“Sounds like a plan, baby. That’s why I married you. That brain of yours and that heart is incomparable,” Giorgio replied before he kissed his wife.
“I thought you told me you married her because—ouch!” I grumbled when my big brother shot an elbow to my ribs. He was only one year older than me, but I loved playing the little brother who aggravated him to his big brother who bullied me.
Nicole shook her head, laughed, and stated, “You two are a mess.”
“I can help market and promote the projects. Get a jump on it before the build even happens so that we can build excitement,” Corinna suggested.
“That’s exactly what I wanted you to do, Cori. I was going to get Shaniece to help with that. She could draft a media announcement and send to the media outlets when it’s time.”
“Okay, that’s cool. I’ll get with her on that,” Corinna stated.
“Pax, I was thinking you could look over any legal ramifications or obligations we will have and draft contractors’ contracts and handle all the legal aspects of the project, or send us suggestions for people we can work with, if you don’t have the time.”
“Man, I’m all in this game. You’re not about to kick me out now. I’ve been waiting for my time to jump on the court and handle the ball,” Paxton declared.
I glanced at him. “Nigga, what?”
Everyone started laughing, and my mother walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Dropping a kisson his forehead, she warned, “Y’all better leave my adopted child alone.”
She always treated my best friend like he was one of us ever since I met him in middle school. I loved that, even though he came from a large, close-knit family of his own.
“Jason, I was thinking you could hook me up with the right construction firm and pull together a crew to do the job. They wouldn’t be volunteers. Obviously, this would be paid work,” I explained to my brother-in-law.
“I’ve got the right crew in mind,” Jason agreed.
“Thanks.”
“So what do you need from us? Money?” my papà asked.
“I actually wanted you to see if you could get some donors who were interested in giving back to the community. I could do it all on my own, but I would rather have local buy-in so everyone feels connected. Mama, if you could research any grants that might be out there to help with funding things like computers and technology and software, that would be great.”
“I’m on it, baby,” Mama stated, moving away from Paxton and taking her seat beside Papà again.
Titan bobbed his head up again and moved to where my parents were and sat on both their feet. Mama cooed and clucked her tongue at him as she lavishly loved on him.
Everyone else talked about the project and how exciting it would be. I was glad that everyone wanted to be part of this and that they were excited about it too. Everyone had full-time jobs except for Paxton’s wife, Elonica. She was a stay-at-home mom with their baby daughter, Sophie, who had just turned one.
“What about me?” Elonica finally piped up.
“If you truly want in on this and have the time, I was thinking that you might interview staff and volunteers to run the project. I know you had an excellent career in HR for the time you didbefore having Sophie, and you’re great with not only reading people but managing them as well.”
“That comes from her psychology degree,” Paxton confirmed.
She smiled. “I would love to do that, Ash.”
“All right. Looks like we’ve got an entire plan in place.”
“What about Muffin?” Corinna asked.
“What about her?” I asked, looking back at my little sister.
“Is she not playing a part in this?” Mama asked.
All eyes were on me. I thought about the pictures that had been sent to Chanel and the risks that Muffin was now taking. I thought about my fight with Alex and going to jail to “cool off,” thankful that I hadn’t been arrested and that bullshit wasn’t going on my record. My pops prided himself about his kids never having a record. I didn’t want to be the one who messed it up. I needed to let them know what was going on; it was only fair. After all, they were my family, and I damn sure didn’t want them to find out some other way.
I rubbed my hands together and pulled my fingers through my beard. “I’ve got some news.”
“Oh Lord,” I heard Mama mutter.
