by Abbi Hemp
“You don’t have to test our product all the time like in the old days,” I joked.
He laughed and put the vaporizer down on my desk.
“After what happened on the road today, I need a hit and a stiff drink.”
“Have you found out anything?” I asked, leaning over for the vape pen.
“It had to be the San Juan Cartel,” he said. “I know it.”
“We need some kind of proof. We’re running a legitimate business now. Which reminds me, have you found out anything about that mystery grower?”
“Like you said, he’s out of retirement and growing again. I haven’t tasted any of the product, but I’m sure it’s good.”
“Who’s buying it from him?”
Keifer shrugged as I took a hit.
“No idea.”
I blew out a cloud of vapor.
“You need to find out. If he’s in the game again, we want to get our weed from him. Our guys are good, but he’s a fucking genius.”
“Will do, boss. Anything else?”
“Not right now,” I said. “I’m going to work out then go home and get ready for the party tonight.”
He smiled like a child who had been told the toy store would be open all night and everything was free.
“I thought I would get tired of all the parties, but I haven’t.”
“Money makes it easy to keep it interesting.”
I swung my feet off the desk and stood up.
“I’ll see you later tonight,” I said. “Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks, boss.”
He got to his feet and left my office. I followed a minute later, heading to my private gym down the hall. The private shower this high up had cost an arm and a leg, but I deserved it, especially with all the work I’d put in recently. Becoming the king of pot in Colorado had not been easy.
When I reached the gym, I changed into sweats and a tee-shirt. A tap of a few buttons on a remote control turned on music from a high-end stereo system. I stretched out as the beats got my blood pumping.
Unlike most businessman, or pot smokers for that matter, I enjoyed spending time working out. Having a fit and toned body was part of it, but beyond that, I enjoyed the solitude as I pushed myself every single day. Exercise gave me time to think about long term business strategy.
After stretching my muscles, I got onto a combination machine that worked my whole body with minimal effort. It had cost a fortune, but after spending so much on the building, I couldn’t bring myself to skimp on equipping the building with the very best.
Beads of sweat formed on my body as I got my heart rate up lifting my legs and moving my arms. In middle of my workout, I remembered the shootout and pulling her head into my lap, the soft skin of her slender neck, the smell of her curly red hair.
The more I tried to push thoughts of her out of my mind, the more she appeared like a sexual phantom in my thoughts. Sweat poured off my body as I tapped a button and increased the speed of the machine. At some point, I would be able to forget her in the bliss of exercise.
While my plan would have worked for most women, something about Heidi intrigued me and made it nearly impossible to get the image of her curvy body out of my head. I pushed myself faster, my heart beating quickly as calories burned. Maybe I should invite her to the party tonight.
With that thought, I turned the machine off. I climbed down after it came to a stop. Still feeling the buzz of the workout, I went back to my suit jacket and got my phone. She had given me her number after first approaching me about a story for High Times.
I tapped her name and put the phone to my ear as it rang.
“Hello?” she answered after the second ring.
“Hey, how are you doing?” I asked.
“Why are you breathing so heavy? Another shootout?”
I laughed. “No, fortunately. I was working out, and you popped in my mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m having a party tonight at my place in the hills. Why don’t you stop by? You’ll be able to see me off the clock in my home. It will help with your story.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“You got better plans?”
“Well, no, but…”
“It’s settled then,” I interrupted. “Text me your address and I’ll send a limousine over.”
“No thanks. I’ll drive myself. You text me your address.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye, Brent.”
I put the phone back in my suit jacket and went to take a cool shower to wash away the sweat on my body and also get my sexual desire under control. Something about redheads always made me go crazy. As I washed, I hoped she wouldn’t turn out to be nuts like many of the other women I met.
Wealth attracted beautiful women, but they all wanted one thing from me. I stuck my head under the stream of water, feeling it wash through my hair. My thoughts returned to Heidi and what I might do if she came over later that night. She wouldn’t be able to resist me.
The combination of physical prowess, wealth and power were irresistible for most women. While I sensed something different about her, she would fall under my spell. If I gave her multiple orgasms, she might write a better story. Yeah, that’s it, I told myself. One more lie.
FOUR
Brent
Ganja Gatsby
My parties were legendary even before I earned my millions, but with money, I took it to another level. Gatsby had nothing on me. I took a drink of champagne as two beautiful scantily clad women stood next to me on the back patio by my swimming pool.
“You going to party with us alone after everyone leaves?” one of the women asked.
While I didn’t even know their names, they damn sure knew mine.
“Maybe,” I said in a distracted voice.
They were both hot as hell, but I couldn’t get my mind off Heidi. Two hours into the party, she still hadn’t shown up. Would she? I hated women who teased me. As I got older, I’d been thinking about finding a good woman and stopping my partying.
