Incredulous she responded. “You had an affair with your brother’s wife? No amount of money would keep me from my child.” Her face twisted in disgust. “You’re willing to trade yours for ownership of GHI.”
Raymond reached out to touch her shoulder. His face softened. “If you could just give me time to explain my side of things. I want to do what’s best for everyone.”
Imani thrust his hands off her. “Don’t you ever touch me! I would suggest the next time you’re within ten feet of my presence to steer very clear. Otherwise, I can guarantee that you’ll wish the fallout would only be me pressing charges.” Imani stormed away.
Raymond licked his lips as he watched her walk away with an even deeper appreciation for the woman. Someone appeared out of nowhere and stood almost shoulder to shoulder with him. Raymond continued to watch Imani until she disappeared into the crowd. “Did you get the shot?”
The man lifted his camera. “Got it. I’ll send you the headline before it goes live tomorrow.”
*****
Imani called her office to tell her team she would be late. After her run-in with Raymond, she headed straight to Garrett’s.
His administrative assistant informed her that he was in a meeting. “Can you tell him that it’s important?”
“Of course, Mrs. Hadley.”
“Is it okay to wait for him in his office?”
“Absolutely.”
Imani went inside and paced the floor. She was too amped up to sit down. How could Garrett not tell her about Raymond? How could he leave that detail out?
A few minutes later, he walked into his office. Concern was written all over his face. “Imani. Is everything okay?”
“No. I’m . . .”
“What?”
“I met Raymond today.”
The color drained from his face. His voice hardened. “How did that happen?”
“He accidentally on purpose bumped into me at the little coffee shop I go to by my office.”
Garrett was barely holding on to his calm. “You need to stay the hell away from him!”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
Her own voice started to rise. “Tell me what? Are you kidding? He’s your brother, Garrett. Your brother! You led me to believe Raymond was an old friend.” Imani continued to search for words. “A-A business associate.”
“What was I supposed to do? Tell you my brother and wife are conspiring against me? My family isn’t like yours. I tell you what you need to know.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “Is that how we handle things? You tell me what I need to know?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m not an employee, Garrett! I’m your wife. That means we should tell each other the import stuff even when it’s hard.”
Garrett didn’t respond. He stared her down. When he did it was cold and unfeeling. “I’ve got a business to run. I don’t have time for this.”
Angrily, he left, leaving Imani fuming.
*****
The remainder of Imani’s day didn’t get any better. She was a bear to work with and decided to cut out early before she didn’t have any employees come in to work tomorrow.
When she arrived home, Anna was about to feed Garrett Jr. “Mrs. Hadley, you’re home early.”
She smiled weakly. “Long day. Thought I’d cut my losses and spend some time with my favorite fella.”
Garrett Jr. seemed excited to see her. He clapped and laughed at her presence. Imani couldn’t help but return his excitement. She bent low and kissed him on the forehead. “Hey, little guy.” She looked up at Anna. “If you don’t mind, I can feed him. Just give me a minute to wash my hands.”
Imani put away her portfolio and washed up. Just as promised, she was back in a flash. She spent the next several hours hanging out with Garrett Jr. At the moment, he was the only thing in her life that made sense.
It was late when Garrett finally arrived home from work. Imani had already bathed and fed the baby, and he was tucked in tight.
She could handle the son but didn’t know what to do about the father. It seemed for every step forward, they took two backward. How were they supposed to have a real marriage if he wouldn’t allow her in? She thought about her conversation earlier with her mom.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Imani?”
She sniffed trying to hide the tears in her voice. “Yeah. It’s me.”
“What’s wrong sweetheart?”
“Garrett and I had another fight.”
Felicia was putting clothes away but sat down on the bed to give her daughter her full attention. “Not every day is going to be sunshine. What happened?”
“I know that. It’s just . . . he’s having such a hard time trusting me.”
“Ahhh . . .” Her mother said knowingly. “Trust. Easy to say and hard to do. It doesn’t magically happen after you say your I’ do’s. In your case, it might take a little longer than what it should. You two have all the passion and fire, but trust takes a little longer to build.”
Imani wiped a single tear away. “I get that. It’s just—he’s having a hard time with the basics. Like, he knows my entire family. I’ve never met his. You know the reason we got married.”
“Mmmhmmm. I know.” Felicia crossed her arms. “I like Garrett a lot, and in some ways, I think he’s good for you, but telling us you were getting married after only knowing each other a few weeks blew my mind. Your father and I had our reservations, but since we married after dating for a month,
