by Carl Weber
“Thanks. Coming from you that means a lot. Daddy really loved you.”
“I loved him too.”
“You look good, Vega—oops.” I cupped my hand over my mouth, glancing at Hammond. I leaned in and whispered, “Should I even be calling you that?”
“Don’t worry. Everyone around here calls me Vegas because of my gambling abilities. It just makes things easier,” he explained as he settled into a chair. “So, what you been doing with yourself, little cousin? You working? Going to school?”
“I was going to school. I graduated last year. Now I’m working for Duncan Motors.”
“So you’re working for the family business, huh?” He sounded proud.
“Yep. Right now I’m doing Paris’s job until she comes off of maternity leave.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re trouble shooting for the Duncans?”
I nodded. I kind of felt bad for Vegas as I realized how isolated he was up in this prison. He was cut off from the family and probably only got information about them in bits and pieces. I guess it was safer if no one from the family visited him—especially since he wasn’t technically a Duncan in here—but still, I’m sure it sucked for him.
He said, “So, Sasha, where exactly did you go to school?”
“Chi’s Finishing School in Europe, same school as Paris. I finished top in my class, just like her,” I bragged.
“I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a Duncan.” He chuckled. “You know that’s my alma mater.”
“You went to Chi’s? I didn’t know that.”
“You weren’t supposed to. Not many people do,” he said. “But yeah, me and my best friend Daryl Graham graduated in ninety-six.”
“Ninety-six? No wonder I didn’t know you went there. You were a member of the shadow class, weren’t you?” I’d always been impressed by Vegas’s accomplishments, but now even more so.
“Some people call it that,” he replied.
“You guys saved the school. You actually knew Master Chi, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I knew him. I trained under him, but I couldn’t save him,” he said, sounding a little sad. “So, enough about the school. What are you doing here, Sasha? Is everything all right back home?”
I glanced over at Hammond before I answered, but dude was actually wearing headphones and looking the other way, as if he was purposely trying not to eavesdrop. It was weird. I got the sense that if anyone in the room was in charge, it was Vegas, and it was safe to talk freely in front of this guard.
“Yes . . . and no. It’s a long story,” I responded, gesturing toward the papers on the table. “The family sent me to give you two proposals and get your vote on a crucial issue. I don’t know if you’ve heard about H.E.A.T.? It’s a new product on the street.”
“Yeah, I heard of it.” When Vegas spoke, he couldn’t contain his excitement. “A couple of guys snuck some in here last week. Their status was elevated immediately, and they only had a couple dozen pills. Folks went crazy. I mean, everybody in here is trying to get their hands on that stuff. They were selling it for the equivalent of a hundred dollars a pill.”
“Well, if you wanna get your hands on some just let us know,” I said, “because we control it.”
Vegas looked confused, as if he hadn’t heard correctly. “Run that by me again?”
“I said H.E.A.T. belongs to us. The Duncan family controls it. Orlando invented it in his lab.”
It still took him a few seconds to absorb what I’d said, then he slapped his palm on the table and said, “Get the fuck outta here! You’re kidding, right? My little brother Orlando didn’t really invent the next big thing, did he?” He laughed happily.
“Yeah, he did, and we’re the only ones with the formula. Any and all distribution of the drug comes through us.”
“Son of a bitch! Orlando’s really stepped up his game.” Vegas leaned back on two legs of the chair with his arms folded. “So, what’s Pop’s position on this new drug? Is he happy about it or what?”
“He’s happier than a pig in shit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Uncle LC this ecstatic about anything.”
“Okay then.” Vegas raised his eyebrow. “So what is this vote about? If Pop’s for it and Orlando invented it, what’s the fucking problem?”
I stared at him for a second, not really sure how to answer his question without putting my foot in my mouth. “Well, in a nutshell, Vegas, the problem is . . . your mother.”
“My mother? What’s she got to do with this?”
“She’s got everything to do with it. Aunt Chippy’s leading the resistance to H.E.A.T. From what I can tell, if it wasn’t for her there wouldn’t have been a need for a vote. Everyone would have just fallen into line.”
