Page 90 of Rock Chick Bonus Tracks

“I got one more option open to me, it’s the one I’m leaning toward taking, but it’s the one that concerns me the most.”

“And it is?”

“Luke, Vance and Hector all said they’d buy in.”

“I see,” Marcus murmured.

“Mace is probably gonna be on the road a lot with Stella, and they might be moving to LA. But he wants a buy in too.”

“What are we talking?”

“I’ll always be controlling at fifty-two percent. They’ll take a quarter each of the rest.”

“Are you okay with giving up forty-eight percent?”

“It means they’re tied to the operation, and since I never want to lose any of them, abso-fucking-lutely.”

Marcus smiled.

He then asked, “And are they in position to give you enough to buy the building?”

“Luke and Mace are. Hector and Vance are going to get second mortgages on their houses, though Sadie might circumvent that for Hector. She’s got the cash to give him. He’s just gotta stop thinking with his dick and let his woman be a part of their financial situation.”

“Regardless if Hector figures it out, no way around it, with all of them investing, more weight lands on you,” Marcus surmised.

Lee nodded. “I can’t fuck this up. They do that, too much is riding on it.”

“That isn’t your problem.”

“It is when it’s family.”

“Yes, true,” Marcus whispered.

“So what would you do?” Lee asked.

Well.

Damn.

This wasn’t about Daisy setting this up.

This was about respect. This was about the fact that Lee thought highly of him and honestly wanted his advice.

And Marcus felt something else he hadn’t felt in a long time, unless Daisy was making him feel that way.

Good.

“You, nor those men, are stupid, Lee. I believe there’s a part of them that’s investing in you because they believe in you, and they know you’re solid. But they also have women and families, or they will, so they’re not going to do something to put those important parts of their lives in jeopardy. To end, they believe in this as an investment. They believe it will have fruitful returns. And I believe they’re right. Take on these partners. And buy that building.”

Characteristically, Lee thought on this for only half a second.

And then he said, “That’s what I’ll do. Thanks, man.”

“My pleasure.”

Lee looked over his shoulder at the door, then to his watch, then to Marcus. “Close to quitting time,” he noted.

“You’re my last appointment.”

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