Chapter 2 #2
When he went down for racketeering right before we went legit, he left his contacts in my possession.
Once I took the business legit, the sky was the limit.
I still maintained part of the other side of the business, but for the most part, everything was legal.
I didn’t worry about the business as much as I worried about Darius.
With all the wisdom I gained from his dad, it would seem like he would have picked up something. I had yet to detect any of his father’s DNA in him. I wasn’t even sure if Uncle D was really his daddy at this point.
“Nic.” Darius’s voice broke me out of a daze.
I gave him part of my attention as I sat at my desk behind the two-way mirror. I could see everything going on below me, but no one could see me. I preferred it that way. I liked to play the background and let Reed and Darius play the front. They liked the attention.
“What is it?” I asked without turning to face him.
I knew that if Darius wanted to talk to me alone, he had some hairbrained scheme up his sleeves.
I had heard enough of his get rich quick bullshit to last a lifetime.
He kept saying that he wanted to start something that was just his.
I had no problem with that. I could even understand it.
The thing with Darius was that no matter what the situation was, he always wanted to go about it the wrong way.
His pops had the game laid out for us. He gave us the formula, but Darius liked shortcuts and gambles.
He was so used to everything being given to him that he couldn’t appreciate the grind.
He liked to do things his way, which was usually whichever worked fastest. His way had gotten him into more trouble than he could afford without me or Uncle D constantly bailing him out.
“I just wanted to run this idea by you. Now that we got this place running the way we want it, we need to talk about expanding.”
I shook my head. “It’s not time for expansion.”
“Maybe not on this side of the business, but there is too much money out there for us not to have our hands on it.”
“Plenty of money passes through here, bro.”
“Yeah, but you can never have too much money,” he countered.
“That’s where you’re wrong. Being greedy will get you nowhere. All money ain’t good money, D.”
“I think you should consider this move. I can get a couple of guys in here to pitch it to you.”
“Ed-daayra ma’foola li-sabab.”
I could say it until I passed out, but no matter how many times I warned him about bringing in new people, Darius tried to persuade me to do otherwise at every turn.
It would seem that when his dad was arrested, things would have crystalized.
It was some of Darius’s associates who had set him and Uncle D up.
Uncle D took the charges, allowing his son to walk away scot-free. I questioned that decision on a daily basis. Sometimes you had to let people bump their heads. How else would they learn?
“Your money might be long, but I need some more paper coming in. I appreciate you for bailing me out time after time, but you should understand more than anyone how much I need a win.”
“We’re winning, D. You gotta learn how to recognize when you’re winning. I’m not risking having my daughter grow up without me for a few extra dollars. This is not up for discussion. The circle is closed for a reason.” I repeated my warning in English just in case his Arabic was getting rusty.
Thankfully, he took that as a cue to get the hell out of my office. I didn’t have time for his schemes today. The door didn’t even close behind him before yet another person I didn’t want to see barged in.
As if I needed the headache, the beautiful but delusional Cindy Reyes breezed into my office, uninvited and definitely unwelcome. Our daughter was still in school, so I had no idea what had given me the pleasure of seeing her.
She pranced in as if she had been summoned and strutted right up to my desk. Cindy looked as good as she ever did with her curls freshly blown out. She wore a pair of jeans that looked like they were painted on and heels so high I had no idea how she walked around in them all day.
The bag on her arm likely cost four figures, but it was clear by her pristine manicure that she hadn’t lifted one finger or worked a day to buy it.
By looking at her, one would think she was rich and successful instead of knowing that she had only gotten pregnant by a dude that would rather see her doing good than leave her fucked up.
“What is it, Cindy?” I asked, trying not to sound annoyed at her very presence.
“I sent you a message asking when you were coming over to spend time with Amira.”
“And I picked her up.”
“I’m not talking about picking her up and taking her to your place. I meant when are we going to spend time as a family, Nic. She needs to see us as a family unit.”
“I don’t want to give her any ideas. I have enough problems getting you to accept things for what they are.
If it weren’t for you trying to make it seem as if we were one big happy family, I wouldn’t have any issues with doing things as a family.
As soon as I spend time with the two of you, you start posting on your social media like we are talking about living together and getting married. ”
“Because I’m ready to be a family. You said that’s what you wanted.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I sat back in my chair.
