Free Indeed

by Bailey West

  “Oh no, not Jerry the man who is married to Lucy, your mom. I’m talking about your real daddy. You know the one that doesn’t want to have anything to do with you.”

  “Fuck you, Averie,” Caroline spat.

  “Such vulgar words from such a sweet and polished woman. I would say fuck you, Caroline but I already had your daddy. He was probably face deep in my pussy while you were on stage receiving some award and craning your neck trying to find him in the audience.”

  Caroline jumped up from her chair like she was going to come across the table. Laila caught her and threw her back into her seat before she could do anything. I didn’t flinch. I wanted a reason to punch her in her face. She had been the sole reason for most of the drama and stress that I’d experienced in my life recently. I wanted to see her bleed.

  “Next time she jumps up, let her come on over. Don’t stop her,” I said while looking at Caroline, “You come across this table again, and I am going to give you all the attention that Cleophus never gave you.”

  “He would have given me attention if it weren’t for you! You did things to intentionally pull him away from me. Everything I did you just had to do it better. He was at your graduation. He was there to celebrate when you got awarded the clerkships. He gave you flowers after your first interview with a major firm. What did he give me, nothing! I fought my whole life just for an acknowledgment from him and got nothing! So yeah, I became your friend so that I could learn what it was about you that made him want you. I needed to get close to my competition so that I could study you, then take everything from me like you took everything from me. You knew that I wanted that clerkship. You’d already had one, but you applied again and took it from me. It was mine! I worked my ass off at Steinman and Gould, but they all loved you! They never saw me. When you said you were starting your own firm, I decided why not? Then you treated me like dirt!”

  “Cleophus never mentioned having an outside daughter, Caroline so I didn’t take anything from you. You never had him in the first place. Your mother should have made him acknowledge you instead of hiding you in the shadows like the bastard that you are. His other kids don’t even know you exist. You had an issue with the wrong person. Besides, Cleo and I have been over and done with for years. I never wanted anything long term with him!”

  “That’s what you do to people. You use them up and then discard them!”

  “You stupid, uninformed, head in the clouds, hate in your heart ass, bitch. I had every intention of making you name partner! Your name was going to go on the wall right next to mine! I’d already written up the plan and was in the beginning stages of executing it when you decided to do all this dumb shit! Now your stupid ass is going to jail!”

  “I didn’t know any of these details,” Trevor started.

  “Save that crap,” Samuel said. “You knew that you were being a snake and unethical in your acquisition of her firm. You thought she was a little black girl all out here on her own with no help. She fooled you, though, didn’t she? The board is going to have a lot to consider at your disbarment hearing.”

  “Come on Valentine. We don’t have to go that route. I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.”

  “I don’t make deals with thieves and liars. I would never associate my name with yours or your firms. I’m sure your partners are going to be very upset with the negative press that your firm is about to receive.”

  “I’m not worried about it. You can’t prove that I had any knowledge of any of this,” Trevor smugly said.

  “Well,” Countee spoke up. “Actually, we can. We have emails, text messages from that burner phone that you that thought was untraceable. Let me give you some advice, never connect a burner phone to the wi-fi in your home, car or business. That’s makes it like any other phone. We also have pictures of the two of you with the accountant. And, just so happens that the accountant took meticulous notes and recorded conversations. Like we told you before, he broke.”

  “Not to mention the photos we have of you two on your secret rendezvous in hotels around town and on that trip, you took together recently. I’m sure your wife will enjoy that photo album,” Laila said.

  “You did know that you were sharing her, right?” Samuel added.

  Trevor scrunched his eyebrows together.

  “Yeah, she was also letting Barry Leathen hit it. We found that out once we acquired his cellphone. That’s why he went crazy on Averie. Caroline was feeding him misleading information. She sent him anonymous text messages telling him that Averie was going to get him disbarred and that she frequently mentioned him around the office. Someone slipped something into Leathen’s drink at the bar. Then Caroline feed him some more bull that enraged him and sent him in search of Averie. We saw it clearly on surveillance footage from the bar he was at before he attacked Averie,” Samuel explained.

  “You conniving bitch!” Trevor spat. “You said we would run the firm together, but you were sleeping with Leathen behind my back!”

  “You are married! You weren’t going to leave her for me, and you know that! I was just taking care of myself!” Caroline returned.

  “You are lucky we are not malicious people because we could have sent those photos to your wife already.”

  “Wait,” Laila said. “I didn’t get the memo about not sending the pictures to the wife.”

  “Remember we said we would hold on to them just in case we needed them in the future,” Countee added.

  “So it was a no-go on sending them to her home and work email addresses?”

  “Right,” Countee said.

  “What about the physical copies that were supposed to be delivered to her and the partners by messenger?” Laila asked.

  “We vetoed that too,” Samuel said.

  Laila looked deep in thought for several seconds before she threw up her hands and said, “Oops, my bad. We must have discussed that when I ran to the bathroom. Someone should have told me,” she shrugged.

