Page 17 of Terms of the Flight

He grabbed his napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth. Then he looked up to focus in my direction.

“Follow me to my office.”

It wasn’t an offer but a command. I knew that without needing clarification. So I leaned over and kissed my mother’s cheek, then silently followed my dad down the hall to his office. The moment we were inside, he walked further into the room and took up the seat behind his desk.

I glanced down at my watch, realizing I didn’t have much time before I needed to catch my flight.

“What’s up?” I asked again.

“You know exactly where this conversation is headed. I’ve allowed you to run around playing a jeweler when you have a legacy that many young men would kill for. I’m giving you just one more month to get this shit out of your system.”

I stroked my chin, then chuckled. My dad really thought he pumped fear into me. I was a grown-ass man and wasn’t looking for his approval anymore. He could miss me on that. I wasn’t interested in running his banks if this was the shit that came with it.

He couldn’t control me.

“You know you’re more than welcome to offer this to those young men you speak of, and I bet they would run your legacyinto the ground. I hate that we have to continue to have this conversation. If my memory serves me correctly, you’re the one who encouraged me to start my business. I even gave your money back, and some.”

My dad stood from behind the desk and slammed his fist into the top. His skin had turned a deep red against his smooth caramel skin tone. I knew he was pissed, but I didn’t give a fuck. That was on him.

“You’re so fucking ungrateful. Do you really think being a jeweler can afford you the life you’ve been accustomed to?” he asked.

I dragged my hand down my face, then glanced at my watch once more.

“I know you believe it’s the money from the bank that has been funding my lifestyle, but that’s where you’re wrong. If you think dogging out a business that I built from the ground up is going to convince me to do what you want, think again.”

I didn’t give him a chance to say another thing to me and turned to leave the room. My dad continued to shout at my back. I walked down the hall, not looking back for a moment. My mom stood by the door with a worried expression. I didn’t give her a chance to ask what happened when I leaned down to kiss her cheek and continued out the front door to my awaiting car.

This trip was coming at the perfect time. But I knew it would. Any time I came by my parents’ place these days, it always ended the same way. I never told my pops that I wouldn’t run the banks. He just wanted total submission, and he damn sure wasn’t getting that from me.

My driver pulled the door open, and I slipped inside. The moment the door closed, I closed my eyes to take a short nap to get my head back on straight.

Thirty minutes had come and gone before we pulled up to the airstrip. I didn’t have a single bag packed, but I figured I could grab me a few new things once I made it to my destination.

The moment we pulled up, a navy carpet was rolled down to meet me, leading to the large navy-and-gold plane with the words Premier Wings written along the side. I smirked, excited for a flight for the first time in a long time.

I took the steps two at a time, ready to see her face. If this was pretend, I needed to calm the hell down. But for some reason, this woman entertained the hell out of me. I needed a good laugh after the shit with my dad.

The moment I stepped onto the plane, her back was to me, showing all that ass she had encased in her pencil skirt. My hands were itching to touch, but I knew that wouldn’t get me the response I wanted.

“Is it my lucky day or what?” I asked.

She turned to face me with a tight-lipped smile, then rolled her eyes.

“Am I supposed to take that as you’re happy to see me?” I questioned.

She shrugged, then gestured to the seat beside her with my chilled bottle of Fiji beside her.

“I guess you can say that if it makes you enjoy your flight a little more.”

I laughed as I walked over to the open seat she’d had set the way I like it.

“You don’t have to front for me, Ms. Mathers. After the surprise I have for you, I think you’re going to be speaking a different tune.”

Just as the words left my lips, my driver walked onto the plane with a few bags in hand. The moment she saw the Birkin label on the bags, her eyes widened, and so did her smile. Now I had a front-row seat to all thirty-two of her pearly whites.

Jerome placed the bags onto the table in front of me, then nodded at Khaleya and left the plane. She clasped her hands in front of her and did a little dance. The moment she was sure we were alone, she walked over and whispered.

“Are those for me? You know I was just kidding, right?”