be down. Where are they?”

“Conference room two.”

“Thanks, Parker.”

“Yes, sir.”

After putting my dick back in my boxers, I stood and told Daisha I’d hit her up later. She had a little attitude becauseshe wouldn’t be able to get this dick, but I’d make it up to her another day. I went into my office bathroom and cleaned up. When my phone started to vibrate on my desk, I didn’t have to look to know it was my brother, Elias. He was probably calling to tell me about the new hire but that wouldn’t be necessary. I gave myself a once over after freshening up, then headed out, not even bothering to grab my phone. Meeting new hires was usually a quick process, and this one shouldn’t have been any different.

As I made my way down the hall, though, something felt different. My heart began to race, and my senses seemed to go into overdrive. Clutching my chest, I slowed my pace. My brows wrinkled as I looked toward Parker at the reception area of our floor. She gave me a warm smile before directing her attention back to what she was doing on the computer.

Shaking off the heaviness that filled me, I stepped onto the elevator and went down to the first floor, where all the conference rooms were. I checked the time on my Rolex, hoping I’d be able to still grab lunch with Mama since she and Pops were heading out of town this weekend. She’d been nagging me about not being as present lately and I wanted to correct that.

Work had been consuming me more than she liked, but we had a surge in clients, and I couldn’t be less hands on even if I was tired and low on energy. I think she sensed how drained I was and wanted to check in, which was why I wanted to spend some time with her so she wouldn’t worry about me.

---