by D D Bridges
“I’m gonna leave with Allen,” she told me helplessly.
“Leah, what the hell is going on?”
“Darius, I’m sorry but I wish you wouldn’t have intervened.”
“What?” I said confused. “Leah, you know that I love you like a sister. There’s no way that I’m just gonna stand by and let him disrespect you like that. And you deserve way better. Why are you even with him?”
“Darius, you couldn’t possibly understand,” she said as she glanced nervously in Allen’s direction. “Just let this go, okay.”
“Let’s go, Leah,” Allen called out from where he was standing by his car. Leah glanced in his direction again, but she looked scared and as if she had no other choice but to go with him.
“Please don’t tell anyone about this,” she told me.
I looked hard at her for a moment, not wanting to do what she’d asked.
“If you don’t call me in an hour to let me know that you’re okay and that you’ve made it home safely, then I’m calling your dad.” She knew that I was serious so there was no need for any further discussion. I watched Leah get into Allen’s car and then they drove away. I wanted to help Leah, but with everything going on in my life I really didn’t have the time, especially if she didn’t want to be helped.
Part 3
Bonjour Paris
Chapter XIV
Me and my crew took our company’s private jet to Paris. It was Mike, Terry, Kenny, Derek, Jeff, D.J., and myself. Also as a special addition I brought Natalie along since this was mainly a leisure trip. I was looking forward to having a great time in Paris with my lady and my friends.
For my friends and I, this was our first time going to Europe. The jet seated fifteen so there was plenty of room for all of us. Natalie and I were sitting in the back of the jet along with D.J. and Jeff. Our seats faced theirs and we were taking that time to review some paperwork. At least that’s what Jeff and D.J. were doing. I was too mesmerized by Natalie’s presence to focus on anything else. We were quietly holding our own conversation and I didn’t even notice that D.J. was watching us.
“I thought this was supposed to be a business trip?” he asked, his voice laced with envy.
I reluctantly diverted my attention away from Natalie and looked at D.J. “It is,” I said annoyed.
“If I had known that this was going to be a couples outing then I would have invited one of my lady friends,” he said while giving me one of those menacing smiles that I was beginning to hate. “Does she know about Juanita?” he asked. Now I was the one glaring at him menacingly and so was Jeff. Natalie had a confused expression on her face as she looked at D.J. and then back at me.
“Or should I ask if Juanita knows about her? I’m not sure which one is the main chick and which one is the side hoe.” It was obvious that D.J. was relishing in this moment which was turning out to be unnerving for me. I clenched my jaw as I gripped the armrest and stared long and hard at him. All I wanted was to slap that smirk off of his face, but it wasn’t the time or place. He and I would have our time and I would make sure that I dealt with his rude ass.
“What is he talking about?” Natalie asked once it became obvious that I didn’t have a response. I could feel her eyes burning into the side of my head even before I turned to look at her.
“Natalie…”
“Mr. King,” the stewardess interrupted as she appeared at my side. “The pilot wanted me to inform you that we will be landing in Paris in less than fifteen minutes.”
“Great. Thanks, Melissa,” I replied before allowing her to walk away.
“I better call and make sure that the cars are waiting at the airport for us,” Jeff said before pulling out his cell phone. He and I made eye contact and he knew that I was relieved for the distraction so that I didn’t have to answer Natalie’s question right now. I looked over at Natalie but her head was now turned as she looked out of the window. That was okay though because I was pretty sure that she would bring this up again.
About ten minutes later we landed at a private airport just outside of Paris. As expected, two car rentals awaited us; a large black Denali SUV, and a Maybach. We were going to be riding in style. Mike, Jeff, Natalie, and I rode in the Maybach and the other guys rode in the SUV. We made our way to the Le Meurice hotel where we would be staying. After checking in we went up to our deluxe suites.
“This place is nice,” Natalie commented as we stepped into the first of the three suites.
“Hell yeah. This is what I’m talking about,” Kenny said as we all filed into the room one by one.
“I could definitely get used to this,” Terry added. We all took a moment to admire the décor. Our suites were connected and they each had the same layout. There was a living room area with a large flat screen TV along with a table for eating. Then there was also a bed and bathroom area that was complete with all of the amenities. The place was extravagant and I knew that Natalie and my boys had never been anywhere as nice as this.
“Boss, where do you want these?” Mike asked, being the last one to come into the room. He was carrying two large duffle’s that were different from the rest of our luggage. These bags couldn’t just be left lying around.
“Just put them in the next suite over. That’s where you, Kenny, and Terry will be staying. Jeff, D.J. and Derek, you all will be in the third one,” I informed them. Since all of the suites were connected, it was like being in a huge apartment which was going to be very convenient.
“What’s in the bags?” Natalie asked suspiciously in a low voice.
I glanced nervously at her before saying, “Equipment.” I could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t believe me.
“Why do I feel like you’re keeping things from me?” she asked. I knew that she was referring to the comments that D.J. made on the plane. We definitely needed to talk because I didn’t want Natalie to be mad at me and we hadn’t even been in Paris for an hour yet.
