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  “I don’t want to lose him. I love him so much.”

  “I know baby. I know.”

  I don’t know how long we stayed on the floor of the bathroom before I was helped to my feet by Keeva and Kerem who both hugged me and forced more tears from me.

  “This is a nightmare. I don’t understand why this is happening right now.”

  “Life can get complicated in a matter of seconds, sweetheart. We have to adjust and work our way through it,” my father answered.

  I knew he was right. I had to be strong for Samuel and work my way through this. The only way I knew to do that was with work. I had to stay busy.

  “Someone needs to tell Samuel’s father,” I said while splashing water on my face.

  I felt horrible but better than I did when I first burst through the door of the bathroom.

  “Can’t we send a message through the office or something like that?” my mother asked.

  “Yes, but since I am an attorney and still on the books as working with Samuel’s firm, I should be able to go in and speak with him face to face. I don’t think he would want to hear this from someone outside of the family.”

  Averie

  The day after the shooting…

  It was easier than I thought it would be to get in to see Reggie. Xavier helped me contact the prison. I waited in the small room that only contained a metal table bolted to the ground and three folding chairs. There weren’t any two-way mirrors like the rooms at the police precincts or small cameras in the corner of the room.

  I was operating on a maximum of two hours of sleep and a venti double shot on ice. I was wired and tired all at the same time. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I kept seeing Samuel having that seizure. I couldn’t shake the memory. It was the scariest thing I’d ever witnessed. I spent the night at the hospital because I wanted to be close just in case something happened. I sent my family home, but my mother came back bright and early the next morning with food and clothes for me to change into. Samuel had made it through the night which gave the doctors a glimmer of hope, but they still considered his condition to be dire and told us to prepare for the worse.

  The door to the room opened and in walked a version of Samuel except several years older, a couple shades darker and about an inch taller. Samuel was the spitting image of his father. Roc looked a lot like Reggie too but must have more of his mother’s features.

  Reggie was regal, stately, majestic. I felt like I should have stood or something. His presence, like Samuel’s, was commanding. It felt like royalty had entered the room. Reggie examined me while the guard led him to his chair and then removed his handcuffs. He waited until the guard closed the door behind him before he spoke.

  “What happened to my son, Ms. Patterson?”

  His deep voice rumbled through me reminding me of the first time I’d heard El speak.

  “You know who I am?”

  “Yes, you are the woman who saved my youngest son from jail and stole my oldest son’s heart. Your reputation precedes you. I figure that Samuel would be here if it were just a friendly visit. He’s not, and you are, so that means that something happened. I would like to know, in detail, what that something is. I also need to know if Roc is okay.”

  “Mr. Elkanah…”

  “Reggie, please.”

  “Reggie, Roc is okay. Samuel was shot yesterday afternoon. He was leaving the courthouse with one of the lawyers from his firm. Someone came up on the courthouse steps and fired off several rounds. Samuel jumped in front of his colleague, pushing him out of the way but El was hit three times. According to the doctor…” I opened my notebook, so I could read verbatim what Doctor McIntyre had told me. I’d asked him to tell me again so that I could accurately relay the information to Reggie.

  “One bullet went through his stomach and missed all the vital organs and arteries. The second bullet went through his back and rested millimeters from his spine. The third bullet hit his upper thigh area, nicking his femoral artery. They were able to carefully remove all three bullets and repair the artery, but they don’t know what the end results may be. Because the bullet was so close to his spine, it can result in a whole host of problems including paralysis. El also sustained a significant gash on his head that caused some swelling in his brain. He lost a lot of blood in transit to the hospital and during surgery.”

  I closed my notebook and reached into my bag for a tissue.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I dabbed my eyes.

  The tears hadn’t stopped since they started. They took breaks but as soon as I gave myself a minute to think about El’s condition, they started again.

  “Can I see that?” Reggie asked motioning towards my notebook.

  After sliding the book across the table, I took the time to wipe my face and get myself together. Reggie silently examined the words on the page, took a deep breath and sat back in his chair.

  “Who did this to Samuel and why?”

  “We don’t know, yet. We have a security firm working on it along with the police.”

  “Roc, how is he holding up?”

  “We had to talk him down last night. He was about to send his guys on an information gathering mission,” I answered while using air quotes.

  “I figured.”

  “I can’t say that I totally disagreed, but I knew it wouldn’t help matters. I have every confidence that either Chambers Security will find out who did it or El will wake up and tell us who it was.”

  “It appears that right now, you are leading the family?”

  “Leading the fam…No, I’m just trying to make sure everything is handled. Vivian and Torrey…”

  “Are going to be depending on you to make decisions. Which you’ve already started to do. Did the hospital already put him on a quarantined floor?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Did they provide added security?”

  “Yes, sir. Countee, the owner of the security firm, brought in some men and he’s running background checks on anyone that will have access to the floor. I spoke with the hospital chief, and she has been very accommodating. All our requests have been met.”

