After dinner, father and son would spend hours together. Nick telling old stories and Marvin listening and absorbing the knowledge and wisdom that his father was dropping on him. Here before him was a legend: his father. RJ could only take him so far and could only teach him so much. But not Nick, he had seen it all, done it all, so who better to learn from?
Marvin had taken what he had learned and was putting it to practical application. “You used to sell weight, what about the guys you used to do business with?” Nick asked.
“What about them?”
“You ever think about bringing them in and showing them another way to make money?”
“Like RJ did with me,” Marvin acknowledged.
“Exactly. What you’re selling is protection. Protection from the police and anything that may come at them. Whatever it is they need, you’re the source. Understand?”
“I got you, Pop.”
The following day, Marvin was in the streets, his mission was recruiting. He showed them, as he had learned, that his hustle was in the long run, much more profitable than being out in the streets slinging.
But the information that Marvin found most useful was how to handle Serek Pearson, his new partner in the construction business. In addition to having his representative, Ramel Quincy, working in Serek’s office, the following day, Ebony Maddox arrived in the office.
“Can I help you?” Jennifer, Serek’s receptionist asked.
“My name is Ebony Maddox. I’m Mr. Simmons’ attorney and I’ll be working out of this office. Where can I set up?”
The move caught Serek totally off guard and Sataria had to make some quick office changes to accommodate Ebony. Once she was settled in, she took over. Requesting – no demanding to see all the records and by midday, she decided that she needed to bring in an accountant. The following morning, Dominica Paris arrived and was set up in the conference room to review the records. She reported to Ramel and Ebony that the records were a mess and she’d need bodies to bring order to the chaos. By week’s end, Ramel was out looking for new office space.
It was necessary to bring the company under control because Marvin had plans for it. Nick had given his son a ten-acre track of property in Long Island to develop and build luxury homes. As for Serek, he was happy about the expansion, but he was embarrassed by the state of his records and felt left out because it was obvious that Ramel and Ebony were now in charge of his office.
Sataria thought Marvin taking over her husband’s business was a good thing. She was excited about the expansion because it meant more money for her. When Serek came to her and said that he had to give Marvin twenty percent of the company and asked her to give up ten percent of her shares, she refused. Sataria owned forty-nine percent of the company. It made the company a double minority-owned business because an African-American female was part owner. That status gave them greater access to government contracts. With Serek now only owning thirty-one percent, that made her the majority owner.
A fact that Marvin was well aware of. At this point, Marvin felt good about where he was and where he was going. He was an earner now; a productive member of The Family.
After making one last pass-through of the club, he and Ayisha were getting ready to leave for the grand reopening when Marvin saw somebody that he wanted to talk to. “Go ahead, Ayisha, I’ll see you there,” Marvin said at the sight of Sataria Pearson, Serek’s wife. She had come to the club once before to see him and now here she was again.
“Hello,” Marvin said in her ear when he walked up behind her. She was startled by the sudden burst of baritone in her ear, but it made her smile.
“Hello, yourself,” Sataria turned to say. Then she stepped to Marvin and kissed him on the cheek. “How are you doing?”
“Doing great. About to head out. One of my partners, RJ is opening a new club called The Late Night.”
“Really. I heard the commercials on the radio. I just didn’t know that it was RJ. He’s the one that came with you when you came to the office?”
“Yes.” Marvin stepped a little closer to Sataria and inhaled her scent. “You should come with me.”
Sataria stepped closer to Marvin and put her vicious body against his. It made his dick hard for her, harder than it already was. He had wanted Sataria since he first saw her leaning over Jennifer’s desk that first day he walked in there with RJ.
For Sataria, the feeling was mutual. When she looked up and saw Marvin standing there and heard his voice, she was done. She knew that she wanted Marvin and the fact that she was married to his business partner didn’t seem to matter to Sataria. And now, with her body pressed up against his, Marvin didn’t care either. He was more than ready to take her by the hand, lead her to his office, strip her out of the dre
ss that hugged her curves like a second set of skin, and fuck the shit out of her.
“I can’t. I just stopped by on my way home to say hello. Serek is expecting me.”
“I understand. And I appreciate you stopping by to say hello,” Marvin said with his eyes scanning the area between her pretty eyes and her abundant cleavage. “Do you have time for me to buy you another drink?”
“No, thank you,” she said and finished the one she was drinking. “Sadly, I have to go. But I would love a raincheck,” Sataria said, but didn’t back away from him.
Marvin signaled for the bartender. “What you need, Money?” Montez asked when he walked up.
“This is Sataria Pearson. She is my personal guest.”
“Understood,” Montez said and dropped a bar napkin in front of her. “What can I get for you, Ms. Pearson?”