by Roy Glenn
“Why not?”
“He said I was into too much trouble.”
“So, what happened to you?”
“I went to live with my grandmother,” Nick told his son. “So, cut your mother some slack.”
“I understand, Pop.”
“So, what’s been up with you?”
Marvin laughed, and thought about telling him about Evander. “I got something I’m trying to set in motion.”
“Anything you feel like talking about?”
Marvin thought for a second. If it were anybody else asking that question, his answer would be no, but Nick wasn’t just anybody. Not only was Nick his father, but he was once the boss of The Family.
“Yeah.” Marvin looked around for Serek. “See that guy there?” Marvin asked and discreetly pointed him out for Nick. “He’s in the construction business and needs to borrow fifty grand to buy supplies for a job so he doesn’t have to default on it and I’m gonna lend it to him.”
“You must be doing good if you got fifty G’s to loan.”
“I don’t. Judah’s gonna lend it to me. I’m going to pick it up after we close tonight,” Marvin said, and Nick just looked at him.
“Tell me more about this guy and the deal you got with Judah,” Nick said, and Marvin told him about Serek and his construction business. “Tell Judah you don’t need the money.”
“I don’t?”
“No. I’m gonna stake you.”
“Thanks, Pop.”
“But I’m not gonna give you fifty.”
“You’re not?”
“I’m gonna give you a hundred to give him.”
“You want me to just give it to him?”
“Yes, and this is how you’re gonna handle him,” Nick said and went on to explain to Marvin what he wanted him to do. He listened like a student to what Nick had to say and when he was finished, Marvin was excited about the prospects. “Then you have two choices. Either you own a construction company, or you’ll make money driving him into bankruptcy.”
“Can I do both?”
Nick smiled. “Now you’re thinking like an earner.”
The next afternoon, at exactly one o’clock and armed with a briefcase containing one hundred thousand dollars, Marvin and RJ arrived in the offices of Pearson Construction to see Serek. When he came through the door, he was greeted by two very pretty women. The one that was seated behind the desk had light brown skin, hazel eyes, and she appeared to be thick in all the right places. But it was the one that was leaning over the desk talking to hazel eyes that got Marvin’s attention. She was beautiful with brown skin, sexy slanted eyes, and full lips that complemented her exquisite figure.
Now she is outstanding.
Big-ass titties and long legs that lead to hips and an ass that I’d enjoy squeezing while I take my time fucking her long and hard.
“Welcome to Pearson Construction. How can we help you today?” hazel eyes asked.
“My name is Marvin Simmons and I am here to see Serek Pearson. I believe he’s expecting me.”
“Yes, he is. I’m Sataria Pearson,” she said and approached with a smile. She was rocking a red Escada Dvas sheath dress that she was wearing the shit out of, and red Rene Caovilla mesh pumps that made her calves pop. She extended her hand to Marvin. “I’m Serek’s wife.” Sataria shook his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Pearson,” Marvin said, then he turned to RJ. “This is my associate, Mr. Ray.”
“It’s good to meet you both. Now if you gentlemen would follow me, I’ll take you to my husband,” she said and led them to a conference room. As she walked, Marvin admired the shape of her round ass and the sexy way she walked. “Have a seat and make yourself comfortable and I’ll get Serek. Can I get either of you anything?” she asked, but her eyes were trained on Marvin.
“I’m fine,” RJ said.
“Nothing for me, thank you,” Marvin said as he took her in with his eyes. RJ noticed the way they were looking at each other and shook his head.
Sataria smiled. “I’ll go get Serek,” she said and left the room.
“She’s fine,” Marvin said softly.
“As hell.” RJ leaned closer. “And I think she wants you.”
“Good, ’cause I wouldn’t mind tagging that ass,” Marvin said as the door swung open and Serek walked in.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I was on a call with the general contractor. He was on my ass about starting this job, so I am glad you’re here, Money.” Serek laughed and pointed at the briefcase that was sitting on the table in front of RJ. “Is that the money?”
“It is,” Marvin said and Serek smiled. “But I’m not going to loan you fifty thousand,” he said, and watched the smile disappear from Serek’s face.
“You’re not?”
“No, Serek, I’m not going to loan you fifty thousand,” Marvin said calmly. “I’m gonna give you a hundred thousand dollars.”
Earlier that morning after The Four Kings closed, Marvin didn’t leave with Judah, he went with Nick to the new house that he and April had bought. “We even got a room for you.”
Nick gave his son a hundred thousand dollars, and then he took him to school. He had run this game dozens of times and Nick told Marvin exactly what to say to Serek when he met with him. Then father and son talked for hours about ways to earn, before they said good night and went to bed. When he woke up, Marvin had lunch with his mother and father. He apologized to April and promised to come see her more often, and then he left for his meeting.
Serek sat back in his seat and looked at Marvin and RJ for a few seconds without speaking. He needed the money, there was no question about that, but he also knew that there was more to this very generous offer. “You’re gonna just give me a hundred grand.”
“Yes. Call it an investment … in your business. That makes us partners.”