Vegas looked stunned. “My mom went against Pop when it came to business?”
“She sure did.” I handed him the proposal London had handed me, arguing against selling H.E.A.T.
He stared at the folder. “What’s this?”
“The family has taken the vote on H.E.A.T., and it’s tied. London, your mom, Junior, and Paris have all voted against distributing H.E.A.T.”
“Paris?” he exclaimed. His face was losing more of that gentle smile with every revelation. “Paris voted against Pop? Daddy’s little girl voted against him. What the hell is going on down there, civil war?”
“Not my place to say, but in Paris’s case, your mother bribed her with free baby sitting for life.”
“Ma did that? Damn, that’s pretty hard-core even for her. She really must not want this thing to go through.”
“Yeah, but Harris, Rio, Orlando, and your father are pretty hard-core on the other side too,” I finished. I handed him Orlando’s proposal. “In those packages are both arguments for and against H.E.A.T. Because it’s tied, as a member of the board you have the deciding vote.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? They’re laying this mess at my feet?” Vegas’s face showed his disappointment.
“Yep, the fate of H.E.A.T. and possibly the family is now in your hands,” I said seriously.
“Great.” He sighed. “Once again I have to find a way to pull the Duncans’ pan out the fire.”
“You know what they say: With great power comes great responsibility.”
“I hear you.” Vegas stared at both proposals but didn’t open them. “I need to give this some real thought. Marinate on what both sides are saying. There’s a hotel across the street from the prison. You mind spending a night or two up here in Bumfuck, New York until I figure this out?”
I glanced over at Hammond, smiling at his oversized hands and hoping they were an indication of the size of his dick. “No, I’m sure I can find something to occupy my time,” I said.
Paris
46
First that bitch Sasha took my job, and now out of the blue Momma had decided to throw her an extravagant welcome home dinner party. Just the idea of the family fawning all over this heifer pissed me the fuck off, because if anyone deserved a party it was me. Besides, I knew my mother didn’t really give a shit about Sasha. She might be fooling everyone else with this whole “making sure that Sasha understood just how much her return meant to all of us” bullshit, but the real reason for the party was to force the warring factions of the family to mend fences before Vegas’s vote was read next Thursday. Even I had to admit that things had gotten tense in the house. Who would have thought there would come a day when Junior and Orlando would barely say hi to each other and Rio would just plain stop talking to me?
Momma wasn’t stupid, though. Nothing brought our family together better than a good old fashioned soul food dinner. It must have been something she put in the collard greens or mac and cheese.
I was never one to squander an opportunity, and even though it would only be the usual suspects, I used the dinner party as a great excuse to buy myself something fabulous. Plus, having Sasha strutting around like my house was her personal catwalk had made me anxious to step up my game. Dammit, nobody was going to out-Paris me
, especially not my snotty, wannabe cousin.
I took a twirl in the mirror, admiring all of my assets in the chartreuse Chanel dress. My workouts were definitely getting my figure back in shape, and I liked what I saw. As soon as the reins were loosened and I got on that plane to France next week, I would be all about making up for lost time. I’d been on a forced sexual sabbatical, and I couldn’t wait to see if my commitment to daily Kegel exercises was working. I was straight up horny and needed some good dick ASAP.
I went downstairs to the living room to join the family. Everyone was dressed to impress, finishing up their cocktails before being seated at the dining table. Momma had done assigned seating, taking the whole formal thing a little further than she needed to.
It was no surprise that she had placed my seat next to Sasha’s. Momma kept trying to put us together, like we were two children and she could force us to get along. She sure didn’t have to do that with London, though. That girl was so far up Sasha’s butt it wasn’t even funny. London was seated directly across from Sasha, smiling and squirming in her seat like she’d just found out how good an orgasm can be.
“Girl, I got you a really special homecoming gift,” she told Sasha then looked at me with a smirk on her face. I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but I had already decided I wasn’t about to give her any satisfaction. I rolled my eyes at her but kept my mouth shut.
