Chapter 2
Nikolai Frost
Lil Wayne’s Carter II beat through my Escalade as I cut across Midtown toward Frost International Holdings.
My father called earlier swearing that he had some important shit to talk about, then hung up before I could even ask him shit.
I was in the middle of perfecting a new dish for the Buckhead location, but when Gregory Frost called, you showed up.
Not even on no top dog shit cause that nigga didn’t run me and hadn’t since I moved out after high school graduation but it was just about loyalty…
history, that old-school part of me that still respected blood even when it disappointed the hell out of me.
What pissed me off was that the nigga acted like I didn’t run my own empire on the opposite side of the city.
Fire I was a brand but Gregory Frost never saw me as anything other than his son.
A pawn in a suit he kept trying to tailor around my damn neck.
I pulled into his private garage and stepped out, the December air tapping away my skin with cold fingertips.
The building rose above me tall with black glass.
Everything about it matched him… soulless and heartless, something that he and I could never agree on.
Inside, the lobby gleamed with marble floors, chandeliers and curated artwork that I knew was picked out from his personal assistant that everyone knew he was fucking.
Mom lived a soft life and didn’t give a damn what he did as long as the checks cleared.
Security in tailored suits stood back, watching, waiting for some shit to go down. The employees moved like clockwork, eyes glued to tablets. The whole sight in front of me screamed money and my family had plenty of it. Candace perked up as soon as her eyes laid on me.
“Good morning, Mr. Frost,” she said, voice soft and sweet as her eyes wandered down to the evident bulge in my slacks. I leaned in just enough for her to hear me.
“Quit watching my dick and focus on your goofy ass husband,” I smirked. “Thirst don’t look good on you, ma.”
Her mouth dropped open. I pushed past the desk and headed straight to the elevator.
Candace was fine as hell, that wasn’t the issue.
She had been checking for me since the first day she started.
Not to mention, I slid her in the supply room and fucked her on her first day.
I entertained her for a while, and she let me.
Whenever I called or text, she would rearrange her whole schedule just to get some dick.
She was married to some goofy ass nigga that worked in the finance department but that ain’t have shit to do with me.
She knew what it was… I wasn’t her nigga and wasn’t trying to be.
I just wanted that mouth and pussy when I called.
She was convenient pussy and nothing more.
I stepped into the elevator, hit the button and immediately felt the irritation creeping back in.
My father always had some kind of business venture or bullshit to discuss and I wasn’t up for it.
I stepped off the elevator onto the executive floor and walked straight past the front desk where Tanya, his receptionist sat pretending she wasn’t straightening her clothes after whatever the fuck they had going on before I got there. She gave me a nervous smile.
“Your father’s waiting,” she said
“I figured,” I mumbled and kept moving.
I tapped once on the office door out of habit before stepping inside. The stench his nose first, pissing me off. Gregory stepped out of his private bathroom adjusting his shirt, tugging the buttons through the holes. Sweat was evident on his forehead. His tie hung loose around his neck.
“Ah, son, right on time,” he said. “Tonya and I just finished our uhh… lunch break.”
“You’re really need to stop fucking her ass in this office. It smells straight like shit pops!” I spat. “And tell Tonya her hygiene is bullshit. You gotta be fucking her in the ass or some but either way it stinks in this muthafucka. Light a candle or crack a damn window.”
He shot me an annoyed look but stayed quiet. The smell sat in the air heavy and my irritation doubled. I already didn’t wanna’ be here and I had to stand in a room that smelled like a pig’s ass.
“Let’s just talk business,” he said finally, straightening his tie.
“Nah, let’s talk about you spraying some air freshener or sum shit before I say anything else,” I muttered under my breath pulling my shirt over my nose to at least breathe without tasting the air. He ignored me as he moved behind his oversized desk and sat down.
“Sit down, son. We have important matters to discuss.” He gestured with his hand pointing towards the empty chair.
