Chapter 4
E’Levyn ‘Lev’ Laurent
Most people really only knew the version of me that wore tailored shirts and sold luxury real estate without knowing the full story, but moral to it all is they saw the polished cleaned-up version that sat across from investors and developers talking about contracts and property values.
What they didn’t see was the nigga who used to stand on corners counting money until I moved up in rank, or the years I spent in prison sitting in jail fighting a premeditated murder charge that should’ve buried me for the rest of my life.
By the grace of God, with the right price and a good lawyer I beat what they accused me of although I absolutely killed that dude and that was the one they knew about.
Every single thing they through at me, I did that shit but instead of walking away with life, they sat me down for five years.
After that, I came home focused cause I was lucky enough to get a second chance, and I was gone make sure I never needed a third.
That decision turned into more money than I ever imagined, and the funny thing was people always assumed my success was old money, but it wasn’t, cause when the Feds came for me, they took all that shit with them and everybody knew they was the biggest criminals on the streets that’s why I didn’t fuck with no police.
If it were up to me those punk muhfuckas would never be nowhere around in my presence.
So nah, that old money shit was dead. The is what made me the newer version of rich…
the developments and the buildings with my name attached to the paperwork did that.
Real estate wasn’t just something I sold.
Nah, it was something I owned. While everybody else was trying to impress people, I was buying assets.
That’s why I could front my people bread without blinking or walk away from a deal if it didn’t make sense.
I slept good at night cause money wasn’t something I chased no more, instead money found me.
I parked my Range Rover in front of the listing and stepped out, taking a second to adjust the cuff of my shirt before locking the door.
The property sat in one of the nicer parts of Coral Gables, and even from the curb I could tell the seller had spared no expense.
I glanced toward the front entrance and immediately spotted my client waiting near the doorway.
She was the type of woman men noticed as soon as she entered a room with caramel skin, long black hair flowing down her back, and a white fitted dress that showed off every curve God gave her.
She wore a pair of Red bottoms with a small Chanel bag hanging from her wrist. She was definitely pretty enough to get attention without asking for it and confident enough to know exactly what effect she had on men.
When our eyes met, she smiled all extra wide, and I already knew what kind of showing this was about to be.
I walked up the driveway with one hand in my pocket and the other holding my phone with my gun tucked in my waistband underneath my shirt.
The closer I got, the bigger her smile got.
Women always thought they were slick with that shit like I couldn’t tell the difference between somebody excited about a house and somebody excited about me.
She had had spent the last three weeks texting me questions she could’ve Googled herself or calling me at random hours to discuss properties she wasn’t serious about buying and somehow finding a reason to laugh at damn near everything I said and not that I blamed her cause I was very aware of what I looked like.
I just wasn’t one of those dudes who needed constant confirmation from women to feel good about himself either.
“E’Levyn,” she said, stepping forward and reaching for a hug instead of a handshake.
On the inside, I was shaking my head. I politely smiled and gave her a quick side hug before stepping back. “How you doing, Ms. Monroe?”
She furrowed her brows with a smirk on her face. “Why are you always calling me that?”
“That’s your last name, and you paying me.
I gotta act professional.” I told her. We had a little history, but I stopped fucking her before I even did my bid only because I couldn’t police no pussy from behind bars and I wasn’t trying to.
Matter fact, I left every female alone who I was dealing with telling them all to go on about their lives.
She laughed and lightly touched my arm. “Oh please, you know that’s not why.”
She was right, I did know, although her last name really is Monroe, she always said ‘let Ms. Monroe take care of daddy’s dick’ right before she gave me the best head of my life, but that didn’t mean I was about to entertain it.
That’s when she was just a hood girl on the block, just regular Monica, but now a few years later she was one of the top bankers in the city.
I glanced toward the house and nodded. “You ready to spend some money today or are you just here to waste my time again?”
Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
I chuckled. “I’m joking.”
“No you not.” She smirked.
