by Abbi Hemp
“I’m a real journalist,” I said. “But I don’t see this coming out as a bad article.”
“Great. I can’t wait to read it.”
You’re going to be waiting a long time, I thought, knowing the article would never be written.
The SUV stopped. I opened the door then climbed out.
“I might call you soon,” I said, peering through the doorway.
“I’d love if you did,” he said. “Have a great afternoon.”
“You too, Mr. Stone.”
“Call me Brent.”
“Will do, Mr. Stone.”
I smiled and closed the door before he could flirt anymore. Even if he wasn’t potentially a bad guy working with the Mexican cartels, I would never go for someone as full of himself as Brent Stone, even with his hard body and handsome, chiseled face.
When I reached my car in his parking lot, I stared up at the thirteen-story office building he’d erected a year before. According to the records I’d found, he had paid cash for the whole thing. Even with marijuana legalized for recreational use, he had to be doing something illegal to get that much money.
TWO
Heidi
Back at DEA HQ
Later that afternoon, I headed back to the local DEA office in Denver to talk to my boss, Joseph Keller. While I’d only been with the agency for nineteen months, they tended to give me difficult cases. I wasn’t sure if it was because they were testing me or because of my father, but either way, I didn’t care.
No matter what they threw at me, I would take it. Working for the DEA had not been my childhood dream, but in college I’d decided to be the exact opposite of my father, a marijuana grower. He had a legal job finally, but I still hated him for my lack of a childhood.
I headed down the hallway to Keller’s office, wondering why he wanted to see me. After my interview with Brent Stone, I’d prepared a report during lunch then emailed it to him. He hadn’t called me to his office in a while, so something had to be up.
When I reached his door, I stopped and knocked once on the polished wood.
“Come in,” he said from the other side.
Due to budget cuts, his level of management had lost their secretaries.
I opened the door and walked in with my head held high, proud of the job I’d done.
“Have a seat,” he said, his head bent down as he read something on his desk.
After sitting down, I straightened my posture, not wanting to appear weak in front of him. As a woman, I had to work three times as hard as the men in the agency. I had left out the bit about him forcing my head to his lap while protecting me, but everything else was in the two-page report.
As I waited for him to finish reading, I hoped he would assign me to another case. We had no proof Brent Stone had broken laws to get where he was in the legal marijuana game, and I didn’t feel good about harassing him. He might be an asshole, but he deserved his privacy.
Local and federal laws were confusing to many, even me, but our orders were to leave the growers, dealers, and distributors in Colorado alone as long as they were not working with the cartels. Joseph look up, his ever serious face not disappointing me.
“I heard about the gunfight,” he said, shaking his head. “The cartels are going crazy because they’re going to lose so much money with the legalization of marijuana. Could he have staged the whole event to throw you off his scent?”
“No. He’s not that smart.”
“He must be some kind of smart if he’s gotten this rich so quickly.”
“It’s the Golden Age of Marijuana, sir. A lot of people are getting wealthy.”
“How’s your father doing?” he asked, always quick to change the subject.
“He’s fine. Same as usual. Is the report okay?”
“I don’t see any problems on the first read,” he said.
“Does this mean you can move me to something else? I’d like to build a case against Juan and the cartels still trying to operate here in Colorado.”
“I know you would, but we have other priorities. The brass is saying that Brent Stone is dirty as a mud-caked hippie. I want you to continue digging and see if you can come up with something. Tell him you need more material for the article or something. Feed on his ego. You know how to do your job.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Anything else?”
“Keep me in the loop. If he goes down, I need to make sure our agency gets the most credit so we get the most funding next year.”
I nodded then stood.
“Be safe out there, Heidi,” he said, bending his head to his desk.
“Yes, sir.”
On the way out, I wondered about Brent Stone. After interviewing him in person, my instincts pointed to his being innocent. I hadn’t been able to dig up anything untoward when investigating him, but I would keep going. If Keller thought there was something, I might be wrong. It had happened before. Once.
Before heading home, I went down a floor to talk with Ron Glass. He worked a lot of the cartel cases, and I figured he might know what had happened earlier in the day while I was riding with Brent Stone. If nothing else, he’d have a story that made me laugh. Of all the other agents, him and I thought alike.
As I approached his cubicle, I saw his thick, brown curls above the chest high wall as he sat at a desk. He was on the phone when I reached him, so I pulled out an empty office chair at the desk next to him and took a seat to wait. I nodded as he lifted his index finger in the air.
“Yeah, but does she have what it takes?” he asked then paused. “I’ll take that any day.”
He laughed as he sat up and scooted closer to his desk.
“I’ll talk to you later. Bye-bye.”
“How was your day?” I asked after he hung up the phone.
“Not bad,” he replied, swiveling in his chair to face me. “What about you?”
