"Y'all gon' sit down, have a good time this reunion
And drink some wine like Communion
And act like everything fine and if it isn't
We ain't letting everybody in our family business"
- Kanye West

Jerrell |

"Alright. Jerrell, let me have you step out so we can get some individual shots of Bailey." I stepped out the frame and watched Bailey as she posed for the camera. Formal Bailey is a whole new woman. I didn't even know that she was capable of looking any better than she already does. She never ceases to amaze me.

"Jerrell, let's get your individual shots and then you two will be done with the photos." I switched places with Bailey and quickly took my appropriate shots. Tonight is our marriage announcement dinner. Also the public announcement of the merger we've entered in between families. The party is already in full swing, Bailey and I are just taking care of the logistics.

"You look so good." Bailey smiled up at me while wrapping her arms around my neck. I placed my hands on the small of her back, letting one hand slide down to grip her ass.

"Let's slip off to the room for a few."

"Not right now. Everyone is waiting for us downstairs. We have to start the dinner." We've only been back from Bali for less than two days, and I'm already ready to go away with her again. At the end of the week she'll be going back to England and I'll be working on the takeover.

I've had time to think over what my dad talked to me about and I've had to remind myself that this is all a business move. Despite my feelings for Bailey, business comes first. I know I don't have it in me to harm her, but I'll be able to work around her to gain full control of both organizations. Bailey is clueless when it comes to the illegal side of business, so it'll be easy to take the business without her even realizing it. My dad has worked too hard on this for me to risk it all for my uncertainty.

"Fine, lets go." I took a hold of her hand and started for the stairs so that we can make our entrance. We stepped into the dining room to see both of our families sitting around the extra long table. I pulled out her seat and helped her sit down in her form fitting sequined gown. I took the seat next to her and looked around the table, my eyes briefly connecting with my dad's. I could tell what's on his mind just by the look in his eyes. I have to find a way to convince him that Bailey isn't a threat.

"How did you two enjoy your trip?" My mom asked with a smile on her face. I guess it's safe to say that we'll be easing into the business conversation.

"It was amazing!" Bailey gushed. "It was so relaxing, and the beach was perfection. Especially the view of the sunrise. I want to go back already." A small smirk grew on my face from the memories we made watching the sunrise every morning. After the first morning, Bailey made it a point to drag me out of bed every morning for the "sunrise".

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It's straight to business now, Bailey. You've already been appointed the main point of contact. There should be a couple financial and expense reports in your email to review." Her father started. Bailey let out a sigh so small that I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who caught it.

"I'll go through them first thing in the morning."

"Good. I'll be leaving tonight back to Jamaica. I trust that you'll do what needs to be done." He gave her a look and my eyebrows furrowed while glancing over at Bailey to see a conflicted look in her eyes.

"I didn't know you'd be leaving tonight." I could hear the sadness in her voice and reached out to grab her hand under the table.

"You have everything you need already equipped in you Bailey. Don't let me down."

"I won't, Dad."

"You trust her under my care, Ronald?" My dad questioned. I looked over at him, trying to see where he was going with this. I'm hoping he doesn't say anything to alarm Bailey.

"My daughter isn't under anyone's care. I don't fear anything happening to her, not even being around your twisted ass."

"You know I don't trust you further than I can throw you and that goes for your secret child as well. You figured you'd just marry her off to my son so you could finally go back to your wife?" Bailey loosened her grip on my hand and I already know this conversation is about to take an even darker turn. Roger began laughing, not taking his eyes off my father.

"You mean the same wife you were so deeply in love with? My wife? The one you were going to leave your wife and child for, Frank? Let's not play this game because you know I'll always come out on top. Let's be clear, the moment I found out you were screwing my wife is the moment I lost all loyalty to you and her. My daughter is set. Neither you nor your son can ruin what I've instilled in her. Hell, her being with your son is my form of pushing your karma." I didn't realize Bailey and I's hands had completely disconnected from each other until I seen her reaching for the bottle of wine in front of us.

"Anyone want some wine?" She questioned. I looked over at her to see a forced smile on her face.

"That doesn't bother you, baby girl?" My dad started while turning his attention from Roger to Bailey. "Knowing that your mother is in fact alive and married to your father? Knowing that that's the reason you're banned from your home country, because no one knows about you?"

