“Tari, listen to me. I’m not asking how Nefertari is doing as a business woman. I know all those fronts are fully covered and good. I’m speaking to you as you are my daughter-in-law and the mother of my only grandchild; how are you?” This time Terrence spoke with emphasis and meaning. She knew she couldn’t bullshit him like she would anyone else; he saw right through her. Not because she was a bad liar but because he had watched her grow up and he knew from the look in her eyes she was trying to save face. Nefertari tilted her head down for a second before looking straight up and locking eyes with Terrence.
“I’m not going to lie to you, Terrence, it all still hurts like it happened yesterday but I’m getting better. I’m getting to a point where my tears aren’t as frequent and my days aren’t as hectic. Before any of this happened, I would’ve told you that I was well aware of everything the job entailed and those assumptions would’ve been strictly based off paper. I could crunch numbers and calculate figures in my sleep. But that was only part of it. Actually being front and center put me in a position I wasn’t even sure I was ready for but once I was in it there was no half-stepping. This entire journey has made me better, Terrence and I’m not just talking about the business aspect of it. It has made me a better woman. So when you ask me how I am, Terrence I can whole-heartedly say I’m getting better, I’m learning and I’m finally starting to dominate this game called life.”
Terrence looked deep into the brown pools of Nefertari’s eyes and smiled. He could hear the happiness and passion in her voice and he knew passion like that only came from winning. He hated the circumstances that brought her to this place but to see her dealing with it and conquering it made him all the prouder.
“I think I’m the luckiest man in the world right now, T.”
“What makes you say that?”
“God blessed me with a daughter all those years ago and to watch you go from little Tari on the block to Nefertari Stevens, a take no shit entrepreneur makes me very proud.”
“I’m not who I am today without the people around me.”
“I know and the fact that you give credit where it’s due makes me all the more proud.”
“Aw, come on Terrence, you can’t be going all sentimental on me. I’m not ready for all that.” Nefertari giggled as she tried to hold back her tears.
“Oh hush up, girl.” Terrence chuckled. “But I do have another matter I think I should bring to your attention.”
“What’s that, T?” Nefertari asked wiping her face and giving Terrence her full attention.
“I think it’s time you solidified your place.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you are in charge of one of the largest Midwest businesses and you have ties to people from every single coast. I think now is the perfect timing to get everybody together and lay down some real ground rules.”
“That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Nefertari admitted.
“Times up!” A guard announced from the background. Nefertari and Terrence both rose to their feet at the same time.
“Keep doing your thing, Tari.”
“I will. I love you, Terrence.” Nefertari reached out and hugged him right before a guard walked up to them.
“I love you too, Tari.”
When Nefertari left her visit with Terrence, she called up Jason and Cori and asked them to meet her at Chase’s gym after hours. For the last couple of months, Cori and Nefertari had maintained their guise of personal trainer and trainee and no one was the wiser. Chase owning a fitness facility was the icing on the cake as it allowed them to be seen out in broad day light without raising suspicion.
“Good evening party people.” Nefertari sang as she walked into the gym toting a duffle bag and dressed in her usual workout gear. Jason was the first to stop hitting the heavy bag and walk over to greet her while Cori busied herself on the treadmill until she saw Tari walk in.
“What’s up with you?” Jason asked kissing her cheek.
“So I finally got a chance to stop by and chop it up with Terrence.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of knowledge, T over there dropping today?” Jason asked as they both took a seat over on one of the weight benches.
“He suggested its time I made my presence known to everybody. Sven deals with some major players from everywhere you can think of and he suggested we all have a sit down to lay down the rules of the new hierarchy.”
“I was wondering when you were going to make that happen.” Cori spoke for the first time since Tari entered the gym.
“What do you mean?”
“A proper sit down is the only way to weed out the real from the fake. You do that and there should be no more complications.”
“You’re right.”
“Jason, can you put the call in.”
“No doubt. I’m behind you 110%.”
“What’s our timeline looking like?” Cori asked.
“One month from today.”
Chapter 31
The night before the meeting was to be held, Nefertari and Cori sat in her living room going over all the details with a fine-tooth comb. Everyone had certain expectations, but nothing could be too certain at this point.
“Okay, Tari, tomorrow’s the big day. You think you’re ready?”
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“What are the names of all the people who will be in attendance?” Cori asked.
“I know the East Coast will be well represented. We have both Radee Ellis and Christian Brooks – they own a few barbershops that’re doing well and they’re looking to expand over to an indie music label. They’re also the number one sellers of ‘Delirious’ in the tri-state area. Zihao Xiong who owns Berkley Sanitation is bringing along Benny Williams for the ride. Together, they head “The Syndicate” in New Jersey. Colton Slater from Virginia is flying in sometime tomorrow. He and his wife Rhiannon dabble in construction while running the lucrative, ‘Feign’ drug market. Lorenzo Knight who owns “Nightfall Club” downtown where they push feign and whatever else they can get their hands on and Pete Curry who does everybody’s party promo in the Midwest. He’s the son of John Curry, the man on the FBI’s Top 100 Most Wanted List for founding a criminal enterprise. And from the West Coast we have Anthony Harding, who heads the surveillance company “Red Eye” and Bree Easton, hired hitwoman hailing from Los Angeles, California.”
