NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
RASHARD FAREWOOD,
As Rashad pulled his truck into the driveway of his mother's home, he checked the time on his watch just to ensure he had enough time to make it to the airport to board his flight. With his luck, he was able to find a last minute flights that would have him lading in Houston at the top of the morning. It was the most impromptu trip he had ever taken, but he knew it was worth it. As much as Bradley tried to conceal it, he could hear the distress in her voice. She was uncomfortable and felt unprotected being that Sincere was just lingering around. Bradley caught a weird vibe and although she had her girls with her, she felt much safer knowing that Rashad was making his way over.
Shifting his golden orbs to the rear view mirror, he noticed that Blake was sound asleep while Jace was up and alert trying his best to free his little foot from the sock he had on. Amused by the fact that a lot of the times, the twins were like polar opposites, a light chuckle aired out of him. After killing the engine, Rashad stepped out of the truck, preparing to make trip to the door. He tossed the packed bag for the twins onto his shoulder, making his way around the truck grabbing Jace's car seat first then Blake's. With the bags and the babies in hand, he trudged towards the door, relieved once he was able to set the car seats down so he could knock.
Only a few seconds later, the door was pulled open Paige greeting Jace before she even glanced in Rashad's direction. With a light scoff, Rashad handed his mother Jace's car seat so he could make his way inside with Blake. "It's like I don't even exist anymore," He jested with a shake of his head, referring to the fact his mother didn't utter anything to him.
"Don't say that," She waved Rashad off. "I just didn't expect either of the babies to be up, but it looks like Jace will be up all night with me," Paige said in her usual cheerful voice.
Rashad was amused by the fact that she was actually excited that Jace was awake rather than asleep like Blake. "Yeah, Lay had a pretty rough day with her teething so she should be out for the whole night," He enlightened his mother while navigating through the home so he could place Blake in the nursery accommodation Paige had set up for her grandchildren.
Once he cautiously lifted Blake out of her car seat being sure not to wake her. He laid her down, placing a light kiss onto her forehead being sure to tell his daughter that he loved her. He returned to the living area of the home where Paige had already gotten Jace out of his car seat and seated on her lap while she put his sock back on. "I appreciate you for taking them so last minute," Rashad expressed his gratitude.
Paige averted her attention from Jace and set it on Rashad. "You're fine, I can expect that the tensions are high. Both Bradley and Kimora don't do well with tension and also I know Posh is there with Bradley so that won't make it any better, " She laughed. "You going out there could definitely bring some peace. At the end of the day, we are all family so those ladies need to figure something out quick,"
With a bit a guilt, Rashad rubbed the back of his neck. Bringing peace was the last thing that crossed Rashad's mind when he decided to take the impromptu flight to Houston, it actually didn't cross his mind at all. "Most def ma," Rashad nodded his head, telling his mother what she wanted to hear. "I have to head out though. Everything should be in their bag, if not---" He reached into his front pocket extracting he and Bradley's house key. "Feel free to drop in and pick up whatever you need,"
Paige nodded her head as she smiled up at Rashad. "Have a safe flight, and have Kim and Brad have a civil and adult conversation," She said to him.
Rashad chuckled knowing that things had escalated far past Kimora and Bradley ever having a civil conversation. Rashad said his goodbyes, applying a light kiss onto his mother's cheek before doing the same for Jace. He proceeded to head out of the door making his way to his truck. As he pressed the button to bring the truck to life, his phone vibrated in his front pocket.
"Nigga the next time you book me a last minute flight, make sure you give me a warning so I could at least get a cut first," Duke smacked his lips over the phone.
Rashad laughed. "My fault," He apologized. "It's a spur in the moment type thing,"
"Fuck is we going out there to do? I know you don't need me to run a fade with this nigga unless you want to jump him?" Duke furrowed his brows in confusion.
Rashad shook his head. "We not jumping nobody,"
"I mean I wasn't totally against it. If it comes down to it, I don't mind stomping on a nigga while you get your blows in," Duke shrugged his shoulders, hinting that he actually wanted to jump Sincere.
"C'mon, we don't rock like that," Rashad turned down the suggestion. "I just need to make sure Brad's good, he got her uncomfortable while she's out there on business,"
Obnoxiously, Duke smacked his lips loudly over the phone. "Nigga, you and I both know with a temper like yours you gone throw hands as soon as you cross paths with him,"
"I'm telling you, I'm not. I ain't saying I ain't got no other shit planned, but I'm not gonna ruin Brad's business opportunity like that," Rashad clarified. He knew him getting physical with Sincere in public would tarnish Bradley's brand. They already had to deal with the string of club fights that would be permanently circulating the internet. Bradley didn't need Rashad fighting Sincere only to take light off what she was doing at the beauty convention.
Understanding where Rashad was coming from Duke nodded his head. "Alright bet," He agreed. "I'll see you in a little bit,"
"Cool. Preciate you for coming through short notice," Rashad expressed his gratitude.
Duke assured him it was fine before they said their goodbyes and ended the call.
Rashad was ready to put an end to the drama surrounding Sincere. It was as if Sincere got off on putting Bradley in uncomfortable situations. Rashad could never really wrap his head around Sincere's motive. If he was solely just after Bradley, why was he making it his will to have her scrutinized by the media and be painted as this awful person? Kimora could have went without knowing Sincere and Bradley kissed. Sincere voluntarily admitted to it, knowing what type of chaos it would cause since Kimora and Bradley had familial ties. As much as Rashad tried to come to an understanding of what Sincere was doing, he just could never figure out what was Sincere's end goal.
HOUSTON, TEXAS
BRADLEY HUGHES,
Bradley was embarking on her final busy day in Houston where she was hosting the first leg of the beauty convention. She had overcome so much stress and anxiety the first day of the convention that a part of her was wishing that the next two days of the event would fly by. She hated how so much drama and negativity was surrounding such a monumental milestone in her career, but she was still putting her best foot forward.
The time was nearing 11 AM which had Bradley, Posh, Rome and Astel spring into action so they could be on schedule. Currently, Bradley was seated while Posh was doing her hair and Rome was simultaneously doing her make up. As Posh and Rome handled her glam, Astel lended a helping hand by steaming Bradley's pant suit that she was planning to wear at today's panel event.
