by Iris Bolling
He took her hand. "Excuse me. We need Taylor for a minute," he said as he eased her away. "This house is crazy. You actually grew up here?"
Taylor nodded.
"Wow, this is pretty cool. My house could fit on your back porch."
"It's a veranda. That's the back porch over there." She pointed in the opposite direction.
Jason looked in that direction. "It can fit on that back porch too." He watched as her lips curled upward. "I see it. I see you are trying to smile."
"My mother is dead. What do I have to smile about?"
"You woke up this morning. You have a father and family who loves you. You live in a beautiful home, with servants and shit. You are a beautiful, talented young woman who has a man who women all over the world wants, and he is yours." He took her hands in his. "None of that will replace the love of your mother. But it will go a long long way in healing the hurt you feel right now."
"We argued about you. I couldn't believe she set you up with your ex-girlfriend. I said some pretty bad things to her.” The tears flowed. "I can't take it back."
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "I know, babe, and I am so sorry.”
Nicole walked over and pushed open a side door. "Take her in here."
Jason picked her up and took her inside. He sat down on the sofa with her. "I’m going to get her a cold washcloth.” Nicole left the room.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. "I missed you. I'm so sorry I pushed you away."
"Oh, babe, I missed you too." He kissed her temple, then pushed her hair from her face and held it. "Look at me, Taylor.” When her eyes focused on him he smiled. "You can try but you will never be able to push me away. I will be here for you." He kissed her cheeks then her lips. "Always. Tell me you know that."
"We are young, Jason, and both of us are in a crazy business. We don't even look at forever."
"I do when it comes to you. Why do you think I'm here instead of on the road? I'm getting fined $5,000 for every practice I miss and $10,000 for every game. Now, that might mean nothing to you, little rich girl, but that is my parents’ combined income for a month."
"Who are you calling a little rich girl?" She sat up.
"You."
"I am not having this argument with you again. I work just like you do."
Jason sat there smiling as she stood, wiping the tears away and laying him out. He liked this Taylor. The one who didn’t take no mess off of him. He folded his arms and listened. If this is what he had to do to bring some life back into her, so be it.
"What happened?" Nicole stood at the door with the damp cloth in her hand.
"He called me a little rich girl," Taylor shouted.
"I was just teasing her," Jason said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down onto his lap. "I like giving her a hard time." He wrapped his arm around her neck, pulled her head back and kissed her.
"So I take it you no longer need this." Nicole held the cloth up. "Unless you need something to cool off."
"No, I'm good." Taylor smiled.
"Good to hear. Ty wants to know if you feel like talking?"
Taylor sat up. "Sure."
Nicole stepped back and let Ty and Kiki in.
"You two doing okay?" Ty asked as he walked into the room and took a seat.
"Yeah, we are good," Jason replied.
Kiki stood behind her husband as she spoke. "Guys, we need to talk about the media." Her profession was a literary agent, however from time to time she helped Ty with his more visible clients. “In case you didn't notice we had a number of cameras taking pictures that are being splashed across the Internet. Pictures of you two coming out of the church have received over 1 million hits. It seems you two are now the hit couple to follow."
"And that's what we need to discuss," Ty interjected. "Are you two a couple is the first question I need answered."
Jason and Taylor glanced at each other then looked back at Ty. "We want to be," Jason responded, "but we don't want all this publicity."
"We just want time to get to know each other without all this craziness," Taylor added as Jason squeezed her hand.
Ty and Kiki glanced at each other. "With the pictures that hit the Internet today, we have to concede the word is out. What we need to do at this point is to contain it and try to keep your movements as private as possible," Kiki stated.
"You two are both on the east coast, so that helps," Ty added. "Taylor, are your plans still to attend law school this year?"
"I was accepted at Columbia and would like to start classes next semester."
"Congratulations." Kiki smiled. "So you're talking two years of law school and then the bar?"
"Yes." Taylor nodded as she glanced at Ty. "With my mother gone, I take it you are now my manager?"
