Page 93 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

“All I ever hear is you telling me, ‘Read the room, Stevie.’ I’m now telling you the same thing. If this man is the only person, not your cousin who would have dropped everything, that you could think to call, that means something.”

“Everything means something, though.”

I looked at her. “Girl, you starting to sound like me… you want to be with that man, and you are fighting it because you’rescared. If Keyshawn wants to play games, then let him play them. You have people that will pull up… the legal way of course, and handle it.”

She nodded her head. “Where are you?”

“Paris!” I spun the phone around, giving her the view that I was witnessing in person. “We had to make a pit stop because of something with the jet.”

“Ohhhh, look at you… so, um, I have a list of things that I need. You know things are cheaper over there?”

“Wait, they are?” I asked, as I watched her walk back into the room and get on the bed.

“Girl, yes… girl math… I will text you the list of things I want and then let me know how much.”

“Money in your account already,” Corleon said.

She playfully rolled her eyes. “You know I have my own money, right?”

“My money is you and Jeffie’s money… wish you stop playing and take the credit card I got you.”

“How can anyone argue with that?” I chuckled.

“How is he, Stevie?” Corleon asked.

I sighed. “Quiet… he got some news on the jet, and he’s been quiet since getting it.”

“I got the same news… shit is fucked up.” I could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke about the news he had also received.

“Well, I wanted to show you th?—”

That familiar cologne lingered, and those muscles were what I gripped as he tossed me over his shoulder. “Hi Menace,” Skyler laughed.

“What up, Mens?”

He ignored them. “Wonder, you done on the phone?”

“Not you ignoring us… you know what, goodbye.” Skyler laughed in the camera. “I love you, Stevie Raye.”

“Caselli,” Menace corrected her.

“Oop, I love you, Stevie Caselli,” she corrected herself and smiled in the camera. “Don’t forget that we have those tickets for Zay’s birthday party at that new club,” she reminded me.

We had bought those tickets months ago because snagging concert tickets was nearly impossible, and this was the next best thing. “Oh, I forgot about those.”

“Same. They sent a little reminder email letting everyone know it was still happening… I’ll let you go. Love ya,” she said, and ended the call, while Menace continued to carry me back inside.

As he carried me through the suite, I saw why it cost as much as it did. It had four bedrooms, a terrace that spanned the entire suite, and this view alone was worth the price. We made it to the main bedroom, and he lowered me onto the ottoman in front of the bed. To know Maverick was to know that absolutely no outside clothes were allowed on the bed.

“Two days in Paris, what are we going to get into?”

“This all on you… I been a bunch of times, so I wanna do what you want.”

I gasped. “Can we go to the Louvre… please.”

“We can.”

I smiled, excited that I would be able to see the Mona Lisa in person. For years I had been able to see pictures, never the real thing. Being in the same room would go in my mental bucket list that I kept.

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