"I'd be lying if I said I never really cared
how I step out the bed
You notice my perfume and tell me I'm perfect
Ooh, you're so deserving
Baby, you're worth it
I could tell I'm your focus
I'm all on your mind and I know it
Even when I'm off, boy, you on it
Sometimes you might talk but you show me
Love the way you pay attention
You notice everything
So I give my everything"
- Ella Mai

Jerrell |

"No, if I get out the bed he'll wake up and he needs his sleep." I heard Bailey whispering. I don't even have to open my eyes to know it's early. Bailey wakes up every morning at five. No alarm or anything, she just gets up.

"Girl, fuck him. We have a trip to plan." I heard Jade whisper yell back.

"Fuck you too." I spoke while reaching out for Bailey without bothering to open my eyes. I felt her thigh and moved to lay my head in her lap.

"See, he's awake. C'mon."

"Jade if you don't get out there won't be a trip to plan." I spoke while slipping my hand inside Bailey's shirt so I could rub the small of her back. Jade let out a loud groan and a few seconds later I heard the bedroom door close.

"Are we the only ones moving to Massachusetts? Or is everyone relocating?" Bailey questioned, causing me to finally open my eyes to look at her. I seen her attention on her iPad, which had the screen brightness considerably dimmed. I don't see any light from outside meaning the sun isn't even up yet, but Bailey's up.

"Everyone. We have to be close to start off. Once everything is settled and we're able to delegate who will be over what we'll start positioning everyone appropriately. Once you finish school we'll probably be moving as well. Just keep that in mind." I closed my eyes and began thinking of where I wanted us to live permanently. Ain't shit worth staying in Massachusetts for.

"So are we still getting our own house, or will we be sharing?"

"Hell nah we aren't sharing a house with them. You see how Jade was just in here? They don't have any sense of privacy. None of them." She let out a small laugh while placing her hand on the back of my head. She began lightly running her nails through my scalp and that shit almost got my dick hard.

"The houses in Cambridge are hideous and tiny so I'm going to search the surrounding cities. I don't mind having a commute to school. I also refuse to stare at another house from my window. It's tacky. Don't even get me started on townhouses. I never understood the concept of those." I let out a small laugh and continued rubbing circles into the small of her back. I knew this house search would be overwhelming which is why I was trying to wait before we had to start looking.

"Why are you looking at houses right now? What time is it?"

"The sooner we find something the better. Closing time takes a couple weeks, and there's no telling if we have to fight against other offers. Then what if we buy the house and there are issues with it? Now we have to factor in time for repairs. There will definitely need to be renovations to customize the house to our liking. Yeah, we need to find a house immediately. My father can be deported any day now and we'll be left homeless. Do we agree on a four bedroom minimum?"

"Four bedrooms is fine, Bay." I laughed.

"Minimum. Like we might find something nicer with more bedrooms, but then we can knock out walls to make a bigger master."

"That's a good idea." I would never think to do anything like that, but once I move all my clothes and shoes out here the extra space will be welcomed.

"I have to find out if Cam is going to stay in the dorms or what she wants to do as far as housing goes."

"Bay, we'll look at houses together later. Lay down with me, it's still early as hell."

"It's almost nine, Rell. I just closed both sets of curtains so the sun wouldn't wake you up." Simple shit that she does like this is why I vow to do everything in my power to protect her. Bailey's a very selfless person, and all she's looking for is the love and support she's been deprived of most of her life.

"Bay?"

"Yeah?" I opened my eyes and reached up to grab her iPad. I locked it and slid it under one of the pillows.

"What's the rest of your family like?" She shrugged while continuing to run her nails through my head.

"I have a large family, but I'll never meet them. They can't come to the states and I'm not allowed in Jamaica."

"Why?" Her dad and uncles keep stressing the fact that she's not allowed to step foot into Jamaica because she's the heir to their organization, but I believe it's something way deeper than that.

