Page 19 of All In

She didn’t move. “Jack,” he said again. And finally, she removed them slowly. Like his voice carried invisible weight. She slid the glasses off and met his gaze. His expression shifted. Just a flicker, but she saw it. His jaw clenched and that unreadable veneer cracked. “What the fuck happened?” he asked. Anger radiating off him as he touched her face and examined it. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, so she could only imagine what it looked like to him. “Nothing happened.” Her voice sharpened.

She didn’t move. “Jack,” he said again. And finally, she removed them slowly. Like his voice carried invisible weight. She slid the glasses off and met his gaze. His expression shifted. Just a flicker, but she saw it. His jaw clenched andthat unreadable veneer cracked. “What the fuck happened?” he asked. Anger radiating off him as he touched her face and examined it. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, so she could only imagine what it looked like to him. “Nothing happened.” Her voice sharpened. “I’m fine.” Cash tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. “Stop saying that when you’re not. You can barely open your fucking eyes. You look like you ain’t slept in a week.”

“I look like a woman who’s tired. That’s all.”

“That ain’t the fuck all, and you know it.”

There it was.The edge.The part of him that always sawtoomuch when it came to her.She adjusted her posture, slid her glasses back on, and lifted her chin.

“Well, it’s not your business,” she said quietly. “Never was.” Cash didn’t respond.Didn’t need to.The silence between them said enough. “You coaching today?” she asked, shifting the conversation.“Always,” he replied, his tone cooling in real time.“Well, what’s the verdict? You gonna let my baby play on yall team or not? It’s all he’s been talking about.”

“It depends on what that behavior look like,” he said, his mouth twitching.

“He’s been on green every day for the past two weeks.”

“Good,” Cash said. “Tell him to keep it that way.” Jackie rolled her eyes. “So what that mean, yes or no? I need to know so I can put the money up for the fees.”

“Don’t worry about the money,” he said.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“Good thing I don’t need your permission,” he replied. Their eyes met one last time, that old tension still there. Jackie turned to leave before she did something stupid like kiss his smug ass. “Try not to start too much shit in there,” he added. “Try not to mind my fucking business,” she shot back without turningaround. The moment she stepped inside, her shades were back on, and her walls were up.

The door clicked shut behind her, cutting off the rain. She stood there for a second, back against the wall, breathing slow, forcing her heartbeat to settle. She adjusted her scarf, wiped her palms against her cargos, and told herself to hold it together before moving down the hall.

Jackiedidn’twant totalk,unpack,affirmor anything else he had planned for their session. She was already regretting coming, but it was too late, and she was here now.Their first meeting had given her hope. But clearly, she had read the situation wrong.Again.

The secretary waved her in like they had been expecting her.Jackie followed the older Muslim sister down a dark narrow hallway to a small office in the back. The office itself was surrounded by stained glass panels and warm lighting. A leather sofa and books were placed neatly along every shelf. The décor was very therapist chic, anddifferentfrom the room they met in initially. Najee was already seated behind his desk, blazer draped over his chair, crisp white oxford on, sleeves rolled just enough. He looked up and smiled. “Ms. Brown, I’m glad you could make it.” Jackie didn’t even respond.

Instead, she walked in and dropped into the chair across from him with a loud, deliberate sigh, displaying just how much she didn’t want to be there. He let the silence sit.

“I appreciate you showing up,” he said. “Didn’t really have much of a choice, did I? It being mandatory in all.” she muttered, arms crossed. “Fair. But it was still you’re decision.”

“Barely.”

“Still a decision.” She said nothing. He studied her quietly.

“You want to take your sunglasses off?” he asked. “No.”

He nodded. “You seem guarded today.”

“Maybe I don’t feel like participating in the “process”,” she said sarcastically.

“Noted. But I’m still gonna ask you questions.” She rolled her eyes.

“You can roll them again if you need to,” he said lightly. “I’ll wait.”

That caught heroff guard.Becausewho this pussy thought he was talking to?

Jackie adjusted her posture and sat up straighter. “Look, if you’re expecting me to cry and pour my heart out and tell you all my business, it’s not happening.”

“I’m not expecting anything,” he said calmly. “Just honesty and effort. If you don’t have either to give today, we can sit in silence until the session’s over.” She looked at him, and much to her surprise, he wasn’t givingsmug, wasn’t judging, wasn’t even pushing. He was just… present.

Which aggravated her more than it should’ve. “Yeah, so that email.” She leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.Najee exhaled slowly, resting his hands on the desk.

“That email didn’t come from me, Ms. Brown. It came from legal. I approved it though. So if it rubbed you the wrong way, that’s on me too.” Jackie blinked, caught off guard by his honesty.