"It doesn't bother me, Mr. Price. I'm not banned from anywhere, and this announcement is not exclusive just to the people in attendance tonight. My position is currently being announced to those in Jamaica as well. Regardless of how weak anyone takes me for, I'm very aware of the position of power that I hold." I stared down at her, trying to grasp the words coming out of her mouth. I'm not even aware of how much power she holds and I can tell her words caught my dad off guard as well.

"Like I said, my daughter has nothing to fear, and before you think about doing any snake shit towards her I'd advise you to go back and thoroughly read that contract everyone signed. Now let's eat before I have to leave to meet my pilot." I watched my dad closely as Ronald spoke, looking for any indication of uncertainty. It was faint, but I still caught it. Just a reminder for me to go back and read that contract as well. I was under the impression that it had already been reviewed thoroughly by both sides. Now I'm not so sure.

"I'll take some of that wine, sweetie. This is supposed to be a celebration to you two, and I don't want to lose sight of that." My mom spoke while pushing her glass towards Bailey. Bailey distributed the wine into my mom's glass, hers, and mine before passing the bottle over to Jade.

"My graduation will be on December ninth for anyone who is free to attend."

"So, you want us to come to Germany, during the Trump Administration?" Tone question, bringing a snicker out of LJ. Can always count on these two to lighten the mood.

"No, my school is in England. I thought you were trying to get your stamps up on your passport." Bailey teased, only further encouraging them.

"In that case, count me in. About to be walking around calling niggas bloke." LJ spoke, bringing laughter out of all of us. Conversation quickly filled the room as the food was served. Halfway into the meal Ronald stood up with his team and called for Bailey to follow him out.

"What the hell is he talking about that's in the contract, Lamar?" My dad gritted out while turning to my uncle who is also our lawyer.

"He could be referring to the clause, but it's mutually beneficial for both her and Jerrell. It just states that if anything were to happen to either of them that the deal would be off the table. That includes random disappearance or death of either of them, divorce, legal separation, and even moving into different residences. This marriage has to run it's full course for this deal to stay in tact." I watched my dad, not understanding what his deal with Bailey is. This isn't the time or place for me to question him though. I'm pretty sure my mom has questions for him as well, unless she was already aware of what was going on between him and Ronald's wife.

"We need to talk." I spoke to Bailey while taking a seat on the small bench in our bathroom. She sat at her vanity in only her underwear, carefully removing her makeup.

"About you and your father plotting to kill me? I'm not really up for discussing it."

"Bailey, we're being put in the middle of our fathers' beef. What just went down at dinner is a prime example that they're trying to use us for a grudge they hold against each other." She looked at me through the mirror while slightly rolling her eyes.

"My father has done everything in his power to put me in the best position possible. He has a business mindset and this arranged marriage is only for the benefit of business. I don't care what they have going on personally because it doesn't directly effect me and what I'm supposed to be doing. Seeing how upset your dad got about the mention of the contract just shows that he's had something dirty planned on me from the start. This is about business and if his mind is anywhere else other than what benefits this business then maybe you should stop consulting in him."

"What about this mystery plan you and your dad keep talking about? That doesn't sound like it's to benefit the business." I'm not going to let her flip this all on my dad without getting answers from her as well.

"Everything that I do with my dad has to do with business. We literally have nothing to talk about outside of that. It's been that way since I can remember. The plan I have with my dad has nothing to do with you or your father. Our plan has been in the works for years now. Unlike you, Jerrell, I read the full contract and prenuptial agreement. It's why I've been so optimistic in this situation, because I'm aware there's no way out. Maybe you should spend some time and go over what you signed." She went back to cleansing her face and I just stood back and watched her.

"I wasn't going to go along with it. When I made that promise to not do anything to hurt you I meant it."

"For some reason I don't fully believe you." She stood up and walked over to turn on the shower. I released a small sigh, not really knowing how to argue my case in this situation. I know in the back of my mind that I was considering breaking that promise to her if I was unable to convince my father otherwise.

"I'll be in my office." I let her know. She didn't respond and I took that as my cue to just leave out. After the disaster of a dinner everyone left while my crew retreated to their rooms. They'll be staying here with me until Bailey comes back from school and then they'll be moving into their own house. Preferably one still in the neighborhood. I walked out of our room and down the hall to my office that Bailey had designed for me.

As soon as I was in front of my computer I pulled up the official documents that Bailey and I signed and began reading. My dad must have only been concerned with reading about the money, because there's a lot of obvious clauses in this paperwork that  shows that the only thing holding this deal together is Bailey and I staying with each other. There's even an exact timeline for us to have a child. I highlighted every clause and guideline I found and forwarded it to my dad. It states that Bailey is not to get pregnant during the first two years of marriage, but that a child should be conceived before the fifth year of marriage. Most likely because of her obligation to finish her schooling.