"My father never wanted kids. It's one thing in his life he would never budge on. My mother worked for him and was one of the women he used for sex. They messed around for a good two years before she ended up pregnant. He immediately made her get an abortion. She thought his feelings would change when he found out she was pregnant and he would make her his woman. When she seen he was still the same cold man she plotted to get him into a position where he would have no choice but to step up and treat her with respect. A year after her abortion she got pregnant with me and instead of letting him know she went into hiding.

"She had her sister notify him to come to the hospital the day she gave birth to me. He was rightfully pissed when he came to the hospital and seen me. Even as a newborn I looked so much like him. He had a paternity test done immediately. Before the results even came back my mother had presented him with a offer. She would sell me to him and would disappear as soon as he gave her the money. She already had the documents ready and all."

"Did he pay her?"

"He killed her. There in the hospital. My father can do whatever he wants in Jamaica and not be punished for it. When he brought me home he hired a nanny to care for me and immediately went back to work. The nanny was killed within the first week. It was a home invasion. Someone attempted to kidnap me for ransom. After that he never left me unattended. A month later we moved out here to the states."

For some reason I don't believe that he killed her mother. I think that's why they're so big on Bailey not coming out to Jamaica. They're trying to keep her away from something. Knowing what I know about her father, I'm pretty sure he's the one who offered to pay her off. He doesn't like anyone having any type of power over him, and a child would definitely be something to hold over his head. Bringing Bailey to America is only his way of making sure they don't get to her. He's probably made everyone in Jamaica think Bailey no longer exists. With the way he's been hiding her it makes plenty of sense.

"I know he didn't want me and it shows in the ways he's been sending me away over the years, but I still love him. I'll always love him. He could have easily left me at the hospital back then, but he didn't. He's provided me with a very privileged life. We all make decisions in our lives, some we don't like, and I'm grateful for the way I've grown up."

"All the staff has to go back with him?"

"Sadly, yes. None of them are citizens. They're on work visas, so when he gets deported there goes their visas. It's better for them though. They all have families back home as well. That's why they came out here to work for my father. They make good money working here and their families are taken care of as well. They'll follow my dad anywhere." She paused, letting out a deep sigh. "Is your mom in your life?"

"Yeah. She's still with my dad. You'll get to meet her during out party before you go back to school. My mom is an amazing woman. You two will get along great." I'll call her sometime this weekend and introduce them. I'm pretty sure my dad has already told her some brief details on Bailey.

"I'm excited to meet her. I want to meet everyone close to you. I feel it's important that I form a relationship with them."

"It is important. We have to show people that we work as one now. No one should think one of us is over the other. I don't care if they've only been used to working under me, they work under us now. I will make sure that everyone gives you the same level of respect as they do me." We were silent for a few moments until she moved her hand from the back of my head to rest on the side of my face.

"This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Specifically you. I imagined this going so differently."

"What do you mean?" I have a thought, but I don't want to be assuming the wrong thing.

"I always knew I would get married somewhat like this. My father is big on power, and he always drilled in me to stay away from guys. He would always tell me not to focus my attention on anything that wouldn't prepare me to be the greatest businesswoman on earth. My father doesn't believe in love. If you fall in love before establishing yourself you'll be forever broke, that's what he would tell me. As long as I put in the work then he would make sure I would marry someone who would match my work ethic and dedication. I didn't think he would marry me off this soon, but I always knew he'd be the one to choose my husband.

"I always assumed it would be someone like him. I imagined it'd be someone emotionally withdrawn, only concerned with work. Someone who would only show me affection when they wanted to get their dick wet. That's why I started dating Josh. I wanted to be in control of my first time before I was pushed into a lifetime of emotionless and probably unpleasurable sex. I just could never go all the way with him. He never made me feel comfortable. I barely liked kissing him. I still felt like I had time. I thought my dad would wait until I had graduated college before marrying me off, but I was wrong." I stared up at her admiring the features on her face that I could make out through what little light we have in the room.

"In my defense, I'm a pretty amazing kisser, and my bedroom skills are on another level. Like I could teach classes and shit."

"Yeah? Did you get that opinion honestly or did they just tell you that to get forty dollars out of you?" I paused for a second, not quite knowing how to react, but the fact that it was Bailey saying it made me burst out laughing.