“Alright, fellas. It’s late so let’s get some rest and then we will brief in the morning.” My crew dispersed and went to their suites, finally leaving Natalie and I alone.
Natalie stared at me knowingly as I began to walk around the room. I stopped over by the window and began to look out of it. We had a beautiful view of the city with the Eiffel Tower off in the distance.
“So you’re just going to continue to ignore my questions?” Natalie asked. She sounded annoyed but not upset so I took this as a good sign.
“No, Natalie,” I said as I turned to look at her. “I’ve just been waiting for the right time so that we can really talk.”
“Okay. Let’s talk,” she said as she sat on the sofa that wasn’t far from where I was standing. “Who’s Juanita?” She rested her arm across the top of the sofa and then cupped her hand to her chin as she waited for my answer.
“Juanita is my assistant,” I told her as I made my way over to sit next to her on the sofa. “Actually, she’s more like my secretary.”
“So, are you in a relationship with her?” she asked as if it wouldn’t be a big deal if I was, but I knew that this wasn’t the case.
“No. Why would you ask me something like that?” I said trying to feign innocence.
“Because your brother said that he didn’t know if I was the main-chick or the side-hoe.”
“First of all, D.J. is my half-brother,” I reminded her and I knew that my tone had become resentful. “And secondly, he doesn’t know anything about my personal life. I just met him a week ago. And he was only trying to get under my skin.”
“Yeah, but you just sat there and let him talk out of the side of his neck. You didn’t even defend me or our relationship,” she said, her vulnerability showing in her eyes. This was the perfect time to tell Natalie the truth about me and Juanita and the fact that she was possibly pregnant with my child. If I were a better man then I was sure that I would have told her. But I didn’t think that I had enough courage to tell the truth now. I hadn’t even figured out what I was g
oing to do about it yet, so keeping it to myself was for the best.
I sighed and said, “I’m sorry, Natalie. I didn’t mean to leave you hanging. It’s just that I’m still trying to figure out what D.J.’s angle is. I know that he wants the company, but I wonder what he’s willing to do to get it.”
“You don’t think that he’s dangerous, do you?” Natalie asked. I looked at her face and concern was written all over it. She genuinely cared about my well-being.
“I don’t know, he may be,” I told her. “I don’t know anything about him. For all I know he could be very dangerous.”
“What are you gonna do?” she asked me.
“I’m gonna keep my friends close and my enemies closer,” I told her. “Sooner or later D.J. will show his cards and it will all become clear to me what his intensions are.”
*******
The next morning Natalie and I ordered room service for breakfast. After breakfast me and all the fellas met in the second suite for our morning briefing. Everybody was up and ready to go like they should be.
“So what’s the plan today, D?” Derek asked once we all congregated.
“Well, for one, I’m going to have to split us up,” I told them. “I have a meeting with Ziegler at 11, but I promised Natalie that she could go sight-seeing and do a little shopping while I’m handling business and that I would catch up with her later. So Derek, you and Kenny will go with Natalie. It’s just as a safety precaution and so that she won’t be by herself in a foreign city. Everybody else will come with me.”
Just as I finished speaking Mike put the two duffle bags from the night before on top of one of the beds. We all gathered around as he began to unzip them.
“Were you able to get everything?” I asked him.
“Yeah. I told you that I know a guy. I got ‘em for a good price too,” Mike said.
“That’s what’s up,” I said as I reached into one of the bags and pulled out a semi-automatic rifle. “Gentlemen, we are in a war. And we gotta be ready for any and everything while we’re in Paris. We gotta have each other’s backs at all times. No matter what. If anybody has a problem with that,” I said as I let my gaze rest on D.J., “then you should get on the first plane back to Atlanta.”
D.J. didn’t respond but just looked away. I set the rifle on the bed and then reached into the other bag and pulled out a pistol. I handed it to Terry who was already smiling and rubbing his hands together like a kid on Christmas. I gave everybody two guns; a .9 mm and a .45 caliber pistol. I purposely acted like D.J. wasn’t standing there and didn’t give him anything.
“What about me?” D.J. said once he realized that he had been left out.
“What about you, pretty boy?” Terry said, voicing what we were all thinking. “These ain’t toys. Only real niggas know how to handle these, bruh.”
“Well I may not be ignorant and ghetto like you,” D.J. said as he reached in the bag and took out a 9, “but I do know how to handle a gun.” He broke the gun down completely and put it back together before putting it in the waist of his pants.
“Where the hell did he learn to do that?” Kenny asked no one in particular.
“If you pay attention I might be able to teach you something,” D.J. replied as I handed him a second gun. I had to admit that I was impressed. D.J. had definitely crushed the perception that we had of him. Honestly, it was good to know that I had another shooter on my team; that is, as long as he was shooting for us and not at us.
“We better get going. We don’t want to be late,” Jeff said, looking at his watch. We all began to gather our things and then headed out of the room. Jeff and D.J. walked out first and Terry pulled me to the side once they had.
“You sure you wanna trust him with a gun around you?” he asked about D.J.. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he don’t shoot you the first time that you ain’t looking.”
“This will be a good way to test him,” I said. “Keep a close eye on him. If he looks like he’s even thinking about betraying me then you have my permission to shoot him.”
