I Gave Him My Heart (15 page)

I rolled my eyes, even though I agreed. I looked him over a little. “Wh-What’s in the box?” I looked down at the box and then back up in his face.

Knox’s eyes were dancing through my bone-straight strands of hair. “Huh? Oh, just a li’l’ something I think you’ll find useful. After tonight, you might need it. Wait until the night is over to open it, a’ight?”

I just looked up into this little nigga’s face, wondering what made him tick. Why would he waste his time on a nobody like me? I was only someone because of Nina. Because of the man she was married to. Saint invested in me probably because he felt sorry for me. Probably because he could feel my pain. I wasn’t so sure what Knox saw in me. He was a billionaire who shouldn’t have had a care in the world. He spent months abroad and was only stateside a few times out of the year, according to Fallon and Saint. He made money in his sleep. He was booked for events years in advance. He could paint any and everything from memory. He didn’t have any kids. And he wasn’t seeing anyone in particular. He would have been perfect if he weren’t so young. Young niggas were needy, and I didn’t have time for needy muthafuckas. Yet and still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that he came to my house to take me to the grand opening of my bar.

“I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to come to the DR, boo, but Reelz TV is about to be here tonight. Judging by the fact that your face isn’t anywhere out there in the media world, I’m not sure this is where you want to be tonight.” I looked up into his face.

“Nobody knows a nigga at this grand opening, right? No one who isn’t your friend or who doesn’t know that I keep to myself. Saint knows how I am. Saint knows where I’m from. The paparazzi doesn’t know me. Reelz TV doesn’t know me. My family kept my identity under wraps this long, Kourtney. Do you think I’m about to break their tradition after twenty-six years?” Knox scoffed.

I looked up at him. “Well, judging by the fact that you’re here right now to take me to my bar where hundreds of people, not to mention the press and paparazzi, will be, I’m not so sure.”

“Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.” Knox changed the subject.

I shook my head. “No, I wanna know about you. Like, why did you come here tonight? Huh?” I had to know.

Knox looked at me. “Have you ever been in a room full of hundreds of people but still felt like you were in the world all by yourself?”

I just looked into his face. That was the exact way I felt the day that I met him at the expo in Raleigh. And he knew it, too.

“Nobody really understands a nigga, Kourtney. I’m tired of hiding. You’re the push I need. And I just might be yours. Reelz TV is going to expose all of your weaknesses, Kourtney. Everything you don’t want them to know, somehow, they’re going to know that shit. When the night is over, you’re gonna wanna open that gift. Shit, we might need to open it together.” Knox took the shades from his pocket, and slid them onto his face before sliding the velvet box into his pocket. “You ready, Chambers?” He held out his hand for me to take it.

I hesitated.

And Knox grabbed my hand anyway, intertwining his fingers in mine. I was scared out of my mind. I needed Nina and Knox knew it, too. I was so mean to that boy, but when I really needed someone to literally hold my hand, he was there for me.

“You’re not alone, Kourtney,” Knox let me know, squeezing his hand in mine. “Just remember that when these cameras and reporters are in your face tonight, relax, breathe, and try not to punch anyone in the face.”

Knox and I pulled up to the red carpet in front of Bébela that night. I was in awe of the size of the crowd waiting outside of my bar to get in. You would have thought it was a club rather than a bar. I took a deep breath before stepping out of Knox’s ride. As soon as my white Red Bottoms touched the red carpet, the crowd went wild. The attention was on me at first; cameras were flashing, people were calling my name, the press was asking who designed my outfit. But as soon as Knox hit the carpet, grabbing my hand in his, the attention was on him.

“Kourtney, is this your boyfriend? What’s his name? How long have you been dating? Kourtney, are you two engaged?” Cameras flashed on us.

Knox grinned, walking hand and hand with me into my bar. “Breathe…” Knox leaned over and whispered in my ear as we walked through the entrance.

I sighed a long, deep sigh as I strolled into the bar with Knox that night. We were stopped in the entrance by another group of reporters, who asked us to pose for the cameras. I could feel the warmth from Knox’s hand as he slid his hand around my waist. We leaned in, cheeks touching, smiling for the cameras.

