Bitch A New Beginning (Bitch Series)

by Deja King

  “Amir, you have to go.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m not going to have anybody to talk to if you’re not there.”

  “Aaliyah will be there.”

  “Yeah, all up under Sway.”

  “I’m sure Nichelle and Courtney will be there too.”

  “It’s not the same. Amir, pleeeeeeease come with me. You’re my boyfriend, you’re supposed to be with me at things like this.”

  “Fine,” I said reluctantly.

  “Thank you, baby.” Justina wrapped her arms around me and gave me a kiss. I kissed her back but my mind wasn’t in it. I was too busy pondering what she said about Aaliyah and Sway. It fucked me up how my insides felt like they were about to explode knowing what was going on between them. I was wishing Lorenzo had killed him a long time ago but I had to get my emotions in check because I didn’t want Justina to know that my feelings towards Aaliyah ran much deeper than just a friendship.

  “No problem.”

  “So I’ll get dressed and meet you back over here around seven.”

  “I have to go somewhere with my dad so I may not make it back here by then. Wait…here, take my key and let yourself in.”

  “You sure?”

  “Definitely, it’ll be nice coming home and have my woman waiting for me.”

  “I like the sound of that.” Justina whispered softly as if my bedroom was full of people and she wanted to make sure nobody heard her. “We still have a little bit of time before your dad gets home. We should take advantage of it.” Before I could object Justina’s Tunic dress was on the floor. She was standing in front of me in her bra and panties. “What are you waiting for?” Justina held out her hand and I reached out to take it.

  “Nothing.” I sat down on the edge of my bed and Justina stood between my legs. My hands caressed Justina’s petite body and she leaned down to kiss me. Our tongues found each other but I was just going through the motions. Justina kissed my neck and took off my t-shirt before working her way down to my jeans. “Damn,” I moaned out when I felt Justina’s wet lips wrapped around my dick and her jaws and tongue worked its magic. Before I was about to bust in her mouth I laid her down on the bed.”

  “Amir, I love you.” The look in her eyes showed that the words from her lips were true.

  As I entered her flashes of Aaliyah’s face took the place of Justina so I simply closed my eyes after saying, “I love you too.”

  ***

  When I got out the shower I glanced at the clock to see how much time I had before my dad was supposed to come back home. After we made love, Justina didn’t want to leave. She stayed wrapped in my arms and I didn’t think it would be right for me to tell her to go until finally I didn’t have a choice. Now I was rushing to get dressed because I planned to be ready when my dad got here. This was an important day for me. When I turned eighteen my dad promised he would begin showing me the ins and outs of his business as long as I promised to still go to college and get my degree. He said if I had a street degree and college degree I would be unstoppable. Today he was attending one of his monthly meetings and he was bringing me along. I had no idea what the meeting consisted of but it was important so I would be there.

  After I got dressed I was headed towards the kitchen to get a bite to eat before we left but to my surprise my dad was already home. I could hear him talking loudly, and I figured he didn’t know that I was home. I decided to keep it that way because I wanted to hear what was going on that had him so upset.

  “You need to wait! How many times do I need to say that so you can understand!”

  “Fuck that! That nigga is gon’ die tonight. My people got everything set up. It’s a go!”

  “Lorenzo, we got too much other shit going on right now for you to move forward on killing that man.”

  “I can handle it and it will be handled because Sway Stone is dying tonight.”

  “You murder a high profile person like that it will bring too much heat. And we don’t need that right now. We have to take care of these other snakes before you finish this out.”

  “Did you wait when you got retribution for the people responsible for killing your wife?”

  “Lorenzo, I understand where you’re coming from and I have no problem with you handling things with Sway. Hell, I set your girl Courtney up with my sister so she could have a legitimate direct connect to Sway that you needed. Courtney has confirmed the suspicions you had about Sway and his involvement in Dior’s death.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “It’s not the right time. Patience is not the enemy. Again, all I’m asking is that you wait until we get this one situation under control. Can you do that for me? Holding off for a couple weeks ain’t gon’ change shit. That nigga Sway will still be easy to find.”