“Fo’ sho’, man. That’s all I needed to hear.”
Chapter XV
“Good morning, gentlemen. Welcome to Chez Dumonet. Follow me and I will seat you.” The hostess with a heavy French accent grabbed a handful of menus and then gave us a hand signal to follow her.
“Actually ma’am, we’re here for a meeting with a Benjamin Ziegler,” Jeff informed her. “Is he here?”
“Yes sir, he and his assistant just arrived. Right this way,” she said before leading us toward the back of the restaurant. D.J., Mike, and Terry followed closely behind as Jeff and I walked side by side. She led us into a room in the back of the bistro that would provide us with the privacy that we would need.
Once inside, Ziegler and Braxton Meyers were seated at a rectangular table with three chairs on either side. They both stood as we entered.
“Well Mr. King, I’m glad to see that you made it too Paris safely,” Ziegler said as he shook my hand.
“Likewise, Mr. Ziegler.”
“You remember my assistant,” he commented. I shook Braxton’s hand and we acknowledged one another with a nod. Jeff and Ziegler exchanged their greetings and then before anyone could speak for him, D.J. introduced himself.
“Mr. Ziegler, it is a pleasure to finally meet you formally. I’m Daniel King, Jr. CFO of Kingdom Enterprises,” he said in a chipper tone.
“Ah, yes, you are, aren’t you,” Ziegler said with a reminiscent look in his eyes. “I remember you as a boy. You were always at your father’s side.” Ziegler’s words caused a solemnity to fall over us and the mention of my father made the moment slightly awkward for me. Once again I was reminded of the precious time with my father that was stolen from me.
Ziegler cleared his throat, bringing us all back to the moment. “Well, let’s get down to business.” He was instantly serious and so were the rest of us. Terry was standing by the door and Mike was posted up at the window behind us. I noticed the way that Braxton was suspiciously eying them. He leaned over and whispered something into Ziegler’s ear after we had all taken our seats. Ziegler then diverted his eyes to them as well.
“Are these men with you?” Ziegler asked me.
“Yes. They’re my security,” I informed him.
“Is their presence really necessary?”
“Are they making you uncomfortable, Mr. Ziegler?” Jeff asked.
“These are my guys and they go where I go,” I explained to him. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, not all,” Ziegler said with finality. “Listen, maybe you can explain to me why after years of not speaking to me, Francisco Baptìste called me and requested my presence here in Paris.”
“It could only be one of two things,” I said as I leaned forward with my elbows on the table. “Either he wants to bury the hatchet, or he wants to expose you as a snake.”
“Expose me as a snake?” he said surprised. “The only snake in this situation is and always has been Francisco. Why do you think that your father stopped doing business with him?”
“Francisco said that it was because you tried to pin your money laundering scheme on him when the feds got onto you,” Jeff stated.
“No, it was quite the opposite,” Ziegler stated as Braxton began to search through some of the files that he was carrying in his designer briefcase. He took out a document and handed it to Ziegler. Ziegler eyed it briefly before nodding his approval and then handing it over to me. “Those are my company’s numbers from the years before, during, and after the FBI’s investigation. As you can see, our numbers were consistent, which is why the feds were forced to end their investigation. Once Francisco heard this, he high-tailed it back to Paris and wasn’t heard from until recently.”
I handed the document over to Jeff so that he could review it as well. “Look all I know is that you’re both accusing one another of the same thing and quite frankly, this isn’t something that can be cleared up with a sheet of paper,” I
told him.
“So what are you saying? That you don’t trust me now, Darius? Is that it?” he asked as his voice became low and chilling.
“All I’m saying is that it’s obvious that someone is lying,” I said. “I want to get to the bottom of this and I’m not leaving Paris until we do.”
“I’ve been doing business with Kingdom Enterprises for almost three decades,” he said with a laugh. “If I wanted to bring it down then I would have done it way before now. If you knew what I was capable of…”
“Then what? I would be afraid? I would count myself lucky to not have been taken down by you?” I said cutting him off. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not trying to say anything,” he said, his voice more intense now.
“Come on, let’s not get too carried away,” Jeff interjected. “Mr. Ziegler, we just want the truth before we move forward in business with either of you.”
“Well then we should all get together and have a discussion. Me, you, and Francisco,” Ziegler suggested.
“I completely agree,” I told him. “But it’ll have to be after I have some leisure time. I don’t want business to take up all of my time here.”
“That’s understandable,” Ziegler said as we all stood. “Besides, I’m still waiting on some of my men to get here. They should be arriving later today.”
“Good. I’ll call you and let you know where and when we’ll meet,” I told Ziegler.
“I’ll be waiting on the call,” he said before he and Braxton turned to leave.
Just before they went through the door I said, “Braxton Meyers.” They both stopped and turned to look at me. “How come you never talk during these meetings? Cat got your tongue or something?”
He cleared his throat as he turned more toward me. “I only speak when spoken too or when Mr. Ziegler needs me too.” This was the first time that I had heard him speak and there was something off about his voice. It didn’t fit his look and it almost sounded contrived. Once again my suspicions of him were raised.