“I got you. She must be one special lady.”
My cheek lifted, but I didn’t respond. Yumi was most definitely special to me. This set of jewelry proved that I’d do anything to be back in her orbit again. I knew she didn’t want to be with a criminal, but I was moving away from that situation just so this wouldn’t be an issue. I had more money than I could count, I had the jet, the cars, the reserved box seats to all the sports and concerts, the businesses, and the properties. The only thing missing was her and our babies.
“Good evening, Mr. Emery.”Chas, my personal chef, greeted me when I entered my home.
“What’s good, Chas? Everything set up in the dining room?”
“Yes, sir. Just waiting on you to approve the menu, then I will get started.” He handed me the laminated menu, and I looked over it. Yumi was a big Italian and soul food lover. Since I had already made her soul food the other night, tonight, I chose Italian for the menu. For the Hors D’oeuvres, there were Italian meatballs, the appetizer was rosemary focaccia, and the garden salad. For the entree, chicken parmigiana, and for dessert, sfogliatelle. I nodded my head with approval, and he smiled, returned the gesture, and walked off. Jake, my butler, approached me next.
“Good evening, sir. The dining room is complete for you and your guest, and the smoke room is also complete. Did you need me to do anything else before she arrives?”
“Nah, just set up the playlist. I’ll let you know when to run it.”
“Will do, sir.” He, too, walked away as I headed upstairs to shower and change. It only took me thirty minutes to get together. I chose to dress casually in a black button-down, black,stone-washed jeans, and black loafers with no jewelry. I looked at the time, and it was five minutes until she was supposed to be here, and that shit gave me anxiety. I didn’t want to have to pull up on her again, but Yumi was trying me really hard. I pulled up my tracker app and went to her name. I frowned, seeing that she was still at home.
This girl want to take me out of my element, I see.
“Jake!” I called out to him, knowing he wasn’t far.
He appeared in the entryway of the dining room. “Yes, sir.”
“Let Chas know to just prep the food. I have to make a quick run. I’ll call you on my way back so he can start cooking.”
“Will do, sir.”
I texted Juno to pull the car around as I grabbed my keys, wallet, and gun. An alert chimed on my burner phone. I pulled it out of my pocket while walking out the door.
+1 3459 -125: All Black Affair tomorrow at nine. Wear proper attire, and let’s have fun!
Location: Sunnyside Villa.
The encrypted number, along with the message, made me sigh as Juno pulled the car up to the door. I knew the message was about Layken’s ass, meaning this meeting was about us taking his ass out. What they needed to know was that I had it covered. That nigga was going to be a memory before the week could end.
Juno got out, opened the door for me, then got back inside and pulled out of the gates. I had already texted him where I needed to go, so the ride was silent. I hated that I had to pull up on her, but I needed her to understand I was not playing an ounce of games with her. I wanted my girl back, and if I had to execute every nigga standing in the way of that, then so be it.
Twenty minutes later, we were pulling up to her home. Juno let me out, and I casually walked up to her door and rang the doorbell. It took her almost two minutes to come to the door. When she opened it and saw me, her eyes were wide with surprise as I leaned into the doorjamb. My eyes trailed her little slim-thick frame as I licked my lips. The pink bodysuit with the flared skirt she wore, which stopped mid-thigh, took me back to the old days. Her hair was in pins, and I could tell she had just finished her makeup. Yumi was a vision.
“It’s 5:45, Yummy.”
“I know what time it is, Mr. Aldana. You could have called, and you would have known that I was in the middle of getting dressed.” She walked away from the door, and I stepped inside.
“You had hours, shorty.”
“I went to church!” She sniped. My hands went inside my slacks as I stared at her. I cocked my head to the side, and she lightly cringed.
“You left the house of the Lord acting like that?”
“I apologize. I’ve had a long day, and you and your punctual demands aren’t helping.”
“It’s not a demand, baby; it was a request you should have taken into consideration. I told you I was coming if you weren’t at my house by the allotted time.”
“Yeah, but—” The ringing of her cell stopped her sentence. She looked at the caller ID and closed her eyes tightly. “It’s Liam.”
“Go ahead and tell him it’s over. I’ll wait.” I took a seat on her couch, tossed my arms over the back of it, and placed my ankle on my knee.
“I’m not telling him that.”
“You want me to do it?”