  “I guess I can wait. Alexus and Lala have already been taken care of so I can be a little more patient when it comes to Sway. Especially since knowing he’s six feet under will bring me the greatest gratification.”

  “You’ve made a wise decision. I know it’s easy to get caught up in your emotions when it comes to loved ones but business always has to come first.”

  “You’re right. We gotta sweep this other shit under the rug. Hopefully we’ll make some headway at the meeting today.”

  “That’s my hope. Speaking of the meeting, we need to get going. Let me call Amir and find out when he’ll be home because I would hate to leave him. He’s been asking to come with me today for the last couple of weeks.”

  For a quick second I couldn’t decide if I should go to the front door and pretend I was just getting home, or go back to my bedroom so I made a hasty decision.

  Knock…knock…knock

  “Hey dad,” I said pushing open the already half cracked door.

  “Amir, I was just about to call you. When did you get home?”

  “I’ve been home. After I took a shower I fell asleep. I just woke up. I figured I missed you, so I’m glad you didn’t leave without me.”

  “You know I’m a man of my word. I told you, you can come. The only way it wouldn’t happen is if you changed your mind.”

  “Nah, I wouldn’t miss this for nothing. How can I miss going to a meeting with my dad and Lorenzo.”

  “Don’t forget Nico. He’ll also be joining us.”

  “Rolling with the three of you, I should learn a lot today.”

  “No doubt. You know your dad was reluctant about bringing you in but I believe you’ll prove to him that he made the right decision.”

  “I will. This is something I want to be a part of.”

  “But remember, son, you have to hit those books. No school no being a part of the organization.”

  “I understand and I’m more than willing to do both.”

  “Good, now let’s go because Nico’s waiting downstairs.”

  When we got downstairs there were three black bullet proof SUV’s waiting. Ever since I could remember, whenever he attended the once-a-month meeting, he would pull out these trucks and bring extra security. He said it was strictly a precaution because the meeting was attended by a group of high ranking drug kingpins from the east and west coast and although highly unlikely you could never be too careful. We all rode in the last SUV that Dice was driving. I felt like such a real man being in this circle. I even dressed the part. I would always see my dad, Nico and now Lorenzo who had been in the fold recently fitted in custom suits, designer ties and limited edition shoes so I made sure I represented as well. My YSL suite with a champagne tee had me looking important but not overdone.

  During the drive everyone was pretty quiet. There was some small talk but my dad, Nico and Lorenzo were all either on their phones, texting or looking over paperwork. I was too anxious to do any of that plus my mind was also on Aaliyah and wondering what she was doing. I was tempted to send her a text but didn’t want to get caught up in going back and forth texting her when making a positive impression at the meeting should be the only thing on the age
nda. Also, I could relax my mind knowing that Sway Stone would be a dead man soon so the relationship didn’t have a chance of surviving. As that thought entered my mind, I couldn’t believe I was wishing death on another human being. I looked over at my father who was deep into his own world and I thought to myself that I could very well be a murderer just like him. Maybe I was more cut out for this business than either one of us knew.

  After watching my father for a bit I turned my attention to Lorenzo who was texting nonstop. I immediately wondered if he was communicating with Precious. I hadn’t stopped shaking my head since finding out they were having a full fledge affair. The pain in Aaliyah’s eyes when she found out still fucked with me. She knew shit was shaky with her parents but that just made the knife cut deeper in an already open wound. But I had to give her props for not blowing up and telling Supreme or Nico. Talk about a war breaking out. But like all secrets I knew eventually the shit would come out. I only hoped that Nico would be able to keep his cool and not want to kill Lorenzo, especially since they now did business together. Even though that relationship ended a long time ago, everybody knew that Nico was still in love with Precious and he tolerated her marriage to Supreme but accepting her being with Lorenzo that would cause more drama than any of us was ready for.

