MOTY (The Lady Kingpin Series Book 1)

by J Hoffman

  “She is so loud,” Judah pointed out.

  “You have no idea,” Natalee joked.

  “So, how are you feeling in all of this?”

  Natalee held her hands out in a shrug, “I feel fantastic, all the time.”

  “I mean about this… Endeavor?”

  “I don’t know, what should I think? This is happening so quickly, I have no idea how to feel. It’s like I’m an empty canoe on a really rapid river.”

  “That sounds dangerous,” Judah grinned.

  “Yeah! Tell me about it!” Natalee gasped.

  Judah made his way to the fridge and pulled a beer from the very back. He cracked the lid open and took a small sip. “I think if you just keep the mindset that this is entirely yours and you have complete control, you’ll be fine. Don’t lose control.”

  Natalee stared at him lovingly from across the kitchen island, “Do I really deserve you?”

  “That is definitely not what you should be worried about right now. We both know that you are my everything.”

  Natalee smiled, “You’re just so incredible, no matter how insane I feel.”

  “I bet you’ll feel even more insane after this pile of cash you’re about to collect.”

  She giggled, “Yeah, this is nuts.”

  “What’s Liz get out of it?”

  Natalee shrugged, “Free product and thirty percent.”

  Judah nodded, “Not bad considering she’s doing all the leg work.”

  She snorted, “Yeah, it was all her idea.”

  “Wow, look at you, playing the role of a kingpin already.”

  She cackled loudly, throwing her head back, “Is that intimidating to you, Mr. Denver?”

  “Not as long as I remain on your good side, Mrs. Denver,” he cooed.

  “Of course, how could you not with a face like that.”

  Judah smiled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. “This is going to be one wild ride and I am so happy to be on it with you.”

  “Me too,” Natalee planted a kiss at the corner of his mouth just as Jonah walked in and they separated.

  “Are we getting something for dinner?”

  “Oh, that fast food from four hours ago wasn’t enough?”

  Jonah’s jaw dropped as the two of them laughed. “That’s not funny, Mom.”

  “I thought it was funny,” Judah offered.

  Jonah groaned and rolled his eyes as hard as he could muster, “Can you just order pizza already?”

  “Sure thing, son,” Judah nodded.

  Twenty-Seven

  Liz showed up bright and early, knocking softly on the front door. Natalee was expecting her, but not four seconds after she said she was on her way. Natalee pulled the door open, peering at her through nearly-closed eyes, “Apparently you were on your way… From my driveway?”

  “Your sidewalk actually,” Liz pushed the door open wider, forcing Natalee to take a step back.

  “Shananne called me about fifteen minutes ago and said that two women are willing to buy us out at five each, and Shananne will take the remaining five.”

  “For how much?”

  “Three hundred,” she beamed.

  “Seriously? They fell for that?”

  Liz smirked at her, “You’re really underestimating Shananne’s power. She can sell honey to a bee.”

  “Well, that’s nice,” Natalee yawned, rubbing her eyes.

  “Why are you not more excited about it?”

  She shrugged, “Feels too easy.”

  “That’s the funny thing about this business, it is too easy. The hard part is not getting caught, but that’s not a concern for us because it’s not illegal, right?”

  Natalee heaved a sigh, “Right.”

  “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “Triple. Quadruple. This is ridiculous,” she waved her off and headed to the kitchen.

  “You’re ridiculous for even worrying about it.”

  “What if I want to be selfish and keep the whole plant for myself?”

  Liz shrugged, “Then be selfish. You don’t need the money with Judah’s new promotion.”

  “Fuck off,” Natalee laughed.

  “What’s the verdict?”

  “When are we supposed to meet them?”

  “Nine.”

  “Tonight?” Natalee gasped.

  “No! This morning! Geez, if you think these women are really willing to wait after lunch you’ve got another thing coming,” Liz wagged her finger at Natalee. “Now go get dressed while I put on some coffee.”

  “I’m out of coffee.”

  “What?! Since when?”

