Chapter 42

42

E lias

One Week Later

Amanda was right. Not only did the city love the idea of us giving back but it also led to more influential and prolific people wanting to join us through donations and attending the auction in December. I felt grounded and proud to be able to give back to the city on a grand scale. Neko and I agreed to give out a hundred baskets full of food, ten gift cards that had two hundred and fifty dollars on them for groceries, and ten business scholarships for a hundred thousand dollars each.

The scholarship winners would be announced at the Christmas auction, but Amanda, EJ, and I were delivering the baskets and gift cards today. I didn’t want to go live for the deliveries, even though I knew that would be a good look, but she insisted we do it so the cause could reach more people. I was live on Facebook, and she was live on TikTok. Because she was a part of their creator program, they boosted her live, and she had almost half a million people watching.

We’d set up a separate donation page for anyone who wanted to give for Christmas, and so far, we’d already raised close to a quarter of a million dollars. I think that was what hit my heart most—the fact that her idea and our actions motivated other people to give. Sharing this moment with our son and showing him that it wasn’t enough to make money for yourself but to also give back when you could had put tears in my eyes.

I never thought Mandy and I would get to a point in our relationship where we could do something like this, but I was grateful to God for the means to be able to do it, the desire to do it, and Him blessing her with the idea for us to do it. This was going to open doors for us individually and for N.E. Art …I could feel that in my bones…and I owed it all to my girl.

That Night

Amanda avoided my eyes as she walked out of the police station. She was lucky I had the connections I had. Otherwise, her ass would’ve still been locked up. Thankfully, Captain Brooks called and told me what happened. Instead of having the officer process Amanda, he let her wait in his office for me. Felicity’s and Tamar’s wild asses had been driven home.

“Ain’t no point in you looking sad now,” I fussed as we walked to my Jeep.

What started as a good, positive day turned into her fighting and getting arrested. Tonight was the first time Felicity had a dinner party with her social club since everything went down with Scotty. They went to some restaurant downtown and had a private room, but apparently, some women were mugging them from the time they went in to the time they left. Words were exchanged, fists were thrown, and the police were called. That was all I knew, and I needed answers because Amanda hadn’t gotten into a fight in years, and she only fought when she absolutely had to.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked innocently, wrapping her arm around mine.

“I’m not mad, especially since I don’t know what happened. I just want to know what made you beat that girl up after the good day we had. What if people posted that shit online?”

Amanda groaned and kicked the air with a pout, forcing me to have to hold my laugh in.

“I tried to walk away, baby. Felicity has the video. She can send it, and you can see for yourself.”

“Aight, tell her to send it.”

While she typed on her phone, I guided her to the Jeep. By the time we’d made it inside, Felicity had sent the video.

Three women by the bar stared at Amanda. As they walked by, Tamar put Amanda between her and Felicity. That caused the women to laugh and say Amanda was weak.

With a chuckle, Amanda stopped in front of them. “Separating me from you is for your benefit. Trust me.”

“Girl, bye,” one of the women said with a wave of her hand. “Ain’t nobody scared of you.”

“You should be,” Felicity said.

“I’m sure she knows how to fight,” another woman said, stepping in front of Amanda. “She would need to, the way she goes around fucking women’s men.”

There was a difference between someone who could fight and someone who was a fighter. Amanda was a fighter. For that reason, she never hit anyone first. She didn’t even like to fight. That was why I was so surprised by the turn of events.

“Look, if this is about some nigga that cheated on you years ago, I don’t care about that shit,” Amanda said, trying to walk away.

“Of course you don’t care. You sleep with any woman’s man, break up their home, and go on about your business, don’t you? You ain’t worth shit, bitch. All you’re good for is stripping and fucking. That’s all you’re known for too,” the third woman said.

Amanda released a long exhale. Her expression was calm. “I’m trying to be understanding,” she said quietly. “If I helped your man cheat on you, I do apologize. I’m a different woman now. Whatever happened had to have happened over five years ago, so please, heal and move on. I’m not about to stand here and argue with you about some man I probably wouldn’t even recognize if he walked down the street.”

All hell broke loose when Amanda turned around and they started walking away.

“Bitch, you ruined my family!” the third woman yelled, grabbing Amanda’s hair.