"Who told you I was out here financing these hoes?" She kissed her teeth and it only made me laugh harder.

"Essence told me the type of women you associate yourself with."

"That's different. I didn't bother associating myself with anyone who I seen myself getting serious with. I never imagined myself being in an arranged marriage, but I knew what I wanted in a woman and I wasn't anywhere close to finding what I was looking for. So relatively speaking, I was only having fun." When she didn't immediately respond I started thinking about what I said. I hope it didn't come off as me still looking for my perfect woman.

"Do you think you've found what you were looking for with me? I know it's early and we're still getting to know each other, but do you think there's a chance for us to become more than just business partners?" She moved her hand back to the back of my head and began dragging her nails through my scalp again.

"You're honestly more than what I was looking for. I had some high expectations, but even then I was willing to sacrifice an item or two on my checklist. Realistically speaking, we would have never crossed paths in the real world. For one, you're never out and about so it's not like we'd run into each other casually. On the other hand, our dads were enemies up until this legal stuff with your dad happened, so we weren't even allowed on each other's turf."

"I believe everything happens for a reason. Just have to trust the process."

"I definitely trust this. To answer your second question, yes. I believe that we'll become the ultimate power couple. For this marriage to be thrown on us with no warning, we're surprisingly both very open to this situation. We could have easily been walking around ignoring each other and resenting our dads for putting us in this situation, yet we're both being optimistic. We're both open to the idea of each other. We're very aware of each other and have been using every opportunity to get to know each other. We aren't rushing each other, we aren't moving too slow, we're doing everything just right as it pertains to us. To top off the list, you're fine as fuck." She started laughing and I grabbed her hand, bringing it to my mouth so I could kiss her palm.

"You're very attractive as well, and I very much appreciate the patience you're giving me. I'm not going to drag my feet with us even if we have a lifetime to get it right. I just want us to at least plant our foundation by the end of the summer."

"We will." All of the lights in the room flipped on and I used my arm to cover my eyes.

"It's dark as fuck in here. Get yo ass up, Rell. We're heading out to the mall today. Gotta grab some fits for the club tonight." I heard Tone's voice and let out a frustrated groan.

"A'ight. Turn our lights back off and get out."

"Two hours nigga." I waited until I heard the door close to remove my arm from over my eyes. This nigga didn't even turn the lights back off.

"This is a prime example of why we're definitely getting our own house, and absolutely no one will get spare keys. No exceptions."

"Okay, but what about if we have kids."

"You want kids?" I asked, immediately becoming more serious.

"I think I do. I would want to do things much differently than my father though. I would have to be in a position that allows me to be a fully active and present parent. What about you?"

"I've thought about it. I couldn't have just one though. I treat my cousins like my brothers, but I would rather have actual siblings. Being an only child is rough."

"Tell me about it." She said in a sarcastic tone, making us both laugh. I know her situation had to be worse than mine because she was stuck on this estate with no access to anyone but their staff. At least I got to attend public school, make real friends, and be involved in extracurricular activities. I had the opportunity to gain a social life, whereas she was denied that opportunity.

"We should probably get up and get ready so we can eat breakfast before we leave." I suggested.

"Rell, I've never been to a club."

"Don't stress it. You'll be with me, and I'm sure wherever we're going they've already secured a private section for us. I'll make sure that you're straight." She smiled and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

"You have to let me dress you too."

"You can definitely pick out my outfit to go shopping. I'm not fighting you on that." I knew she meant for the club, but nah. I have yet to see her dress up before to be trying to take control of my flex. She rolled her eyes and pushed my head off my lap.

"I'll take what I can get. Let's try and coordinate." She got off the bed and made her way over to the closet. I'm going to have Jade make sure that Bailey actually buys appropriate clothes for tonight. Bailey has a nice body, and I honestly want her to show it off some.

What do you think about the progress Bailey and Rell are making?

Thoughts on Rell giving Bailey a nickname?

Do you think Bailey's dad is keeping her away from Jamaica for a deeper reason?

Thoughts on Bailey going out to a club?

How do you think she'll react to the new environment?