“Nick say anything about Jackie?” After Freeze was killed, it was a couple of days before I got around to checkin’ things out. When I got to the game, there was Jackie holdin’ it down. Since she’d been watching Mylo for me, Jackie knew how things worked. Everything was goin’ fine. I owed Jackie for puttin’ me on to Mylo. And besides, I respected the way she stepped up and ran the game when I needed her, so I left her there.
“He start to come in the office, but I tell him, Jackie ’dem know you boss now.”
“What he say then?”
“Nothing. Him lost in thought after that. We drink and wait until you come out.”
“Lost in thought, huh?” Yeah, I know, I shouldn’ta just dropped it on him like that. I shoulda talked to him about it, made sure he understood what I wanted him to do. You know, made sure he wanted to do it. But you know what? Either he’ll step up to the job or he won’t. If things had happened the way they were supposed to, it would have been Nick runnin’ the day-to-day operations when me and Bobby made the decision to take a less active role.
If Bobby hadn’t threatened to kill him over Camille, he would have never joined the army. I would have chosen Nick over Freeze. Not that I had a problem with Freeze or the way he ran things; it woulda just been Nick’s time.
When we got to Impressions, I found Bobby at the bar surrounded by women, as usual. “What’s up, Bobby?”
“Chillin’,” Bobby said and dismissed the women he was talkin’ to. “How you doin’ tonight, Mystique?”
“I’m fine, Bobby.”
“Yes, you are,” Bobby said to her and then turned to me. “You and Nick do y’all’s thing today?”
“Just dropped him off.”
“And?”
“He’ll be all right.”
“Come on, there’s somethin’ I need to talk to you about.”
“I’ll be right back, Maria,” I said and kissed her on the cheek. “You want me to leave somebody with you?”
“No, Kevon is around here somewhere.”
I followed Bobby to his office. As we made our way through the crowd, it seemed like he knew every woman we passed-Waving to him, blowin’ kisses and shit. “I thought you were gonna call me today,” one woman said.
“I thought so too,” Bobby said and kept walkin’.
“What happened to you last night?” another asked.
“That was so long ago that I don’t remember,” was his answer.
“Am I gonna see you later?” asked a woman in a red dress.
“I never make plans that far in advance,” Bobby told her and dismissed her.
Lately, Bobby’s head hasn’t been on business. He’s been in some kind of early mid-life crisis, or some shit like that. He brought a new CLK35 °Cabriolet convertible Benz and went back to runnin’ the club, which he didn’t really have to do since Tara has been runnin’ the joint for years. I mean he’s still with Pam and he’s a good father to his children, but he’s on a mission to fuck as many women as he can. I can’t say shit about that ’cause I’ve been on a tear my damn self.
In addition to Maria, and the occasional stray, I fucked Mercedes. The day after I’d made Maria stop dancin’ at Cynt’s, she set the pussy out for me. To be honest with you, I really don’t even like her. Probably ’cause she got ’bout as much sense as a box of rocks, but she is so fuckin’ fine that I had to have her. The last time we were together she told me that she was gonna change her name to Diamond, ’cause when I call her box of rocks she thinks I’m talkin’ ’bout diamonds.
Then there’s Jackie’s fine ass. Jackie is bi-sexual and likes to invite her girlfriends along to play with us, which always makes for an interesting night. And Jacara; she’s a nightclub singer that I met in the Bahamas. I only see her when I’m down there visiting Michelle.
Maybe it’s both of us in mid-life crisis.
I know Bobby loves Pam and would like for things to be different between them, but it is what it is. I know what my problem is. I love Cassandra and I miss her. Miss everything about her. The hole she left in my life has grown, and no matter how I try to fill it with these women, I know I never will.
When we got to the office, Bobby made us some drinks while I went and stood by the two-way mirror that overlooks the club. I looked out on the floor for Maria and spotted her on the dance floor. I looked around for Kevon, he was on the dance floor too, but his eyes were on Maria.
“What you wanna talk about?” I asked when Bobby handed me my drink.
“I want to know what direction you goin’ in.”
“What you mean?”
“I mean you got Wanda wide-open; making plans for us to get out of the game and at the same time you got Nick steppin’ up to run things.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Other than it makin’ for some long nights in that house, you mean?”
“Yeah, other than that.”
“Nothing, I guess. I just wanna know where your head is.”
“One is the future, one is the past.”
“I know that shit. Wanda’s in my ear with that shit all the time.”
“Right now, as long as we’re makin’ money and nobody’s fuckin’ with us for a change, I don’t see any reason why we can’t do both. But us goin’ legit is where we’re goin’.”
“Fair enough. So what y’all got planned for me in this bold new world?”
“I don’t know. What you wanna do?”
“What Wanda got you doin’?” Bobby asked.
“Goin’ to borin’-ass meetings with borin’-ass people talkin’ a bunch of borin’-ass shit that I only half understand. But the numbers look good, so I ain’t sayin’ nothin’. Wanda is makin’ us a chunk of money that way.”
“Any women at these borin’-ass meetings?”
“Some.”
“Probably a bunch of stuck-up hoes who think they’re better than everybody.”
“Some are, some aren’t,” I said and thought about Meka Brazil. She’s a very smart and very interesting investment banker who Wanda and I met with about a week ago. Sometimes I wonder why I’m attracted to powerful, professional women like her, but gravitate to woman like Maria and Mercedes.
“Well, next time you have one of these borin’-ass meetings, I want to be there. If that’s where we’re goin’ in the future, I need to be a part of it.”
“I got no problem with that. Tomorrow afternoon we got a meeting with some real estate agent. Wanda wants to buy some warehouse and office complex in Long Island. It’s your money too; you should be involved. I really didn’t think you were interested in shit like that.”
“I’m not, but if times are changin’, I need to change with them.”
“I’ll give Kevon the day off. Come get me around noon.”
“Cool.” Bobby laughed. “And you can tell Wanda that I’ll behave.”
“Whatever, Bob,” I said and got up.
Chapter 12
When we got back to the club the first person I ran into was CeCe. She used to be with a baller who called himself Cash Money. He was murdered by Mylo’s hit team. Since then, she has been tryin’ to get with me by making herself useful, which she was, very useful at times. I tell her to do something and it’s done. But I still avoid her ’cause CeCe is a statuesque beauty, who has the type of raw sexuality that makes men fall at her feet, which makes her a very dangerous a woman. “Hey, Bobby.”
“How you doin’, CeCe?”
“I’m good, Bobby,” CeCe said to Bobby but her eyes were on me.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. .” Bobby said. “CeCe been lookin’ for you, Mike.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” Bobby said and walked away.
“Hello, Mr. Black,” CeCe said with that sugary voice that always makes me want to rip the clothes off her body.