“Not until one o’clock. It’s all yours.”

  “Thanks.”

  Megan smiled at them before they walked away, but there was something about the way she looked at Kiesha that made her feel that it wasn’t genuine. It was like the woman was sizing her up. She looked to be about the same age as Li Li, but she definitely didn’t have the same welcoming energy.

  The conference room was the same as every conference room Kiesha had ever seen: long rectangular desk with about ten chairs, a few laptops, a projector, and a white board. She sat down and waited patiently. From a file cabinet, Adrian pulled out a folder full of the campaign ideas and set it in front of her. As she looked them over, she couldn’t help but be impressed. Adrian was definitely an out-of-the-box thinker when it came to getting people’s attention.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “I like it. A lot. You’re dope,” she said with her eyes still on the pages. “I’m trying to figure out what you need me for. This is great.”

  “It’s missing something. The razzle-dazzle. Everything is about timing, and the goal is to already have buyers before the other realty companies find out about the gold.”

  “I get it.” Kiesha’s voice was low. That happened when her mind was going full throttle. In just a few seconds she had an idea. “If timing is of the essence, why don’t you just knock out two birds with one stone?”

  “What do you mean?” Adrian said, coming to stand closely behind her as she pointed at the papers in front of her.

  “Once you release the campaign, the other Realtors are going to find out about the properties anyway. So instead of releasing it and waiting for people to contact you for a viewing, why not just host a viewing for the public? Call it ‘Sandy Dreams.’ And what’s a more beautiful place to shoot a commercial than the beach? You won’t even have to pay extras to be in it because a crowd will already be there.”

  When she was done speaking, the room was quiet. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. She was certain Adrian hated her idea. However, when she glanced up, she saw his lips slowly forming a smile.

  “I like that. I like it a lot. So much that I think we’re gonna go with that instead.”

  “For real?”

  “Hell yeah! One thing you’ll learn about me, Miss Simmons, is that I have no ego. While you’re here, we’re a team. Wow, beauty and brains. Did God save any for the rest of them?”

  She knew that he was truly giving her an innocent compliment, but still she felt her face grow warm. He grabbed the papers from in front of her and crumpled them up. She was glad when he turned his back to throw them away. He had been standing so close to her—too close to her.

  “Kiesha. You can call me Kiesha,” she heard herself say.

  He turned back and paused. There was still a small smile on his face as he looked at her. She wished he would stop. It was her first day, and he was the boss’s son. She didn’t want to have any extra thoughts about him. She was there to work and that was it. But there was just something about the swagger in his walk and the confidence in his voice that she liked. He was just a . . . man.

  “Okay. Kiesha it is,” he finally said. He was about to say something else, but then his phone’s ringer went off. He glanced at it and held up a finger to her. “I need to step out for a moment. You start working on that campaign.”

  He left in a bit of a hurry, but Kiesha still waited to make sure he wasn’t going to pop back in. Once the coast was clear, she pulled her phone out to send Stacy a text about how fine her boss’s son was. But then she remembered that Stacy wasn’t her best friend anymore when she couldn’t find their text thread. Kiesha wanting to text her had been such an automatic feeling she almost got sad. But then she stopped herself, remembering that she still had a real friend. She opened her text thread with London and grinned big as her thumbs moved.

  Bitch! This nigga is fine as fuck!

  Chapter 8

  Adrian kept a smile on as he walked all the way to the back of the building. It quickly faded when he exited through the back door that led to the alley. Parked there was a red convertible with a man in the front seat. The man wore his hair in a low fade with waves so deep they could make you seasick. He was no stranger to Adrian, although he wasn’t happy to see him, not there anyway. His name was Cameron Bailey, and he flashed his pearly whites at Adrian, who didn’t return the favor. The two men were by no means friends, not anymore. They could be considered business associates.

  “Cam, what the fuck are you doing here?” Adrian asked.

  “I thought you said you wanted to meet today.”

