Page 169 of Treason's Temptation
Sloane rolled her eyes, gathered her purse, and strutted toward the door. “Come on, Vie. Let’s go shopping.”
My hand skimmed her hips, then kissed the tip of her nose. When the door shut behind her, I rose to my feet, facing Jaleb.
“I need a million dollars.”
“Excuse me?” Jaleb half chuckled, as if I told a joke.
“You’re so eager to hand out money. Get on the phone and make that shit happen.”
“Treason, we’ve talked about this! I was trying to protect you.”
“And you failed to mention you offered Blue a blank fuckin’ check. This shit was never about me. It was about keeping your secret affair asecret, which you’re doing a piss poor fuckin’ job of by the way.”
“What do you want me to say? I was wrong about her. Is that what you wanna hear?”
“I wanna hear you on the phone with your accountant to set up that transfer. We have a lot of ground to make up for, and that costs money,” I sighed, taking a seat at my desk since Blue no longer occupied it.
“You’re really going to do me like that?” Jaleb asked, fist pounding his chest, while Fallon looked like she wanted to interject.
“Now we’re above certain shit?”
Jaleb slammed his palms on my desk, pain flickering in his eyes. Had he come to me man to man, we could’ve figured it out together. Jaleb chose to go behind my back, and he had to pay for that.
“Fallon, give us the room,” he ordered.
“I’ll check in later, but you two need to sort your issues before the Health Equity Summit. Both of you need this, so figure your shit out.”
Fallon gathered her bag and fled my office.
“Like it or not, we’re family, Tre. So what’s the real problem?” Jaleb asked.
“I can’t trust you, and I don’t need another motherfucka’ around me I can’t trust.”
“Do you really believe you can trust her?”
“Blue never claimed to be anything she’s not. Running around with Sloane like you don’t have a fuckin’ wife at home. If you can snake her out, what the fuck makes me any different? It’s you who let pussy come before family. Not me.”
I could feel the sourness in the pit of Jaleb’s stomach that forced him across the room, plopping on the seat. Blue was special, but even she didn’t have the magic Sloane did. He was visibly disappointed in himself, losing the bitter battle.
“Yes, I wanted to protect my image because it affects you, too. I want to see you win because you fuckin’ deserve it. You’veworked your ass off for this shit. I fucked up, Tre, but I do love you.”
“Stillfuckin’ up,” I corrected, because it wasn’t just one mistake that shook our relationship.
“I’m man enough to own my mistake. Because I do love you, I’ll put a million dollars in a trust for the baby. That’s the best I can do.”
Jaleb’s deception hurt more than Winston’s ever could, but as a man, I wasn’t perfect, and neither was he. Unlike my own father, he was trying, so I met him halfway.
“Danielle can do the project, but I want her under the strictest NDA.” Jaleb nodded as I leaned back in the chair, “And since I’m not a hypocrite, Sloane didn’t leave you on purpose. Your parents paid her to end it because they couldn’t have you throw away everything for Sloane.”
Jaleb’s pinched lips stared at me, hoping I was joking. Blue was torn with Sloane’s resurgence, but I didn’t give a fuck if she was mad at me. Jaleb needed to know the truth, and I didn’t mind being the messenger.
Finally, he pressed a hand over his face, heading for the door without another word. I checked my phone and there were no messages from Blue, so I finished work before Ward picked me up to go to the convention center.
“We still on for the fight tonight?” he asked, after I shut myself in the car.
“Yeah. Blue will be busy with Rayven.”
“June asked to slide through.”
