Part One
Thanksgiving
THOSE WHO CAN
TIANA
“THANK YOU FOR everything you’ve done today, baby.”
Parker leaned over and gave me a kiss on the lips while squeezing my hand. This man refused to let me be too far away from him while I was in the suite despite him having family and business associates here. He rarely paid them any mind unlesshewanted their attention. Which honestly was rare.
Normally, his eyes were focused on the game like he was a fan. Because in truth he was. The first time we’d watched a game together was on Thanksgiving and he seemed enthralled with how much I knew about the team, the players and the sport. Parker had confessed that many people who came to use his suite didn’t really give a damn about the game unless they were trying to get something from him in relation to the team: a chance to have their name somewhere as a sponsor, become a vendor or anything else to get a piece of his success. He’d quietly confessed that it was the reason he usually ignored all of them, including his family and why the cameras often caught him with a scowl on his face.
But that hadn’t happened since then.
Gossip rags couldn’t help but wonder what kind ofvoodooI’d used to get this man to smile. Nobody could deduce that he was just a regular man who wanted to relax and enjoy a game without everything being business. We ate, laughed, drank and cheered just like everyone else. Because at the end, we were people and not the infallible entities folks liked to believe rich people were.
He was rich, wealthy even. And I liked to joke I was too, by proxy. He never laughed at that.
Parker had the largest and most luxurious suite in the stadium, which was centered with the fifty-yard line and spanned out almost to the forty on both sides. The owner’s suite had the largest capacity in the stadium seating over fifty guests and he had a lottery system set up for players who didn’t have accommodations on game day to let their families enjoy the game with him. In addition, the executive staff for the team had an adjoining suite that could access the amenities of this one. He wanted his people to have a great experience without feeling like they were at work even though they technically were.
What I thought was going to be a onetime fun-time thing had blossomed into a magical relationship. A story befitting my name according to my sister-cousin. The more I found out about Parker, the more I loved him. Not because of what he had but because of who and how he was. Beneath all the things that society deemed valuable about him: his wealth, his holdings, his connections and his place in society, none of it mattered to me. Even though it was clear he was feeling me, if I had found out that he was a piece of shit my ass wouldn’t be by his side. Money could do a lot but it couldn’t erase the taint ofain’t shit,as Rye’s grandma loved to say. And one thing I wouldn’t do was stick with an ain’t shit man no matter how much money he had. Call me crazy if you want but my ancestors suffered being bought and sold and I refused to taint their memory by putting a price tag on myself like my morals were up for sale. I was thankful that they’d seen fit to bless me with someone who was stand up, even though he didn’t look quite like I expected.
He is the white-girl version of tall, dark and handsome.This is why you gotta always be specific when you pray.
I could only smile as I stared at him, his blue eyes filled with appreciation and the hint of awe like he still couldn’t believe I was real.
“You’re welcome, love. I didn’t do nearly as much as you’re trying to give me credit for.”
Parker employed many people but his life had been devoid of meaningful interactions with them for most of his life. Even his friends like Sampson and Stew started out as regular but were multi-millionaires. Hell, Sampson was Black Dallas royalty in his own right with a legacy that stretched back almost as far back as Parker’s. Being surrounded by people who were just as snotty as his family for so long, he was struck by the simplest things that occurred between us. Like my being willing to help him with his philanthropic endeavors without wanting to have my name attached or looking for a handout afterward. The first time I’d done it was the toy drive he needed help organizing the Christmas after we met. He’d gotten behind schedule and was venting his frustration about it because, unlike most people he tried to be as heavily involved with selecting the gifts himself. He’d shared his shortcomings because he was going to cancel on a date he’d made with me and instead I told him I was going to help. We’d shopped and ordered gifts for three hundred kids and then my parents, Ray, the boys, my aunt and uncle and an army of volunteers from the team and the front office got busy wrapping and organizing them. Parker couldn’t wrap for shit but I wasn’t going to take away his desire to be in the trenches with his people actively doing the work. The players and coaches had even taken shifts to come in and wrap something in between meetings. It pissed me off when his brother and father came over to oversee what was going on like they were the ones responsible and it was the first of many times that I’d had to cool his temper with them. But it showed me a part of his heart that I knew few people got to see.