“Same old, same old.”
“How’s the Stone case coming?”
“Cold as an Eskimo’s bottom in February,” I said, smiling.
While Ron was older than me by five years, he still looked good at thirty-four years old. His body was not in nearly as good shape as Brent Stone’s, but after so many losers, I’d become determined not to judge a man by his looks alone. I would try at least.
“I’m on my way out,” he said. “Did you need something?”
“Not really, I guess.” Be strong! “If you hear anything connecting Brent Stone to the cartels, would you let me know?”
“Of course. You think there’s a connection?”
“I don’t, but Keller wants me to keep digging.”
He chuckled.
“Stone must have pissed someone off.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me,” I said. “He’s a bit of a dick.”
“Just a bit?”
“Okay, a lot,” I admitted then smiled.
Ron stood up and slipped his phone into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
“I have to get out of here, but we should do lunch or something soon.”
“Sure,” I said. “I’m on my way home too.”
To be alone, I added in my mind.
“You take care.”
“You too.”
I waved like a complete dork. Ron grinned then turned and left my sitting there like an idiot.
Why do I even try? I asked myself as I got up.
On the way to my car outside, I thought about the last five men I’d dated – all losers in one way or another. Some had the honor of being horrible in more than one way, but none of them had been boyfriend material. My phone rang right after I climbed in behind the steering wheel.
THREE
Brent
Find the Grower
I leaned back and put my hands behind my head as I lifted my feet to the desk. Keifer sat in an armchair across from me and took a drag off a thin, black vaporizer pen. A cloud of vapor poured into the air a moment later.
“You don’t have to test our product all the
time like in the old days,” I joked.
He laughed and put the vaporizer down on my desk.
“After what happened on the road today, I need a hit and a stiff drink.”
“Have you found out anything?” I asked, leaning over for the vape pen.
“It had to be the San Juan Cartel,” he said. “I know it.”
“We need some kind of proof. We’re running a legitimate business now. Which reminds me, have you found out anything about that mystery grower?”
“Like you said, he’s out of retirement and growing again. I haven’t tasted any of the product, but I’m sure it’s good.”
“Who’s buying it from him?”
Keifer shrugged as I took a hit.
“No idea.”
I blew out a cloud of vapor.
“You need to find out. If he’s in the game again, we want to get our weed from him. Our guys are good, but he’s a fucking genius.”
“Will do, boss. Anything else?”
“Not right now,” I said. “I’m going to work out then go home and get ready for the party tonight.”
He smiled like a child who had been told the toy store would be open all night and everything was free.
“I thought I would get tired of all the parties, but I haven’t.”
“Money makes it easy to keep it interesting.”
I swung my feet off the desk and stood up.
“I’ll see you later tonight,” I said. “Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks, boss.”
He got to his feet and left my office. I followed a minute later, heading to my private gym down the hall. The private shower this high up had cost an arm and a leg, but I deserved it, especially with all the work I’d put in recently. Becoming the king of pot in Colorado had not been easy.
When I reached the gym, I changed into sweats and a tee-shirt. A tap of a few buttons on a remote control turned on music from a high-end stereo system. I stretched out as the beats got my blood pumping.
Unlike most businessman, or pot smokers for that matter, I enjoyed spending time working out. Having a fit and toned body was part of it, but beyond that, I enjoyed the solitude as I pushed myself every single day. Exercise gave me time to think about long term business strategy.
After stretching my muscles, I got onto a combination machine that worked my whole body with minimal effort. It had cost a fortune, but after spending so much on the building, I couldn’t bring myself to skimp on equipping the building with the very best.
Beads of sweat formed on my body as I got my heart rate up lifting my legs and moving my arms. In middle of my workout, I remembered the shootout and pulling her head into my lap, the soft skin of her slender neck, the smell of her curly red hair.
The more I tried to push thoughts of her out of my mind, the more she appeared like a sexual phantom in my thoughts. Sweat poured off my body as I tapped a button and increased the speed of the machine. At some point, I would be able to forget her in the bliss of exercise.
While my plan would have worked for most women, something about Heidi intrigued me and made it nearly impossible to get the image of her curvy body out of my head. I pushed myself faster, my heart beating quickly as calories burned. Maybe I should invite her to the party tonight.
With that thought, I turned the machine off. I climbed down after it came to a stop. Still feeling the buzz of the workout, I went back to my suit jacket and got my phone. She had given me her number after first approaching me about a story for High Times.
I tapped her name and put the phone to my ear as it rang.
“Hello?” she answered after the second ring.
“Hey, how are you doing?” I asked.
“Why are you breathing so heavy? Another shootout?”
I laughed. “No, fortunately. I was working out, and you popped in my mind.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m having a party tonight at my place in the hills. Why don’t you stop by? You’ll be able to see me off the clock in my home. It will help with your story.”