“What is it? What’d you get me?” Sasha behaved just like the expectant puppy London wanted.
“Patience. It’ll be well worth the wait,” London promised then did that fake-ass laugh of hers.
I turned away from Sasha to see Daddy seated next to me. Normally at a dinner like this Rio would sit by me, but somehow he was in the testosterone zone between Orlando and Harris. The way he’d been dissing me lately, I had to wonder whether that was his or my mother’s doing.
They’d just started to pour the wine when the doorbell rang.
“Oh, I think that’s my surprise!” London announced in this bullshit sing-song voice as she raced toward the front door.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest when she returned, followed by Tor, the handsome attorney who served as Harris’s right hand man. He might have been a lawyer, but the boy had this sexy swagger that drove me crazy. Three years ago I had set eyes on Tor for the first time at a company party, and I knew I had to have him. Brother was fiiiiine then, and he was even fiiiiiiner now. He was brown-skinned, with soft curly hair and almond-shaped eyes. He was tall and buff, with a V-shaped chest and big, hard muscles like he worked out all the time. Oh, and he had these juicy lips that made me wet just thinking about the trouble I could get into with them.
I’d spent a few months trying to get Tor’s attention. I even started going to a bar that he and some of the fellas went to after work, but I got no reaction from him. At first I thought he was gay; then I found out he was engaged. Either London didn’t know that he was taken, or he was no longer engaged, in which case he was free to be with me.
“Thanks so much for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan.” He gave my mother a hug and shook Daddy’s hand. I waited as he made his way over to say hello, but London sidetracked him around the other way.
“Tor, this is Sasha, my cousin that I told you about. Come and sit next to her. There’s a chair right here.” She walked around and pulled out the empty chair that just happened to be next to Sasha. He didn’t even look my way as he settled in beside her.
“Hello, Sasha, nice to meet you. I must say that’s a beautiful dress you’re wearing,” Tor complimented her as he shook her hand.
Oh, hell fucking no! I could not believe that I had to sit there and watch as London played the happy fucking matchmaker. I was fuming as I watched the two of them get acquainted.
“Thanks. I got it in Europe.” Sasha giggled, and it looked like her tits were about to spill out of the top of her dress. Slut. “I’ve just returned from spending the last four years abroad.” She was pressing so close that she was damn near sitting on his lap. I wanted to scream, “Back the fuck up, bitch! He’s already spoken for,” but one glance at Daddy made me hold my tongue.
“I love Europe. What part were you in?” he asked.
Great! Just fucking great! Now he’s flirting with her.
I couldn’t believe I had to sit there and listen to their bullshit small talk about Europe. I tried to ignore them, but the fact that she was sitting next to me didn’t help one bit. I finished off my wine and motioned for our butler to bring me some more alcohol. I would have to get a whole lot drunker to deal with this bullshit—otherwise I might haul off and slap someone soon.
Lucky for them, Momma picked that moment to stand up and raise her glass. “I’d like to make a toast. First, here’s to having my son back home.”
I thought it was pretty funny that this dinner was supposedly for Sasha, but Momma was making a toast to Orlando. See, I knew she didn’t really give a shit about my cousin.
“It’s good to be back.” Orlando raised his glass and tapped it against Momma’s. “What can I say except that I am blessed . . . and lucky.”
Everyone joined in on the toast. We might not have been getting along so well lately because of H.E.A.T., but we could all agree that it was good to have Orlando alive and home with us.
I looked over and saw Tor whispering in Sasha’s ear. She started giggling, and before I knew it, I was on my feet with my glass raised high. “I want to make a toast to my cousin Sasha for being here with us.” I plastered a fake smile on my face and spoke directly to Sasha. “You’ve only been back a short time, but you’ve done a terrific job. I look forward to working with you when I come off maternity leave.”
“Hear, hear!” Everyone raised their glasses. As they all clinked their glasses happily, I somehow accidently—on purpose—spilled my drink all over Sasha’s fabulous European dress.