  “I don’t know! I barely drink it anymore!”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Natty. Go get dressed, I’ll be right back.”

  “Whatever,” Natalee rolled her eyes before she shot Liz a grin and made her way back upstairs.

  Judah was brushing his teeth when Natalee walked in. “What was that about?” He asked as he spat toothpaste into the sink.

  “Shananne is taking five for three hundred apiece, and she has two friends taking the rest at the same price.”

  “That’s stupid,” he rolled his eyes in the mirror.

  “I thought you said this was a good idea!” Natalee leaned against the bathroom doorway.

  “I did,” Judah nodded. “I think they’re stupid for paying that much.”

  “It’s all about business though, right?”

  “Yeah, this is a good way to trickle into it though. One or two people at a time. Not jumping into ten or fifteen clients right away. You’re doing this the smart way. They’re just being dumb with their money.”

  “Well, after nine, it’s my money. Plus, Liz set this all up.”

  “Like I said, you’re playing kingpin before you even start. This whole situation is pretty incredible.”

  “Yeah, it feels weird.”

  Judah squeezed between her and the doorway, “Good weird.”

  Natalee turned to keep her eyes on him, “Yes, I’d call it good weird, too.”

  Natalee proceeded to get dressed and brushed her hair out. Standing in front of the mirror, she examined herself. She didn’t look any different, but she felt different. She had the urge to put on some makeup but fought it. She didn’t want this meeting to be any more significant than it already was.

  “So, I’m off until Monday. Think Jonah wants to go to a hockey game or something?”

  Natalee shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe you should ask Jonah.” She winked at him, blowing him a kiss, “I have business to take care of.”

  “Oh, look at you, all of those doubts are suddenly gone.”

  She shrugged, “Fake it ‘til you make it, right?”

  He grinned, “Yes, I suppose you do.”

  Natalee strolled back into the kitchen to find Liz pouring a cup of coffee. “What the hell took you so long?”

  “I was talking to my husband. What’s that?”

  “Coffee. I know you haven’t seen it in a while, but it hasn’t forgotten you.”

  “I meant that brand, jackass.”

  “Oh, Milton’s. I found it at a discount store.”

  “Ooh, Milton’s? That’s expensive.”

  “Right? Why do you think I got it at the discount store?” Liz giggled.

  “Well, soon enough we won’t have to shop at a discount store for some coffee,” Natalee offered.

  “Yes, girl! That’s what I’m talking about! Finally getting some positivity from you,” she held her hand up until Natalee raised hers and she gave her a perfectly calculated high five.

  Natalee sipped from her cup, “Doesn’t feel like I have a choice, honestly.”

  “Oh, wow. There’s the Natalee I’m used to. That was fast,” Liz rolled her eyes.

  She smirked, “Gotta keep you on your toes somehow, right?”

  “Oh! That reminds me,” Liz started digging through her oversized purse.

  “What could ‘toes’ possibly remind you of in you
r purse?”

  “Not toes, just you,” she continued digging.

  “Oh, okay then.” Natalee eyed her over her cup.

  Finally, Liz resurfaced from the contents of her bag and slid her a small Ziplock bag, about the size of a playing card. Natalee picked it up and turned it over, examining it. It was empty, but both sides were decorated with a small pattern of trees in a dark green color. Natalee set it back down and slid it back to her, “I’m glad I remind you of an empty bag. That’s nice.”

  “Ugh!” Liz pretended to collapse on the counter. “No, these are products bags!”

  “Product bags?” Natalee raised an eyebrow. “What do we need those for?”

  “Because they’re cute!”

  “Is this what drugs come in?”

  “No!” Liz rolled her eyes, then froze. “Well, maybe. I don’t know, actually. But aren’t they cute? And I already tested it, a branch fit in there perfectly. There’s even a little wiggle room for thicker or longer branches.”

  “Where did you find these?”

  “The hobby store in the plaza up the street. I thought they would add a little pizazz to the whole situation.”

  “Why do we need pizazz?”

  “We don’t, but if you were spending three hundred dollars on a branch, wouldn’t you like them to at least spruce it up a little?”

  Natalee snorted, “Spruce, a branch.”

  Liz chuckled with her, “I didn’t even mean that, but that was clever.”

  “That was clever,” Natalee repeated with a giggle.

  “Alright, let’s get these branches and leaves together so we aren’t late.”

  “Shouldn’t we worry about them being late?”

  Liz held up her finger in protest, “No. We worry about nothing!”

  Natalee pretended to surrender, “Okay, okay. Geez, you make it seem like we’re already fighting the fucking mafia.”

  “Don’t curse us with those words!” Liz tapped on the cutting board in front of her.

  Natalee rolled her eyes and knocked on the stool leg beneath her, “Give me the bush and I’ll work on the branches.”

  “Okay,” Liz grabbed it and slid it to her across the breakfast bar. “I’ll start the leaves, then.”

  Natalee snapped a branch off for herself. She tugged at the leaf until it snapped and then she dug her thumbnail into it, watching it ooze from the cut. She set the leaf down and popped the branch in her mouth. She continued to snap branches off, pull the leaf off, and test the ripeness with her nail.

  She counted out fifteen and slid the pile of leaves to Liz, who slid her fifteen bags with a single dried leaf in each. She slipped a branch into each bag while Liz laid out the new leaves on the window sill and put the bush back in its normal place.

  A few minutes before their meeting time, they got into Natalee’s car and Liz directed her to the soccer fields on the other side of town. There were no games going on, but there were a handful of people using the field to walk laps. Liz found Shananne’s car and the three of them met at a picnic table near the portable toilets.

  Liz sat down first and put the bag full of card sized baggies in the middle of the table. Shananne sat across from her and Natalee stood awkwardly at the end of the table, watching them.

  “Girl, I am so glad you got me in on this shit. You know I won the presidential election for the PTA?”

  “Wow, that’s awesome! Congratulations, Shan!”

  “Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without MOTY though, you know this shit rocks.”

  Natalee looked at her strangely.

  “Oh, I know!” Liz oozed. “I’m not the one to thank though, this was all Natty’s doing.” She gestured to her and she smiled.

  “This price isn’t going to stay this way, will it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I paid seven for a whole week and now I’m paying fifteen for five days? That shit won’t fly long.” Natalee could detect the slightest southern accent in Shananne’s voice but knew better than to ask.

  “Supply and demand,” Liz shrugged.

  “Well, get some more supply, baby, because I will not keep paying this much. I’d rather just be a shitty person.”

  Liz shrugged again, “Suit yourself, Shan. This is business.”

  Shananne stared her down for a moment before procuring an envelope from her pocket. She slid it across the table to Liz and grabbed the bag as she stood up, “I have a lot more on the list for this, so I’d up your supply as soon as you can.” Shananne turned, winked at Natalee and headed back to her car with the bag tucked safely under her arm.

  “Wait, shouldn’t we count it?” Natalee leaned down to Liz who held her finger up again.

  “We worry…” she paused for emphasis. “About nothing.”

  Natalee took a deep breath, “Okay.”

  They waited for Shananne to pull out of the parking lot before they headed back to Natalee’s car.

  “Holy shit, dude. This envelope feels pretty thick.”

  “Let me feel it!” Natalee reached for it, but Liz held it away.

  “Not yet! In the car. We don’t want to draw attention.”

  “But it’s not illegal.”

  “Yeah, but it really looks illegal,” Liz declared. Natalee quickly glanced around to see if anyone was watching them and Liz punched her, “Nothing! We worry about nothing.”

  Natalee took a deep breath, “You saying that over and over really makes me worry.”

  “NOTHING!” Liz yelled, and a flock of birds took flight from a nearby tree. “See? You’re even freaking out the local wildlife.”

  Back in the car, Liz handed the envelope to Natalee who squeezed it in her hand. The envelope felt very thick. She glanced at Liz who nodded to her and she ripped the top open. It was just one twenty-dollar bill after another, after another, after another. Natalee took out what felt like half and handed it to Liz, “You do this stack and I’ll do this one.” Liz nodded and started flipping through the bills.

  Natalee began by pulling a smaller chunk out and counted that. Within a few seconds, they clarified that they did receive every bit of forty-five hundred dollars. On their way back to Natalee’s house, they stopped for a bite to eat.

  Natalee texted Judah who told her he had taken Jonah to see a movie. Liz texted her babysitter and they said the kids were behaving for once, so the two of them went to the spa. This time, they opted for the entire package.

  A leg and foot massage with a pedicure and a hand massage with a manicure. An entire nail set on both with thin French tips. They both opted for a cut and dry with a couple highlights. No expense was spared, and Natalee felt like she was on top of the world, and only a few feet from the stars.

  “I can’t believe this,” Natalee reiterated.

  “Believe it, momma!” Liz cheered.

  “Oh, hey. I forgot to ask earlier, what did Shananne call this? I thought I heard her call it something… Other than… a branch,” Natalee trailed off, realizing her question wasn’t exactly going the direction she wanted it to.

  “MOTY,” Liz stated matter-of-factly.

  “Yeah, that!”

  “You know, M-O-T-Y. Mother of the Year,” Liz pressed.

  Natalee stared at her blankly for a moment before she threw her head back and laughed aloud, “Seriously? It has a street name and it’s an acronym for a phrase used for coffee mugs and sarcasm?”

  Liz chuckled, soon erupting into laughter as well, “Oh my God, I have that coffee mug!”

  “So, do I!” Natalee roared. The two of them collapsed against each other in a fit of laughter. After they had a moment to catch their breath, Natalee looked at Liz curiously. “Who came up with that?”

  “Shananne.”

  “I mean, it’s a good name. I would’ve just called it by its Russian name.”

  “Yeah, ‘korenchudo’ is not sexy. No one wants to ask their dealer for something that sounds like a Korean trying to make a train sound.”

  Natale
e eyed her, “That is not what it sounds like!”

  “I mean, kind of,” Liz offered.

  “I don’t know, is this how most drugs get their name?”

  “It’s not a drug, and probably not. Obviously, that’s where they get their street names like powder and snow, but so far you, me and your husband are the only Americans who even know what it is really called.”

  “What do you think about it?”

  Liz shrugged, “I think it limits our target market, but I think after the word gets out, no one is going to care what it’s called, they’re just going to want it.”

  Natalee absorbed Liz’s opinion for a moment before nodding in agreement, “I guess you’re right, the last thing we should be worrying about right now is what people are going to call it.”

  Liz held her finger up in protest, “We worry about nothing.”

  Natalee smirked, “Aye, aye captain.”

  “No, you’re the captain.”

  “God, can’t I hit you with any clichés without you bitching about it?”

  “Never!” Liz giggled.

  Natalee pulled her phone from her purse and pulled up her messages with Svetlana.

  Natalee: Svetty, I need you. I just filled my first major order for the korenchudo and I’m really going to need another plant or two in order to fulfill the rest of my orders. Get back to me. Love you.

  She hit the lock button and returned her attention back to Liz, “I messaged Svet. I probably won’t hear back until tomorrow, but I told her I need another plant or two.”

  “Yeah, and we really need these leaves to dry faster.”

  “Agreed. That’ll be another… What?” She did the math in her head before she even thought about it, “Thirty-four orders? Even at a hundred a pop, that’s more than we made today.”

  Liz shook her head, “It’ll be three hundred because we can’t cut a deal after we made those ladies pay that much today. If we can get another plant within a week or so, we can lower the price but any branches or leaves from this plant,” she motioned to the bush on the window sill, “is three hundred a bag now.”

  Natalee sighed, “I’m glad you’re the muscle.”

  “Excuse me? I’m the muscle and the brain, you’re just the supplier.”

  She smirked, “I’m the kingpin.”