Prologue #2
Dragging my tongues across my bottom lip, I pushed my reading glasses up and pinched the bridge of my nose. Normally I kept things close to my chest, but the weight of my dad’s business future being on my shoulders kept coming to the forefront of my mind.
“My dad got himself in some shit and he needs my help to get him out of it.”
He scooped up more food. “What, he needs you to hack into a system and spy on the competition?” Roman joked.
I snorted. “If only it was that easy.” Bringing my attention back to the laptop, I continued my tracking.
The cyber world was my playground. Coding, programming, developing software, spreading a virus or two, or hacking into a space I wasn’t supposed to came as easy to me as breathing.
It always had. It was the reason I’d gotten my degrees in cybersecurity and computer science with a minor in IT.
Him needing help with any of those would have been a breeze.
“So you gon’ tell me what the hell is up or not?”
I shook my head. “Nah, right now. I need to focus on this.”
Roman stood and started past me. Pausing, he patted my shoulder. “Well, you know if you need anything, I got you.” Giving it a squeeze, he continued to the kitchen.
“One day I’ma charge your ass for coming and eating up all my damn food.”
“Su casa es mi casa.” The sound of the fridge opening caused me to shake my head.
“It’s a good thing your parents had a chef in the house. As much as you eat, they might have run out of food.”
He laughed. “Fuck you, man. I’m a grown man with a grown appetite.”
Chuckling, I focused back on the task at hand. The Barnetts’ next project needed to be done in five days and the information I was gathering needed to be given to them beforehand. The money I’d make helping them would be the key to a bigger future for me and now the start of an even bigger plan.
Xylina Fox (19 years old)
“I’ve been talking to myself for the past five minutes.
Are you going to tell me what you’re staring at so hard over there?
” my best friend Savannah asked. My eyes lifted from my phone and shifted over to her.
She brought the flute of wine to her mouth and snuggled deeper into the massage chair.
We were at the nail salon getting our monthly nail and feet appointments done.
“What did you say?” I asked her.
“Hey, watch it! That towel’s burning hot!” Savannah snapped at the lady working on her.
She blinked up, surprised. “Sorry, ma’am.”
Savannah rolled her eyes and huffed. “I said, what are you looking at?”
A smile curled on my face. “My future husband.” I turned my phone screen in her direction.
“Oh he’s hot! Who is he?”
“Yosiah Bedford. He’s the son of a business associate of Daddy’s.” I turned the phone back in my direction and stared at the InstaFlik feed. I clicked one of my favorite pictures of Yosiah. He was in a navy-blue suit, with his arms crossed, sitting on the edge of a desk, mid laugh.
“You’re dating him? You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone seriously, you sneaky bitch.”
I snickered and reached for my flute of white sangria.
“No, we’re not dating yet. But I plan on changing that.
Yosiah’s different from any of the guys I’ve dated.
He’s mature, confident, hot, smart.” I sighed with a smile.
“A real man. He’s older too, meaning he’s more distinguished. We’re the perfect match.”
“What about Luke?”
I scrunched my face and waved my hand dismissively.
“Luke? He’s old news. I’m moving on to bigger and better.
” I flicked my thirty-inch extensions over my shoulders.
I just got my hair done yesterday. While my natural hair was healthy, thick, and went a little past my shoulders, I wanted more length.
“Mhm, and here I thought the two of you would last through the summer at least.” Savannah stuck her hand out and examined her nails.
“He was fun at first, but he started to get on my nerves. What about Jackson? Is that still a thing?”
“Eh.” She shrugged. “Sometimes. He asked for a threesome the other day.”
“Did you do it?”
“A lady never kisses and tells.” She brought the flute to her mouth.
I snickered. “You little slut.”
She giggled. “What? Sometimes it’s fun to spice things up. Don’t knock it until you try it.”
Savannah had been my best friend since grade school.
We went to the same private schools until we graduated the year prior.
Unlike most girls who envied us, she wasn’t a hater, which was why we clicked so well.
She was light brown, with jet black hair she’d recently cut into an asymmetric bob, her eyes were slightly slanted thanks to the Asian heritage on her mother’s side.
“Daddy said I can use the jet. I’m thinking about Bora Bora. Want to come? I need the beach in my life.”
I thought about it. It had been a while since I’d laid out in the sun with sand between my toes. A vacation was exactly what I deserved.
“Of course. It’ll be nice to get away for a while.” We clicked our flutes while giggling.
