Israel became fed up with trying to button up the cuff links on the wrists of his suit, and walked to the front of Bria's house to let her do it instead of continuing to struggle with them. This was why he preferred to wear regular polo shirts. He couldn't today though because he had an important meeting to attend.

"You staying for breakfast today baby?" Bria tilted her head back for a kiss, smiling in satisfaction once she got it.

"Nah, can you pack it for me? I'm running late. And can you do these bullshit ass-whatever the fuck they called." He held up his wrists, obviously irritated with the cuffs.

"Why you talking to me like I did it?" She chuckled, using her nail to push the button through the hole.

"I'm sorry mama. Thank you." He kissed her cheek after she did the same to the other side, causing her smile to return.

While Israel went back to her bedroom to finish getting ready, Bria grabbed a styrofoam container out of her pantry to pack his breakfast up. Today, she cooked fluffy french toast topped with powdered sugar, cheesy scrambled eggs, turkey bacon and mini sausage links, and a side of mini seasoned potatoes.

Cooking had always been something she enjoyed, but she did it more often now that Santana and Israel practically lived with her full time. They were two grown ass men with two grown ass appetites, so they were always hungry. She was too, especially now more than ever since she was a little over five months pregnant.

"Do you have your computer charger and your notepad?" Bria asked once Israel came back in the kitchen with all of his work stuff, and she shook her head at him once he turned right back around to go get those two items.

He was always forgetting things at home and Bria would have to go drop them off because they were usually apart of his daily necessities. He didn't even have that problem until he started staying with Bria for weeks at a time, and he blamed his forgetfulness on the fact that he was still getting used to living with her.

"Aight I got everything now. I double checked. But I'll call you if I forgot somethin'." Israel took his plate and bottle of lemonade from her, leaning down to give her another kiss.

"I'm already knowing." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug. "I love you. Have a good day baby."

"I 'preciate that mama, I love you more. Thank you for cooking. I'ma call you in a few hours, but call me if need something." He sucked her bottom lip in his mouth for a real kiss, releasing it a few seconds later.

"Bye lil' Tana." Israel kissed her belly next, and she smiled as he gave her one more kiss before he rushed out the front door, almost dropping his drink.

Somehow he was able to lock the front door even with his hands full, and then he jogged to his truck, basically throwing everything except his food into his passenger seat. He was running behind on time because he'd overslept due to the thunderstorm that happened through the night.

During the drive to work, Israel ate the breakfast that Bria packed for him, and was stuffed by the time he pulled into the parking lot. He used his bottle of homemade strawberry lemonade to wash it all down before finally getting out of the car.

He greeted as many of his employees as he could as he headed up to his office, and his newest assistant, Kevin, followed him to give him an update of what they'd gotten done for this week as well as what they still needed to do.

"I just ordered an Instacart delivery too-for the break rooms. It'll be stocked by the time you come back from the meeting with Kenneth." Kevin sat a small stack of papers under his MacBook so that he wouldn't forget about them.

"Is he here yet?" Israel asked, blowing out a slow breath as he sat down in his rolling chair.

"He's being brought up from the parking lot now. You made it just in time. I'll buzz you when he's ready." Kevin told him, dismissing himself once Israel nodded in response.

Prepping for business meetings was never a hassle-at least not for him, that's why he had three assistants. They handled things like that. They would prep the conference room with a light brunch and they made sure each person had a designated seat with the papers they would need for the meeting.

Israel didn't know what he would do without his employees. They really minimized almost all of the stress of being a business owner. The whole company would crumble if he didn't have his team to help him.

He decided to go freshen up in the bathroom before the meeting because his hands smelled like syrup, and while he was in there he made sure his suit was still as sharp as it was when Bria finished ironing it early this morning.

As soon as he grabbed a napkin to dry his hands off, he could hear his buzzer go off, meaning it was time for his meeting to start.

Today he was meeting with a man named Kenneth, who was the son of a guy his father used to do business with-who'd coincidentally inherited a construction company that was similar to the one Israel inherited.

They planned to discuss a collaboration between the two companies, where Kenneth would become the property manager of all the properties Israel had in California, and Israel would manage Kenneth's properties in New York. The deal would save them both millions of dollars in the long run and could possibly double the amount of revenue they made per year.

It was a pretty important meeting.

"East, nice to meet you in person. This is Melanie." Kenneth gave him a firm handshake, introducing his financial advisor and personal assistant.

"Likewise. I'm sure you've met Carmen already." He chuckled, seeing his own financial advisor already sitting in her spot at the conference table.

"Yes sir, she's wonderful. The coffee is too." Kenneth sat down, taking a sip from his iced mocha that was made by Carmen.

Within minutes they engaged in a conversation about how they were planning to move forward with one another's business, and for a first impression, Israel was pretty pleased with the way Kenneth presented himself and his business.

