Chapter 8 Family Matters #4
He stopped himself before he revealed too much and that was what snapped me out of the lull that I’d been in.
The way he could so easily distract me was a problem.
I was supposed to be stronger than this but he made me feel like a different person.
Like a fool who would let a man change how she moved and behaved.
But isn’t that what marriage is, stupid?
“I’ll give you time to adjust to things because I understand this is a lot and you didn’t ask for any of it.”
“According to you neither did you.”
“I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I’ll keep fighting the inevitable.”
“You can concede as easily as you have because you hold all the cards.”
“If that’s how you feel then I don’t have anything else to say about it.
Contention isn’t how I want to live with you.
Hopefully, we’ll have common ground between us.
Lock up behind me, please.” He took a breath before making the request and saying please something I knew he did to soften his delivery.
Adjusting.
For me.
This is going to be so hard.
He leaned over and brushed a kiss to my cheek before turning and walking out of the front door.
ORI
“How are the profits looking for this quarter?”
Greed. It laced every syllable he spoke and I was ready for this meeting to be over.
Pappy was the best person to lead these meetings and I knew I had to get a hold on my temper when I took over. “Things are still getting ready for us to pass out the formal reports but we’ll ensure everything gets to you how we always have.”
“If we’re not here to discuss money, what are we here to discuss?” This tone was envy. Anger at not being in the position that Pappy was in and that I would soon step into.
This meeting was a waste of a perfectly good suit.
“Your nephew is getting married.”
I had to keep the snarl off my face from the way my grandfather spoke any connection between me and the people on the other side of the table.
I hated these meetings. I’d rather walk over hot coals barefoot than sit through them but they would continue to be my norm in an even larger capacity soon.
We were holding the Franklin family's quarterly meeting where we discussed everything that everyone was doing to contribute to the family. Everyone put in as part of the collective and received a share back. The Franklins had been prolific and although more had gone legit within the last few generations because they could tell the ship was sinking, some of those who hadn’t were bitter.
At least one particular branch. My mother’s brother and his son hated that Pappy was in control of so much of the family’s money.
Truthfully, we could wipe our asses with what they contributed and the stake that we distributed back was worth about ten times what they brought in.
Not to say that they were broke but shipping profits were measured in the millions per load, while they would be lucky to pull that in quarterly.
They refused to see it as good fortune and an easy come up for the family.
They decided to be angry about it. The only other person here was a second cousin of ours whose people hadn’t been as bothered by Pappy stepping up for my parents.
They were the ones who owned Explicit and a string of gentlemen’s clubs, restaurants and venues around the greater DC area.
A look was shared between father and son but the elder spoke up for their side. “Okay. I’m not sure why we needed that information. It’s not like it changes anything that we do.”
Pappy didn’t show it but he was pissed. After living with him, I could tell down to the width of his smile whether he was angry or happy. This was Pappy’s smite smile.
This is going to be fun.
“The family is about to welcome a new generation, so leadership will be turned over to him and his future bride.”
“Who is this bitch?”
“O—”
My knife whizzed by my uncle’s head before my grandfather could finish speaking my name in warning. I was grateful for Liam and Bhal’s love of playing with knives because we could all throw them with ease. In a situation like this, where guns were left at the door they were crucial.
The blade hadn’t pierced his flesh but it had taken a chunk out of the fro that he kept picked out. He looked as though someone had tried to scalp him. His nostrils were flared trying to keep himself calm but I didn’t give a fuck what he said or how he acted.
It wasn’t like that was my only knife.
“I can understand you not being interested in business that you no longer control but make no mistake. My wife will never be disrespected by you or anyone else. It is only because I don’t feel like having to get out the acid to dispose of your body that my knife isn’t embedded into your orbital socket piercing your brain right now.
Since you have no concern I guess when I take over these meetings are obsolete.
So, I’ll remove them from my calendar. I’m not one to bother with people who don’t serve a purpose in my life.
My grandfather kept this going as a courtesy.
Some guilt he apparently felt about how his son treated your sister.
I have no such guilt. And since the Franklin blood in my veins means I’m entitled to everything, that’s what I’m coming for. ”
“What does that mean?” The son spoke up then annoying me since I was ready to go.
“Exactly what it says. Y’all have been eating real good for not having to do any work for the last thirty-five years.
That low-level scamming and counterfeiting that you’ve been doing hasn’t been able to sustain the lifestyles that y’all are posting about on social media like idiots.
You’re putting targets on your backs like you don’t know better.
I would ask y’all to explain but I’m sure you dumb fucks would just say a bunch of bullshit that will make me regret not ending your lives.
Now, reach behind you and get my knife.”
The man who played with me was my mother’s youngest brother.
James had no issue with his big sister being bartered like chattel to the Nakoas when it meant an influx of cash that the family desperately needed.
There was no way for them to look toward the other family members for help because although we looked out for one another, it would have meant the Franklins losing their place at the table.
If they became workers instead of owners, the Consortium would’ve shrunk down one seat and my mother’s family was too prideful for that.
When faced with the reality of their work not being needed as often in the underworld they faced a major problem.
Other families had diversified their wealth through marriages or through simply putting in the work over the years.
Most had darker beginnings like the Millers who were loan sharks to some and lenders to others.
The same was still true but they now had a reputable facade to put over their illegal dealings and to account for the money those shady endeavors made.
Liam’s family had multiple streams of income that started from their origins as spies and healers to dealing on the black market and helping Priest in the Order.
Priest also had a mega-church that basically printed money but it was the place we could launder what we needed to and still give back.
The Franklins had none of that. They’d been spies but turned that into grifting and then forging.
They’d worked in households around New Orleans and their ability to blend in and to also see the finery that was available in homes helped during Reconstruction.
They’d made freedom papers before then and forged documents that were still in museums today.
With the boom of wealth in the 80s, they’d forged thousands of paintings to people all over the world.
Originals were sold on the black market and making money through trading had worked for many years.
But a generation of bad investments meant that by the late 80s the family had put all of their eggs in the basket of the stock market and bet on the wrong ones.
Instantly, they no longer had the stability they needed.
Combined with multiple people in the family straying from the type of lifestyle that we lived, going straight when the money ran out, there were few people they had to call on.
Pride kept my maternal grandfather from becoming a worker and having to ask his friends for help.
He finally got off his ass and went looking for an additional stream of revenue to invest in but by then he didn’t have the funds to own shit.
The .com boom helped some but again, being an investor wasn’t enough.
Lack of ownership meant he had no say unless he was part of the family.
That’s where my mother came in handy. She was available and Pappy needed more muscle than he currently had.
Other mainland shipping companies were attempting to buy up warehouse space and crowd him out ensuring that the family business would fail.
He’d been able to hold them off for a long time but he needed additional resources that the Consortium could provide.
Much like with Asha, a deal was struck and my parents were married.
What was supposed to be a joint union across the board had problems from the beginning.
My two grandfathers couldn’t get along for shit.
James Senior tried to work as the middleman between the Consortium and my grandfather.
He didn’t want him getting close to anyone because it would mean he could go around them to ask for what he wanted.
The Franklins had the bloodline but the Nakoas had the business and the financial power that was key to the Consortium.
Having a shipper as part of their portfolio made it easier to move throughout the world and the expansion that happened based on Consortium business alone took us from upper middle class to wealthy.