Nick gave his son a hundred thousand dollars, and then he took him to school. He had run this game dozens of times and Nick told Marvin exactly what to say to Serek when he met with him. Then father and son talked for hours about ways to earn, before they said good night and went to bed. When he woke up, Marvin had lunch with his mother and father. He apologized to April and promised to come see her more often, and then he left for his meeting.
Serek sat back in his seat and looked at Marvin and RJ for a few seconds without speaking. He needed the money, there was no question about that, but he also knew that there was more to this very generous offer. “You’re gonna just give me a hundred grand.”
“Yes. Call it an investment … in your business. That makes us partners.”
“Partners? I’m not interested in having a partner.”
“But you are interested in this money.” Marvin paused to allow that point to sink in. “The last thing you need is for word to get around that you defaulted on a job—”
“And I’ll see to it that it does,” RJ added.
“It will be very hard for you to get anymore big contracts. But on the other hand, having me as your partner would be much more beneficial.”
“How so?”
“I would be an unlimited source of capital to fund our future projects. And I have access, and more importantly, I have influence. With that access and that influence, I would be able to put us on to bigger contracts.”
“And what is this investment gonna cost me?”
“I own twenty percent of your business.”
“Partners, huh?”
“More of a silent partner. You still make all the decisions and run your business the same way you’ve been running it. The only difference is that you’ll now have a new employee.”
“And what will that new employee be doing?” Serek needed to know.
“Whatever you want him to do, he works for you. His purpose in being here is to protect my interests,” Marvin said to Serek and then sat back in his seat.
Serek looked at the two men that were sitting stone-faced across from him. He knew who Marvin and RJ were, who their fathers were, what that represented and wished that he had thought about it before he asked Marvin to pull fifty grand out of his pocket. Serek exhaled and resigned himself to the facts. Marvin was right, him defaulting on this job would be disastrous to his business, so he needed the money. And besides, if Marvin was serious about having access and influence, he would make him more money.
“Deal,” Serek said and shook hands with Marvin.
Chapter Eighteen
Later that afternoon, Barbara and her girls, Destiny, Jolina and Kayla, had gotten together after school. Barbara and Destiny had been friends since they met in the seventh grade, and even after Barbara moved, they stayed close. She had known Jolina and Kayla since junior high school as well, but they weren’t friends. I
t wasn’t until Barbara moved back to the neighborhood and started going to school at Forten, that she and Kayla, who also went to school there, hooked up and became friends.
Like Barbara and Destiny, Jolina and Kayla were tight and after a while, they all started hanging out together. Kayla was the smart one, Jolina was the wild one, Destiny was the fearless one, and Barbara … she was Barbie, the princess who had it all. But now even that had taken on new meaning.
The day that she spent with Tenikka, and all the things that Barbara heard and saw, were still fresh in her mind. It changed everything for her, and she was still trying to figure out what it all meant to, and more importantly, for her. At first, Barbara felt like marching into her parents’ bedroom, give them hell for lying to her, and demand to know the truth. However, at the same time, it seemed a little unimportant to her.
Tenikka helped her to understand why they lied to her. That understanding allowed her not to believe that her whole life was based on a lie. Therefore, when she did talk to her father about what she’d been told, it was a different conversation that left Barbara in a comfortable space for her. To her, the people that have always loved and protected her, still loved her and would still be there to protect her.
And that is why they felt like they all had to lie to me, to protect me, Barbara thought and for the time being, she was good with it.
That afternoon, the four were getting ready to go hang out at Fat Larry’s, but they were trying to buy some weed first. They went to their usual spot and Destiny went in, while Barbara, Jolina and Kayla waited outside for her.
“He’s out. He said he’s waiting on a call now,” Destiny said when she came out of the building.
“I know a place we can go to get some,” Barbara said, as they walked away from the building.
“Where?” Kayla asked.
“Someplace my sister took me. We can get something to drink there too.”
“Let’s go,” Jolina said.