Page 148 of Roulette: The Madam

“Yes?”

Gio – The Realtor. The contact prompted me to answer without hesitation.

“Ms. Childers.” He sighed into the line.

The heaviness in my heart tripled. It quickly became the anchor that cemented me to the ground. The gloomy morning I’d been having was slowly beginning to make sense.

“Yes?”

“I have some good news and some bad news. I’m not sure which one you want first.”

“Stop fucking around, Gio, and tell me what it is you need to tell me.”

“Fair enough. I will start with the bad news,” he breathed out before clearing his throat. “The sellers went with another buyer.”

“Another buyer? There was never another buyer interested. When did this happen?”

“Last night.”

“Last night? It’s a Saturday morning for crying out loud.”

“Exactly. They worked pretty quickly to get the deal finalized. They closed within hours of getting the offer.”

“How so?”

“It was cash.”

“I have been trying to give them cash for months. It all looks and spends the same. What was so different about theirs?”

“It was twice your offer.”

Silently, I nodded. Though my blood was boiling, I could hardly be upset with the sellers. This was business. The bigger the offer, the better the chance of acquiring the sale. However, I’d offered them more than six percent of their original selling price to secure my deal.

Apparently, it just wasn’t enough or they just didn’t want to sell to a woman with plans to build a sex house that would rape the pockets of their husbandsandwives.

“For the good news, I found another loca–”

Click.

I ended the call. There was nothing left to be said. If I wasn’t getting that location, then Penthouse wouldn’t break ground. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

The ending of one call began another. I dialed the latest pair of digits Chem had shared with us. The phone hadn’t rang once before I heard his voice on the other end of the line. Every misaligned fiber in my body realigned. Comfort swept me up, swaddling me like a baby.

“Yes, Roulette.”

“Teddy–”

“What is it? What’s the matter, baby? Are you safe?”

Concern hiked his tone slightly. At any given minute he was ready to wage war against anyone and anything. The breath in Chino’s body was considered a blessing. Chem wanted him dead nearly five months ago.

I nodded. “Yes.”

The frustration was clear in my voice. I tried calming my nerves before speaking again.

“Then what’s the matter?”

“They sold the land. Them motherfuckers have had me in meeting after meeting for the last few months trying to convince them and the city that I deserved that fucking land. And, for what, just for them to sell it right from up under me? It’s frustrating.”

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