Page 15 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

After her little greeting parade, she finally sat her ass down beside me and pulled her iPad out to work, which is what she usually did at these meetings.

In between eating, she would work while we hashed out whatever the meeting was being called for. Today, she wasn’t so into her iPad because she wanted to know why the fuck we were here in the middle of the day.

“Your family’s role within the three families.” Rahmeek cleared his throat, cutting into his bleeding ass steak.

“Beating around the bush hasn’t been something we’ve ever done, so why we about to start now?” I questioned, sitting up in the chair, snatching the menu from the waiter.

I always knew what I wanted before I came to a restaurant. Even though I didn’t eat out much and had a chef at home that would prepare me whatever I wanted. I couldn’t focus on the menu because I wanted to know the true reason for this meeting and why the fuck they wanted to talk about the Caselli’s role within the three families.

“You right.” Ghost cleared his throat, taking back his drink before looking at me. “When you came to us about the problem you had with your uncle, we gave you the approval to proceed and take his role within the three families.”

“And for that you always have my respect and loyalty. There’s nothing that you can’t ask for when it comes to me… have I not been loyal to each of you niggas?”

Karter nodded. “You already know.”

Rahmeek finished chewing his food before he spoke. “You have. However, you’re a man that always holds up his end of the bargain, and you haven’t.”

“The fuck is he talking about, Ghost?” I turned my attention to Ghost who sat at the head of the table looking between me and Rahmeek.

“You’ve been able to step into your uncle’s role, even changing the family’s name. The one thing we asked was that you take on a wife and produce an heir… which you haven’t done.”

“Fuck,” I grumbled under my breath.

“Yeah, fuck,” Karter mocked, clearly tickled that it wasn’t him up on the chopping block this meeting.

“You wiped your family out, Menace… while I respect and support your reasons, because my daughter, Skye, was impacted by the sick shit that your uncle has done… you gave your word and now it’s time for you to stand on it. You need an heir and a wife… I don’t care the order.”

“His ass needs a wife… someone to calm his ass down. Free is my voice of reason, the calm within my storm.”

Rahmeek took back his drink and nodded his head. “Giovanna is the same to me. As much as I handle business, she’s always that voice of reason and has been that for years. Every strong man has a smart woman beside him.”

I looked at Karter who nodded his head in agreement. “Star is my life… couldn’t do what I do without her. As much as we never agree with these old heads, I have to side with them this time, Mens. I’m able to run Kew because of my wife.”

“I agree,” Jeffie added, and I nearly snapped my neck turning to look at her traitor ass. She was acting like my name wasn’t on those deposits that went into that account. “Sorry, Mav… you do need a wife. You have to start worrying about putting down some roots of your own.”

Ghost smiled at Jeffie. “Listen to my girl. She has kept you from going off the rails for years… she knows a thing or two.”

I leaned back in my seat and looked at all of them. “This a meeting to talk shit about how Menace lives his life… why he don’t got a bitch.”

“Not a bitch… a wife,” Rahmeek corrected.

“And an heir… you have neither,” Ghost reminded me. “We need to know if something happens to you, you have that heir who will step in for your family.”

“Landon would step in.”

“He’s not an heir,” Ghost countered.

“So? How many times has Staten stepped in for you at times?”

Ghost wiped his hands and sighed. “Steps in for me… not runs shit for me. I have a son who will step in.”

“Same. Lennox will step in when it’s time,” Rahmeek added.

I looked at Karter. “Nigga, I got my heir… being that the Vanducci and Cromwells are roped into one family technically,I’m good.” He polished off the rest of his drink. “They had the same talk with me… can’t help you out, homie.”

I rubbed my hands together and looked at them becoming anxious and annoyed at the same time. This wasn’t the conversation that I thought I would be having today. We could have discussed any damn thing, not this.

“The fuck y’all want me to do? Find some random bitch off the street and make a child with her?”

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