Page 15 of Disrespectfully, Relic
“You’re stuck with this shit. No matter how much you try to cover it up or hide it, that fact won’t change.”
His words chipped at her confidence while his searing gaze lasered on her facial defect with so much intensity, she almost thought she was back in that life-altering fire. If Kennedy could dissolve into the floor to avoid his studious examination, she would. His hold slackened before releasing her altogether when she shoved away his hand and retreated a few steps to put space between them.
“Keep your damn hands off me, and I wasn’t saying that showing my scars wouldn’t happen. I was talking about the date. No one told you, mixing business and pleasure is a recipe for disaster?”
“So, if I hire you, the date is void? You’d break that sad news to my son?”
“I sure will, and I’ll take him out on a date instead, but this...” She wagged her almond-tipped fingernail between them. “Not happening. I doubt it’d go far anyway, especially since I have my scars, and you have yours.”
Kennedy tapped her cheek and then Relic’s heart to remind him of their short-lived but unforgettable conversation during Shabu’s gala. The gossip she’d heard about Relic since then proved that he hadn’t told her one lie about having internal scars she couldn’t see.
When his gaze dipped to her hand, staring at it as though it were diseased, she removed it from his solid chest while clearing her throat through the awkwardness. Relic peered at her with eyes devoid of emotion and blinked.
“I agree, it wouldn’t work.”
“Good. Now that we have that out of the way, back to this partnership. I need a contract written up, the same as you did for my salon.”
“My salon.” He corrected her again, but she fanned him off.
“Like I said, I need a contract because I don’t do shit out of the kindness of my heart, and I’m not taking your word for it because it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. I need it on paper.”
Relic gave a subtle nod of approval at her getting straight to what mattered most—the legality side of his offer that would solidify her position. His stare turned pensive as he mentally jotted down another quality about her that most women didn’t possess; Kennedy was about business first and everything else last. They had that characteristic in common.
“In another life, where we aren’t so equally scarred, I think you would’ve chosen the date and been my bitch instead of my partner.”
Relic tossing out that mere insinuation made Kennedy turn up her nose.
“There’s no life where I would’ve chosen dick over money.”
“And there’s no life where I would’ve respected you, if you had. I’ll have my lawyer write up that contract soon.”
“I thought Savvy wrote up your contracts.”
“That’s what you get for thinking,” he jested, sending Kennedy’s eyes rolling. “Contrary to what all you muthafuckas believe, she doesn’t know my every move, and I prefer it that way.”
“Like a game of chess. Every piece in its place for the king’s purpose. I feel you.”
Lines creased Relic’s forehead as he squinted with a tipped head at her analogy. Kennedy smiled. For the first time, outside of a snide grin or lifeless stare, she’d gotten a genuine reaction from him.
“My brother taught me that. Koda used chess to explain his logic when I didn’t understand him sometimes. Savvy is your rook. She has long range for helping bring people into your plans, and she’s the easiest to learn, so you don’t have to question her moves. She’s a strong piece, but not enough to be the queen.”
He shifted gears instead of confirming or denying her observation. “Where’s your brother now?”
“Dead.”
Relic hummed before removing his frames from his pocket to settle over his eyes in case he gave away the fleeting consternation that swept through him. He’d hoped to hear a better outcome but expected the worst.
“So, this brother and Tekken’s dad are—”
“One in the same. The only parent he had left, and my only sibling. Now, it’s just us,” she confirmed, pulling out her phone. “There’s a girl I’ve seen on my timeline who raps. She mostly posts naked pictures or twerking videos that overshadow her talent, but the ones I’ve seen of her rapping sound good.”
Relic moved closer, watching Kennedy scroll through her phone like she hadn’t just redirected their prior conversation back to business. He didn’t press the issue since he would’ve done the same. A palpable silence lingered between them that he chose not to break until her thumb stopped gliding across the screen, and she turned her phone to face him.
“Damn.” He couldn’t hold that expletive in if he tried.
The first row of three provocative images told Relic off bat, the girl possessed the necessary sexual appeal to go far. He grabbed Kennedy’s wrist, holding it steady as he scrolled down while drinking in brown skin only two shades lighter than Kennedy’s deep complexion, and a body that rivaled his baby brother, Titan, girlfriend’s stacked figure. His brows dipped as he noted the flashy purses and shoes the chick wore in the pictures where she was fully dressed. He’d need more intel on her before finalizing a decision.
“Show her to Savvy. She’ll let me know if it’s worth looking into.” He released Kennedy’s wrist before peering up to see one corner of her lips furled while a single brow sat higher than the other.
