“Girl,” I said, leaning against the wall. “He acts like we’re locked in already. He doesn’t judge me for having less than him. He’s turned on by my ambition. Helovesthat I’m an artist. He’s so supportive.”
Joi hummed. “But?”
“We don’t have a title yet,” I admitted. “But I’m never letting that nigga go.”
And I meant that shit.
KAI RICHARDSON
That afternoon, I met Rico, the boss of the Crown syndicate, in the back of a restaurant. He sat at the head of the table with his fingers laced together. He already looked irritated before I opened my mouth.
“You let Bellamy walk out that meeting too comfortable,” he said.
I took a seat slowly. “We came to an agreement.”
“An agreement?” Rico leaned back in his chair, chuckling.
“Yes,” I pressed. “I ensured that your construction crews and trucking companies will be on the recommended vendor list. Your business will have storefronts to clean your money. It was the cleanest way to move forward.”
“Clean don’t pay,” he snapped. “We need more than just construction jobs and storefronts to wash money through. That’s temporary money. I’m talking about a piece of the whole building. When those condos sell, we get a percentage. When rent comes in, we get a percentage. When the property value goes up in a few years and they refinance or sell it, we get paid again. We don’t just want to work on it; we want to own part of it.”
I held his gaze. “If I push him harder, it exposes me. I can’t just squeeze a developer out of nowhere without questions being asked.”
What I didn’t say was that he was being ridiculous. The Cartiers were never going to agree to that. Rico wanted to muscle his way into ownership of something he didn’t build, finance, or plan. It was stupid. But I couldn’t say that.
Rico’s lips twitched like he was amused at my caution. “That’s your problem.”
I leaned forward slightly. “Why can’t the Crown just invest? Put your money in something legit. Stop bullying people into partnerships.”
The room went still.
I saw it too late.
Rico didn’t say a word. He just nodded once to the two men standing against the wall. Before I could get up, the first punch landed hard. My head snapped to the side. The second hit came to my ribs. I staggered, trying to protect my face, but they weren’t aiming to kill me. They just wanted to remind me that I was to do what I was told, by putting a boot to the stomach, then to my jaw.
I tasted blood.
“Invest?” Rico roared over the noise. “You think I need you to advise me on how to run my business?!”
I was hit in the ribs again. I dropped to a knee as my breath was knocked out of me.
Rico crouched in front of me once they were done. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You will push Bellamy harder. You will get us what we want.”
He let go of my face like I disgusted him. The men stepped back. I wiped the blood from my lip and forced myself to stand.
I was in too deep. I had taken their money, moved their favors, and looked the other way when I shouldn’t have. Now,there was no clean exit. If the Crown went down, my name, career, and reputation would be tied to it.
I straightened my jacket and picked up my phone from the table. “I’ll handle it.”
Rico smiled faintly. “I know you will.”
As I walked out of that room, ribs aching, face throbbing, I told myself what I always told myself.
I could manage it. I just needed to move smarter. But deep down, I knew my hands were tied. And if this blew up, I wasn’t just losing office; I was losing everything.
A MONTH LATER
15
