Carl Weber's Kingpins

by C. N. Phillips

  “Shit!” Adonis said and felt his body go limp in the chair.

  Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!

  “You gonna get that?” the woman asked.

  She stood up, and Adonis watched her adjust herself before taking a seat on his desk. He grabbed the phone and finally peeped who was blowing him up. It was Klax. He hurried up and answered before it stopped vibrating. Klax never called more than once, so whatever it was, it had to have been important.

  “What up, G?”

  “Damn, nigga, you got me blowing you up like a bitch.”

  “My bad,” Adonis said and glanced up at the pretty, brown-skinned queen smiling down at him. “Shit just got a little hectic in the office. What’s the word, though? I heard about the theater. That’s all bad, man.”

  “Yeah, I know. And because I don’t need nothing else like that to happen, I need you to use your connects to find out some information for me.”

  “No doubt. What you need?”

  “I need to know any and everything you can dig up about Arnold Walker and LaTron Walker.”

  “Wait. Ain’t that what ole boy from the club said his name was?”

  “Yup. Make that happen for me. And next time I call, answer.”

  “Got you.”

  Click.

  Adonis placed the phone back on his desk and patted the woman on her thick thigh.

  “I think Alex might need his assistant back,” he told her.

  “When are you going to tell Klax about us?”

  “Why would I do that?” Adonis asked, making a face. “What am I supposed to say? That I’m dicking down his little sister’s best friend? Bahli, be for real. You know what this is, just like I do. Plus, I’m engaged. You and I can’t go any further than these little ‘office visits.’”

  Bahli rolled her eyes and stood up from the desk. Adonis had to admit, she looked good in yellow, and the way her dress hugged that shape of hers almost made him hard again. But he needed to focus on what Klax needed him to do, and that meant she had to leave. No distractions.

  “You get on my damn nerves,” she said, smacking her lips. “You know damn well that white girl ain’t gon’ be enough for you. She probably can’t even take dick like me.”

  Adonis found himself grinning, even though he didn’t want to. Bahli’s confidence was one of the things that had turned him on about her. When he got her the job as the assistant to one of his partners, he had no idea things would end up with them sexing multiple times a week in his office. He would never admit it to her, but he was quite addicted to her loving. In a perfect world, he probably would have swept her off her feet, but being with Jessica meant more growing opportunities for his career.

  “Here you go with this shit,” he said, shaking his head. “You better go before Alex starts looking for you.”

  “Oh, don’t worry; he’s not,” she said with a wink over her shoulder. “The two of you have a few things in common. Right now, he’s in the out of order men’s bathroom on the third floor with that pretty new attorney. I’m supposed to be available to tell his wife that he’s in a meeting if she calls.”

  “Well, you better get to it, then, before Amber does one of her famous pop-ups.”

  “You’re right,” Bahli said giggling. “That bitch is crazy.”

  She blew him a kiss and left the office, gently closing the door behind her. Once she was gone, Adonis went to work to find the information Klax had asked him about. The rest of his day consisted of making phone calls and doing thorough research on his laptop. By the end of his day, he had found out more than enough on both parties and knew that his right hand would be pleased. He shot Klax an email before he left the office to head home. Jessica had made her “famous” tuna casserole, so Adonis wanted to make sure he had time to stop and grab something good to eat before he walked through the doors.

  Adonis knew that Jessica wasn’t the woman who fit his rib, but she fit his budget, and that’s just what it was. She was smart, sexy, ambitious, and overall, a pretty good woman. However, the obvious differences between them had always proven to be quite the hurdle. Jessica was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, while Adonis had to fight his way up and earn his spot. He knew that wasn’t her fault, but it was a part of him that she would never be able to understand. Actually, she didn’t even try to understand; instead, she tried to mold him into the man that she saw fit for herself. In many different ways, she asked him to forget his roots. Many times, she told him to stay away from Klax, his brother and his best friend. In the beginning, he had been so wrapped around her finger because he couldn’t believe a woman of her stature wanted to be with him. He had swayed away from his hood roots and began to turn into something that he didn’t recognize. Thankfully, he caught himself. Klax was the one person in the world who had stood by his side when nobody else dared to. Klax had pulled him out of many burning hot fires and had even footed the bill for him to go to college and get his law degree. He would never turn his back on him, so their relationship was just something Jessica would have to deal with.

  The drive home was peaceful. Adonis stopped at his favorite burger joint and was chewing while bobbing his head to Future’s voice blasting from his speakers. The sun was still up as he pushed his sleek black Audi R8 through the streets of New York. Unlike Klax, he’d actually grown up in Harlem. So to go from barely having food to eat every day to live the lavish life he could as an adult was a blessing. He couldn’t imagine ever going back to that; therefore, every day, he strived to be a better man than he was the day before.

  Once he got home, he parked his car next to his fiancée’s white Lexus truck in the parking garage. He looked in the rearview mirror and wiped the corners of his mouth to remove any telltale evidence of the burger. It wasn’t that Jessica was a bad cook because she wasn’t. However, he was used to a different kind of menu than she was. A menu that he didn’t trust her to prepare for him without sitting in the kitchen with his mom first for a few lessons.

