“Why the fuck you always bringing her up? She don’t have shit to do with me and you. Stop taking them pills and give me a baby then. We can have our own family.”
Him saying that reminded me that I hadn’t even taken my pills. I had been so consumed with life, and besides it’s not like I was actively having sex right now anyway and I didn’t plan to.
I tiredly laughed. “I am not having a damn baby especially not by you. Rome, I’m tired, I’ve been doing doubles back-to-back and I have to go.”
“You see there? You left and now you working doubles and back baking cakes. Yeah, I heard about it. When you were home, you didn’t have to do all of that.”
I couldn’t take anymore of him not seeing where he went wrong here. “I’m hanging up, and don’t try to show up to my home because if you do, I’m calling the police.”
“I don’t give a fuck about no…”
Before he could finish, I ended the call. Ten minutes later, I was at home sneaking through the back just in case Rome hadbeen somewhere lurking in the front. I didn’t even turn the lights on. I locked the deadbolt and fell face first on the couch. I was so tired I couldn’t even make it to the room. Out of all people, I was saved by Lev tonight and by the grace of God was about to get some good and much needed sleep.
CHAPTER 17
E’Levyn ‘Lev’ Laurent
Day Five
Miami looked different from thirty floors up. I stood in front of the window with one hand in my pocket and the other wrapped around a cup of hot tea. I hadn’t taken another sip because my mind was somewhere else. It wasn’t the first time that happened and it damn sure wouldn’t be the last. Running Empire meant there was always another problem waiting on the other side of a phone call, another property to close on, and another cocky ass investor who thought money made him the smartest man in the room.
Money impressed people but it never impressed me, the results did. There was a knock on my office door before it slowly opened. “Morning, Mr. Laurent.”
I turned around as Stephanie stepped inside carrying a leather portfolio and an iPad tucked against her hip. She’d worked for me long enough to know better than to come in talking before I acknowledged her.
“Morning.” I replied.
“They’re all here.”
I glanced at the watch around my wrist before looking back at her. “This early?”
She smiled. “Actually…yes.”
“They finally learning.” I replied.
She laughed before she opened the portfolio and began flipping through today’s schedule. “Nine o’clock is the Harbor Point development meeting. Ten-thirty you’ve got the lender from New York calling in. Your attorney moved the zoning meeting to tomorrow afternoon, and Mr. Alvarez confirmed lunch.”
“I ain’t making that lunch with his old ass.”
She chuckled because she already knew that. “I figured.”
“Push him to next week.”
She made a quick note without asking why. That was one of the reasons she’d lasted this long. She understood that if something moved on my calendar, there was usually a reason behind it. “Anything else?”
“The structural engineer emailed revised numbers at six this morning.”
I was still staring out of the window before turning around. “I’ll look at them after the meeting.”
She nodded once before stepping aside as I walked past her. The hallway outside my office overlooked the rest of the building with phones ringing almost nonstop. The assistants of others hurried from office to office carrying folders while two agents argued quietly over a commercial lease that was supposed to close by noon. Nobody noticed me at first and then one by one the conversations died down.
“Morning, Mr. Laurent.”
“Morning.” I greeted back.
I acknowledged each greeting with a nod as I kept walking. Respect didn’t have to be demanded around here. If you built something worth respecting, it usually came on its own. By the time I reached the conference room, the conversations on the other side of the glass had already started. As architects, engineers, attorneys, investors, meanwhile, everybody had an opinion before the meeting even began.
I wrapped my hand around the stainless-steel handle, pushed the door open, and every head in the room turned in my direction. The chatter stopped almost immediately. “Morning, gentlemen.”
