Page 7 of Jade: Chance Are

"Fine, it's your call,” Ken says. “And I guess any thought I had on getting to know her should be erased." He snickers.

“I’ll imagine you'll save us both the trouble of me breaking your face?”

He nods.

“Good, glad we are on the same page,” I state. As I rise to leave, I see Josh is still shocked by my revelation. "When will my office be ready and when should I expect the info on Mariam," I ask at the door.

"Office is getting set up and info will be in your email later. Can you do us all a favor and be gentle and not your usual brutish self when things don't go your way? Ms Diaz and her team are crucial to LaBelle’s expansion," Ken says.

"I’ll be nothing but a clone of Josh where Mariam is concerned." I grin at them.

"This ought to be interesting." Ken laughs.

"Naseer … the lover, not the fighter." I scowl at Ken then turn to Josh, who has yet to express any more concerns, but I know he’s analyzing it all. I leave Josh’s office and head towards the empty conference room. I need to make some calls and move things around.

Don't mention Jade to Dad, My subconscious prompts. Strategize first before he's informed.

six

Mariam

I called Taimani the moment he left my office. I can't break the contract and leave much as I would love to run to the farthest end of the world with my children. I'll be creating more chaos if I break the contract.

Taimani told me Naseer won’t be in Rhanaz for weeks and he wasn’t a partner in Labelle as far as she knew, turns out …

"Hello," Taimani answers.

"He's here … what am I going to do?" I ask breathlessly.

"Who's here?"

"Your brother! Taimani!”

"Oh no, how did that happen?” she exclaims.

“You told me he won't be in Rhanaz for the next few months," I tensely state. “Not only is he here, but he has also demanded an office and said he won't give me a divorce."

"Divorce? Wait, you didn't tell me you two got married” Her questionable tone is crystal clear in my ear.

"I'm telling you now. I told him the usual story about the twins.”

"What? How did he know about them?"

"Lucy walked in saying they wanted to say good night. I had to take their call. What am I going to do Taimani? I can't breach the contract it will create more problems. This contract is my big break, and it was supposed to be smooth sailing, and my first day is already, a mental and emotional chaos for me."

"Stay calm and just focus on your work, we'll figure out how to resolve this."

“Focus? Are you kidding me; have you met your brother? Focus is impossible for me right now,” I whisper shout. I mentally note that I’m fucked.

"Try. I’ll speak to Naseer."

"Thanks, Taimani. Please call me back. I'm trying not to fall apart here; I feel like I’ve just smacked dab my head into a dense wall."

"I'll call back, I promise. Just stay focused on LaBelle, remember it’s your big break."

"Okay, bye." We hang up as I exhale. Slamming back in my chair, I need to think but my mind is a mess. I remain seated trying to calm my raging thoughts.

Lucy’s knock on the door brings me back to reality. “Mariam, is everything okay?”