Bradley was so grateful to have such a great team backing her because at the moment she felt so depleted with all the drama that came from dealing with Kimora. The ladies were doing a great job with keeping her motivated and breathing life into a dream that she had dreamed of for so long. While they were getting her ready, Bradley had her phone propped up before her while she was on an ongoing FaceTime call with Rashad.
Rashad and Duke landed safely from their red eye flight and we're on the way to the hotel to meet the ladies. Due to their crunch in time and Bradley needing all hands on deck, neither of the ladies were able to make use of the rental car they got to go pick the men up.
"You're about to be talking about shit that you know so well. No one knows the hair business as much as you Brad, just relax," Rashad encouraged her over the phone.
Bradley let out a nervous breath trying her best to regain her composure. "I know but I suck at public speaking," She complained with a pout. "I talk like a hood rat,"
Rashad laughed at Bradley, Posh and Rome joined in as well. "You do not talk like a hood rat, and that's coming from a bitch who does," Posh said to Bradley while sectioning her hair for another set of curls. "The only difference between you and some of them other people that's gonna be on the stage is you don't act all bougie and uptight. But that doesn't take away from the fact that your money is still as long, and your businesses are just as or even more successful," Posh encouraged Bradley.
A lot of the time Bradley didn't give herself credit when it came to what she has accomplished as a young business owner because she's so use to disappointment. Bradley really made a vision turn into reality after moving away from home with nothing but a little over a thousand dollars in her possession. Sometimes Bradley needed to toot her own horn because there are many people who have been in her shoes and couldn't see what she's seen through. She fought tooth and nail to be recognized how she is now during this huge beauty convention, she earned her spot.
"Thank you P," Rashad expressed his gratitude to Posh for encouraging Bradley. "When I say it, it's like it goes through one ear and out the other,"
Bradley jokingly cut her eyes at Rashad before averting her attention to Posh. "Thanks sis, I really needed that. But, that's not the only thing I'm worried about,"
In return to what Bradley said, Rome scoffed loudly. "I know you ain't sitting here worried about Kimora?" She asked while using the beauty blender to make Bradley's make up seamless.
"Can y'all blame me? She's been talking crazy since she's been with Sincere," Bradley sighed.
Rashad piped in with a scoff of his own. "Same way you're there on business, she is too. If she fucks up an opportunity for her brand because she wants to to childish, let her. But you will be taking the high road for the sake of Allure," Rashad advised Bradley, coming from a stand point of being an agent instead of her fiancé.
"See I don't know about all that nice and taking the high road shit," Rome scrunched her face up, looking a little unconvinced.
"Yeah cause if a bitch bark at me, I'm gone bark back," Posh added.
Bradley shrugged her shoulders. "I'm conflicted here,"
Rashad chuckled. "Look, the only thing that matters right now is your business, put that first. You have all the time in the world to go back and forth with Kimora. Don't waste this opportunity to network with others, and expand your client growth on her," Rashad preached to her, being much more mature than her friends. Bradley knew that business came first and that was her game plan from the beginning, but she was unsure if Kimora thought the same.
"Let's just pray all goes well," Bradley crossed her fingers with a sigh.
Like clockwork, Rashad's and Duke's car arrived for them which was a relief because they were both sick of being in the airport. "I'll be there in a little, stay motivated alright?," He shot her a charming smile.
Bradley nodded her head before blowing him a kiss. "Let me know when you get here so I can meet you in the lobby."
"Bet," He nodded. "I love you."
"Love you too," Bradley professed as her cheeks rose in a swooned smile. The call ended, leaving Bradley more at ease after he encouraged her.
The ladies continued on with Bradley's glam, making sure she looked gorgeous for the event. Bradley was the least excited for the panel event. She wasn't much of a talker when it came to an audience, especially when they would be expecting her to say something inspirational. She knew a lot of the other beauty business moguls were far more well spoken than her and could offer more advice than she could think of, but she also knew that her story would touch at least one person in the crowd and that's all that mattered.
Like a well oiled machine, the ladies wrapped up Bradley's glam on schedule. They had the rest of the hour for Bradley to get dressed and to get to the venue in hopes of beating the traffic. While Bradley was getting ready she managed to hear back from Rashad who informed her that he arrived at the hotel and was awaiting her in the lobby. So far, everything was working out smoothly which was a relief.
Rashad glanced around the lobby hoping that Bradley would make her way down quick. After booking the most last minute flight he could find, Rashad was simply over flying. He and Duke went through hell to even board the red eye flight and it didn't make it any better that the seat arrangements were awful.
Rashad kept his grievances to himself because he knew the purpose of the last minute flight. Duke on the other hand, complained all the way through. "Nigga I ain't never traveling under those conditions again," Duke huffed with a shake of his head.
Rashad let out some laughter as he shook his head at yet another one of Dukes complaints. "All you do is bitch and groan," Rashad said to him.
Duke stuck Rashad the finger as they continued to wait for Posh and Bradley to make their way down. "Posh was happy to hear you were coming?" Rashad asked as he glanced up from his phone after replying to a text from Bradley.
"Yeah," Duke nodded with a light smile at the thought of Posh. "She wanted me to bring Logan, but I don't really know what type of time you on so I left baby boy with her people,"
A chuckle eased out of Rashad as he shook his head. Duke always thought the worse whenever Rashad was too calm and collected. Overall, Rashad was definitely a chill and an all around nice guy, but his anger always pushed him to the point of no return, especially when he kept on being provoked. In Duke's eyes, Sincere wasn't doing shit but poking the bear that Rashad had pushed into hibernation for the sake of creating a family with Bradley and having a long and successful career in the sports industry. Duke commended Rashad for how hard he worked to change the narrative of his life, but with people like Sincere, they never learned until they were burned.
Everyone knew that Bradley was just off limits when it came to Rashad. He never wanted to resort going back to his old self but Sincere was making it really hard. "I'm good Duke, I'm not on that type of time, I put that on my kids," Rashad promised, clarifying it for Duke.
Rashad could hear Duke scoff. "You not on that type of time, but you for real on something. But hey, I ain't really the type of nigga to ask questions about shit I'm down to do anyway,"
Rashad turned his head to eye Duke with an amused look on his face. "That's why I booked your flight without even asking if you could come," He laughed as they met for their usual handshake they created back in college.
