“Look, I ain’t come with trouble behind me. You wrote me, not the other way around. All I want to do is claim what my mama left me and meet my family. It really ain’t that serious big dawg.”
“Relax,” Yolani said bumping her elbow with his. “Come with us to the conference room Mr. Atkins if you don’t mind.”
Smirking, I followed behind Yolani while Yonnis trailed behind. I expected nothing less from him. He was around the Atkins more than a lil’ and their aura was different. If he wanted to compete with the big dawgs, he had to have the confidence of one. He damn sure would’ve put fear in me way back when. However, I’d been reprogrammed and walked with revenge. It wasn’t shit this nigga or any other could do to stop me from raising hell.
She led us to a small hall with elevators. The firm itself looked as if it was one that housed four floors. I admired Yolani’s beauty at a distance. I also noticed the fat ass ring on her finger. Whatever nigga locked her down was smart. She was definitely something to have on yo’ arm. She smelled like money and damn sure looked like she had it.
Stepping onto the elevators, she pressed the button for the third floor. Yonnis eyed me the entire ride and I had to admit. The nigga was on his shit. He had every right to suspect I wasn’t who I said I was but even then, act like you knew who the fuck Bentley Atkins was. Right now, I was all there was.
The doors opened and I followed behind Yolani once again. The room she led us to was surrounded by glass from wall to wall.Damn. It’s real transparent ‘round this muthafucka ain’t it.
“Have a seat Mr. Atkins. Would you like any refreshments? I can have someone bring something in for you,” Yolani inquired.
“I can use a bottle of water. I’m a lil’ parched,” I answered with that same fake smile plastered to my face. I took a seat grabbing the nearest chair.
Nodding, she walked out leaving me and Yonnis alone. Yonnis walked to the other side of the table with Yolani rejoining us and copping one beside her brother. This was going to go as smooth as they wanted it to. If Yonnis wanted to be on that shit, so be it. I was definitely going to match energy in this muthafucka.
We sat in silence as Yonnis opened the file and handed it over to Yolani. I expected more from Yonnis. He was too quiet for my liking, and I didn’t know how to feel ‘bout that. That letter was written by him, and he wanted nothing more than Bentley to come and claim his shit. However, the vibe he was letting off was like he was ready to send me on my way. He ain’t know me or Bentley from a can of paint. He legit ain’t have shit to be doubtful ‘bout right now.
“Okay, first things first. Do you have the letter Yonnis sent to you?” Apparently, Yolani was gon’ run this show. I went through the manilla envelope removing the letter for Bentley. I handed it across the table in Yolani’s direction with Yonnis grabbing it instead.
He assessed it before asking, “What took you so long to come see ‘bout me? I wrote this letter over a year ago.”
“I had things to take care of. Plus, I move when I’m ready, not when I’m called. A nigga was bored so I took a drive,” I replied with an answer I thought Bentley would come with.
Bentley was arrogant as fuck and if I was being honest, he ain’t need the ten million that was on hold for him. He made triple that in a year’s time and that was just a guess. It was chump change to him, but it was what I needed for me and mine to live comfortably.
“Your mother and grandmother are both deceased. This wasn’t a casual visit we called you here for Mr. Atkins. We’d appreciate it if you took this seriously. Those were two individuals that cared enough about you to make sure you were taken care of in life. Coming because you’re bored is beyond disrespectful.” Yolani checked me quickly. Her snappy tone showed she was just as close to the Atkins as Yonnis.
“Are y’all gon’ help me or not? I ain’t come here for all that.”
“You gon’ show respect though. That I do know. That family you want to meet so bad, every single one of them loved Mama Rose and Rhema. They not going for the disrespect. You can either check it here or get checked. You choose,” Yonnis chimed.
Smirking, I picked up the glass of water that was finally brought and sipped on it. I knew to pull back on the nonchalance behavior and shit talk. The Taylor’s were a test trial and seeing how they didn’t let it slide; I knew them Atkins weren’t going to either.
“I got it. So, what we doing?” I asked getting back to the task at hand.
“We’re going to help. We really don’t have a choice. Yonnis is over your mother and grandmother’s estate. I’m reading there’s a few stipulations though. Are you willing to provide your birth certificate, social, and DNA test? Those are required before we can move forward with the release of your inheritance.”
So, this fuck ass letter ain’t enough? What the fuck?
I was fuming off that one question. The hell did I need to provide all that for if ain’t nobody seen or heard from him. That letter should’ve been my golden ticket. However, I ain’t show my frustration. Instead, I calmly nodded agreeing.
“I can get you whatever you need. Just tell me when and where for the blood test,” I lied. Yonnis had yet to take his focus off me. “Can we move on to me meeting the rest of my family? I’m pretty sure you can help with that personally Yonnis.”
He removed his phone while staying locked in with me. Putting it on the table, he spoke, “Hey Siri, call RoyceLoose ScrewsAtkins on speaker.”
“Calling Royce Loose Screws Atkins on speaker.”
It began to ring and I couldn’t lie, my heart dropped. That high I walked in with had long gone. I guess the Atkins were more precautious than I thought. Yonnis was Atkins coded and didn’t even realize it. He might’ve carried a different last name, but he was more of an Atkins than I ever could be. It was jumping through hoops just speaking to him, I could only imagine how many I had to jump through with them.
No worries though, I was more prepared for them than I was Yonnis. All I had to do was get in good with them and maybe the stipulations for the inheritance could be looked over. If not, I came with more than enough bread in my pockets to pay for a blood test.
“Waddup boy?” The deep baritone voice beamed through the speaker bouncing off the glass walls.
“Mr. Atkins, I have Bentley Atkins at my office requesting to see you and the rest of the family. I’d like your permission to bring him onto the compound,” Yonnis stated.
I chuckled at how fast he switched the conversation from personal to professional. The nigga was cocky and smooth as fuck. I had to give him that.
