My Brother's Wife 2: What The Heart Wants Page 8

  “Mal got to her first,” Desmond completed his sentence as he cut him off.

  They looked at each other as if they discovered a well-known secret.

  “So, why did you really say yes when he asked you to be with her and why you never told me about the shit?”

  “Because, nigga, I always wanted her. But at the same time my loyalty was to him first. So of course when he not only asked me to do that shit, but begged me do it, that was music to my fucking ears. I got the girl and I got to keep my brother,” Andre admitted as his voice lowered to a tone above a whisper. “Nah mean?” He concluded as he and Desmond smirked.

  “So, don’t you think you two should have sat ya asses down when he came home and had that talk. I mean, did you really think that it was all good between the two of you and that he was over her?” Desmond asked.

  Andre stared at Desmond as he contemplated his answer. Honestly, he never gave it much thought. Once he visited Malachi back in the year of two thousand, to inform him of Arianna’s pregnancy and he laid out his feelings for her on the table, he never gave it much thought after that. Malachi always gave him the impression that he was happy for him and it’s safe to say he just went along with that.

  “Man, that nigga did a real good job of putting on face. Matter of fact, he did a great job of putting on many faces and I guess you can say I just rolled with it,” Andre admitted.

  “Aight, well I know it’s going to be hard for you but remember what we talked about last night and this morning. Sit down and face him, man to man. See where his head is really at. It seems all these years no one has been truly honest with each other. I know you said you weren’t going to sit down with him but you owe it to yourself to do that. Not to mention A.J. is invested in this.”

  “Well, A.J. is the only reason I’m doing this. I spoke to him twice yesterday and all he kept asking me about was Malachi’s ass. Not to mention two of our clients are requesting him. They were all impressed with him. So if it wasn’t for A.J., really, that nigga can keep it the fuck moving. Like I told Mama Ro, the best thing I did for him was allow him to continue breathing,” Andre concluded.

  “Besides, keep your enemies close, right?” Desmond whispered as he and Andre reached over and shook hands while sharing a knowing look. The conference room phone suddenly buzzed alerting him Stacey was calling. Walking over to the small desk in the far corner of the room, he reached down and pressed talk on the phone. “Yeah Stacey.”

  “Uhh Mr. Aeikan, you might want to come out here. Ezekiel Sanders has just arrived but uuh… Ava is also here and it appears they had a little fender bender and now they are at each other’s throats.”

  Chapter Eight

  Aeikan Sports & Marketing

  Front lobby

  “Hey girl, you’re going to pay for that dent to my limo.”

  “Tuha. I’m not paying for a damn thing. I don’t even see a dent. Obviously there’s something wrong with your eyes. Matter of fact, I’m sure there is a problem with your eyes based on all your missed throws last season,” Ava said with a scowl on her pretty face.

  Smirking, he slowly moved closer to her as they were face to face. “Oh, so you know who I am?” he asked as he studied her facial expression.

  “Unfortunately, I do. You’re Ezekiel Sanders, point guard for the Knicks,” she clarified as she gave him the once over. Smirking once more, he slowly eyed her. Despite her attitude and that slick mouth of hers, he found her quite attractive and was highly impressed by the stiletto heels she wore, which exposed her freshly manicured toes, the wide bottom slacks that hugged her hips to perfection, the tight fitting white wrapped around top that gave a full view of her perfect size C bosoms and her long, jet black, curly hair, which accentuated her beautiful flawless milky caramel colored skin. In addition to her looks, what impressed him the most was her unbothered attitude towards him. She knew exactly who he was and it didn’t faze her one bit.

  In the last four years he spent playing in the NBA, never had he came across a female who was not ready to do any and everything for him due to his celebrity status; and he must admit, to finally come across one who wasn’t impressed was rather intriguing.

  “A beautiful lady who knows her basketball, now that’s a keeper in my book. Too bad you have that nasty ass attitude,” he expressed with a smirk.

  “What the hell is going on, Ava?” Andre questioned as he and Desmond approached them in the company lobby.