Like lightning, Amanda turned, grabbed the woman’s arm, and used it to yank her under her arm. She had her gripped in a headlock and delivered blow after blow until the bartender came and tried to pull Amanda away. At that point, it was useless. When she started, there was no stopping her until she was ready. As soon as the bartender grabbed her, she turned around and hit him with a three piece that sent him into the bar.

“Damn!” I yelled before snorting out a laugh from my surprise.

The only thing that stopped her from going back after the girl was Felicity and Tamar grabbing her. That only made things worse because the girl’s friends called themselves jumping in. Tamar and Felicity sent fast punches their way. Shortly after that, the video stopped. I handed her the phone and noticed she had tears in her eyes as her leg shook.

“How do you feel?” I asked, not bothering to cut the car on yet.

The abrupt sob that left her caught me off guard. I pulled her onto my lap and held her while she got out her tears. When they turned into snivels, I wiped her face.

“Talk to me, Mandy. You beat her ass. Why you crying?”

Sniffling, she tucked her head so much her chin almost touched her chest.

“I’m tired of stuff like that happening,” she grumbled. “It feels like regardless of the progress I’ve made over the years, people still judge me because of my past. Men still see me as an object—just a body. Women see me as a whore or homewrecker. Someone who doesn’t have anything to offer.” I caught a tear that slipped down her cheek. “I know people’s opinion of me doesn’t matter, but it still sucks. Like…I don’t want to be somewhere with EJ and something like that happens, you know? I don’t want one of his friend’s moms to see me and say something negative about me that he gets bullied about in school.

“And now with me trying to start my business and do something positive for women, I feel like shit like that is going to overshadow it. I don’t regret what I’ve done because it was all a part of me becoming who I am, but damn. There’s just so many things I would do differently if I could go back. How will people take me seriously when I have to own up to stuff like that?”

That was heavy. I didn’t want to oversimplify how she felt by rushing a response. So for a while, I remained silent and stroked her arms and back. When I felt led to speak, I did.

“You did everything right in that moment, bae.” I lifted her head by her chin so she could look into my eyes. “You tried to walk away, you apologized, you took accountability for your actions, and you tried to defuse the situation. You are not responsible for the actions of others, nor are you responsible for how they react to what you say or do.”

I paused and gave her a moment to receive that. “We all have things in our past that we would change if we could, but every piece of the puzzle was needed to create this version of you today. There might come a day when our son has questions about our past, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I want you to take pride in how you’ve changed and how far you’ve come.

“People are going to take you and your business seriously because you’re being authentic. You’re not hiding your past; you’re turning it into something motivational that will help other women respect themselves, increase their confidence, and feel beautiful. Even if people judge you, their perception of you doesn’t matter. I don’t want you to allow anyone to make you feel bad about some shit that you’ve made peace with.

“You’ve buried that version of yourself. Don’t dig her back up. I’m so proud of you, and I know this is literally just the beginning for you. The sky won’t even be the limit for the good you’re going to do in the world. People are going to talk, and they’re going to hate, but as long as they don’t put their hands on you, respond just like you did today. And if they do put they hands on you, you show them why you ain’t to be fucked with. I don’t usually condone women fighting, but she deserved that shit.”

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you, baby. I needed to hear that. The whole time I sat in there with Captain Brooks, I was overthinking myself into sadness. Usually, I wouldn’t have cared about her saying what she said, but fighting because of it? I think that’s what triggered me.”

“I think the people God chooses to make the biggest impacts and reach the highest peaks have the lowest starts. Take pride in who you are, what you have to give, and what’s about to come. You did the right thing, bae.”

She brushed her nose against mine before kissing my lips. “You’re right. I’m not going to let this distract me and keep me from pressing forward. We did something amazing today, and I’m going to keep going with The Masterpiece Mission. There are women who would have been in my position today and allowed it to make them crumble. I won’t let it.”

“Wait…That’s what you’re going to name it?”

“Mhm.”

“I like that. What’s the meaning behind it?”

“Well…” The childlike innocence of her tone as she played with the collar of my shirt made me want to do whatever I could to be there for and protect this woman. “When I was doing my planning for the mission statement, bible verses kept coming to mind. Three specifically. Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:14, and Genesis 1:27.