“You have truly outdone yourself, Tari, I’m impressed.”
“I have to be on my absolute P’s and Q’s. Jason won’t be present so it’s like I’m flying solo on this one.”
“Are you sure you want him to sit this one out?”
“I want to be respected as the new boss. How am I going to be respected and taken seriously if Jason is sitting right next to me? They’ll think I’m just some lap dog and they won’t have to deal with me directly because they can just go and talk to Jason.”
“That’s true.”
“Trust me, I had to fight him tooth and nail on it but he understands. And according to him, he won’t be too far from the meeting anyway.” Nefertari giggled and Cori joined in on her laughter. For a moment the room grew silent as Cori’s eyes scaled the room. Her glance fell on a wall portrait of Nefertari, Trent and Kiyan and she immediately began to wonder about the cousin she never got to meet.
“Nefertari, what was my cousin like?” Nefertari sat her wine glass down and looked over at Cori who eyed her with a curious and steady glance, one she had never seen from Cori Romanov before.
“Trent was an amazing man. Even when we were kids, that man was something special. Those he loved and respected were always protected by him at any cost. He was loyal like that. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for friends, family and his community.”
“Wow, it sounds like Trent and I would have had a lot in common as far as loyalty is concerned.”
“You would’ve loved him… Do you know what made me fall in love with Trent, all those years ago Cori?” Cori shook her head no and
Nefertari continued speaking.
“Even at a young age, Trent ignited something in me that is still to this day indescribable. Trent made me love myself at a time where I didn’t think I was always the smartest or the prettiest girl walking. I never had to pretend with Trent, I could always be one-hundred percent myself. No games, no gimmicks. Just Nefertari. Have you ever met someone like that, Cori?” Cori let out a sigh and replied.
“Once upon a time…” Nefertari could tell that there was more to Cori’s story but she was holding it in.
“Cori, listen to me, if you have found a man who knows your inner most secrets and does not judge you for them nor does he force you to become someone you’re not, you need to hold on to that man because he is a rarity. In your line of work I would imagine it’s hard to trust anyone but I also know that because of your job, you’re a whole lot better at reading folks. The eyes always tell the truth, even if the mouth doesn’t.” A veil of silence fell between the two women as each entertained her own thoughts. Cori had never opened up to anyone who wasn’t family but becoming so close to Nefertari in the last couple of weeks made her feel something she hadn’t given anyone else in a long time; trust.
“We’re going to need another bottle for this chat.” Cori giggled as she readied herself to tell Nefertari about her beau.
“Ooooh I’m going to break out the good stuff.” Nefertari sang as she hopped up from the couch and went to retrieve another bottle.
Chapter 32
Nefertari watched via laptop from a nearby building as each of her meeting’s attendees walked into the office space she had rented. Today was the day that she made her announcement to the underworld that she was their new leader and they would be undergoing a major revamp as to how they did business.
“Hey sis, are you sure you don’t need me to go 0in there with you?” Jason asked as he sat across from her watching as she got mic’d up and armed herself.
“As much as I want you to be by my side, I know that its better if you aren’t.” Against his better judgement, Jason nodded his head in agreement.
“I understand.” Nefertari looked around the room at the men of Sven Power and knew she was not only loved and well protected but respected as well. While Jason would not be in the building with her, Rell would be taking a seat at the table while Skip flanked her side as a bodyguard. And per usual, Cori would be her eyes and trigger woman from afar. After he finished with Nefertari, Kumar walked over to Jason and outfitted him for a headset that would transmit over to the office and allow his voice to be heard via the PA system.
“They’re getting antsy over there, Tari.” Skip said as he watched the guests beginning to stir and ask the Sven Power guardsmen questions.
“Then we’re moving right on time.” Nefertari smiled as she retook her seat to make them all sweat just a little bit more. “Let them wait a little more.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tension brewing inside of the meeting space could be cut with a butcher’s knife. By now, all the attendees had arrived, and they’d been seated for a little over ten minutes now. Cori was already positioned on the upstairs catwalk overlooking them with a scope waiting for her cue to dead someone on sight. In addition to the people Nefertari had named the night before, there were a few others who sat at the table that she couldn’t automatically identify. Some of them were used to having to wait but a few of the others were not accustomed to not being the one to call the shots and they began to air their grievances.
“This is some bullshit!” Anthony slammed his fist down on the tabletop and began his rant. “I could be back home making money hand over fist right now but because Jason wants to put on this grand production, I’m sitting up in here wasting my time with the likes of you Motherfuckers.” He scoffed with displeasure.
“Hey, Ant, relax, you’re going off the deep end.” Bree whispered over to him after watching how several of the other attendances had begun glaring in his direction. They both hailed from California and had known one another from mutual business partners. She was by no means friends with him but she was smart enough to know when he needed to shut up. She knew everyone seated at this table held some type of prestige and Anthony was not ready to go to war with any of them.
