My eye tweaks.
“Silly?”
“Please, I’m not trying to be offensive,” he explains. “I just— he— Jabari has this obsessive need to prove himself to any and everyone! But we are in the middle of trying to move him up in the league! He doesn’t have time for this shit!” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Honestly! The need to be the center of attention in everything… involving himself in this— no offense—shitty situation! Not to mention sparking rumors of personal involvement.”
I let the rant go on this far but I pause it there.
“Look, David? I’m sure you have a lot of tension built up about your client and believe me. I have an issue of my own with him to address. However, I would like to state that I am not a safe space to vent too. Don’t ever bad mouth Jabari to me. Don't talk negatively about him period. If you have an issuewith his attitude, take it up with him or quit. But don’t ever feel comfortable enough to speak out against him to me.”
“I—”
“I ain’t done,” I state. “This is a professional setting. Would you address the board of directors so damn casually? I don’t think so.”
“Yeah but it’s not like your company is that big, right?” He scoffs. “You ain’t exactly got a board of directors do ya? I mean seriously, it’s obvious Titan is doing his sister’s friend a favor in an effort to prop himself up as the center of attention. But now we have rumors of a relationship between you two? He doesn’t think these things through!”
My heart sank.Za…
What is she thinking about this?
I can’t even imagine because I’m too busy getting insulted by a man who thinks he’s so much better than me that he doesn’t even care he’s doing it to my face!
“Ya see, I was trying to be professional but now you’re taking the fucking piss! Who do you think you’re talking to? Do I look like a fucking prick? Ay, go suc?—”
The meeting door swings open and my team walks out with an excited Jabari before I get into my step by step directions on all the ways he could lick out ‘em mudda.
“Jelly?” Jabari’s face drains of color when he sees I’m upset. In two steps he’s by my side, bumping his dickhead agent in the process. He cups my cheeks and rains down kisses all over my face, giving priority to my nose like he does in private.
Except.
We are NOT in private.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you mad at me?”
My hands go to pull his away from my face, stopping him and we lock eyes.
I see him try to read my emotions, then he clicks into reality where we are, who’s around us and what he did.
I feel something in my heart I’ve never felt before like this. I can’t name it, but. It’s there.
“Jelly…”
I look at the people around us. His agent is gagged.
Tasha and the team are floored. But I can see the look in their eyes when they realize he may only be here because of me. And that look made my eyes teary.
I look at him one more time, then say something I didn’t think I’d say to him ever again.
“I hate you.”
The car park’ssky’s overcast. I fumble for my keys even though I didn’t need them. I just need to keep my hands busy. Or I’ll strangle him.
“Francine.”
I hear him but keep walking.
“Jelly—wait.”
I don’t.
