TWO WEEKS LATER
“Everything is looking good for finalizing the deal with Ventura Assets,” Elian shared.
“Good. Now that we’re on our way with that and HR is putting package deals in place, you can tell Wes that we won’t need his services any longer.”
“Jabari, that’s a bit rash, don’t you think?”
“It was a bit rash that he cost us another half a million because of his screwup. I don’t have the time or the capacity to navigate that type of bullshit again, and I definitely don’t want anyone on my team who costs me money rather than makes it.”
“You’ve got a point. It’s just that he’s been around for a long time.”
“I’m loyal to what’s loyal to me, Elian. You can go ahead and schedule the signing party. I’m glad we finally put this thing to bed.”
“You weren’t letting up until we did, even when we all thought you were wrong,” Elian grumbled, shaking his head as he got up off my couch. He walked to the door and turned back to smile. “Congrats, man.”
“You did the hard work, Elian. Congrats to you, too, man,” I replied, holding my bourbon up.
I swallowed the last of it as he closed the door behind him. I hadn’t even been seated five minutes before Frankie buzzed me.
“Yes, Frankie?” I greeted.
“Your father is here to see you, and he’s being a challenge,” my assistant alerted me.
“When isn’t he?” I asked in a growl.
My previously good mood dissipated.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Let him in, but alert security.”
“Yes, sir.”
Within seconds, my father barreled his way into my office. He seldom showed up here, and it was definitely inconvenient now that I had Camilla in my life.
I observed the pair of dusty jeans and the stained, dingy, gray T-shirt he wore. His boots were rundown, and his beard was scraggly and overgrown like the dreads on his head. I felt ashamed that he would show up that way, especially considering I was wearing a suit worth thousands of dollars.
“Why would you have the balls to show up at my office looking like this? You didn’t have to do this shit. What’s wrong with you?”
“I had the balls to show up here because I look exactly like what I am: a hardworking construction worker visiting his son. You treat me like I’m shit on the bottom of your shoe.”
“You act as if I have no reason to do it.” I walked around my desk and sat on the edge of it with my arms crossed.
“What happened to letting bygones be bygones?”
“You keep popping your ass up in places you shouldn’t be.”
“It’s a problem that I want to come and see my only son?”
I sucked my teeth, but I didn’t respond to that. I pointed at his attire. “There’s no reason for you ever to go around looking like this. What’s the problem?”
“I’m in a bad situation, Jay. I need more money.”
“Of course you do. What happened to the fifty grand I put in your account last month?”
“I had bills to pay—same as everyone else.”
“That shit’s not gonna fly with me. I pay your bills.”
“I’ve got other bills, Jay—bills you don’t know shit about”
“What other bills that I don’t know about? I put you up in that condo, set up all the amenities and utilities, and I have them automatically deducted from an account. What is it that you have that I don’t know about?”
“I owe some people, Jay. My debts are past due, and I’ve got a mountain of debt still growing day by day. Interest ain’t cheap, Son. It’s the least you can do for me!”
I scoffed and shook my head before I pushed off my desk. I walked to the wall of windows, shoved my hands in my pockets, and looked out on the sidewalk downtown.
“You’ve got a nice view here, Son. A corner office with three walls of windows. You’ve got deep pockets, and I know you can make shit go away. You ain’t got no problem doing it.” His anger had turned into an appeasing and pleading tone.
My jaw clenched, and fire shot through my veins. He had come to stand beside me, and I turned my fiery gaze his way. “I don’t have a problem doing that, especially when the problem impacts me. But problems that don’t have shit to do with me—well, they can linger for all I give a fuck.”
“Jay, I need the money.”
“How much?”
“A hundred grand.”
I spun around and glared at him. He was like a cancer eating at my bones. This wouldn’t stop. If I paid a hundred grand, he’d be back soon for more.
“Leave.”
“I need it, Jay!”
“You need to quit drinking and gambling. You think I don’t know where these debts come from? Now you owe some loan shark, and you want me to come through. I’m not doing it.”
“Please.”
“I’m not giving you another dime. I’ll pay your bills, but you need to get a job.”
“I’ve got a job!”
“You have jobs that you may or may not get picked up at the hardware stores for daily, but you don’t have a consistent job.”
