Page 38 of Mr. Blackwood

“Your business names and business logos are everywhere, Jabari,” Camilla professed as we stepped inside of the banquet hall. Those were the most words she had spoken since I had picked her up. She had been unusually quiet tonight, and I figured she must have had a lot on her mind.

We were attending a corporate gala to raise funds for mental health programs. I had paid for a top-tier corporate table sponsorship for the gala that had live entertainment and high-visibility branding. We had just arrived at the gala, but I had wanted to skip it in exchange for spending time with her. I knew that I would have the rest of the night to spend with her, so I opted to attend.

Too much time had passed since I had seen Camilla. That was the reason that I didn’t do relationships; I never enjoyed missing someone. Yet, all I wanted was to be underneath her. The day my father popped up, I was heading out of town on a business trip later that night.

I had reached out to Camilla because I knew she could help me release the negative energy and the agitation that had been stirred up within me after my father’s visit. When I couldn’t reach her, I had moved forward on my time with my friends that was already on the schedule. Right after they left, I left the office, and I hadn’t had time to spend with Camilla. The most I had been able to do was FaceTime her, but she informed me that she couldn’t chat for long. She was in the middle of a major project for the magazine.

I respected and understood her need to focus on her business. We had spent a lot of time together, and I knew that could be detrimental when you were in the midst of expansion.

My phone chimed with an email notification from my private email as the hostess and host approached us. I frowned when I read the subject line: OPEN NOW.

It was from Cole.

“I didn’t think you would attend, Jabari,” Juliette Howell, the hostess, greeted me with an air kiss and a hug.

“You know I wouldn’t miss any event you put on, Juli,” I lied.

“I told you he would say that,” Steven Rawlins, the host, declared, laughing.

“Juli, Steve, this is Camilla Valentine, my date for the night. She’s also the founder and CEO of ColorMe CEO Magazine. Cami, this is Juliette Howell and Steven Rawlins. They are the CEO and COO of Coral Health, and they sit on the board of Grady Memorial Hospital,” I introduced.

“I know exactly who you are,” Juliette remarked, grinning broadly at Camilla. “And I love that dress you’re wearing.”

I loved the short, black, backless dress, too, but I couldn’t wait to get it off of her.

“If you will all excuse me, I have an urgent matter to attend to,” I apologized, dropping a kiss on Camilla’s lips.

They nodded and immediately went into conversation. I stepped away and held up one finger at a few business constituents who were trying to wave me down.

I opened the email and scrolled. There was no text, just pictures. They were pictures of Camilla and my dad on the street just outside of my building. From what he was wearing, I could tell that it was the same day he approached me for money. There were more pictures of the two of them walking back to the parking lot, in her car, at the ATM down the street from the building, and at a coffee shop over on West College Avenue in Decatur.

What the fuck was this all about? I wondered. My jaw clenched, and I hoped it wasn’t what it looked like, but one of the last pictures was damning. She slid the money envelope across the table to him. After that, there were a couple of photos of them leaving together, and then one of her dropping him off at the condo he lived in.

I hoped that he hadn’t done anything stupid, but I knew that it was too late for those sorts of thoughts and wishes.

I dialed a number.

“Hello?”

“Tyriq, I need a favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need you to get my pops off the streets for a while.”

“What’s a while?”

“Until you hear otherwise.”

“Done.”

“Also, there are some problems I need you to get rid of. He’ll give you the names.”

“Done.”

Tyriq was the last holdout that Jett, Kanaan, Regent, and I had from our street days. He still had eyes and ears in the streets, but he had a security firm that was very profitable for him now. He took care of anything we needed, whenever we needed.

I ended the call and took a few seconds to gather my composure. I was pissed the fuck off because now I understood why she had been avoiding me. It was clear what the major project she’d been working on had been: me. The distance that I felt in her since picking her up made sense now. Camilla knew my past or parts of it, and she was distancing herself while preparing to use that knowledge to further her own selfish agenda.