"Yes," Ty replied. "I have to be honest, I have to undo a few things your mother did and it may take a while."
"Will you be able to get my career back on track when I'm ready?"
"Are you sure that this is what you really want to do?"
"I've always wanted to perform, Mr. Pendleton. That hasn't changed. I just need to step away. As you probably know by now, my mom was putting together some deals that I wasn't comfortable with."
"We will be revamping your career. Kiki will be handling you personally. In the meantime I want you to really think about what type of artist you want to be. A one hit wonder or someone they will remember through the ages. You have the talent for both. All we have to do is wrap you up in a nice, neat package. That means we have to keep your reputation clean and your skills on point. It's going to take a commitment from you to accomplish it." He turned to Jason. "That means no craziness from you, Jason. You are part of Taylor's life now, you have to keep the drama to a minimum."
"Hey, Mr. P, I swear I've been straight clean. Ask Mr. Nick."
"I spoke with him earlier today." Ty nodded. "He told me you had a little trouble in New York and handled it well."
Jason sighed. "I think Mr. Nick wrapped that up, but Keisha." He shook his head. "I never know what she is going to pull next."
"Well, you are going to have to find a way to keep her under control and any other women you meet on the road, if you plan to be with Taylor."
"I don't mess around on the road."
"You are young, a millionaire and a basketball player," Ty warned. "They are going to come out of the woodworks for you. Know it up front and handle yourself accordingly."
"For now," Taylor sighed, "maybe we should be close friends. Not get too serious until we are ready.”
Jason stared at her. "But, I'm ready now, Taylor."
"Like you were ready with Keisha back in high school?" She raised an eyebrow. "Look." She placed the palm of her hand on his cheek and brought his eyes up to hers. "If this is real, our friendship will become stronger over the next two years. There will be no hold on either of us. So when the media catches you doing something stupid, it will have no impact on us."
"So, we are going to be something like friends with benefits?"
"No, my buddy, you are not getting any from me until we have a title a lot stronger than friends."
Jason laughed. "Hey, I tried."
Taylor smiled. "So, we are friends, until we want to be more."
"I need a little more. I don't want other guys to think you are on the open market. Let's say we are dating. Getting to know one another, before we make a major commitment."
"I like that," Kiki commented. "We will use that with the media. Today's picture was of a friend supporting a friend in a time of sorrow. You were there to comfort her."
"In private, you can use whatever label you want," Ty agreed. "In public we will go with, you two are getting to know one another." He took Kiki by the hand. "You have two years to work on the emergence of Taylor Brooks. Lil Tay is being retired."
Taylor smiled. "I'm ready for that."
#
Sitting in his father's study, Vernon was surrounded by some of t
he most respected legal minds in the country. Of course, there was his father, Avery, his brother James, but added to the mix was the new United States Attorney General, Calvin Johnson, who took over after a scandal forced the resignation of the previous USAG and none other than JD Harrison, the President of the United States.
"He actually admitted to killing your wife," Brian Thompson, a friend of the President's and personal body man asked.
"He said she was a casualty of war." Vernon took a drink after making the statement. "I have met some devious men in my life, but this one." He shook his head. "This one I want to see in hell. He killed my wife. Whether I loved her or not, she was my wife. And no one, no one takes what's mine without paying a price."
"It's the Brooks way," James stated. "You do have a point. We have come up against some evil minds, but we are still here and they are not."
"Who could have rivaled Isaac’s evilness?"
"Gavin Roberts," Calvin offered.
"Wilbert Munford," Brian added.
"David Holt," James noted.
"Tarik from Ashmere." JD snapped his fingers. "No, his wife, Akande's aunt, Queen Sermyera. Now that was an evil woman. A true international devious mind. Now, if we could annihilate her, I am certain we can handle this Singleton character."
"What's his motivation?" Brian asked.
"Greed," Vernon stated.
