Page 58 of All In

She wanted to tell him she was anxious because she didn’t know if her car would start later. She wanted to tell him she was frustrated because her baby was hungry, and she had no idea how she was supposed to feed him before practice.A dozen answers pressed against her chest at once, but she swallowed all of it and decided to keep itplayerinstead. “We outside,” she joked, flipping the camera to give him a slow 360-degree view of the beautiful campus from her vantage point.

“That’s right,” Najee said. “Today is Max’s first football practice. He been talking about it all week in session. He even drew a cool picture of his jersey. Number seventeen, right? “Jackie’s smile slipped just a little. “Fat Daddy’s jersey is eleven,” she said, then paused like something clicked in her brain too late. That jersey Max had been drawing in therapy, wasMJs. “That’s his brother’s number,” she added quietly. Najee’s expression shifted like he caught it instantly. “Why y’all there so early?” he asked, smooth, redirecting the conversation to something lighter.

“I thought practice didn’t start until noon.”

“Well… we just wanted to be proactive and get a head start,” Jackie lied, looking away from the phone. Najee didn’t say anything at first, just watched her. “A three-hour head start,” he said finally, slow, and too even. Jackie’s stomach tightened, but she kept her face straight.

“Yeah. You know me. I’m either too early or too late. No in-between.” She laughed, but it didn’t land. Najee didn’t smile. Didn’t blink. He just watched her, the kind of look that made her feel like he was doing math in his head. Which, of course, made her lie more.

“Besides, I needed to bring Max’s birth certificate up here anyway, so—”

“Have y’all eaten breakfast yet?” he asked, cutting her off mid-lie. Jackie opened her mouth to lie again— but right on cue, her messy-ass son ran right up to the car and shouted their business to the high heavens. “Mommy, I’m sooo hungry, like real bad!” Max groaned clutching his stomach.

“Can we please go to Dunkin’ or something? Coach Cash said we gotta eat good on game days and we ain’t even eat nothin’ this morning!” Jackie’s eyes widened. “Max—”

“What about the granola bar I told you to get out my purse?” she asked low, trying her hardest to mute her phone. “Mommy, that granola bar had an eyelash and a bobby pin stuck in it. I threwed it in the trash!” he yelled, disgusted, like he was reporting a crime. Jackie just stared at him.Then he reached for her phone like he was about to snatch it out her hand.

“Who you talkin’ to? Auntie Kormia or Auntie Syxe?”

“Maximus,” Jackie snapped, using his full name so he knew she meant business.

“You do not reach for my phone while I’m speaking. That is rude, and you know it.”

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” he said instantly, eyes filling with tears. Jackie felt her frustration seeping out in real time, and before she did the one thing, she promised herself she wouldn’t do, she took a deep breath and regrouped. “C’mere,” she said, pulling him close as she set the phone down beside her on the hood. Max laid his head on her stomach and wrapped his arms around her like he was still small enough to fit there. “Mommy is sorry for raising her voice,” she said softly, kissing his forehead.

“But we must respect boundaries, baby.”

“And get consent before we touch other people’s things. Even Mommy’s, okay?”

“Yes, Mommy.” he mumbled. “Do you accept Mommy’s apology?” she asked genuinely as he nodded his head and hugged her tighter. “Always. But I’m still hungry though,” he added, flashing those missing front teeth that made him look just like his brother. Jackie’s chest squeezed.

“I know, baby. Mommy’s working on it,” she said, letting out a tired sigh.

That’s when she remembered, Najee was still on the phone.Fuck.She thought before glancing down at the screen, and he was still there. Watching her attentively with that quiet focus he carried so effortlessly. He didn’t interrupt her because he was processing. Jackie could see it in his face.

For a few seconds, it was silent. A silence neither one of them bothered to disturb with words. Fat Daddy wandered back toward the leaves, already distracted again. Jackie sat the phone down, swiped under her eyes, more out of reflex than tears, finally picking the phone back up. “My fault,” she started, not even sure what she was apologizing for. Najee didn’t respondto that. Instead, he adjusted his glasses slightly, eyes steady on her. “Send me your location.” He didn’t raise his voice, still something in his tone shifted. And all that cool, laid-back doctor shit he usually exuded…disappeared.

What replaced it, was somethingfirmer. Jackie blinked, completely caught off guard, but it wasn’t the request itself that rattled her. It was thecertainty. He wasn’t asking to be polite, or out of curiosity. He was asking because he already decided what needed to happen. And for a split second, Jackie didn’t know what unsettled her more, the fact he’d overheard everything, or that her pride wouldn’t allow her to stand down. “Look, I don’t know how much of that you heard but—”

Najee’s stare sharpened just slightly. It was inthatmoment, Jackie realized this man was not asking permission—and he wasn’t about to repeat himself. He went quiet instead. Wore that same measured expression she’d come to recognize from Cassius. And that’s when she finally clocked it…theresemblance.Jackie never paid it attention before, but their eyes were damn near identical.

Cash’s might’ve been a shade or two lighter, but the energy. The energy was the same. That cold, no-nonsense stillness that radiated off Cassius when he’d already made up his mind. Najee had that in him too. His was much quieter, and a tad more polished.

Still, it was there, and Jackie felt it…deeper than she ever wanted it to reach.For a beat, he held her gaze, and she held it back, determined not to fold. Her pride was rearing its ugly head, the way it always did when she felt cornered. And rather than fall on her sword, Jackie stood on it. Even if it was bullshit. Najee never looked away. He removed his glasses…slowly. Then he reached off camera for a wipe and began cleaning the lenses with quiet precision, eyes lowered and focused. He didn’t speak.But somehow, she could hear his silence loud and clear. It wasn’t hesitation…it wascontrol.

“Now, you can give me your location like I asked,” he said evenly.

“OrI cangetyour location. It’s actually very simple. My family owns that field therefore It wouldn’t take much. However, I would much ratheryougive it to me,” he added, eyes lifting to the camera in that steady way that always did something to her.

Jackie couldn’t lie, she felthandled. A part of her wanted to clap back at his ass and ask himjust who the fuck he thought he was talking to. Because that was her default. That was the version of herself she knew how to protect. But then there was this other part, a much softer, quieter part, she hadn’t even realized existed until just now. That partlikedhow he spoke to her, and lowkey wanted tolistenand allow him to step in. Now, that realization? May have shaken her far more than his tone ever could.

Jackie didn’t know if this wasact right?Or worsesubmission. Either way she knew better than to argue with this nigga. So before she could overthink it, she sent the damn pin.

Jackie watched the exact moment it delivered. Najee didn’t thank her. Didn’t gloat. Didn’t make a big deal out of it. He just looked back at her like he expected nothing less.

“Now, was that hard?” he asked, adjusting his glasses again, a faint smirk touching his mouth.

It wasn’t mean, cocky, or condescending. However, thattone,or rather the quiet authority that existed within it, was doing something to her. Something she refused to unpack in a parking lot at nine in the morning. Najee reached for another phone off-camera and started typing, his focus shifting smoothly like he was already moving on to the next step. “May I speak with Max?” he asked after a beat, tone lighter now. “I’d like to offer him some words of encouragement for his big day.”