“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I cursed as I slammed down the receiver of the phone. “Where the fuck is that nigga?”
Pacing the floor, I couldn’t help but pull at my hair in frustration. At this point, I was getting worried about Chris. I was hoping he still had some cash or drugs left so we could flip them for a profit. Right now, I needed him, the money, and that product more than ever, and since I’d known Chris, I’d never experienced him not coming through for me.
I met him and his brother, Jamal, years ago when I was working a job in Willow Springs and needed a bump. Jamal and I grew close, but it was Chris who let me know he wanted to venture out and do their own thing in the dope game. Jamal wasn’t really feeling it, but he promised to back his brother as best he could. His death was hard on Chris and me, so when TJ presented us with the chance to get revenge on the people who caused his death, we jumped at the opportunity.
Robbing the stash house wasn’t the come up I thought it would be, even though TJ gave us a foolproof scheme. I should’ve taken that money and them drugs to Damien soon as I got back to Milly Grove. Now, that sixty grand and them drugs I got after splitting them with Chris were gone. I was in deeper shit than I had been before that hit, and I needed Chris to come through before Damien killed me.
“Where’s my shit?”
I rushed over to my desk and began rummaging through the drawers until I found the small vial I was looking for. Twisting the top off, I tapped it on the backside of my hand, eyes lighting up at the sight of the small dab of white powder forming a tiny mound. I raised my hand to my nose, inhaling deeply before sinking into my chair. A feeling of tranquility washed over me as the high kicked in instantly.
Throwing my head back, I spun my seat around, gazing out the window as my high settled my nerves. You would think that with me being the governor’s son, I would have my shit together. You would think that I wouldn’t have certain vices or adependency on drugs to cope with the things I had going on in life. From the outside looking in, it might have seemed as if I had a picture-perfect family with an even more perfect life, but those assumptions were wrong.
Being the son of Governor Carlton Reid was a curse. Day in and day out, I had to walk around with a mask. I hated my father, and I hated my stepmother. My father was the reason my mother killed herself all those years ago. She took loving him to death literally. She couldn’t handle him being with another woman and having a child with her. That was why I hated Blossom the fucking most.
“Boss, we have a problem!” Hector, my site’s supervisor, burst into my office without knocking. “The supplies we ordered last week haven’t come in yet. I called the vendor to track the order, and they said it was canceled.”
Sighing heavily, I spun around in my seat to face him. Hector was a good man and an even better worker. He’d been here with me at Reid’s Construction since I started the company a little over ten years ago. Business had been going well up until the last two years. I tried to keep my struggles from my employees as best as I could, but I didn’t know how much longer I could put up a front.
“I will call them,” I assured him as he stared at me, worried. Growing annoyed, I raised my brows, motioning for him to say what was on his mind. “Is there something else?”
“You have a little something…” His words trailed off as he gestured toward me, wiping the tip of his nose. “I’ll go now.”
Embarrassment washed over me as I opened the camera app on my cell phone. Sure enough, there was white residue sitting on the tip of my nose. Cleaning it off in a hurry, I placed my phone back on the desk, dropping my head into my hands. I needed to get my shit together and fast.
“Let me call these people and see what the hell is going on.” I groaned as I called my plank vendors.
Out of all the wholesalers we used, I deemed them the most important. There was no way we could build or complete the various contracts if we didn’t have the damn wood. Looking around my office as the phone rang, I frowned at how junky it looked. Even though I worked on a construction site, it didn’t mean my shit had to look and smell like a dumpster. I was just about to hang up the phone before the familiar voice of the receptionist came on the line.
“Good morning and thank you for calling Composite Depot!” she greeted happily. “Ana speaking. How can I help you?”
“Ana, hey. It’s Rowan Reid.” I grinned as if she could see me. She and I had rolled around the sheets a few times, so I knew she was happy to hear from me. “I have an issue, and I was hoping you could help me.”
“Oh, hey, Row…” She went silent, but I could hear her typing. The flatness in her tone wasn’t appreciated, but I needed her help, so I was going to bite my tongue and let her continue.
“I was waiting for your call. I’m sure you’re calling about your canceled delivery. Our system shows that the last check you mailed us for twenty-two thousand dollars bounced with our bank. The only way this order can be fulfilled is if it’s paid in full. Not only that, but your account has to be cleared as well. Will you be coming in to handle that today?”
Sweat began to form over my brow as I could feel my heart beating forcefully in my chest. I didn’t have anything to pay Composite Depot. I didn’t have shit to pay Damien either. I was on the verge of spiraling, and my high was telling me to hang up on her ass so that I could enjoy the little bit that was left of it. That hit with TJ was supposed to solve all this shit. Now, weeks later, I’d run through my half of the drugs, and Chris was nowhere to be found. My habits were not only fucking up mypersonal life, but my business as well. It was a constant circle of coming up and fucking up while I was either drunk, high, or both in between.
“Come on, baby…” I chuckled nervously, remembering Ana was on the phone. “I’m sure there is something you can do.”
“There is.” I grinned because I knew she would come through for me until she finished her thought. “I can freeze your account with us and place it in default until you pay us the money you owe. After ten days, legal action will be pursued. I’m sorry, but it’s out of my hands. I hope to hear from you soon with a resolution.”
Even after she disconnected the call, I sat there in disbelief. I didn’t know what I was going to do about getting the money to pay all my debts. We needed those supplies to build, and my company had too many agreements to renege on doing the work. There wasn’t enough time to find a second vendor, not to mention, I didn’t have the money to pay them either.
Slouching into my chair, my mind ran a mile a minute. There was one other option I had to get the money I needed to at least pay off my vendors. While it was a route I would rather not take, I had no choice. I just hoped I didn’t end up regretting it.
“Hello! Welcome to Grove Luxury—Oh. Hey, Rowan,” Stacy greeted me when I walked into my sister’s office. “How can I help you today?”
This was the second time I’d come in here and felt as if I was treated less than. Stacy had been a bitch since I met her, and nothing had changed. She and my sister met in college and have been thick as thieves ever since. For some reason, she felt as ifI was nothing more than gum on the bottom of her shoe. And I couldn’t stand the stuck-up bitch.
“Where’s Blossom?” I stuffed my hands in my slacks and eyed her with as much disdain as she was giving me. “I’d prefer to speak to the owner and not the help.”
“Says the sweaty nigga with the bucked eyes and dingy clothes?” she said in the condescending tone that made me want to choke her ass. I watched her as she picked up the office phone, her eyes never leaving me. “Have a seat, and I’ll let her know you’re here.”
As bad as I wanted to slap the smug look off her face, I knew I had to pick my battles wisely if I wanted my sister’s help. While I waited for Blossom to come to the lobby, I took the time to really look around her office. She’d decided to rent out a suite in a shopping center after insinuating I wasn’t reliable enough to renovate the building that she initially wanted to acquire. She killed me with that Bob the Builder shit. She could’ve easily afforded a brand-new spot to house her business if she wanted one.
Blossom has always been the responsible one of the two of us. She was an overachiever at everything. She went above and beyond for others without a second thought. She’d spent her entire existence competing with me and judging my life choices. That was the main reason I kept my distance from her, even though she insisted that my construction company help her flip houses. I knew she was only trying to belittle me by giving me a front-row seat to the money she made off my hard work.