Only a short while later, Rashad and Duke saw the elevator doors diverge, allowing Posh and Bradley to step out of it. The ladies scoped the lobby briefly before landing their optics on the men.
Bradley made her way over to Rashad just as Posh made her way over to Duke. Sprouting on her tippy toes, Bradley draped her arms around Rashad's neck as they embraced each other. "Thank you for coming," She expressed her gratitude once more.
Parting from the hug, Rashad smiled down at her. "It's nothing," He assured with a light shrug.
Both couples navigated to the elevator of the hotel, ascending up to the 13th floor where their suites were booked. As the ladies approached their suites, Bradley looked over her shoulder realizing that Posh wasn't returning to her suite to help her get ready for the panel event. "No ma'am," Bradley teasingly wagged her finger at Posh. "We have work to do," She reminded Posh.
Posh couldn't contain her laughter as she used her key card to open up the door to her suite. "I just need twenty minutes sis," She said to Bradley before shifting her orbs over to Duke who had an arrogant smirk masking his face.
Bradley rolled her eyes, waving Posh off as Rashad laughed. Wanting to make good use of her time, Posh yanked Duke into the suite leaving Rashad and Bradley in the hall to hear the lock of the door click.
Together, Bradley and Rashad shook their heads, before they stepped into their suite. Unlike Posh and Duke who had the luxury of privacy, Bradley's suite was occupied by Rome and Astel who were working together to finish up the gift bags that were branded with Allure's logo. In other parts of the suite, there were different marketing material ranging from the hefty stack of business cards, down to hair samples. Rashad recalled Bradley stressing out over the samples, in fear that she had made such a big investment and the samples wouldn't have arrived in time or to her liking.
Upon stepping into the suite, Rashad greeted Astel and Rome who were too invested in finishing up their task to even bother having a conversation, which he understood. Somehow, Rashad ended up being dragged into working as well, where Rome and Astel had him stationed placing business cards into the gift bags just to speed up the processes.
With time passing by, Bradley eventually slipped into her tailored paint suit, bringing together the look that she and the ladies spent hours perfecting. Rashad stepped away from his gift bag duties once Bradley called for him to assist with putting in her heels.
"You look gorgeous," Rashad complimented Bradley with a smirk etching his face once he successfully strapped her Tom Ford heels for her
A swooned smile canvassed Bradley's face before she leaned in to peck Rashad's lips. "Thank you babe,"
Rashad snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her in closer. A light laugh fled from Bradley as she rested her hands on his broad shoulders. She knew that peck wasn't enough for him, however she was trying to preserve her make up the best way she could. As Rashad was trying to lean in for another kiss which she was sure would have been far more passionate than a peck, Bradley stopped him. "I can't mess up my make up," She told him while holding his face in her hands so he wouldn't swoop in for another kiss.
Rashad smacked his lips before huffing out some air in an infantile manner. Although he couldn't get the kiss he was longing for, he settled by craning his head down to the crook of her neck, apply light kisses to her soft spot. Butterflies swarmed Bradley's stomach at the feeling of him teasing her with his lips on her neck. As tempting as he was, Bradley mustered up the strength to place her hand on his chest indicating that she desperately needed him to stop if she didn't want to be late.
A smug smirk pranced onto Rashad's face as he lifted his head from her neck. "You smell good too," He added with his baritone voice that practically made Bradley melt.
To compose herself, Bradley took a step back from him, glaring at him. "See you play too much," She scolded him before glancing down at her breast to ensure her nipples weren't poking through the low cut dress shirt she wore from Rashad's teasing antics.
Rashad laughed as he attempted to reach his hand out for her again, but she pulled away once more. "Shad we are here for business," She reminded him with a laugh of her own.
"Alright bet," He concluded with a nod of his head indicating he wouldn't make anymore advances. Bradley smiled as she made her way to the mirror to give herself a final look to ensure that she was looking perfect. "You really do look good though," Rashad added as he made his way behind her, securing his arms around her waist.
A smile surfaced onto Bradley's face as she looked at him through the mirror. "Thank you baby,"
"Don't let nobody fuck up what you have going on for yourself today. I'm handling everything, you don't have to worry about shit besides doing what you came to do," He declared, hoping that his encouraging words would rattle away any nerves she still had lingering in her body.
With much more confidence than what she started with earlier in the morning, Bradley relaxed her tense shoulders and corrected her posture. "I got this," She asserted to herself.
Eventually Posh returned to Bradley's suite calling for Bradley and the rest of the ladies to make it downstairs for their sprinter. Upon hearing that it was time to depart from the hotel, Rome and Posh scurried to ensure there were no last minute details out of place. With the help of Duke and Rashad who carried the filled boxes that contained all of the gift bags, the ladies traveled down to the lobby.
Once everyone was loaded into the sprinter, they began their drive to the convention. Of course for the duration of the ride, Bradley remained in her own head, going over her talking points and praying to God she didn't embarrass herself in front of all the people who paid good money to witness her be apart of the entrepreneur panel.
Rashad who was seated next to her could sense all of her nerves begin to shackle her again. He retracted his phone from his pocket, making a FaceTime call to his mother. He knew that the only people who could rid Bradley's mind completely were Blake and Jace. The phone rung a few times before Paige answered with her usual beaming smile. Rashad greeted his mother, reflecting the same beaming smile she had on her face onto his. Rashad requested to see the twins before handing the phone off to Bradley who was still deep within her thoughts.
At the sight of Blake and Jace, Bradley face panned into a wide stretched smile. Her spirit was freed of any nerves and she was completely at peace while looking at her babies. Her bottom lip poked out in a pout as she adored the twins who were dressed in matching onesies. "My heart can't handle it," She dramatically clenched her chest as she awed at their cuteness.
Once the twins heard their mother's voice and noticed her face on the screen their eyes lit up and they simultaneously began their high pitch squealing and babbling that Bradley just adored. The phone call shifted Bradley's mood immediately which was a relief for Rashad. Like any other proud mom, Bradley passed the phone amongst her friends in the sprinter so they could get their fix of the cuteness the twins had to offer. Once the phone made it back to Rashad, the twins squeals of excitement filled the sprinter louder than they had before. On the side of him, he could hear Bradley smack her lips at the fact that the twins sounded more excited to see him than they were to see her.