Zihao Xiong turned to one of the guards posted up by the back door and asked if he knew how long Jason would be. When the guard replied momentarily, a speaker that sat in the middle of the table began to static for a moment before a voice could be heard coming through from the other side.
“I’m glad you all could make it.” Jason’s voice came through the speaker and suddenly, the room fell silent. “I know by now you’re all wondering where I am or when I’m going to make my entrance, but you can stop wondering because today is not for me. Today is for you all to finally meet the new boss. I know after Trent’s murder you all thought you’d primarily be dealing with me but that is not the case. You all are the top buyers of Sven Power weaponry and it is for that reason, that you all were handpicked to be here today.”
Anthony clasped his hands together on top of the table and leaned in close to the speaker so that he could be heard just as clearly.
“Yo, Jay, I’m really not feeling this shit man. Shit just seems kind of fishy, you know what I mean? First, you got all of us down here like sitting ducks waiting for you to show, then you want to talk through some kind of speaker and not show your face, that’s a little disrespectful don’t you think? We never had to have this much secrecy going on when it was just you and Trent running shit. I thought once Trent was gone you’d be the one running things on some dolo shit but now you’re talking about bringing in some new boss that we really don’t need?” Anthony voiced his anger and everyone at the table was growing annoyed by his mouth.
“Yo, I’m getting tired of hearing you pop off. You’re doing way too much talking. You’re a buyer not a seller. Your job is to sit down, shut the fuck up, listen and pay that man his money. Period. All that other shit you doing is going to get you carted out of here in a body bag.” Christian “Blaze” Brooks said from the other end of the table. He had long ago began massaging him jawline which was a surefire sign he was getting pissed.
“Blaze, don’t worry. Ant is going to get all the answers he’s looking for in a few minutes.” Jason chuckled before continuing. “When Trent was murdered I lost more than a business partner, I lost my brother. Trent and I did so much dirt together, it would only be right to make a movie about our shit. Death breeds change and that’s what today’s meeting is about. A change of pace, a change in the way we do business and new leadership changes as well. For months you’ve heard about Sven Power getting a facelift… Gentleman, your new boss has arrived.” Just then the back door opened and in walked Nefertari dressed to kill in a pair of flare legged dress pants, six-inch black heels and a tailored blazer with no shirt underneath. Her hair was pushed backwards away from her face and she was escorted in by Skip himself. Nefertari took her place at the head of the table and stood for a moment.
“Good afternoon everyone.” She said staring each person in attendance in the eyes.
“I know I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing – Jason, you cannot serious right now.” Another businessman named Lorenzo Knight exclaimed shifting his position in his seat.
“Oh?” Nefertari raised an eyebrow and tilted her head in Lorenzo’s direction to hear him more clearly. “And what seems to be your issue?”
“This right here has to be some kind of joke but I’m not going for it. I know who you are, ma. You the shortie that manage like five of the largest banks in Illinois. I know your paper ain’t short by no means, but I don’t think you got what it takes to handle the kind of business we got going on right here. This grown man business.” He emphasized.
“And what am I? Am I not a woman sitting here at this table?” Rhiannon Slater questioned daring the man to say one word out of line.
“No disrespect to you whoever you are but you married into the business. It’s
not like you woke up one morning and decided you wanted to make money running guns. You married into it but this shortie right here is not cut out for the lifestyle we all lead. Look at her! She dipped up in designer like a regular bourgeois chick. No way she can handle the gritty shit we all do.” Lorenzo scoffed so sure of himself. The room fell silent as they waited for Nefertari’s rebuttal. She let a few moments linger before clapping abruptly.
“And the award for the most ignorant and bigoted man in the room goes to you, Mr. Knight. I’m glad you think you know who I am but I’m disappointed that you didn’t get my whole backstory. Do you see this ring?” Nefertari held up her wedding ring finger before continuing. “My husband gave this ring to me six years ago. My husband was Trent Stevens. One of the reasons why you’re all gathered here today. I am not just some woman who married into the underworld, I helped create it. Trent and Jason had the know-how of getting into the arms business but who do you think legitimized their funds? Who do you think kept the Feds out of their finances and had their money creating its own cushion? My insider as a bank manager went further than my University degree ever could. Sven Power is not a foreign entity to me. It’s my family’s legacy.” Several members gasped heavily at that fact that standing before them was Trent Stevens’ widow. They had no idea that she actually knew what her husband did for a living; they had automatically assumed that Trent kept her in the dark about that portion of his life.
“My condolences and my apologies, I didn’t know.” Knight quickly apologized for his brash outspokenness.
“If you knew better, you could do better, young blood.” Skip warned letting Knight know he was not off the hook that easily.
“Yeah yeah yeah, she talks a good game and all but I’m still not convinced. Widow or not, I’m not okay with having to answer to a bitch.” Anthony Harding’s voice rose a few octaves as he pointed a stern finger in Nefertari’s direction. “Jason, you fucked up for this one man.” Anthony Harding laughed once again opening his mouth when he should’ve kept it closed. Skip got ready to reach for his side holster but Nefertari halted him with a simple head shake from side to side. At that same time, several of the men at the table stood up to try and defend her honor but once again Nefertari denied their gestures and asked them all to retake their seats.
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