Chapter 18
NAIJHEL
ONE WEEK LATER
“If we don’t play our cards right, this could blow back on the entire firm, Naijhel.”
“And if we don’t take this action, Eli, that could be the end of Greg.
Every case that he’s ever tried will be brought back to be reviewed.
Every case he’s won will be questioned, and then that will bring questions our way.
Before you know it, the DA is going to find every reason to want to review every case this firm has handled in the last five years.
“What’s worse is that Michael’s and my clients, and the clients of every other attorney in this firm, will start questioning if we’re capable of handling their cases.
Echter, Schultz, and Warner will be swooping in by the dozens, snatching up our associates and our clients; and that’s only the beginning,” I explained.
Eli, Michael’s assistant, turned to look at him. Michael toyed with his bottom lip, and then replied, “Naijhel’s right, Eli. It’s not pretty, and it’s not going to be fun, but it’s the only way. Yes, it’s a great risk, but I don’t see any other way around it.”
Eli and Michael both sighed, and my assistant, Portia, looked at me with raised eyebrows.
One of our name partners, Greg Yancey, had been arrested for tampering with a federal witness in a case against Genesis, an African American crime organization.
Greg and a few other junior partners were representing Dale Johnson, Mike Stansfield, and George Ernst in a trial for racketeering, murder, and drug charges, along with several of their underlings.
Dale, Mike, and George were the leaders of the organization.
I wasn’t sure how Greg managed to pull that case.
It was something that both Michael and I advised him to steer clear of when we learned about it, but it was too late.
Now there were allegations against Greg that he had made several threatening visits to the main witness and that he was involved with paying off another witness who had suddenly fled the country.
We were holding a meeting for strategic planning to determine how we were going to get Greg out of the situation and protect the firm’s name at the same time.
It was a closed-door meeting with just the four of us: Portia, Michael, Eli, and me.
We weren’t sure who else we could trust inside or outside of the organization.
“So, you’re okay with bringing Shannon Fields on to represent Greg?” Eli asked of a former partner who had left the firm on not so good terms.
“I am.”
“But she burned this bridge, taking several high-profile clients with her,” Eli argued.
“And yet, if it were me in Greg’s shoes, I would want no one else to represent me but her and Michael.”
Eli shook his head. “How about you? Why can’t you do it?”
“We both know that I don’t specialize in these cases, Eli. Not murder.”
“Eli, drop it. He’s right. Shannon and I are the best ones for this case. I’ll give her a call after this meeting.”
“Are you sure that you don’t want me to do it?” I asked.
“No. It’s better that I eat crow and handle this shit myself. After all, I’m the reason that she left.”
He sighed, and we all stood, realizing that the meeting was over. He walked away from the conference table in his office and sat behind his desk, where Eli moved to sit on the opposite side.
I had come up with the partnership idea because, like Michael, I respected Greg a lot.
I cared about both men, and as managing partner of the firm, Michael was a bulldog.
But he had done what most men did and allowed his dick to get him in trouble after one too many late nights working with Shannon.
When he and his estranged wife decided to get back together, he hadn’t had the decency to tell Shannon but had just dropped her cold. It wasn’t until she saw him and his wife out at a restaurant all lovey-dovey that she learned the truth.
It was impossible for her to work with him after that.
Michael had even suggested to her that she might want to go to another firm, which was highly disrespectful to her.
She eventually left of her own accord after creating waves of tension.
I stepped out of the room, momentarily forgetting all about those troubles as I had other problems on my mind.
“How is the search going, Portia?” I asked when we had returned down the hall to my office.
“Everything went well. I was able to procure it, and it will be delivered tomorrow morning. I could have it arranged to be delivered directly to her.”
“No, that’s fine. I’d rather handle it myself.”
“Fine. I’m going to get on the Allegheny case. Do you need anything else from me?”
“Cancel all my meetings. I’ve got another more important meeting to handle,” I replied, checking a text on my phone as I was grabbing my keys to walk out the door.
