Page 2 of Carnal Desire
You can’t just sit back and think money is going to just fall in your lap. Shit just doesn’t work like that. We all have a job to do to make the company function. If someone doesn’t do what the hell they’re supposed to do, then we all lose. It’s not that difficult to understand. I don’t know why they’re not getting it. More than likely, they haven’t had to work hard for the shit they have. It was handed to them because they were born into it. Not me. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and worked for every goddamn thing I’ve ever had. I refuse to let some privileged motherfuckers cause me to lose it all because they’re fucking stupid.
“I wonder if there’s a way to get rid of the entire fucking board,” I mutter to myself.
Maybe I don’t have to put up with all the bullshit.
I haven’t even been gone long, and people are acting like they’ve lost their goddamn minds. I run a multi-billion-dollar company within the booming tech industry. There’s no fucking way I’m going to let some assholes destroy the company I’ve built from the ground up.
Fuck that shit.
Times like these are when I have to walk the line between good and evil. I have people all the time trying to test me. I started this company in my twenties and before I turned thirty, I was on Forbes youngest billionaires list. A big step up from where I began as a foster kid. The kid everyone underestimated. The kid everyone thought would end up dead or in jail.
I bounced around the foster care system from the age of five to one abusive home to the next, until I aged out. Memories of my mother are vague, but the one thing that is seared in my mind is her long blonde hair, sparkling in the sunlight like golden fields of wheat. And it’s the one image I always remember when I’m in a bad place. It always brings me peace.
This life I’ve been able to create for myself is far from where I started. And I’m proud of that shit because I could be in jail or dead. But now that I’m here, I refuse to let anyone try to take it away from me. I’ve lost a lot of people in my life because of what I’ve been able to build. Everyone isn’t your friend especially when you become successful. They’re always looking for ways to make you lose what you’ve worked hard for. It’s a hard lesson to learn but I always keep eyes in the back of my head so I can see the knife aimed at my back.
“Every goddamn time. It never fails. Somebody wants to test me. You’d think they learned by now, I’m not that motherfucker.”
I pick up my cell from the table where I tossed it and dial the only person I know can help me deal with this situation quicker than me doing it alone. He doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty. And this time the dirtier the better.
“Brian?” Valentino says, answering on the fourth ring.
Tara’s laughter in the background filters through the phone and my heart clenches in my chest. She’s a reminder that at one time I could love. At one time I had someone to share all this with. I’m glad she’s finally happy even though it still stings a little. Don’t get me wrong, while I love her, I’m no longer in love with her. That passed years ago. But while she’s one of my closest friends, she’s a very real reminder of what I’m missing in my life.
“Valentino, I need a favor?”
“No how the fuck are you. No kiss my ass. Nothing.”
“Tino…”
“Don’t you fucking, Tino me, asshole. You go radio silent, ignoring mine and Tara’s phone calls, only to call out of the blue after months of not knowing where you are. And now you have the fucking nerve to ask for a favor. How about fuck you, Brian. And fuck your fucking favor.”
I chuckle. It’s been a few months since we last spoke. To tell the truth, I’ve been avoiding them because their daughter, my niece, Nia. She showed up toClub Jade.
And not alone.
Legally, I can’t disclose she was even there. And I definitely can’t make known who she was with because her father’s going to freak the fuck out when he finds out. I think Tara may be fine after she sees how happy he makes her, but Valentino is unreasonable when it comes to Nia. And he’s going to blow a gasket and possibly commit murder when he finds out.
I gave myself some time to come to grips with her even being old enough to even come to my club before I spoke to her parents.
She’s twenty-two now and can do whatever the hell she likes. It doesn’t matter if her parents agree with it. But I also want to make sure she’s entering this lifestyle for the right reasons and not because she thinks it’s all about sex. I also want to make sure this guy isn’t forcing her into it. She’s young. He’s older.
A lot older.
I wanted to grill her about how in the hell she was able to hide her relationship from her parents, but I didn’t want to invade her privacy any more than what I already had.
“Aww, you missed me that much?” I ask, taunting him and ignoring his attitude.
I know he’s pissed at me, and he should be. If they disappeared on me without saying a word, especially for months, I’d be just as pissed. They are two of my dearest friends. But I can’t help poking a little fun at him.
“That shit’s not funny asshole,” he mutters, and I hear the genuine hurt in his voice. Which makes me feel like shit because Valentino is just one of those guys that doesn’t keep people around as friends. He can’t trust them. I understand because someone is always looking to stab you in the back, and we don’t have to worry about that with each other.
“Listen motherfucker,” I say. “I’m sorry I disappeared. I had some shit I needed to take care of.”
Which isn’t a complete lie.
“And you just couldn’t tell us that, asshole?” he asks. Tara’s arguing in the background too, about me ghosting them, which only causes me to smile more. I’m surprised she hasn’t snatched the phone from him to lay into me.
I sigh. “I know. I know. I’m a shit friend but I promise, I’ll make it up to both of you, okay? Can you please fucking help me out here?”