  When he reached the door to his tenth-floor sky view condo, he paused when he heard voices coming from the other end. He knew it wasn’t the TV because he heard Jessica’s voice mingled in the conversation. Adonis hadn’t been expecting company, and Jessica surely didn’t tell him that they were having anyone over. He reached behind his back, under his jacket, and placed his hand around the handle of the Ruger tucked in his pants before he opened the door.

  “Honey!” Jessica gushed from the well lit kitchen when she saw him enter.

  Her wide smile let him know that there was no immediate danger in the large one-bedroom condo, and he let the gun go. He still didn’t climb off the edge, however. He noticed that she was dressy in a skirt, a nice blouse, and stockings. Sitting at the circle table in the dining room were two men that he didn’t recognize. Both were Caucasian, wearing suits and fake smiles on their faces. One wore his blond hair cut short, had dark brown eyes, and had three permanent lines on his square forehead. The other had jet-black hair that was slightly disheveled and brown eyes. Adonis only had to take one look at them to know what they were. Feds.

  “Baby, you didn’t tell me we were having company tonight,” Adonis said and let her take his briefcase from his hands. “What’s the occasion?”

  “That right there with the blond hair is Detective Hanes, and that’s his partner, Detective Terry. These nice gentlemen just wanted to have a few words with you; that’s all.” She said it like it was no big deal. “Sit down. We were waiting for you to join us before we ate.”

  “Your wife-to-be tells us she makes a mean tuna casserole,” Detective Hanes said.

  “Yeah, she does,” Adonis said but didn’t budge from where he was standing. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just wondering why two feds are in my home? And why my fiancée would let them in.”

  “You got something to hide?” Detective Terry said, raising his brow at him.

  “Do I?”

  Adonis gave them both hard looks. He couldn’t believe that Jessica would welcome two fe
deral agents in the home where he kept private information. He shot her a look, but she ignored it as she went to make everyone’s plates.

  “Honey, they just want to ask you a few questions; that’s it.”

  “Okay, what are the questions?” Adonis asked and made a motion with his hands as if to tell them to make it snappy.

  “I guess we can make this quick and painless,” Detective Hanes said with a smirk. “It’s our understanding that you are good friends with a man named Kevin Turner?”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, we have reason to believe that he’s been involved with quite a few illegal dealings around the state of New York. Even a drug syndicate. Do you have any information about that?”

  “Not only is Mr. Turner my friend, but he is my client. I’m sure you know that falls under client confidentiality. I’m not at liberty to speak about any matter concerning Mr. Turner with you or anyone else.”

  “We had a feeling you were going to say that,” Detective Terry said. “And that’s why we took the liberty to do some digging of our own. How does a man like you, who comes from a slum in Harlem, find yourself able to afford an education at New York Law School? Who footed that bill?”

  “If you did all that digging, then you know the answer to that.”

  “So, Kevin Turner paid for you to go to school? How do you think he came across a pretty penny like that?”

  “I’m sure you know who his father was. Kevin comes from a family of money.”

  “Drug money.”

  “That has never been a fact or proven,” Adonis said not missing a beat. “The Turners have always had a part in many lucrative businesses all around the state of New York. But I guess when you’re a white man who grew up with less than a black, the only way that could be is if drugs are involved, right? Get the fuck out of my house.”

  “Honey,” Jessica stepped into the dining room and tried to calm him. “These men are just trying to help. You know that theater just got blown up, and these detectives are just doing their job. They think that Kevin did it because the state wasn’t going to approve his purchase of the property. You know my daddy is on the council, and when the detectives questioned him, I told them you would be happy to cooperate in the investigation.”

  “You did what? You must be stupid,” Adonis looked at her like she was a smashed spider on the bottom of his shoe.

  “W-what? Don’t speak to me like that.”

  “There ain’t nothing else to speak about,” Adonis said to the detectives. “Y’all can go and try to dig up whatever lies you can find on my client.”

  “Best friend,” Detective Hanes said.

  “That too,” Adonis agreed.

  The men, leaving their casseroles untouched, stood up and walked toward the door Adonis had opened for them. He glared at the amused expressions on their faces and stood back so that they could pass. Detective Terry stopped in front of Adonis and sized him up for a moment.

  “You do know that if we connect drug money to your tuition, your license will be revoked. You won’t be able to practice law anywhere in the country, let alone New York,” Detective Terry warned.

  “Not worried about it,” Adonis responded.

  The detective gave him a smirk before exiting with his partner. When they were gone, Adonis let the heavy door slam shut before he shot rounds with his eyes at Jessica. The anger in his gut was growing by the second, and he could tell that she truly felt that she had done nothing wrong by the look of annoyance on her face. He knocked the two plates of food off the table and sent them crashing into the wall.

  “What the fuck, Jess?” he shouted. “What the fuck are you on? Why did you just have feds in my crib?”

  “Now, why did you go and do that?” she asked and went to get a towel. “I told you why they were here. They needed to ask you some questions about Kevin.”