  “Did I ever give you a time and a place, nigga?”

  “Nah. That’s why I pulled up. Time is of the essence, and that pack is waiting to be moved. So what’s the word?”

  Adrian ran his hands over his face and sighed. The truth was that he had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be meeting with Cameron that day, hence the reason he’d never given him a meetup time. He’d been so focused on filling in for his dad in the office that he forgot he needed to fill in for him in the streets, too. There was another reason Antonio Parks was one of the most successful men in Florida.

  His beginnings were very humble. He started off as a dope boy, and working his way up in the ranks, he eventually became the biggest drug kingpin in Florida. However, when he got older and started a family, he knew that being the face of such a dangerous operation was risky. That was why he decided to go legit in eyesight and run the streets from the shadows. When Adrian came of age, he showed him the ropes of all his business dealings, even the illegal ones. He was grooming him to one day take over everything, and he was proving himself with flying colors. However, there always seemed to be one person who had trouble following Adrian’s instructions. That person was Cameron.

  Cameron was the son of Antonio’s right-hand man, Carrington. When Antonio fell back into the shadows, he still called all the shots, but it was Carrington who carried out his orders. He was the new face of the operation, which was why it was assumed Cameron would be next in line for the throne. Antonio wasn’t going to force his own son to take his place unless he wanted to. It was his choice, and he chose to one day be the head of both businesses. That meant that Cameron worked under him.

  The two men were the same age and had been raised like brothers. However, they didn’t get along. They were loyal to each other, but they were more like frenemies.

  “You know not to pull up here like this. You should have texted me,” Adrian finally said.

  “I did. Three times.”

  Adrian checked his phone and saw that Cameron was being honest. There, in fact, were three missed texts from him. Adrian was almost lost on how he didn’t see them, but he remembered. He’d been distracted by the new intern’s pretty face. He hadn’t even thought to look at his phone. He had been too busy sizing her up. And then she went on and impressed him with her brain. Nothing else had crossed his mind.

  “My bad. It’s been a busy day.”

  “I bet. But I’m not here to listen to you vent about it. People are waiting to hear about this weight.”

  “No doubt. You know what to do. Make the rounds but hold Drako’s order. That nigga owes me twenty-five K. Until he pays up, his camp is gonna starve.”

  “Say less,” Cameron said and rubbed his hands together.

  “When did you get this bright red shit anyway?” Adrian asked, looking at the car.

  “It’s nice, huh?”

  “It’s straight, I guess.”

  “It’s nice. I know, nigga! You hating!” Cameron laughed. “But you know that nigga Jerry from Opa-Locka?”

  “Drako’s old connect.” Adrian nodded.

  “Yep. Well, since nigga went down for a RICO charge, they auctioned off all his shit, including this car.”

  “Nigga, you for sure gotta get up from around here now in this hot-ass shit!”

  “Chill out. It was white and on chromes when I got it. I got it painted and went regular on the shoes. You can’t even tell it’s the same whip.”

  “Whatever, fool. I still say you’re tripping.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m about to go handle that though and let you get back to doing the suit-and-tie thing. Hit me if you need me.”

  Adrian shook his head and slapped hands with Cameron. He watched him drive away before going back inside. He went back to the conference room to find Kiesha where he’d left her. She barely even noticed when he walked back in, but that was fine with him. He put his hands deep in his pockets and leaned against the far wall, just watching her work.

  When she first stepped foot in the office, he’d wanted to compliment her choice of attire. The skirt suit hugged her body beautifully, and the pink accented her skin. When his father told him they were going to have an intern for the summer, he didn’t know why he’d imagined a geeky, scrawny girl who would probably get on his nerves. He hadn’t for a second expected a thick, beautiful black queen.

  The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted his concentration.

  “Mr. Parks, I need you to help me with some work if you don’t mind.” Megan had stepped into the conference room.

