Page 81 of Unlucky You

“Now would be good.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I heard that. Who pissed her off?”

“An ex.”

“I’ll hit you right back. Let me see if he’s at the shop.”

“Thank you.”

By the time we exited Clue’s neighborhood, Grand called me back and said Tali was finishing up with a client but could see her in an hour after he moved some stuff around. We decided to grab lunch while we waited and Grand promised to meet us there after he was done with his PO visit. He sent the addressto Tali’s shop and I cringed at the reality that I was about to officially introduce my sister to my man.

NINETEEN

Grand.

I hated this fucking place and I had to be here once a month for the next five years. My life wasn’t my own and wouldn’t fully be until I was done with this shit. Along with having to come here once a month, I also owed the state fifty thousand dollars in fees. This shit was a money grab. They didn’t give a damn about me or my situation. If I truly needed to be rehabilitated, the state’s only investment still wouldn’t exceed the money they were taking from me. I was simply another Black man with a record who was now lining the state’s pockets.

When I reached the desk, the guy didn’t even bother to acknowledge me beyond demanding my name.

“Grand Sinclair.”

His fingers danced across the keyboard then he mumbled something incoherent under his breath before pointing to the entrance at the end of the counter. “She ordered a drug test. Follow me.”

I kept quiet, waited for him to unlatch the door, and followed a few paces behind him to the single-stall bathrooms. At the door he handed me a cup and turned away, mumbling for me to keep the door open and leave my sample on the counter.

I pissed in the cup, twisted the plastic lid on, and washed my hands, leaving the sample behind. When I stepped out of the bathroom he entered, returning with the cup in hand, clutched between a handful of paper towels.

The sight of him carrying my piss with his face twisted in disgust had me highly fucking amused. He shot me an evil glare which didn’t help.

“Let’s go.”

Once again I fell in step a few paces behind him but couldn’t help but fuck with the guy. “They don’t give y’all gloves and shit for that?”

When we reached my PO’s office, he paused, stepped into view, and held up the sample, cutting me a death glare before he stormed off down the hall and bent the corner. I walked inside and sank into a chair in front of Lanette’s desk.

Her annoying ass only glared, not speaking, which I half expected. This had been the vibe since I recorded her trying to fuck me at my apartment. The following month, when I had an in-office visit, she was robotic as hell, ran through her questions, took my money, and told me to get the hell out of her office.

“If you aren’t going to say shit, then let me pay my fines so I can leave.”

She still didn’t say a word, only rolled her eyes like a petulant child. My son had more maturity than she did. “You can’t leave until he tells me whether or not your sample is clean.”

“It’s clean.”

She sucked her teeth and I reached into my pocket to remove cash. I counted out two grand and placed it on her desk. Her eyes lowered to the money then she scowled again but still didn’t say shit.

“Receipt please and make sure it shows what’s left on my balance.”

“If you don’t trust me, stop paying in cash.” She leaned forward and snatched the money. After counting to verify the amount, she jerked her drawer open, removed a money bag, and dropped the bills inside. After pecking on her keyboard like it was also the enemy, she removed a receipt book from the same money bag, scribbled something, and ripped the page free from the book and handed it over.

I checked the numbers, pissed that the balance was still high as fuck. Of the original fifty thousand I had to pay, I still owed forty-six thousand, three hundred thirty-four dollars.

She leaned back in her chair. “I guess you have a habit of pissing people off.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your fees are high as hell. Shouldn’t be more than fifteen grand. Somebody doesn’t like you very much and wanted to hit your pockets. Had to be someone with pull too.” She smirked. “Imagine that, with your winning personality.”

I frowned, glancing at the receipt. I almost questioned but I didn’t have to. I knew exactly why my fees were so high. This was all Aleah’s father. I would bet my ass he called in every favor he could with the intent of keeping me locked away, and when he couldn’t, he made sure my life was a living hell when I was released.

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