Page 24 of Grand Master

He turned away from the woman and kept walking. She started to yell out all kinds of disgusting things. Her words started to echo behind us as we moved on. The sound of desperation radiating from all of these people was disturbing and it was cold as ice like the rest of this place.

We approached the end of the cells and were met by another elevator. Grand pressed his hand against a panel then waited for it to open.

“There’s always a cause…next comes the cure. I’m going to show you my favorite place in Grand corporation a little later after I show you the corporation side.”

He motioned for me to step on the elevator then stepped behind me. Again, he gave me his back and put in a bunch of codes. When he stepped away from the panel of buttons. I noticed that his eyes didn’t look as void as they were when we walked by the cells.

“Why did you take me, Grand?” I asked.

“You look pale.” Grand said, not taking his eyes off the panel.

“When we get on the next floor…” His jaws clenched tightly.

“You scream, cause a scene or anything that pisses me off or causes me to calm down hard-working people that’s on this floor.

I’ll personally drag your ass back down here and place you in an empty cell with no bed.

The room that you are currently in are for the ones that detox properly down here then they get moved up a level to prepare to be freed. ” He stated seriously.

I looked away from him and placed my eyes on the panel.

Grand was hot and cold; he moved and talked robotically.

He was a big ass mystery that caused my head to hurt when trying to figure him out.

I asked him a question; he casually discarded it and went on to threaten me.

I looked down at my toes and told myself to get it together.

I didn’t want him dragging me down to a cell with all of those people that looked like they were losing their minds.

The elevator hummed upward as numbers flashed above.

It stopped at ten. The doors opened and it felt like we stepped into another world again.

Warm golden lights spilled from the ceiling.

The air smelled expensive with cologne and perfume as people moved through the space in tailored suits and pencil skirts.

Some people held tablets as they spoke into their phones.

When we stepped off, my feet sunk into expensive carpet. Offices lined both sides with glass walls that revealed high-end desks.

“T-these people work for you?” I asked quietly not really wanting anyone to notice me with a waist chain on that was connected to their so-called boss. Some of the people glanced at me in passing while others smiled at Grand like they were super happy to see him.

What the fuck? They should be looking like they’re concerned for my safety. I have a damn chain wrapped around my waist connected to him! Why aren’t they doing anything?!

“They work for what I built.” He corrected me, breaking me out of my thoughts as I wildly looked around.

He walked in front of me then glanced over his shoulder.

“They keep my shit running legally, to keep the feds away. While the floors below handle the dirt. To the outside world, this is nothing more than a government funded building. To help the urban communities with housing, shelter, and food…which is true to a certain extent.” He chuckled.

We stepped into a conference room so large it could have been a dining hall. The table was a single slab of black marble, and the far wall was all glass giving me a sweeping view of the city below.

Downtown L.A… My eyes widened once I realized just where I was. There were other skyscraping buildings close to Grand’s corporation building. From here, the street looked small. The people looked like ants.

At least when I find a way to escape, I could hop on the bus that would take me to a train station!

I knew the streets of downtown L.A. like the back of my hand.

I never had a car; I couldn’t afford one.

Darius always kept a car and would sometimes take me to where I needed to go.

Whenever he was busy, or at work, I caught the bus and trains with no problem.

Grand stood close to me, resting his hand on the sleek table. I took in his smooth chocolate skin and became captivated with him. Grand was fine and tall, the smell that radiated off of him would make any woman want to live in his skin all day.

How could someone so perfect looking, be so fucked up and twisted?

Then it hit me, and my heart instantly ached.

Grand was swimming in a world full of pain since the age of thirteen like me.

He had no parents left in this world. I thought back to the people that he had locked in cells down below.

He was forcing them to get clean, forcing them to straighten out their lives for their kids.

There was a reason behind his madness. I was slowly starting to understand it all.

Still, he was going about things in a vengeful way.

People should have the right to decide their own fate.

“Grand corporation can be plenty of things. Consulting, an investment firm. I’ve funded a couple of new black owned businesses around here.

I also have a couple of small business owners that rent out spaces inside of this building where they manage assets and negotiate contracts for some of the most powerful people.

It’s an illusion to some, while I keep a low profile and stay out of the light,” he smirked.

“And in reality?” I asked, though I already felt like I knew the answer.

“In reality,” he said, turning to me with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I own the board, and only I decide who gets to keep playing.” He closed the space between us, my heartbeat stumbled.

Here he goes talking about a board…

“Like I said, every floor has its own use, Mira. The top five? Is where I dwell and keep the owls at most of the time so that they can roam freely. Plus, the roof was made specially for them, designed by me. It opens up so they can really spread their wings. Some of my owls never come back, I think they will return to me one day…” He looked out of the window with a blank expression.

“Josie never leaves me; she’s always near watching.” He smirked.

Silence passed between us for a couple of seconds. Grand looked like he was having an internal battle. I chose to stay quiet, not really wanting to interrupt whatever conversation he was having in his head.

“My apologies…I get carried away when it comes to thinking about my family.” He smiled, adjusting his posture.

The owls, he considers them family. He loves them… I thought to myself making a mental note of that obvious fact.

“Below me, is government funding for the local communities. Then there are deals, strategy, and expansion. The middle floors are, production, research, testing…” He paused; his voice dipped lower as he continued.

“The bottom floors… you’ve seen part of.” He smirked sinisterly.

“You live here.” I stated, not really understanding why a person would choose to live in a big building like this.

“Of course, things are running twenty-four hours around here. I keep busy making sure everything and everyone is doing their part.” He said confidently.

“When do you make time to sleep? It’s really giving control freak.” I murmured the last of my sentence.

“I discovered that about myself a long time ago. The need for me to be in control is a good thing just like the need for me to save people and give them a better chance a life when they exit here is good as well.” He stated casually.

“So, I’ll get to leave, once I show you that I don’t need to do drugs in order to escape from my depression?” I asked holding my breath. I needed for him to say that I would be able to leave and not be held against my will.

“You’re an occasional user, which can be a danger in itself. To be honest, I don’t have plans of ever letting you go…for personal reasons of course.” He smiled.

A ripple of unease slid down my spine. He stepped closer until I could feel the heat of him. I backed away, there was no point in doing that. Each step I took backwards he took one long step forward closing the space.

“I want to take you back to my personal space.” He leaned down until he was eye level with my face.

“I want to taste you, talk to you, and get you to understand a few things…Maybe after that, I could answer the question of… why you…” He chuckled as he reached to move a stray piece of hair out of my face.

“Before I take you to see my most sacred place in this building, I want you to understand that you’re standing in the middle of it all Mira. My board, my world. You’re not just observing it and here to pass time…you’re in it.”