  He glanced at Kiesha one last time before nodding and exiting with Megan. She had some papers in her hands, and he assumed she needed him to look at them. He followed her into a room down the hall. However, it wasn’t until they were inside that he realized he hadn’t been paying attention at all to where she had taken him. She flicked on the light and revealed that they were inside of the company’s spacious supply closet. She dropped the papers to the floor, revealing that they weren’t anything but blank computer sheets. Before he could try to leave, she blocked the door and locked it.

  “You know that’s my favorite suit of yours, right?” she said seductively.

  Her eyes stared at him hungrily. It was then that Adrian regretted sleeping with her the week prior, but he couldn’t help himself. Megan was a sexy woman, and he wanted to see what cougar pussy was about. She had exceeded his expectations, but he had his rule: one and done. He never planned to go to bed with her again. It was already messy enough that they worked together. When she reached to massage his crotch area, he moved her hands away and stepped back.

  “Megan, what are you doing?”

  “What does it look like? I want some dick. Right now.”

  Her assertiveness was turning him on. That, mixed with the low-cut blouse she wore. He could picture her light brown nipples and remembered the feel of them on his tongue. She bit her bottom lip at him the same way she had when he was ramming her from the back. One more second and he was going to hike her skirt up and do it again, but he snapped out of it.

  “We can’t do this here, Megan.”

  “Are you telling me that my pussy was weak or something?”

  “Not at all, but I was under the impression that you knew it was a one-time thing. I’m not looking for anything ongoing with anyone right now. Especially anyone I work with.”

  He’d cut straight to the point, and he could see that she wasn’t too happy with his choice of words. But he didn’t care. She could deal with it or leave. That was the biggest problem with having good dick—some women didn’t know how to let go. However, the disappointed look on Megan’s face subsided.

  “I understand. This was very inappropriate of me. I just thought this would excite you. I guess you’re too young to appreciate a woman like me.”

  Without another word to him, she scooped her papers back up and opened the supply door. When she did, however, they both were shocked to see Kiesha standing on the other side. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the two of them in there together, but she didn’t say anything. Megan cleared her throat and stepped past her, leaving Adrian alone with her.

  He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. “Kiesha, that wasn’t what it looked like.”

  “I . . . I just came to get some computer paper. There was none in the conference room. What you have going on with her is none of my business.”

  “There’s nothing going on!” he exclaimed and then quickly lowered his voice. “There’s nothing going on. She just needed some help with . . . something.”

  “With the door closed?” she asked, and he swore he saw an amused glint in her eyes.

  He had to admit it sounded ridiculous, and he soon found himself smiling sheepishly. He shook his head, grabbed a pack of printing paper for her, and exited the supply closet.

  “All right, how about we start whatever business relationship we’ll have on an honest note?” he asked when they got back to the conference room.

  “Deal. So what was that all about?”

  “That was about a one-night stand that I shouldn’t have had.”

  “I knew she was looking at me funny when I walked in with you!” Kiesha laughed and sat back down in front of the laptop. Adrian sat across from her at the table. “So what, is she hooked on the D now?”

  “I wouldn’t say all that, but what you saw was her trying to get it again. I’m sorry you had to see that. It isn’t how I want this company to be depicted. We are professional people here.”

  “But you’re young and handsome.” She shrugged. “It comes with the territory.”

  “You think I’m handsome?”

  “I, uh . . . Look at what I came up with!”

  She slid the laptop in front of him, and he dropped the topic, not to spare her from being put on the spot, but because what she had come up with in that short time frame was brilliant. He looked at her and then back at the computer.

  “Aw yeah, we might have to hire you for real!”

  Chapter 9

  Say you my nigga, I’ma be your killer

  Nobody gon’ play with you when I’m with you

  Cam found himself rapping loudly along with Kodak Black as he breezed through the Miami streets. It had been a few hours since he left the real estate office, and he was getting to the business he and Adrian had discussed. He’d made his rounds and dropped off product to people who needed their pack. However, there was one more left. It was supposed to be Drako’s, but if he didn’t pay what he owed, Cam was sure he could find someone to pick it up. Drako operated out of Little Haiti and had a reputation of doing what he wanted to, which was why Cam tried to advise Adrian not to let him in on their operation when Jerry went down. But he wasn’t trying to hear it. To him, the more hands pushing the work, the faster the money would come in. He was right, but Cam always had a bad feeling about Drako.