I've never been in a situation quite like the one I'm in now. Unlike Bailey, my parents didn't prepare me for this situation either. I can still think of a hundred ways it could be worst too. Bailey has made this a comfortable transition for me when I know this situation is new to her as well. One thing Ronald knows how to do is make money, and that's something he's taught to Bailey. My people have always been hood rich, but it's spare change compared to the wealthy lifestyle Ronald has built on his own.

Shutting down my laptop I left out of my office and made my way back into Bailey and I's larger than life bedroom. She did just what she said she wanted to do, tear down a wall between bedrooms to create a larger master. The room is larger than I'd figured a room could be. It's definitely going to take some getting used to.

Bailey sat in the middle of the bed on her laptop. When she noticed me she closed it and sat it off to the side. I took notice of the small night gown she has on, comparable to the one she wore in Bali. Pulling my shirt off I moved to sit at the foot of the bed.

"Ask me whatever you want to know regarding my father and I'll answer it for you. I just got off the phone with him and he told me everything." Bailey spoke from behind me. I stretched out, turning onto my stomach so I could face her.

"What was his motive with keeping you alive and not the other babies?"

"When my mom was pregnant with me is when my dad found out about the ongoing affair she was having with your father. He got a DNA test on me, and kept me as his security blanket. He didn't trust anyone else after finding out about what the two closest people to him were doing behind his back. That's what our plan surrounds around, it's somewhat of a hostile takeover. As his only child I legally have full rights to his empire. The clause about the first child having to be a boy expires after a five year period of not being able to produce a male child. I was born after the seventh year of marriage. My dad brought me to the states and kept me hidden because of the trust issues he has. He didn't want to reveal me until I was fully ready to take over."

"What about your mom? You don't feel a way about plotting against her?" I know she doesn't know her, but that's her mother.

"Why should I? The only parent I owe loyalty to is my dad. My dad has always made sure I'm good, and I owe him my loyalty for that."

"What about me? What loyalty do you have to me?" She moved down the bed and straddled me.

"Jerrell, you're my husband. I'm legally tied to you for the rest of my life. I want us to work more than anything, and that's one thing I'll disagree with my father about. I don't want a marriage like the one he's in. My dad told me he built a life here in the states because he doesn't have the patience to tolerate being around his wife for long periods of time. I don't want that to be us. I love my father to death, but I'm aware of who I have to come home to at the end of the night. I'm well aware of who has full access to my bank accounts and who I'm contractually obligated to have a child with before the fifth year of marriage. The moment we signed those papers is the exact moment that our loyalty to each other trumped everyone else's. Let them bicker, it has nothing to do with what we have going on." I allowed her words to replay in my head while resting my hands onto her thighs.

"You're right. It's just hard to separate what I'm used to. I've always taken orders from my dad, and then you came around and made me question everything I know. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I just have to learn to start making these decisions with you and not my father."

"Is that something that you're ready for?"

"I didn't think that I was before tonight. Seeing all that drama unfolding has put me in a different headspace though. This relationship was put together to benefit the business, and it seems like their motives are beyond that. I want to work with you in regards to us building it beyond what it is now. You're equipped with things that I'm not and vice versa. I'm confident that us together will be greater than anything anyone could have imagined. I'm in this with you." She smiled and leaned forward to kiss my lips softly. Pulling back, she rested her forehead against mine and looked into my eyes.

"Promise that we'll stay true to us? Full honesty, no matter what. If anything is bothering either of us we should feel comfortable communicating it to each other. This situation we're in will be hard adjusting to, but it doesn't have to be complicated unless we make it that way."

"I agree with you. You have my word, Bailey." Her eyes lit up and it brought a smile to my face. I know I'll still have to keep an eye on both of our fathers, but for now my primary focus is her and continuing to build our marriage. Business will only prosper if our bond is solid.

What are your thoughts on the conversation at the dinner and the secrets that were revealed?

New opinions on Jerrell and Bailey's fathers?

Now that more has been revealed about Bailey's plan with her father does it change your opinion on her dad? Do you believe her dad was completely honest with her? Do you think Bailey was fully honest with Jerrell?

Additional thoughts? There will be an opinion post on Instagram to express your feelings on this chapter. Head over to leave them: