Page 50

I leaned back in the chair. “I barely ask for shit… would mean a lot if you, Kora, and Zoya showed up. If not, that’s cool too. I’m used to it.”

“Fuck you mean you used to i?—”

“Sorry for the delay… I had to make sure the Mrs. was well taken care of.” Alex winked, as he clapped his hands together.

“You be fucking in your office?”

“What?” Alex blurted. “No, no, no… I needed to make sure she had the right cards for her little girls’ trip with her friends.”

Me nor Menace were convinced by his bullshit explanation. Judging from how sloppily his shirt was tucked, and how quick and fidgety he was moving, he was fucking Kennedy in his office while he had us waiting.

I hated that for her.

“I never realized just how much you both look alike,” Alex decided to make small talk, talking about how much me and Menace resembled one another.

“You said you wanna fuck my brother next, Alex?”

“I never said that… sheesh,” Alex uncomfortably laughed, while fixing the loose strands that didn’t lay back with his slick back.

“I’m ugly?”

Menace stroked his beard. “Sounds like what he said, Don.”

Jeffie shook her head. “Enough you two… we are here for business,” she reminded us the reason we were even here.

“When I sit in places longer than I want to I start to flip out and do random shit. Playing with my gun, and aiming it and shit,” Menace yawned, as he looked around the table.

Every man at this table was a Case House client, and they all were terrified. Neither of them knew how to respond, but Alex used his common sense and didn’t know what to say.

“Word got back around that you’re selling the Sonics… you want a private sale before it goes to the media. I’ve drafted up an offer that I feel would work out for all parties.” Jeffie handed me the file that Menace had been holding when he entered the building.

Sliding it across the table, Alex’s lawyer took it and opened it up. With the way his eyes widened, I could tell there wouldn’t be any problems. The door opened and Zoya walked in with her bag resting on the crook of her arm. Beans moved from beside me, holding the chair out for her.

“Thanks, Beans,” she smiled, sitting down and looking across the table. “My apologies for being tardy. The traffic getting down here was crazy.”

“All that construction over downtown,” one of the lawyers spoke, understanding why she was late.

I looked at my sister, not smelling alcohol on her, but sensing something was off with her. Her eyes didn’t look like they usually did, and she didn’t seem as put together as she usually was.

“You straight, Zoy?”

Menace leaned forward, rubbing his hands together. I could see the concern on his face, as he looked at Zoya. “Straight?” he asked.

She looked at both of us. “Perfect. Now, you have the offer that we’re putting on the table. I’m not sure what other offers you have received, but I can tell you that they aren’t as generous as that one.”

Alex took the folder, and I watched as he looked over the offer and there was a small smirk that came across his face.

I didn’t know the reason he was selling a team that had been in his family for years.

I assumed money problems because what else would be the reason.

He was about to get two known rookies that were sure going to have the team going up even more than it already was.

Corleon sent me an email that made its way across his desk about Alex wanting to sell. He didn’t want to make it public until after the deal was signed, sealed and delivered. I’ve been looking into getting my money into other shit, and this was the perfect thing to put my money into.

“Two of you have to put your money together to make an offer this generous.”

“You called me broke, bitch?” Menace asked.

“Menace, of course not… just trying to make sure that this can be afforded.” Jeffie slapped her hand on her face, because why would he continue.

With the way he was already staring at him, why in the hell would he continued to ask how we could afford this. “Every business man knows never to put all your eggs in one basket, not when you can cook half, use the other for target practice, and have someone invest half.”

I didn’t know where this example he was giving was going, so I remained quiet. “The Caselli brothers can afford the team separately; however, they would like to go in on this business venture together,” Zoya explained.

I watched as she kept her hands under the table and shook out two pills from a prescription bottle. “This offer sounds perfect. I’d like to move ahead with you two as owners.”

“Three owners,” Menace corrected.

“Four,” I added.

He raised his brow, staring at me. “Four owners, perfect.”

Alex sat and gave some talk about how this team was important to him, and how he was going to miss having the team in his family.

The only reason we sat listening to him was because the papers were being drawn up and printed for us to sign our name on it.

Zoya had left the room with the other lawyers.

“Kennedy, huh?” Menace ignored the entire spiel about his family and how they had acquired the team in the first place.