“Partners? I’m not interested in having a partner.”
“But you are interested in this money.” Marvin paused to allow that point to sink in. “The last thing you need is for word to get around that you defaulted on a job—”
“And I’ll see to it that it does,” RJ added.
“It will be very hard for you to get anymore big contracts. But on the other hand, having me as your partner would be much more beneficial.”
“How so?”
“I would be an unlimited source of capital to fund our future projects. And I have access, and more importantly, I have influence. With that access and that influence, I would be able to put us on to bigger contracts.”
“And what is this investment gonna cost me?”
“I own twenty percent of your business.”
“Partners, huh?”
“More of a silent partner. You still make all the decisions and run your business the same way you’ve been running it. The only difference is that you’ll now have a new employee.”
“And what will that new employee be doing?” Serek needed to know.
“Whatever you want him to do, he works for you. His purpose in being here is to protect my interests,” Marvin said to Serek and then sat back in his seat.
Serek looked at the two men that were sitting stone-faced across from him. He knew who Marvin and RJ were, who their fathers were, what that represented and wished that he had thought about it before he asked Marvin to pull fifty grand out of his pocket. Serek exhaled and resigned himself to the facts. Marvin was right, him defaulting on this job would be disastrous to his business, so he needed the money. And besides, if Marvin was serious about having access and influence, he would make him more money.
“Deal,” Serek said and shook hands with Marvin.
Chapter Eighteen
Later that afternoon, Barbara and her girls, Destiny, Jolina and Kayla, had gotten together after school. Barbara and Destiny had been friends since they met in the seventh grade, and even after Barbara moved, they stayed close. She had known Jolina and Kayla since junior high school as well, but they weren’t friends. I
t wasn’t until Barbara moved back to the neighborhood and started going to school at Forten, that she and Kayla, who also went to school there, hooked up and became friends.
Like Barbara and Destiny, Jolina and Kayla were tight and after a while, they all started hanging out together. Kayla was the smart one, Jolina was the wild one, Destiny was the fearless one, and Barbara … she was Barbie, the princess who had it all. But now even that had taken on new meaning.
The day that she spent with Tenikka, and all the things that Barbara heard and saw, were still fresh in her mind. It changed everything for her, and she was still trying to figure out what it all meant to, and more importantly, for her. At first, Barbara felt like marching into her parents’ bedroom, give them hell for lying to her, and demand to know the truth. However, at the same time, it seemed a little unimportant to her.
Tenikka helped her to understand why they lied to her. That understanding allowed her not to believe that her whole life was based on a lie. Therefore, when she did talk to her father about what she’d been told, it was a different conversation that left Barbara in a comfortable space for her. To her, the people that have always loved and protected her, still loved her and would still be there to protect her.
And that is why they felt like they all had to lie to me, to protect me, Barbara thought and for the time being, she was good with it.
That afternoon, the four were getting ready to go hang out at Fat Larry’s, but they were trying to buy some weed first. They went to their usual spot and Destiny went in, while Barbara, Jolina and Kayla waited outside for her.
“He’s out. He said he’s waiting on a call now,” Destiny said when she came out of the building.
“I know a place we can go to get some,” Barbara said, as they walked away from the building.
“Where?” Kayla asked.
“Someplace my sister took me. We can get something to drink there too.”
“Let’s go,” Jolina said.
“You think they’ll deal with you without your sister?” Destiny asked.
“They’ll remember me, Dest, trust me,” Barbara said and stepped into the street to hail a cab. In addition to getting some weed, Barbara was hoping she’d run into Ram again since they didn’t exchange numbers and since Tenikka wasn’t there to look on, that meant they could really talk.
When they got there, Barbara paid the driver and they got out. She told her girls to wait and Barbara walked to the house. Barbara rang the bell and waited. Dequain opened the door and looked Barbara up and down for a moment.
“What you want?”
“You remember me?” Barbara asked, and was now wondering if this was a good idea and was she about to be embarrassed in front of her girls.
“Yeah. You Butta’s sister, right?”
“Right,” she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m Butta’s sister,” Barbara said and laughed a little hoping that Butta’s sister wouldn’t become her name, but if it got her in the door, it was all good. But then she remembered that the name Butta carried weight because she was Bobby Ray’s daughter, and once they learned her name, the name Barbara would carry weight too.
“You can come in,” Dequain said and held the door open for Barbara to come in.
“I got my girls with me. Is it cool if they come too?”
He looked over Barbara’s shoulder at Destiny, Jolina and Kayla. “Hell yeah, tell them to come on.”
Barbara waved her girls on, and they followed him in the house, where Dequain made an announcement to the other guys who were there.
“Y’all remember Butta’s sister,” Dequain said.
“I remember you,” Azibo said. “But where’s your sister?”
“I don’t know,” Barbara said sheepishly because by that time, all the guys in the room were staring at them like they were on display and she started to feel uncomfortable. Trig stood up from his chair and walked toward Barbara.
“You wanna get something?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Barbara said nervously, suddenly less confident that coming there without Tenikka was the smart thing to do. But at the same time, she knew that she would be all right. If for no other reason than because she was Butta’s sister.
