higher two

thirty-nine

Baby? Mackenzie mentally threw up.

Riley nodded over to the huge visiting area for me to follow her as she sat down at a table. I took my seat in front of her. She took no time getting right down to business, taking the papers that I had provided and skimming through them. "Okay so he can pay you at least 20K a month, he honestly doesn't need to pay this much because he's going to be in the baby's life nearly every day."

"I can't bank on that. He's mentally ill. 30K."

"10. I can get even lower hun."

Mackenzie bit back the urge to jump across the table. "Fine."

"Great." Riley smirked then surveyed the area and people around them. "Now I need to speak to you about something. Where were you on Thanksgiving?"

"Uh, my cousin's house, why?"

Squinting her eyes at Mackenzie, Riley sat back in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't believe you."

"Well that's where I was. Why are you questioning me?" Mackenzie snapped. "You know I thought you were better than this. I apologized to you for taking your man and raising your children but you ran right back to him... after all of that. And you treat me like shit, when he is the main reason you went through that."

"You didn't raise my children!"

"And neither did you. He took you from your children, made me his fiance and made you a hoe. Yet you run right back to his sorry ass. And you claim to just be this wonderful person with your life put together perfectly when you really ain't shit."

Riley was stumped for a second, surprised Mackenzie even had the balls to step to her like that. "I know it may look like that from the outside looking in..." She told her, thinking of her brewing relationship with Malakai. "But I'm not running back to his sorry ass. He ran back to me and I'm going to run over his ass."

Her arched eyebrow lifted, a smirk turning up her lips. Mackenzie let out a quick chuckle. "Oh... So you're playing him or something?"

Cassius had reentered the room. Riley shot Mackenzie a warning look before standing up and taking his hand in hers, right by his side. "Y'all done?" He asked, looking at Riley though he was speaking to the both of them.

"Yeah. We are done." Mackenzie looped her purse on her arm and went to leave. "I'll call you."

"No. You'll call me from now on. You have my number." Riley intercepted.

Mackenzie snickered, shaking her head and continued to walk away. "Yeah. Whatever."

"No fighting?" Cassius worried, as he led the way out. "No, it's a fifty percent chance she's pregnant with your son. I'll spare her for now." She grinned when they reached the car.

He looked at her weirdly. "Fifty percent?"

"Did you forget she fucked your disease ridden best friend?" Riley hopped into the car behind him. She put down the mirror to check her make-up. She had to make sure she looked better than Mackenzie at every occasion. "That's what you should be worrying about. If that's your baby and if she caught the disease."

She had Cassius thinking hard as he pulled the car out of his spot and sped to the freeway. Riley applied a fresh coat of lipstick and kissed her lips in the mirror. When she knew she looked fine, she flipped the mirror back up and glanced at Cassius, taking out her phone. "Get the kids some food." She ordered and went to answer Malakai's text message.

****

"Who is this nigga again?" Rome questioned Kai as they stood outside the busy soul food restaurant.