Page 80 of The Love of Priest 2
Although she seemed to be in great spirits in the video, Priest could tell there was still some sadness weighing down on her.
She was doing what she did best: hovering.
Laughter was her main coping mechanism. Britain was truly broken after spending her entire pregnancy alone.
She tried to be as tough as her mom, but she wasn't. After every video or picture that she forced a smile in, she turned off the camera and immediately reverted to her sadness.
It pained Priest to see her put her best foot forward when she really shouldn't have had to.
She had been through the unspeakable yet always remained so uplifting and happy.
This ultimately made Priest reevaluate the way he looked at life and all his trauma.
Distancing himself from his thoughts, Priest glanced down at his phone that was sounding off with a phone call from Matteo.
His mind instantly returned to the growing agenda Suzette and Matteo had for him.
Taking on a business at such a grand scale was going to be difficult for the first couple of months, especially since he played by a whole different set of rules.
In hopes of making a smooth but temporary transition, Suzette and Matteo called for Priest to be on time to the dock where they would be loading their transport ships.
Priest had completely dropped the ball by being an hour behind schedule.
Letting out a light groan, he accepted the call before holding the phone to his ear. "I'm on my way now," he assured Matteo as he stood up from the seat behind the desk.
"This was scheduled to happen an hour ago," Matteo scolded with his thick Italian accent.
"I got caught up," Priest stated. "I'll be there soon," he reassured him before hanging up the call.
He exited the study before heading toward the exit of the home.
Grabbing the first set of keys he laid his eyes on, he unlocked the doors to the Range Rover before getting in.
For the first time in a long time, he felt a heavy weight of regret shackle him.
Taking on Matteo and Suzette's empire wasn't the best thing he could have done, but now that he was already committed to it, he had to follow through, even if it meant being at odds with his fiancée.
As he drove to the dock where he was sure Suzette and Matteo were impatiently waiting for him, his mind drifted back to Britain.
After discovering what was on the memory card, he wished he had gone without looking.
Guilt began to set in as he started to realize he had just cheated not only himself, but also Britain, from a pivotal point in their relationship where she would have felt comfortable enough to open up in great detail about what she endured in her past.
Trying his best to rid his thoughts of Britain, he turned on the radio, drowning his tormenting thoughts with music. The dock was in the middle of a rural area, so the drive was long and straining. Eventually, he arrived, parking his vehicle in the first available space he noticed.
Stepping out the car, he smoothed his tender hands down his suit, exhaling a light breath.
He set out in the direction of the dock, seeing Matteo and Suzette in conversation with each other.
Before he could step any closer to them, he was halted by a firm hand placed on his chest by security.
Upon noticing he had been stopped, Matteo and Suzette drew their attention away from each other, casting their eyes onto him.
They were pleased to see he actually showed up.
It was a bad look on their part that he was late since he was the one they were trusting to run their empire.
Bad time management wasn't a good look, especially not in the first day.
"Yo, tell y'all mans to fall back," Priest requested from Matteo and Suzette as he pushed the security's hand off him.
They both folded their arms across their chests as they shamed Priest with a shake of their heads. "Check him," Suzette ordered security, making it clear that Priest would have to endure a pat down despite the fact that she knew he was clear.
Priest smacked his lips, feeling a bit disrespected by Suzette.
He didn't come all this way to be treated as if he wasn't doing them a favor to begin with.
"This some fucking bullshit," Priest spat.
"You don't trust me now?" he asked as he spread his legs apart and extended his arms so he could receive a routine pat down.
"Nobody on our side shows up two hours late, so you are a little questionable at the moment," Matteo condemned his late arrival once more.
Priest shook his head as security retrieved his gun from the waistband of his slacks. "You know when you talked all that shit about you handing me the baton, I should have known you would never give up that much control so easily," he scoffed.
He watched as security exchanged glances with Matteo and Suzette to see whether the gun should be returned to his possession.
Suzette gave security a curt nod, allowing him to turn the gun back over to Priest. Taking it from security, Priest secured it in his waistband, being sure the jacket of his suit covered it.
Security stepped aside, allowing him full access to Suzette and Matteo.
"You being late is a bad look," Suzette said as she brushed a few of her waist length curls that blew in the wind out of her face.
Priest pursed his lips and nodded. "I know.” He wasn't always the best when it came to being on time, but when it came to business, he was usually on top of it.
Today just wasn't a good day. He was dealing with the woes of not having Britain around, and he had to muster up the will to drag himself to the dock despite Suzette and Matteo's business being the main reason his fiancée wasn't around in the first place.
"What did I miss?" Priest attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere.
He didn't think they should waste any more of their time crucifying him for being late.
Instead of harping on his late arrival any longer, Suzette led the way toward the line of ships that were all anchored close to the platform.
Priest could recall Matteo bringing him to this very dock years ago and breaking down how he and Suzette kept their money flowing in fast but clean.
They had invested and bought out a company of cruise ships that was not only great for Italy's economy, but it also served as great transport from continent to continent.
The travel time to get the product from place to place had definitely been set back by a few days; however, it was far less suspicious to transport on a commercial ship that sailed tourists from one continent to another.
"The ship to North America has already sailed." Suzette pointed at the empty docking space that would have been filled by one of their massive ships.
Priest pursed his lips. He knew he had fumbled by not being able to witness what would be sent out to J'Ru and Kaymen.
He and the guys discussed how they would utilize his new role to secure more product.
Although his new yet temporary business venture had put a strain on his relationship with Britain, it was serving as a huge gain for what he and the guys had going on in New York.
Being hands-on with the process the product went through before it was shipped out to J'Ru and Kaymen would have made it easy for Priest to up the scale on their incoming supply and maximize their income.
Not being around when Suzette and Matteo sent the ship off set his plan back until another reup.
Not only did he have to deal with the hell Suzette and Matteo gave him for being late, but he needed to prepare himself for the hell he was about to get from Kaymen and J'Ru.
"How many were on there for me?" Priest asked, wanting to verify the number of bricks that were being shipped to the city.
He eyed Suzette and Matteo as they exchanged glances with one another. It was evident that they were withholding information from Priest, and that didn't sit well with him. "None," Matteo blatantly stated with a light shrug, causing Priest’s jaw to constrict.
A bitter chuckle aired out of Priest as he hoped Suzette and Matteo would quickly let him know they were just giving him a hard time for being late.
Seeing that neither interjected, his chuckle halted abruptly.
"None?" he asked, needing more clarification.
His handsome face contorted into a screwed-up look as he awaited an explanation from either of them.
Seeing that neither was willing to offer him any clarification, Priest spoke once more. "The only reason I'm even doing this shit is because you promised me more product. If you can't honor the deal we made, then we can dead this shit right now," he threatened with a shake of his head.
Suzette turned around so her back was facing Priest. He watched as she lifted her hand, gesturing to one of the crew members on each ship to open up the storage compartment.
Priest could recall his first visit to the dock where Suzette had made the same gesture, showcasing the amount of product that would be transported from continent to continent.
This time around, Priest wasn't in awe. The empty storage compartments stared back at him, indicating that there wouldn't be any product sent out anywhere.
A feeling of defeat plunged down on him as he sank his hand into the pockets of his slacks. "So, you played me?" Priest asked, wanting to know why he was promised more product when they clearly couldn't fulfill their usual demand at the moment.
Using her hand to block the rays of the sun, Suzette turned around to face Priest again. She had a sheepish look on her face as she shrugged her shoulders. "We need your help.”