After going back and forth with the twins for a little while, Paige came into the view of the camera, requesting to speak to Bradley.
Bradley was a little frazzled to have a conversation with Paige at the moment. After things unfolded publicly with Kimora exposing the entire cheating situation to the world on Alex's big day, Bradley was too ashamed to act how she usually would with Rashad's family. She knew their perception of her was altered and that was hard to accept. How Paige felt about her meant everything to Bradley. From the very beginning of Bradley's and Rashad's relationship, Paige had been nothing but accepting and nurturing of Bradley. Bradley had voiced her concerns with Rashad when they made the tough decision to reconcile. Rashad assured Bradley that Paige still loved her nonetheless and agreed that Bradley was the one for him.
Bradley however, still kept her distance which was noticed by not only Paige but also Alex. Paige knew and understood why Bradley was hesitant to speak to her, but in hopes of dismissing her worries, Paige greeted her with the same energy as she always would. This brought Bradley to ease as a smile canvassed her face. Paige went on to encourage Bradley to do well at her event, however once she mentioned Kimora, she could see a sour look dress Bradley's face.
A light chuckle aired out of Paige as she shook her head. "I know it's a lot going on, but I think you two can work this out. Just keep the babies in mind, they are cousins after all," She suggested to Bradley.
Bradley pursed her lips as she nodded her head. She was sure that her face let Paige know all she needed to know once Paige let out an unconvinced sigh. Eventually the two women wrapped up their conversation, saying goodbye to each other. Bradley handed Rashad his phone just as they were pulling into the entrance of the venue.
Despite Bradley's call time being an hour ahead of the starting time of the event, there was a large amount of people who lingered at the entrance of the building in hopes of grabbing great seats at the panel event. Once the Mercedes Sprinter came to a smooth halt, it casted the attention of the multiple people who were awaiting entrance into the venue. They all waited in anticipation to find out who would be stepping out of the sprinter, in hopes that they were apart of the line up for the convention.
Bradley wasn't use to all of the new found attention so she inwardly tried calming her nerves before she had to exit the sprinter. Rome, Posh and Astel stepped out before her while they bared most of the marketing materials, followed by Duke and Rashad who carried all of the heavy things she needed.
Rashad assisted her out of the sprinter, immediately causing the eyes of the early guest who gathered at the front entrance of the venue to gravitate onto her. A few called out her name to cast her attention and Bradley offered them welcoming smiles and waves. Rashad was glad to see that Bradley was getting the recognition she deserved. She was a phenomenal business women and did it all on her own without any hand outs. He knew she had a long way to go to stop being shy and capitalize not only from her business but her story as well, but he was willing to take what he could get.
Bradley interacted with a few people before she had to go inside and prepare. "This exactly what you been praying for," Rashad reminded her with an infectious smile on his face.
Bradley mirrored the smile as a rush of energy sparked her body. "I know and I'm so grateful," She expressed her gratitude.
Tossing his arm around her shoulder, Rashad pulled her in close before setting a kiss on forehead. "I'm proud of you," He praised her which warmed Bradley's heart and brought her at ease.
After finding the green room Bradley was assigned to, she quickly went into work mode, going over some of her talking points. She made the decision to just completely block out Kimora and hoped that none of the conversations they were going to have required her to exchange words with Kimora.
While Astel, Posh, Rome and Duke went to go distribute and place the gift bags full of marketing materials for Allure underneath the empty seats of the venue, Rashad stuck around with Bradley. She turned away from the mirror she was initially facing and faced Rashad instead. He was distracted by his phone as his thumbs danced against the screen. "Shad," She called out for his attention.
He parted his golden brown orbs from the screen of his phone and shifted them onto her. "What's up?" He hiked his brow up in question.
"Please don't let you anger get the best of you if you do see him," A faint frown panned on her face as she referred to Sincere.
With smack of his lips, Rashad say his phone down on his lap. "Listen, I'm not here to fuck up this opportunity for you. I ain't gone say that I'm not tryna get up with him after this, but right now it's all about you baby," He assured to her with his infectious smile.
"Lord," Bradley let out a deep breath. "What are you planning to do?"
A chuckle fled out of Rashad as he shook his head. "You worried about the wrong things Brad," He said to her, straying her away from what he had in motion.
"I don't have bail money like I use to," Bradley slit her eyes at him alluding that she was skeptical and completely unconvinced by the game he was trying to pull on her. Amused by her sly jokes, Rashad waved Bradley and her dramatics off.
Unfortunately for Bradley, the time went quicker than she could process, leading up to the start of the event. She was sure she was running on everyone's last nerve with her worries and mini panic attacks, however just as she expected they talked her down from each an every sign of distress she showed. As Posh and Rome made last minute adjustments to her look, there was a knock on the door of the dressing room. Rashad took the liberty to answer the door, which led him to being greeted by one of the event coordinators who was appointed to get Bradley on stage. Bradley was soon equipped with a mic before she was ushered towards the entry to the stage, while Rashad and her friends parted ways from her and was led to a set of high prioritized seats in the very front of the audience.
As they were escorted to the front, Rashad kept his optics open and alert. He didn't miss a thing so it didn't take long to pin point Sincere sitting on the opposite side of the audience in the section of prioritized seats. Unknowingly, a scoff aired out of Rashad which caught Duke's attention. Duke knew his friend all too well so he trailed his orbs in the same path Rashad had his focus dead set on. Upon him noticing Sincere, a scoff aired out of him as well. Duke was matching Rashad's energy and he knew just a while ago, Rashad told him they weren't in Houston to stir anything crazy up, but the menacing look that masked Rashad's face advised Duke of all he needed to know. Shit was about to be handled.
"You really think you sit through this whole thing without beating this nigga ass?" Duke leaned in towards Rashad with a concerned look on his face.
A smooth chuckle aired out of Rashad as he leaned back in his seat. His eyes gravitated towards the stage where the host began making their way on. Once they announced Bradley's name she sauntered onto the stage with all of her elegance and grace. "I'm gone have to," He responded to Duke before he stood up to praise his fiancée. It was just like Rashad to embarrass Bradley with his antics so his loud chant for her stirred some laughter amongst the audience and the some of her fellow host.
