“Yes, it is,” I reply.
She taps her finger against her cheek in time with the passing seconds.
One tap.Two.Three.
At the seven second mark, she sits up and places her hands in her lap.
“Your expression is the same as when you told me you were starting your own business and would become a multi-billionaire in less than eight years.You succeeded.”I fight a wave of possessive pride.My business is mine.I built it from scratch.As the founder, owner, CEO, and biggest shareholder, it will always be mine.It doesn’t matter how most other wealthy men view my success—I do not lean on old money, banks, or politics to make my money.I built my retailer and e-commerce company from the ground up and am proud of the monster it has become today.
“Don’t let that success go to your head, boy,” she scolds.
I curb my knee-jerk reaction—denial—and swallow.
She’s right.One look at Karey and all my defenses fell.
I fill my lungs until they ache, pushing my impatience and stubbornness into the trapped air before letting it out in a slow exhale.
Her arched brow suggests I’m a fool for not doing so earlier.I accept her critique without qualms.She’s right.I’m a fool.
An obsessed fool.
Even now, less than a handful of minutes from my woman’s departure, an itch forms under my skin as though I’m suffering from withdrawals.I may have only held Karey’s hand for a few seconds and been in her presence for only a few minutes, but my entire body craves her.
With my lungs empty, I hold firm until my heartbeat pounds in my ears and my fingertips tingle.
“Do you think your current approach will yield the results you seek?”my grandma asks.
As I inhale and give my body the oxygen it needs, I shove my emotions into the backseat—forcing the wild beast to heel—and let my logical brain take over.
“No, it will not,” I answer.
She nods once then sits as unmoving as a statue.
She has never said it outright, but by the way she disciplines me, she’s made it obvious she was a spy, although for whom or why, I never expect to find out.My mentor is as tight lipped as a human can be.
I learned my silence from her.It’s a finely tuned weapon I enjoy deploying against even the most persistent idiots.
She never demanded I tell her of my life before she took me in, but she read the police reports and ensured I had the best professionals to help me through my darkest days.Her trust in me alone should have made talking about Karey easy, but I could never force myself to open up and reveal my own youthful ignorance.
After running through my options, I take another deep breath before leaning forward and propping my elbows on my thighs.
“I need your help, Grandmother,” I say.
She quirks a brow, the politestno shit, motherfuckeron the planet while lifting her lips in a sweet smile.
Karey’s smiles are sweeter.
As I tell the basics of what happened between Karey and me in middle school, my grandmother gives no hints as to her thoughts, but she doesn’t disappoint in her response.
“You have your work cut out for you, but there’s no point arguing with you when you have that gleam in your eyes.I’ll do what I can, but this is your mess to clean up.Understand?”
“Of course, Grandma.”
She nods, rises with ethereal grace, and strides toward the door.
I pause.
The water bottle Karey drank out of is no longer on the coffee table.