“I’ll stand,” I said, crossing my arms. “Say what you need to say, pops. I got real work to get back to.”
He sighed like I was the one who had done something wrong. “I’d appreciate you acting like the adult you claim to be.”
“I’m an adult,” I spat, “Which is why I can smell that funky shit and tell you it’s nasty.”
He ignored me and reached for a folder on his desk. “I met with the Hargroves this morning.”
“Good for you.”
“This affects you too so sit.”
I wanted this conversation over more than I wanted to argue so I sat. He straightened the folder and folded his hands.
“Hargroves is finalizing a partnership with Frost International. We’re talking about expansion, influence and global positioning. It’s a move that will secure our place at the top of this industry for years to come.”
“And” I said irritated that he wasn’t getting to the point of me being here.
He looked up, eyes steady. “Part of this agreement involves you, son.”
“Nigga say the part you trying to dance around.”
“Nikolai, I’m still your father and you will respect me!”
I leaned back in the chair and stared at him, face void of any emotion. “Then stop talking in circles. I’m here. Say what you need to say.
He tightened his jaw like he wanted to snap again but he needed my reaction too much to risk it.
“The Hargroves are prepared to move forward with the merger,” he said. “It’s bigger than you understand. This partnership will change the trajectory of our entire company.”
This your company,” I said. “Not mine.”
“It’s benefits you too,” he shot back. “Everything I’m doing is for the Frost Legacy.”
“There you go with that Legacy shit again.” I sat up, clearly pissed off at him wasting my time. “You called me away from my business, my staff and my time just to preach to me? Or is this where you tell me what my next move is supposed to be because yours don’t hit without it?”
He pressed his hand together. “For the merger to be finalized… you have to marry their daughter, Victoria Hargrove.”
I stared at him, heat crawling up my spine. I chuckled angrily. “Come again?”
“This marriage would solidify our partnership. Her family has old money, they’re well respected and have powerful ties that I can’t get to. The Hargroves don’t align themselves with just anyone. You should feel hono—”
“Have you lost your rabbit ass mind? I should feel honored to marry a bitch I barely know?” I spat. “She called me the help the first time I met her stuck up ass, pops, is you cool?”
“She made a mistake.” He waved it off.
“That’s not my problem.”
“You’re being childish, Nikolai. I told your mother you would do this nonsense.”
“And you’re being desperate as fuck, Pops,” I said. “This shit not even about me, it’s about your precious business.”
He slammed his hand down on the desk. “You are tied to this family whether you like it or not. This marriage strengthens our name!”
“That’s you,” I said, pointing at him. “You want a power move. You wanna stand next to Winston Grove at a Ceremony and pretend this city ain’t been yours for twenty fuckin’ years. That’s not the life I want for myself.”
He sat back in his chair and glared at me. “You’ve been angry long enough, Son. What happened to your sister canno—”
I jumped up from my seat, ready to jump across this desk the minute he spoke her name.
“Don’t speak on her,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I have to. This needs to be said.”
“Then you’re dumber than I thought. You don’t get to use her in your little fucked up speeches while trying to persuade me to do your dirty work.”
He looked at me like he expected me to crumble. “You still let that grief run your life.”
“Nah,” I said. “I let it remind me of who actually mattered.”
His jaw clenched as the room went quiet. We were in a tense stare off, neither of us backing down. He knew I was never the type of nigga to fold either.
“What happened to being a man… and making choices that benefit more than your damn emotions?”
I laughed but wasn’t shit funny. “You want me to be a man? Start acting like one, first. You around here fucking your receptionist in an office that you know your wife can come into at any time. Quit hiding your intentions behind this legacy talk bullshit. You don’t give a fuck about nobody but yourself and haven’t for as long as I can remember.
Nigga don’t even have a successful marriage and steady trying to push me in one.
You want control. You want everybody to obey you like you some kind of God.
You want a son who gone fold when you raise your voice, but newsflash, pops, that ain’t me! ”
He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.