I glanced at her with a straight face. “No, I’m not.”
She shook her head and laughed again before turning toward the front door.
One thing about me, I wasn’t about to flirt my way into a commission.
Either somebody wanted the house or they didn’t.
I made enough money to leave games where they belonged.
When we stepped inside, I watched her entire expression change and that look right there was the reason I loved real estate too because I also loved the reaction.
People spent months looking at pictures online while watching videos and scrolling through listings then they walked into the right property and everything changed.
The foyer alone was bigger than most people’s apartments with natural light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the backyard.
The spiral staircase curved upward, and the marble floors were so clean it practically reflected our footsteps.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
The deal wasn’t done yet, but I could already see where this was headed.
We moved through the house room by room while I pointed out features and answered questions.
She asked about the schools, the neighborhood, the previous owner, property taxes, and the renovation history.
I answered everything without missing a beat because I always did my homework and that’s what separated me from a lot of these realtors running around Miami.
I wasn’t selling houses; I was selling confidence and people trusted me because I knew what the hell I was talking about.
By the time we made it upstairs to the primary suite, she was already standing in front of the oversized windows looking out over the pool. “This is beautiful,” she said in a softer tone.
“It is.” I agreed.
“No, seriously, I think this might be the one.”
I leaned against the doorway and watched her take it all in. “I know.”
She turned around with an eyebrow raised. “You know?”
I shrugged. “You stopped looking at the house twenty minutes ago and been picturing yourself living in it ever since.” I winked.
A slow smile spread across her face. “Damn, you always did know how to read me.”
“Yeah, something like that.” I told her ready to make an offer.
She slowly tilt her head to the side and began to take steps towards me. “What makes me different E’Leveyn?”
Before I could answer, my phone started ringing causing me to glance down at the screen.
My expression immediately changed because the problem was who was calling, it was just that Marvelous didn’t have the type of people around him who called just to talk.
Meanwhile, Monica was talking about where she’d put furniture, and I glanced down at the screen once again.
“Excuse me for a minute,” I said, giving her a quick smile.
She nodded. “Everything okay?”
“We’ll find out.”
I stepped out into the hallway and answered while making my way downstairs. “What up?”
“You busy?” Kev asked like I wasn’t always busy.
I didn’t have time for no rhetorical questions when money was on the line. “If you gotta ask, then whatever you calling about probably ain’t worth interrupting me for.”
“Aight then, I’ma let you get back to work.”
I laughed. “Man, what happened?”
“Marv got shot.”
I stopped near the bottom of the staircase and gently rubbed my jaw. “He alive?” I asked. Marvelous was my cousin and always in some shit.
“Yeah.” He informed.
“Aight.” I told him while glancing back up towards the stairs.
He paused for a second and then continued. “That’s it?”
I frowned. “What the fuck else you want me to say?”
“Damn, I don’t know, shit… something.”
I pushed the front door open and stepped outside. “Look, if he breathing, we got time to talk. If he dead, then that’s a different conversation so which one is it?”
“Oh, well, he breathing.”
“Then keep talking.” I said.
“They rushed him into surgery though.”
That got my attention. “Where he at?”
“He’s down there at Jackson.”
“Damn.” I mumbled.
“That’s what I said.”
I leaned against the driver’s side door of my truck while looking out across the street. Marvelous had a gift for finding trouble. He could walk into church and somehow leave with an enemy. Half the time I couldn’t tell if trouble followed him or if he went looking for it.
“You know who did it?” I questioned.
“Nah.”
“Do he know?” I asked.
He chuckled. “He was shot, Lev.”
“That ain’t what I asked.”
Kev was still laughing. “I’m serious.”
“So am I… plenty of people get shot and still know who shot them.”
“Man, something wrong with you.”
“Something wrong with Marv. I’m just trying to get information.” I shook my head and looked down at my watch. “How long ago it happen?”
“Maybe an hour or so.”
“Anybody else know?”
“Probably.”