“Finish your sentence, Aldrick,” I said, ignoring Antoine.
His brows furrowed as he eyed me. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
“Naw, but I know you.” I looked him up and down. “You’re the worst kind of dude, bruh, all of you,” I pointed around the room. “Standing in here listening to him tear down his wife—the woman who bore his child, and ready his mouth to disrespect both of them, then all you run to his defense and try to make excuses for him to make him sleep better at night. The shit is despicable.”
“That’s him, Al,” I heard Zach mumble.
“Him? From the other night?”
“Him from birth,” I corrected. “What’s wrong with you, man?” I frowned. “It’s not enough that you tossed your family out like they were disposable, you have to sit in here with your little fan club and trash their names too?”
“I wasn’t?—”
“You were,” I cut him off. “You vowed to love and protect them, but since the moment I learned of your very existence, I’ve been questioning it. You had a beautiful family, and you threw it all away. And for what? Bragging rights?”
“Peace.”
I scoffed. “Negro, please. If that’s what you were searching for, you would have held onto those two a little tighter. I’ve only known them for a few weeks, and they’ve brightened my worldin ways that I didn’t even think was possible, but when you have something as dark as you have consuming you, you wouldn’t know what to do with it, which is why you fumbled it. I got them now. The little shit that she’s asking for in the divorce is child’s play to me, but they deserve that and then some.”
“I just?—”
“I’m done listening to you talk and all of you are done here,” I cut him off. “Pack up and get up out of here.”
“Wait, you’re firing us?” Antoine asked.
“Over his personal issues?” Someone else added.
“No, I’m firing you because you don’t meet the standards to work on this university campus,” I corrected. “This school was built on integrity, professionalism, and respect. We’re educating future leaders here. People who are expected to exercise discipline—on and off the clock. Men who can’t separate bitterness from work and degrade their wife and special needs child in casual conversation… isn’t a personal issue. It’s a character issue. And I won’t have people like that or one’s that instigate it representing me or this university, so yes, Antoine,” I turned his way. “I’m firing you.”
“Man this is crazy,” he mumbled.
I was done talking, so I prepared to leave, but I got a thought, so I turned back toward them, focusing my gaze on Zach specifically.
“Everything had better look the way it did before you came, minus what you started on today, or I’m going to show you howsoftI am.”
I was done talking and positive that I’d gotten my point across, so I turned leave for real this time. I opted to drive home in silence because there was a lot on my mind. I kept asking myself how I would handle it when I saw Aldrick, and I was regretting how I did because what he needed was his ass whipped. I just didn’t want to overstep and possibly ruin thingsfor them, or hell, myself. At the end of the day, I was at work when it all transpired, and I didn’t want to risk my livelihood on someone like Aldrick. He wasn’t worth it.
But they were.
I would easily give Leila and Ava the world without a second thought. It had nothing to do with the condition in which I found them or what she was going through, it was simply the looks in both of their eyes that had me on my knees and at their beck and call. I wanted what was best for them, and I was sure that in that moment whipping her husband’s ass wasn’t that.
“Hey, Ki,” my mother spoke when I entered through the kitchen.
“What’s up, Ma.” I paused briefly to kiss the top of her head then waved to everyone else before making my way toward the steps.
I made it to my room, preparing to take a shower, when I heard a knock at my door. I looked in the direction, debating whether or not I should ignore it due to my mood being off, but decided that no one there had done anything to warrant it, so I answered.
“Yeah?”
Instead of responding right away, it slowly crept open, and Leila peeked her beautiful face inside.
“Hey, is it okay if I come in?” I nodded and waved to her. “Ava was calling your name when you were on the way out of the kitchen.”
“Damn,” I dropped my head, immediately feeling bad. “I didn’t hear her. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine, but what about you? Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I’m good, love.”