“So, Kourtney Chambers, who’s your new boyfriend?” I heard a familiar voice behind us.

My heart jumped as I turned around to see Niq’ sitting at a table with a group of people, Peanut and Brittanie were among them.

I hesitated, not really sure what to say. I couldn’t believe the muthafucka had the nerve to show up to my opening. The last I’d seen any of the three of them was at Nina’s wedding, going on fuckin’ thirteen months ago. I should have known they would show up. Trench Carter was friends with Niq’ and probably told him when I gave him the okay to film my bar for the pilot of the show. Knox told me they’d create drama, and it was already beginning. Fuck.

“Tim.” Knox spoke up, removing his shades.

Niq’ scoffed, looking Knox over. “ ‘Tim?’ That’s it? ‘Tim’? The fuck you do, Tim?”

Knox laughed a little. “You see this bar? I helped with the design; as a matter of fact, I designed it.”

I looked at Knox, heart palpitating in my chest. I looked around the room, feeling dumb as hell. He wasn’t lying. The murals and paintings on the wall all bore his signature on the far left or right corner. Knox was a beast with the paintbrush. And he was about to shove that shit in Niq’s face.

“You see the paintings on the wall? That’s all me, homie. That’s what the fuck I do.” Knox snarled at Niq’ and his crew, cameras flashing on us. “Timothy Knoxberry, my nigga. I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

Niq’ shrunk back in his chair.

You should have seen the looks on Peanut’s and Brittanie’s faces, shit, their entire clique’s faces.

The camera crew stopped flashing their cameras for a second to hear the words come out of his mouth again.

“Timothy Knoxberry? Did he just say Timothy Knoxberry?” I heard one of the camera men say.

“Timothy Knoxberry?” Brittanie’s eyes widened, shaking her head in disbelief. “As in the Knoxberry School of Arts? As in Life Styles of the Rich and Famous Knoxberry family who owns half of the houses in Beverly Hills?”

“My father is King Knoxberry,” Knox told Brittanie, a person who you couldn’t tell shit to without her telling the got-damn world.

Brittanie’s eyes widened. “I work for King Knoxberry! I’m his personal assistant! He has a son? A black son?”

“Okay, enough with the questions, y’all.” I pulled Knox away from the table.

“Let the show begin.” Knox laughed under his breath.

All of my girls from Insertion, Mi Tinta, and Tatted Up were there. Not to mention, my employees from Young Chambers and our bar in Goldsboro, Shots, were there. My girls were ready to turn up, and I was so ready to turn down. Nina still hadn’t shown up. Saint was even there with his crew to show his support. You already know that nigga showed up and showed out, looking so debonair and suave. He was happier than a muthafucka to see Knox with me that night and took him off my hands for a few moments while I talked with the crew from Reelz TV in my conference room. Saint not only built an immaculate kitchen for my bar, but he built a recovery room for the muthafuckas who were too drunk to drive home and a conference room for me to do business.

“Okay, honey, relax and breath.” Trench’s assistant, Brianna, clipped a mini-microphone to my dress. “Testing.” She spoke in the microphone.

I sighed, watching my girls and Nina’s in-laws get prepped for the show.

“Just act natural and everything will flow just fine.” Brianna assured me. “We’re just shooting a few scenes from your opening night here to use for the pilot. We’re flying to Baltimore next week to shoot a few scenes from your club and your tattoo shop. Your club opens on January 18
th
, and your shop opens February 1
st
, right? What about your house in Pasadena? Is that finished?”

I nodded yes to all three questions.

“You look amazing.” Trench smiled at me as he walked up to me and my girls. He was the cutest white boy I’d ever seen. He had a headful of black curly hair, bright blue eyes, and dimples from heaven.

I sighed. “I feel like shit. My sista isn’t here yet. We’re about to make an opening speech, and my sista isn’t here yet!”

“She’ll be here.” Yandi assured me. “You know she wouldn’t miss this.”

“We’re waiting on my boss, Priscilla Bailey, to get here. Her flight just got in.” Trench smoothed out my dress a little.