“Why should I get a job when my son is worth billions? Huh?”
I walked closer to him and got in his face. “I worked my ass off to get those billions, and I refuse to be used! Besides, we both know why you need a job.”
“If you don’t give me the money, I might be killed.”
“You need to face your problems, because I’m not bailing you out again. Now leave!”
He walked away from me and stopped at the door. I walked closer to him with every threat he issued.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this situation.
Your actions drove me to become an alcoholic and a gambler.
If you hadn’t destroyed our family, I wouldn’t be in this dark place.
You can run from your past and your sins, but they will eventually catch up to you.
You can’t outrun the truth forever; one day the world will know,” he threatened.
“You turned your back on me when I needed you the most. You said fuck me because I chose to fight—chose to live!”
“Is that what you tell yourself to make yourself feel better?”
I reached around him and opened the door. “Pops, you need to leave, and don’t ever fucking threaten me again.”
“Why, Jamal? You gon’ kill me too, just like you did Malik?”
“Malik is dead, and so is Jamal. Get the fuck over it.”
My dad shook his head and turned to walk away. I glanced out of the office door, and a sigh of relief escaped me when I noticed that Frankie was nowhere to be seen.
***
“It’s been a minute. Glad you could join us,” Regent teased, holding his glass up.
“Man, please. Don’t start with that. You of all people know what a beast running your own businesses can be at times,” I replied as I took my seat among my three good friends.
“I do, which is why I don’t mind delegating shit, so I can still have some fun,” he replied.
“Yeah, okay. If fun is sticking your shit in three different broads every chance you get, I guess,” I remarked.
“All of your asses need to settle down,” Kanaan remarked, double pointing at the three of us.
“Why? Because you knocked up your girlfriend, and you can’t go out and have some fun? We should be stuck in the house bored too?” Regent asked, holding his glass up for a refill.
The waitress came and grabbed his glass and sashayed away.
“Damn, I wouldn’t mind knocking that up,” Regent stated, following the curve of her rounded ass cheeks in the black compression shorts.
“Speaking of knocking up and settling down, word on the street is you’ve been seen out on a few occasions with a certain pretty lady who owns a magazine,” Jett stated, leaning back in his chair and crossing his ankle over his knee.
“Whose word you’ve been listening to?” I asked before I took a sip of my Macallan.
“I heard about it over at Sovereign,” he stated, eyeing me to see if I would deny it.
Sovereign was an upscale gentlemen’s club for black men of a certain income class. We all frequented there, but I hadn’t been able to escape lately. Between business and entertaining Camilla, I had stayed away. That was another reason that we were meeting at my office: I couldn’t get away.
I wanted to stick around to see if she would return today.
She wasn’t in her office or answering her phone; I knew she was probably busy.
My friends and I had planned to meet up at the club today, but I changed the venue for them to meet me on my rooftop bar instead.
Of course, Regent wasn’t happy. He wanted strippers and not tiny clothing-clad servers.
We were all in our forties. Jett and Regent were forty-five, Kanaan was forty-three, and I would turn forty-three in December.
“So, what’s the word?” Kanaan asked.
“I’ve been seeing someone.”
“He’s been seeing that woman who owns the magazine ColorMe CEO,” Jett shared.
Kanaan set his cigar down and leaned forward to rest his elbow on his knees. “Are you doing a spread?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
“Come again, friend, because unless she quit her job or some shit, there’s no way that she’s not collecting data on you for a future story,” Kanaan warned.
“He’s got a point, Jabari. You can’t afford that shit,” Regent stated emphatically/
I sighed and sat back. “I had her sign an NDA.”
“You think that’s gonna protect you if she gets wind of your secrets?” Regent asked.
“It had better protect me. She’s not like the others. I’m treading lightly here, but she’s not out to get me. Trust me.”
“I hope you can trust her ass. Because if not, this shit’s gonna blow up in your face,” Jett warned.
“It won’t. I’ve done a background check on her, there are cameras installed in her office, and I’m still having her watched. If anything pops up, I’ll be the first to know.”
“And you’ll do what it takes to shut that shit down?” Kanaan asked.
“I’ll do what it takes to shut that shit down.”
I prayed my promise wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass, and I prayed that Camilla wouldn’t give me a reason to have to make good on my promise to my friends.