Her phone buzzed on her lap, gaining her attention.
I went back to my mini stalking mission.
Since learning my dad was dealing with Alonzo Bedford, I’d been intrigued.
One day I was snooping around his office and saw a picture of Alonzo along with his family.
My dad was thorough when it came to business, and when he had his sights set on a business, he dug into the owner’s life so no stones were left unturned, according to him.
Upon seeing that photo, I casually asked Daddy about the younger man in the picture.
After learning who he was, I instantly found him on social media and declared he would be mine.
I loved nice things, and when I wanted something, I stopped at nothing to get it.
“We should schedule massages after yoga Saturday. My muscles are too tight,” Savannah suggested.
“I agree and a trip to the sauna too.” Lifting my hand, I examined the fresh light pink and white design on my nails.
“Did you hear about Brooke and Dustin?”
“Their engagement? She won’t shut up about it. How can I not.” I lowered my hand and rolled my eyes.
Savannah waved me off. “No, not that. Who knows if they’ll even make it down the aisle. According to Aaliyah, she was seen out with Jeff.”
I choked and grabbed my chest. “Jeff? Please don’t tell me you’re talking about Jeff Pitts?”
She smirked and nodded. “Yep. You know Aaliyah can’t hold water and couldn’t wait to spread the news. Brooke’s been doing damage control on all her socials all day, claiming Aaliyah was lying and she and Dustin are happily planning their wedding.”
“What? How the hell did I miss this?” I hurried to unlock my phone and look for myself.
“Don’t know, but Aaliyah swears their outing looked like a date.”
My nose scrunched. “But why Jeff? I mean he’s cute, but compared to Dustin, he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“Not to mention Jeff’s family isn’t worth as much as Dustin’s. It’s a downgrade if you ask me.”
“And he’s slept with half the girls in our graduating class. He’s literally a walking STD. Did Brooke fall and bump her head or something?”
“Whatever it is, she’d better hope Dustin doesn’t leave her. You know a few girls have been waiting for the chance to sink their claws into him.”
I put the phone down and glanced at my best friend. “Like you.”
Both of us laughed. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders, tilted her chin up, and brought her flute to her mouth. “I don’t wait for anyone. However, if he wanted my attention, I might feel obligated to give it to him.”
We laughed again.
“Has Dustin said anything?” I finished looking through Brooke’s story then went to Dustin’s page.
“Nope, not yet anyway. He’s probably embarrassed.”
“Just think, in high school they were voted most likely to succeed. What a waste.”
I was never a fan of Brooke. She was one of those girls who was always in competition with everyone else.
She thought because she modeled and walked the walkway at fashion week, she was above anyone else.
The gag was, if it wasn’t from her mom’s connections in the fashion world, she would have never even been a second thought.
“Maybe her mom and her fake tits can help her out.” Snickering, I finished my sangria before reaching for the pitcher to pour more.
After the salon I had plans to go to the mall. The personal shopper at my favorite store called and told me the fur boots I had ordered just arrived, as well as a few other things I might be interested in. Until then, I was going to enjoy girl time and gossip with my best friend.
“Hi, Daddy!” I grinned, walking over to him and leaning down to kiss his cheek.
“Xylina.” He gave me a quick glance then went back to whatever he was working on. “I see you had a plentiful day.”
Grinning, I lowered my eyes to the bags dangling on my arms. In addition to the boots, I also grabbed a few outfits and accessories to match. There were only one hundred pairs of the boots made, so I couldn’t wear them with just anything.
“It was. The limited boots I’ve been waiting for finally came in today.” Walking to the other chair in the family room, I plopped down, setting the bags in front of me. “I see Mom’s enjoying her girl’s trip,” I mentioned.
“As much as she’s spending, she should be.”
I snickered. “You know Mommy.”
Every few months my mom and some of her girlfriends took a trip somewhere to unwind and rest, as they called it. This trip was a week-long cruise in the Caribbean.
I started talking about meaningless things, but the lack of response from my dad eventually caused me to grow quiet.
An awkward silence passed through us. Our house was huge, so even though staff were scattered about, the area we were in was quiet.
Never one to beat around the bush, I decided to ask the big question.
“Did you hear back from Alonzo? Did his son agree?”
“Not yet, but he will.”
I pouted. “When? I mean what’s to think about? If he doesn’t want his dad’s business to be ruined, then—”