Page 80 of Father of the Bride

Sterling leaned against the door. “Let’s not pretend like you’re squeaky clean, here.”

“Nah. I turned a blind eye to the other shit, but this here is something else.”

Sterling blew out a breath as the silence between them grew heavier.

“You’re done,” Mark said. “I’ll burn the whole fucking practice down before I let you drag my name into your bullshit.”

“You think you’re coming out of this clean?” Sterling scoffed. “You’re in the dirt right alongside of me, Mark. I just got a little messier than you had the stomach for.”

“Nah. Fuck that. And look who you took advantage of.Black women.”

“Hoodrats,” Sterling retorted. “Let’s just be honest.”

“Fuck you.Black women, like I said. The very community that looks for doctors who look like us because they think they’ll be safer in our hands. You exploited that fucking trust, Sterling! Ain’t no coming back from that with me. You’re out.”

His fists clenched and unclenched, fury radiating off of him.

“We’ll let the courts handle this shit,” he said. “I’m going back inside to try to enjoy my daughter’s wedding. Be cordial. Behave yourself. Cuz if you don’t, I’m on your ass.”

Sunny’s was the first face he saw as he walked back inside.

“Not right now,” he snapped, but she was undaunted.

“Come here, Kez.”

He stopped walking and scrubbed a hand down his weary face. His eyes looked tired when they met hers.

“I saw it,” she said. “I already know that’s not your style.”

He was relieved at that part, but she didn’t know everything.

“What can I do?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. This is some shit for my lawyer to handle. Until I talk to him…” he trailed off. “Fuck.”

Sunny grabbed his hand. “It’ll be okay.”

“People say that, but I don’t know if it’s true this time. This shit is deep, Ci. I could lose my fucking license behind this shit.”

Her face registered surprise.

“Look, I’ma be honest with you.”

He led her over to the empty bar.

“Sterling was doing some fraudulent shit with insurance. Shit like inflating costs on claims or marking cosmetic surgery as reconstructive. And I knew about it.”

Her eyes widened.

“It’s no excuse, but he started right around the time Alayna got sick. Once she passed, I was gone. Broken. Completely out of it. I let him take over for a while.”

She nodded.

“I figured I’d fix it after the fact, but then one of the insurance companies called for a review. I hired an attorney, a PR firm, the whole nine. I was getting ready to restructure and get his ass outta there, and then he sued me.” He took a deep breath. “And now this shit.”

“Well. All I know how to do is make you comfortable on the flight outta dodge.”

Despite everything, he laughed. It felt good.

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