Rashad's loud cheering for Bradley immediately caused Kimora's eyes to gravitate towards him in the audience. She was a bit taken aback to see him publicly supporting her after the scandal. Bradley and Rashad pulled their relationship from the forefront of social media after Kimora went on her rant so the outside world didn't know where they stood at the moment. Even though Kimora saw clear as day that Bradley was still walking around with her engagement ring, she thought that they were just fronting for the public just like her and Jerome would when their relationship was on the rocks.
Kimora had her mind so fixed on ruining Bradley and Rashad's relationship, that she didn't even notice that she had fallen for the same type of narcissistic and manipulative man her ex-husband, Jerome was. The only difference between the two was that Jerome was in a higher tax bracket.
Bradley mentally cursed her lack of luck as she was seated right next to Kimora on the panel. Upon Rashad, and her friends noticing where she was strategically seated, they all shook their head. It was evident that despite the event coordinators wanting the convention to be successful, they also wanted to brew some tension for the sake of publicity. Hence the fact that every event thus far, Kimora and Bradley were stuck in the vicinity of each other.
Kimora tried her best to contain herself. Internally, she was festering in rage. As the applause from the audience continued, she masked her face was a smile as she scanned her eyes amongst the crowd. Upon her eyes landing on Sincere, a more genuine smile casted her face. She lifted her hand up to her lips, blowing him a kiss. It was evident that he didn't notice her gesture since his attention was fixed elsewhere. Kimora briefly shifted her attention from Sincere, then to Bradley who sat adjacent to her. Kimora's stomach churned in shame once she realized that Sincere was engrossed by Bradley instead of her.
Instead of dwelling in her heavy feelings like she wanted, Kimora concealed her emotions and refocused her attention on work.
The panel event commenced with a brief introduction of all the host. After successfully introducing herself and her brand without stumbling on any of her words, Bradley felt her nerves drift away and a sense of confidence coming over her.
One by one, each person on stage went into detail on how they're flourishing careers and businesses came to be. Bradley enjoyed hearing business insight from a variety of women in different fields in the beauty industry, however they all had the same goals. Once it got to Kimora's turn, Bradley tried her best to keep her face from contorting into an uninterested stale face. Kimora went on about being self made and funding her career on her own without any handouts.
Bradley's eyes scanned the audience landing on her friends and Rashad who all had confusion sprawled on their faces. They all knew Kimora was lying right through her teeth, especially Rashad. He, himself witnessed how much Jerome funded Kimora's career. From helping her get production started for her merchandise, down to getting her studio space so she could film her content. Despite Jerome not being the best man he could during their relationship and marriage, he always made sure that Kimora was set up to follow her dreams. So for her to sit on stage before hundreds of people and discredit Jerome of all the help he gave her was crazy.
As Kimora went on about how overlooked she once used to feel in the beauty industry when she was coming up, Bradley tried her best to tune her out. In the crowd, Bradley eyes landed on Posh as she dramatically sat with her mouth ajar due to being so in shock from the lies Kimora was just spilling out. Completely forgetting she had a mic connected to her, a light laugh slipped out of Bradley. Her chuckle sounded through the auditorium from the microphone, catching the attention of others. It also cut into Kimora speaking as she snapped her head in Bradley's direction, wondering what part of her story was comical to her.
Posh sunk in her seat sheepishly since she knew that she was the reason Bradley laughed in the first place. She had no idea how Bradley was going to spin this so she wouldn't look like she was antagonizing Kimora. Bradley wasn't too good with thinking on her feet so she was internally screeching at herself, hoping no one would give her a hard time for allowing a laugh to slip out during Kimora's time to speak.
Helpless and desperate for any resort, Bradley decided to let out another light laugh as all eyes gravitated towards her. "I'm sorry, I just had a full circle moment when you talked about not having support. I always loved how similar our stories are," Bradley covered up with a smile. It was honestly in Kimora's best interest to just go with it because Bradley could expose her fraudulent come up story and reveal that Kimora wasn't as self made as she proclaimed to be.
Kimora had spent so many years playing nice with Jerome that it came naturally to do the same with Bradley. Lightheartedly she set her hand on Bradley's knee as she let out a laugh of her own. Upon seeing that Kimora opted to go along with Bradley, Rashad eased back into his seat.
Eventually, attention shifted over to Bradley, everyone ready to hear how she made Allure such a huge brand. Being as thorough as everyone else, she went into detail of her childhood which poured into the passion and drive she had to accomplish everything she has so far. Her story was authentic and relatable amongst not only the audience but the fellow panel host as well. Bradley strayed away from using her time to solely speak about herself, but she also spoke highly of her friends and support team who helped her along the way.
The panel conversation went on for another hour, great dialogue flowing amongst all the women on the stage. Close to the end of the event it was open for the audience to ask anyone of the host questions. Bradley wished that the final segment of the panel would go by quick because she could feel Sincere's eyes searing into her as she sat on stage. Although he was amongst the audience, Bradley knew that Kimora was aware that he was staring at her too which only made Bradley feel even more awkward. Every so often, Bradley would glance over at Rashad who gave her a reassuring nod, signaling that he was there for her.
As the questions from the crowd came rolling in, Bradley was shocked at how many people were addressing their questions for her to answer from her personal experiences. "This is for Bradley," A young woman stood up from her seat as she spoke into the microphone that was handed to her. "I have a small business and I too just gave birth to twins back in February. I just want to know how do you devote yourself to being a mother without feeling like you're losing yourself and the love you have for your business?"
Bradley couldn't help but to feel a pull at the strings of her heart. She knew the feeling the young woman was experiencing all too well and had almost been defeated by the feeling. "Well for starters I want to congratulate you for becoming a mommy to twins," Bradley smiled. "To answer your question, I say to just give yourself grace. I struggled with that, but after having not only one baby, but two, you have to take it easy on yourself. If your business is truly your passion, you will never miss out on it. My fiancé had to literally drill it into my head that work would always be there, but moments with the babies are one in a lifetime. So enjoy being a mom to those babies," Bradley's response to the girl's question caused a light wave of applause to sound through the venue which caused a content feeling to wash over her.
To Bradley's surprise, the next audience's question was issued to her as well. The audience member stood up with the microphone in hand. "Bradley I have a question for you," The girl said to Bradley before flipping her hair over her shoulder.
