Page 64 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“Will you follow me everywhere?”

“Most definitely. You’re going to be a Caselli… he has security on every Caselli. At least you’ll know… the others don’t.”

I gasped. “Why not?”

“Complicated. We can go to the mall, take it out on his pockets and then hear him out, Steve-o. I know you bored with avoiding him ‘cause you made me sit and listen to some drama on the news while you finished your second Lego piece.”

I rolled my eyes. “You spoke back and seemed pretty interested, Duke.”

“No doubt… don’t watch much TV, but I know you wanted to talk to him about it, too.” He smiled at me.

“Nope.”

“Stubborn… both of you. I’m gonna leave you with this, and then we can stop and grab me a coffee.”

“What?”

“Menace and Maverick are two different people. Maverick had to become Menace because he didn’t have a choice. Maverick was the one who brought you to his parents… he doesn’t do that. Which means he deemed you special, Stevie. I’m not saying his outburst was right but hear him out and allow him to make it right… make that nigga grovel… and record it because the shit is rare.”

I smiled and turned the music up as we headed to the mall. This was someone who knew Menace better than me, so I needed to follow his advice and figure out how to interact with him. I did miss talking to him this week, and it was lonely hanging out in my room. He purposely kept calling Greene so I didn’t have no one to talk to and would be forced to talk to him.

Ugh.

Recommendation: “If I Ever Fall In Love” by Shai

No oneever told me how freeing it felt to swipe a card on anything you wanted. I went into every store possible in American Dream Mall, and I swiped that card so much I think I scratched it. Duke held my bags as I went into each store doing more damage and not being told no. I was used to going to buy something and praying that my overdraft assist kicked in, so I didn’t get the decline message.

People treated you differently, too, when they knew you could afford what you were looking at. I picked up things and tossed them to the sales associate and allowed them to box everything up. Duke had to make three trips to the truck to put my bags inside. I got Skyler and Estella something, and then I was ready to head back to the house.

A shower and Chinese food was on my agenda, with one of my favorite movies. Soon as I pulled up to the gates, they did their security check and allowed us access through the gates. That was something that I couldn’t get used to because I felt like I was visiting the president every time.

Duke had the staff bring all my bags to my bedroom. Menace wasn’t anywhere to be found when I walked through the sanitizing mist. I shrugged it off, grabbing something to drink before heading upstairs to shower.

The sun was setting and most of the staff was gone for the day. Jeffie was away with Corleon and checked in with me as much as she could. I kept telling her to focus on her vacation and not worry about me.

When I made it to my bedroom, all the bags were in the closet. I grabbed some fresh pajamas from my clothes that hadbeen washed and went to shower. I washed my hair and sang out the words to my favorite song.

After moisturizing, I tossed on my pajamas set and pulled my hair into a bun before heading downstairs to order something to eat.

“Wonder?”

I heard his voice, but I didn’t see him. “Yes, Mitchell?”

He chuckled as he came into the light from the living room. “Had fun at the mall?”

I watched as he rubbed his hands together. “Won’t be fun for you when you get your credit card bill.”

“I’ll survive. I missed talking to you this past week, Wonder.”

I folded my arms. “You told me to shut the fuck up, so I did. Now you missed talking to me… oh brother.” I walked into the kitchen, as he trailed behind me.

His presence was so loud that I couldn’t even focus on anything. “I’m sorry.”

“Hmm.” I continued to ignore him, as I looked in the fridge for, I wasn’t exactly sure. All I needed was a distraction from him, anything for me not to look him in the eyes.

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