One of the main things that Israel liked about him was the amount of personal connects he had. Kenneth knew plenty of billionaires that were ready to sponsor new property projects-like low income neighborhoods and apartments for veterans and military families.

Although Israel was technically a billionaire himself-it wasn't liquid funds like most of the billionaires Kenneth knew. Israel's money was calculated from all of his investments and properties across the country. He didn't actually have a billion dollars in any of his bank accounts, that was just his net worth as a whole.

"Sir, I'm so sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with you for a moment." Kevin stood in the doorway of the conference room, interrupting their meeting as soon as they began to discuss finances.

"I'm in the middle of something Kev." Israel gestured, trying to politely dismiss him.

"I know but you really need to see this." He insisted, and Israel stared at him for a few seconds before frustratedly sighing under his breath.

"Excuse me. It'll only be a minute." Israel stood from his seat, dusting off the front of his button down shirt as he stepped out of the room.

"You better have a good explanation for th-," Israel cut himself off, caught off guard at the sight of Jada's mother waiting near his office door.

"What the fuck?" He practically whispered, staring in disbelief at a small baby in her arms. A baby that couldn't be older than a few weeks at most.

He didn't even bother to talk to Kevin, and instead hesitantly approached Kemi. He was hoping like hell that this wasn't the situation he was drawing out in his mind. This couldn't be real life.

"Kemi, what's going on?" He glanced briefly at the child in her arms, but then focused his gaze completely on it, seeing the features on it's face that was identical to his own.

"Can we talk inside?" She asked, causing his eyes to meet hers next. He gestured for her to step inside of his office, and he closed the door once he did the same.

"I'm sorry to show up to your job. I tried calling you but I got sent to voicemail every time and at this point, I'm desperate." She started, turning around to face him.

"Jada had her three weeks ago-her name is Isis. When I was at the hospital with Jay, she said she tried calling you but she got sent to voicemail too." A look of disapproval graced her face, which was definitely warranted and he didn't blame her for it.

Israel hadn't spoke to Jada in four months and she didn't have a bump the last time that he did see her.

Around that time she should've been at least five or six months-so he assumed that if she really was pregnant, she should've been showing by then. But she wasn't, so he thought she ended up getting an abortion or just lied about the pregnancy as a whole.

He did end up blocking her on everything around two months ago because he decided they had nothing to talk about, especially since she hadn't reached out to speak to him about the possible child either. He thought the pregnancy was some type of scheme for money and she ended up coming to her senses or something. He didn't care enough to genuinely think about it.

Now, Jada's mother stood in front of him with a child that somehow looked just like him even with being just a few weeks old. She had his bushy eyebrows, his narrow nose, and the abnormal shape of his ears.

He couldn't deny this child if he wanted to.

So, what did that mean for his life now? And what was Jada's mother doing here without Jada?

"The day she gave birth, I got to hold Isis while she went to go take a shower. I kid you not, I have not seen my daughter since then. She won't answer my calls, I haven't seen her on that Instagram mess, she stopped sharing her location with me-I can't get ahold of her for nothing." Kemi explained.

"I'm sixty-two years old with type two diabetes and my breast cancer is back too. Me and Jerome don't even have the extra funds to take care of a child-nor anybody to watch her when I go get my treatments. She cries through the night and it makes Jerome miss work-we just can't do it, Israel."

"Look, I've brought all of her papers-her social security card, her birth certificate, the medical records the nurses gave me and this diaper bag, too. I tried, Israel. I really did. I'm sorry." Kemi put Isis in his arms, not even giving him a chance to say anything else before she damn near ran out of his office.

That was so much information at one time, Israel couldn't believe his ears. Hell, he couldn't believe his eyes. There was a tiny little girl in his arms that literally had his DNA running through her. A child he didn't even know existed ten minutes ago.

He didn't know what to do. Should he call his mom? Should he attempt to call Jada? Should he call his lawyer? He had no clue.

"Uh, sir?" Kevin stood nervously at his door, snapping Israel out of the trance he'd put himself in.

"Cancel that meeting. Cancel everything for today-matter fact, I won't be back 'til next week. I'll call when I can-I just c-I'll call." Israel spoke sort of frantically, grabbing the diaper bag from the floor of his office before leaving.

By the time he made it outside to his truck, he realized that Kemi hadn't brought him a car seat and it wasn't like he had any laying around in his building. Where the hell was he supposed to put his daughter?

Luckily, Bria only lived ten minutes away from his job. He just held Isis as best as he could in his lap and drove very slow on the way there. He hoped Bria could help him figure this out. She was already more of a parent than he was and her child wasn't even born yet.

"Israel? You home alre-," Bria had the same look on her face that he had when he first seen Kemi; genuinely in shock at the sight of an infant in his arms.

"I'm sorry. Yo, I don't know what the fuck happened. Jada mama came to my office and just dropped her and her stuff off. She said Jada dipped from the hospital the same day she gave birth and she ain't seen or heard from her since-and yo, yo, Bria this my kid mama. She got my whole face, yo." There was obvious panic in his voice, and Bria picked up on it.