  “We’re here,” I heard my dad say, snapping me out of visualizing Nico and Lorenzo going at it over Aaliyah’s mom. When I glanced out the window we were parked in front of a nondescript brick building. The only reason anybody would know something serious was going down was because there were a dozen or so men dressed in security uniforms surrounding the spot.

  “Is all this security really necessary,” I commented to my dad before getting out the SUV. I found it amusing that each of them had on an NYPD baseball cap when they were doing security for criminals.

  “Son, you’re about to step into a room that’s has over a billion dollars in it.”

  “Huh?”

  “Combined, that’s what we’re worth. So yes all this security is justifiable.” What my dad said fucked my head up. I knew I would be surrounded by official players in the game but the information he just dropped on me went beyond my expectations.

  Upon entering the building everybody was searched and all cell phones were confiscated. Since the rules were implemented to protect them all nobody felt disrespected going through the security measures that seemed more appropriate for the airport. When we finally made it inside what appeared to be a poor man’s establishment from the outside, it told a different story once you entered. The entrance had marble floors that made a direct path to a colossal board room. The majority of the chairs were already filled up and to my disbelief ‘the board’, as my dad called it was made up like the rainbow culture, from Black, White, Italian, Hispanic, Jamaican, Haitian and even an Asian man.

  There were two waitresses walking around the table taking drink and or food order from the men. My dad had told me there was a chef on hand to cook whatever if anybody wanted to eat. My dad also told me that he never ate or drank anything at the meetings so I knew that meant I was supposed to follow his lead. Once we sat down we waited for a couple of other people to come in and take their seats and the meeting began with my father speaking.

  “Good afternoon, gentleman.”

  “Good afternoon,” they all said in unison. “Before we begin the meeting today, I wanted to introduce you to my son Amir.” My dad motioned for me to stand up and I did speaking to everybody. “From here on out he will be attending our monthly meetings as he is now part of my organization. Does anybody have a problem with that?” Nobody objected and I figured my dad only asked the question as a form of respect not because he believed anyone would oppose.

  “Welcome,” a white man sitting across from me said, and one by one the others gave me the same single word greeting. Once I sat back down my father continued.

  “Everybody here today is extremely busy so let’s get right to it. The first order of business is deciding who will take over the Queens territory now that Miguel is deceased.

  “Has his family got back with you about what they want to do?” The heavy set Hispanic man who was sitting on the far right questioned.

  “Yes, his family doesn’t want to continue on in the business. They are basically looking for a buyout. They want to be well compensated as we’re all aware it’s a very profitable territory.”

  “I want it,” the Asian man said casually lifting up his index finger.

  “I want it too,” the white man that was first to welcome me, let it be known.

  “It should be mine,” the heavy set Hispanic man bellowed out and just like that bickering began. And here I thought only women did that but these men who all seemed so calm and reserved started going at it. I now understood why they were frisked at the door because this room was about money and if anybody got in their way of making it, it quickly turned ugly.

  “Gentleman, calm down,” my dad said quietly but they continued on, yelling at each other and arguing why they deserved it more than the next person. “Calm it down!” My dad yelled out when the men still hadn’t regained their composure. After my dad got their attention they all began squirming in their seats trying to contain their anger. “I understand that most of you would like to take over Miguel’s territory but it isn’t possible. Like we do with everything else we’ll handle it professionally. Each one of you that would like to make an offer on the territory, explain why you feel it will be in all of our benefit to allow you to take it over. Once you’ve done so then we’ll vote. Whatever the final result is, everybody will respect it and abide by it, agreed.”

  “Agreed,” they all echoed.

  I sat back and listened to six out of the fifteen men on the board tell why it would be the best decision for everyone involved to allow them to have the territory. Although it was obvious each man was aggravated with the other they all managed to keep their poise. Watching how they conducted their meeting let me know that any of these men could run a Fortune 500 company with their eyes closed. They were negotiating and pleading their cases better than top attorneys in multi-million dollar firms. I was learning more observing them than I would ever learn in a top university with the best professors. This shit right here was intoxicating.

