Lack Of Deceit {Completed}

Chapter 17

Jovan
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I watched as Byron grabbed a Gatorade and left without saying anything. He has gone 4 days without talking to me.

I didn't get it.

He blames me for him getting shot but he makes his own decisions. I didn't force him to do shit. Yeah, I pushed him and accused him of doing it. But, I didn't tell him to do it.

He's dragging this out. This situation is more than it has to be. I'm not even sure what he wants from me.

I was currently getting ready for a meeting. They wanted to have a club downtown. They said they already bought the building but it needs renovation.

I could make that happen.

I just needed to know their ideas and what their budget was. I grabbed a water bottle and walked out the house. I locked up and got into my car.

As I was driving, my phone started to ring. I answered before looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, babe." Iva's voice came through the phone. She smiled into the camera.

"Hey, baby. How are you?" I focused on the road.

"I'm good. I'm off of work today."

"You off of work? Wow." I was genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, they were super slow today so my manager said I could stay home." She shrugged. "Where are you going?"

"I have a meeting. If everything goes well, there will be a new club downtown." I smiled.

"Ooh, when it's done we should go party there." She suggested and I nodded. "I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me to drop Amina off at her grandma's house."

"Yeah, I'll come with you. I haven't seen Amina in a while." I did miss that lil girl.

"Okay, cool. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye babe." I said before hanging up.

I parked at the building. It was big and spacious. A club definitely needed to be here. I walked in the building and a a black man and a black woman were sitting at a round table.

I assumed they were the owners. The woman had big curly hair and the guy had waves.

"Thyri and Prince?" I asked, confirming who they were. I believe they were siblings.

"Yes sir. Jovan, right?" Prince shook my hand.

"Yeah. Let's get started." I sat down across from them. They discussed what they wanted.

It was gonna have a dark purple theme with a bar in one corner and a dance floor in the middle, the Dj booth to the side and tables and seat around the dance floor.

A typical club.

I thought it was a good idea. There were only two other clubs and they were boring. I think this club would gain a lot of attention.

"What is the name of the club?" I asked them both.

"The name is Purple Light." Thyri said. It was definitely not creative, given the purple theme. But, it didn't need a lot of brain storming. Just a simple name.

They signed the contract for my workers to start the construction. They'd be down here by tomorrow and it should take anywhere from 1 month to 2. Hopefully just 1.

I drove back to my house to get out of the clothes I was in. It wasn't overly professional but it wasn't comfortable. I don't like the jeans and shit.

I put on some sweats and hopped back in my car to go to Iva's apartment.

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"Have you and Byron talked?" Iva asked me. She was driving and looked sexy as hell. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about Byron.

"I tried. He won't give me the time of day." I sighed.

"Have you apologized?" She couldn't be serious. Why should I owe him an apology?

"Uh no, and I'm not going to."

"Why not?"

"Why should I?" I shot back and she went quiet. "Okay, I just don't feel as though I owe him an apology. Yeah, I pushed him but I didn't force him to do shi- things." I corrected myself. Amina was in the back seat playing on her iPad so I doubt that she could even hear us.

"Jovan, you owe him an apology. Maybe he owes you an apology too. But, you said yourself that your mom came to you and told you to be patient. You did the exact opposite and in Byron's eyes, you're the one to blame. It's not your fault any of this happened. Shit happens. But, you should start off with an apology. No matter how much you think you're not in the wrong." She had a point.

"Okay." Was all I could say. I felt stupid. My girl had to tell me that apologizing was the right thing to do. Was I really this stubborn?

No wonder Byron and I are not on good terms. I can't even say 'sorry'.

Iva pulled up to a house with a garden surrounding it. It looked new. She parked the car and looked back at Mini who was surprisingly still awake.

"You coming inside?" She asked me.

"Yeah, why not?" I shrugged. She unbuckled Mini out her carseat. I grabbed Mini's little backpack and her toy car and we walked up to the door.

"Hey, Mom." Iva greeted her ex's mother.

"Hey babe. Hey pumpkin." She looked down smile at Mini.

"Grandma, can I have pop corn please?" She pleaded. This girl was so cute.

"Amina, say hi." Iva reminded.

"Hi, Grandma. Can I please have some popcorn?" She continued to ask. We all laughed and she ran in the house.

"What's your name again?'' She asked me. She never really introduced herself to me. When we met, she gave me a stank look and didn't speak to me. I didn't even know her name.

"Jovan. I never got your name." I reached my hand to shake hers but she didn't acknowledge it.

"You can call me Ms. Rolland. But, I'm sure you won't be around long." She mumbled but Iva and I both heard her.

"Mom, we're gonna get going. I'll be back Sunday." She waved and we went back to the car.

"What's up with her?" I ask.

"She's just one of those people without a filter." Iva shakes her head. I left it alone because I really didn't care. She wasn't someone I was trying to please so it didn't matter.