Page 14 of Corporate Escapades

Raising an eyebrow and pursing his lips, Chase shook his head. “Just—no, dude.”

Reaching out, Mya placed her hand on Vic’s chest. “Don’t stoop to her level. Ever. Even if you broke her jaw, you’d do more harm to yourself than you ever could to her.”

“You know I’d never hit her,” he said more calmly. “I’m just shocked that she’d hit her closest friend. It's bad enough she hit Meagan the other night. She’s becoming abusive.”

“I know. According to Paris, we’re no longer friends.” Mya smiled sheepishly. “We’d better get moving. We’ll be late.” Paris had already exited the building.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Chase as he looked her over. “Do you need another hug?”

Mya smiled at the handsome, toned Native man standing before her. They would have been perfect for one another, had it not turned out he preferred men. Over the years, as they gotto know one another, Chase became her honorary big brother. He had a big heart and took it upon himself to watch out for her when Paris ended their friendship.

“You know I always need another hug—but we don’t have time for that right now. Raincheck?”

“Always,” said Chase.

“I still can’t believe she hit you, of all people,” said Vic.

“Me either,” replied Mya. Her face was swollen, and it still hurt, but she didn’t regret destroying the few pills left in the bottle.

“If she ever does that again—”

“She won’t,” said Mya. “I threw her pills down the disposal. We have to get her off that junk.”

“Dang!” said Chase. “You’re a badass, sister!”

“Yeah, you’d think she would’ve learned after landing herself in the hospital,” said Vic.

“She has to want to quit,” replied Mya. “I'm not really sure how serious the pill issue is. I know she overdosed, but I don't know if the pills are actually an addiction or her thinking she wants to end her life?”

“What's the difference?” asked Chase.

Mya looked at him with confidence. “The difference is, if she isn't taking them regularly, she can stop if she wants to. If she's popping them regularly, then it's an addiction and will require serious help from a rehab center. My gut says it's the former. I honestly think she felt so low she wanted to see how far she could take it. She wanted to die. Not that this scenario improves the situation. She still needs help.”

Vic shook his head. “How does one get her to stop flirting with death?”

“That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?” asked Mya.

Upon arriving at the boardroom, the trio stepped inside. Paris had already taken a seat at the table.

“I’m glad to see you all made it on time,” acknowledged Nicola. “I trust everyone got enough sleep after the party?” her words were directed at Mya and Chase. “What happened to your face, dear?” she asked.

Before Mya had a chance to answer, Paris chimed in. “I slapped her.”

“You did what?” her father used his angry parent voice.

Paris, becoming defensive, said, “She was talking about Alli and—”

“Paris,” said Mikel, “I don’t care what she said. You don’t hit people. Ever. I thought maybe you would have learned your lesson after last night.”

“Where did we go wrong?” asked her mother, shaking her head. She ran her fingers through her long, sweeping black bangs. “I just don't know what to do with you?”

“Don’t let her fool you,” said Mya. “She hit me because I dumped her Percocet into the garbage disposal.” She wouldn’t let Paris off that easily. She needed to take responsibility, and that meant Mya couldn’t cover for her anymore.

Paris turned bright red. “I should slap you again!”

“ENOUGH!” boomed Mikel. “You’ll shut your mouth and listen. You’re done with pills. If I catch you popping another pill or hitting anyone, you’ll be ejected from this family so fast your head will spin. Do I make myself clear?”

Paris's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened, but she nodded her understanding.

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