Page 6 of When I Thug You Like That

“Aight, Daddy will make a deal with you. We go inside and do the tour, then I’ll take you to a park near the house. Cool?”

“Wanna go playground?”

I chuckled. “Yep. After the tour.”

I got out and walked around back to help him out. The moment we got to the entrance and were buzzed in, the brick building came alive. Between ringing phones, children’s voices in the hallway, and music playing somewhere in the back, Baby Jay paused, and his eyes darted from the receptionist desk then down the hall. I didn’t react suddenly or try to walk him back out. Instead, I reached into his bag and grabbed his headphones.

“You need these?”

He nodded, taking them from me and putting them on.

The woman behind the front desk smiled and greeted us. “Good morning.”

“Good morning. My name is Jamison Sullivan. This is Jamison Sullivan Jr. We’re here for the ten o’clock tour.”

“Oh, yes. You can have a seat, and someone will be right out to see you.” She waved at Baby Jay, and he smiled.

“Preciate it.”

I led Baby Jay toward a small waiting area with a few chairs lined up against the wall. He chose to sit, while I opted to stand. Holding his hand reassuringly, I took out my phone to text Key back. Her initial message was reminding me of today’s tour as if I wasn’t the one that set it up. That was my cousin though, always in someone’s business, always with good intentions.

Me: My bad, Key. I was doing a lot of running around this morning. I’m here at the appointment now.

Kyiris: You must’ve known the message that was about to come next. I’ma let you have it today though. Hit me once you’re done with the tour. I wanna hear everything about it.

I went to text back when a little girl came flying around the corner.

“Walking feet, Ava,” I heard a voice say as a woman turned the corner seconds after her.

“I walking, Ms. Jai!” the little girl who looked the same age as Baby Jay said just as she stopped short of the front desk. She stood with her back against it, breathing hard like she’d just run a few laps.

The woman passed us, laughing. When she reached the little girl, she crouched in front of her, fixing her bow that was hanging off her head. “Could’ve fooled me. All that walking got you out of breath and a little disheveled, my girl.”

“I’m not sheveled, Ms. Jai.”

Her response made me laugh while peeping the way the woman interacted with the little girl. She wasn’t talking at her but to her, the same way I did with Baby Jay. Her tone was pleasant and had an airiness to it that I was sure made the little girl and children like her comfortable. After saying a few words to the woman at the front desk and handing the little girl off, she turned to me.

Her smile was just as big and inviting as it was when she was interacting with the child. That wasn’t the only thing I’d noticed though. She was pretty as hell. Smooth brown skin, full lips, thick, perfectly arched eyebrows, and eyes that somehow looked soft and intense at the same time. How the fuck eyes managed to look both, I couldn’t explain, but hers did. She filled out her slacks well enough for me to know that she’d do some damage to a pair of jeans.

I liked her swag. While her overall fit said business from the slacks to the crisp white button up, on her feet were a pair of Jordan 1s. With her hair pulled back from her face in a high ponytail and glasses resting on top of her head, she made her way over to us.

“Mr. Sullivan?”

“That would be him,” I joked, pointing to Baby Jay, who stood up from his seat.

She smiled and extended her hand. “Does he handle the bills?”

I put my hand in hers and gave it a shake. “If you consider running them up handling, then yes, yes he does handle the bills.”

We both laughed.

“Okay, then,” she said, “I’d like to speak to the man in charge.” She focused on Baby Jay. “Hi, I’m Ms. Jai. Can I have your name?”

Baby Jay nodded with a smile then turned to me with his hands up to his headphones.

“Go head and take ‘em off,” I encouraged. “Tell her your name.”

“My name is Jamison,” he said clearly.