  “This mediocre ball player right here claims that I put a dent on his stupid limo as I pulled up, but I don’t see not even a scratch on the damn thing,” Ava explained as she rolled her eyes.

  “Hey, you two know her? She put a dent in my damn limo and she’s going to pay for that shit and I don’t appreciate her attitude. And there’s nothing mediocre about me, sweetie,” Ezekiel expressed once again.

  “Like I already told you, I’m not paying for a damn thing and for the record, I’m not yours to appreciate, so what you don’t appreciate about me has zero meaning, so you can keep your opinion to your damn self,” Ava expressed.

  “Girl, do you know who you’re talking to?” He questioned as Andre stood in between he and Ava.

  “Aight, calm down. The both of you follow me, now,” Andre ordered. “Stacey, call Arianna and tell her to meet us in the conference room and let me know when Malachi gets here,” he added.

  Moments later, All five were seated in the conference room.

  “First of all, your ass is late,” Andre said to Ezekiel. “Now I know Desmond explained to you how we operate around here so I’m a make this quick. All the bullshit you’ve been doing these past four years comes to a end now that you are signed with Aeikan Sports & Marketing. Now that Desmond is your new agent, hopefully you’ll be able to calm down. All I do is get you endorsements. I’m sure as hell not going to break my back for you to keep them if you decide to do something stupid. Now, I’m sure you already know about all the morality clauses they come with. So, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also, this is my sister, Ava Aeikan,” Andre clarified as he pointed towards Ava.

  “Oh word?” Ezekiel questioned as he looked at Ava with interest.

  “Yeah, she’s not only his sister, but she’s my little cousin which means from this day forward, you’ll treat and talk to her with the utmost respect or your ass is going to have a direct problem,” Desmond expressed.

  “Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yeah man, I hear the both of you loud and clear,” Ezekiel agreed.

  “Do you have anything you want to add?” Andre turned to Arianna.

  “Yes. One more thing, Ezekiel. Meet your new stylist,” Arianna announced as she pointed towards Ava.

  “Stylist? I don’t need no damn stylist.”

  “Uhh, yeah you do, like yesterday,” Ava said sarcastically as everyone laughed.

  “Oh, so you guys have jokes, huh?” He smirked as he looked directly at Ava.

  “Man, every time we look or we see you at an event, you have some damn jeans on,” Desmond clarified.

  “Or you just don’t match at all,” Ava added as she stood up.

  “You got’s to coordinate,” Desmond added quoting the line from the movie Boomerang as they all laughed.

  “Oh, so you were checking me out, huh?” Ezekiel flirted as he once again looked in Ava’s direction.

  “Fool, I know you not flirting with my sister in front of my face. That’s strike one for your ass, now get the hell out,” Andre stressed as everyone laughed once again.

  “Man, c’mon why you have to do me like that?” Ezekiel laughed as well while he gave Ava one last look before making his way to the door.

  “Oh, Ezekiel, your photo shoot for Sports Illustrated will be in two weeks at three P.M. sharp. Ava will be there to style you. You also have a photo shoot for Diva’s magazine a month from now. Ava will also measure you for your tuxedo for our annual Players Banquet in January,” Arianna added as Ezekiel opened the door and proceeded to make his exit.
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  “Okay, bet. Oh, maybe we can discuss the dent to my limo while you dress me,” he winked at Ava and closed the door behind him.

  Andre shook his head as he looked Desmond’s way. “Is his ass going to be a problem?”

  “No, he should be aight. He’s not a bad guy, just a little wild,” Desmond replied.

  “Well, looks like he definitely likes Ava,” Arianna said with a smile as they headed towards the door.

  “Yeah, well he can kill any thoughts he’s having because I’m done with ball players. Jason’s dog ass was the first and last one for me. They’re incapable of keeping their dick in their pants and I’m done with it,” Ava said with conviction. Truth was, she had officially written off men in the past two years after the experience with Jason leaving her at the altar. Jason’s truth she discovered afterwards left her traumatized, however, her own truth and the way she handled what she discovered made her just as bad as he was.