"He wants money from you?" Wade Logan, a friend and one of Vernon's law partners asked.
Vernon looked at his father, then sat up. "You guys are going to hear this sooner or later, so here it is. Isaac Singleton is my biological father."
"I knew there was something different about you," Brian yelled. "Man." He shook his head laughing. "When I first met you I was blown away when they told me you were James’s brother. I couldn't figure that shit out to save my life." He looked around the room at the astonished faces. "Oh, none of you ever thought it?" he demanded.
Calvin and JD looked at each other. "Yeah, it did cross my mind," Calvin offered with a laugh.
Vernon looked at JD.
"I knew. You forget Ashley is my sister. She tells me everything." He glared at James. "I do mean everything."
The men in the room laughed.
"Well." Vernon sobered. "William Singleton, Isaac's father, put some type of amendment in his will. He required a search for the child they refused years ago. They had to determine if I was of good moral character. If so, I would inherit 50% of the estate."
"You don't need money," Brian stated.
"No, but Isaac did not want to share...period. So he set out to destroy the Brooks name."
"How much money are we talking?" Wade asked.
"Billions," Vernon replied.
"Is this the William and Estelle Singleton?" JD asked.
"Yes." Vernon nodded. "You know them?"
"No, but something came to my attention regarding the employees’ pension fund. We are trying to avoid another Enron type situation."
"Well, you may have a savior in that," Vernon stated. “It seems I'm not the only threat to Isaac. William had a son out of wedlock. Bobby S. Kennedy. His paternity has not been proven, but I may have solved that problem earlier today. Bobby is smart. Before all of this hell broke loose, I had him reviewing Singleton Enterprises’ portfolio. He has a stable business of his own and I thought he might be able to keep Isaac from running the company into the ground."
"Let me look a little further into the company's status," Calvin suggested. "We may be able to cut off any major damage to the pensions of those employees."
"I'll get with the Kennedy boy," Avery offered. "I may be able to help with the employees as well."
"Good." James sat forward. "Now how do we prove Vernon did not commit this murder?"
"Is Isaac Singleton the ex-NBA player who killed his teammate?" Brian asked.
"One and the same," Vernon offered.
"I would start with the old case," Calvin stated.
"Yes." Wade sat up with his tablet. "He has established a propensity for violence."
"He got away with it once, he may think he can get away with it again." Brian nodded.
There was a knock on the door. Xavier looked inside. "James, do you have a minute?"
"Sure, come in, Xavier." James motioned him in. "This is my soon to be brother-in-law, Xavier Davenport. This is Calvin Johnson, Brian Thompson and JD Harrison."
Xavier extended his hand. "Mr. Johnson, Mr. Thompson."
Then JD stood. "Good to see you again, Xavier."
Vernon and James passed a looked between each other. "You two know each other?"
"We've met once or twice," JD replied, then turned back to Xavier. "How are Zack and Diamond?"
Xavier smiled as he took a seat. "Diamond is doing great. Zack is going out of his mind with this pregnancy."
JD nodded. "I remember the feeling."
"Don't we all," every man in the room laughed.
"No," Xavier replied. The men all stopped laughing and frowned at him.
"You will, one day," Avery stated then sat forward glaring at him, "but not before marriage."
"Now you tell me," Xavier replied. The men all laughed at the expression on Avery's face. "That was a joke, Mr. Brooks."
"That's the kind of joke that gets you thrown out the third floor window." Vernon smiled.
"It’s that kind of statement that has you in the situation you're in."
"Mmm hmm." The men in the room nodded.
"I had some visitors in my office yesterday," Xavier said as he sat back in his seat. "A Detective Burke and his partner interrupted my day. You know how much I detest that."
"Without an appointment?" Vernon asked, grinning as he remembered Nicole saying how Xavier was about people just showing up at his office.
Xavier's look gave him his answer. "I decided the detective is now on my list of people I'm not too fond of. So I have a present for you."
Brian looked from Calvin to JD. "Is it me or does he sound like a hit man?"