  “Thank you gentleman, unless anybody has any further questions it’s time to vote.” The men all nodded their head in agreement and then some high tech miniature screen popped up from the table that allowed everyone to place their private vote. I was looking forward to knowing who nailed it and when the results popped up on the main flat screen above the fireplace, I smiled seeing Nico had won.

  “Bloodfire! Mi always inna crosses when it comes to voting in these meetings,” the Jamaican man blurted out. Everybody ignored his comment as if they were used to him lashing out every time he loss, which I figured from what he said, often.

  “Joder!” The Hispanic belted out and pounded his fist on the mahogany table.

  “Relax, Jose. You can’t always win. I lost this one too. What Nico said made more sense for the overall operation. As a matter of fact your argument was basically pointless,” the white man said without hesitation.

  “Que te jodan! Me cago en la madre que te pario.” The white man gave Jose a blank stare because clearly he didn’t understand a word he said which was a good thing. I took Spanish in school and not only did he say fuck you, he also said he would shit on the mother that gave birth to him. Those were fighting words for most of the people I knew.

  “If you have something to say, Jose, I would appreciate it if you used English. That is the language we all comprehend in here.”

  Jose glared at the white man and spit, “Hijo de puta,” and folded his arms.

  “This issue took much longer than expected so unless anybody has any pertinent business issues that can’t wait to be addressed at next month’s meeting then we’ll bring this to a close.” With the way tempers were flaring that was a wise move on my dad’s behalf to end this shit now and
everybody else seemed to agree the way they were hauling ass to get out of there. A couple of men stopped and congratulated Nico on his win but most left with aggravation etched on their face.

  “That worked out well,” my dad commented as we were walking out. With all three of them being in business together, with Nico winning it benefited them just as much. I had a feeling they already strategized what they planned on doing a while ago. So it made sense that neither my dad nor Lorenzo jumped in on the bidding. They out slicked the slickers. The three of them were in deep conversation as we walked out the building. From the entry I saw all the board members waiting out front for their cars to pull up. I then noticed Dice getting out the SUV opening the door for us and the other two SUVs with the additional armed bodyguards behind him. As we were retrieving our cell phones from one of the security officers, I did a double take. At first I thought I was mistaken but when I looked back again I realized that I wasn’t. He had on a black cap but it didn’t have the NYPD on it and he was also wearing black gloves and black shades. I prided myself on having an excellent memory and none of the men I saw had those three things on when we first arrived. I was praying that I was wrong but I decided to follow my gut.

  “Dad,” I yelled out in a not so loud tone not wanting to bring any additional attention on us.

  “What is it, Amir?” he slightly turned around and asked.

  “I don’t want to see the shining stars.” My dad’s eyes widened as he swiftly did an assessment of the surrounding area. That was our secret code phrase and we only used it when we believed our life was in jeopardy. When I was little I would always say that I don’t want to see the shining stars because that meant it was dark and I couldn’t stay outside and play any longer because it was time to get ready for bed. When I got older my dad made it our secret code because nobody would ever know to say that but us.

  “Code silver,” he screamed out repeatedly and I watched Dice say it through his earpiece. Right when Dice, and the armed guards stepped out with weapons aimed we heard the sound of gunshots spraying the afternoon air. My dad ran towards me grabbing my arm to make sure we both made it to the bullet proof truck. We all practically dived inside the open door for cover. Once inside I looked out the window and saw body after body dropping to the ground. It was about a dozen of the bootleg security men saturating bodies with bullets and none of them had on the NYPD hats. I realized they must’ve taken them all out while we were inside having our meeting. They were definitely top notch hired goons because it seemed their shots never missed the intended mark. All I could do was thank God my dad made sure we came in bullet proof SUVs and I knew the rest of the board members wished they had done the same.