The Conglomerate: A Luxorious Tale

by Santiago, Danielle

  Dorenda hated that her children were even worrying about bills. She couldn’t help but think of her girlfriends from the factory that were able to quit their jobs after their sons or boyfriends began dealing in drugs. She wouldn’t dream of quitting her job, in fact, she had a better plan. So she asked Tony

  “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  “We know enough.”

  “You have to know more than enough! And don’t think for one second that I’m condoning this. But I was thinking I have a small amount of money saved and if I work some overtime we could move out of this horrible neighborhood.”

  “You don’t have to work no overtime,” Rico assured, “or go in your savings. Just find where you want to move and let us know how much it’s going to cost.”

  Guilt plagued Dorenda for even having this conversation with her children. Instead of talking about moving she should’ve been cursing them out and telling them how wrong they were. Tony could see that his mother was struggling with her decision as he scooted closer to her.

  “Mama, we’re just trying to get this family ahead. We’re not trying to make a career out of this.”

  “Promise me that you’ll watch out for your brother,” she nodded towards Rico, who she knew to be her hotheaded wild child. “Don’t let him do anything crazy. More importantly keep this away from Zay and Jason.”

  A month later the family relocated to a mid-sized four bedroom, one story rental in a middle class neighborhood. The brothers did more than help the family get ahead. Within a year they helped their mother purchase a new five bedroom home in an upper middle class home. They also bought her a brand new car and themselves one each. Their hustle had turned into the career that they said it wouldn’t. They did keep their promise and didn’t let their younger brothers get involved in drug dealing. That didn’t matter much though— Zay and Jason had grown up around the action and absorbed the game. So when Tony and Rico caught eighteen-year federal bids, Zay and Jason stepped right into their shoes.

  Zay was a natural hustler and he’d proven himself to be the best out of the four. He’d used his brother’s fortunes andmisfortunes as his blueprint for the game. Thus far it had worked out very well for him. He was nearly eighteen years deep in the game. In those years he’d avoided any major run ins with the law. Over the last five years he’d flown quietly under the radar as one of the biggest heroine distributors in the southeast. In doing so Zay had amassed great wealth. Wealth that his wife didn’t even know existed. Joey knew that her husband dealt narcotics, but she didn’t that he was dealing on the level that he was. At this point he had enough money to set his older brothers up properly upon their return home from prison in a few short months. There was enough money that if handled properly, his children and future grandchildren to live off of. Zay was nearing the end of what he considered a magnificent run in the drug game. He didn’t need any unnecessary bullshit hindering him from accomplishing his goal. He was not at all selfish in thoughts, for his heart felt for the loss of life and the harm that Petey had suffered. His thoughts were with them first and foremost. Whipping the car their luxury home lined Palisades neighborhood, Zay told Joey.

  “For now I’m going to play dumb and give you the benefit of the doubt about what you know. Soon, you better decide what’s important and where your loyalties lie; with your family or shady ass friend.”

  The sun was up and shining by the time Joey’s head touched the pillow. She had been asleep for only two hours when her cell began to blast loudly in her ear. Joey sat straight up. Exhausted and discombobulated she didn’t even remember falling asleep or the previous night’s events. Once she saw Cee’s name displayed on the screen of her IPhone everything that had happened came crashing into her mind.

  “Hey Cee,” she answered in a raspy whisper. She cleared her throat. “Hey Cee how’s Petey?”

  “He’s dead,” Cee whaled. “He’s dead. My husband is DEAD!”

  ***

  In the days following Petey’s death life became very hectic for the ladies and their immediate circle. Just as Zay predicted the police looked deeply into the personal and business lives of Cee, Joey, and Evan. They were ruled out as having any involvement early on. From the start of the investigation the police focused their sights on a serial arsonist who’d been setting buildings ablaze across the city for over a year. Since Molotov cocktails were the arsonist signature flame starter, detectives assumed that it was him, who attempted to set the L Room on fire and shot Petey and the security guard. The police did inform the families and The Luxe Group of their arsonist theory and assured them that they were doing everything to catch the suspect.

