Page 36 of Mister President

That made me chuckle. “Still with that lie?”

“What makes you think it’s a lie?”

“If it was just sex, you wouldn’t be feeling the way you are. Maybe you thought it was just sex and that it would be easy to call it off…but you were in some kind of relationship with her, whether y’all had a title or not. You just ended that and immediately put your focus on me. I’m not sure if that will help or hinder you moving on. When you figure it out, promise to let me know.”

“I will, fa sho. If I feel like I can’t show up for you fully because of this, I’ll let you know. I think I’ll be okay though. It’s still fresh. And you’re right, we may not have had a title, but feelings were involved. Feelings I need to release.”

Silence found us for the rest of the ride, and I was okay with that. I knew I could keep his mind off her if I put forth the effort, but if he wanted to be with her, it wouldn’t matter.

21

Elias

Early October

Since Fiona toldme travel was one of her love languages, I’d been planning a trip to Vegas since it was one of her favorite cities. She loved to drink and gamble, and both were my speed. I made up in my mind that after I showed her a good time, I’d take a break from her. She deserved a better version of me than I’d been giving her. The shit with Amanda plagued me. I meant it when I told Fiona I wasn’t expecting to feel how I’d been feeling.

To a sane person, that was all the more proof that I needed to end things with Amanda. To me, it was proof of how much I loved and wanted her. Knowing that truth didn’t make me want to try to go back to her, but it did make me want to take some time for myself before getting with someone else.

The past twelve years of my life revolved around EJ and Amanda. Now, I was tying myself to Fiona. My heart and dick needed a break, and I hoped Fiona could understand that. Between my talk with Neko and her while we were in Atlanta, I knew taking this time was going to be the right thing.

Light taps against the door caused me to look up from my computer. “Come in, Fiona.”

Her smile was wide as she opened the door. “How’d you know it was me?”

“I know your knock. What do you need?”

“There’s a woman here who says she’s been waiting to meet with Neko about representation, but she hasn’t been able to get in touch with him. I told her he’s out of the country and unavailable, and she asked if she could speak with you.”

I massaged my temple as I sighed. We’d announced on our website and social media that we were closing representation momentarily, so I wasn’t sure who this woman was to have missed the memo. The last thing I wanted to do was take my eyes away from my computer. With it nearing the end of the year, I spent most of my days handling financial shit for tax preparation. We’d brought in a hell of a lot of money this year, but thanks to Parker’s thieving ass, we were working twice as hard to make the statements make sense.

“I’ll come out there and talk to her, so it won’t take too long.” I agreed, standing from my seat.

“Okay, babe. You look a little stressed. I’ll grab you some coffee and schedule you for a massage this evening. She’ll come to you, so you won’t have to worry about the drive.”

“Thank you,” I replied, giving her a quick kiss. Fiona was truly special. I hoped no one snatched her up while I worked through my bullshit. If they did, I understood.

When I walked out of the office, my eyes landed on a woman that was vaguely familiar. She smiled at the sight of me and headed in my direction.

“Hi. I’m Elias.” I spoke, shaking her hand.

“Hi. I know. I’m Juelz.”

“You’re looking for my brother, correct?”

“Yes. She told me he’s out of the country, which makes sense. I called and emailed him last week, and he didn’t respond.”

“What’s this about?”

“Um…” Her eyes shifted as she squeezed the back of her neck. “We talked about him representing me before he left, and he mentioned a signing bonus. It would really come in handy right now.” She closed the space between us and whispered, “I work down atThe Black Diamond,and I have a debt I need to pay. Like ASAP.”

That was why she looked familiar. She was a stripper. I probably would have recognized her immediately if she had on less clothes.

I looked toward the receptionist desk, and Fiona was on a call. “How much debt?”

She rubbed her palms together and avoided my eyes. “I took a loan from the owner to pay my parents’ rent for a few months a while back. Now he’s saying I have to pay everything I owe.”

“Which is?”

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