Page 11 of About the Green

"Oh! Did you want to fly together? I haven't got my ticket yet."

"You haven't got your flight.”

I pout. “Well, no. We're in charge of, like, getting our own flights and stuff, and I usually go with someone who will do it already. Will you?"

"No, I'm not gonna buy your ticket. Why don't you buy it?”

“Like, you don't have to pay for it. I mean, I would assume you're not, like, struggling for money…” He’s ranked high enough in Dupont that surely his pockets show for it, right?

Hee gets into his car and slams the door.

"Okay, well, good talk. See you in Atlanta," I say after his car when he pulls off. I go back to my apartment, where I shower and change into pajamas, carefully applying anti-aging serums to make sure that no wrinkles set in.

I instantly feel better once I'm able to get clean and lay in my bed. I scroll on my socials and I check in on my favorite celebrity.

It looks like Lacey Bramble is getting married.

Oh my god.

The lingerie empire’s owner is tying the knot.

Now that’s important journalism.

I spend the next few moments looking into the wedding and all about her new partner. I can't say that I disapprove of him, but I can say that they will make beautiful babies. If she wants babies. I guess not everybody's cut out for it. I know I certainly won't be able to.

I'm not cut out for really anything but what I have now.

Chapter 5

Is absolutely everyone in this family blind, or am I just seeing things?

That little woman is out of her mind.

I don't tend to want to get into anybody's business. To be fair, I want everyone's business to stay their own, and I only want to be involved when necessary.

Is that too much to ask?

Do I not have enough on my plate?

I have to figure out how I'm going to manage being able to see my daughter while being in a completely different state. It's not that far apart, but it's far enough to where I'm no longer able to just drive the twenty minutes to go to my old house.

Redd sits across from me with an amused look on his face. “Right. So we're back to you suspectin’ Nina of what, exactly?"

"Look, I get that you think it sounds ridiculous because everyone has this idea that she's just this…” I struggle to remove my accurate perception of Nina and see her for the way she wants everyone to see her. “This pink little princess thing, but she's close to Racquelle—that at least should give me some merit that she's got the inclination or capacity to do some damage around here."

"Right, right, right. Yea. No, I can one hundred percent see that bein’ the case, and I'm not sayin’ that she's never offed anybody. I'm also not sayin’ that she is completely innocent, but the fact that you're sayin’ she's like some serial killer or somethin’ is kind of bizarre." He says with his hands up.

"Bizarre? It's bizarre?" I ask. “In what way is it? Why would Racquelle have her close if she didn't present herself as bein’ more valuable?" Nina said it herself. What is more valuable in this life than a secret weapon?

"Well, right. I mean, her and Racquelle seem to get along just fine."

I scoff, not truly agreeing with his downplay of how much the two of them are connected. It’s not only a friendship. How deep it goes is unknown, but also unimportant to me at present. “Don't care if they're friends or not. Don't care if they're braidin’ each other’s hair and puttin’ on masks or whatever the fuck women do. I need to know that you're takin’ my concerns seriously." Unlike others, I respect the rules and hierarchy of this family. Until I get the say so to go after Nina with the full support of those above me, I’m stuck gathering evidence to say it’s a necessary concern. I don’t have enough of anything concrete to do that yet.

“Told you I was takin’ them seriously the last time you brought them up.” He sighs in exasperation and I try not to be annoyed by it. “But we have shit that’s way more pressin’ than whether or not you're obsessed with Racquelle's little sidekick."

What the— "Obsessed?" I balk. "No one said anythin’ about being fuckin’ obsessed. Just asked you a question."

"You've been askin’ me a question,” he laughs and it's definitely at my expense. “It’s not really what you're askin’ but how you're doin’ it."