“Yeah, okay.” I scoffed. “Hell would freeze before that happened.” I lifted my shirt and wiped the sweat off my brow. Deke took one more shot and landed it. I collected the ball and returned it to the cart while he and EJ gathered their things.
“Whoa ... hold on. This can’t be real.” EJ stood from his chair just as I dug into my gym bag for my phone. I had two missed calls from Octavia and three text messages.
“Big J, you might want to stay away from the internet today.” EJ’s voice, for once, was serious. So serious I had to look at him to make sure he was okay.
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Deke’s brows dipped as he looked from me to EJ. Then he stepped up to EJ’s side, and EJ turned the screen of his phone toward him.
Deke read whatever was on it, and his eyes widened. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” EJ muttered. “Shit.”
Deke made his way toward me. “EJ’s right. Ignore your phone and go straight home, man.”
“Why? What are you not telling me?”
“Bobbledropped an article. And the context of it will piss you off. Trust me. You don’t want to read it.”
“What does it say?” I asked through gritted teeth, though I had an idea. I just did not want to consider it.
Deke hesitated as EJ approached us.
“Deke?” I demanded.
He sighed. “It’s about your custody battle. And it doesn’t seem to be siding with you.”
“Let me see it.”
EJ hesitated but handed me his phone. I saw my picture and read the header, but when I saw Rafael’s face, I clenched my left hand so tight my nails bit at my palm.
I handed EJ his phone back, then snatched up my gym bag. “I need to go.”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Deke said. “Hit me up if you need me, man.”
I threw the strap of the bag over my shoulder and hauled ass out of the gym. I did not stop until I reached my car, but when I left the parking garage and noticed the people standing outside of it with cameras, my throat filled with heat.
Hot, irritable heat.
I could hear them shouting my name, asking questions, yelling Aleesa’s name. Security was keeping them on the crosswalk so I could safely exit, but that didn’t stop them from snapping photos with their annoying cameras or hollering louder.
I did not stop driving until I made it to the freeway. When I did, I gave Octavia a call.
“Finally,” she answered with a heavy breath. “Are you okay?”
“I am fine. I may not return to Element for a while, but I am fine. Where are you?”
“I’m at the house. Aleesa just went down for a nap.”
“Did anyone bother you today?” I asked, gripping the steering wheel tighter. The sheer thought of someone harassing her and my daughter pissed me off. The paparazzi were hounds. I knew they would do anything for a good picture. I saw it often with Deke, and one thing I knew for certain was that I did not want that kind of attention from the media. That was why I stayed away from it if I could. I did not even bother with social media, because people loved to take any little thing out of context.
“No,” Octavia answered, much to my relief. “No one bothered us. I saw the news and came straight home.”
“Good,” I breathed. “I do not understand how this is happening. This was supposed to be a private matter.”
“Oh, I knowexactlyhow this happened,” Octavia grumbled. “Rafael looks shady. He’s probably telling the whole world about it. Doesn’t help that he’s some well-known Georgia clothing designer. With your name tied to his, he’s probably trying to garner publicity.”
“Of course he would fucking leak this,” I growled. “I will fucking kill him.”
