Chapter 31
MONEY
A Little Over A Week Later
The Palace was quiet when I walked through the doors midday.
No bass thumping through the walls, no bodies pressed together on the dance floor, no bottles popping in VIP.
Sunlight cut through the high windows as I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Leaning against the railing, I looked around, taking everything in.
Nodding my head, I turned toward my office where Check and Tip were already there, sitting in the leather chairs across from my desk. Check looked relaxed with one ankle crossed over his knee, while Tip looked tense, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Took you long enough,” Check laughed. “Fuck you stallin’ for?”
“Shut the fuck up, bro. I was thinkin’.” I closed the door behind me and moved to my desk. I stood there, hands flat on the polished wood, looking at the two niggas who’d been with me for the longest. “Y’all know why you’re here.”
Tip’s jaw tightened. “You’re really doin’ this.”
“Yeah.” I straightened up, crossing my arms. “I’m really doin’ this shit.”
“Because of Solei.”
“‘Cause of my family.” I looked at him directly. “‘Cause I have two kids who deserve a father who’s actually present. Because I got a woman who’s been waitin’ fifteen years for me to prove I can be the man she needs. And because… I’m fuckin’ tired, my nigga. The game ends here for me.”
Tip shook his head. “Bro, you are the game. You built this shit from nothin’. You really gonna just walk away?”
“Not walkin’ away,” I corrected. “Transitionin’. There’s a difference.”
“Sounds like the same shit to me.”
“Then you’re not listenin’.” I moved around the desk, leaning against the front of it.
“I’m not abandonin’ y’all. I’m not leavin’ y’all muthafuckas out here with nothin’.
I’m restructurin’. Handin’ over operations to people who can run them and makin’ sure everyone’s taken care of.
But yeah, I’m steppin’ back fully and permanently. ”
Check was watching me with respect. “So, how you wanna do this?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Y’all niggas split up responsibilities.
” I laid it all out territory by territory, operation by operation, and business by business.
The Eastside, The Westside, The Southside, and The Northside.
The club, barbershop, the club, and the real estate. The connects. It was all theirs.
“Damn,” Tip shook his head. “So, what you gonna do now? Be a stay-at-home dad and shit?” We all laughed, and I got up and walked over to the bar cart to pour us some whiskey. I handed each of them a glass.
“I’m gon’ take a little break and then I’m plannin’ to do somethin’ big.”
Check’s face split into a slow smile. “Look at this nigga. Happy and shit.”
“It’s time, bro. It’s been time. Y’all niggas ready or what?”
“I’m in,” Check said immediately, raising his glass, and I did the same. “Been ready.”
I turned to Tip. “What’s good?”
Tip sat back, processing. “That’s... it’s a lot of responsibility. I’m used to blastin’ a muthafuckas brains out and now you tellin’ me I gotta oversee shit?” He stared at me. “You’d trust me with that?”
“You’ve earned it. You’ve been loyal, you’ve been smart, and you’ve never given me a reason not to trust you. So yeah, bro, I trust you with this shit.”
The room went quiet. Check was nodding slowly with a smile on his face. Tip was staring at the floor, deep in thought. Then he stood up and raised his glass. “I appreciate everything, bro. You a good nigga and I respect the fuck out of you.”
“I know. So, let’s continue to get this money.” We clinked glasses and took shots of whiskey. This shit was real. I was really walking away from the power, the respect, and the fear. The rush of knowing I controlled entire neighborhoods, that my word was law, that I was untouchable. All of it.
And the fucked up part… I was scared like a muthafucka that I’d wake up six months from now and realize I’d made a mistake.
That I’d miss the thrill too much. That I’d be sitting in some boring ass business meeting talking about profit margins and zoning laws, and I’d feel that itch, that pull back to the streets.
I was scared that I would fail my family.
That I’d realize I wasn’t built for the straight life.
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“I really love the fuck out of Solei.” The words came out raw and honest. I pushed off the desk, pacing to the window, and looked out at the city.
“I ran this muthafucka like a G, and I’m proud of that shit, but I’m also smart enough to know when it's time to walk away before I lose the most valuable pieces of me.”
For the first time in my whole life, I didn’t feel the need to fill a void. I had everything I needed, and I wasn’t about to lose it again.