  “You sent them?”

  “Yeah about thirty minutes ago,” Laila added.

  Samuel

  “Thank you all for meeting with me on such short notice. The reason why I started this investment group is because black people have not attained generational wealth yet. We are so far behind white people when it comes to finances and us as a people don’t even realize how far behind we are.”

  I sat at a table with all the men in my investment group; the Bluettes, the Chambers, Xavier and Roc. I’d called an impromptu meeting because I had some important information to share with them.

  “I read that the average middle-class income for a white family is one hundred and seventy thousand dollars a year. The average middle-class income for a black family is seventeen thousand a year. We average ten percent of what they do…ten percent. Most of us didn’t even learn about credit until we were adults and had already messed it up. I want this group to change that. I want all of our children and grandchildren to know wealth. I want them to understand credit and then have enough to pass on to their children. It’s going to take us working together as a team to accomplish that. I can’t do it on my own. This group is important to me. I want to break barriers and take some things back that should be ours anyway. However, recently my wife’s legacy had been threatened by someone. This person created a mess financially, and I stepped in to bail my wife out. It was the right decision and a no-brainer, but that move has tied up my finances, so I’m not good right now for my portion of the investment into the team. Not that I won’t ever be, but in the next year or so, I will not be able to cover it. That doesn’t mean that we are going anywhere it just means that our timeline will shift some. That team will be ours, but unless something happens to change things, it won’t happen this year.”

  “We are all aware of the situation, and we all agree that you made the right decision,” Paxton said.

  “I speak for the group when I say that we don’t mind waiting because this venture is worth the wait,” Countee added.

>   “It’s all about timing,” Roman started, “As long as we are moving in God’s timing, all of this will come together. I have a strong sense in my spirit that this is merely a short pause so don’t get too comfortable with waiting because we won’t be waiting very long.”

  Roc and I stood outside the gates of the Missouri prison waiting for our father to be released. After years of appeals, letter writing, and planning, he was about to be a free man. I remembered going through all the steps with the guards preparing for my release. I remembered the feelings of anxiety and excitement. Anxiety came from not really believing that something good was going to happen for me. After living behind bars in a perpetual state of hopelessness, it was hard to look forward to anything. It was hard to believe that circumstances would change. So, I watched carefully as the guards pointed to the places I needed to sign on my release paperwork. I listened and followed everything they told me to do because I didn’t want to give them any reason to keep me one second longer. I was sure my father was feeling that same way.

  The doors of the prison intake center opened and my father walked out. His stride was wide, his head was high, and a large smile spread across his face. Roc and I stood shoulder to shoulder waiting for him to make it to us. The pride that I felt seeing the sun hit his face on the other side of the prison walls was overwhelming. He reached us and put his arms around both of us at the same time. He stepped back and grabbed my face with his hands and rested his forehead against mine. He released me and did the same thing to Roc.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said while pointing in the direction of Roc’s truck.

  Samuel

  My father, Roc and I walked through the doors of an old warehouse on the south side of town near the river. I’d received a call from Countee informing me that I had a package waiting there for me. Countee met us at the door and directed us to one of the rooms in the back. Upon walking through the door, I saw Elson, the man who shot me, tied to a beam in the ceiling with his hands above him. He didn’t seem to be hurt aside from a bruise on his cheek.

  “What happened to him?” I asked Countee.

  “He uh, tripped and fell,” Countee answered.

  I had requested that he be alive. I guess I didn’t give specific instructions not to hurt him.

  “Where is the driver?” I asked.

  “Dead,” Countee responded.

  I raised my eyebrow and looked at Countee.

  “What? I didn’t do it. He did,” he motioned toward Elson. “He had the body in the house where we found him,” Countee explained.

  “Look at this gay ass shit!” Elson said looking from me to my father. “I knew you was a bitch!”

  “What you should’ve known is that I was invincible and was going to find you,” I replied.

  “Fuck you! Fuck you, you snitching ass bitch! You’re the reason why they transferred me from Pineville to that hell hole. My life was miserable there! Every day I thought about how I was going to murder your snitching ass when I got the chance! I should have shot you in the head and made sure your ass went to hell!” Elson spat.

  “Oh yeah, I did hear you were some big white dude’s bitch in the new prison you went to,” my father said.

  “Fuck you, Reggie! You ain’t shit either!”

  “I would never call myself the shit. I mean who wants to call themselves something that our body gets rid of because it’s useless? What I will say is that I am the one responsible for your move from Pineville. You, Elson, put your hands on my son…”

  “Your son!” Elson’s eyes became wide as saucers as he looked from me to Reggie.

  “Yes, my flesh and blood,” Reggie added. “You’re lucky I didn’t have you hung in your cell for such a violation.”

  “I didn’t touch him in prison, he hit me! Then snitched like a bitch!”