  The Luxe group paid for the security guard’s funeral and burial expenses. Joey had also placed a sizable personal check in a condolence card to his family.

  Petey’s family had raised him in an Apostolic denomination faith church, they didn’t believe in sad funerals. They preferred celebration of life services with upbeat music, holy ghost preaching, and shouting. A week after his death Petey’s home going celebration was held on a sunny Monday afternoon. Petey’s immediate and extended family wore white for the funeral as a symbol to show that they were celebrating instead of mourning. Petey’s body lay in a top of the line silver stainless steel casket that was adorned with white roses. Dozens of reefs sent from around the country surrounded the altar. He was loved by so many.

  Everything about the service was upbeat; even Petey’s mother was in good spirits. Cee couldn’t get with it though. Sitting on the first row between Evan and Joey she was inconsolable at times sobbing loudly. It was heartbreaking. Cee’s children held up very well considering the circumstances. The Trips were composed and poised as they comforted the two younger children. The atmosphere at the cemetery after the funeral was drastically different from the church service. It was awfully sad, a lot of wailing and fainting amongst the family. The realization that this was the last stop with Petey in the physical was too much for them to bare. Cee sat staring stoically at the coffin that was parked in front of a stone mausoleum with a steady stream of tears flowing from her eyes. As the graveside service came to an end and everyone was preparing to leave Cee whispered to Joey.

  “I’m not ready to go. I want to be alone with my husband for little while. Can you stay with me?”

  “Of course I will sweetie. You stay right here I’ll let them know to go ahead without us.”

  Joey caught up to Evan as she was getting in one of the family limos with Cee’s children. “Hey, listen Cee wants to hang back for a little while. We’ll ride to the repast with Zay.”

  “Are you sure?” Evan asked looking over Joey’s shoulder at Cee who was still seated in front of the casket. “The staff has the repast ready for the family’s arrival. I can wait with you guys.”

  “No. We’re good,” Joey stated directly.

  “Well, al-righty then.”

  The exchange was quite awkward. In the days leading up to the funeral, conversation between the two friends had been at the minimum. If and when they did talk it was only pertaining to business matters or the planning of Petey’s repast that was being held at the L Room.

  “Guess I’ll see you guys at the repast,” Evan said feeling ever so slighted by her long time bestie as she turned to head for the car. She knew that she was the cause of the tension. Knowing what had to be done to clear the air she turned around.

  “Aye Joe, you wanna get together tonight for drinks and have that talk?”

  “I sure do,” Joey replied matter of factly before walking away.

  After the last car exited the cemetery, Cee walked up to her husband’s casket, flung her upper body onto it, and began to sob loudly. Seated on a bench about fifty feet away Joey and Zay watched quietly. Resting on the casket, she continued to cry for five to ten minutes. Out of nowhere she began banging the casket and screaming, “why-why-why Petey?”

  Joey stood to go console her. Zay put his arm out blocking her path. “Chill Joe let her get th
is out.” As bad as Joey wanted to run over to Cee, hug her up and let her know that it was going to be alright she followed Zay’s advice.

  “Why did you have to go back there? I asked you not to!” Cee screamed at the casket. “Now what am I supposed to do? Who’s going to teach our son to be a man? Who’s going to walk our daughter’s down the aisle? Who’s going to hold me down?” The anger that she was feeling subsided and the hurt from the overwhelming pain set in. Her angry screams turned to soft whimpers. In a voice barely above whisper she started to pour out her heart to her slain love. “Petey, I love you so much. I don’t know how to go on without you. My heart is shattered and I don’t think I’ll be able to pick up the pieces without you. I know that you would want me to be strong and I’m going to try to be strong. I’m going to try to be strong for the kids. I don’t know if you knew it but you were my world, you and the kids. I’d give up everything that I’ve accomplished just to have you back. It means nothing if you’re not here.” Cee’s shoulder heaved up and her body shook violently as the tears began to flow even faster. “I don’t want to leave you. I swear I don’t. Everyone that loves you is waiting on me at a repast in your honor.” she sobbed, “So I must go now. I will always love you and I promise you that no one will ever take your place. You are and always will be my only husband.” Cee kissed Petey’s casket, “Farewell my love.” She motioned for a cemetery worker to come over.