  “Whether you like or not, you are leading the family right now. Nothing in life happens by chance or coincidence. You didn’t meet Samuel by happenstance. It was orchestrated because the family needed someone that would fearlessly take the lead during this time. Samuel knew you could do it because he watched you do it with Roc’s case. The family knows you can do it because they too have already seen you at work.”

  “I would never make a decision about Samuel without Vivian’s permission.”

  “Of course she has the final say, but you make sure her requests are followed. Then you follow your gut and make the necessary decisions. I have a little piece of mind knowing that you are out there directing things. Take care of my family, Ms. Patterson.”

  This was the second time a man in this family had asked me to take care of the family. This time around I understood the request and would make sure I honored the request to the best of my ability.

  “I will.”

  “Good. Please keep me informed of my son’s progress.”

  Averie

  Three days after the shooting…

  “The last time I stood in front of you in this room, I was asking for your help with a case that Samuel and I were working on together. I’m back this time requesting assistance for a different reason. Samuel considers you all family, and since you are family, I felt like you should hear the information on Samuel’s condition firsthand. I would like to introduce Doctor McIntyre. He is Samuel’s primary physician. I wanted you all to hear about his condition straight from the source. Let me be very clear with my next statement. The information that you will receive will not leave this building or be shared with anyone that is not family. If this information is shared I will find out and believe me, you don’t want these problems. Samuel is a lion and will pounce on you when he finds out. I, however, am a lioness, I hunt and then pounce. D
on’t make me hunt you. Doctor McIntyre, please,” I motioned to the front of the room.

  Doctor McIntyre explained Samuel’s condition in detail. He also talked about his prognosis.

  “Visitors, of course, are discouraged but please send him your prayers and your good vibes,” Doctor McIntyre concluded.

  “Thank you, Doctor McIntyre. So now we are all up to speed on Samuel’s condition. Vivian, his mother, thanks all of you for your calls, text messages, gifts and flowers. We don’t know if Samuel was targeted or if this shooting was random. The police are working hard to find a suspect, but right now, they still don’t have anyone in custody. The best way for us to help Samuel at this moment is to work. Work hard. Dig in and win your pending cases. Find a way to sign those pending clients and make money. Let the whiff of money being stockpiled here at VLG make its way to Samuel’s nostrils and rouse him from his sleep. I will be available as a resource, but Xavier will be your source. He will run the day to day until Samuel returns. I just wanted to pop in to give you a quick update and encourage all of you. Continue to do what Samuel expects from you.”

  “Can we all be seated so we can get this meeting started?”

  After my meeting with VLG, I went straight to my office for a staff meeting.

  “Before we get started, Averie, we would like you to know that we are sorry for what’s happened to Mr. Valentine. If there is anything that any of us can do, please don’t hesitate to let us know,” Shelly, one of my associates, said.

  I looked around at the women seated at the table. At one point, I considered them all friends, but now, with Caroline’s scheming, I didn’t know who to trust. I didn’t know if she had acted alone or had pulled someone in to assist her.

  “Thank you, Shelly. As all of you know, these have been some trying times for us as a firm and for me personally. We’ve fought to regain our footing after we lost some cases and some of our clients. Our footing is solid, and I want that to continue even if I’m not around every day. I am depending on you to make that happen. I want all of you to understand that I haven’t lost sight of any of you. I don’t want anyone to think that because my life is full that I’m not paying attention. I am.”

  Looking around the room, I made eye contact with everyone in the room. I stayed with Caroline a little longer because I needed her to understand my message.

  “I’m still very much aware of what’s going on,” I finished.

  “Sure but all of this going on with your personal life and then trying to run a firm has to be taxing. We are all here to help and step in whenever and wherever we are needed,” Caroline said.

  I paused for a moment to collect myself because what I really wanted to do was jump across the table and punch her in the face. I got my thoughts together then I spoke.

  “If I need help, I will ask. Right now, I’m good. My request is that you please stay in your lane. Do what you do and don’t come into mine. The way my driving skills are set up, I will run you over without hesitation or remorse. We came together to prove that we could run a firm even with children, periods, relationships and everything else that men try to use to discount us. For me, I’m just having one of those moments. I will be fine. Let’s just keep our heads down and work, cool?”

  Everyone nodded in agreement. The rest of the meeting progressed well. After it was adjourned, Caroline stayed behind.

  “Averie, I just want you to know that I didn’t mean to get you all riled up with my comment of support. We all could use a little help sometimes.”

  “If I seemed riled up to you then you don’t know me as well as you think you do. You’ve never experienced me riled up and let’s hope for your sake that you never do. Like I said during the meeting, stay in your lane and you will be fine. Cross in front of me, and you will regret it. That’s a guaranteed promise.”

  “I’ve already told you that you are not welcomed on this floor without an appointment, Ms...”

  “Mrs. Leathen, I don’t care about an appointment, I need to see Averie Patterson.”