  “You and Greg put out the hit on him and forced Teddy to do it!” Reggie said. “You should’ve let it go after you got knocked out but you didn’t. Now look where that decision has landed you. You are lucky that my son gave the order on how you should be treated and not me. I would have dipped your ass in some boiling acid and watched as your meat and skin melted from your bones. It’s also a good thing that he didn’t die because if he would have died, there would have been a boiling pot of acid for you and every living relative that you have.”

  “Not that it matters now, but I never snitched on you. I never told anyone about that incident until I was out of prison for years. So not only have you wasted years of your life hating the wrong person, but you also couldn’t kill me. You haven’t done anything right, Elson. Such a shame,” I added.

  “If I wasn’t tied up, we could finish this shit like men!” Elson said.

  “I would agree to that, but I don’t want the DNA of a dead man all over my hands. See the difference between you and me is that I was never a criminal. I was innocent. You, on the other hand, should’ve been put under the prison. Your life is worthless, and you are breathing in oxygen that someone worth living could be using.”

  I turned to leave.

  “Fuck you, Samuel. I ain’t afraid to die!” Elson said.

  “Die?” I chuckled. “By the time all of this is over, you are going to be begging for death. I thought about putting a bullet in your skull and calling it a day but since you didn’t shoot me in my head, I won’t shot you in yours, but believe me, you are going to be praying that someone would.”

  “Count?”

  “I will handle it,” Countee answered.

  Roc, my father and I left the building.

  Averie

  “My sister and brother both mean the world to me. I am so happy that they decided to take this step together. I remember the first time Kenzie brought Travis around. He was a little bitty thing, skinny, awkward and quiet. I learned that he was a genius and paid way more attention than any of us realized. He grew into a man that I’m honored to call brother, and I know that he and my sister will change the world. So, glasses up, mine is apple cider by the way,” I chuckled. “To many years of love, laughter, and bliss.”

  Everyone clinked their glasses together. Kenzie and Travis’ wedding was beautiful. It was held at a venue that was a factory renovated into an event space. It had a lot of exposed brick and ductwork, but was elegant at the same time. It fit their personalities to a tee. I sat at the head table next to Samuel watching Kenzie dance with our father.

  “How are your feet?” Samuel asked.

  I’d had on some gold strappy pumps all day long. My mother had just come by and threatened my life I didn’t take them off and put on some flats.

  “They are fine. They were fine in the heels, but Mommy told me she was going to make me take them off. She almost made we wear flats down the aisle! We would’ve had to argue about that one!” I laughed.

  “I will rub them when we get home,” Samuel whispered in my ear while rubbing my bump that seemed to be larger today than it was yesterday, “How is my baby?”

  “He’s fine,” I said placing my hand on top of Samuel’s.

  “Kerem and Keeva look like they are on the road to recovery,” Samuel said while nodding toward the dance floor.

  “At first Kerem thought they could fix the relationship on their own, but he finally agreed to go to counseling. They started seeing JD and Elisa. Keeva said the first few sessions were hard but they are learning to communicate better. He moved back into the house and still hasn’t told Key the combination to the gun safe just in case,” I laughed.

  “Good for them. He and I have had several conversations, and he seems like he is ready to get things back on track,” Samuel added.

  “What about you, would you ever be opposed to going to counseling if we had problems?”

  “I don’t think we should wait for problems to occur. We can schedule some time with JD now. I know the importance of mental health and mental health counseling. We can start that whenever you are ready.”

  “See, that’s why I love you!”

 
Samuel

  “This is a great location, Xavier. It reminds me of the Saint Louis office,” I said while looking at the office space Xavier had chosen in Houston.

  He accepted my partner offer and had been working on securing a location for the Houston office. I thought he’d found the perfect location.

  “I think that’s why I chose it,” Xavier replied. “It’s large enough for us to start and when we need more floors or space, the owners will be able to accommodate us.”

  “Good. I’m sure Houston will be a good spot for you with Nette and Daisy already here. Speaking of, how did Daisy react to the news about your move?”

  “She tried to act nonchalant about it, but my first couple of days at Zanetta’s condo, she came over to check it out.”

  “You are going to stay at Zanetta’s place?”

  “Yeah, the one that Roman gave her in his building. It’s not too far from here and will give me a chance to get familiar with the city before I buy or build,” Xavier explained.

  “I spoke with Morris about moving him into a senior associate position, and he accepted. I told him that he would have a lot more responsibility and I asked if he thought he could do it with his parenting responsibilities. He said he could, so I am going to give him one of your larger clients to see how he will handle it,” I explained.

  “I’m sure he will do fine. He’s not afraid to ask questions or ask for help so he will be a great asset to the senior team. I wish I could have him here but I know the situation with his kids, and their mother is fragile,” Xavier said, “You sure you will survive without me?”

  “We will be fine. Things are changing for the better. Leathen accepted the plea deal so he will serve his time in protected custody. His wife was charged with witness tampering and also accepted a plea deal. She won’t do any jail time but she will be on probation for several years. She sent a letter through her attorney apologizing to Averie after she saw the pictures of her husband and Caroline.”