Page 6 of Divine II

“If the Whitmores are getting a stake in the business, why the hell I gotta date Zane, too?”

“He’s been asking for your hand for years, but we’ve been shooting him down. When he put it on the table, I told him that you were already seeing someone. He doesn’t care. He said may the best man win,” Maven stated.

“Of course, he doesn’t give a damn now. All he wants to do is clean up his image,” Bishop added.

“So, I’m just a walking PR stunt now?” I quizzed.

“No.” Bishop and Maven answered at the same time.

Psalm hadn’t said a word for a while, which didn’t surprise me. Standing from his seat, Maven walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“You’re not a stunt, baby. Right now, you’re the most valuable member on our team. We need you right now, baby girl. Zane has expressed interest in you in the past but respected our wishes to stay away from you. He knows how we rock, but we have to respect the game.”

“Mave,” I whined.

“Sis, you know you don’t have to worry about anything crazy happening. Just play nice for a while until we figure things out. Either way the deal is good for business. Plus, it’s the best way to keep them close and keep us in control of the situation.”

“I’m not letting y’all whore me, Mave. I’m not doing that,” I protested.

“No one is trying to whore you, Divine. Come on now, baby girl. You know if there were any other way, we would have jumped on it. Bishop already offered them a cash payout. We even considered just saying fuck it and going to war. None of us want to risk that happening, baby girl. We have wives and children to think about. Not that it’s not an option; it’s just not the safest option right now. Give us time to strategize.”

I sighed as I considered their words. The last thing I wanted was more bloodshed. Maybe pretending to date a rich asshole wasn’t the worst thing that I could do. I would lose it if something happened to one of the little ones or one of the boy’s wives because of me.

“I’m not having sex with him,” I finally said.

“No one is asking you to,” Maven assured me.

“Just play the game,” Bishop suggested.

“Y’all play all these games with deals and arrangements and shit. That’s not my life. The four of y’all have gone out of your way to make sure that wasn’t my life. Now, I’m expected to just play a game I know nothing about. I don’t play games! I run my business andmindmy business.”

“Now, this is your business too. We’re trying to prevent a blood bath, sis. I’m not risking losing you or anyone else if I don’t have to. We have families now. We have to move strategically,” Maven explained.

“We know we’ve sheltered you, but part of being in this family is stepping up to the plate when it’s time to,” Bishop said.

I rolled my eyes as hot tears stung the rims of them.

“I’m not a pawn on one of your chess boards.”

“Then you’ll know how to move like a queen,” Bishop retorted.

This was crazy. What were they even talking about? How were they expecting me to pretend to date some guy that I only knew by name and reputation? Zane was the type of guy they would have shot a hundred times if they caught me out with him. Now, I was expected to help clean up his image.

My heart broke a little more by the second. I had stupidly allowed myself to think that maybe Liam and I could be together. We were making so much progress. All I wanted was to lie in his arms and feel like I could finally live happily ever after. Now, I was being thrust headfirst into a nightmare. Finally pulling my watery eyes from the table, I looked up at Bishop.

“What about Liam?” I asked.

I didn’t give a damn what they thought happened. All I cared about was Liam. I knew for sure that whatever he did or didn’t do was for me. I would do whatever it took to protect him because I knew he would do the same for me without question.

After crying my eyes out the first time Liam and I had sex, I felt a shift in the atmosphere. It terrified and excited me. At the same time, I knew better than to read into things. Liam, to me, was like Tommy from All the Queen’sMento Madam. He spoiled and took care of me just like the guys. He doted on me and did everything in his power to make me happy. That didn’t mean he loved me, or did it?

It seemed like men could just tell when you were moving on from them because the next morning, while I was lying in bed overanalyzing what happened between me and Liam, Sherrodcalled. I rolled my eyes and sent both calls to voicemail. I got up and got ready for work and ignored the next couple of calls and texts from him.

When I made it to work, Sherrod’s lime green Wraith was parked out front. Thankfully, there were a couple of other cars out there. My security detail didn’t linger long after making sure I made it inside safely. Sherrod was waiting inside, sitting at the bar drinking a smoothie like he hadn’t been blowing up my phone like a fool. I bypassed him and greeted my staff as usual.

“Good morning, Ms. Divine.”

I was surprised that he showed enough restraint to wait until the other customers left before trying to get my attention.

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