Chapter 18

18

E njell

Things were shifting in my life in a positive way, but there was a darkness looming over me today that made me feel like something bad was going to happen. As Dejvi said, Gina was trying to secure funds for Gino in case he lost his job. I did feel a little bad about it, but it didn't last long. After I made it clear to her that I would not be able to help with his finances, I blocked them both. It felt like a weight off my shoulders. All my bills were paid up, and thanks to Dejvi and his people, I was set and making great money doing what I loved with two of my favorite girls.

I still hoped I won the chili competition because I could use that money to get my own building. Malay and Dallas were still helping me out, which I appreciated. We were wrapping up the last of the meal prep for the day and getting everything packaged for my couriers to deliver, when I got a call from Daddy. I put him on speaker so both me and Malaysia could hear.

"Hey, Daddy," I spoke. "I got you on speaker."

"Good." He released a sigh of relief. "I only want to go over this once."

My heart dropped. "Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

Setting the box that I was folding aside, I gave him my full attention as Malay walked closer to the phone.

"Mama had a spell this morning. Edna went over to check on her, and Mama didn't know who she was. She got a little violent, and they had a tussle."

"What!" we yelled in unison.

"Are they both okay?" I asked.

"Physically, yes, but Edna is shaken up emotionally. She knows Mama wouldn't try to hurt her in her right mind, but that was jarring for her. I don't know if she's going to be able to handle checking in on Mama, and honestly, she doesn't need to."

"Did you consider what Enjell said about trying to get the power or attorney reversed?" Malaysia asked. "Because at this point, if Auntie doesn't want to get her the help she needs, I'm going to make her. There's no reason Grandma should be at that house alone. We need to be trained properly for how to handle this, but also, she needs professional help. This is going to be a lot for us to handle, Daddy, and the longer we wait, the worse it's going to get."

I remained silent because I agreed. I knew something bad was going to happen today, but I wasn't expecting it to be this.

"I agree. I have an attorney on it. Pamela don't give a damn about nothing but getting our parents' money. Now I'm not going to say she's waiting for my mama to die, but she's certainly not trying to help improve her quality of life. She got that POA to handle Mama's finances, but she doesn't care about anything else."

That was true. Auntie Pamela was a daddy's girl, and Daddy was a mama's boy. I couldn't believe my aunt would intentionally deny her mother of care, but at this point, that was what it was starting to look like. There had to be a reason for her actions, and until we knew what that reason was, she was looking real suspect.

"What can actually be done if we go against Auntie and make some moves on Grandma's behalf?" I asked, tired of sitting around and not doing something.

"I would assume what we put in place she can stop. We're looking into getting it revoked. In the meantime, I'm going to stay with Mama regardless of what Pamela says or thinks. Your mama wanted to come, too, but I told her to stay away until I can gauge how Mama will be acting."

"Okay, well, if you need anything, let us know," Malaysia offered, and I agreed.

We said our goodbyes, and before I could decompress from that, I had to put on a happy face at the sight of a woman entering the kitchen. I didn't know who she was looking for, but I still wanted to be helpful. No one else was able to rent space during my hours; however, I didn't want her to have a negative experience with me and not want to work with someone else.

"Hey, can I help you?" I asked, walking around the steel island.

Her smile widened as her eyes focused on me. She was pretty, but the closer she got to me, the more my spirit was disturbed by her presence.

"Hey. You're Injayell right?"

While I cringed at the way the woman butchered my name, Dallas laughed, and Malaysia sucked her teeth.

"It's pronounced like angel, but yes, that's me."

"Oh, okay." The woman chuckled and pushed her hair off her shoulders. "I was stopping by hoping you had some extra plates for the day."

"Actually, I don't," I said sadly. "Business picked up a lot, and I haven't been doing daily pickups. If you were interested in meal prep, I could set you up for that."

"Hmm… I don't know. I'll have to see if my man is already getting it. He's how I found you."

"Oh yeah?" I perked up, stepping closer to her. "Who?"

"Dejvi."

Gritting my teeth, my eyes tightened as I processed what the woman said.

"What she just say?" Malay asked.

"I think she said Dejvi, but that can't be right," Dallas said.

"She must be talking about someone else," Malay reasoned.

"Y'all know Dejvi?" she asked.

"We know a Dejvi, but we can't be talking about your Dejvi," Malay replied.

"There's an easy way to settle this," she said, lifting her phone. "I saw him posting about Injayell's cooking and—"

"Bitch, you heard my sister tell you her name is pronounced like angel," Malaysia said, stepping from around the corner.

I grabbed my sister's wrist to keep her from getting any closer to the woman.

Rolling her eyes, she clicked her tongue. "Whatever, however you say it. He was raving about her food, so I said I wanted to come and try it." She turned her phone around, showing us a picture of her and Dejvi smiling as they embraced each other. "Y'all know my man?"

"Your man?" I repeated, stepping directly in front of her. Truthfully, Dejvi and I weren't in a committed relationship. All this time, I thought it was because he was respecting my desire to not move too fast. Now, it looked like he didn't commit to me because he was committed to her.

"Yeah, me and Dejvi have been in each other's lives since we were kids. We're going to start our family after his birthday in November. How do you know him?"

"I've been fucking him," I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. "Apparently, that's all it's been if he's with you."

The woman chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize—"

When Malaysia laughed, I groaned. "Do you want to fight? Because I feel like you came up here to start some shit."

"I don't see why you're so upset. If anyone should be upset, it's me! I'm the one who just found out my man is cheating on me!"

"Girl, bye!" Dallas yelled, coming over to us. "I know exactly what Dejvi said on that post he shared and the one he made right after. He very clearly called Enjell his love and told his followers to support his girl. If you saw him say that, you knew what it was, and if you came up here, it was with the intent to get yo' ass beat."

"All of y'all need to relax," I said, turning to my girls. I didn't fear turning my back on her. If she wanted to try me, she'd be leaving on a stretcher. "She obviously had ill intentions in coming here, and I'm going to give her whatever she wants."

"I just want to know what's going on with y'all," she said, causing me to look back at her. "Are you in a relationship with him?"

"No. We haven't committed to each other, but that was our goal for the future. We met a little over a month ago, so we've been taking things slow."

She took a step back. "Well, now that you know he's in a relationship, I hope you do the right thing and leave him alone."

Dallas sucked her teeth. "That's not her responsibility. Get your man in check because he clearly don't give a fuck about you if he's claiming and supporting her publicly."

I didn't want to leave her alone with them because there was no doubt in my mind that they would beat her up, but I needed air to breathe.

"You need to go," I told her, gently turning her toward the exit by her shoulder. "Y'all stay here."

"I'm not letting you go outside with her by yourself," Malay said as I grabbed my purse, phone, and keys.

"Trust me, I'm not worried about her."

All she did was laugh as Malaysia and Dallas talked shit. When she saw me getting into the Charger, she said, "And he let you drive his car? Oh, hell no!"

For some reason, her outburst made me chuckle. I didn't know what was going on with her and Dejvi, but it was clearly something. What Dallas said was true—Dejvi didn't make it seem like he had a relationship to hide when he was posting about me and my business. I wouldn't say it was impossible for him to be cheating. Quite frankly, things were still so new between us that he could be a complete fraud. I couldn't deny, though, that the vibe and bond we'd been building were genuine, and I hoped he wasn't yet another man to lie and cheat on me… whether our relationship was real or not.