I dialed Frost, who had sent me the text. “Hey, Frost. Sorry, I was in an important meeting. Where are you?”
“At Tasty Temptations.”
“And he’s still there?” I asked, hopping on the elevator.
“Yeah, he is now. I’m not sure how much longer he’ll be. But I’ve told Sugar to keep him busy until she gets the okay from me.”
“I’m heading there now. I should be there in twenty.”
“Follow me. He’s still here,” Frost stated no sooner than I walked in the door of the popular strip club.
We walked to the next floor where private rooms were, and patrons could receive private dances and a little something more if they paid the exorbitant price for it.
He pulled the door open, and I saw Sugar giving Professor Clayton a lap dance.
“That’ll be enough, Sugar,” Frost stated.
She sashayed out of the room. I kept my gaze on Clayton throughout the entire exchange.
The moment the door closed, Clayton immediately started talking.
“What’s wrong? Did she give your ass the boot?” He chuckled and shook his head.
“You thought it was funny to involve yourself in my affairs?”
“I didn’t involve myself in your affairs. You fucked around with something that belongs to me.”
“That’s your first problem. She’s not a property or possession, but a person with a whole beautiful heart you never deserved.”
“You shouldn’t have fucked around with my woman and kid. If you had never set foot on my property, we wouldn’t have this beef.”
“Oh, you think we have beef? There’s no beef, Clayton. I can assure you of that.”
“You’re tracking me down because you lost your woman.”
“That’s your second problem and why I never liked you. You always talking about shit you know nothing about. I haven’t lost her. We just have a misunderstanding at the moment.”
“I guess it’s true, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
“That’s the final problem I have with you. You’re a cocky ass muthafucka, who has no reason to be cocky.”
Clayton stood up, and I instantly moved and hit him in the mouth several times before he tried to fight back. I beat that ass with my cane so badly and then pulled out my gun after I finished. I aimed it at Clayton, and he held his hands up.
Tears fell from his eyes, and the nigga had the nerve to beg for his life. “Come on, man. I’ve got a kid. If not for my sake, then for his, save my life.”
I chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong. That little DNA test Delaney got her hands on, fabricated.
That kid was never yours, and your girl knew it.
She was getting back at you because your dumb ass kept telling her you were going to leave your wife.
Guess what? She made sure that shit happened, even though you’re the one who got left.
That woman you’ve been taking care of with her baby, right now, she’s with her real baby’s father, making things right. ”
I pulled out my phone and shared a live stream of Gamani, the baby, and her child’s father, Davonte, in a house having a family fun night.
“She left your ass today when she got proof that you’re still cheating the same way you did with Delaney. So nah, I ain’t got a reason to save your miserable life.”
I released the trigger and watched the hole appear in his forehead. My shoulders heaved up and down with every exaggerated breath that I took. I was tired of ignorant niggas doing dumb shit to women who expected them to protect and cherish them.
“You good?” Frost asked, causing me to remember that I wasn’t in the room alone.
I sniffed and replied, “We need some more pencils.”
Our family ran the state’s only black-owned paper mill.
They expanded it to another location with much larger operations five years ago.
My family still owned the site where the original location was started by my great-great grandfather.
Whenever we needed bodies to be disposed of, that was where they went.
Frost nodded. “I’ll get someone in. Go find your woman.”
I checked the mirror over the ceiling to take in my appearance. Frost grabbed a tissue from a nearby box and handed it to me. “You got some sweat right there, boi,” he teased, pointing at my forehead.
I snatched it, shook my head, and rolled my eyes. I knew he was trying to lighten my mood, but I was not in a joking mood. Not having Delaney in my life was creating a bad state of mind for me. I needed that woman. It had been an entire week since we spoke, and I missed her desperately.
“Thanks for everything, man,” I responded, heading for the door.
“Anytime. Be easy out there in them streets, killa.”
I finally chuckled and headed out of the room and out of the club. As much as I wanted to be with Delaney, I knew it wasn’t good for me to go to her place at the moment.