"Calm down pooh. Let me see her." Bria carefully took the baby out of his arms, seeing that Israel wasn't holding her head correctly.

"Yo, I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do with a whole kid. I thought Jada was lying, man. The whole time, I thought that shit was for money or something. I don't know shit about being a dad bro-I don't even got my condo no more, where she supposed to live? With me? What the fuck?" He paced a small area of the living room, talking mostly to himself.

Bria had to momentarily block his distraught ranting out, focusing her attention on the tiny baby who was now awake with curious eyes that had the same tight oval shape as Israel's. She was also whining as if those whines would soon be replaced with cries.

Clearly unfamiliar with the child, Bria didn't know what to start with as a source for the cries. She unwrapped her from the blanket to see if she was hot, then she felt on her diaper to see if it needed a change. The smell got Bria first, and she could see some of her poop leaking from her full diaper.

Since she'd just deep cleaned her bathroom, Bria decided that would be the best place to take her a bath. She would've chosen her kitchen since the sink was way bigger, but she didn't like the idea of letting green poop get washed off in the same area she planned to wash chicken tonight.

"Hey pretty girl. I bet that feel a lot better, huh?" Bria rinsed her off with her detachable shower head, putting it on the mist setting so that it would soothe the small diaper rash that was forming.

She turned her head when she heard footsteps, seeing Israel walk in, still seemingly in a delirious frenzy, but he also seemed a bit calmer now. He sat down on the toilet top, watching the way Bria handled his daughter.

"Do you know her name?" Bria asked in a soft tone, hoping that her calm voice would help him calm down further.

"Isis." He answered, pulling his hand down in face in pure disbelief. He was going crazy.

"That's so cute. Isis and Israel. Stinky mama look just like her stinking daddy." Bria cooed, turning her head again to see Israel smiling, which made her smile too.

"Come here." She waved him over, he hesitantly stood up to walk to where she was.

"When you hold a baby this young, you have to make sure to hold right here to support her head 'cause she can't do it by herself. But don't directly hold her head because her soft spot is still forming." She pointed to show him, then guided his hand to the same place so that he could hold her on his own.

"Is it fucked up that I don't wanna hold her?" He asked in a small voice, and Bria looked over his unreadable expression before leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

"No. She's new, I get it-well, I don't, but you know." Bria's hand replaced his, making him pull his hand out of the water, his sleeve now dripping.

"You can't be scared of her forever though. She yours now, playa. You gon' have to get over that." Bria chuckled, using her unscented Dove soap to lather Isis up.

She figured Dove was the safest option for now, until they could go shopping for her-which would have to be soon since it seemed like this baby would be living with them now.

Bria didn't really know how she felt about that, but ultimately decided that she didn't have time to worry about it either. The baby's health and safety was her top priority at this moment.

"You really giggling at a time like this? I'm losing my fucking mind over here." Israel pulled his hand down his face again, standing up from his squatted position.

"Well..what else should I do, be mad? Go crazy with you? What is that going to fix?" Bria watched as Isis's eyes began to sleepily flutter, now calmer than before.

"Bria that's a whole kid, yo. And you just so-chill. I just brought a whole baby home to you, the same baby I said didn't exist a few months ago." He grabbed a towel out of her bathroom pantry, sitting it on the arm of the tub.

"I know. I'm in shock too, Israel. But I need to make sure she's ok before I start acting manic with you." She pulled out her tub drain after wrapping Isis up in the towel.

"We need to go to the store. She gon' start crying for some milk s-oh, shit. True has some similac here. Still, we gone need way more. I have to make a list before I forget." Bria referred to her nephew's supply of milk that was in her guest bedroom from when Journey stayed over last weekend.

She pulled Israel with her to the nursery that was still in the works for her own child, but thankfully it was close to being finished. The only thing that needed to be done was the walls, and they were still stocking the closet with stuff too.

Laying Isis down on the changing table, Bria grabbed an unopened bottle of Johnson's baby oil to moisturize her damp skin. Isis was so tiny-even smaller than True when he was this young-so Bria made sure to be extra careful with her.

"Can you just send me the list and I'll go get it? I need to breathe-outside." Israel unbuttoned his shirt, feeling like it was now too tight against his skin. He felt like he would pass out.

"Okay. I'll make a Walmart order and you can just pick it up. Don't do anything crazy and don't abandon me with your child Israel." Bria joked, though she was mostly serious.

"I love you pumpkin." She added, watching him head for the door without responding to her previous statement.

"I love you too. I'll be back." He assured in that same small voice as before, and she nodded her head to show that she understood.

Tbh y'all this is @SheShe0425 fault cause I was just gone make Jada a liar but then she gave me an idea so blame her and not me 💯💯💯💯💯👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