"I don't think I would cross him," Calvin commented as the two grinned. Xavier simply stared at them. Their expressions changed.
JD laughed at his friends. "What do you have, Xavier?"
"Naverone mentioned you believe someone was in the house when you arrived."
Vernon nodded. "Yes."
"I have a friend who can track movement around that house. If someone exited he would be able to track when and what direction they went in."
"Do you know Joshua?" Brian asked.
"No." Xavier cracked his first smile. "However, I do know his little brother Adam."
JD nodded. "Adam would have that skill set."
"How soon can we get him here?"
Xavier and JD pulled out their cell phones.
Calvin stopped JD. "It would be better if Xavier made the call."
"A call from me would get him here faster."
"A call from you would involve the White House in this investigation," James stated. "Not a good move. But thank you." He looked at Xavier. "Please, place your call. See what he can do and meet us at Vernon's office in the morning around nine a.m."
Xavier nodded then left the room.
"I think we'll keep him in the family," Avery joked as the door closed.
"I'm curious," JD stated. "How does he know Adam?"
"Inadvertently, Xavier and Adam confiscated a document that goes a long way in proving Bobby Kennedy is William Singleton's son."
"Isaac's brother?" JD asked. "Why hasn’t that document been turned over to the court?"
"It's not signed. It's a copy of the original."
"Where's the original?" Calvin asked.
"We believe Isaac destroyed it," Vernon replied.
"All the events you've mentioned are a part of a conspiracy orchestrated by Isaac to keep control of the Singleton Estate."
"Yes," James stated. "It's also the reason he killed Connie. The more details I hear, the more certain I am that it was Singleton in that house."
"Now all we have to do is prove it," Vernon stated as a knock sounded at the door.
It opened and Gwen walked in. "Vernon, the police are here for you."
All the men in his father's study looked up. "For what?" James asked.
"He didn't say," Gwen replied. "And you know, I asked."
"Stay here, Vernon." James walked towards the door.
"I don't think so," Vernon said as he walked by his mother out the door. "Gentlemen," Vernon said as two men stood in the foyer.
"Wow." One man was turning in circles looking up at the staircase. "This is some place you have here, Mr. Brooks."
"May I help you with something?" Vernon asked.
The detective looked at him. "I'm Detective Burke with the homicide division. This is my partner Detective Ryan." He reached inside his suit jacket and gave Vernon a card. "It's come to our attention that a confrontation took place at the cemetery earlier today. We’d like to get a statement from you. If you have the time," he said in a snide tone.
"Confrontation?" Vernon asked. "This card indicates you are with the Homicide Division. Is the person dead?"
"You don't remember me, do you?"
"Should I?" Vernon asked.
"I worked the Castiano case a few years back. You ripped into my testimony and made me out to be a bad cop." He glared at Vernon. "Yeah, you may not remember me now, but don't worry, you will."
"Has someone died?" Avery stepped in front of his oldest son.
"Yes. Your wife," the man said to Vernon with a smirk. "Or have you forgotten."
"Detective Burke, my name is James Brooks. I am Mr. Brooks' attorney. If you have questions for my client please state them or leave."
"Brooks, Brooks, and Brooks," Burke laughed as he looked at his partner. "Sounds good, doesn't it." He turned back to James. "Here's the thing, Mr. James Brooks. A complaint was lodged against your brother. Since we are the investigators on his wife's murder case, the complaint came to us. We're here only as a courtesy to get a statement from your client."
James immediately did not like the man. It appeared to him the detective's only purpose was to exert his authority. "Thank you for your considerate manner. However, if my client is not under arrest, I'm going to ask you to leave. Any questions you have from this point on you will make an appointment with me prior to contacting my client. Any violation of this will be directed to the Commissioner. And if you ever..." He crowded the detective’s personal space, "disrespect my parents’ home in this fashion again, I will own your badge, your home, your life and everything you hold dear. Do I make myself clear?"