"I have an answer," Bradley responded with a light laugh.
"How are you sitting on that stage, next to Kimora after you kissed her man?" The girl bluntly asked Bradley as she tilted her head to the side in what looked like confusion. The question caused Bradley's heart to plummet to the pit of her stomach as indistinctive chatter from the audience filled the her ears. The girl clearly had no intentions on supporting the cause of the event, she came with the sole intention of heckling and stirring up drama. Bradley felt a feeling of shame wash over her as hundreds of people stared back at her awaiting a response for her. Taking a step away from business, Bradley was ready to let the girl have it. Her body language indicated that she was fuming with anger. She trailed her eyes over to the left side of the audience where Rashad sat in the front row.
Rashad could see how desperate Bradley was for some guidance on how to handle the burning pressure that was placed on her. Rashad knew his fiancée well enough to know that her first instinct would have been to chop the girl's head off with a lethal come back. Instead of allowing Bradley to lower herself to the irrelevant heckler's level, Rashad shook his head no, deterring Bradley from what she actually wanted to do.
Taking Rashad's direction, Bradley stood down from verbal lashing she wanted to inflict on the heckler. Instead she took the high road. "Well, I'm a firm believer of appropriate time and place, so we won't divulge entirely into the matter, especially with minuscule and irrelevant parties as yourself," Bradley pointed to the heckler with a light laugh. "And while I'm a firm believe of a time and a place, I'm also a firm believer of people believing what they want to believe to paint the narrative how they want for the public. I've said my piece to every party involved, even the people who insisted on lying on me and slandering me publicly," Bradley shifted her finger towards Sincere in the audience then to Kimora who was on stage next to her. Upon attention gearing towards Sincere, he shifted in his seat uncomfortably as he held his head down.
"At the end of the day, my relationship with my fiancé is still great, my kids are healthy, and my business is flourishing like always. So to answer you question about how I'm able to sit on this stage after being lied on about initiating a kiss with a man that was the best friend of the man I previously use to date and has been chasing me down since they laid his best friend to rest—I say like this," Bradley replied to the heckler as she crossed her legs and gracefully straightened her posture. "Because I'm here on business," Bradley had not only gracefully addressed the issue publicly for the first time, she also handed both Sincere and Kimora their asses.
She had spent the entirety of the situation remaining silent and letting Kimora and Sincere run with the slander campaign they were using to tear her down. Bradley never would have expected addressing it during one of the biggest events she could have ever imagined being apart of, but push came to shove. She knew that Rashad probably would have preferred her to say a lot less for the sake of the truth taking away from the opportunity that was given to her and her business, but Bradley could only do so much. She was actually quite proud of her response. She refrained from profanity, didn't raise her voice, and she also kept her hands to herself despite the hecklers question resurfacing all the emotions that she felt when Kimora took Sincere's word and ran with it. Luckily for Bradley, the members of the audience took to her gathered read well and praised her with applause.
Kimora's team had prepped her to not even address the situation at all so she was not prepared for Bradley to actually speak on it. She knew if she said anything towards it, it would be instant mayhem. Kimora simply opted on extracting herself from the situation. Bradley and everyone else in the venue watched as Kimora rose from her seat, unclipped her mic from her clothing then proceeded to exit the stage.
Kimora's abrupt departure did call for the end of the event. Bradley couldn't believe that Kimora decided to walk away from the heat instead of sticking it out like she had when Kimora took to social media to bash her. Now that the tables were turned Bradley felt a hell of a lot better. After each one of the panel host thanked the audience for joining and said their goodbyes, they received the cue to exit the stage. Bradley walked right into Rashad's arms who was waiting for her at the exit.
"I'm so proud of you," Rashad praised Bradley as he tightened his hold around her. "We could have went without calling the girl irrelevant and minuscule, but a win is a win," Rashad laughed with a shrug.
A laugh escaped Bradley as well. "I had to throw that in there cause she thought she had one up on me," Bradley advised Rashad.
Rashad agreed with a nod of his head before craning down to apply a kiss onto Bradley's lips. "You did good baby,"
"Thanks babe, you really reeled me back in," She expressed her gratitude for his guidance throughout the event.
"And that's how you clear a bitch," Posh came up from behind dramatically applauding Bradley with a slow clap. "I ain't think you had it in you Brad," She laughed as she reached up and dusted Bradley's shoulder off for her.
"I'm so proud of you Brad, you ate everybody the hell up," Rome said as she and Astel came through and hugged Bradley.
Bradley thanked Rome and Astel for the praise. Although she received an array of applause from the audience and praise from her fiancé and friends, Bradley knew that she would be in for some heat on social media. Despite her telling the truth, Bradley knew that Kimora dramatic exit from the stage would dub her as the bad guy once more. The media was just going to slander her as a mean girl and uplift Kimora as they have been doing. Usually this would bother her, but now that she had said her truth publicly, she didn't give a damn what anyone had to think.
"Aye where's Duke?" Rashad asked as he took a look around not catching any traces of Duke.
Posh too looked around with her lip turned up in confusion. "He was just with me. I told that nigga to stop doing weird shit like that. He just up and disappear out of no where. I'm starting to think he got a second family I gotta kill," She shook her head in frustration as she extracted her purse from her bag so she could give Duke a call.
At the mention of Duke just disappearing out of thin air, Rashad pursed his lips as he sunk his hands into the front pocket of his pants. Rashad has known Duke long enough to know that Duke acted on something without even notifying Rashad. Internally, Rashad wanted to blow his top. Duke always jumped the gun and it always pushed Rashad to have to move hastily. Rashad watched as Posh tried to contact Duke. He knew the call would go unanswered. "I'll find him," Rashad offered to Posh. "Y'all head to the dressing room me and Duke will catch up," He instructed them.
Posh eyed Rashad oddly, as did Bradley before they both reluctantly nodded their head. As the ladies went to Bradley's appointed dressing room, Rashad extracted his phone from his pocket, dialing Duke's number. Unlike Posh's call which went unanswered, Duke answered Rashad's call within the first few rings. "Please don't fucking tell me—" Rashad pinched the bridge of his nose as Duke interjected him.
