“A’ight.”
I grabbed everything and started heading to the door, but he stopped me.
“Drop that nigga, Sade.”
I glared at him. “I need time.”
He didn’t say anything.
When I opened the door, Denise and Laila were standing there smiling, already nosy as hell, but not saying anything. Denise walked in, and Laila and I walked off.
“Oh, my God. You definitely not telling me something.”
“And I won’t be telling you anything. Now help me take this to the car.” I handed her the roses.
“You’re so sneaky. But whatever it is, I’m here for it.”
I laughed. “I bet you are.”
After dropping the gifts in my trunk, Laila and I headed back upstairs for the meeting.
The conference room was already filling up by the time we walked in. Contractors, assistants, property managers, marketing people, vendors. Everybody was seated around the long glass table, talking.
Vaughn wasn’t in there yet.
“Damn,” Laila whispered beside me. “This looks serious.”
“It probably is.”
We sat down toward the middle while Denise passed out folders and bottled waters.
About two minutes later, the room got quiet on its own when Vaughn walked in.
He had changed into black tailored slacks, a lack button-up, and his chain was tucked in now. No shades.
Healthy.
I noticed how much the room shifted when he entered it. Conversations stopped automatically. People sat straighter. Even older businessmen looked up, waiting for him to speak.
He walked to the head of the table and looked around slowly before speaking.
“Everybody good?”
A few people answered.
“Nah,” he said. “I need better energy than that. We’re building luxury over here, not Section 8.”
That made the room laugh instantly.
I smiled to myself.
He started the meeting without notes.
That impressed me.
Everything rolled off his tongue naturally. Budget projections, move-in goals, marketing timelines, and property expansion ideas. He moved through the conversation sharp as hell, correcting people without embarrassing them and making decisions fast.
“Ain’t no more delays,” he told one contractor firmly. “If materials are late again, I’m replacing the whole crew.”