  “Ava, that’s not fair to label all ball players as cheaters. Besides, there are men who are not ball players who have a problem keeping it in their pants too,” Arianna said matter of factly as she locked eyes with Andre.

  Andre clenched his jaw as he started to respond but was quickly stopped by Desmond. “Chill, remember what I said earlier,” he whispered.

  Andre nodded his head in agreement. “Oh, one more thing, Arianna. Ava, since you are invested in this company then you might as well know this also. As of today, we are going to have to let Stacey go,” he announced as Ava and Arianna looked on with confused looks on their faces.

  “What! What now? First Malachi, now Stacey? See, Andre now you doing way too much,” Ava stressed.

  “Shut up, Ava. I’m letting her go because we discovered that she not only has a drug problem, but she would meet with her supplier to buy her drugs right outside our back door. Her ass even met him in the lobby once. We had Howard from security pull up the surveillance camera to confirm this. Now, we built this company from the ground up, there’s no way in hell that I’m going to let anyone fuck with that,” Andre stressed as he looked at both Arianna and Ava. “Do you two understand where I’m coming from?”

  “Yes,” They replied at the same time. They were speechless other than finding the courage to say yes. Stacey was always pretty quiet and never revealed much in reference to herself or her life. As Arianna thought about it, the only thing they really knew about Stacey was that she moved here almost two years ago from North Carolina, she loved to sing and she had a son name Elijah who happened to be the same age as A.J. When she interviewed for the secretarial position a year and a half ago, she possessed limited clerical skills, however, Arianna offered her the position based on her eagerness to learn, her poised demeanor, professional attitude and her reliability. In that time frame, she became a friend as well as Aeikan Sports & Marketing’s Secretary and Administrative Assistant.

  “What time do you plan on letting her go?” Arianna asked Andre once she finally found her voice.

  “I was going to wait until the end of the day, do you want to have a talk with her first?” Andre asked.

  “I have an appointment with Dr. Field in a couple of hours, so if I am not back by the end of the day, you go ahead and do what you have to do and I will go see her at home tomorrow and have a one on one talk with her to find out what’s going on. Plus, I want to check on Elijah,” Arianna said as Andre shook his head in disagreement.

  “Nah, I don’t want you going to her house by yourself. If she can have a drug dealer come here to supply her with her fix then I’m pretty sure he knows where she lives too.”

  Arianna nodded her head in agreement.

  “We will check on Elijah, aight,” Andre said as Arianna nodded her head once again. She and Ava then opened the door and made their exit.

  ________

  “What the hell is going on with Stacey?” Ava asked.

  “I have no idea. I can’t believe she’s messing with drugs of all things. She always looks so together.” Arianna replied.

  “She must be what they call a functioning drug addict. You know, a person who is on drugs but is able to hold it together, and you can’t tell at all.” Ava added.

  “Well, maybe the signs were there and we just missed it,” Arianna admitted.

  “Yeah, maybe,” Ava replied. “So, I’m headed to this mediation with my lawyer, Jason’s dumb ass and his lawyer. Our first appearance was Wednesday but that was changed to this mediation instead, so off I go,” Ava informed Arianna.

  “Oh, okay,” she replied. As they stood in the company’s lobby which was a total of ten feet away from Andre’s office, Arianna’s back was facing the entrance where Ava was able to get a full view. As her eyes were focused towards the entrance sliding doors, a small smile appeared on her face, probing Arianna to turn in that direction.

  Ava leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “You know if Andre knew I went to go check on him for you, that would be my ass.”

  A sheepish smile appeared on Arianna’s face as they focused on the individual who made his way through the sliding doors, towards the front desk. As Malachi entered the lobby all eyes were literally on him. In the aftermath of betrayal, his actions resulted in a near death consequence, which left him physically damaged. Since released from the hospital he spent the last few days trying to recuperate, however, looking at him you would never be able to tell he was badly beaten several days prior. Besides a few marks and scrapes on the left side of his face, his appearance had returned to normal. He looked refreshed and was killing the two piece navy blue suit he wore. He had on a crisp, white, dress shirt in which the top three buttons were undone, giving a small glimpse of his broad chest. In addition to looking good, he was also feeling exceptionally well. In the last few days he was out of commission he was able to do a much needed soul searching. Finding the courage to admit he needed help was the first step to his healing process and conquering his demons.