"Don't be stupid. There's a storage room on the other side of the spot. I checked it out and it's clean, we're good. Just meet me there," He instructed Rashad. "He wanna talk,"
Rashad smacked his lips. Rashad had explicitly told Duke to just lay up on the issue and let him handle it, but of course Duke saw an opportunity and took it. Rashad slipped out of the auditorium of the venue, venturing towards the opposite side of where Bradley and the girls were stationed in the dressing room. He made sure to be aware of his surrounding, doing his best to avoid any viable cameras before heading down the hall that was restricted to patrons of the venue. Being as discreet as possible he trekked down the hall, stopping at the storage room Duke describe to him. He refrained from knocking, and simply twisted the handle and entered the storage room.
Shifting his eyes around, Rashad noticed the abundance amount of chairs and tables that were piled amongst each other and stored in neat sections. By passing a few rows of chairs and tables, Rashad caught sight of Duke standing over a seated Sincere with a smug look on his face. Sincere was bounded with thin cables that were cutting into the circulation of his wrist as he was restrained to the chair. As Rashad proceeded closer, his brows bumped together at the visible bruise that was beginning to swell on the left side of Sincere's face. Shifting his attention back over to Duke, "The fuck happened?" He asked Duke.
In response, Duke shrugged his shoulders. "Aye that wasn't me, that was from Kimora," Duke
As Rashad eyed the bruised side of Sincere's face, he could make out the small palm and nail scratches that were left behind. This caused Rashad to chuckle in amusement. Shifting his attention back to Duke, the two exchange glances with each other. From being friends for so long, Duke knew that Rashad was questioning how he managed to get Sincere in the storage room. Without exchanging any words, Duke lifted the hem of his shirt show casing the gun he had tucked in his waistband. Rashad wanted to ask how Duke manage to have his piece in his possession despite flying in together, but he refrained from asking.
Turning back to Sincere, Rashad eyed him with glint filling his orbs. "So what's up with this weird obsession you got with my girl?" Rashad questioned Sincere
Sincere knew better than to act senseless in this situation right now. It was two against one and he knew he was up against. Shad and Duke were the same men who executed a clean hit on Israel that was so untraceable that the case went cold. Sure the men had turned their lives around drastically, however that never stopped them from remembering how they use to operate. Hence the fact that Duke was able to pull this off as smoothly as he had.
Sincere clenched his jaws as he adverted his eyes up to Rashad. "I don't know what you talking about," He shrugged his broad shoulders.
A chuckled aired out of Rashad from Sincere acting oblivious. Looking over his shoulder at Duke, Rashad motioned his head in a brief nod. This signaled Duke to allow Rashad some privacy with Sincere. "I emptied his pockets, he clean," Duke advised Rashad before he stepped out of the storage room keeping watch while Rashad handled Sincere. Rashad pulled a chair, taking a seat across from Sincere. He then proceeded to shed his upper half of the jacket he had on, setting it aside.
"Check this out," Rashad said to Sincere. "I really been on some chill shit for the past few years. Brad is the reason behind that of course. But that don't mean she can't be the same reason why I get back in the field. You follow what I'm saying?" Rashad peered his eyes into Sincere's. The menacing look from Rashad instantly caused Sincere's jaws to clench once more. Sincere felt powerless and undermined as he faced Rashad. For one, he was out numbered and underprepared. And secondly, he was too familiar with Rashad's past line of work. Even if Rashad and Duke refrained from putting a bullet in him today, he knew that they could at any other moment. The men were not only skilled, but they were also patient. They didn't mind the wait and that's what bothered Sincere the most. Living life constantly looking over his shoulder because he wasn't sure when Rashad would be coming for him was something he didn't want.
"So it's either we have this conversation, or you could be on the other side of the initial business deal we had about your homie," Rashad proposed to him as he leaned back in his seat awaiting for Sincere to get to talking.
"You told her?" Sincere throated out.
Rashad let out a scoff. "You worried about the wrong shit," He shook his head at Sincere.
Sincere smacked his lips. "You shouldn't have. Bradley can't handle shit like that,"
Rashad screwed his face up as he began to feel his short temper flare up within his body. "You really trying to tell me about my girl right now? Is shit not clicking in your mind yet?" Rashad gestured his hand towards Sincere alluding that he had yet to come to terms with how much of a disadvantage he had at the moment.
"You don't know Bradley like I do," Sincere claimed. "She can't handle this shit, especially when you controlling the narrative to keep your hands clean like you ain't play a part in offing Israel,"
Rashad let out a light sigh as he stood up from his seat. Sincere tracked Rashad's movements, watching as he trekked back towards the door, sharing some discreet words with Duke. Rashad returned to Sincere, this time gripping the cold piece of steel that Duke used to get Sincere bound to the chair in the first place. "See the problem is, you're hard headed and I give out too many fucking chances. You been on some weird shit since day one, but I tried to overlook it cause at the time I ain't know you how I know you now. Then you push up on my girl and try to play with her reputation. Granted, Kimora ain't really my business, but now you got her coming at Brad too," Rashad explained to Sincere. He had caused a whirlwind of chaos far before he moved in on Bradley and had Kim acting senseless. Sincere was just a grimy and sleazy dude. He put in this front as if he cared for Bradley when in all actuality, he caused her the most pain when it came to Israel's demise. Despite Rashad being able to piece a few things for her, he still couldn't catch sense of the full picture—what was Sincere's actual motive?
"So what, you about to kill me or something?" Sincere let out as his eyes never parted from the gun Rashad had clenched in his hand.
If Rashad had to admit, he debated on offing Sincere a few times. He even went as far as coming up with a calculated plan in his mind of how he wouldn't leave any traces behind. However every time he felt the urge to act on his thought get stronger, the thought of his new life with Bradley, the twins and his flourishing career came to the forefront of his mind. He wasn't about to sacrifice that for an ego driven kill. "That'll be too easy and too fucking stupid of me," Rashad shook his head in response to Sincere.
Sincere watched intently as Rashad emptied the magazine of the gun, setting it on a nearby stack of tables that stood tall within the storage. Seeing him empty the gun of it's clip calmed Sincere a bit. He was glad that he wasn't going to be met with his demise today. "You ready to talk or what?" Rashad asked Sincere as he began circling around him.
