Lauren smiled. “Good girl,” she said. “You eat that, and you’ll start to feel better. It’ll put some strength back in your legs. I made enough for you to last a few days. I’m going to get out of here.”
“Why couldn’t we do this before?” Charlie asked.
Lauren paused. “I was at war with you over my family. You were a threat to me, Charlie…To my son’s sense of normalcy. You were my enemy.”
“And now?” Charlie asked.
Lauren’s eyes misted. “I don’t have anything left to fight for,” Lauren whispered.
Charlie’s eyes betrayed her, too. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Lo. I don’t have a mom. My sister isn’t a mom yet. My dad and I are estranged. I don’t have anybody. Right now, I don’t even have Demi. I know this is weird, but this baby is DJ’s blood. I admire you, Lauren. I think you’re so strong and smart, and that’s probably why I’m terrified that Demi is going to come back to you one day. You make me feel like I’m not nearly enough woman for him. God, and the type of mother you are! I would be okay with you being a part of this baby’s village, Lauren. No one can tell this baby about DJ like you. I mean, if you want to. I know it’s weird, and I know you kind of hate me, but if you want to be a part of our world, you’re welcome here.”
Lauren didn’t even try to stop her tears. She just stared at Charlie in amazement.
“You are probably the most endearing person I’ve ever met, Charlie. From the moment he met you, no one else stood a chance. I’ve been so hard on you, and you’re still here, welcoming me into your child’s life to ease the pain of me losing mine.”
“Not to ease the pain, Lo. To share it so we all can help you carry it. I just wanted to help you carry it, that’s all,” Charlie said.
Lauren nodded and wiped her eyes, clearing her throat as embarrassment flooded her.
“Thank you for showing me grace, Charlie. I’m going to head out. Eat that soup and put the rest up for later,” Lauren instructed.
Charlie nodded and walked Lauren to the door. It felt like they had made some progress, and Charlie was relieved. Being in battle with another woman was never good for the spirit. As jealous as she had been of Lauren, oddly, she didn’t want Lauren out of their lives. Lauren felt like someone Charlie would need or could learn from. That was the beauty of feminine connection; in belonging to a community of women. It came with empowerment when the world made you feel weak. She couldn’t put her finger on how or why Lauren held significance in her life, but her intuition was telling her that Lauren had the potential to be more friend than foe.
“He wants me to do what?” Stassi asked in disbelief.
“Mr. Night would like to contract your services for a company brunch. If you check your email, we’ve sent over a very generous offer. As we know, this is a last-minute engagement. A rush fee has been added to the offer. We just need you to fill out a new W-9 and NDA.”
Stassi hadn’t even gotten into her house well before she had been hit with this unexpected phone call. He just knew how and when to burst her bubble. Whenever her thoughts drifted to another man, here came Day as if he had a radar on her vagina and could tell when someone else was sniffing dangerously close. She was still frazzled and discombobulatedfrom her rendezvous with Grayson, and here Day’s ass was, by way of his damn assistant, trying to throw her a curve ball.
“I don’t sign NDAs. Day knows that. I’ll look at the email today and let you guys know,” she replied. Stassi hung up the phone and shimmied out of her clothes. She felt like a dirty-ass ho. She had let Grayson slut her out in the firehouse, and she was semi-ashamed but wildly intrigued. He was a good boy with a touch ofbad, and something about that combination seemed thrilling yet safe. He was different than any man she had ever dated. His level of non-toxic, was perfect. A quick shower reset her day before she threw on a lounge set and gathered herself in front of her laptop.
She opened the computer and found the email from Dynasty. The offer was so lucrative that her heart raced when she saw it.
“This motherfucker here,” she scoffed. Day was a man of means. His paper was long, and he was used to the power that came with being the richest man in the room. He yielded that bank account like a sword to win all his battles. She knew he would never offer this money to any other event company. He wouldn’t even come close. He was trying to buy her, and his audacity to think she would be that easy was infuriating. She picked up her phone and dialed his number.
“You got that attitude together?” Day asked as soon as he answered.
“I’ma pass on the job,” she said, cutting straight to business. The words tasted like shit. Day was playing with M’s like children played with toys. He had the capability to change her entire life, and Stassi knew the opportunities he was extending would put her right back in business, but she didn’t like the power dynamics he was establishing between them.
“Ayo, hold up, bruh, let me take this,” Day said, speaking to someone in the background.
Bet you wasn’t expecting that, were you?She thought snidely.
“Anastassia, you trying me,” Day warned.
“You’ve been buying me since day one. You buy everybody around you. It’s how you influence the room. Are you offering me this job because I’m good or because you want to win?”
“I been winning, baby. I ain’t concerned with shit like that,” Day responded. “Lauren isn’t an option for obvious reasons.Your work is credible. You’regood at what you do, but I can find somebody else if you ain’t feeling it,” he stated. “Say less.”
“So, this has nothing to do with you trying to make me get over the bullshit you pulled?” she asked.
His pause told her everything she needed to know. “You can’t buy forgiveness,” Stassi said. “You have to earn it.”
“And I intend to, but I also intend on handling this business. I’m able to separate the two,” Day said.
“Good, because I’m honestly only interested in business. I’m dating, and I just want to be clear that I don’t intend to stop seeing other people. When I was on that, you were off it, so it’s just better if we just stick to business.”
Stassi wanted him to protest. She wanted him to be jealous and to object, to claim her for himself. She wanted big energy from him. She wanted confirmation that she wasn’t crazy for having butterflies in her stomach every time she heard his voice.
