Chapter 21

21

E lias

Early October

Since Fiona told me travel was one of her love languages, I’d been planning a trip to Vegas since it was one of her favorite cities. She loved to drink and gamble, and both were my speed. I made up in my mind that after I showed her a good time, I’d take a break from her. She deserved a better version of me than I’d been giving her. The shit with Amanda plagued me. I meant it when I told Fiona I wasn’t expecting to feel how I’d been feeling.

To a sane person, that was all the more proof that I needed to end things with Amanda. To me, it was proof of how much I loved and wanted her. Knowing that truth didn’t make me want to try to go back to her, but it did make me want to take some time for myself before getting with someone else.

The past twelve years of my life revolved around EJ and Amanda. Now, I was tying myself to Fiona. My heart and dick needed a break, and I hoped Fiona could understand that. Between my talk with Neko and her while we were in Atlanta, I knew taking this time was going to be the right thing.

Light taps against the door caused me to look up from my computer. “Come in, Fiona.”

Her smile was wide as she opened the door. “How’d you know it was me?”

“I know your knock. What do you need?”

“There’s a woman here who says she’s been waiting to meet with Neko about representation, but she hasn’t been able to get in touch with him. I told her he’s out of the country and unavailable, and she asked if she could speak with you.”

I massaged my temple as I sighed. We’d announced on our website and social media that we were closing representation momentarily, so I wasn’t sure who this woman was to have missed the memo. The last thing I wanted to do was take my eyes away from my computer. With it nearing the end of the year, I spent most of my days handling financial shit for tax preparation. We’d brought in a hell of a lot of money this year, but thanks to Parker’s thieving ass, we were working twice as hard to make the statements make sense.

“I’ll come out there and talk to her, so it won’t take too long.” I agreed, standing from my seat.

“Okay, babe. You look a little stressed. I’ll grab you some coffee and schedule you for a massage this evening. She’ll come to you, so you won’t have to worry about the drive.”

“Thank you,” I replied, giving her a quick kiss. Fiona was truly special. I hoped no one snatched her up while I worked through my bullshit. If they did, I understood.

When I walked out of the office, my eyes landed on a woman that was vaguely familiar. She smiled at the sight of me and headed in my direction.

“Hi. I’m Elias.” I spoke, shaking her hand.

“Hi. I know. I’m Juelz.”

“You’re looking for my brother, correct?”

“Yes. She told me he’s out of the country, which makes sense. I called and emailed him last week, and he didn’t respond.”

“What’s this about?”

“Um…” Her eyes shifted as she squeezed the back of her neck. “We talked about him representing me before he left, and he mentioned a signing bonus. It would really come in handy right now.” She closed the space between us and whispered, “I work down at The Black Diamond, and I have a debt I need to pay. Like ASAP.”

That was why she looked familiar. She was a stripper. I probably would have recognized her immediately if she had on less clothes.

I looked toward the receptionist desk, and Fiona was on a call. “How much debt?”

She rubbed her palms together and avoided my eyes. “I took a loan from the owner to pay my parents’ rent for a few months a while back. Now he’s saying I have to pay everything I owe.”

“Which is?”

“Twelve thousand.”

As Fiona ended the call, I told her to take Juelz into my office and sit with her until I came back. Walking down the hall, I texted Neko to see if he could talk real quick. I wasn’t going to give her representation, but we had the funds in-house for me to give her an advance on her advance if he actually planned to bring her in. If I couldn’t get in touch with him, I’d check with Amanda to see if she could vouch for her, and I’d give her the money out of my personal account.

Once I got off the elevator on Neko’s floor, I called Amanda. It took a few rings, but she eventually answered.

“What’s up, E?”

“You know somebody named Juelz that work at the club?” I asked, unlocking Neko’s door.

“Mmm, that name is slightly familiar. I don’t think that’s her stage name. What does she look like?” After I described her, she said, “Ooh yes, I know her. She’s one of the newer girls. Why?”

“She’s at the firm looking for…” I didn’t want to tell her business. “What do you know about her?”

“She’s cool. Quiet. A good girl. Honestly, she doesn’t belong there, but she’s trying to take care of her parents and little sister. If I’m not mistaken, both of her parents are unable to work, for whatever reason, so she’s taken on the responsibility of being the provider of the house.”

“Damn. Okay.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I don’t really want to tell her business.”

She sucked her teeth. “You know I’m not going to tell anyone what you tell me.”

“She needs some money. Something about a loan she took out from the owner, and she has to pay it back.”

“If she took money from Luca, and he’s demanding payment, she needs to pay that shit ASAP.”

“That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll give it to her one way or another.”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you. If she can’t pay you back, I’ll cover it for her.”

“Come on now, you know you don’t have to do that. She won’t have to pay it back either. It sounds like she’s struggling right now, and the last thing she needs is another debt.”

“True.”

“Well…I guess I’ll let you go.”

“Okay. It was good to hear from you.”

“You too, Mandy.”

I smiled, but I didn’t want to get caught up in talking to her, so I ended the call. Neko texted back that he was available, so I called to let him know what was going on. He agreed with me giving her the twelve thousand, and she would receive the rest of her advance after he signed her next year. Hopefully, this would help her get to a better place financially for her and her family.