“They all basically talk about how we’re wonderfully made in the image of God. That we’re His canvases, His works of art, His masterpieces. I didn’t feel like that at all, but then I thought about how just by being alive, God made me worthy. I want everything I do with The Masterpiece Mission to be like a mirrored reflection of the internal beauty that’s in all of us because of God. I want to be a canvas that God uses to show women what’s possible if they step into their true identity that can only be found in Him.

“I’ve been listening to Jazmine Sullivan’s ‘Masterpiece’ a lot, and that’s the message that’s been resonating with me. I think that’s why I was so hurt over what happened today. It felt like I took a million steps back but—”

“Shh, I don’t even want to hear you say that.” I pecked her lips softly. “It was a trick of the enemy to see if you would stand firm on the foundation God has given you to stand on or not. That purpose is heavy on you, bae. This probably won’t be the last attempt to stop the greatness that is about to be birthed inside of you, but as long as you remain faithful, you’re going to pass every test.”

Her hand cupped my cheek. “You keep showing me reasons I need you in my corner. I didn’t value your place in my life in the past or even partnership for that matter, but the way you encourage me, pour into me, lift me up—I’m so blessed to have you.”

“I feel the same way about you. We done been through some shit, but I really believe things are only going to get better for us going forward. I’m looking forward to seeing just how beautiful life is about to be.”

As her hand slipped down the back of my head, she connected her lips with mine. And just that quickly, all was right in our world again.

The Following Monday

When the temporary receptionist told me I had a visitor, I wasn’t expecting it to be Fiona. She looked good, refreshed. I was a little disappointed when she ended up leaving before her two weeks’ notice was up, but I wasn’t surprised. She didn’t need to work here or anywhere else for that matter. I hated that she wasn’t a woman of her word, but I also couldn’t imagine how it felt to work for me knowing we couldn’t be together, when that was the only reason she was here. So, even though it wasn’t how I would have ended things, I didn’t blame her.

I appreciated that she waited for me by the receptionist’s desk instead of coming to my office. As far as I was concerned, there would never be a reason for us to be alone.

“Wassup?” I greeted.

“Hi. How are you?”

“I’m well. You?”

“Same. I um…saw the live you and your family did yesterday. Y’all looked beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you and Amanda back together?”

Chuckling, I crossed my arms. “Is that what you came here for?”

Fiona sighed and shook her head. She went into her purse and handed me an envelope. “No. I wanted to give you that. It’s a check for the donations. I wasn’t able to add the account information online.”

“Is this from you or your father?”

A tiny glimmer filled her eyes. “Both. He’s too proud to say it, but he regrets how things ended between the two of you.”

“It’s best if he doesn’t say it because it won’t change anything.” I extended the envelope back in her direction. “I appreciate the donation, but I don’t want him involved. Had it come just from you, I would have taken it. Thank you though.”

Her stance slouched as she pouted. “Come on, Elias. I never wanted to come between the two of you. If you would just talk—”

“I don’t have anything to say to him, and I don’t want his money. If that’s all you came for, you can leave.”

When I turned to walk away, she grabbed my arm to stop me. “I figured you would say that, so I wrote a second check from my account just to be safe.”

I chuckled and shook my head as she reached into her bag for a second envelope. “Thank you, Fiona.”

“You’re welcome. I love what you’re doing. Um…is it still okay if I come to the Thanksgiving party?”

“Yeah, that’s cool. Quite a few people are going to be there because of you.” I paused before adding, “Mandy will be there. We are back together. So if that’s going to bother you—”

Her head shook and hung as she released a shaky breath. “No i-it’s fine. I practically gave you back to her on a silver platter because of my secret. Lesson learned.”

“Hey.” I gently squeezed her shoulder. “I know this might be crazy to say but thank you. You are a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Any man will be proud to have you. I was proud to have you, and being with you led me back to the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. I’ll always cherish the good times we had. I hope you know that.”

She squeezed my hand as it rested on her shoulder and smiled.

“Thank you for saying that. I will too. I guess I’ll see you at the party.”

“Aight, cool.”

As she walked toward the elevator, I walked back to my office. I closed the door then opened the envelope to see how much she’d donated. Thanks to her six figures, we’d officially hit a million dollars to give out for Christmas donations.