“Man, India don’t count!” laughed PJ. “That girl will push up on anybody with a pulse and a bank account. You ain’t special, my boy, trust me.”
“Well damn, thanks for bursting my bubble, kid.”
PJ leaned forward, a smirk on his face. “You know what? If you really think you’ve got rizz the way you think you do, make a move on a woman that’s a real challenge. Someone…like Jackie.”
“Hell no! That ship has sailed. Besides, we have to work together—for a while, at least. Why make it messy? After this merger and all the details are worked out, hell, I might not even be here in Atlanta.”
PJ frowned. “You going back to LA?”
The look on PJ’s face told Antonio that the kid was disappointed by the news. That warmed his heart. AMW and Elite weren’t entirely sure how they were going to restructure operations, but they were leaning toward keeping East and West Coast divisions. It made the most sense. Antonio was a top pick to run the West Coast office. But he and PJ were getting closer. Granted, their relationship wasn’t where Antonio wanted it to be, but if he could stick around and be intentional about it, maybe they could get there.
“I mean, it’s a maybe,” Antonio tried to diffuse the obvious tension. “Nothing is set, PJ. I’ll be in Atlanta for a minute.”
“Nah, it’s cool,” PJ shrugged off what Antonio had said. “Do what you gotta do, right? Gotta make that money.”
“Money isn’t everything, son,” Antonio said softly.
They remained quiet for a few minutes until PJ finally asked, “You ever regret taking that DNA test?”
Antonio smiled. “Never. You’re the happiest accidental blessing I’ve ever had.”
“Damn, bruh! You ain’t have to call me no accident!”
“You know that’s not what I meant!”
They both laughed, lifting the mood.
“Listen, I’m about to order the most expensive steak on the menu,” PJ declared. “You wanna get another drink? Or are you gonna go back to your room and cry about Jackie with your soft ass?”
Antonio rolled his eyes.He’s definitely my kid with that smart ass mouth. “If this is your way of asking me to stay and have dinner with you, I’d love to.”
“That’s wassup,” PJ smiled. “You’re paying, by the way.”
CHAPTER 9
Jackie was on her walking pad in her office. It was where she did her best thinking. Armed with a Doechii playlist and a pair of sneakers, she was trying her best to get her brain together.
She’d done her darndest to avoid Antonio around the office, only speaking to him in meetings, as necessary. When he attempted to corner her, she made up every excuse in the book to get out of his presence. Truthfully, she wasn’t mad about the photo shoot with Louis St. Jean. She was over that. What she was upset about were the sex dreams and fantasies, which had become more frequent and progressively dirtier. She’d gone through two vibrators in a matter of weeks, their motors shot to hell.
She was browsing a baseball scouting report when her cell phone rang. It was Tanika on FaceTime. Jackie answered with her usual greeting.