  I walked out of my office and overheard the security guard speaking to someone. We’d made an agreement with the building security that no one was allowed to come up on this floor without an appointment. It was one of the security measures we put in place after the attack. Whoever they were talking to never should have made it onto this floor.

  “As I have already explained Mrs. Leathen you have to call and make an appointment before you can get past us. We will physically remove you from this floor,” one of the security guards explained.

  I rounded the corner and recognized Jennifer Leathen, Barry’s wife. Her picture was on his desk, and I’d seen her at some functions we’d all attended.

  “Averie!” she called out when she saw me.

  There was no way I was letting her past security. I never thought that Barry would have attacked me. I underestimated him. I wasn’t doing that with Jennifer. She probably was just as crazy as he was.

  “Has she been checked?” Laila barked at security.

  “Yes, ma’am, she has,” one of them answered.

  “I’m not here to cause any trouble. I really just need to speak with you, Averie. Please!”

  Laila moved towards Jennifer.

  “Laila! It’s okay. I will speak with her.”

  Laila had still been with me acting as a personal assistant but actually being my personal security.

  Laila was as tough as she was beautiful. She could produce a sugary sweet smile or a hardcore grimace depending on how she felt. She was excellent at her job and very rarely let me out of her sight.

  Initially, Liddy, my secretary, was intimidated by Laila. She thought Laila was coming for her job. Now they work together beautifully. Liddy was still not aware that Laila was my security.

  “Fine but we are doing it off this floor, and I will be in the room. She cannot pass security without an appointment. I don’t care how much she begs,” she looked Jennifer up and down and rolled her eyes.

  “Okay. Give me one second.”

  I went to retrieve my phone in order to record the conversation. I honestly didn’t know what type of conversation I was about to have with the wife of the man that tried to kill me.

  Laila followed me back to my office.

  “Averie, this is not a good idea. Have you ever had a conversation with this woman before?”

  “Only in social settings. That’s why I find it strange for her to be here.”

  “You don’t have any idea what she could want?”

  “I don’t know what she could possibly want, and I need to know.”

  “Alright but if she tries something…”

  “Take her ass out!”

  “Damn straight.”

  I followed behind Laila as she ushered Jennifer back onto the elevator and down to the first floor. We entered a room situated near the security office.

  “I will have to pat you down again for Ms. Patterson’s safety,” Laila said.

  Jennifer held her arms up in the air while Laila patted her down closely resembling an overzealous TSA agent.

  “Have a seat,” Laila motioned to a set of chairs across from where she and I were standing.

  Jennifer sat down. Laila stood off to the side watching Jennifer like a hawk.

  “What do you need Mrs. Leathen?”

  “I want to know why you baited my husband to your office that night and then did something that made him angry enough to attack you?”

  “Ex-the-fuck-cuse me?”

  I had honestly been working on my mouth since Samuel didn’t cuss, but that was the best response I could give her.

  “I knew it was you that was sending him text messages at all hours of the day and night even when he was with our family. He told me about you when you worked with him. He told me how ‘fond’ he was of you,” she used air quotes, “I knew something was going on because lately, he’d been distant and edgy. So what did you do?”

  Bitch was the first thing that popped into my he
ad. I knew better, so I chose a different start.

  “Mrs. Leathen…”

  “That’s right, Mrs…”

  “Let me begin by saying that if Barry’s fake tan having, hair plug getting, shoe lift wearing, wannabe ass lawyer was the last man on earth, I wouldn’t even let him sniff it. That’s on god. I’ve never sent him a text, tweet, email, DM, telegram or S.O.S, ever! How dare you get up enough nerve to barge your ass onto my floor at my place of business where your demented husband attacked me, talking about what did I do? I didn’t provoke him neither did I call that slithering sack of shit to my office. What I suggest you do is go and talk to your incarcerated husband and get the gotdamn story straight. You have the wrong one. If Barry was communicating with someone it sure as shit was not me. I don’t like vanilla nothing; flavor, scent, color and definitely not dick.”

  “Why did I hear him say your name on the phone then?”

  “How can I answer that question for you? How in the hell would I know that? I don’t know! What I do know is that this meeting is over. Don’t ever come here or contact me again.”

  “You just watch your back!” she threatened.

  Laila moved towards her.

  “No, Laila. It’s cool. How about this. I will take the recording of this meeting to the prosecutor’s office to show that Barry has people on the outside trying to strong arm me into saying that the attack didn’t happen? Witness tampering is a felony. It would be interesting to see how long you would be a free woman.”

  The shock registered in her eyes. I knew she understood my position.

  “Like I said, don’t come near this building or anywhere I may be. I don’t make threats, Mrs. Leathen. Laila, please see her out.”

  Jennifer stood abruptly and stomped to the door of the room.

  “I don’t need help!” she seethed while throwing the door open.

  She stomped out and through the glass doors at the front of the building.

  “You okay, Vee?” Laila inquired.

  “I’m fine. Just tired.”