Page 66 of Don Caselli

“Very true words spoken by your brother.”

“That obvious?”

I kissed her lips, and she smiled and took my mug. “Very.”

Navy hadto finish a few campaigns she had been putting off since she had been staying at the house with me. We stayed there for a few days and didn’t leave because we never had to. Laying in the bed with our phones on silence and food being delivered was what I needed. I think she needed that shit, too.

We both had responsibilities and that often came with a lot of pressure, so being able to chill and not worry about the outside world was refreshing. Aside from her father calling to let me know that he gassed the Bentley, we were able to chill and just be with each other.

I looked up from my phone at the exact moment that Zoya whisked into the restaurant. She wore a pair of sweats, dark sunglasses, and a big ass Gucci bag on her arm. When she saw me, she switched the scowl to a smile. When she made it to the table, I stood up and gave her a quick hug. Zoya was so weird when it came to any kind of affection, and I didn’t blame her. When you were raised without it, it became something foreign.

Navy’s family was the complete opposite. They loved on each other loud and didn’t feel no way about it. It was second nature for them, and the reason that Pooh was touchy feely when it came to being around me. At any moment, she would toss her arms around me or nudge me. It didn’t matter which way; she just wanted to be touching me.

“Hey babes… you got that trust fund and treating me to a nice place for once.” She laughed as she plopped her oversized bag down and snatched her glasses from her face.

I knew my sister, and from the look on her face, something was up. She was smiling and trying to pretend, but I could tell some shit was up with her. While Menace and Kora were close, me and Zoya had always been locked in.

She continued to try and look unbothered as she waved the waiter over and ordered a drink. “Wow, thanks. I’ve been swamped with work and my stylist sent that infamous text.”

“What text.”

“Hey boo.”

I stared at her confused on how ahey bootext had anything to do with her hair. “And? What the fuck does that even mean?”

“The reason my damn hair looks this way… anyway, how are you, Don?” She sighed and continued to stare over the menu.

I already knew what I wanted, so I leaned back in the booth and examined my older sister. “Zoya.”

“What, Don?”

“Are you good?”

She sat the menu down and took a deep sigh. “Work has been very stressful. I may be taking on Preston Vance as a client.”

I leaned forward. “Fuck out of here.”

“What?”

“Preston Vance has been all over the damn news. The case that the feds are building is some shit that you don’t want to be involved with. Plus, he has ties to those sick bitches with the egg farming.”

Zoya held her hand up. “Actually, he doesn’t have any ties to that. However, he does know some things about it.”

“Why does he know things about it, Zoy?”

I was about to jump out this chair with the shit she was telling me. “Why do we know certain shit? Just because he knows something doesn’t mean that he’s directly involved with it. Do you know how much illegal shit goes on, and I say nothing? The fuck you want me to do? Call the cops?”

She was so hardheaded, and I knew she would never listen to me. “What Kora say?”

Zoya shrugged. “We haven’t spoken about it.”

“Are you good, Zoya? Seriously.”

I watched as she looked away and took a deep breath. “I honestly don’t know. Some days I don’t want to get out of bed, and once I’m at work I’m on top of the world. My personal life is already shit, Don. Let me have a win in my professional life.” Her phone rang, and she picked it up.

I hated that she was going through something. To know my sister is to know that she always got through shit alone. Hermisery didn’t like company, so while she had friends and family, she would go through it alone until she came out of it tough and even more closed off.

“Enough about me, what is going on with you? I feel like I can’t keep up with you now that you graduated and work with Menace now.”

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