Trife Life To Lavish Part 2 Genesis & Genevieve...Am I My Brother's Keeper (3 page)

"Wait, Genesis, did you see this?"

"See what?"

"Look," CoCo reached her hand out to Genesis.
When I was putting the papers back in the envelope I
noticed this picture, it was kinda stuck in the corner."

"A picture, I was pulling the papers out so fast I must've
overlooked it." Genesis took the picture out of CoCo's
hand and was silent for a few minutes. He examined every
inch of the picture and then turned it over and the names,
`Kevon, Genevieve and Teresa' were written on the back.

"Genesis are you okay?"

"This is my mother and sister. It's an old picture but
it's them. Genevieve can't be no more than six or seven,
and my mother," Genesis said with a slight whisper to his
voice as his finger traced over her face. This must be the
man she married," he reasoned, sizing up Kevon.

Genesis sat down on the sofa, clutching the picture. It
was the first image he had seen of his family since the last
time his mother came to see him at the juvenile facility when
Genevieve was only a baby. Having something concrete in
his hands once again brought Genesis hope that one day
soon he would be reunited with his family and he wouldn't
give up until that happened.

"Supreme, we really need to go."

"What... we're gonna miss the flight," he sulked sarcastically. "It's a private jet, they leave when we get there, we
ain't on nobodies time but ours."

"They've been waiting for over two hours."

"A little longer isn't gonna hurt."

"Do you not want to go, is that it?"

"Precious, if I didn't want to go, I wouldn't fuckin'
go.

"Well that's how you're acting."

"Do you really think I'ma miss Aaliyah's birthday
party? Get the fuck outta here!"

"You making it hard to tell by delaying the time we're
supposed to be leaving."

"Whatever, I have some shit I need to take care of."

"Fine, you take care of your shit and let me know
when you're ready," Precious barked back, walking out
their bedroom. She was tempted to pick up the crystal vase
off the dresser and throw it at Supreme, on her way out
but decided against it. Those sorts of volatile feelings had
become the norm for Precious in recent months.

Ever since Aaliyah needed a blood transfusion and
DNA test proved Nico was her father, it seemed to be war
of the roses between her and Supreme. Precious knew
that Supreme still loved Aaliyah like she was his own, the
problem was she wasn't and Nico made that very clear.
When Aaliyah was recovering from her surgery, Nico never
left her side. He demanded to play a full-time role in her life and damn near seemed like he wanted to move into the
Mills' home or at the very least be their next door neighbor.
So Precious had no choice but to come up with a fair and
reasonable visitation arrangement that would bring some
sort of peace in what had turned into a beyond chaotic
environment. With them living on the West Coast and
Nico residing on the East Coast it wasn't an easy task but
somehow they made it work. Well, Precious and Nico made
it work, Supreme was an entirely different story. Precious
couldn't fault Nico for wanting to play an active role in
his daughter's life but she could also understand Supreme's
pain and anger over the entire situation. So she went out of
her way to try and appease him. But no matter how hard
Precious tried, Supreme seemed determined not to forgive
her.

"I still can't believe it's me on that billboard." Nichelle
stared in awe.

"Well it is. I said it would happen. I never make a
promise I can't keep."

"I'll never doubt you again, that's for sure," Nichelle
smiled. Akil walked up behind her and gently massaged
Nichelle's shoulders as they both looked out the massive
window from his loft apartment.

"I'm so proud of you. I knew I saw something
special in you, but I wasn't sure you would allow me to
help you bring it out for the world to see but you have."

"I think you're giving me way too much credit."

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. And trust me, this is only the beginning. You're a star,
Nichelle. If seeing your billboard plastered in the middle
of Times Square doesn't make you a believer then I think
what I'm about to tell you now will."

Nichelle turned around and faced Akil with a puzzled
look across her face.

"Have you ever heard of T-Roc?"

"Of course, who hasn't? He's a mogul legend in New
York."

