“Good afternoon and welcome to Book Binders. What’s the name on the reservation?”
“Jaivion Priest.”
“Oh yes, Mr. Priest is already waiting at your table. Follow me, I’ll take you back.”
Yanna followed the pretty white girl through the restaurant near the back, where the table was located. She groaned inwardly as she noticed the man sipping on a glass of red wine. He was a handsome man, only a few months over 50, with smooth reddish brown skin and a nicely maintained ceaser cut. His eyes brightened when he spotted her, standing to greet heras she approached. Yanna thanked the hostess for walking her to the table before stepping forward and accepting his embrace.
“There’s my beautiful girl.”
“Hey, Dad,” Yanna spoke as she broke away from their hug and took her seat. The waiter approached and placed a menu in front of Yanna.
“Welcome, I’m Halle, and I’ll be your waitress for today. Can I get you started with something to drink, an appetizer, or both?”
“I’ll have a French Martini, and I’m ready to order as well.” Yanna took a few moments to look through the menu before deciding what she wanted. “I want the sesame crusted yellowfin tuna, with a side of the lobster mac.”
Halle took down Yanna’s order before turning to Jaivion. “And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the large filet mignon with the jumbo baked potato.”
“Perfect, I’ll just take your menus, and I’ll be right back with your drink, ma’am.”
Yanna offered the waitress a closed smile, handing over her menu before she quickly walked away to retrieve their items. Jaivion leaned back in his chair, hands folded in front of him on the table as he took in his daughter, loving smile etched on a face that was a masculine version of Yanna’s.
“I’m glad you finally gave your old man a minute of your time. You’ve been canceling our date for months.”
It took every ounce of willpower Yanna possessed to keep from rolling her eyes. Her father was right; she had been canceling on him because their monthly dinner dates wasn’t something she ever looked forward to. When her father left her mother, he’d disappeared from her life for a few years as well. It wasn’t until he was about to get married, he called requesting that Yanna meet his then fiancée. After Yanna made it clear, she didn’t wish to have any type of relationship with the woman he’dleft her mother for, her father was semi-present, coming around for birthdays or holidays, mostly to shower her with gifts or money. Then when it was time for her to go to college, Jaivion paid her tuition in full and made sure she kept money in her pockets.
When Troi first purchased her townhouse and Yanna expressed she wanted to do the same, he footed the bill for a down payment. She allowed her father to pay her mortgage bill and deposit a monthly stipend of $10k into her bank account for nearly a year. After a really bad drunken incident with her mother, Yanna’s disdain for her father grew. She felt like taking his money was a betrayal to her mother, so she got a job at the club and vowed to never spend a dime of Jaivion’s money. She never checked the account, so she didn’t know how much money was in there, or if Jaivion had cleared it out or not. The only reason she still made it to their dinners every few months was because she still felt it was the least she could do after he practically purchased her townhouse.
“Yea, sorry about that. I’ve been busy lately. You know I’d been with Troi in LA a lot, and now I’m working at her fiancé’s record label. I’m also helping her with her pet food company.”
“How are you liking working at a record label? Finally getting a chance to put that business degree to use?”
Another roll of her eyes. Yanna hated when her father hinted at the fact that she’d practically gone to college for nothing. “If you want to call it that.” She agreed to appease him.
“And how is little Troi? Got a baby and about to get married. Damn, if Troyan could see his baby girl.”
“She’s great. Onyx makes her really happy, and although Kian is bad, he’s the most adorable kid I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s what’s up. Tell her, her Uncle Jai asked about her, yea?”
“Sure thing.”
“When am I going to meet that boyfriend of yours? He’s Troi’s fiancé’s brother, right?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“No? I was watching one of Troi’s interviews one time, and she mentioned you were involved with the brother.”
“She lied. At the time, she was trying to cover up her own relationship.”
“That’s too bad. I’d like a grandchild of my own sometime soon.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”
Their food arrived, and the two ate while having small talk. It was more like Jaivion trying to make conversation and Yanna giving him snippy responses. She’d never eaten so fast in her life. The longer she sat in front of her father, the more her irritation grew, and she just wanted to get out of there.
“So… how’s Janis?” Jaivion asked timidly. He knew that asking his daughter about his ex-wife was risky, but his conscious wouldn’t allow him to not at least check up on her.
