Ray got up just as fast as I did, and we both walked out.
I was so tired of this shit. It was pointless to go back and forth over the same subjects that we had already discussed. If they wouldn’t budge for me and I wouldn’t budge for them, there wasn’t shit else to talk about.
I hated companies that thought they had the ability to make me change my mind. They all left sadly mistaken. I reached my hand out to Karina on the way out the door, and she grabbed it.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter
Nineteen
Karina
Iwas taking two steps for every one Kareem took. I raced as fast as I could to be by his side, but he walked so fast that I was falling behind quickly. He was pissed, and trying to keep up with him was hard.
As soon as we made it into the smaller conference room that Kareem had taken as his office, he sat down and threw the portfolio on the table next to him. Ray sat on the opposite side, but I took the seat right next to Kareem. I was hoping our close proximity would calm him a little.
I had never seen Kareem so upset. Even as a child, he was always happy. His smile lit up the room when we were kids, but I was quickly learning that Kareem as a child was a lot different from grown man Kareem.
He still had a heart made of gold, but it could also be cold as hell when he felt threatened. This Kareem scared me. I didn’t know what to do to calm him. I also didn’t know what I could possibly say, but I at least had to try.
“Not signing this deal won’t affect you one way or another. We don’t need to spin this story because the truth is better than any story we could come up with. Trust me. This is not a problem for you. We can walk away from this knowing that your people, your real supporters, will still love you and be amazed by what your company does.”
I placed my hand on top of Kareem’s. He had balled his fingers into a fist, but my touch softened it. He placed his free hand on top of mine, and I smiled on the inside, still afraid to let it show.
“Yeah, I agree with Karina. This deal does not make or break K&K Solutions. We both know that.”
“You’re right. It’s just the audacity that makes me so mad. It was the constant pushing after I had already given my final answer. That blatant disregard, bro.”
“Yeah, man. I know. And I understand how important this is to you. We were in those trenches together. We saw combat together. We watched our brothers and sisters fall by our side. People like that in that room they will never understand that.”
“Exactly. They’ve never stepped foot on a battlefield or watched a child blow up someone they loved. Trying to get them to see my point of view was pointless. That’s why people like us have to stand up for the men and women doing a job that others could never be brave enough to take on.”
I never could have guessed all the things Kareem and Ray had seen overseas if I weren’t sitting here listening to them recount the moments, heart-wrenching moments that no one should ever experience. Moments that they should never have to explain the importance of to others.
I already knew Kareem was fighting an important fight, but hearing these things out loud hit me like a ton of bricks. Kareem wasn’t just standing up for these mythical soldiers that we may never be able to put a face or name to. He was standing up for hisfriends and comrades, who he watched die in a war that the suits in the other room couldn’t take a moment to acknowledge. That had to be tough.
“Look, let me wrap things up here. You go get a drink with a beautiful girl,” Ray suggested to Kareem but nodded in my direction. “We can reconvene tomorrow.”
“Thanks, bruh. I appreciate you.”
“Thanks, Ray.”
I followed Kareem in showing my appreciation for his friend. He dapped Ray up as we walked out, and I gave him a light tap on the shoulder. It was truly a blessing to have friends in your life who actually cared about you and would be in your corner when it was just you against what felt like the entire world.
“You knowit’s only a matter of time before this place is too packed to move, right?”
Kareem and I were seated at the bar in the downstairs lobby. We’d been working so much over the last couple of days that I’d forgotten the whole point of this tour ending in NYC was so we’d be here for the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. In anticipation of that, people were trickling into the bar in their best celebration outfits.
“I’ve been so caught up in work that I honestly forgot that it was a holiday.”
We spent a couple of hours in Kareem’s room watching comfort movies, and I finally managed to drag a few smiles out of him. I was hoping no one from the meeting came down tonight because I didn’t know if I would be able to temper the rage I was sure he only let die on my behalf if they did.
“Yeah, this tour was a lot more stressful than I wanted it to be.”
“We still had our good moments.”
I smiled and nudged Kareem until he did the same. We were on our third round of tequila shots, which for me was way too much, but I was fully committed toOperation Loosen KareemUp. If shots were what it took to bring back his signature happy mood, I didn’t mind taking one for the team.