"You're right. I actually got my start as an intern for
T-Roc. He taught me everything I know and then some.
He's much more than a legend in New York. His business
savvy expands across the world. So when T-Roc reached
out to me and said he wanted you to be the face of the new
women's fragrance line he's launching, I felt pleased that
someone I admire sees the same winner in you that I do."

"Wait, press rewind for a second, did I hear you
correctly?" Nichelle's mouth dropped back open waiting
for Akil's response.

"Yes, you did. T-Roc wants you to represent his
perfume line. Forget about just billboards. We're talking commercials, magazine ads, and national coverage.
He's prepared to dedicate a huge campaign budget so
this perfume can compete with anybody in this market."

"And he wants me, why? I'm not exactly what you would
call polished. Real talk, at the end of the day; I'm just a project

"No, Nichelle, you're so much more than that. But being
from the projects, and being able to still exude an innocence
although I know you've faced so many obstacles, makes your story that much more powerful. You can inspire so many
young girls."

Nichelle shook her head in disbelief with all the
good fortune that seemed to be coming her way, virtually
overnight. "I don't know Akil. I still can't believe that with
all the beautiful women in the world, that T-Roc actually
wants me."

"Well, maybe this contract will make you a believer,"
Akil said, opening up his briefcase. "I reviewed it and to me
it's more than fair, as a matter of fact it's very generous. But
have your attorney look over it. I believe she will agree."
Akil handed Nichelle the papers and her mind instantly began having flashbacks to what her life had been like for the
last several months.

It seemed like only yesterday she was running for
her life, trying to escape death at the hands of her exboyfriend's cousin Arnez. Now she was sitting in Akil's
loft, holding a contract worth more money than she ever
imagined. No, it wasn't going to make her a millionaire
but Nichelle's biggest dream was to one day get a job
making fifty thousand dollars a year with benefits.

So much had changed in her life but a lot more had
stayed the same. Instead of running, Nichelle was now
plastered on a billboard in Times Square which would make
most people feel on top of the world. But, Nichelle was
miserable and was suffering deep depression. She was doing a wonderful job of hiding it from people but at night
she cried herself to sleep. Nichelle still had no clue what
happened to her best friend Tierra. The nightmares continued to haunt her, which consisted of hearing gunshots and watching Tierra fall to the ground. Nichelle didn't know if
Tierra was dead or alive.

Every time she thought about it, guilt flooded her
body. Nichelle felt that she should've done more to help her
friend. But in reality there was nothing she could've done.
Her desire to go back wouldn't have stopped a bullet from
piercing through Tierra. Nichelle did what her best friend
screamed out for her to do and that was to run. Nichelle
ran through dark alleys and the grimy streets she used to call
home. She ran until running out of breath and damn near
passing out on the side of the street. That night remained
crystal clear in her mind but a lot of what happened next
seemed like a blur. That was due to the constant heartache
of not only losing her best friend Tierra but also Renny,
who she was still in love with. After all this time he hadn't
reached out to her and she purposely kept her cell number
the same in hopes that one day she would pick up and it
would be his voice on the other end of the line.

With all that being said, Nichelle's biggest pain
came from the death of her mother and the realization
that she had a brother she yearned to reunite with. All
Nichelle knew was his name was Genesis and no matter
what it took, she would find him.

By the time Genesis and CoCo arrived in New York, the
silence between them was about to push her over the edge.
She knew Genesis was preoccupied with the picture and
information he received about his mother and sister but
CoCo felt as if he was shutting her out.

"Do you want to stop by the hotel before we pick up
Amir or do you want to go straight there?" CoCo asked,
hoping to get some dialogue going between them.

"Actually, I'ma drop you off at the hotel and go pick
up Amir myself I'm sure you're tired anyway."

"Actually, I'm not tired. I want to ride with you. I
haven't seen Amir in weeks. I miss him!"

"Yeah, I miss him too. But I think it's best if I go pick
him up alone."