“Hey,” Keifer said as he walked up. “She’s here.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded his head. I turned to the two women.
“I’ll see you ladies later maybe. I need to take care of some business.”
They smiled and giggled before walking away, but I could see the disappointment in their eyes. Most women wanted to be mine. I turned back to Keifer.
“Where is she?”
“I saw her come in about ten or fifteen minutes ago, but I’m not sure now.”
“Why didn’t you come and tell me?” I asked, a bit irritated with him.
He shrugged. “You know how it goes at your parties, boss. Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll find her. Have you made any progress with finding that grower?”
“Almost,” Keifer said. “He’s a private man, for sure.”
I nodded.
“We need to find him if we want to grow profits next quarter.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “You need to relax and enjoy your success a bit.”
“That’s the worst thing to do if you want to keep being successful.”
I lifted my champagne flute and finished the rest of it.
“You want something a bit harder?”
“Nah,” I said. “You know I’m not a heavy drinker. I could use a hit, though.”
He pulled a vaporizer pen out of his pocket with a smile on his face.
“Always prepared,” I said.
“Like a Boy Scout.”
I chuckled. He took a hit from the pen that passed it to me. As I watched the partiers in my back yard, I inhaled, held it, then blew out a huge cloud of vapor.
“Time to get this party started,” I said. “You ready to give out the free joints.”
He smiled and nodded his head. Like my other parties, I planned to hand out a couple pounds of weed at least. People
took advantage of my kindness, stuffing their pockets with the free marijuana, but I was at a point where I didn’t care anymore. The good will I got in return more than made up for the money.
I walked back inside to the living room and tapped the vaporizer against my champagne flute.
“Can I get your attention, please,” I said.
Most of the guests inside stopped talking and turned toward me.
“As you probably know, I’ve worked hard to become Colorado’s largest legal weed dealer in all of history. Hell, I’m beating some of the illegal distributors these days.” A few people laughed. “Some of you may think that I can’t possibly achieve anything more, but that’s not the case. I plan to launch a few new strains next quarter, and one of them is likely to become your new favorite.”
Applause rose up around me like a chorus lifting my spirits. I raised my hand.
“The new strains are not ready for production yet, but I’m handing out a pound of Girl Scout Cookie and Snoop-Dogg tonight. Take as much as you can and spread the word about Brent Stone Weed, the best marijuana company on the planet!”
Another round of cheers and well-wishes rose up around me as the catering staff made their way through the party carrying trays of edibles, joints, and small baggies of high-grade marijuana.
The joy people had on their faces made me smile, but it was the money that kept me going. After growing up poor and even experiencing homelessness once, I had no desire to go back.
I took another hit off the vaporizer pen as Keifer walked up.
“Are you sure you should have announced the new strains? We’ve still not talked to that grower guy.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Half the people here probably won’t even remember my announcement tomorrow.”
“Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly. “There she is…”
I followed his finger to the grand staircase leading to the second level of my mansion in the hills outside of Denver. That beautiful red curly hair made her stand out as she jogged up the steps.
“Where the hell is she going?” Keifer asked.
“I’m about to find out.” I patted his back. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem, boss. Am I off the clock yet?”
“Go get laid,” I said with a grin.
He smiled then took off as if he’d already chosen two or three lucky women to spend the night with him. As my right-hand man, I made sure to treat Keifer right when it came to a salary and other benefits.
I walked through the open patio doors and cross the room to the stairs. A brunette with huge breasts attempted to waylay me, but I made it around her without any problems.
When I made it to the second floor, I looked to the left and right, wondering which way she had gone. My instincts told me to check my bedroom first, so I did.
The door was closed when I reached it. I stopped, wondering if I was just being too paranoid. Smoking weed did that to me occasionally. Why the hell would she sneak into my room?
FIVE
Heidi
Tense Touch
Breaking into his bedroom during a party was not the smartest idea, but I wanted to find out more about him. Before I had a chance to install a listening device, I heard the door open.
I spun around and found myself gazing into those beautiful blue eyes.
“I thought it was going to be more difficult to get you in my bedroom,” he said, flashing his white teeth.
“Funny. I lost my way looking for the bathroom. You have a big house.”
“Thanks,” he said, stepping forward. “I don’t let everyone use my private facilities.”
“Facilities?”
“Yeah, my bathroom.”
He nodded his head.
“Oh, yeah. Thanks. Emergency.”
I took a deep breath as he closed the space between us.
“Did you see my tub? It’s big enough for two.”
His left hand reached out and touched my waist.
Stay in control, I told myself as my heart beat faster. Gain his trust and close the case.