“I know what I said, Lucinda,” I said, trying not to let her take me off my square.
There was a time when I thought I wanted a family with Cindy.
Her getting pregnant with my child made me think it was a sign that she was the one.
It wasn’t our love or chemistry that made me want to be with her.
It was only the fact that she was the mother of my child.
I didn’t want my daughter growing up in a single parent home.
For a couple of years, we tried to force it. We got together on and off and tried to make what we had make sense. It never did. Cindy thought motherhood and being in a relationship was all about taking a bunch of pictures to post on social media, not actually being a family.
She liked having access to my accounts and buying things and going on trips to make her so-called friends jealous.
When it came to our daughter, she barely spent time with her.
I gave her the option to be a stay-at-home mom.
She jumped at the chance, only to drop Amira off with her parents or friends every day so she could go shopping and take day trips with her girls.
I drew the line when she put Amira in day care.
I was all for needing a break, but she took her there five days a week just to sit around and drink wine and try to be a social media baddie.
When I mentioned thinking that she was actually going to be a mom while she was staying at home, she blew up and started talking about how I was trying to control her.
I wasn’t worried about controlling her as much as I was trying to get her to hold up her end of the deal.
I didn’t mind that she never had time for me.
I was busy building a business. She didn’t even have time for Amira.
I could have understood if she at least took Amira on some of her trips, but that was too much trouble.
According to Cindy, the trips she took were to get away from us for a while. So, why would she take her? In her mind, that was completely logical. Aside from never spending time with our daughter, she refused to cook or clean. I didn’t say a word when she hired a maid. Marisol did a wonderful job.
In the early days of our relationship, Cindy won me over by making authentic Hispanic and Dominican dishes and cooking up a storm.
She was pregnant by the time I found out that she was bringing food from her grandmother’s house and disguising it as her own cooking.
She could make a couple of things, but she didn’t even try to cook.
Hell, the girl stopped fronting and didn’t even bother to order takeout after I moved her in.
I couldn’t even get a hot meal out of the woman who didn’t flinch about swiping my card for a five-figure purchase.
In my eyes, the situation was too one-sided.
As much as I wanted to be there with my daughter, I could only fake it for so long.
I bought Cindy a house of her own and gave her an allowance that I would pay monthly until our daughter turned eighteen.
That was my consolation prize when I left her.
I asked for custody of Amira, and of course, she refused.
I still wanted her with me full time, but at the time, I had so much on my plate with the casino that I wasn’t ready for such a commitment.
Every morning that I got to wake up with Amira with me at my place, I considered doing what I had to do to get her full time.
“You seem to be confused about the reality of our relationship. We are not a couple anymore. That’s over. I will do everything I can to help you with Amira, but stop trying to force us back into a relationship. It’s not happening.”
“The only one who is confused is you. One minute, you’re fucking me, and the next, you can barely look at me.”
“That’s a lie, Cindy,” I said, shaking my head but knowing there was no use in arguing with her.
She wasn’t completely off base. Up until a year ago, I let her bait me enough to get me to sleep with her every now and then.
Every time I did it, I quickly realized what a horrible mistake I had made.
Since the day I decided to stick to my guns and keep my dick to myself, she had been testy as hell.
She did things to purposely push my buttons, hoping to get her way. I was done playing games with her.
“You can say what you want, but I know the truth. You made me think we would get married. I was bragging to my girls and everything. I was planning a wedding and all. Now I’m just a baby mama. That shit is embarrassing, Nicky.”
“Technically, you would have been a baby mama either way. We weren’t married when you got pregnant. I never even proposed to you. You were the one bragging about a big fairy tale wedding.”
“You’re going to get enough of playing with people’s feelings. You just watch.”
“Cindy, I’m not trying to play with you or anyone else. All I want is the best possible life for my daughter and a little peace for my own pleasure, if that’s not too much to ask for.”
“Don’t start tripping when you see another man on my arm.”
I scoffed. “I’m actually looking forward to it.”
“Whatever, Nicky. I can show you better than I can tell you.”
“Goodbye, Cindy,” I said, dismissing her with a wave before turning back to the screens. A few seconds passed before the clicking of her heels disappeared into the hall. Like I said, I was done playing with her.