“Shit!” Sasha jumped up and tried to clean the spreading stain with a napkin.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I managed to say without laughing. “And it’s red wine too. I don’t think that’s coming out. And you said you got it from Europe, didn’t you?”
Sasha turned toward me like she wanted to throw down, but then tamed her temper and broke into a smile. “I’m sure it was an accident, cuz. Let me go upstairs and see if I can get it out. If not, I’ve got plenty of dresses.” She stepped away from the table. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I sat down, barely able to conceal a satisfied grin. “Wow, I hope she can get that out.”
“Paris, what the hell was that?” Daddy yelled at me. That was when I noticed that everyone was staring at me.
“What?” I shrugged. “It was a mistake. Haven’t any of you ever made a mistake before?”
“Mistake my ass! You did that shit on purpose.” Orlando jumped in to defend Sasha’s honor. Junior looked like wanted to say something, but he had his new girlfriend there. Hell, even Rio was frowning at me.
“Paris, I didn’t raise you like this,” Momma said, looking all disappointed.
“Look, I said I was sorry, didn’t I? It was an accident. Damn, stop tripping,” I said as I refilled my wine glass.
From the look on London’s face, she was loving the way the rest of the family was roasting my ass. “Tor, why don’t you go upstairs and check on Sasha? See if she’s okay?” she prodded him, no doubt to piss me off even more.
“Uh, sure. If it’s okay with Mr. Duncan.”
Daddy nodded his head. Tor got up and walked out of the room, ruining any chance I had to capture his attention.
I turned on my sister the second he was out of earshot. “Really, London? Really? Tor and Sasha? What the fuck would make you think he would like Sasha?” I snapped. “You knew I liked him.”
London didn’t say a word, though she did glance at Momma as if she was worried that she’d be in trouble for instigating. Momma just pursed her lips and shook her head at both of us. Orlando, on the other hand, felt the need to get involved.
“I don’
t believe this shit. You, jealous? Jealous of your own cousin?” he said.
“You damn right I’m jealous,” I answered. “I’ve liked Tor for three years, and this bitch waltzes in here and gets set up with him like it’s her goddamn birthday and he’s the birthday cake. I’m sorry, but I’m not putting up with that shit!” I glared at London.
“First of all, I didn’t know you liked him, and if I did, it wouldn’t have mattered,” London spat. “He doesn’t date baby mommas. Women with kids are off limits. He’s trying to start a new family; he doesn’t want a ready-made one.”
What a low fucking blow. I looked over at my sleeping baby thinking, What the hell have I done to my life?
At the mention of Jordan, Daddy decided to tell me for the millionth time, “You need to worry about that baby and not these men anyway.”
I was so sick of him trying to tell me that my life was basically over now that I was a mother, and this time I couldn’t keep quiet. “Fuck that shit,” I yelled. “Why aren’t you getting on London? That bitch knew exactly what she was doing.” I pointed my finger at London, who smirked back at me. “I’ma kick your ass, bitch!”
“Y’all need to stop fighting about this!” Daddy bellowed.
Momma stepped in to try to calm us all down. “Shh! We’ve got company.” Everyone turned to look at Junior’s date.
“Don’t mind me,” Sonya said. “This ain’t nothing compared to my family’s Thanksgiving scraps.” That broke the tension a little, and everyone chuckled at her joke. Everyone except Daddy.
“That’s not the point,” he barked, looking in my direction. Obviously he was going to lay all the blame on me.
“You know what? Fuck this. Me and my baby is out. I’m going to Shelly’s house.”
I got up to get Jordan, but Momma said, “Leave the baby. You need to go get your head right.”
I stormed out of the room, thinking, So this is what it takes to get some fucking baby sitting around here.
Sasha
47
So there I was in my bathroom rinsing out my brand new $2,000 dress because Paris had some bug up her ass about me. She was lucky I loved her so much. If she was any other bitch, she’d have been six feet under already. Family or not, she’d better be careful because next time she pulled some shit like that, I might not be so quick to forgive.