“Yeah, it was big, but I don’t take baths with strangers.”
“I have a hot tub too. What’s your rules on those?”
“No swimsuit,” I said. “Sorry.”
“I can find you one. It’s a big house.”
“Maybe some other time.”
I stepped back. He moved forward, keeping his hand on my waist.
“Do you mind?” I asked, nodding at it.
“You don’t like to be touched?”
“Sure I do, but like I said, we’ve just met, and…”
“And you want to take it slow,” he interrupted. “I understand.”
“No, it’s not that…”
“I’m just teasing,” he said. “And I’m really stoned right now.”
“I thought drug dealers weren’t supposed to get high off their own supply.”
“Clever,” he said. “Except I’m selling marijuana not crack cocaine. There’s a huge difference.”
“I guess.”
“Oh, you’re one of those people.”
“One of those people?”
“You know, someone who has never smoked but grew up being taught about the dangers of marijuana.”
“I’ve smoked before.”
“Yeah?”
“Not excessively like you probably do, but yeah.”
“I’m not an addict,” he said defensively then repeated his question. “What are you doing in here?”
“I told you, I needed to find a bathroom.”
“Okay.”
The tone of his voice made me think he didn’t believe me.
“I just stopped by to say hello and ask you a few more questions.”
“Sounds good, but I think we should smoke a bit before you start asking.”
“I’m not sure…”
“Come on,” he said, pulling out a vaporizer pen. “Follow me.”
He walked past me and out onto a balcony off his room that looked out over the pool and backyard. I followed him, looking down at all the guests – mostly women in bikinis or even less clothing.
“You have a lot of these parties?” I asked as I sat down on a cushioned seat near the railing.
He took a seat next to me and said, “I guess. To be honest, I find them boring. Most of the people here are after one thing.”
“Your weed?”
“Weed or money. Take your pick.”
“Must be horrible,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re not like most women.”
Damn straight, I thought, staring down at the partiers below.
“You don’t like parties?” he asked.
“I do, but only ones where I know everyone.”
“I could go around an introduce you as my new girlfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “I bet you could, but no.”
He took a deep hit from the vaporizer then passed it to me. I looked at the shiny metal object then shook my head.
“No thanks. One of your strains?”
“A new one we’re working on. I’m actually hunting for a new grower right now.”
“Yeah?” I asked, not bothering to tell him about my father, Sammy Hill, the best grower in Colorado.
“Yeah. The business is getting crazy competitive. I need to come up with something new all the time if I want to maintain my dominance.”
“Does being dominant make you happy?”
“I don’t know about all that, but it’s made me rich.”
I nodded, reminding myself that greed wasn’t necessarily a crime.
“Not as rich as the cartels,” I said, trying to push his buttons.
“No, but I’m not evil like the cartels either. Everything I do is above board.”
He took another hit then tried to pass the vaporizer to me again. I shook my head as he stared directly at my face, making eye contact briefly.
“It’s good stuff,” he said.
“Maybe some other time.”
<
br /> “Maybe. Smoking makes me so…”
I cut myself off right before I said horny.
“So what?” he asked.
“Tired,” I lied.
He didn’t need to know.
“Work makes me tired,” he said, turning to glance at all the people downstairs.
“Haven’t you thought about retiring? Or are you one of those people who never have enough?”
“I have more than enough for several lifetimes, but I like to keep myself busy.”
I looked over at him.
“Isn’t there a glass ceiling you hit with legal marijuana?”
“I’ve not reached it yet,” he said, still studying his guests.
“What if you do?”
“You ask a lot of questions,” he said. “Are you sure pot doesn’t make you curious?”
“Just doing my job,” I said. “Journalists ask questions.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t invite you to my party to work.”
“No?”
“No,” he said, turning his attention back to me.
Damn those blue eyes!
We stared at each other a moment. I looked away first, wondering if I should leave before things got any weirder. While I hadn’t had a chance to plant any listening devices in his bedroom or home office, doing so wasn’t a necessity. In fact, doing it without a warrant would probably get me in trouble.
After everything I’d seen during my few short years at the DEA, I had no problems with bending the rules when necessary. And to get off this case and onto another that might actually go somewhere, I had to get as much information on Brent as possible.
“Weed must make you quiet too,” he said.
“Yeah. It’s been a crazy week, and I’m tired. I should get going.”
“So soon? I haven’t even given you the tour yet.”
I stood up.
“I don’t want to make you a bad host.”
“They can wait,” he said, also getting to his feet.
Our eyes met again as if they were drawn to each other.
“I’ll call you soon for another interview maybe.”
“You don’t have enough for a story?”
“Not yet,” I said.
“Well, that’s good news. I’d love to see you again.”