Page 8 of Platinum Pressure

My parents didn’t have a rebuttal because they knew they were dead-ass wrong for how they handled the situation.

The front door opened, and Seddy walked back into the living room with a woman by his side.

“Platinum, Mama Lottie, and Mr. Perry, allow me to introduce you all to Meadow Edwards. She’s a licensed nurse and physical therapist. She will create a personalized regimen for Platinum before and after surgery and will be in constant contact with his medical team.”

At the sound of Seddy’s voice, I looked up. I felt the air leave my lungs as I took in the woman.

Damn.

My eyes studied her face first. She was a smooth cocoa complexion with features straight out of my dreams. If this were a cartoon, the angels would be singing as a stream of drool fell from my mouth. She was fine as fuck and thick, like I liked my women. If I opened a dictionary right now, a picture of her would be there to give the perfect definition of beautiful.

Her presence alone made me feel like my world stopped. She was my type in every way, from the way she smiled at my parents to the way she rivaled the sun with her radiant skin.

“Hey, y’all. It’s a pleasure to meet everyone.” Meadow greeted us with a Southern drawl as smooth as honey. I wanted to know if she tasted as sweet as she sounded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Meadow. Thank you so much for coming and agreeing to do this on such short notice. The injury came as a surprise to all of us.” Mama spoke for the room.

I smacked my lips. “Don’t speak for me, Mama. It is not nice to meet you, and I really don’t want you here, even if you are fine as hell.”

“Porter!” Mama and Pops exclaimed in unison.

Seddy chuckled. “Don’t mind him. We appreciate you coming on such short notice. The agency has told us you’re the best in the field.”

“It’s no problem at all. I’ve dealt with enough clients to handle a tantrum from a grown man. He’ll be fine. Today will just be an introduction to the program and guidelines everyone will follow. I have some paperwork I will need him to sign, but for now, I don’t mind giving a rundown of things so we are all on the same page. My main goal is to make sure the patient is comfortable and receptive to my presence in their home.” Meadow’s tone was even as she spoke to Seddy.

“You’re going to dismiss my wants as well?” I asked Meadow with a bored expression.

“Of course not. I value your wants, but your needs are my only concern. You may not want my help, but you’re going to get it. You may not want someone to help you get through the next couple of weeks leading up to your surgery, but you’re going to get it. You may not want me here, but you will need me here. The experience is up to you. We can make the most of your recovery, or you can throw tantrums the whole time . . . It makes me no difference.”

I had nothing left to say. I wanted to be pissed. I wanted to “throw tantrums” as she had so eloquently put it, but I couldn’t. Her fine ass met my attitude with logic.

She said all the right things, but I was still mad at my parents and Sed. She was a stranger with a pretty face—a combination that led to a lot of men’s demise. I’d been a victim to a pretty face many times, and every time resulted in me losing thousands of dollars. Nurse or not, all women saw when they looked at me was a meal ticket, which was why I guarded my heart with the heaviest of armors. No one else could get the chance to play with me.

I wouldn’t forgive my family if Meadow ended up being a snake. I prayed she was as genuine as everyone perceived her to be.

Was this really my life?

When I pulled up to HQ a few days ago, I thought Martwon was joking when he told me who the client would be. Then paperwork started flying around, and NDAs were amongst the files, and I realized how serious the situation was.

The whole country was enamored with conversations about Platinum’s injury. He was a big deal in the city of Cade’s Cove, so even if I wasn’t a huge football fan, I knew about Platinum and his contribution to making the Silverbacks a popular team. My daddy was a huge fan and had been following Platinum’s success since he was in college.

I did not know what I was getting myself into, but the money was unlike any other job I’d taken in my whole life. Seddrick and the Jones family were paying me in three installments, a lump sum more than double my current annual salary.

The elders always said it was bad luck to spend money before I got it, but I couldn’t help toying with the idea of finally making enough money to open my practice. A Healing Meadow would allow me to set my standard for clients when I finished with Platinum’s recovery. If I could secure more professional athletes, the resources would be limitless.

The money was going to be life changing, but making it through the eight-to-twelve-month recovery process was going to be hard, especially when the first words the man spoke to me were, “It is not nice to meet you, and I really don’t want you here, even if you are fine as hell.”

The compliment would have flattered a bird, but I was a woman not impressed by money or material things, especially not from a man whose private life was often broadcasted for the world to see. Platinum Jones was a known asshole. Players hated him in the league, and viewers hated him in the real world. Women fell at their feet to be with him and ultimately ended up crying on the internet when he broke their hearts. I vividly remembered the public breakup he had with his ex-girlfriend Raileigh. Raileigh was a known model with like two million followers. She made sure to document and post all their business publicly and didn’t delete anything until she was given like a half a million dollars to keep up the lifestyle she had while she was with him. It was a mess.

Platinum Jones was a man of many attributes: entitled, rude, and cussed like a sailor were just a few to graze the surface. He got away with it because he was fine as hell. The man was well over six feet with a body as solid as a brick wall. He had tattoos, thick muscles, and expensive taste in his signature look. There was never a moment the paparazzi caught him in anything less than a thousand-dollar outfit. It would be a test of my willpower to get through his tantrums, but I spent a lot of time working on my patience.

“I’ve gotten in contact with the care team, but Platinum will need to sign a consent form for me to speak on his behalf and work alongside the medical staff,” I explained.

In the folder I brought with me, I pulled out the first form and slid it out for him. He looked at me, then at the paper. He took it from my hands and skimmed the page briefly.

“Seddrick, did you read these papers?” Platinum asked with a bored tone.

“I was there when they drafted them up with the lawyers, P,” Seddrick replied.