Page 35 of Reckless Forever
“Mr. Jennings, thank you so much for your generous donation. Nice to meet you.” The CEO said as he and Judah shook hands.
“The pleasure is mine. I’m glad I could support your cause. Thank you.” Judah surprised me with the code switching. Heat ran through my body.
“Ms. Montana, I’ve heard wonderful things about you. Welcome, tell us about Bolivia.” My favorite said as they opened the door.
I mouthed “thank you” to Judah before he got into his truck, and we all disappeared through the back entrance with Hollow behind us.
We all chatted for maybe thirty minutes about my contributions in Bolivia and my passion for what I did. By the time we had parted ways, I was offered so many different opportunities here in the States that made me second-guess moving here for real.
Just as the conference was about to start, I took out my phone to text Emilio.
Me: I’m downstairs at the conference.
He had thought that I had been staying here at the Hotel. I gave him a story that I made up on the fly about how we couldn’t be seen together and how he would go to prison in the States for carrying weapons like he did back home. If he were high enough, he’d believe anything. Why Padrino continuously chose to send his most distracted soldier with me, I have no clue. Maybe he had been too occupied with the harem to notice that Emilio was not who he used to be. He used to be ruthless, always on alert and trained to go. But the drugs he dabbled in had run himdown. Now every time I saw him, there was a glossiness in his eye that let me know that he was high.
Him: Vale (Okay)
“Hi, my name is Russell Matthews from the Sky at Six. You are stunning. Have you ever thought about doing television?” A man approached me, holding a microphone from a news channel. We conversed for a bit, and we exchanged contact information. Hollow stepped in as soon as we parted ways.
“Mrs. Jennings-”
“Ivy,” I corrected him. I liked to hear the title, but it honestly made me a bit anxious.
Hollow’s eyes or face didn’t soften, not even the slightest bit. He leaned down to me close; his voice was cold, and it actually made me stand up straight. “Judah made it clear to me that you are to stick to networking only. No deals, no interviews, no extras without proper clearance. If it’s not in his orders, it’s not happening. Fair warning.”
He let his words hang in the air as he took a step back and his eyes scanned the room, as if he was committing every face and movement to his memory. I let the weight of it all settle; I had stepped from one world into the powers of another.
But I brushed it off as I walked through the room like I owned it. Hollow could tell me whatever he wanted, but I was an adult, and this was the perfect moment to make connections in my career.
I sat in the front row at the panel, took notes from the keynote speakers, and completely threw myself into the whole experience. I was at a hurricane simulation when Russell made his way back over to me, and we had another conversation. We were about five minutes into it when he revealed his real motives.
“I think you’re so gorgeous. I was speaking to my colleague, and she said you mentioned being from Bolivia.”
“I am,” I said, smiling politely.
“Maybe I can take you out sometime and show you around.” His hand went to my waist, and he took a step closer to me. It caught me completely off guard.
Before I could react, I saw a flash of steel on his shoulder. It tapped him twice. “Watch your fucking hands,” the voice gritted.
I turned to meet the angry eyes of Judah. The news anchor quickly took his hand back, and in seconds, a small crowd of spectators had gathered.
“I didn’t-”
“Unless you want me to change the forecast in this bitch and make it rain, get fuck out of my face.” His tone caused me to snap my head. He didn’t have to tell Russell twice.
“Let’s go, Ivy,” he said. He spun on his heels and walked toward the door.
“I have two more hours-”
When I protested, he stopped in his tracks and looked at me without words. I stomped past him and out the entrance of the hotel. Hollow sat in the driver’s seat quietly.
“You know that’s rude and made me look extremely unprofessional,” I snapped as I flopped into the seat and slammed the door.
“Stop letting niggas touch what’s mine before I show you unprofessional, Ma.” He warned.
I pouted, arms crossed across my chest as I looked out the window.
“Fix your face,” He scoffed as he turned me to him and kissed my nose and then scrolled on his phone like nothing had happened. Heat crept up my spine.
