“You don’t have to do shit, but what youshould dois be my partner and play your role, Kennedy. Nothing more or less.”
“Over fucking stood, Relic.”
Heat swarmed Kennedy’s chest and then migrated its way to her throat. When it flushed across her stoned face, she blinked and steadied her breathing. She willed herself not to overreact about Relic making it as if her seeing them as just partners was asinine, but then singing another tune when it benefitted him. Relic’s stance on where they stood flip-flopped more than cheap sandals, and she was over it. Kennedy took a moment and reminded herself that their situation was transactional, and she was in it for a payout at the end of the day.
“Are we about to turn this into an argument?”
The mere temerity of Relic’s question pulled a laugh out of her before she leered at him.
“Nope. Between you telling me to play my role, and how you don’t fake shit and never will, there’s nothing for me to argue about or question. From here on out, if it isn’t about money, you can miss me with it. What are we doing after we shop?”
Relic frowned at Kennedy pulling one of his numbers on him—throwing his words in his face where they didn’t apply before changing the subject. Her reverse psychology tactic left himdebating whether to circle back to it or leave it alone. He chose the one that wouldn’t end with his head getting chewed off.
“Later tonight, we’ll have dinner with my family. You can find a few excursions you’d like to do, so I can sign up and pay for it. Make sure snorkeling is one.”
“I can’t swim.”
“I can. This trip isn’t all about you. Don’t pick any for tomorrow because I have errands to run in the morning.”
“Like?” she inquired before taking another sip of her champagne. Relic gritted his molars but answered since he was already on her bad side.
“Don’t ask anymore fucking questions tonight. I have to go to the bank and then check out a property.”
“The bank? For what, when those currency exchange machines are everywhere? It’s probably one at our resort. Let me find out you have an offshore account on the low.” She whispered the last part but perked up when he gave a blank expression in return “You have a fucking offshore account, Relic?!”
“Lower your voice, Kennedy.”
“Sorry, but... wow. So, you’re here to look at property to purchase?”
“I said to check out a property, not buy one. I already own a house here. It’s being used for vacation rentals as of now, but I want to put eyes on it since I haven’t in the two years that I’ve owned it.”
“And your family knows nothing about it, do they?”
“They don’t, but I’ll let Shabu know tomorrow when I take him with me. You and your homegirls have a spa day planned to keep y’all occupied.”
“I’d rather go with you,partner.”
“Why? So, you can recalculate how much to squeeze out of me for our most recent arrangement?”
“That’s exactly why.”
Kennedy shot him a teasing grin while the cogs in her head spun double their usual pace. The longer she sat and thought about the details Relic gave her, it dawned on her that he must’ve divulged his assets because he wanted her to know.
Relic was ensuring he gave hermillionsof reasons to stick it out instead of reneging, and she couldn’t deny that it’d reignited her will to do so after their discussion about Aura had caused it to dwindle. If a month of her time was worth a chunk of his change to him, then she wasn’t about to turn down easy money falling in her lap. Kennedy had done dumber shit for less. At the very least, she could say that Relic knew her worth and wasn’t shy about coughing it up.
Relic twiddled with his wristwatch,observing its dial as the metal hands ticked by while his stomach hollowed with each passing second. The closer he neared his arrest, the more it struck him that he should’ve done more with his life. It had only revolved around his main objectives to where the sole things of value in his world, outside of his brothers and son, were his materialistic items. The irony of none of it meaning shit didn’t go over his head as he rode in a decked-out limo beside a woman who wouldn’t want a thing to do with him if those exact monetary possessions weren’t within his means.
His eyes drifted to where Kennedy sat, angled toward the door while she flicked selfies of herself. She’d ensured he wasn’t in a single one because he’d told her not to post him, and she’d taken it to heart. He huffed a chiding scoff, making her eyes flit at him before she proceeded to do her own thing. Relic wishedhe hadn’t informed her about her phone because she hadn’t gotten off it since they’d arrived at their beach house where he’d instructed Shabu to drop it off. A carryon bag of her personal items he figured she’d need, which Savvy had packed for him, was dropped off there as well.
“The Tima thing was smart,” she said out of the blue, locking her phone before she put it in her clutch as if she’d finally caught on to his annoyance. “I watched Savvy and Treasure’s stories. Tima has the same hairstyle, she’s close to my complexion, and she wore a hoodie with shades to cover her face in the videos at the airport. She’s supposed to be me, right?”
“Yes, as an extra precaution. You were never with me but with them on a flight.”
Kennedy nodded, appreciating the lengths he’d gone to make certain she was in the clear—to ensure she had an alibi so that her tracks were covered.
“What about your alibi?”
“What about it?” he retorted before tipping his head toward the window, so she could see they’d arrived at the restaurant. “We’re here.”
