Ballers: His Game (Ballers Series Book 1)(28)
He wanted to help so he went to get Brielle ready for school. Brielle is a very smart little girl, but she is not to be trusted picking her own outfit. Which Brad just happened to let her do. I came down to breakfast and my baby looked like she was going to the circus as a clown princess.
Brad just thinks anything she does is adorable and couldn’t see why I was yet again freaking out. I had to skip breakfast to get her into a new outfit, which caused her and me to fight. Because her daddy said she looked pretty in her outfit.
Which would lead me to the spoiling Brad did with Bri yesterday. He bought her anything she squealed about and then some, including a pair of one and a half carat earrings. He wanted to buy her larger ones but I only won the argument because the bigger ones really didn’t look good in her tiny ears.
Then there are the diamond butterfly hair clips he insisted on buying her. I mean I understand he feels he missed out on so much with her and wants to make up for it. I also understand he is single and has more money than he knows what to do with. He can more than afford to spoil us. But really, diamond hair pins… come on dude.
So of course mommy was the bad guy when she made Brielle, daddy’s little princess, change into a pair of capris, a tank top and flat shoes. Plus I refused to let her at least wear the hair pins. Brielle threw a full out tantrum. I needed to be out the door getting to the office to get ready for several morning meetings. Brad understood why I told Brielle no but still wanted to cave because of the tears.
At that point I was pissed and told him sleepovers were over. If Brielle wasn’t staring in his mouth that argument would have been a lot worse. Brad has every intension of being in my house as much as he can and has said so more than once.
Our last argument happened when Ellerie showed up as usual to take Brielle to school. I needed to be out the door and things are usually always so smooth in the mornings. Ellerie is used to grabbing Brielle and being on their way. Having Brad there threw everyone off. Brielle wanted Brad to take her, but Brad doesn’t know the routine and the school has no clue who he is to her.
Brad was annoyed that I didn’t tell Ellerie that he didn’t have to take Brielle and let him do it instead. So twenty minutes after Bri and Ellerie were gone, and thirty after I should have been out of the door, I was still standing in the kitchen fussing with Brad. He eventually caved and apologized asking me to be more patient with him and the situation. I gave in too and teased him.
“I don’t think I have enough patience to teach my white boy what not to do with a black woman’s hair,” I snort.
“Ha, but you did just say your white boy. That’s all that matters Darlin’, I promise I’ll figure out the rest,” he says with a heartbreaking smile.
He reached out for me and I slapped his hand away. “Oh no Brad, I needed to leave a long time ago. I’ll see you later,” I pushed up on my toes and pecked his lips.
“I love you, Darlin’ and I am sleeping over tonight,” he crooned with a boyish grin.
“Perv,” I teased and rushed him out of the door.
If only the drama and frustration ended there, but for me life is never that simple. That is why I am now heading to my bosses office upon his request to see me as soon as I got in. Thank God I am only late according to my standards. I usually come in early every day to get ahead of my tasks so today it is like I am here on time with everyone else.
I know this is not a social visit. Cyrus Pierson will come see you if it is a friendly visit. When you are getting chewed out he wants you on his territory. I think it is his huge desk and chair he sits in that he likes to use to anchor fear in his subjects. I haven’t been summoned into Pierson’s office since I got hired. He always stops by my office.
I stop outside his office door to straighten my suit jacket and smooth my hands over my pencil skirt. I finger my sweeping bangs and my bun before reaching to knock then pushing open the door.
“Ah Tamara, come have a seat dear,” Cyrus drawls. Its funny Ellerie and I are probably the only people in this state that don’t have a drawl even after five years. Even Brielle sounds more like she is from Texas than the daughter of a New Yorker. Cyrus is sitting behind his desk with his fingers steeple in front of his mouth. His lips are pinched, a sure tell that he is pissed about something.
I walk to one of the chairs in front of his desk with confidence and sit gracefully. Cyrus leans forward picking up the newspaper from his desk and tosses it toward me. He raises a brow, drawing to his full height in his seat and glares.
“I was a little disappointed you haven’t confided in me about Monroe,” he gripes, his face transforming to a look of hurt.
How does he know about Brad? My brows draw together and I reach for the paper he tossed at me. Right on the front page is a picture of Brad with Brielle cradled in one arm at his hip, and me tucked under the other arm, while shopping bags hung from his hands. He is wearing his shades and his face is turned up at Brielle. He is kissing her cheek while her head is thrown back in laughter. I am looking up at both of them with a face splitting grin of my own.
I suck in a deep breath and groan. The headline reads, The Reason Texas Son Returns, with smaller caption reading, Is He Back for Love? This cannot be my life. I told Brad we needed to move slowly, this is not slow. Two weeks and now my life is a front page story and boy, are they wrong. I flip through to the story in the paper and there are several more pictures.
Brad with his arm locked around my waist staring down at me. One with Brad kissing me senseless, another with Brad feeding Brielle his frozen yogurt, they even had a freaking picture of Brad purchasing Brielle’s earrings and hair pins. There are two pages worth of pictures of us plastered across them.