attention. I had sworn on my grandmother that I would never get back in . . . on any level.
As if on cue, he faced me. “Mr. Macklin, by joining my organization, you could make that amount in less than three years. What I’m proposing is nice, clean, suit-and-tie work. That is, unless you prefer the roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-dirty kind of job. I also have those. And they pay equally as well. Let’s face it, some of us prefer to stay in the trenches. But in my organization, one job is just as important as the next.”
“Mr. Li, I’ve spent almost half of my life in the trenches, and I’m not going back. I’m now like you, a suit-and-tie kind of guy.” I leaned in and placed my glass on the bar.
Mr. Li let out a chuckle. “And what makes you think I’m a suit-and-tie guy?”
“You did your time out there in the trenches; that’s why you have on a suit and a tie. You ain’t tryna go back. But we both know that any successful organization needs both, and we do what we gotta do.”
He laughed again, and this time, I joined him.
As I sat in silence, I bounced his words around in my head. Twenty mil in three years. And in a suit and tie? Those were my kind of numbers. Ballin’-out-of-control numbers. But what would Don Carlos say? Would he think it was a sign of disrespect? Me joining another organization when he had work for me that I wouldn’t take?
“You’re not jumping at my offer. Therefore, I assume that you’re still not convinced. I’ll tell you what. That little charge you just picked up along with the one that was pending—with one phone call, I could make them go away. But I will still give you a few days to think about my offer. Thank you for your time, Mr. Macklin.”
How did he know about my charges? And as if the chauffeur could hear everything being said, the back door popped open.
“Thank you for your offer,” I said before exiting the vehicle.
As I began to walk back to the house, Mr. Li leaned out the window and added, “I must inform you, my daughter does not come with my deal.”
“Is that why she sent a man to my home with intentions of blowing it up?” I was full of doubt at the thought of Charli going that far. But Tasha was positive it was her behind it, so I took my chances and threw it out there. I wanted to gauge his reaction.
“That won’t happen again. You and your family will be under my full protection.” The window rolled up and the car sped off.
Ain’t this some shit? I became more pissed with each step that I took. Mad at how vulnerable I’d made me and my family. Full protection? Make my case disappear? Did I need him? I was feeling as if he was boxing me into a corner. What would the next extreme be from the Li family to get me to join their organization? And how would Tasha take this? She probably would leave me. I couldn’t allow the odds to stack up against me.
11
KAYLIN
I was in my boardroom participating in a meeting via video conference, more like a bidding war, trying to sign this up-and-coming rapper, Semaj. Semaj had some mixtapes that were doing some serious damage, and I wanted him. Mind you, I was going up against the majors, including Interscope and Def Jam, and it was pretty intense. When my assistant, Diedre, burst in on the video conference and motioned for me to step out, I looked at her as if she was crazy.
“Mr. Santos, this is urgent.” I leaned over to Angel and said, “I’m the boss of this damn operation. You see them plaques on the wall? They say Kaylin Santos. Why is she annoying me and not you?”
Angel leaned over and whispered right back in my ear, “Apparently, you are not the boss. Who is the force behind you that put the team together to help you get those plaques? Angel Santos.” She went back to shuffling papers and talking.
“Excuse me,” I said, and got ready to hammer Diedre.
“Before you go off, Mr. Santos, I tried to tell Mr. Macklin that you were in a very important meeting, but he stated that this was urgent and he needed to talk to you right now. When I told him I couldn’t interrupt you, he began to threaten me, so please,