Page 29 of Grand Master

He picked up his feet after Staress hurriedly sat down in front of my desk.

Tone took a seat next to her; I looked at both of them and smiled.

I didn’t conversate on a day-to-day basis, I talked to my owls more than anyone here.

Most of the time when Tone or anyone else said anything to me, I’d offer one or two words to show that I heard them.

Tone was very emotional; I didn’t fault him for it…I just was emotionally unavailable when it came to a lot of shit. I let Tone vent sometimes then end the conversation by walking away when all of his complaining and talking end up getting on my nerves.

I picked up my phone to alert one of my personal maids, Angie of what all I wanted her to bring up to me. Almost every floor in the building had a kitchen in it.

“So, I’ll continue with you first Tone.” I sat up and folded my hands together.

“Oh, so you like Dr. Phill today…this is getting weird, Kenric. You don’t even like to talk much. Did you smoke today?” He asked with worry in his eyes.

Tone asking if I smoke hinted around if I laced my blunt with Owlette today in order to stabilize my impulsive moods.

“I did. Thanks for asking.” I smiled.

I didn’t know what this giddy feeling was. I found myself anxious to tell them all about how Mira made me laugh yesterday. I needed someone to tell; I could only trust Tone with this kind of information; I really didn’t care if Staress stayed or left.

“Like I was saying before you interrupted.” I continued.

I unclasped my hands, picked up the half a blunt that I put in my ashtray before I started my game of chess. After I relit it, I continued to speak.

“If I wanted Staress, you would know, in vice versa… Your trust in her is something you have to work on. That’s why it’s a self-thing.” I studied them both.

Staress had a look of despair as she crossed her legs. Tone nodded his head then started to speak.

“I love her?—”

“You don’t own her; that’s the first mistake. The second is, you haven’t made her submit to you physically, and mentally. So, when you see her easily comply with whatever I say to her and she does it without thinking twice, it causes confliction.” I cut him off sharply.

“No one will own me.” Staress said with a look of bewilderment.

“Someone will…” I smirked.

“Hopefully that someone is Tone…whenever he finds his touch and figure out how to own you.” I winked at her.

“You bicker like a married couple. Whenever I talk to either one of y’all alone concerning business, you defend each other even when you’re pissed.

Tone always says he doesn’t give a fuck, although he sounds like a man just trying to convince himself he doesn’t because it bothers him that he do care. ” I continued.

Staress fought the urge to smile but failed horribly at concealing it. She blushed hard and looked over at Tone with raw love and devotion.

“Don’t start all that observation shit.” Tone grumbled out.

“I’m only just getting started.” I said evenly, leaning back in my office chair.

“Love, lust, loyalty…it all looks the same at the start. The difference is how far you’re willing to go to keep it. My methods aren’t good…this I know.” I shrugged.

I already knew Mira came to Tone’s mind just by the way he shifted in his seat ready to throw my words back in my face. I cut him off before he could even utter her name.

“Which brings me to my Mira.” I said with pride.

I was happy to bring her up before anyone else did. It hadn’t been a full twenty-four hours, and I couldn’t wait to place my eyes back on her in front of me.

“She made me laugh,” I said simply, letting the truth hang in the air between us.

“Do y’all have any idea how rare that is for me?” I asked waiting for them to respond.

“What’s so rare about laughing, Grand?” Staress asked.

Tone shook his head and mumbled something under his breath in disbelief. He looked up at me and answered the question for me.

“Grand never laughs authentically. When you hear him chuckle, it’s usually him being sarcastic or it’s just a simple promise of chaos.” Tone uttered the words like he was still processing what I said about Mira.

“So, you really think she’s really the one?

To be honest bro, I don’t think she belongs here.

She’s not strung out, just an occasional user.

The fiends you bring here usually go through withdrawals; they beg and plead for their next hit…

Mira haven’t done none of that since she’s been here. ” Tone continued.

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my desk.

“Most of the people that I put in those cells…down to some of the women that I end up fucking…I forget their faces soon as I leave their presence. No attachment. You out of all people know how easy it is for me to detach myself, Tone…But Mira?” I narrowed my eyes letting the memory of her from when I first saw her at the club take shape in my mind.

“I remember the first time I saw her playing at the club weeks ago…. the first day I saw her, I left the club soon as I felt a sudden shift inside of me. I told myself that I would just have you and Dre go and collect my debt from the owner and never return before I did something stupid like snatch her ass up without a reasonable reason.” I sighed roughly.

I clenched my fist then locked eyes with Josie.

“So, what is it really about her?” Tone cut into my silent communication with Josie.

Josie’s head moved mechanically toward Tone; she tilted her head then ruffled her feathers.

“Be good Josie.” I chuckled the words out because if I didn’t Josie would have no problem digging her sharp claws into Tone’s shoulder.

“Yesterday, when I showed Mira all of Grand Corp…. she looked at my creation like it was something out of a dream. She saw the purpose in it. I know that she would never make me choose between her and what I love to do the most… create to save. Although she’s against me forcing people to do it, she loves what I do.

I showed her my lab, inside of there she called me The Fairy Godfather of Crackheads.

” I laughed again and stopped when I realized that it wasn’t just one of my chuckles.

It was my real laugh which sounded foreign to my own ears. Tone and Staress looked at me with wide eyes, they observed me as Josies feathers ruffled.

“She’s bold, outspoken, and smart. She won’t fear me after a while…

and to be honest…that turns me on even more.

When I saw her at the club, she played that violin like the world wasn’t even there…

for a second, I forgot about everything else.

I didn’t hear the noise of the club; I forgot about the territories that I still need to conquer…

She made me feel peace…And I decided right then and there that I wanted the peace she made me feel.

I wanted that shit so bad…I started building excuses to take her.

Then I saw the glossy look in her eyes… and knew right away that she was on a substance trying to drown her pain out…

it was the same look my momma used to have whenever Pops did her wrong.

Momma used to storm around the house pissed off and cursing.

Hours later, she’d get high and forget about the pain. ” I sighed.

The thought of my mom and how she transformed over night off of drugs crushed me. It always took me to a small part of my childhood that I wished I could rewind and change.

“What about you falling in love so fast with her?” Staress broke the silence.

“I won’t fall in love unless I own her first.” I smiled at Staress with no warmth in my smile.

“Own?” She frowned.

“Yes.” I slammed my hand on the top of my desk, growing agitated with all the unnecessary questions when I painted a vivid picture with words for the both of them to understand my line of thinking.

“Love without ownership, is weakness. I won’t give a person the power to take pieces of me and walk away whenever they feel like it.

I’ve seen it at a young age and learned from it.

I refuse to let it happen again. So, if I love, it’s because they’re already mine, and they know that they can’t fucking leave. ” I spoke with finality in my tone.