“I don’t know,” she said.
“You got better plans?”
“Well, no, but…”
“It’s settled then,” I interrupted. “Text me your address and I’ll send a limousine over.”
“No thanks. I’ll drive myself. You text me your address.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye, Brent.”
I put the phone back in my suit jacket and went to take a cool shower to wash away the sweat on my body and also get my sexual desire under control. Something about redheads always made me go crazy. As I washed, I hoped she wouldn’t turn out to be nuts like many of the other women I met.
Wealth attracted beautiful women, but they all wanted one thing from me. I stuck my head under the stream of water, feeling it wash through my hair. My thoughts returned to Heidi and what I might do if she came over later that night. She wouldn’t be able to resist me.
The combination of physical prowess, wealth and power were irresistible for most women. While I sensed something different about her, she would fall under my spell. If I gave her multiple orgasms, she might write a better story. Yeah, that’s it, I told myself. One more lie.
FOUR
Brent
Ganja Gatsby
My parties were legendary even before I earned my millions, but with money, I took it to another level. Gatsby had nothing on me. I took a drink of champagne as two beautiful scantily clad women stood next to me on the back patio by my swimming pool.
“You going to party with us alone after everyone leaves?” one of the women asked.
While I didn’t even know their names, they damn sure knew mine.
“Maybe,” I said in a distracted voice.
They were both hot as hell, but I couldn’t get my mind off Heidi. Two hours into the party, she still hadn’t shown up. Would she? I hated women who teased me. As I got older, I’d been thinking about finding a good woman and stopping my partying.
“Hey,” Keifer said as he walked up. “She’s here.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded his head. I turned to the two women.
“I’ll see you ladies later maybe. I need to take care of some business.”
They smiled and giggled before walking away, but I could see the disappointment in their eyes. Most women wanted to be mine. I turned back to Keifer.
“Where is she?”
“I saw her come in about ten or fifteen minutes ago, but I’m not sure now.”
“Why didn’t you come and tell me?” I asked, a bit irritated with him.
He shrugged. “You know how it goes at your parties, boss. Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll find her. Have you made any progress with finding that grower?”
“Almost,” Keifer said. “He’s a private man, for sure.”
I nodded.
“We need to find him if we want to grow profits next quarter.”
“I know, I know,” he said. “You need to relax and enjoy your success a bit.”
“That’s the worst thing to do if you want to keep being successful.”
I lifted my champagne flute and finished the rest of it.
“You want something a bit harder?”
“Nah,” I said. “You know I’m not a heavy drinker. I could use a hit, though.”
He pulled a vaporizer pen out of his pocket with a smile on his face.
“Always prepared,” I said.
“Like a Boy Scout.”
I chuckled. He took a hit from the pen that passed it to me. As I watched the partiers in my back yard, I inhaled, held it, then blew out a huge cloud of vapor.
“Time to get this party started,” I said. “You ready to give out the free joints.”
He smiled and nodded his head. Like my other parties, I planned to hand out a couple pounds of weed at least. People took advantage of my kindness, stuffing their pockets with the free
marijuana, but I was at a point where I didn’t care anymore. The good will I got in return more than made up for the money.
I walked back inside to the living room and tapped the vaporizer against my champagne flute.
“Can I get your attention, please,” I said.
Most of the guests inside stopped talking and turned toward me.
“As you probably know, I’ve worked hard to become Colorado’s largest legal weed dealer in all of history. Hell, I’m beating some of the illegal distributors these days.” A few people laughed. “Some of you may think that I can’t possibly achieve anything more, but that’s not the case. I plan to launch a few new strains next quarter, and one of them is likely to become your new favorite.”
Applause rose up around me like a chorus lifting my spirits. I raised my hand.
“The new strains are not ready for production yet, but I’m handing out a pound of Girl Scout Cookie and Snoop-Dogg tonight. Take as much as you can and spread the word about Brent Stone Weed, the best marijuana company on the planet!”
Another round of cheers and well-wishes rose up around me as the catering staff made their way through the party carrying trays of edibles, joints, and small baggies of high-grade marijuana.
The joy people had on their faces made me smile, but it was the money that kept me going. After growing up poor and even experiencing homelessness once, I had no desire to go back.
I took another hit off the vaporizer pen as Keifer walked up.
“Are you sure you should have announced the new strains? We’ve still not talked to that grower guy.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “Half the people here probably won’t even remember my announcement tomorrow.”
“Oh!” he exclaimed suddenly. “There she is…”
I followed his finger to the grand staircase leading to the second level of my mansion in the hills outside of Denver. That beautiful red curly hair made her stand out as she jogged up the steps.
“Where the hell is she going?” Keifer asked.
