Page 50 of Play Hard
“Ms. Ward would like to thank the league for their professional and expeditious handling of this investigation. There was never any doubt that she would be cleared of anywrongdoing and she’s excited to get back to work. Especially with the signing of two new clients: Ellis Colby and Prosper Young.”
Zoya’s smile had been dazzling as camera flashes clicked incessantly and reporters yelled questions her way. She didn’t answer any of them, only stepped away from the podium to allow Adrian’s publicist his moment to speak.
Directly across from where Noah and I were, Adrian stood with his hands thrust in the front pocket of his black slacks. He wore sunglasses, his face void of any of the bruises from the beating Noah had given him a couple of weeks prior. If I had to guess, I’d say he still had a scar over his left eye though. I’d overheard Del telling Noah that Adrian had to get five stitches for a gash Noah caused. Beside Adrian, wearing a form-fitting beige maxi-dress that punctuated her baby bump, was Lindsey.
“We have appealed the league’s suspension and imposed fines, and Mr. Bowman is confident his innocence will prevail. In the meantime, he is focused on building a future with his new family and taking some time from the spotlight.” Adrian’s publicist received even more questions, to which he attempted to answer.
At that point, Zoya declared us finished and we left. That was the last time I’d seen Adrian and the mother of his child. Until today, when I opened the app to see the debut of Prosper’s first sneak peek photo shoot. I returned to work on July 5thand signed Ellis and Prosper on the 7th. Two weeks later, I closed a multi-million-dollar deal with CK Davis Designs. Prosper was the ambassador for their new men’s line that would be premiering at Paris Fashion Week. After putting all his focus into racing, Prosper was nervous about modeling but he looked like a natural and was fine as hell in a herringbone three-piece suit.
Of course, the gossip blog had tagged me in their post about the gender reveal, so it popped up on my timeline seconds after I scrolled away from Prosper’s post. Now, though, I exited out of that app and dropped my phone onto my desk. Protecting my peace had become a daily task, but one I was attempting to master.
Ready to re-focus on more important matters, I tapped the bar on my keyboard to bring the dual computer screens on my desk to life. I pulled up my inbox and was just about to tackle the emails that had come in after I left the office last night, when my office door opened.
When I looked up to see who was rude enough to just walk in without knocking, I wasn’t surprised. I mean, I was surprised to see him, but not at his audacity. Peron Ward did what he wanted, when he wanted, and something as simple as a door wasn’t going to stop him.
“Daddy,” I said before chastising myself. I wasn’t a child, but the combination of shock and cautiousness made me not only sound young, but weak.
“He wouldn’t let me buzz you,” Shonel, my assistant, said before my father turned and closed the door in her face.
Clearing my throat, I sat up straighter and squared my shoulders. “You don’t have to be rude.”
He didn’t respond to my remark, just turned from the door then crossed the short space to the guest chairs on the other side of my desk.
“It’s one thing not to listen to me.” He took a seat. “It’s quite another to think you’ll ever be grown enough to tell me what to do.”
I knew better than to address any parts of that statement. “What are you doing here?” My father loved to travel, had always said seeing the world was as educational as it was relaxing. But that only applied to him, since growing up my trips had beenlimited to Providence in the summer, Pennsylvania for college, and Disney World twice when my mother was alive.
He narrowed his gaze, his graying eyebrows bunching as he scowled. “You have plenty of questions, but no answers. When Sawyer told me you stopped answering his calls and texts, I knew it was time to get this shit straight.”
By ‘this shit’ I assumed he meant me, and I bristled. “Like I told Sawyer the last time we spoke, when he decides to speak to me like I’m his adult sister that he loves and cares for, then I’ll take his calls and speak to him in the same manner.”
The call I referenced had come the day after the press conference. Sawyer wasn’t happy to see Noah standing beside me in the video stream. He’d done everything but come right out and call me stupid for leaving Adrian to be with Noah. As always, there’d been no holds barred on the names he called Noah, and I was sick of that shit too. So, as much as I did love my older brother, I told him in no uncertain terms that I could easily never speak to him again if he didn’t start showing me some respect. It seemed like today would be the day I told my father the same thing.
