Shades of Sepia

XIX

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
December 24th
Houston, Texas

"Good afternoon Beyoncé," Mr. Ko reached out to shake my hand. He had the biggest smile on his face and I could tell that he was happy to see me.

Maybe it was my hefty donations or maybe it was the actual connection that we had formed through my mother. I found it difficult to let others in so my suspicions of him were mostly my own.

I never expected to call him ever again, but when Onika was finally allowing me to take away her problems and handle all of her stress, I would make every call in the book.

"Good afternoon Mr. Ko. I really appreciate you speaking to me on such short notice."

He took a seat behind his desk and I took a seat too. "I keep telling you that Matthew is just fine, but you refuse to listen."

"You taught me to be correct in all business settings."

"That must mean you aren't here to catch up."

"Unfortunately I'm not."

"I'm surprised. I spoke to your mother and she told me how much had changed in your life."

I would generally hate for my business to be everywhere, but I had a feeling that my mama was telling everybody she could before she forgot. I knew that she was trying her best to remember the woman that I'd loved so intensely right in front of her eyes. I had to take Onika to my mother. They wanted to meet. I was just afraid.

"What'd she say?"

"That business is booming and your investments are finally profiting."

"She said finally?"

"Beyoncé."

I chuckled some, "Business is good to my sister and I. It's been a long road and the rad is nowhere near done being walked, but we are capitalizing."

"She also said both of you are in love."

"I knew that she would get around to that."

"She described the young lady to me and after speaking with the Randals, I believe I have seen you with this woman before."

"I would tell you to get online but I know how you get."

"More like how you get. If you could control it, there wouldn't be a single photo of you on the Internet."

Maybe I did come to socialize and catch up. The intention was all business, but I had known this man for just as long as I had known Jennifer. These people were like elders to me. To be able to soar within their fields and call on them when need be was a blessing. To them, it was their job as elders.

"Is that why you're here to see me?"

"I came to have a conversation about Tiffany. To hopefully set boundaries that I believed had been already set in stone."

We didn't like to bring private business to the forefront, but Matthew's constant contribution to the 'silent' life I lived was a great stepping stone. When Diana didn't have the tools for me, I knew that Matthew would.

"Ms. Ford? The one who asked you for a contract?"

"Yes."

"Boundaries?"

"I was in Aspen some time ago and we ran into one another but she couldn't speak to me due to the rules. It was obvious that she wanted to say something. She wouldn't stop staring but I let it go. I wasn't there with her and none of that mattered. When I left, I didn't even think about Tiffany and then she showed up here. The intentions are as clear as day."