“Menace, I know how you feel… however, she wasn’t working at Case House when we started our relationship,” he lied, knowing that she was still working for Case House.

From my brother’s face, he didn’t care that much to be angry about it. “You figured why pay, when you can get it for free… can’t be mad at you, Alex.” His tone told you that you should have been scared.

“Nothing like that… we’re in love.”

“I’m in love with microwave dinners, I get it.”

“Oh yeah? Which?—”

The pen he was messing with went flying across the room, hitting him in the face. The force that he sent that pen flying had to have hurt, because Alex fell back into the chair like he had shot him.

“Bring me my pen back.”

Alex tried to slide it back to him, and he shook his finger, showing that he wanted him to bring it to him. The remaining suits sat there quietly, not bothering to say a word because they didn’t want to be next.

Slowly, while holding his eye, Alex brought the pen to him.

He handed it to him while shaking, and Menace pulled his hand, pulling him closer, and twisting it.

“Let me find out that you doing some fuck shit. I know your reputation and although you never tried that with a Case House girl, I will fucking break your ribs and wrap them around your neck if I find out that you’re harming her. ”

“N…never… never,” he stammered as Menace released him.

“Baked chicken… for both me and my wife.”

“Huh?”

“For the wedding… this is my RSVP. Tell me what you want for a wedding gift… Jeffie, write it down.” He folded his hands, as he watched Alex cower, confused how a man who launched a pen in his face one second, then twisted his hand, was now telling him that he was coming to his wedding.

“If you have your caterer’s number, I can touch bases to make sure it’s cooked exactly like he wants it,” Jeffie looked at Alex, who didn’t know if he wanted to run or cry.

“Sure thing, I can have Kennedy get that information for you,” he stammered again, sitting slowly back into his seat.

Zoya reentered the room, and she held the papers in her hands. “Everything is good, and we all agree on everything. I need you and Menace to both sign and add in the other owners. I know one is Stevie, who is yours, Don?”

“Navy Bleu Perkins.”

Beans choked in the corner. “You making her part owner of the team her ex-nigga is gonna play for… you, my nigga, are built different.” He clapped his hands.

I signed the documents needed, sliding them to my brother who did the same. We confirmed when the wire would be transferred, and we were ready to bounce. Me and Menace both looked at Alex when he tried to shake our hands.

“Stevie is part owner because she is my wife,” Menace spoke, as his hands rested in the pockets of his pants.

I shrugged. “How you know that won’t be the end game between me and Navy?”

“Doing this before… you that confident in this?”

Menace wasn’t the type to get involved in everybody’s shit. He set his rules and knew you wouldn’t go against them. Outside of me and Kennedy, he wasn’t concerned and didn’t care what I had going on.

Pooh: See you in a few hours.

I checked my messages, and Pooh had let me know they were heading back to the states. the few days she was with her parents, she sent me pictures and videos of everything they did together. I wanted her to have that because she was able to film and get her content in without getting me.

I didn’t have social media and much of a digital footprint.

Mainly because I knew what came with that, and Corleon had trained me well.

You couldn’t find shit on Corleon, or Menace.

Not even the best hacker could pull up some information, which is why my brother was a ghost. My Pooh made her living online, and I would never take that from her.

I wanted to support her without ever being named or mentioned in her content.

“That fucking confident when it comes to her, Mens.” I returned to our conversation, as we both stepped on the elevator.

“This some get back for Kennedy marrying Alison?”

I paused. “His name is fucking Alex, Menace.”

Unfazed, he continued to stare at me for an answer. “This has to do with her?”

“Nah.”

“You don’t feel shit for Kennedy? Not too long ago you were ready to break rules and try to kill me to be head of this family.”

I stepped back, leaning on the elevator wall and stared at my brother. We may have shared the same face, but this nigga’s way of thinking was on another level. “When in the fuck have I ever said I wanted to kill you, Maverick?”

“Landon, keep the shit up.”

“Cameras are off… hit them before we even stepped in the building,” I assured him, as we exited the elevator.

“Answer the question.”

“I don’t feel shit for her because she lied in my face. I can get down with a lot of shit, but she sat in my face and lied to me.”

“When was she in your face, Landon?”