Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Adonis.
About a week later…
“You not gon’ help us?” AP frowned and asked as he walked past me with a box in his hand.
“I don’t have to when I got you. Take yo ass on.” I smirked then chucked my head toward the house.
I was standing in Jru’s driveway checking some of my messages.
Zig had taken a team out a few nights ago for transport, so I wanted to make sure everything was straight.
They were set to come back in a little bit, so I checked the GPS systems to make sure they were enroute.
When I saw that they were, I hit Deek to make sure he was still good to meet them.
I was wrapping my message to him when a call from Demetri, the new accountant that I’d obtained, hit me. I swiped my thumb across the screen to answer for him.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, Don, you got a minute?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Alright, I’m sending something over to you. Let me know when you get it.” Seconds later my phone vibrated with a notification.
“I got it.”
“Okay, so check this out, I’ve been going over every location that you’ve inherited from Vado. Most of them look clean enough, but there’s this bar in Youngstown… it’s a problem.”
My brows furrowed. “A problem? How?”
“Their reported cash sales dropped nearly forty percent about six months ago, but their liquor orders and weekend traffic didn’t dip. If anything, it went up.”
There were two highlights on the spreadsheet that he’d sent me, so I allowed my eyes to carefully scan over it.
“So same crowd, but they’re making less?” I asked rhetorically because I could see the shit clear as day.
“Exactly. Either they’ve been skimming off the top or keeping the sales off the books.
Then there’s this…” He paused briefly just as another message came through with scanned invoices.
“They’ve been ordering twice as many cases of liquor than they’ve ever reported selling.
Either it’s never gotten delivered or… it got moved out of the back door. ”
“Hm,” I mumbled more to myself than him as I tried figuring this shit out.
“That’s not all, Don,” he continued. “They’ve been paying a business called BJ Consultations five grand a month. I can’t find a tax record or even a website for it. It looks like a shell.”
“BJ Consultations, huh?” I chuckled.
“I can trace the payments and the missing inventory if you want to push it.”
“Naw, hold off on that.” I said, glancing at the house since I’d heard the door, noticing Jru journeying toward me. “I’ll handle it. If I can’t find out who it is, I’ll let you look into it. I need to get back to my girl, so I’ll fuck with you later.”
“Alright, if I find anything else, I’ll send a text.”
“Bet.” I said before ending the call and slipping my phone inside my pocket.
“Who was that?” Jru asked as soon as she made it to me, wrapping her arms around my torso planting her chin in the middle of my chest as she peered up at me.
“Business,” I answered, leaning down to peck her lips. “What you doin’ up? I told you to chill while we got shit done.”
She’d hit me when me and AP were on the way to her people’s crib to let me know she wasn’t feeling good and was going to put her moving date off. I was able to talk her out of that and had the furniture company set her bed up first so she could lay down while the rest of us got her shit moved.
Lately she’d been feeling under the weather a lot, but she wouldn’t go to the doctor.
I didn’t understand the shit, but she said it was always like that when her monthly was coming and worse when it was actually on.
To me, that was enough to go see a fucking doctor, but she said the shit was normal, so I let it rock.
“I know, but I’ve been seeing everyone else come in and out except you, so I came to look for you.”
“I’m ‘bout to come back in now. Come on.”
I took her hand and led her back inside the house.
Her parents were in the living room with her sister setting shit up while AP, Cam and Rhea were in the kitchen doing their thing in there.
I wanted to take her ass back to her room, but she wanted to go to the living room instead, so that’s where we went.
Her pops already had the large sectional, as well as a recliner, setup.
Jru chose the recliner, so I got her situated there and gave her a throw blanket that was on the couch to cover her up before going over to help her dad mount the T.V.
“I feel so bad for not helping,” Jru said and pouted. “Everyone is busy and I’m watching.”
“Girl, bye.” Geri playfully rolled her eyes. “Your spoiled ass is eating this up.”
“I am not.” Jru grinned. “I genuinely feel bad.”
“Get up and help then.”
“Gerica, hush.” Ms. Gwen popped her oldest daughter’s shoulder. “Let your sister rest.”
“Right, you worked all week, sweet pea…”
“I did too, Daddy, and you and Mama made me get up and help move.”
“Gerica, the most you’ve done is put those decals on the wall,” their mom said while shaking her head.
