Page 1 of Certified Sin

Chapter 1

Ronnie

I was feeling really unappreciatedat this, and for all the shit I had to make go away, I thought I'd at least get a thank you.

People come in and out of here all day, tossing shit on my desk for me to do. I would be lucky if I got five minutes of peace without somebody barging in my office and requesting something from me. I was in the middle of ranting to myself when my assistant knocked hard on the door like she was the police. I knew it had to be her because she’s the only one who’s disrespectful enough to do it.

“Ronnie, you have a minute?” Shay had her head halfway through the door. I waved my hand in the air, letting her know she could come in.

“I just wanted to let you know you have two new clients on their way up here. You’re familiar with the group Deuces, right?”

She handed me the manila folder.

“What do they need from me?” I flipped through the pages, glancing up at her when she didn’t give me a direct answer.

“Shayla?” I called her by her real name.

When we were at work, I referred to her as that. She was my best friend and I don’t usually mix business with my personal life, but she was doing good so far.

“Sin got into a fight at the club last night and broke some dude’s nose. Now the guy threatening to sue him,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Beast needs you to make what happened go away.”

By Beast, she was referring to my boss here at Beast Coast Entertainment, one of the top record labels in the country.

I nodded, rubbing my temples. Sometimes, I wish I weren’t so goddamn good at my job, so maybe they wouldn’t come to me for everything. It was two other lawyers on this floor, and somehow, everything makes it’s way to my desk.

Since I started at BCE, it wasn’t a case I didn’t win for this company.

I’m not tryna toot my own horn, however, I’m only twenty-five years old and already the most prestigious entertainment lawyer in the business.

I’m Ronnie Russell, daughter of Dr. Raymond Russell, a famous plastic surgeon, and they knew me for making shit disappear. I’m saying that to say, this case won’t be a problem for me. It’s the clients I can’t stand to be around. I never met them in person, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Again?” I rolled my eyes.

Sincere a.k.aSin Sizzawas a clout-chasing type of nigga, the one who’ll do anything to make his presence known, including making headlines damn near every day. It seems like he’s always the center of attention for doing something stupid.

“Yup! And Beast is sick of him,” she added, patting her weave. “I don’t even know what the hype is with him anyway. He ain’t all that cute.”

I shot her a look, and she smacked her teeth.

Shayla’s saying that now, but you should have seen her a few years ago before she got engaged. She used to go to every one of his concerts.

“Okay, I’m tripping.” She admitted, giggling softly. “He still fine.”

I snorted, my eyes moving through the documents.

“Don’t let Corey hear you say that. You know he already threatened to shoot him,” I reminded her. He told her he’ll find that nigga and beat his ass if he saw one more poster of Sin Sizza in his house.

“Girl, Corey just special.” Even as she saying that, you can hear in her voice how much she loved him. They met in college and were only together for two years when Corey proposed to her at graduation. I was right there, front and center, recording with my camera.

“Uh-huh.” Smiling at her, my focus locked in on my apple watch. “What time will they be here?”

I had just taken my lunch, so I’m counting down the hours until I leave. Shayla glanced down at the notebook in her hands, then looked at the clock on my desk.

“Now.”

Just as she spoke, the knob turned open, revealing two men on the other side.

Sin Sizza and Reese Rhymes stood in my doorway like they owned the place. They were the hottest rap group in the game with three songs in the top 10 on the billboard charts, and a new single that dropped yesterday.