Page 60 of A Toxic Redemption

"Khalil, please don't show your ass in this courthouse today." Luck peered up at me as she fixed the collar on my shirt. "Remember why we're here today. If Mia goes low—"

"I'm going to hell," I interrupted her. "She better come in here and act like she has some fucking sense, baby. I'm not going for shit strange today."

For the past few weeks, co-parenting with Mia has been unbearable. She meets me and answers the phone when she gets ready. The thing is, it's me now that's trying to get her to spend time with KJ. She got him Christmas Day and kept him for a couple of days before bringing him back. When Lucky and I went on vacation, she found out about it and went nuts. Mia claimed I was unfit because I was out living it up with a whore I didn't know instead of spending time with my son. The crazy thing was that she took KJ to my mother and didn't come back to get him.From what I've gathered from the people my pops had following her, Kaine hadn't been around when KJ was with her. This was good because I didn't want that fuck nigga nowhere near my son.

"Baby, you have to keep the bigger picture in mind," Lucky snapped me from my thoughts. "We want KJ home with us, right?"

"You said 'home' and 'us'." I smiled as I bent down to kiss her lips. "See, now you're getting it."

"Whatever." Luck smiled as she swatted my chest. We were standing in the hallway outside our assigned room, waiting for Grayson. He made it clear not to go inside until he got here. "You know what I mean."

"You meant what you said, and I appreciate it, baby." I kissed her forehead. "They need to hurry this shit up, though. I need to holler at the guys at the build site and make sure everything is still on schedule."

Since my father basically turned over the reins to the company to me, I'd been invested like hell. It's been overwhelming at times, but the shit was worth it. I'd never known so much went into trying to obtain government contracts, but seeing these low-income communities and families have a safe place to live and have recreation spots was worth it all. Getting the okay to build my center was the first project I wanted to take on my own. My father got me a meeting with the right people in the city, and after pitching the plan to them, we were given the okay to build.

"I'm really proud of you." Luck grabbed my hand in hers right as Grayson walked our way. "You had a dream, and now it's coming true."

"My biggest dream come true is you and my son, though." I winked at her, causing her to blush. "I'm thankful I have you here with me to share all of this."

"Good morning, Mr. Simmons," he extended his hand for me to shake before dragging his eyes to my girl. "You must be Ms. Walker?"

"You've heard of me?" Lucky asked as she eyed us both skeptically. She accepted his hand as well.

"Of course. It's nice to finally meet you." He gave her a toothy smile, and I wanted so badly to sock this nigga, but I need him here with me today. "You've been the topic of many conversations."

"Nigga, don't get me an assault charge." I mugged him and pushed him back slightly. "Don't get fucked up."

"Khalil, I swear I did not raise you to act the way that you do," my mother spoke as she made her presence known.

I gave her a quick hug and kiss as I dapped my father up. Our relationship was better, but we still had a ways to go.

"Can we get this show on the road so we can go get my baby? I dropped him off with Kira, and Bino was at the house."

"Yes, please, let's get the ball rolling.” My father spoke. “My nephew has my grandson asking about little honeys, and I don’t like that."

We all shared a laugh as Grayson escorted us into the room. Mia was already seated on one side of the courtroom with her lawyer, and they were engaged in what appeared to be a heated conversation. For this to be a court hearing, shorty looked disheveled as hell. When she locked eyes on me, she licked her lips and smirked. That all faded when she dragged her eyes over to Lucky. When she looked between us and saw our hands interlocked, the shit show began.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Mia jumped from her chair and shouted. "She is not family, and I don't want her here. Get her out of here now!"

"Ms. Bell, calm down," her lawyer warned as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be held in contempt if you don't."

"I don’t care," Mia hissed and shook her hand off of her shoulders. "She is just a whore he's currently sleeping with, and she has no reason to be here. She will be irrelevant in a week."

"Order!" the judge called out when she entered the room. "Court isn't even in session yet, and there is already chaos. I won't go for it."

"Your Honor," Mia's dusty-ass lawyer approached the bench. "This is a very sensitive time and case for my client, and the distraction for outside members isn't wanted nor needed. We would like to ask that Mr. Simmons remove his guest. We are okay with the grandparents being here, but his 'friend' and her presence are not needed."

Mia had fire in her eyes as she beamed in on Lucky and me. This girl was more worried about me and what I had going on versus the real reason we were here today. She might as well let that shit go because Lucky wasn't going anywhere.

"Your Honor, if I may?" Grayson called out as he approached the bench. "My client is here today with the support of his family. His fiancée will be playing a very intricate role in his life, which means his son's life. She is family as well and has every right to be here."

"I will allow it." The judge looked around the courtroom. "Ms. Bell, one more outburst, and I will hold you in contempt. You two may go back over to your clients."

Banging his gavel, he called court into session and told us why we were all here today.

"Let me handle this," Grayson leaned over and whispered. "No matter what is said about you, remain silent and let me work."

I nodded and kept my mouth shut. Trusting has been a big thing for me with all I have been through, but I was learning to do it with my father and Grayson. So far, they have not let me down.

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