  He stopped his car in the lot of an autobody shop and hopped out. Before he could even take two steps, six men came out of the garage to greet him. One of them was a tall, dark-skinned man with a beer belly poking through his wife beater and wick locs on his head. The bright gold teeth were almost blinding, and he stared strangely at Cam.

  “What’s good, Drako?” Cam asked, nodding.

  “Shit, just wondering why you showed up here so light,” Drako responded in a gruff voice.

  Cam knew he was referring to the fact that he had stepped out of his car empty-handed. However, they had business to square away first. He surveyed his surroundings and took note of Drako’s men also glowering at him. These weren’t men he knew and had been doing business with. They were all just now starting to build a rapport, and Drako seemed like he didn’t know how they liked business to be done.

  “I can’t drop off more work if you haven’t paid the five for the last drop. You owe us twenty-five big ones, Drako. Before I can give you the pack, you gotta come up off that.”

  Drako scoffed at him, then gave a flat-out laugh. The men around him joined in, but Cam kept a hard face. He didn’t find anything funny. Drake rubbed his hands together and stepped toward Cam, wearing an evil smile on his face. Cam stood his ground and didn’t even move when he and Drako were toe-to-toe.

  “You come to my territory and tell me what you aren’t going to give me, nigga? Are you stupid?”

  “The real question is, are you stupid? You seem to have forgotten whose money you’re playing with.” Cam turned his nose up.

  “I play with my money,” Drako said and laughed again. “When Jerry was here—”

  “Well, he ain’t here, motherfucka! So you have two choices: pay up or lie the fuck down.”

  Cam’s voice was calm, but even a deaf person could hear the menacing undertone. He didn’t care a single bit how Jerry did business with Drako. And if he ever let anyone slide off with that much money, he was a plumb fool.

  “And what if I don’t?” Drako tested his temperature. “What if I go to that car of yours, take the drugs, and leave you leaking where you stand?”

  “I’d say you really are dumber than you look,” Cam snickered. “You can kill me right now, but that won’t change the fact that you owe Antonio money. And if you take the drugs, you’ll owe him that, too. One thing he doesn’t play about is his business. So go ahead and make your move today. I bet you’ll be dead first thing in the morning.”

  “He can’t touch me!”

  “Nigga, anybody can touch you right now. Jerry’s whole operation went down, and y’all are the last ones standing. And that means you have no protection. You shouldn’t be trying to make any enemies in such a fragile state. Now I’m not going to say this again. Pay up.”

  Cam could see Drako’s thoughts turn as he leered at him. The two men had a stare down for a few moments before Drako stepped back and motioned to one of his people. The man didn’t say a word. He just went back into the garage. Soon he returned with a black duffle bag and threw it at Cam’s feet. Cam unzipped it and was happy to see all of the hundred-dollar bills staring up at him.

  “It better all be in here, too,” he said as he tossed it into his trunk. In exchange, he grabbed a different duffle bag from the trunk and threw it at Drako. “Same time next week. Word of advice: keep the bullshit on ice and everything will go smoothly. I won’t be so nice next time.”

  Drako snorted but didn’t say another word as Cam got into his car and drove away. The thing about Cam was that he mastered the ability to show his gangster without ever untucking his pistol. His father, Carrington, had told him that a real man didn’t need weapons to make those around him fall in line. His presence should be enough. They were words that Cam carried with him. He was glad that he was able to handle the situation without calling in reinforcements. The last thing he wanted was for his dad to come back from the business trip he was on with Antonio and see that he had fumbled the bag. He would keep what happened with Drako to himself. It was under control.