Page 158 of Are You Going to Love Me

“He is. He knows, too.”

“He got that fatherly thing going on. Considering he probably thinks we’re his kids.”

Eden chuckled. “Ain’t no thinking. But while we’re here, Jay Lucci wants to shoot the rest of the video for Go Figga in the neighborhood, so locations...”

“That’s on Staysha’s list?”

“She literally put on here ‘tell Max about locations’. Bossy ass. So here, Poppi’s, and BGCs. Models are apparently handled. She went through an agency for them. Trae Way t-shirts and cars are handled. It’s going to be a whole lot of Azul Heart and Trae Way flags in the streets next week. All the politics handled?” Eden asked, her eyes lifting to him from the list.

“Yeah. We told them niggas they gon’ act right and that’s what the fuck they gon’ do,” Maximus replied.

“I hear you, MB. Midnight is open, do you want to shoot there?” Eden quizzed.

“I don’t want to shoot there until the deed is clean.”

Eden rose her brow. Then she squinted. “Was that an El Jefe grab?”

“Nah, that was a Trae Way grab. That and the community center and Magnolia, she was using as a front. All they want is what's owed in taxes. It should be cleared up in a couple of weeks. Money is in escrow.”

Eden bit a smile. “You know, when I thought about my man, I never considered he could pack heat and handle business.”

“You like that shit, don’t you?” Maximus flirted back as Big Rod appeared with their food.

“Uh huh, I do.” Eden leaned over the table for a kiss, earning her a grunt from Big Rod.

“First y’all shoot my shit up and now you swapping spit. That’s how you got like that.”

Eden grinned. “Thank you, Rod.”

“Uh huh. Let me know what else I can get you. I put some extra sauce on the side for you.”

“You got some hot sauce?” Maximus asked.

“Get your crippled ass up and get it,” Big Rod joked. “I was talkin’ to baby girl. Not you.”

“Damn, Rod,” Maximus muttered with laughter, getting up to get his sauce. “That’s how we doing it?”

“Never mind, sit down. You attract bullets, and my shit just got upgraded.”

fifty-two

. . .

“It feels sogood to be back home,” Daysha crooned as the trio sat on the back of the pickup truck. Eden and Staysha proudly sported apparel from Maximus’ clothing line that hadn’t launched yet. Eden was in a custom-stitched Trae Way baseball jersey, black shorts, and heels, proudly sporting her curvy body and happily concealing the pudginess of her midsection.

They were parked outside of Big Rod’s between sets. Olivia and her team of people were busy at work, setting up cameras and drones for the next shot. Maximus’ and Lucci’s crew were gathered in the middle of the street, smoking and laughing amongst themselves. Security was heavy, ensuring that nothing would pop off. Neither Maximus nor Lucci felt like getting active because some young nigga in the set was looking to make a name for himself. Between Brody and Charlie, the entire Trae Way was put on notice. Either you were coming out to support and show the world that Trae Way could unite, or you were moving out of the way.

“I could’ve sworn you were from Cashmere Lakes,” Staysha replied.

“I am, but I made it over to Big Rod’s with my cousins from time to time when I was coming up. The fact that I didn’t give my daddy a heart attack early on should be studied,” Daysha shared with a slight smile on her face. “Speaking of which, we’re having a family dinner at their house tomorrow night before we head back to LO. I told Jules to tell MB, but you know how they get when they’re together.”

“Look at them,” Eden nodded her head over to the huddle of men.

Men that society deemed menaces. Gang members. Tattooed, stories of their time in the streets etched over their melanated skin. Men that loved their families with their entire being. Men that were raised by a code but somehow found themselves in position to show the world what it was to defy allthe odds. That placed pride in Eden’s being. Yes, she’d pulled herself out of the trenches too, but that man she had renewed her hope in her purpose daily. Maximus was her proof that her living isn’t in vain. Every second she witnessed him defying the odds, she found herself pushing harder and not settling for the scrapes someone gave her. No, she wasn’t that woman she was before their worlds collided.

Eden continued, “I’m happy he found someone in this industry with their head on right.”

Daysha laughed. “Girl, you talking about my husband having his head on straight? His head is straight because I’m his neck. Lucci will clear this whole block out if he’s having an off day. It’s got to be the Leo in him.”

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