  As he approached the front desk and Stacey, who wore a Kool Aide smile on her face, he suddenly turned to his right as he felt eyes burning a hole through him.

  “Good morning, Malachi,” Stacey greeted him. “Uuuh, Malachi?” Stacey called his name once again, but Malachi was in a trance. He was unable to focus. “Uuuh, Malachi?”

  Finally snapping out of his daze, he slowly turned his attention back to Stacey. “I’m sorry,” he apologized as he flashed his million dollar smile.

  “It’s okay,” She replied as she stared at him in awe. Stacey had been crushing on Malachi since she was first introduced to him. She discreetly flirted him with him each time she was in his presence prior to the incident at the strip club. Although, she had become more to Arianna than just an employee, she was completely unaware of the history between her, Malachi and Andre, so flirting with Malachi was okay as far as she was concerned, although she secretly felt Malachi was out of her league. “How are you and what happened to your face?” Stacey asked him as she stared at his handsome face.

  “I’m great. I had a little accident but I’m fine. I should be asking you that. Is everything good with you?” Malachi asked with a raised brow. Today was the first time he had seen her since discovering her secret at the strip club.

  “I’m okay,” she replied as she lowered her head, feeling ashamed.

  “That’s good. We’ll talk more later, okay,” he said to her in a concerned voice.

  “Okay,” she replied in a childlike voice as she gave him a faint smile. If she wasn’t fascinated with him before, she was now. The way he talked to her, in such a gentle manner, as if he genuinely cared for her and showing concern was new territory for her. It was the first time a man ever showed any compassion towards her.

  “Listen, I have an appointment with Desmond and Andre but I will make my way to them. No need to tell them I’m here, okay.”

  “Okay,” she replied with a smile. Malachi smiled in return as he walked away from the front desk and made his way towards to Arianna and Ava. Once he received a ca
ll from Desmond late last night that Andre was ready to have a sit down with him, he happily obliged. Despite his jealousy and mixed feeling towards Andre, a part of him did feel somewhat remorseful with their certain status. It was never his intention for the situation to unfold the way it had, but once again; the heart wants what the heart wants.

  “How are you?” he asked once he approached them.

  “I’m okay. You?” Arianna responded.

  “I’m still alive and I feel better now that I get to see you,” he responded with a smile and she smiled in return.

  “Thank you,” he said to her as he gave her a knowing look. She understood immediately and smiled while taking a few steps back. Space between them was very necessary as their bodies got hot just that quickly.

  “How was your first session?” She asked him.

  “It was good—”

  He started to say something else but was cut off when Ava cleared her throat. Her attention turned to the opposite direction. “Dre is coming and he doesn’t look happy,” she warned.

  Arianna put more space between her and Malachi. As Andre and Desmond approached them, Desmond faced Arianna, standing between her and Andre. Ava grabbed Arianna’s hand and pulled her towards the direction of her office.

  “Let’s go, Ari,” she said as she glanced at Andre who possessed nothing but pure rage in his eyes.

  Malachi stepped back as he looked on in silence. Despite his evident feelings for Arianna, his every intention today was to have a sit down with Andre and face him man to man. He actually came in peace with no intention of drama.

  “Ari, go back to your office, now, please,” Desmond pleaded.

  “Nah, nah, she good. Let me talk to you for a minute,” Andre whispered in her ear . Arianna nodded her head and then followed him to his office.

  Ava let out an exasperated sigh. “My goodness. The non- stop drama is truly exhausting,” she said as she shook her head. “Speaking of drama let me head on to my own. I’ll see you guys later.” She hugged both Malachi and Desmond.