And damn if he didn’t have me hooked on him after that.
“You organized the catering with Sampson, ensured the stadium staff got it picked up yesterday so his people didn’t have to work today and you also spearheaded the food drive. It’s always so funny when you say that you wouldn’t fit into my life because from where I’m sitting you’re making this philanthropy thing look easy.” He had ticked off my accomplishments with a smile on his face and I knew it was because he was proud of me.
I tried not to feel good about his words because that wasn’t the point of giving. But he had a way of making me feel like I’d figured out a way to end world hunger with how he spoke over my life.
“P, I keep telling you to keep it cute because there’s always a camera on us. You don’t want them to catch me mouthing that,” I covered my hand with my mouth as I leaned closer to him, “I’mma slide your dick down my throat before the end of the night if you keep talking to me nice like that.”
I eyed him not bothering to disguise the lust I was feeling as I watched him react to my words. The tips of his ears reddened and I grinned harder as he shifted in his seat. When he had to manspread slightly I knew it was so he could alleviate the pressure on his dick and I only smiled harder.
“You love to tease me like I won’t kick everyone out, tint the windows of this suite and fuck you right here with everyone none the wiser.” His eyes were on the field but the smirk on his face let me know he was thinking of doing exactly that.
I glanced around to ensure nobody heard him say what he had but he looked unbothered at the idea of someone hearing him plotting on taking me down.
“Parker!”
“Mmmhmm, just like that but a little more breathless. Shouldn’t have started what you can’t finish, Princess, because you know I’ll do that shit in a heartbeat.” And since I knewhow voracious this man could be I didn’t doubt his words for a second. The people in the suite were thankfully all in their own worlds. The players whose families were selected to be here with us today had huddled up after getting their food and drinks. I knew they were slightly intimidated being up here with Parker so he never tried to intrude on their experience. My parents were with my aunt and uncle at Ray and Stew’s house with the boys so our little section right up front wasn’t as full as usual.
“The last thing we need is more think pieces on how I corrupted you.” I quirked my brow watching how his dipped with the irritation that always accompanied talking about how I was portrayed in the media. It was funny watching how pissed he would get like he didn’t think the entire world would stand on its head when he, the most eligible bachelor on the continent, decided to date a Black woman. That was one of the first questions my father had asked him upon meeting him, a move that I thought happened crazy fast, because he refused to allow me around any man that wasn’t willing to protect me. Parker assured my father that he wouldn’t allow me to know a day of stress behind choosing to be with me and he’d lived up to his promise thus far.
“You freed me. From the shackles of their fake moral superiority, all because their asses got paid dust while I’d lay the world at your feet.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it again before allowing it to rest in his lap. It was possessive but it was also intentional because my hand was now resting on his ever-growing dick. Not one to be outdone, I let my thumb caress the increasingly visible outline of my bestie. He shifted again but didn’t think to tell me to stop just like I knew he wouldn’t. I’d worried that his sexual appetite was akin to having a fetish. When I talked to Ray about it she cussed me out six ways to Sunday saying I was looking for a reason to run from somethingreal. She wasn’t wrong but that shit pissed me off to hear from someone else. Being open wasn’t comfortable to me but that’s how he had me. Open. Vulnerable and I was looking for any reason for him not to be as good as he was. And of course he had yet to give me a reason to run from him.
“You’re playing with fire, Princess. You act like you don’t remember what happened this morning.”
Now I was the one shifting and crossing my legs in the custom Patricia Warren dress that I’d had designed for today. Parker was someone who had money but he didn’t do stupid money things. When he spent it though, he didn’t pussyfoot around. I’d been introduced to Patricia Warren through Billy Briggs who was an agent and wife of one of the team captains. Mrs. Warren let me know she would be happy to design outfits for me but if I weren’t melanin rich then she wouldn’t have bothered to extend the offer. Which I completely understood. Parker was an acquaintance of her son and her nephew but she reserved exclusives for people she liked. Since Billy vouched for me she was open to making something for me. Parker had purchased her entire line this year for me since we had a bunch of appearances to make together along with the jewelry that her daughter-in-law designed to complement it. That man didn’t blow a bag on those clothes, he blew an entire bank and didn’t bat an eye at the expense.
