Nyla Bridges has dedicated her entire life to becoming the best FBI agent the agency has seen. Working twice as hard because she's a woman... a black woman... to show that she is just as capable, if not more, than her predominantly white, male colle...
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I used my key to unlock the front door of my parent's home and trooped through the doorway. I had spoken with my mother prior to driving over and she'd stated that she was at her Pilates class, giving me a chance to speak with my father in private before me and Elijah's departure. We hadn't spoken since I'd revealed that I would be resigning from the bureau, and I didn't want to go on this trip knowing that he and I weren't in the best of places.
I walked into the study, my father seated with his back turned towards me, bobbing his head to the low tunes of Jazz pouring from the antique radio that sat atop of his maple wood desk. I tapped my knuckles against the door, earning his attention as he spun around in his office chair. "Do you have a minute for your baby girl?" I asked. "When have I ever not had a minute for you?" I walked further into the study and took a seat on the loveseat that sat adjacent from his desk. "What were you in here doing besides jamming to Miles Davis," I teased. He relaxed in his chair, resting his hands and interlocked fingers against his stomach, "how'd you know I was listening to Miles?"
"As much as you used to play his albums after a long day of work? I could recite him in my sleep." He chuckled and nodded his head. "I came over here because I wanted to talk. You know that it was never my intention to disappoint you, don't you? If someone had told me I'd be in this position six weeks ago, I probably would have laughed in their face. It would have been absolutely silly for anyone to think that I, Nyla Leanne Bridges, would ever put a relationship before my career-such a head strong woman would never," I chuckled dryly at my naivety to the power of a destined love.
"My success and the legacy I'll leave in my lifetime does not end with my resignation from the bureau. I'm only closing a door that threatens the joy that he brings by loving me as tenderly as he does-which is so much more meaningful and rewarding than what lies inside of that door-and opening new doors that embrace the future that I crave with this man, my man. With his help, I'm going back to school for culinary. I'm going to open up my very own restaurant with fine cuisine and entertainment at affordable prices for the average black family-an idea that Elijah doesn't even know he's inspired, because I aim to be just as thoughtful and selfless as he is. He's a good man, daddy. A man that I honestly don't deserve, but I'm going to do whatever it is that I have to do to show him that I can be deserving of his rib, the one that God took from man to make his woman."
My father leaned forward from the chair, his elbows pressing into his thighs with his hands clasped together, "baby girl, I couldn't care less if you were an FBI agent or a mail carrier, as long as whatever you were doing provided you with satisfaction and happiness, but all I'm hearing about is what you're willing to give up and sacrifice for the sake of love. If he loves you just as much as you clearly love him, why can't he make the sacrifice of turning his back to anything that interferes with your dreams? A dream you've had since you were old enough to talk."