  “Are you ready for us to put the casket in the vault ma’am?” one of the workers asked.

  Cee closed her eyes and nodded her head up and down. Three more cemetery workers came over. Two men on each side, they began to wheel the casket into the stone mausoleum. Unable to watch Petey being put into his final resting place, Cee turned and strolled over to Joey and Zay. “I need to get out here,” she said falling into Joey waiting arms. “I can’t see him go in there knowing he’ll never come out.”

  ***

  During the repast Cee wore a brave face, mainly for her kids as people laughed, cried, ate, and shared their fondest memories of Pete. Of course it was hard for Cee, but the fact that it was being held inside the very building that Petey died outside of made it twenty times harder. Not to mention this was Cee’s first time being back on the premises since that fatal night. Though it was tough for her being there it was somewhat comforting to be in the last place that she saw Petey alive. The place that they’d shared their last kiss ever and it was as if she could still feel his spirit there.

  Cee’s appetite was pretty much non-existent. Food wasn’t high on the menu for her, but Gin and Tonics were. The drinks helped her get through the repast. They also cleared her head enough for her to notice that there was some type of tension between Joey and Evan. It wasn’t hard to notice in such a setting. Whenever Evan came into Joey’s presence, Joey would remove herself. Then there were the times that Cee caught Joey unconsciously scowling at Evan. Cee made a mental to note to ask Joey, whom she was closer to, what was going on between the two.

  The repast winded down about seven that evening. On the way out, Joey came across Evan as she was instructing her staff on the cleanup duties for the night. Joey waited for her to finish then said, “I hope you still want to get together for drinks and that long overdue talk?”

  “Ain’t nothing changed,” Evan replied smugly and a little fed up with the shade that Joey was throwing.

  “Okay. So where and when?”

  “Vinnie’s at eleven.”

  The only thing that Joey really wanted to do was pick up her kids from her mother in law’s house, go home, and chill with them. With the chaos of opening the Luxe Group followed by the shooting, it had been weeks since she’d got to spend quality time with her three sons, Braden nine, Chaz seven, Axle six and her three-year old daughter, McKinley. Fuck Evan I’m going to get my kids, she thought during the drive.

  Thinking of the importance of getting the truth she pushed that thought out her mind and mashed down on the Range Rover’s gas pedal speeding all the way home.

  An unusual silence for a Tuesday evening greeted her as she entered her opulent residence. Absent was the sound of the boys rough housing, cartoons, and or video games blaring from the televisions. The quietness reinforced Joey’s longing for her children. With no time to get caught up in her emotions, she shook her feelings off. She went straight to her master bath and began to undress. At 765 square feet, this wasn’t any normal master bath. Joey helped to design it and it easily rivaled spa baths in some of the most luxurious mansions across the country. With light brown and beige marble walls and Chanel flooring. A sunken- jetted bathtub large enough for six people was located in the middle of the room. A glass encased shower/steam room ran the length of the back bathroom wall. It had four large shower-heads, one on each end, two that hung from the ceiling, a marble bench and steam vents. A forty-two inch flat screen was mounted on the wall above the celebrity dressing room style vanity. This was one of Joey’s favorite rooms in the house. Whenever she felt overwhelmed she would escape to her master bathroom for a long soak in the tub while the sound of her favorite R&B tunes poured from the surround speakers enclosed in the walls. She could easily spend hours in this bathroom.

  With time ticking closer to eleven p.m. there was no time for a nice extended soak. Joey turned the shower on, disrobed, and stepped in. Standing beneath the ceiling hung shower head she allowed the steaming hot water to drench her perfectly coifed hair. She poured a good amount of shampoo into the palm of hand then began to wash her hair. As she scrubbed her scalp with her fingertips she wondered what the secret that Evan had been keeping was. Joey knew that it must’ve been pretty serious or embarrassing for Evan not to share it with her. As far as Joey was concerned they knew each other deepest and darkest secrets.