I looked up into his face, squinting my eyes, looking at him like he was speaking a language I didn’t quite understand. “Pr-Priscilla Bailey? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Everyone in the room looked at me.

Trench made a face. “What do you mean?”

“Y’all got me fucked-up if you think I’m about to work with Priscilla Bailey!” I started removing the microphone from my dress.

“Whoa, whoa, boss lady. What are you doing?” Pretty hurried over to me, trying to stop me from removing the microphone from my dress. “What’s wrong? Why you trippin’?”

“I’m not working with that bitch!” I shouted.

“What bitch?” Trench laughed a little.

“That bitch! My cousin!” I exclaimed.

I hadn’t seen Priscilla since I was ten years old. The last I saw her, she was making me put her boyfriend’s dick in my mouth while she played in my pussy. This bitch was the fuckin’ head of got-damn production Reelz TV? The most popular reality television station in the country? Why didn’t I know about it? Where the fuck had I been? Why the fuck hadn’t anyone told me? I guess because I hadn’t told anyone what she’d done to me until that day, when I poured my heart out to Saint. I had to find him. He had to get me out of doing that show.

Trench laughed out loud. “Wait. Priscilla is your cousin? Why are you acting like this?” He watched me run my fingers through my hair anxiously. “Do you two not get along or something? How do you not know your own cousin is the executive producer at Reelz TV?”

“I have my own life, Trench. I don’t keep up with anyone in my family but Nina and Aunt Rayna when she’s not being a bitch.” I fanned myself. “It’s too hot in here. Y’all are gonna have to give me some time. Someone please go get Saint for me. Please!”

It didn’t take my girls five minutes to come back with Saint and a glass of wine for me. The camera crew tried to put a microphone on Saint, but he wasn’t having it. He shook his head at them, making his way over to me. He watched Pretty hand me a glass of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon.

“We planned on popping this bottle open after we closed tonight, but it looks like boss lady needs a drink now.” Fallon sighed, rubbing my back.

“Que pasa, mami?” Saint watched the wrinkles etched in my forehead as I drank from the glass.

I drank the glass until the last drop and then handed the glass back to Pretty. I wiped my lips, looking into Saint’s face. “I can’t work with her, Saint! I can’t do this! Opportunity of a lifetime or not, I’m not doing this shit!”

“Can’t work for who, Ma?” Saint was confused.

“My cousin, Priscilla!” I watched Saint’s eyes widen a little. “Yeah, that bitch! How does someone who does another person so wrong end up in a position like this, Saint? This isn’t fair! I’m trying to let go of my controlling past and here it is again, controlling my got-damn future!”

“Por favor calmate. This is a fuckin’ awesome opportunity for you! Fuck your cousin; she doesn’t control shit!” Saint told me.

I disagreed. “The fuck you mean ‘she doesn’t control shit’? This is her got-damn shit, Saint! I can’t do this! And then some muthafucka invited Niq’ and Peanut’s ass! Somehow, they knew about my cousin! It was Niq’s idea for me to do the show, but I’m sure Peanut was behind it! I don’t remember telling her anything about Priscilla, but I must have! The things she made me—”

Saint held my shoulders, shaking me a little. “You are stronger than this, Kourtney, I know you are. If you wanna back out of this, it’s up to you. But if you wanna show that bitch that you made it, despite of the shit that she tried to do to break you, then you need to stick with this. I got’cha back. She can’t hurt you anymore.”

I looked into Saint’s face, biting my lip, trying my best not to cry. “And Nina’s not here…”

Saint looked at me. “She’s about to roll through with Ricque; he just called and said they were on their way.”

I exhaled.

“You good, Ma? Esta bien? They’re waiting for you out there, Ma. C’mon, you got this. I’ll do the toast if you’d like, Ma.” Saint fixed the collar on his shirt. “Y’all want me to say something on this show, right? Well, this is all you’re gonna get out of me.”

Brianna rushed over to him to set him up with a microphone.

Trench looked at me. “Do you need another glass of wine, sweetie?”

I sighed. “Hell yeah.”