CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SIX
Lyrica made it to the center well before Ty the next morning. She wanted to check on a few things—make sure her ideas, time, and money were being put to good use.
Ever since she had given Ty her portfolio and a check for $12,000, things had changed between them. She felt like Ty was being more secretive. She barely called, and they barely spent any time together.
Lyrica was under the impression that they were an item. Sometimes, Ty acted like they were, and sometimes… Lyrica felt like the biggest fool in America for handing over her hard-earned money.
Even Nina had gone missing on Ty. She sensed the tension when they were at the game Saturday, but she didn't really put too much thought into it. She damn sure didn't want to go around stirring up trouble by making accusations. But it was pretty obvious. She would have had to be a fool not to notice the chemistry between them.
Besides, months ago, on their double date, she saw how close Ty and Nina were. At least, on Nina's end, anyway.
However, instead of ruining her entire day worrying about Ty playing her, she pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind and focused on what she had gone to the center for. She memorized the code to access Ty's office, which was Nina’s birthday, and once she was inside, it was game on.
"How generic could she be?" Lyrica scoffed. “At least make the shit a little less obvious.”
Checking up the hall to make sure no one was watching her, she slipped inside. Not knowing exactly what to look for, she just kind of plunged through Ty’s desk. She didn't see anything interesting or out of the ordinary at first. But then, she saw a picture of a little girl on Ty’s computer. For some reason, the girl looked very familiar to her. She stared and stared at the picture for what seemed like forever. Then it finally hit her.
Gigi.
It wasn't until noon that Ty had made it into work. A little hungover and tired, but no matter how much of a dog she was, she kept her center on a pedestal.
She was 22 when she decided she wanted to go into business for herself, and she'd always been infatuated with children, so she started a daycare center designed to prepare children for higher learning. Sort of like a Juilliard for kids.
At 29 years old, Ty prided herself on having one of the most sought-after child care centers in South Florida. She hired the best of the best when it came to staff members, and she stayed on top of introducing new programs to the center every chance she got.
Children ages six months to ten years were welcome. Each child got put through a series of age-appropriate tests, and after meeting financial requirements, they were enrolled. Every Sunday Ty came in to go over progress reports, behavioral charts, and test scores all together.
She kept a keen eye on a student named Deon Montana. Just four years old and already reading at an exceptional level. Knocking out math problems at a first-grade level, and his strategic skills were superb. Despite the fling Ty had had with his mother, Rose, she made sure Deon’s education was never affected by it. Ty didn't slack off when it came to her children's education; she wanted each child to strive hard to meet success. And that's exactly what they did.
I could've sworn I exited out of this.
Ty was confused when she saw her file on Gigi was still open. Though she had a lot going on in her love life, she was very careful not to forget about Gigi.
Not giving it much thought, however, she began scrolling through the progress reports. It was crazy how such a small task filled her heart with so much love and compassion, while on the other end of the spectrum, she dogged women like a pimp.
Startled by a knock at her door, Ty closed her reports folder and called, "Come in."
Surprised to see one of her favorite teachers at the center, she licked her lips and turned on her charm.
"Ms. Trish, what's going on? Everything alright this afternoon?"
"Nothing. Everything’s good. I wanted to talk to you about this week's schedule, if you have a minute."
Trish was a curvy sister. About 5'4, caramel skin, with a body toned and defined like no other. Ty was always flirting with her like she could have her way if she wanted to, but Trish kept it strictly professional.
"Yeah, of course. What do you have in mind?"
"Well, I wanted to start my kids off with a small field trip. Since we're now learning about nature, I figured we could take a trip to the museum. Let's say, Thursday?"
Ty nodded. "Sounds good to me. Will you be needing chaperones? Or can you manage?"
"Maybe one or two will be fine."
"Alright. I'll have Deb sign off on this and book the transport van first thing Monday morning."
"Thank you," Trish said.
With a flirtatious smirk, she turned around and sashayed out of Ty’s office, making sure Ty got a full view of her round ass on her way out.
Damn, that girl know she fine.
Remembering she had a message to relay, Trish poked her head back into Ty’s office just in time to catch her looking. She wanted to say something seductive, but it wasn’t the time or the place.
"Uh, Deb said Lyrica stopped by. I almost forgot to tell you. She stepped into your office for a quick second. Didn't say what she wanted or did, but yeah. She was here."
Suddenly, Ty felt herself become flushed with rage. When she thought back to Gigi’s file being open when she got in, she instantly called Lyrica.
"The fuck was she doing here?" Ty cursed between rings. "She getting a lil’ too comfortable now. How the fuck she even know the code to my office?"
Lyrica’s phone went to voicemail, and Ty left a message, saying to return her call ASAP. She then grabbed her keys and stormed out of the office.
"Hey Nina, it's Lyrica. Give me a call back as soon as you can, alright? It’s urgent."
Lyrica’s message was the first message Nina heard in her voicemails. She figured it had something to do with Saturday’s game, so she called back just to see what was what. She really didn't want to hear anything about Ty after having such an amazing night with Deon, but since she was actively trying to move on from Ty, she thought calling back might give her a little closure on the situation.
"What's up, girl?"
"Nothing much. Quick question?"
"Ask away,” Nina said.
"Did Gigi go to Ty’s center? I know how much you love that kid; I saw pictures of her on Ty’s computer this morning, so I was just wondering what the relationship was."
Nina jumped to her feet, confused about why Ty would have a picture of Gigi.
"Um, not that I know of,” she said. “What type of pictures we talking about?"
"Like, baby pictures, pictures of her with family, school pictures. Pictures."
"Yeah, that is odd,” Nina frowned. “Ty has never even mentioned knowing Gigi. Did you ask her about it?"
"No. I was kind of snooping, trying to figure out why she's been so distant. I thought maybe she was creeping… shit, I still think she's creeping, but I don't know Ni, these pictures give me a weird feeling."
"Me too. You know Gigi is my baby, and Ty's my best friend, so I would know if they had any sort of connection. Let me see if I can find out what's up, and I'll give you a call later."
Nina’s mind was going a hundred miles a minute. She couldn't stop pacing back and forth; she wanted to call Ty and ask her what the fuck!? But she knew Ty would hit her with some more bullshit lies, so she called Charlene instead.
Charlene didn’t know what to say either, leaving Nina more tripped out than she already was. She was tempted to go into work and question Gigi, but that was completely out of the question. Gigi had already been through enough.
“This is crazy! Why the fuck would Ty, of all people, have pictures of Gigi? Lyrica said they were like family picture sand shit. Is the world really so small?”
“Girl, I don’t know,” Charlene huffed. “All this shit you going through with Ty, you might as well hang it up and start fucking with the nigga you met at the gym. Ty ain’t it for you.”
Sensing that Charlene was fed up hearing her complain about Ty, Nina let her go.
She decided to send a quick message to Deon and thank him for hanging out with her, then it was back to Ty.
While she brushed her teeth and ran her shower, she tried to think of one good reason why Ty would have a whole album of Gigi on her computer. She had known her whole family since middle school, so if Gigi was a part of the family, she would've known. Especially if she was close to Ty.
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