“Of you leaving. Of people coming and going.” Omni’s voice softened. “She told me she doesn’t need anybody popping in and out of her life. Your lifestyle, the travel, the schedule, the chaos, it makes her nervous.”
I sat with that. She wasn’t wrong to be nervous. The lifestyle was chaotic. I was gone more than I was home. Asking somebody to live with that, somebody who’d already been left by people who were supposed to stay, that was a lot. We didn’t even need to get into the groupies and opportunists trying to find a meal ticket. They’d never find one in me, but that was something I’d just have to show her.
“So what are you saying?” I asked, even though I knew.
“I’m saying if you’re serious about her, you need to be serious serious,” Omni said. “She’s ready to be a priority.” She held my gaze. “If you want her, you gotta show her you’re not going anywhere. Retiring might actually help your case.”
Stetson chimed in. “She’s right. You’re gonna have to prove you’re different.”
“That’s not going to be hard.”
I meant that. I wasn’t here to waste her time. Not here to play or see “what happens.” Something about her made me want to try, actually try. Show up. See where it could go. But I wasn’t delusional. I didn’t know if this was gonna work. Didn’t know if she’d even give me a real shot after how hard I’d come at her. I just knew I wanted to find out.
“Then show her,” Omni said. “Don’t just tell her. Show up. Be consistent. And for the love of God, when you tell her you’re retiring, make sure she knows it’s not because of her. Because if she thinks you gave up your career for her—”
“She won’t think that.” I cut in.
“Hmm.”
“I’m not retiring because of her,” I said. “I’m retiring because I’m ready. She’s my biggest fan in real life. She’d never think I walked away from my career for her, and if she did, I’d correct it. She knows I respect the game.”
“Okay, I’m shutting my mouth and hoping you got this under control,” she said.
“This is why I didn’t want to mention her to you in the first place,” I muttered. “You be in my business. I got this. I’m doing this to be present in multiple ways, and yeah, she’s part of that, but my decision is based on me. She’s just somebody who’ll benefit.”
Giveon cleared his throat. “So to be clear, you’re finishing this season, retiring in the spring, and going all in on the restaurant empire?”
“And the foundation,” I added. “I want to expand the youth program. I want to build more centers, start a camp, all around expansion.”
“Ambitious.”
“I didn’t come from nothing to play it safe,” I said. “I don’t do small dreams. We go big or go home.”
“Then let’s get to work,” Giveon said. “I’ll draft the statement for the bond hearing and start the retirement announcement framework.”
After the meeting, Omni and I walked to the elevator together. Stetson stayed behind to talk about the details of a merger he was working on. I needed to get upstairs and see what Ma had going on and why she’d been blowing my phone up.
“You really ready to walk away from playing basketball?” Omni asked as we waited.
“I’m ready to walk toward something else.” I hit the button for the tenth floor. “I gave the league twelve years. I gave it everything. Now I want to give my energy to something I can control. Something I’m building, not something that’s building me.”
“That’s deep.”
“That’s real. And yeah, Halo’s part of why I’m thinking about it now. I can’t see where this goes if I’m gone half the year. Can’t ask her to trust me if I’m never around.”
Omni smiled. “You like her.”
“Yeah,” I admitted as we stepped on the elevator. “I do.”
I liked how she challenged me and didn't let me slide. How she looked at me like I was just a man, not a brand, not a headline. My ego was big, but I was still a regular nigga at the end of the day. I still ate Froot Loops and PB&J. I just had money and motion. I liked that being around her made me think about what came next instead of just surviving what was now. Whether that turned into something more was up to her. I was leaving the ball in her court.
“I do too. Don’t fuck it up,” Omni said simply.
“I won’t. You know what’s up with Ma?”
“She’s been blowing me up too. Go find out. I gotta go deal with this Jean situation. I’ll tell you about that another time.”
We hugged as the doors opened on the tenth floor, Bryns Incorporated. I headed down the right wing and found my mom in her office, standing over a table covered in centerpieces.
