CHAPTER 1
Shane Scott
“That’s some bullshit! How the fuck you gon’ give him the company? I’m your damn son!”
“You are, but you’ve shown me time and time again that you aren’t ready! For years, I’ve been wanting to step down and throw this shit in your lap! Every time I look up, yo’ ass is in the club poppin’ bottles and throwin’ money at strippers. It’s nothin’ wrong with havin’ a good time, but that’s not the lifestyle I want to portray to my clients. Especially the ones that come from old money,” my uncle Dennis explained.
Glancing at the digital clock above the door, I silently took note of how much of my time had been wasted. This meeting had started over thirty minutes ago and more than half of that time had been my uncle and cousin going back and forth. From the outside looking in, I saw why my cousin was upset, but my uncle spoke nothing but facts. Either way, this conversation didn’t have shit to do with me, so I was prepared to excuse myself.
“Shane, where are you goin’? I wasn’t done yet,” my uncle stated as I stood to leave.
Digging into my front pocket and retrieving my keys, I turned and gave him my full attention.
“No disrespect, Unc, but this conversation doesn’t involve me. If you meant what you said, give me a few days to think. I’ll have an answer by Monday.”
“Ain’t this some shit. Why the fuck would you even be thinking about it when you don’t want the company? You’ve said it out of your own mouth! So what’s changed all of a sudden?”
It took all of my strength plus the love of God to keep me from putting hands on this nigga. When we were kids, Deontay and I were closer than a set of twins. Outside of my best homie, Tripp, my cousin was the most solid person I had in my corner. All that shit changed around the time my dad got booked. I wasn’t sure what exactly happened that caused us to grow apart, but listening to Deontay repeat some shit I’d told him in private years ago reminded me that he couldn’t be trusted. Letting out a sinister laugh, I ran a hand down my face out of habit before I spoke again.
“Listen, I know your lil feelings hurt right now, and I empathize with you. I really do, but the last time I checked, my dad was in the Gwendal South Prison. That’s the only grown ass man who has a right to question me. Your anger is misdirected. I ain’t did shit to you, and I suggest you keep that fact in your back pocket for whenever you wanna fuck with me.”
Not giving either of them a chance to respond, I pushed the door open and walked out. All the extra shit was pointless and I had more important matters to tend to.
“Shane! Shane!” my uncle called from behind me.
Remote starting my Infinity truck, I took a few more steps toward it before acknowledging him.
“Shane, I got some shit to work out with Deontay, but the fact doesn’t change that I’m offering you this deal. I love my son, but I’m no fool. I knew you never had a desire to take over, but maybe this will light a fire under your cousin’s ass.”
“So you wanna use me to prove a point?”
“Not completely. Like I said, I’ve been ready to step down for a while, but there’s no way I can do that without trusting the person I’m handing it off to. My blood, sweat, and tears went into getting my company off the ground and to where it is today. That’s not something I’m willing to give to just anyone. If that was the case, I would’ve sold it to the highest bidder a long ass time ago. All I’m saying is, you take over and get yourself established. If you still don’t like it after giving it an honest try, we can go from there.”
Processing my uncle’s every word, I tried weighing the pros and cons to this shit. Part of me felt like taking over would cause more harm than good, but then again, I could just be overthinking. Deontay’s ass wasn’t a threat and my uncle was giving me the green light to hand the company back over to him if I didn’t want to continue. He was laying it on thick, making it all sound good. However, I’d been through enough to know everything that glittered wasn’t gold.
“Give me until Monday, Unc. I’ll be in touch,” I said as I opened the door to my truck.
I didn’t know what my answer would end up being, so I didn’t want to do too much talking. If I decided to take it over, I’d ask all the important questions then. After pulling out of the parking lot, I drove in the direction of my main lady. I had a lot on my mind, but my mother would know just what to say. I wouldn’t have to tell her what was going on and she’d still know what I needed.
Pulling into the driveway behind the Audi Q8 I’d gifted my mother on her last birthday, I killed the engine and jumped out of my truck. As if she could feel me coming, the front door was open and my mother’s small frame leaned against the wall. Her facial expression indicated she was concerned. I’d stopped by to check on her at least three times throughout the week, so I wasn’t sure what the problem was.
“Hey, Momma. What’s wrong with you?” I questioned.
“Hey, baby. I’m just a little surprised to be seeing you right now. Usually, you call me before you come over and you never come this early in the day. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is cool,” I answered as I looked away from her.
“Your ass is lying. I could feel your uneasy spirit from a mile away.”
I shut and locked the door before following my mother into the house. Whenever I came over, she preferred that I sat at the table instead of on the couch in the living room. She had the whole damn house decorated like a museum and would curse my ass out if I had anything out of place. When I took my seat, I let the silence pull me in and took this time to think. My mother broke my concentration when she walked up to me with a steaming mug of tea in hand.
“Momma, I don’t want any tea right now.”
“It’s infused. This will help you relax a little. I made myself a big lunch, so you can help me eat it when we’re done talking. Unless you had somewhere to be.”
“No. The meeting with Uncle Dennis was the only thing I had planned for today,” I countered.
“Really? No studio tonight?”
