Page 66 of For the Lover in You
A few people responded with "good" and "well" before Tremaine continued.
"I'm going to start off by letting y'all know I'm not here to discuss real estate the whole time. All three speakers have been up here discussing real estate, and I know y'all are tired of hearing about it, no shade."
The crowd laughed, including me.
"I'm here to discuss life."
The crowd mumbled in confusion. Everyone expected Tremaine to come in and drop gems. That was all everyone talked about, but he had other plans.
"With success comes sacrifice, and with sacrifice comes success. We all know that. We see it in real estate all the time. We work long hours, we lose some, and we win some. That's real estate, but do you ever think about life outside of real estate? We're programmed to think that success comes at the sacrifice of missing out on the things right in front of you. Not having the ability to enjoy life because work is beating the shit out of you. I was that man for many years. All I wanted to do was work, work, and work. My motto was'I'll sleep when I'm dead'. The more money and success that I had could equal happiness."
He paused.
"But then I came across something that made real estate fall to the wayside. No matter how hard I tried to bury myself in work, I couldn't escape the feeling. Never in my life had I ever felt that way. I would go to sleep at night trying to figure out how to get back in the habit of only thinking about real estate. Then one day I woke up trying to figure out how to handle what I was feeling. The feeling was foreign but thrilling. Excitement fueledmy body because it was a new adventure that I was willing to explore.
He looked over at me. He smiled softly before continuing.
"Once I was able to accept my feelings, I made a promise to myself to live in the moment and enjoy it. No amount of work would keep me from it. I even went to the extreme of eliminating clients that would impede my enjoying this new thing in my life."
He rubbed his hand down the back of his head and smiled.
"I knew she was special the first time I encountered her. I didn't get off to a good start, but as time went on, I realized she was a diamond in the rough that needed to be cherished and reminded how precious she was."
The tears were now brewing in my eyes, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could fight them back.
"I planned to open two more offices, but I realized how much I would have to sacrifice when it came to her, and I'm not willing to do that. My success would be making sure that she makes it first."
My heart fell. That was not what I wanted for Tremaine. I didn't want him to risk his success for me. I didn't need him jeopardizing his goals for little ol' me.
"I say all that to say: success just isn't in real estate. It can be found in anything, in anyone. So, live in the moment, experience what you have never experienced before. Make those sacrifices."
Even though the crowd clapped, I couldn't bring my hands together because I was too stunned by his admission. Never did I want to come into someone's life and alter anyone's life goals. Tremaine looked at me, and I could tell I was under his watch. He tossed me a soft smile.
He cleared his throat. "Now that I've dropped a life gem for y'all, I will give y'all the opportunity to pick my brain. Who would like to go first?"
Dozens of people raised their hands. Mallory stood from her seat and grabbed the mic to take into the crowd.
My chest felt heavy. The walls felt as if they were closing in on me. I quickly stood to my feet and bolted out of the conference space. The memories of how much I regretted altering my life came crashing in like a wave. My thoughts raced as I paced the busy streets. I pulled out my phone and saw that I had five missed calls from my lawyer, eight from Chasity, three from Trina, and ten from an unknown number. My heart raced as I called Chasity back. As soon as she answered, I fired off a million questions.
"What's wrong, Chasity? Is everything okay? What happened? Where is KJ?"
My eyes watered. I knew it had to be something with KJ. There wasn't any reason Chasity would call me back-to-back.
"Chasity, say something!" I yelled.
She took a deep breath. "Are you with Trey?"
"Chasity, what is it?"
She sighed again. "We had to take KJ to the hospital. He was outside playing with the rest of the kids. I noticed he started wheezing. We made him sit, but it didn't get any better, so immediately we rushed him to the hospital. The doctors are saying he had an asthma attack," she explained.
My heart collapsed, and I felt my world instantly shatter.
"KJ doesn't have asthma! What are you saying?"
"That's what the doctors are saying, Mila."
"What else are they saying?"