“It was hard work, mama.” She smiled then walked over to join her sister on the recliner, and Jru welcomed her, lifting the cover to allow her to lay under there with her.
They continued to talk while we got the T.V.
up then we did a whole ass entertainment center around it.
I had no clue that her dad was going to actually build the shit himself, but he did, and he put niggas to work right along with him.
Greg and the rest of the team were there helping too, so they assisted with building everything.
I didn’t know shit about carpentry or building shit, but he was good as shit at it.
He moved like a professional doing the measurements and bringing the build that he’d sketched up to life.
By the time we finished it, the movers finished the kitchen and dining room areas, and Jru had even gotten up to do her room.
She bought everything brand new and had it delivered by the furniture company, so all she had to do was put her things away since they placed everything in the room where she wanted it.
Her mom had ordered groceries and was in the kitchen cooking, so after I helped her pops clean up and put all of his tools away, I went to take a shower.
Me and AP brought clothes with us because I didn’t know how late we’d be at her crib after moving.
After I checked my phone and saw that Zig and Deek finished their shit up.
I texted them and let them know that we needed to link so I could put them up on game with what I learned.
“The food’s ready.” Jru said when she appeared in the doorway.
I locked my phone and tossed it on the bed, then I summoned her over to me. She positioned herself between my legs and my hands immediately met the back of her thighs. I caressed them as I looked up at her.
“You good?”
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you for helping my dad. We just decided that I wanted that entertainment center, but I didn’t expect him to get the materials and be ready to do it today.”
“It’s straight.” I smirked. “I can add a new trade under my belt and maybe start a business.”
“So, you’ll be a barber, truck driver and a carpenter.” She used her thumbs to massage the space behind my ears as she smiled down at me. “My little jack of all trades.”
“Technically I don’t have a CDL yet, so I’m not a trucker yet.”
“But you’re going to get one, we’ll manifest it.”
“Word, but I probably won’t ever drive them shits. I’m just getting it just in case. Feel me?”
“I do. I wouldn’t be able to handle you being gone for weeks at a time or thinking about you with those Lot Lizards.”
I laughed and asked, “fuck you know about Lot Lizards?”
“I know enough to be glad you won’t be around them.” She chuckled. “But seriously, thank you. We’d still be working if you, AP, and the security guards weren’t here.”
“You don’t gotta thank me, baby. I don’ told you that you ain’t got shit to worry about long as you got me.”
“What did I do to deserve you?”
“Be born,” I answered and she laughed. “I’m dead ass.”
“I know,” she simpered then kissed me. “Are you going to stay the night?”
“If that’s an invitation, yes.”
“You don’t need an invitation, Adonis.”
“Naw?” I grinned, pulling her into my lap so that she was straddling me. “Don’t tell me that because I’ll be in this pretty ass face every day.”
She blushed and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t be mad about that.”
“Aight, just remember that you said that because I ain’t gon’ forget the shit. When I fall through here gone off that Don, I don’t want to hear the shit. Just be ready to put that pussy on my face.”
“Shut up.” She giggled and climbed off my lap. “Come on, everyone’s waiting on us.”
Jru Baby: *one attachment*
Jru Baby: What do you think about these?
My brows furrowed as I studied the picture. It was some small ass black elephants and some plants.
Me: I don’t even know what this shit is baby.
Jru Baby: It’s décor, Adonis!
Jru Baby: For the hallway bathroom!
Me: Oh, it’s straight I guess baby. You got enough shit in there.
Jru Baby: This is for YOUR bathroom lol.
Me: In that case, no. I don’t want no fuckin’ elephants in my shit or flowers.
Jru Baby: I’m getting it and putting it in there.
Jru Baby: And you’re going to be happy about it.
Jru Baby: *one attachment*
Jru Baby: I got this stuff for Apollo’s bathroom at my house.
I was over texting, and her ass was gon’ keep sending shit back-to-back, so I called her instead.
“I thought you were busy,” she said as soon as she answered.
“You don’t give a fuck if I was, you blowin’ a nigga up,” I said and laughed. “How AP got a bathroom at ya shit, and I don’t?”
“He’s a baby. He needs his space wherever he is,” she giggled. “He asked me if I could decorate that room for him for the nights you guys stay with me, and I said yes.”
“Nigga is not a fuckin’ baby, bro.” I chuckled. “And all that basketball shit you sent is for a damn baby.”