  “And you really thought that I would give them any kind of information about my best friend?”

  “Yes, I did. Especially now that I know he was the one to put you through law school. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

  “Because that’s not your business!”

  “Now, it is my business! Especially if you can get your license to practice law revoked! You and I both know that Kevin is no good.”

  “No good to whom? You and your councilman daddy? Do you think his slate is squeaky clean? I bet you right now I can locate a few payouts under his belt in less than an hour. Don’t fucking play with me like this, yo. You’re really buggin’.”

  “I’m ‘bugging’? Who are you right now?”

  “The same man that you refuse to see. I’m black, in case you forgot,” Adonis told her.

  “I know you’re black. Don’t insult me like that. But I think you should call those detectives back and tell them what they need to know before this gets any wo—”

  “Fuck you,” Adonis cut her off.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t stutter. I said, fuck you.”

  “Don’t speak to me like that! I refuse to marry a man who disrespects me.”

  “You must be stupid as hell to think I’m still gon’ marry you after this,” Adonis told her in a disgusted manner. “Get your shit and get the fuck out of my spot. All your shit, ’cause you ain’t coming back.”

  “W-wait. Adonis, baby.” Jessica tried to grab his arm, but he snatched it away. “Please don’t do this. I love you, and I want to be with you, baby.”

  “No, you don’t. You want to be with one of the top lawyers in the state. You and your daddy want to control me. You don’t see me as a black man, and you sure as hell don’t understand me as one. Letting motherfuckin’ feds in my home like you pay a bill. Bitch, you must be out of your white-ass mind. Matter of fact, I’ll have your things mailed to you. But you gotta go right now. Period. I don’t even wanna look at you.”

  By the time he finished speaking, Jessica was a pool of tears. Her sobs made it difficult for her to speak, and Adonis couldn’t make out anything that she was saying. Even if he could, he wouldn’t care because she had to go. She clung to him as he grabbed her purse and car keys. He dragged her to the front door and threw the purse and keys into the hallway. Then he looked down at her pitiful face and saw that her long, blond hair was sticking to her cheeks because of her tears, but he had no sympathy for her. She had crossed the line. There was no way that she could ever be his family asking him to betray his family. She had to get X’d out of his life.

  “Let me go,” he told her.

  “If you make me leave, I’m going to the police, and I’m going to tell them that you beat me,” she threatened.

  “Good luck with that. You of all people should know I have cameras throughout this condo. The only thing the police will see is a crazed and demented woman who can’t handle rejection.”

  “Please, Adonis, I love you. Please don’t do this.”

  “Just go, Jessica. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

  When she realized that begging wasn’t getting her anywhere, she released him and stepped into the hallway. She tried to collect her dignity and pick up her things. In the time it took to stand back up, fire had replaced the saddened look in her blue eyes.

  “My father was right about you. Once trash, always trash. I was the best thing that ever happened to you. I hope that when they take Kevin down, they take you wi—”

  He slammed the door in her face before she could finish speaking. He didn’t care about anything she was talking about. All he wanted to do was warn Klax that the Feds were watching him and to watch his steps at the mayor’s birthday dinner that evening. He grabbed his phone from his briefcase and made the call.

  “Bro?” Adonis said as soon as Klax picked up the phone. “What you on right now?”

  “Just getting ready to handle some business.”

  “Word, I feel it. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. The Feds have eyes on you. They think you had something to do with that building getting blown up. So only move s
mart, a’ight?”

  “I figured as much, and you know I move like a smooth operator, baby boy.”

  “You so corny,” Adonis said, feeling his mood lighten a little bit. “A’ight, I just wanted to make sure that you’re sharp on your toes.”

  “Good looking, but aye, let me holler at you later, bet?”

  “Yep.”

  Adonis disconnected the call, and it was then that he realized the mess he made in his usually spotless condo. He was glad then that he had chosen the one with wooden floors because that nasty tuna casserole would have been hell to clean out of any carpet. He groaned and headed for the hallway closet to get a towel to clean it up and hoped that Jessica wouldn’t make her way back there that night.

  Chapter 9

  “Worry is interest paid on trouble before it is due.”

  —William R. Inge

  Kleigh

  The night was still young, and Kleigh found herself moving around the mayor’s dinner like a chicken with her head cut off. The banquet hall had been set up elegantly, and everyone who was anyone was in attendance. They were all sipping or munching on something while fraternizing with each other or dancing. Kleigh was doing neither. She was supposed to be enjoying the event, not working, but she could not help it. Not when her name was on the line. She kept going back in the kitchen to check on the extra cakes they were baking just in case they ran out of the ones they’d made at the bakery.

  “Girl, if you don’t get your ass out of this kitchen!” Eddy shoo’d her away the last time she’d gone back to the kitchen. He was dressed in his baker’s attire with his hair pulled back. “Back here in a damn ball gown looking lost and out of place.”

  “I’m just making sure everything is going all right. You’re back here by yourself.”

  Eddy turned his head side to side as if he were looking for something before glancing back at her. He gave her a wide-eyed look like if she didn’t get out of his face, he was going to pop her one.