Page 17 of Mafia Kings & Wedding Rings
“I have so many responses to that right now I can’t even pick one.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
“I came here with a suggestion for you weeks ago. I just want to know if you had a chance to consider it? Trust me, I’m not trying to slum it around here any longer than I have to.” She turned her nose up and peered around like she really thought she was better than anyone sitting at one of these tables. “Since you chose to move back here after everything with my son, I have no choice?—”
“I’m sorry… you have no choice?” I repeated, appalled. “You disappeared when Daddy died. What was I supposed to do, let Sapphire go into state custody? Would you prefer to deal with them over me?” I demanded, pressing a finger against my chest while my brows dipped together in spite.
I didn’t expect much of a response from her, other than her eyes going cold as usual. With Rashida, she could say or do whatever the fuck she wanted, but God forbid anyone retaliated against her fucked-up ass ways. Suddenly, her feelings were hurt, and she was the damn victim. That shit was old and tired. Seeing how she abandoned my brother when shit hit the fan showed me more than enough.
I always thought I knew the kind of cold, callous woman she was. It wasn’t until my daddy died that she turned into a bitch I hated sharing any kind of DNA with. I feared one day I would be just like her, so now it was like I was always striving to go against that. Easier said than done when life kept throwing me bullshit. She was still my mother, so it wasn’t always easy to cut her off when she was the only parent I had left. My family was in no way perfect, but they were all I had as an example.
When my daddy was gone, I basically had no choice but to reinvent myself. All the designer shit was done. I sold everything I could to have enough money just to come back here. Now me and my brother were rocking Temu with some fresh kicks for him when I could afford it. I went from Burberry to Shein in the blink of a fucking eye. As long as Sapphire was straight, it didn’t matter to me. He was my number one priority.
“I did not come here for you and your dramatics.” Rashida tucked some of her jet-black hair from her pixie cut behind her ear, flashing her sparkling diamond earrings.
I had to give it to her, she was used to a certain lifestyle, and it looked like she’d come up off some poor sucker. My mother was easily one of the most beautiful women in the world, with smooth buttermilk skin and a slim, angular nose. Her voice was deep and sultry, like Toni Braxton, with full pink lips and slanted, teddy-bear brown eyes. There was no doubt she could pull one of these young niggas out here.
“With your father gone, I know it’s been difficult to bounce back. There have been sacrifices all around.”
“Have there been?” I quipped. “Because as far as I can see, it’s been only me making sure Sap is okay, and he’s not by the way. In case you cared.”
“I’m here giving you the tools and resources that you need, Emerald.”
“You’re here so that you can try to come up like you have been ever since Daddy died. Miss me with that other bullshit.”
“Fine. You want me to talk to you like you’re just some random girl? We can do that. Did you take my advice on the surrogacy options I brought to you?”
“I don’t have to tell you shit!” I spat. “I have a shift I need to start. Feel free to leave.”
I stomped toward the employee locker room in the back so that I could put my things away and do what I came here to do. Ihated when shit fucked with my money, and right now, Rashida was irking me past my limit for the day. My mind had been spiraling since running into Jordan and Ivo, or should I say Mr. and Mrs. Marek. That shit still blew my mind even though I’d heard years ago that it was the case. Back in my middle school and high school days, Jordan and I were tight. We would spend the night at each other’s house, get ready for dances together, and celebrate our birthdays since they fell in the same month. All this before she lost both of her parents. She ended up living with her aunt until she turned eighteen.
She’d always been the shy, reserved type, while I was popular but marched to the beat of my own drum. You either hated me or envied me. Most girls only pretended to be my friend because boys were always drawn to me. So I didn’t have a circle. My rich, honey-glazed skin was smooth, and I wasn’t one of those light-skinned girls who thought she was better than anybody. Hell, I envied the caramel and milk chocolate girls because everybody was always asking me if I was mixed with something. Yeah, black and more black. A bitch had to fight time and again to prove I was that. I think that’s why I was so combative with people now. My respect had to be taken out of a mothafucka’s ass.
Ivo was a different story. He was the homie. Jordan knew that. She admitted early on to having a crush on him, but Ivo never returned the gesture. It was whispered about in circles that more was going on between us than friendship. When word got back to my daddy, he forbade me from hanging around Ivo or his family. He was the son of one of the most feared, powerful men in the city, and David Crane didn’t want him anywhere near his baby girl. Keeping him in the friend zone all those years was heavily based on my father’s approval.
It didn’t matter that Ivo took my breath away or made me feel safe and seen. It wasn’t just about me being pretty with him. He was the only person in my life who ever took an interest inme. My likes, dislikes, my passions, and things that made me happy or sad. He took note of my favorite color, food, snacks, you name it. It had been over ten years, and I had yet to come across a man to show that kind of interest in me since. It was nice because to him, I wasn’t just a pretty face. Walking into that office today hit me with a large dose of nostalgia that I thought I’d forgotten about.
“What was that about?” Lola asked when she walked through the swinging door.
With a brief glance in her direction, I went back to tying my apron around my slim waist. “Just Rashida being Rashida.”
“So what’s wrong with you? You want to talk about it?”
I’d known Lola since elementary school. We weren’t the best of friends, but we’d always been cordial. She was another one of those kids from the wrong side of the tracks. My father was very strict about us entertaining people he felt had no future. When I got back to Oak Bluffs, she was one of the first people I ran into who was nice to me, and we’d been kicking it since.
It was funny getting reacquainted because we both had similar experiences in high school, just not with each other. Now she was the best friend I could ask for. She was a big help when it came to dealing with Sapphire too. Although he was fifteen years old, that boy knew how to get into some trouble, and I couldn’t always keep an eye on him. He thought Lola was bad, though, and had a little crush, so she would pop in on him when I was working or out on a hustle, trying to find another income. Even with him being old enough to clock a couple of hours somewhere for pay, I didn’t want anything taking him away from his studies and playing basketball.
“Where do I even start? I feel like I need a cigarette, and I don’t even smoke.”
“Shit, let me smoke one for you.” She went into her apron pocket and removed a pack of Newports.
I slammed my locker shut and secured the lock on it before facing her as she sat on the bench planted in the middle of the aisle.
“So, you know money is tight, and I’m living in a one bedroom with Sapphire right now, which is fine since it’s just the two of us, but I want him to have his own space. He stood on business about letting me have the bedroom so he could sleep on the couch in the living room, but he deserves his own. You know what I mean?”
“Of course.” Lola brought the filter to her lips and sparked it.
“Anyway, between that and trying to get reliable transportation so I’m not catching the bus everywhere and get a lawyer so I can petition for a hearing to at least get joint custody of Jury… it’s a lot. This place isn’t cutting it. Rashida came through a couple of weeks ago, telling me about this surrogacy shit. Not only that, but you get more money if you are also an egg donor. So I signed up for that at this agency. I met the fertility requirements and passed the screening process with flying colors. Now it’s time to match me with a couple, right?”
“Bitch… let me absorb theyou being a surrogatepart first.” Lola took a breath, shook her head, and waved at me to continue before she took another puff of her cigarette. “Ok, carry on.”
