Chapter 22

RULE #21: WHEN POSSIBLE, REMOVE THE TEMPTATION.

Musa

I've never put my shirt on so fast in my life.

Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with me? The internal reasoning as to why I should never touch Precious in that way has slowly crumbled over time. And just as I was about to give in and do what I've wanted to do for the past two months, Bandi literally comes knocking.

Precious is behind me as we reach the bottom floor. She fixes her skirt and heads over to her desk to try and act natural as I open the door.

And there he is.

I haven't laid eyes on my son in six months, and I might be imagining things, but he looks different. Older. He has the same dark eyes and the same set to his jaw, but that's about all he got from me. The rest is his mother — the high cheekbones and the wide smile, although I really haven't seen that in a while.

"Hey," I mumble like an idiot, opening the door wider to invite him in.

He doesn't move at first.

"I'm just here to get that money," he replies. He's keeping his eyes everywhere but on my face. There's a slight shuffle of his feet and a nervousness in the way he shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Of course. Come in," I say, moving out of the way.

He's only one step into the entrance hall when he spots Precious in the office through the glass door. He hesitates, pausing for a moment as he stares at her.