  After a twenty-minute hair and body cleansing, Joey thoroughly dried her hair and pinned it up in a neat bun atop of her head. Once she was done, she slipped on pink chrome heart jogging suit and a pair of deep chocolate Vuitton sneakers. When Joey got down to four-car garage she started to get back in her Range, then decided against it. Instead she opted to drive her brand new toy, a Porsche Panamera, that had been delivered the day after the shooting that had taken Petey’s life. She felt that it would’ve been inappropriate to pull it out in the immediate days following the incident. The custom ordered car was definitely the hardest car in the city. It was black, with black interior, and it sat on twenty-two inch black rims. Joey nicknamed it Black Beauty. “I might as well take you for a spin,” she said admiring the car, “’cause if my business doesn’t recover from this craziness, I may have to sell you.”

  Pulling into the parking lot of Vinnie’s Raw bar, Joey spotted Evan conversing with a scruffy, gray-haired, bearded older white man with whom seemed very familiar. Rhamel was sitting in the driver’s seat of Evan’s Jag looking on. Joey backed into a parking space that faced where Evan and the man stood. She watched as the man handed Evan a large manila envelope then went on his way. To Joey this was certainly weird by all appearances. The sound of Joey’s ringing cell filled the car, when she saw her husband’s face flash onto the screen she quickly answered.

  “What up babe?”

  “What up babe,” he shot back sarcastically. “Where the hell you at?”

  “I’m at Vinnies. I came to meet Evan for drinks and to talk.”

  “What happened to us going to get drinks?”

  “We still can, meet me up here.”

  Zay scoffed at his wife’s suggestion. “One, I don’t want to be around phony ass Evan, that’s your people. Two, I wanted to go in one car. And why you take your new car just to meet Evan?”

  “I drove the car ‘cause its mines and I wanted to drive it at least once in case I have to sell it.”

  “Why would you have to sell your car?”

  “What if my business doesn’t recover from what has happened?”

  “Man, go ahead with that. Luxe is straight and as long as I’m straight you don’t have to sell shit. You got me?”<
br />
  “I got you,” she smiled to herself, loving the surety that her husband brought to her life.”

  “So how long are you going to be at Vinnies?”

  “I just got here, but this shouldn’t take longer than an hour. I have to rap with Evan for a minute.”

  “Make it fast or I’m out.” With that he ended the call.

  Joey entered Vinnies and found Evan sitting at the rear of the bar.

  “What’s good lady?” she greeted taking a seat at the table opposite Evan.

  “Nothing much,” she responded while scouring over the contents of the manila envelope. “I already order two rounds of martinis.”

  “Un huh, this shit must be real serious you got drinks on deck.”

  A perky blonde in the bar’s uniform, a barely there tank, and cut off short denim booty shorts came over. “Here you go,” she set four martinis down before them.

  “I see you ordered my favorite,” Joey said lifting the martini glass filled blue cheese stuffed olives.

  “Can I get you anything else?” the waitress asked.

  “Yes,” Evan said, “a bucket of oysters with hollandaise sauce and you can put in for another round of drinks.”

  “Sure thing,” the waitress smiled before prancing away.

  Evan continued to study the papers. Joey took a sip of her drink then asked. “Who was the old white dude that you were talking to outside?”

  “Hmm I didn’t know you saw that,” Evan replied laying the papers down on the table. She took a sip from her glass. “That was a private investigator that I hired to find out who’s been stalking me.”

  “So you are being stalked?”

  “Yes, but by who I don’t know. At first I thought it was girlfriend or a wife of someone that I had dated. Now...I think it’s much deeper than that.”

  “What do you mean?” Joey quizzed.

  Evan gulped the rest of her drink down and placed the glass on back on the table. “When I was in college, over those four years I worked with Gage to set up a good number of drug dealers and I’m not talking regular drug dealers. I’m talking about dudes that were getting major paper the upper hundred thousand to millions.”