“Why you answer for this nigga and not me, Jisei?” I spoke up as Matteo’s mug started morphing into a creepy-ass grin.
“Ummm… Brother?”
“Nawl. It’s our dead-ass daddy. Answer the question!”
Jisei coughed. “I haven’t gotten no call, brother. I swear…”
Matteo’s ugly ass was smiling the hardest he’s ever had as I scowled at his phone.
“You a lyin’ fool! And ion see yo’ location no more either. Jisei, don’t have me come to that gaudy-ass, pink festival-looking house you got.”
Matteo’s smile dropped as if he’d had a revelation. “Why the fuck you got my sister’s location, nigga? Ion got her location.”
“Same reason you got my sister’s, nigga.” Our sisters were clearly playing us, but Jisei knew I’d put my foot in her ass. Matteo was still getting to know Pearla, so he had to tread carefully. “Jisei, I’m ’bout to call you. Hang up on this nigga.”
The screen lit up, indicating that she did as I asked.
“See, I can’t even call yo’ sister without her begging. I miss when she was poor and grateful for a wave.”
“Like I ain’t just send yours a stack.” I huffed.
“Nigga, cuz you a duck. I gave her the money for her hair yesterday, and the shit only cost three hundred. You done paid for braids for the whole squad.”
I shrugged. “It’s all good. If the three musketeers want braids, then braids it is. It’s plenty more where that came from.”
“I ain’t runnin’ out over here either, nigga.”
“Yeah, aite. That’s why my house bigger than yours.” I smiled at Matteo because he had yet to expand onto his house since moving there from the condo.
“Y’all stupid, yo. I got shit to do so let’s get back to Shio… Is your mind made up, Don? He gettin’ Reuchie seat?” Rut swerved the conversation back on topic.
Instead of responding, I was watching Matteo with a smirk. With the rate his fingers were moving, he was more than likely texting Pearla to turn on her location for him or a realtor to find a house bigger than mine. He had to accept that we were both close with each other’s sisters, but I was the more likableperson with more disposable money. Matteo was rich, but he was mean as fuck. Money, marriage, or Lil Gas Station—as he called Princess—hadn’t made the nigga any less mean.
Turning to face Rut, I finally replied, “Nah… Ain’t shit set in stone. We gone see how this shit play out. If he handle everything how he supposed to, he got the position. If not, then I’ll do the job myself.”
“Respectfully, Don, we need a person who has the… intellect—finesse. We ain’t no dumb-ass niggas, but we more so the muscle. The enforcers. Killers. We need a thinker that’s a doer too.”
“Damn, Rut, tell me how you really feel.” I stood and buttoned my jacket.
Both men stood, Matteo still texting.
“Ain’t shit but love,” Rut said while pushing in the big-ass chair. “I’m here to keep it real, and that’s what I’ll always do. That finessing shit ain’t our lane. We would’ve never been able to build this shit if it wasn’t for Reuchie. I respect why he had to step down, but we need somebody better than him to step in his role. Someone that can bend but won’t break. Someone who can see what the fuck we can’t.”
“Facts,” Matteo replied, not taking his face out of the phone.
If his ass found a house bigger than mine, Dasani was going to be mad as fuck because I’d promised her I was done expanding the house after the current build was finished.
I nodded. “We gone see how this shit play out. I’ll keep my ear to the streets with the Rodríguezes. It won’t be long before they show their faces or make some noise, making it easier to find where they’re hiding. No matter the race, niggas get tight when it comes to a bitch, and Shio got theirs under lock and key. Had I known they were behind the fuckin’ kidnappings, they would’ve died in the fuckin’ club that night. But at this point, ion just want a few… I want to eliminate the whole line. AnotherCuppacio and Rinaldi massacre by a Cuppacio and a Rinaldi. It’ll be nice to kill some other muthafuckas than our own this time, huh?”
When Rut and Matteo chuckled, I grabbed my phone and walked to the double doors. “Meeting fuckin’ adjourned.”
“Babyyyy!”I called out, removing the tie from around my neck.
I’d made it home and was tired as fuck. Admiring all the changes made throughout the years as I walked through my home, I was proud as fuck of my estate; it had become my oasis because I wouldn’t stop adding whatever I wanted in this motherfucker. I’d expanded onto the mansion more times than I could count and was running out of surrounding land. Dasani asked me to stop so we could still have open space for Delicate, but shit, I’d just buy whoever house was in my way and knock their shit down. We didn’t need this much space, since we only had one child, but why not? A mega mansion for a Don, his queen, and their Delicate Mafia sounded normal to me. One day, I’d pass this shit down to my daughter, and hopefully my son, but that shit was in the air because my baby mama wasn’t budging on having a second child right now.
“Baby!” I yelled again.
My Prada loafers squeaked against the spotless marble as I rounded walls to make it to the main living areas. Every inch of my home was immaculate, but Dasani and her team of designers made sure it never felt cold or overly perfect. Every room was warm and inviting with expensive furnishings and decor. I’d never admit it out loud, but I liked to host. Dasani had finally picked out the starting fragrances for her perfume launch, andas soon as the bottles were done being designed, I was going to throw some ole extravagant-ass shit again.
