"LeyLey knew good and well she could have flown in early for the party."

Nola shrugged her shoulders. "She's working and enjoying herself. She's having a tough year, Rena, cut her some slack."

True, she should not be that mad. She knew Ashley loved her niece and would make it up to her. Everyone else was there at the birthday party, she thought Ashley would surprise her and show up.

"Where's uncle Icee?" Monica asked, dressed in her specially designed and sewn dress that was a gift from Krystle. "He always gives out the best gifts!"

"Girl, look, it's not all about that. The best gift."

"It's not?" Monica looked around at the gifts she already opened. "Is that why you only gave me one outfit? Then auntie Kryssy gave me the best gift."

The nerve of her child!

"I look like a princess!" She twirled around letting the chiffon layers of the dress blow in the wind, even though they were in the basement of their house. December babies never got to enjoy outside parties in Springfield.

"If you don't take your ungrateful butt on somewhere." Monica ran off to be with her few friends she asked to come to her party. Just like she was at that age, she kept her friend circle small, only two or three girls she considered friends outside of her sisters, and even they grew apart over the years.

"I'm telling you, you could have had the party at our place," Kitty said, stuffing her face with birthday cake. "I haven't had a proper party to break it in since soon as we moved in, I was too busy taking care of IceeJay."

"And you're still not ready to host pregnant all over again."

"Un-hunh!"

She looked over at her sister, already packing on the pounds more than she had with the first pregnancy. Looking at her and then Krystle, for once in her life she could barely tell them apart. They were far from identical, but something about them both being pregnant, and carrying that initial weight in their face, they looked identical.

"My little niece going to be taller than me!" Tennille hugged Monica who at nine now, was only three inches shorter than Tennille, which meant she was already taller than the twins.

"It's not fair!" both the twins said then giggled.

Brandy already surpassed all the sisters but Ashley at five feet six at only thirteen.

She enjoyed her family time, her only wish was that she wished Ashley and Atiya were there. Even Icee, he was family now. But not once did she wish the egg donor or the child of the egg donor was there.

*******************

"God, you're so beautiful!"

T-Zack was doing the most as he kissed her neck and went lower to her breasts while they lay in bed at the hotel room, right out of Springfield.

Since they had to stay under the radar, she had to drive sixty miles out of town so that Victor or none of his secret covert friends ever saw them. Shaking security she knew Victor secretly put on her was one thing, but making sure no one got wind of her affair was another thing. Victor knew a lot of people, far and wild.

He used those connections to help build up TEAM in a few short months. He became a workaholic about his business, working late hours, not coming home till midnight, and working when they should be having family time.

It made it easy for her to do what she was doing.

"I love these," T-Zack said before kissing each one of her breasts.

She giggled, enjoying him enjoying her.

"I can't believe these are real. Ain't nothing fake about you baby."

"Boy, stop..."

He sucked on her breast and whatever thought was in her head left. T-Zack was a good lover. Her little boy toy.

Back at work, it was business as usual. She and T-Zack planned another getaway for next weekend, so until then, she busied herself not thinking about him.

Except when she had to see him every day. It was easy to pretend they were just co-workers. They kept it strictly professional at work.

"When am I going to see you signing new artists?" T-Zack asked while they had a staff meeting, along with other heads of departments, and Icee video conferenced in from Toronto.

"T-Zack, I told you that's not my thing. I can work with the new artist to mold them into better artists, but finding talent-"

"Sis, you can do it," Icee said. "We need a fresh eye. I like what you've been doing so far."

Not much to work with, just guiding her sister and trying to figure out what to do with Da Field Boyz. They were still too raw for her liking. Icee saw talent in them, but she did not.

"We need a big win in our corner. Tennille shouldn't be the only one carrying this label. We want to keep it homegrown in Springfield, but I think we've exhausted the talent pool. Zack man, do whatever needs to be done, We need another hit on our side."

After the meeting, she went to her office and did what she always did. Scrub the internet for local talent that may have been missed TikTok, YouTube, anything with anybody rapping or singing, hell just dancing if that stroked her fancy. Some of the wannabe rappers/singers out there could perform well but were lacking lyrically.

A knock on her door and she looked up from her computer.

The door was not closed, so when she looked up, she saw the one guy whose Tik Tok videos were gaining steam, doing covers of other people's songs. CJ, her never known baby brother.

"What are you-"

"Well, hello sis. Nice to finally meet you too."

"You don't know me well enough to call me sis. Sharing the same DNA as the sperm donor doesn't make us family little boy."

"Ouch, that was harsh!" CJ walked in and took a confident seat in front of her desk. "So I heard he told you all about me and he told you I sing."

"If the he you mean is that dirtbag, save it. I'd rather die than help that man."

"Ditto," CJ said. "I hate his guts too."

"Excuse me?"

"All my life he never told me I had sisters out there, how do you think that makes me feel him telling me a few weeks ago that I was related to the Kelly sisters? This shit is bananas." She should have known he knew nothing about them as well. In a small city like Springfield, she was shocked she never ran into the boy. Then again, she was twelve years older than him.

He looked nothing like any of them, because judging by his looks, he was bi-racial. He was extremely fair-skinned, yellowish tone, almond-shaped eyes, and thick curly hair in a fro. He was a cute little boy, and probably used his charms to get whatever he wanted. That shit didn't work on her. Brother or not, she was not going to feel sorry for him.

"Imagine a father leaving you for twenty years of your life. I think that shit beats your little trauma."

"You didn't know about one brother...I didn't know about six sisters."

"Take that shit up with his ass!"

"I hate him."

"Good, welcome to the I hate Christopher club."

CJ didn't say anything for a while. She studied him some more. Something about him made her loosen up a bit. It was not his fault what happened. Why was she upset with him? If he really was her brother, he was family, and family meant everything to her.

"Sarena, I know he only came to you because of me. Trying to help me, but I don't want that kind of help. I have talent, and I can make it on my own. I don't need his help or yours." He suddenly stood up. "Well, that's what I came to say. You won't ever have to see me again."

"Boy, sit yo little ass down and act right. I was never going to hand your ass anything."

CJ didn't sit and she stood and slammed her hands on her desk. "I didn't stutter when I said sit yo ass down!"

He quickly sat back down. She walked over to the other side of the desk.

"First of all, bro, I always thought we got our singing talent from our mother, because she could blow. We all sing, it was no big deal to us. Guess we got some of our talents from that dude I will not name again, because you have it CJ."

Lord help her if she was making a mistake, but she really thought CJ could be the next big thing Icee was looking for.

"You have something CJ. I'm in a position to offer you what you want. Let's make a deal."

A/N: What y'all think about Sarena? Hell yeah she is wrong about what she is doing with T-Zack. When I first wrote this, I think I was cool with the affair. In rewriting this, I can't justify it. Like why cheat if you're so unhappy, leave!

How do we feel about CJ so far? I know you haven't learned much about him yet, and won't really in this book. But the next in the series...

CJ Kelly, age 20