“This has gone on long enough.” My father’s voice was booming and stern.
He was a big man. Six feet three inches tall, with shoulders like a linebacker. His black suit fit him perfectly, the cool gray tie mimicking the iciness of his continued glare.
“I want you home and in the office by Monday morning. Delta’s already hired a moving company to take care of everything in your condo. You’ll stay in the guest house for two months. That should be more than enough time to find yourself a home to purchase. Delta’s going to email you the realtor’s information, and you are to contact him as soon as you touch down in Boston.” He smoothed a hand over that undoubtedly expensive tie and continued, “Your office is waiting, and Saylorwill brief you on your caseload. Since you’ve been into contracts here, you should be able to dive right into the ongoing corporate cases we have. We’ll need a reception to formally introduce you into the firm and the community. That’s Delta’s area of expertise as well. You’ll require a new wardrobe, I’m sure.”
I almost glanced down at the sage green slacks I wore with a white blouse. My jacket was a sage and white checkered pattern that I’d hung on the back of my office door when I arrived this morning. But I kept my eyes focused on my father.
The man who was supposed to show me how a man should treat a woman, who was supposed to protect me, encourage me…hell, to love me. But what I saw was the studious attorney, one of the Black legal community’s elite and the person who’d disappointed me most in this world.
“Are you finished?” I asked when he finally paused.
“No.” His lips thinned beneath the neatly trimmed salt and pepper goatee he’d sported for longer than I could remember. “I am not finished. What you will leave here and never pick up again is this shitty attitude you’ve had since college. I don’t know who told you it was acceptable…well, I guess I do. If you tangle with street trash, you’re liable to get dirty.” He waved a hand, and the gold from the ridiculous pinky ring with the firm crest on it, caught my attention. What law firm even had a crest? It was beyond ostentatious to the point that it could be construed as obnoxious.
That’s exactly what this entire meeting was—obnoxious, intolerable and whichever other word that conveyed it was getting on my fuckin’ nerves.
“I wouldn’t know about tangling with street trash, Daddy. What I do know is that I am not leaving my job. I’m not returning to Boston and I’m never allowing you or your assistant whom you’ve been fucking for the last twenty years, and probably while Mama was still alive too, to pack up myhouse, look for a new one, or anything else the two of you have decided is best for me.” My heart hammered in my chest. I’d never spoken to my father in this tone before. Sure, I’d been adamant about going to law school here in New York instead of continuing with the plan he had for my education, but I was still giving in to him on a partial level. That’s the only reason he didn’t fly his ass down here then and drag me off to Penn Carey.
My father stood from the chair slowly, anger filling every crevice of him as evidenced by the rigidness of his body. His nostrils flared, hands fisting at his sides. I didn’t stand to meet his glare, was actually glued to my seat as my mind attempted to process what I could’ve done to make this man, my blood relative, hate me so much.
“You’re just like your mother.” The words dripped with haughty venom from his mouth, and I gasped. “She got those letters behind her name and became sassy and headstrong, too. I had to reel her back in, remind her who we were and what her duty was to this legacy. But I see I should’ve kept a tighter rein with her handling of you. And you’ve been down there with her people in that rundown old town. Thought I’d cleaned all the Ruthers’ blood out of Sandra before she up and died on me. But now here you go, showing those same disdainful and uncouth traits.”
I did rise then, just as slowly he had. Not because I was angry, but because I didn’t think I could trust myself not to hurl myself over this desk at him for the way he was talking about my mother. And yes, this was my father and the last thing I should be thinking is trying to attack him in any way, but I wasn’t about to stand here and let him continue to disrespect me and disparage my mother and her family as well.
“From what I recall, Mama always did exactly as you said. Even going so far as to be almost as mean and unyielding with me as you were. Now, I see why.” I shrugged. “But the past isthe past. I don’t live there anymore. I stand firmly in the present where I am a grown woman who can make her own decisions. Whether you like those decisions or not, is not my concern.”
