The sun rose slowlyand syrupy over the snow-scalloped rim of the Sierra Nevada, sending sheets of molten gold tumbling down into the cold, clear basin of Hope Falls. The last tattered bits of night were no match for the blaze of a high-mountain morning. In the hush before the day took its first real breath, the only sound was the crunch of studded tires rolling over frost-laced asphalt. His mood was as cheery as each holiday window display he passed as he drove down Main Street, the blinking menorah, the snowman with its lopsided carrot nose, and the hand-lettered “Ugly Sweater Contest” sign at Brewed Awakenings.
The past week had been the best of Niko’s life. He and Tiana had fallen into a routine. Every morning they woke up together, while she was in the shower getting ready, he made her breakfast and coffee. After driving her to the studio, he stopped by and had a coffee with Yaya, Arthur, and sometimes Pops, who was best friends with Arthur and spent a lot of time at the cottage since it was right next door. He then went for a run, came home, and showered. He spent the day with either his sister or his brother, or sometimes he co-taught with Tiana. Every night they’d havedinner together after her classes, and then they’d spend the night in bed, or out of bed, making good use of how flexible yoga had made them both.
In the short time he’d known Tiana, she’d become not only his favorite person and the most important person in the world to him (or at least tied with Yaya, Frankie, and AJ) but also his best friend. He’d always had a lot of friends, mostly teammates, but he had very few people he was extremely close to. It had mainly just been his family. But Tiana had become his everything. He’d come so close to telling her he loved her. Not just when they were being intimate, but when they were planning what to eat for dinner, or when they were sitting watching TV. When she was opening up the studio. When they were playing Uno or Battleship.
Niko didn’t miss the irony that this all started because of Bartlett. Her ex basically pushed Tiana into Niko’s arms and bed. His stunt with the flowers and breaking-in had backfired on him big time.
Thankfully, he hadn’t been back to the studio. Niko heard through the grapevine that he and G had the People magazine engagement photo shoot at Mountain Ridge Resort. He’d tried to message G to check on her, but she’d blocked him, which was crazy. In all the years they’d known each other, no matter what other guys she’d been with, he’d never been blocked before.
Tonight, Tiana was going to have dinner with his family at The Cove, and Niko was attending as her date, so that should be interesting. Bartlett wasn’t going to be there, at least that’s what Tiana’s ex-mother-in-law insisted, but he’d believe that when he saw it. He doubted G would show up solo, but if she did, Niko would seize the opportunity.
Niko tried to shake off his worry about his ex and focus on the exciting and happy day it was going to be. This morning was a little different than most, he was heading for a meeting withLauren to hopefully close on the commercial property. The man who owned Tiana’s building had been out of town but got back yesterday, and Lauren presented him with Niko’s offer.
He pulled up and parked in front of the real estate office, determined to be in the moment and not allow Bartlett to ruin an exciting day when the console lit up displaying Jessie’s name. He answered it.
“Hello, Sunshine.”
“The gala is sold out.” Jessie skipped any pleasantries.
“Great.” Niko knew that was good news, but Jessie didn’t sound happy. “That’s great,” he reiterated.
“It is.”
There was heavy silence, and Niko knew something was wrong. He sat, waiting for the other shoe to drop. His mind was racing, trying to flip through the Rolodex of everything he’d done, said, of every interaction that could be coming back to bite him in the ass.
“What?!” Niko demanded. Every second that passed was increasing Niko’s panic tenfold. Jessie was a rip-the-Band-Aid off person, she didn’t hesitate, didn’t sugarcoat, didn’t coddle. If Jessie Sloan-Courtland, the Wonder Woman of Publicists, was having a hard time spitting it out, then it wasn’t just bad, it was catastrophic. “Just say it. What is it?”
“Brock Bartlett is going to co-chair the gala with you,” she finally dropped the bomb.
“Thefuckhe is,” Niko shot back.
Jessie didn’t respond to his knee-jerk rejection of the information. He wasn’t going to say another word until she explained what was going on. So they waited, in total silence, for what felt like an eternity but was probably only three to five minutes.
Finally, Jessie broke. “His publicist is releasing a statement. I can’t stop it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I got a heads-up from a source. Bartlett put out a press release naming himself as a co-chair to the fundraiser, and outlets are running it.”
“He can’t do that.”
“He did. It’s happening. It’s going to run.” Jessie stated calmly, with finality.
“Can’t you do something?!”Wasn’t that what he paid her for?
“Would you like me to release a statement refuting his claim, stating we donotwant him to match every cent, penny for penny, as well as the two very large sponsors he’s brought on board?”
Niko gripped the steering wheel so tight the whites of his knuckles were showing. He knew why Bartlett was doing it. It was because each and everything he’d tried to fuck with Tiana hadn’t worked. The flowers, breaking in, then the yoga class. He’d also shown up at Golden Years to attempt to visit Pops but had been turned away.
“It’s for a good cause.” Jessie spoke to him like a toddler who wanted a cookie before bed but couldn’t have it and didn’t understand why. “This isn’t about you or Bartlett, or whateverReal Housewivesreality show he’s trying to create with the stunts he’s pulling and cast you in. This is about real families dealing with their children being diagnosed with serious illnesses and supporting those families through treatments, travel, transportation and loss of income?—”
“Okay,” Niko cut her off.
“Money is money to them. Do you think they care who it comes from?”
“No, I don’t.” Of course Jessie was right. The only thing that actually mattered was the money for the kids. Niko knew the fundraiser wasn’t about him, he wasn’t trying to make it abouthim. “For the record, I wasn’t being petty. I just don’t want my name associated with Bartlett. I don’t trust the man.”
“I know.” Jessie was quiet for a moment. “Just do not do anything stupid. Remember long game. Bigger picture. This could actually be good for you. It’s no secret that you and Brock aren’t exactly BFFs, if you’re on your best behavior, it will show everyone that you have impulse control. Maturity. Growth.”