When she handed him a twenty-dollar bill, Trig nodded at Azibo, and he put a bag on the table close to Barbara. As she reached to pick it up, the door opened, and Ram came in.
“What’s up, y’all,” he said and that was when he saw Barbara and he approached her.
“It’s good to see you again, Barbara.”
“It’s good to see you too,” she said, smiling because him remembering her name had to mean something.
“Did you come by to see me or—”
“No. Me and my girls came to get something.”
“Did my boys take care of you?”
“They did,” Barbara said, and Ram stepped a little closer to her.
“So, now that you got what you came for, you gonna go, or do you have a minute to talk to me?”
Barbara looked at her girls, their eyes were opened wide and they were all discreetly nodding their heads, especially Jolina. She had been looking at Dequain since he let them in.
“We were on our way to Fat Larry’s,” she said and paused for effect. “But I got a minute to talk.”
“Cool,” Ram said and looked at Destiny, Jolina and Kayla. “Y’all ain’t gotta stand there like statues, you can sit down,” he said, and they finally moved off that spot. Destiny went and sat down on the couch, while Kayla and Jolina sat at the kitchen table.
“Is it okay if we smoke?”
“Shit, yeah,” Dequain said.
Barbara handed the bag to Jolina to roll as she and Ram sat down on the couch where they met the first time and started to talk.
“Don’t bother with that, sexy,” Dequain said to Jolina and sat down at the table with her and Kayla. “I got one already rolled.” He handed it to her, and she fired it up.
While Trece and Wolf took care of the steady flow of customers, Destiny was talking to Trig, Kayla and Jolina were playing spades with Dequain and Azibo. They were drinking, smoking, and having a good time until Barbara said she was done. She was floating on air and needed to be clearheaded enough to talk to Ram.
“I wanted to get your number before you rolled out of here with your sister,” he said.
“And I would have given it to you but—”
“I know. So how about now? Since I definitely want to see you again.”
“I’d like that.”
There was something about him. He was different from the other guys in the house, different than she had experienced with other guys that approached her. That made Barbara feel something, and she wondered if this was just another crush, because Ram was older than her and the way he looked at her, made Barbara want to kiss him … and maybe do more.
But since she was a virgin, she knew she had to be sure that Ram was real and not just playing around and it was too soon to know any of that yet.
“Where do you go to school?” He asked her.
“Forten,” she said.
“So, you are smart or rich?” he asked, even though he knew that if Bobby Ray was her father, she came from money.
“No comment,” Barbara laughed, and he smiled.
“You should choose to be smart if you’re not already, that is. You don’t want to be hanging around a bunch of niggas like us every day.”
This was the second time she’d been lectured on staying straight in school and the irony of it happening in the streets was somewhat surreal.
“My sister says the same thing.”
“Well, Butta’s a good sister.”
Barbara thought about that and thought about how they were just getting to know each other, but Tenikka was cool and hopefully, they would become good sisters. But after the time they spent together, Barbara thought that they were off to a good start. She and Ram exchanged numbers.
“It’s getting late,” she said after looking at her phone, “we shoul
d be getting ready to go,” Barbara may have said, but she made no move to get up and the conversation continued. After a while, Jolina got up from the table.
“I’m done,” she said and went to fix herself a drink.
“Destiny, I need a partner,” Kayla said, and Destiny got up. Dequain and Azibo got up from the table and went in the kitchen where Jolina was twerking while she drank.
It was an hour later when Barbara glanced at her phone again. By that time, Destiny and Kayla both were blasted, and Barbara was feeling lovely as she talked, laughed and stared into Ram’s peaceful eyes. It was then that the game broke up and Destiny and Kayla came and sat down next to Barbara.
“I need to go, Barbie,” Kayla said.
“It’s getting late and I’m fucked up,” Destiny said.
“We should be getting ready to go,” Barbara said to Ram.
“Alright, but call me soon, a’ight?”
“I will,” Barbara said and called for an Uber. Then she looked around the spot. “Where’s Jolina?”
“She a’ight,” Wolf said.
“She in the back,” Trece said and Ram gave them a look that screamed, fuck is y’all niggas doin’?
Barbara stood up. “Let me go get Jolina,” she said, and Wolf bounced up from his seat.
“I’ll go get her,” he said and started down the hall.
He knocked on the door. “What!”
“Her girls ready to leave,” Wolf said and returned to the living room.
Fifteen minutes later, Barbara looked up and saw Dequain and Azibo come out of the room. But she was surprised when a few seconds later, Jolina came out of the same room with her hair looking wild while she was fixing her clothes.
Immediately Barbara knew what Jolina had been doing and was horrified that she had did it with some strangers and two of them at that. My girl is a ho, she thought.
She looked over at Ram, he turned away, and Barbara felt embarrassed. If that had happened last week, it would have been different, but now Barbara felt like she had to represent not only herself, but The Family as well, and my girl being a ho makes us all look bad.
“Car’s outside, Barbie,” Destiny said, looking at Jolina and shaking her head.