Page 14 of Shâhzâdeh

I rolled my eyes but caught myself before she saw me. Or at least before she mentioned it.

“I’m moving to where she is. We see each other too infrequently for me to make any real headway in attempting to show her that I’m serious in my pursuit. I can’t do it a state away, so I’m going to move to Charlotte. Zhe horses need a home on American soil and zhe Charlotte climate should be sufficient for zhem to not have any setbacks to zheir health.”

“Hmmm. And this will benefit her how? Because I have to tell you, my love, it’s giving stalker.” Her southern accent had softened because of the French boarding school she’d attended for several years. Our accents were all unique, which made it difficult for people to pinpoint where we were from.

“I plan to hire her agency to find me a home, an estate really, along with an office building. Charlotte is a city zhat is constantly expanding and although zhere is plenty zhere in our portfolio, people are moving to North Carolina in droves because of zhe cheap land zhat is surrounding zhe city and down into Souz Carolina. We’ve already invested in zhe wedding venue so I will be scouting more opportunities for us. Zhat, along wiz zhe stables, opens up many opportunities.”

“That seems like a solid plan. And you came up with this on your own?”

My head cocked to the side as though I wasn’t the romantic she ensured I was. “You doubt me?”

“I know the man I raised. You are far more prone to run off and be a bully to get your way instead of having so much…finesse. You must really like this girl.”

The eagerness in her voice was there meaning she wanted me to hurry and get my shit together so that she could meet Vanya and dote on her. She’d loved on every one of my friends’ wives but had to take a backseat to their own mother’s in law. She’d had the chance to bond with Nyima because Jahmir’s mother was…committed. Literally. And she was a terrible person who shouldn’t be allowed around kind-hearted people.

“I do. But zhe rancher’s fiancée provided me with good advice.”

“Ah! A smart woman. I approve. Make sure you have her look for more than one house, please.”

“More than one?” I mean I had the money, but I wasn’t keen on just buying property to let it sit vacant.

“Do you not want me to come and visit? When mypetit-enfantsare born, do you not want me to have a roof over my head where I can be comfortable?” She was gearing up to have an argument and I could see my father patting her hip to calm her down.

“Maman, you would just stay with us.” I was confused because surely she didn’t think I was going to buy a damn starter home. My criteria for a home was sure to include seeing to their comfort when they visited.

“I hate to embarrass you, Xerxes, but there is no way I would do that. I do not prefer to be quiet about how much I love your father nor does he with me. I endured too much of that when you were a teenager, which is why we had our room soundproofed. No, no. A separate house will be fine. That way, you can also be loud about your love.” She nodded resolutely and my father was sniffing the side of her neck, which meant I was going to need to leave soon.

“we are way too open in zhis house.”

“Isn’t it beautiful? Bijan, send your son away now.” She was grinning but I knew she meant every word about my father kicking me out.

“Getting started on zhat love?” I didn’t hesitate to make moves to leave. I’d had my fill of the Bijan and Babette show. Damn shame when I was jealous of my parents. If I stayed around, I’d turn into a hater and I didn’t want that.

My father’s brow cocked with the arrogance of a man who’d had the woman of his dreams for years.

“But of course. However, you need to pack. No time like zhe present to get my daughter-in-law,Shâhzâdeh.”

“Everything good?”

“Peachy. How ‘bout your way?”

My cousin was constantly checking in with me since I’d gotten back from Texas. I thought since he’d found his wife and they’d had a little boy named Mansa he would ease up. Clearly, I failed to understand how easily my cousin could multitask.

When I told him of the shit that we might have to get into with my father’s family, he didn’t hesitate to reach out to his best friend, Adam Hartison, to track the players who might attempt to come for me. Few people would realize that Midas Warren, my mother’s brother’s son, was my second in the Consortium. To the world, he was the son of an NFL legend and a former model who became a billionaire by owning his first hotel and casino at 21. To me; he was fuckingBruce Leroybecause he preferred to handle people using his hands and martial arts than with a gun. I couldn’t talk shit, my ass liked to toy with prey as well.

“I’m blessed but I can hear in your tone you ain’t right.”

“It’s been silent. Which is bozering me.”

Midas was shifting around on his end of the phone and I hated when he did that talking code shit. He was the older cousin and I knew he liked to keep track of me and our people because it comforted him. No matter that he didn’t want to be the head of the Cannon family, he was still heavily involved. My mother was the oldest and fully intended to run things with her brother at her side. They’d been raised to co-chair the family until my uncle’s football career showed extreme promise. He wanted to follow his passion and giving up his spot was the price. He still made moves on the Consortium’s behalf, which is why we were now partial owners in a baseball franchise. We had our eyes on the NFL next.

“Dom says that they haven’t been moving. Are you going to send word to them that you’re pissed or let them figure the shit out?”

The problem with punishing my cousin Kamran was that it wasn’t as simple as just fucking his life up. I had every intention of doing so, but it would take more finesse than I let on to Mr. Chisholm-Love. Stripping him of his money was easy. The problem with that was his entire life was funded by my grandfather. Kamran would simply run to him and complain and since the practice of a harem was still something the king indulged in, he would be too lenient on my cousin because he was the son of his favorite child. With the frequent trips they made across the sea, I was sure the king was taking part in the debauchery alongside his offspring. With the number of sons he had by multiple wives, fidelity was a concept he ignored.

The next issue was if I punished them all, it would destabilize an entire country, leaving it ripe for the next colonizing assholes to come in and attempt to take over. The Middle East didn’t need instability right now so I had to tread carefully. Democracy wasn’t something that the OG colonizers liked in the Middle East unless one of their figure heads were in place. Since they didn’t currently have a suitable candidate, the Mahdavis kept their place. That was a stipulation I didn’t mind keeping.

“I’m letting zhings play out for now. When I go back, I need to ensure I won’t get stuck.”

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