“Go… I’ll stage this up, my favorite part.” Chef winked.
Me and Khaos left out the way we came. Never being seen, even by the drunks that were in front of the building shooting the breeze.
Like ghosts.
CHAPTER 13
ZOYA
I staredat one of the partner’s crooked ass toupee as he spoke to us in this meeting. There was nothing more in this world I wanted than to get up, shift that bitch, and return back to my seat.
Instead, I was stuck with sketching it out in my agenda instead of paying him attention. It had been two weeks since I had seen or heard from Gerald after our fight. I blocked him on everything and checked my peep hole every time I left my condo to avoid running into him.
Then he had the nerve to be a liar.
He claimed Bando was his son and then told Navy he was going to walk him. His lying ass never came to pick Bando up. This was part of his silent treatment he was giving me. It was one thing to get on my nerves, but to lie to an innocent little boy was just cruel. My son sat at that door for an hour, and he never knocked to come and pick him up.
Just like a man to make promises he knew he would never keep.
I slowly looked up from the buss down that I had drawn on the George in my agenda, and everyone at the conference tablewas staring at me. It was then that I realized how bad it was that I wasn’t paying any attention to what they were talking about.
I was one of the youngest attorneys in this firm, and the only Black woman in my position. While the men got to slack off and do whatever they wanted, that didn’t fly when it came to me. I had to work ten times harder than them.
“Never paying attention.” I could hear my colleague huff under his stupid stink breath.
“Teddy, you said you wanted to look under my skirt?” I gasped.
Teddy turned as red as the tie he wore as he looked around the table. I continued to look just as flustered as he did, while George looked at him in disgust. As his father, he was disgusted that those words would ever leave his mouth.
The sick part of me accusing him of wanting to look under my skirt was that I didn’t wear a skirt to the office today.
This was my payback for having to work with a spoiled trust fund baby named Teddy. He had a membership to the country club before he could walk and used his father’s yacht to party with his friends for the weekend. A life of privilege was one that he lived, and he was the type that never apologized for it either.
In fact, he loved to make others feel less than because he was gifted a Tiffany’s rattle when he came into the world.
“Teddy, apologize to Zoya right this second,” George sternly demanded, as his son messed with his tie, stretching out his shirt’s neck because he was so uncomfortable.
Now he understood how some of us felt about his presence. He was born into this life; I had to actually work hard and do the work to get where he was.
Despite what people thought, the Casellis didn’t always have money. We were once the broke orphan Easton kids that no one wanted anything to do with. I never knew the logistics on how Menace came into the Easton’s money.
All I knew was that our uncle was found murdered with his wife and our cousins. Menace said it was some political hit since my uncle was starting to get into politics. Teddy had been spoiled from the day he was born.
I, too, would have been spoiled when I was younger. That was until they died, and then real life took over for us. I hated to see a man be so fucking spoiled and not stand on any kind of business.
His father could cut him off tomorrow and he wouldn’t be able to stand on his own. Landon could be cut off tomorrow, and he would still eat. He had the skills to maintain his lifestyle and take care of his future wife.
Me and Kora both had careers that we could depend on. Menace made sure we neverneededhim. That in a room alone, we could stand on our own without ever needing a damn person.
Not even him.
“That was so unnecessary. Again, I’m sorry for that, George. Can you please catch me up… my mind is… well.” I cleared my throat. “Frazzled.”
George, feeling completely guilty for his son’s remarks, cleared his own throat and leaned back in the chair. “Preston Vance has been indicted. I know that he has been in contact with you… wanting you to represent him. After the remarkable job you did with the Amante case, and what you’re doing with the Maze case, I’m not surprised that everyone wants to retain you.”
I leaned forward and smiled. “Yes, me and Preston have shared a few correspondences. He hasn’t reached out to retain me as of yet.”
Me and Preston had shared a few calls, emails, and I had even met him out for coffee. He told me everything he wanted me to know, but until that wire hit the account, there was nothing we needed to discuss.