Still bound to the chair, Sincere slouched his broad shoulders with a shrug. "I aint got nothing to say. You knew what it was when I broke you and your boy off for the job. Whether or not you got with Israel's bitch after that was up to you," He scoffed carelessly, quickly getting ahead of himself once he realized that Rashad wasn't willing to kill him in such a hasty situation. When it came to pulling a hit off, Rashad was a meticulous, calculated and detailed. Killing Sincere in a storage room would be far too difficult to cover up.
Rashad could feel the rage within his body bubble over. He was sure by now his light fawn skin has tinted red with anger. Hearing him loosely refer to Bradley outside of her name was enough to set Rashad off. With his hand clenched around the gun, Rashad retracted his arm back, swinging it towards the right side of Sincere's face. Sincere could feel the heavy impact the body of the pistol made when it collided with his face. Instantly, an open wound was formed which leaked crimson red blood. Sincere thought after the first strike, Rashad would lay up and allow him the opportunity to speak like he had been given before, but it was too late. Sincere careless ways of speaking on Bradley poked the monster Rashad had within him out of hibernation.
The chiseled bone structure Sincere once had quickly began to shatter as Rashad punished him by pistol whipping him. Sincere clamored at the top of his longs as he felt the bridge of his nose shatter as Rashad continued to strike him with the but of his gun. Duke who stood watch at the door, tried his best to allow Rashad the time he wanted to get his point across to Sincere, but he realized how quickly things could get out of hand if he didn't step in.
He quickly slipped back into the storage room, rushing towards Rashad. By then, Rashad kicked the chair Sincere was bound to back, which landed Sincere on the ground, more vulnerable than ever. Duke quickly wrapped his arms around Rashad restraining him from sending the pistol against Sincere's face. "Shad be cool," Duke instructed Rashad as he dragged him away from Sincere's bloody body. "Give me the gun and get the fuck outta here. I'll handle it," Duke said to Rashad while snatching the bloody gun out of Rashad's hold.
Rashad kept his piercing golden eyes on Sincere who was on the ground weeping in pain as his face was now disfigured and drenched in blood. Rashad was in a deep daze as his rage continued to circulate his body. Duke knew that Rashad could get this way at times, which was why it was so easy for him to jump into action and take initiative to take care of everything. "Put your fucking coat on, keep your hands in your pockets, keep your head down and get the fuck out of here. Let P know that I'm handling a call about my pops, she'll understand," Duke continued to instruct Rashad as he scrambled around the storage room, slipping the magazine back into the chamber of the pistol.
Rashad nodded his head as he grabbed his jacket, zipping it up to conceal the little blood that managed to splatter against his shirt. Duke escorted Rashad out of the storage room so he was left to clean up the mess that Rashad made. Rashad did as told, keeping his hands in his pockets as he discreetly navigated away from the storage room to the other side of the venue that remained occupied by patrons. He tried his best to snap back into reality, focusing on how he was going to conceal his bloody right hand that he used to beat Sincere to a pulp from Bradley until they made it back to her hotel suite.
Once Rashad got to the corridor where Bradley's dressing room was set up, he inhaled a deep breath in hopes of getting his nerves in order. Masking his face with a light smile, he slipped into the dressing room catching sight of Bradley having an impromptu photo shoot with the ladies as they all used their phones to capture photos of Bradley in different angles. Rashad thought he would be able to slip in without catching any of their attention, but once the door shut behind him, they all looked his way.
"You find Duke?" Posh asked as she shifted her attention back to the photos she was taking of Bradley.
"Yeah," Rashad nodded. "He handling some stuff about his pops," He lied just as Duke instructed him to. Just as Duke expected, Posh thought nothing of it. Duke had been having some much needed conversations with his father who he had checked into rehab a few weeks ago, so Posh refrained from questioning Rashad.
Copping a seat at the far end of the dressing room, Rashad hoped that the women would be too invested in getting the right picture of Bradley instead of him. Despite Rashad being able to act normal for everyone else, Bradley could feel his energy was off. She halted from posing for the pictures and glanced over to Rashad. "You okay?" She asked, catching his attention.
Rashad nodded his head before responding to Bradley. "Yeah I'm good baby," He assured, masking his face with the most convincing smile he could put on.
A short while later, Duke entered the dressing room which brought some relief to Rashad. The two exchange glances with each other as Duke shot him a curt and discreet nod indicating that he handled everything.
"Everything okay with your dad?" Posh asked Duke.
Duke nodded his head. "Yeah we good," He assured. "We getting out of here though? I'm ready to get back to the suite and eat," Duke chuckled as he rubbed his stomach.
Posh rolled her eyes. "That's all you fucking worry about," She said to him causing the rest of the room to laugh.
"Yes, we have to celebrate because Brad is trending on Twitter after reading Ms.Dusty from the audience," Astel announced as she handed Bradley the phone so she could see for herself.
Sure enough, someone from the audience recorded a clip of Bradley's response to all of the allegations that were still swirling the media. Bradley knew better than to deep dive into what people were saying, but regards if it was good or bad, she knew it all would bring traction towards her business and that's all that mattered. "I guess that's grounds to celebrate," Bradley shrugged her shoulders ultimately agreeing on having a dinner to commemorate taking control of her public image.
One after the other they exited the dressing room. Rashad felt his entire body tense up when Bradley hooked her arm with his right arm which happened to be the one left bloody after he settled the score with Sincere. Gently, she rested her head against him while they trekked towards the exit where the sprinter was awaiting them. "I'm happy that this is over. I made a public statement, now everyone can move on," Bradley sighed out.
Rashad nodded his head as he kept his hand firm in the pocket of his jacket. As the stepped out of the venue, Rashad instantly felt tightness in the pit of his stomach. The front entrance of the venue and parking lot was in complete mayhem as the blaring sound of ambulance sirens rung through everyone's ears. Guest who were attending the beauty convention gathered out front so they could get an idea of what and who was the cause of all of the emotion. Panning his golden brown eyes to the left, Rashad made instant eye contact with Duke. Rashad had yet to get the full details of how Duke cleaned up the mess, however a gut feeling Rashad had made him assume that Duke was behind the ambulance coming to Sincere's rescue.
"Yeah, everything's over now," Rashad responded to Bradley as he quickly ushered her into the sprinter so they could avoid the chaos.