Page 24 of Quasim: King Inferno

“I never know what to say when he calls like that, Sim. He guilts me and then I feel bad, and feel like I owe him because his mother was always there for me,” she confessed.

I held her around the waist and stared into her eyes. “If this is where you want to be, then you need to make it clear to that nigga… make him see that you have a life now, and it doesn’t include him.”

She kissed my lips. “She’s napping… we have time,” she cooed, she tried to lift my shirt over my head, and I chuckled while stepping back.

“End shit with your ‘friend’ and then we can discuss me dropping this shit off in you. If not, then you gonna be going from the hospital to a funeral home to say goodbye to son-son’s mama.”

“Sim,” she whimpered. “You cannot possibly want to harm his family because they still want me around… I don’t believe it. Refuse to believe it, actually.”

“Sooner than later, you won’t have to refuse to believe it… you’ll see the shit in your face, Cherie.” I grabbed my keys, just as Harley’s whines could be heard. “I got some shit to handle with my Pops… see you later.”

“You gonna give me some tonight, Sim?”

I smirked at her. “Nah, Cherie… you was just talking all that big shit… stand on that.” She flipped her middle finger at me and rolled her eyes.

She remained on the counter watching me as I grabbed my helmet and headed out the door. Cherie knew I didn’t give empty threats, so if she wanted to keep her friend alive, then she better had told him to move around. I can promise Rich didn’t want the reason she came around to be her attending his mama’s funeral before she was shoved in a pine box.

A trip to Baltimore wasn’t exactly in my plans this week but fuck it. I’ve made plans for lesser things. I killed the engine of my bike in front of the office building downtown and checked my surroundings. Being here made me fucking itch.

A bunch of women and men in suits shuffling in and out the building and heading to court. As I rested my helmet on the seat, daring somebody to touch it, I made my way into the building. This meeting wouldn’t be long, and then I would be on my way.

I only had to make myself clear once, and that was exactly what I planned to do. After that, I wasn’t speaking anymore and whoever had to deal with the consequences of their actions. The receptionist looked up from her computer when I walked up to her desk.

“Good afternoon, do you have an appointment with us?”

“Something like that… Rich Parker.”

She typed something onto her computer, then looked up at me. “He doesn’t have anyone scheduled until around three… is this an emergency?”

“For him… yeah.” I replied, and she stared back at me, trying to decipher what that meant. Saving her the headache, I looked at my watch. “Where’s the bathroom?”

She nodded down the hall. “Down there to the left. I can call Mr. Parker and see if he’ll see you,” she smiled at me, finally showing me that she fucked with the kid.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ll catch him another time, Beautiful.”

She flipped her shoulder length hair and blushed inwardly. “No problem…have a great day.” As the words left her mouth, the phone sounded, and I walked like I was going down the hall and hit the left to Rich’s shared office.

He worked in the district attorney’s office and still didn’t have no fucking pull. Knowing Rich, I knew he would turn lemons into lemonade. I wasn’t a hater and could admit that the nigga was going to make a way out of nothing.

I headed down the hall, dipping behind some woman that happened to be on the phone as she used her card to gain access into the part of the building with the offices.

“Clerk’s office?” I asked, pretending, when she turned to look at why I was coming behind her.

She shifted her phone to the other ear and smiled. “Down that way. I don’t know why they don’t give access passes for the clerk’s office.” I watched as she sucked her teeth and continued on with her conversation.

While she went right, I went left down the hall until I came across the shared room. A room filled with cubicles and other lawyers working. Reminded me of a damn law sweatshop with the way they were all working. I headed down the aisle of cubicles until I came across Rich’s name, and he wasn’t there.

I took a seat in his chair, looking at a picture of some Spanish chick. She seemed like she was older than him, but the kissy faces they were making in the picture let me know that she wasn’t a relative, and this was his bitch. I grabbed the Christmas picture of his parents and grandparents. They smiled at the camera, as Rich and his sister leaned down in front of them.

I kicked my boot up on the desk as one of his colleagues walked by, then back peddled until he was standing in the doorway of the cubicle. “Can I assist you?”

“Did I fucking ask for assistance?”

He was taken back by my response. “Excuse you?”

“I didn’t ask for your assistance… you’re fucking excused. Am I sitting at your desk?” I coolly asked as he started to scratch around the collar of his shirt. “Now you itching because you being nosey. Take yo ass back over to your desk before I come over there and flip all those ugly ass pictures of those babies on the floor.” I said through gritted teeth.

He quickly rushed away from me, and I continued exploring Rich’s desk. As I pulled open his desk, I looked around and spotted condoms, some gum, and some weird ass ball of rubber bands.

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