Certified Sin

1. Ronnie

Ronnie

I was feeling really unappreciated at this, and for all the shit I had to make go away, I thought I'd at least get a thank you.

People come in and out of here all day, tossing shit on my desk for me to do.

I would be lucky if I got five minutes of peace without somebody barging in my office and requesting something from me.

I was in the middle of ranting to myself when my assistant knocked hard on the door like she was the police.

I knew it had to be her because she’s the only one who’s disrespectful enough to do it.

“Ronnie, you have a minute?” Shay had her head halfway through the door. I waved my hand in the air, letting her know she could come in.

“I just wanted to let you know you have two new clients on their way up here. You’re familiar with the group Deuces, right?”

She handed me the manila folder.

“What do they need from me?” I flipped through the pages, glancing up at her when she didn’t give me a direct answer.

“Shayla?” I called her by her real name.

When we were at work, I referred to her as that. She was my best friend and I don’t usually mix business with my personal life, but she was doing good so far.

“Sin got into a fight at the club last night and broke some dude’s nose. Now the guy threatening to sue him,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Beast needs you to make what happened go away.”

By Beast, she was referring to my boss here at Beast Coast Entertainment, one of the top record labels in the country.

I nodded, rubbing my temples. Sometimes, I wish I weren’t so goddamn good at my job, so maybe they wouldn’t come to me for everything. It was two other lawyers on this floor, and somehow, everything makes it’s way to my desk.

Since I started at BCE, it wasn’t a case I didn’t win for this company.

I’m not tryna toot my own horn, however, I’m only twenty-five years old and already the most prestigious entertainment lawyer in the business.

I’m Ronnie Russell, daughter of Dr. Raymond Russell, a famous plastic surgeon, and they knew me for making shit disappear. I’m saying that to say, this case won’t be a problem for me. It’s the clients I can’t stand to be around. I never met them in person, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Again?” I rolled my eyes.

Sincere a.k.a Sin Sizza was a clout-chasing type of nigga, the one who’ll do anything to make his presence known, including making headlines damn near every day. It seems like he’s always the center of attention for doing something stupid.

“Yup! And Beast is sick of him,” she added, patting her weave. “I don’t even know what the hype is with him anyway. He ain’t all that cute.”

I shot her a look, and she smacked her teeth.

Shayla’s saying that now, but you should have seen her a few years ago before she got engaged. She used to go to every one of his concerts.

“Okay, I’m tripping.” She admitted, giggling softly. “He still fine.”

I snorted, my eyes moving through the documents.

“Don’t let Corey hear you say that. You know he already threatened to shoot him,” I reminded her. He told her he’ll find that nigga and beat his ass if he saw one more poster of Sin Sizza in his house.

“Girl, Corey just special.” Even as she saying that, you can hear in her voice how much she loved him. They met in college and were only together for two years when Corey proposed to her at graduation. I was right there, front and center, recording with my camera.

“Uh-huh.” Smiling at her, my focus locked in on my apple watch. “What time will they be here?”

I had just taken my lunch, so I’m counting down the hours until I leave. Shayla glanced down at the notebook in her hands, then looked at the clock on my desk.

“Now.”

Just as she spoke, the knob turned open, revealing two men on the other side.

Sin Sizza and Reese Rhymes stood in my doorway like they owned the place. They were the hottest rap group in the game with three songs in the top 10 on the billboard charts, and a new single that dropped yesterday.

I can admit they were both sexy as hell too.

Sin was dark-skinned, with nice full lips and a temp fade.

Reese is a few shades lighter, caramel colored.

He had dreads, and you could tell he kept up with them.

His eyes were hazel, and that’s really what made the girls go crazy.

He’s the man hoe of the group, because every time he goes to these events, he got a different girl on his arm.

“Gentleman.”

Standing up, I walked around my desk, tugging on the hem of my pencil skirt down.

“The next time my door is closed, please knock before you enter,” I stated with professionalism, plastering a tight smile on my face.

Reese bit into his bottom lip, staring at me with lust in his eyes. Sin walked around my body, sizing me up and down.

“Damn, girl! I heard you were fine, but I ain’t know you was this goddamn fine. How you doing, baby?” Sin grabbed ahold of my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

I slid my hand from his grasp slowly.

“I’m fine, Mr. Dupree.” I gave him a tight smile.

I know I’m attractive, and I hated the way my body reacted to his touch. I’m five-foot-seven, mocha-skinned, and your girl went to the gym every day. I knew my body was thick in all the right places. I kept my hair cut in a short bob that reached my shoulders.

I’m always on point, never half-stepping.

Turning to the other one, Reese had his hands in his pockets. I extended mine for him to shake because he seemed like the one with all the sense.

“Hi, I’m Ronnie.”

“Sup, Ms. Lady? I’m Reese.” He clasped his hand in mine. “I apologize for the intrusion. We ain’t mean no disrespect.”

I was lost in my head, not realizing I was still holding on to his hand until I heard a throat clear in the distance. From listening to his music here and there, I didn’t think he would sound so polite.

I quickly pulled my hand away like I’d gotten burned, then glanced up to see a smirk forming on Reese’s face.

Stepping back, I put space between us.

“Well, let’s all sit down,” I instructed, turning to my assistant. “Shayla, can you bring these gentlemen a bottle of water, please?”

She gave me a curt nod, then turned to walk away.

Going around my desk, I sat down and busied myself by straightening the papers. Both men were sitting across from me, and I became uncomfortable with the way they stared intensely.

Clearing my throat, I pushed the chair all the way up.

“So, I was told you needed my help to solve a problem. Can you tell me what happened?” I picked up my pen, hoping to get them in and out of here.

They looked at each other briefly, and then Sin started talking nonsense.