Trife Life To Lavish Part 2 Genesis & Genevieve...Am I My Brother's Keeper Read online

  "Oh shit! T-Roc, every time you get to talking like that, you up to no good." Both men broke out in laughter.

  "I feel you, but seriously, this is an excellent business opportunity I'm bringing your way. When can I come to Philly and discuss this with you? The sooner the better."

  "I'm actually in New York."

  "Get the fuck outta here. How you coming to my town and not letting me know"

  "It's a short trip. I came to get Amir because a dude I do a lot of business with, is having a birthday party for his daughter."

  "Do you think you can squeeze in a meeting with me while you're in town?"

  "I'll tell you what. Why don't you come to the birthday party tomorrow, bring the twins. It's supposed to be really nice. And while the kids are playing we can discuss business."

  "That's not a bad idea. I'll bring Chantal to make sure the kids don't cause too much trouble while we handling business."

  "Who is Chantal, the nanny?"

  "No, that's my wife, although now that I think about it, she'll probably want to bring the nanny too. Let's just say my wife isn't really the domestic type."

  "Ha, ha, that's funny. I've never met your wife. But bring her and whoever else, I'm sure it won't be a problem. I'll text you later on with the address and time it starts."

  "Sounds good to me and I believe you're going to be very pleased with my business proposition."

  "No doubt in my mind, I'll see you tomorrow" By the time Genesis finished his conversation with T-Roc he had reached the Washington's estate. No matter how many times he had been there it never got any easier to face them.

  Quentin sat quietly with his body positioned upright and his hands firmly folded. The notched collar; three-button, long sleeve dark navy suit with a single front pleat on his slacks draped his long lean body to perfection. The luxurious texture of the fabric automatically made one say to themselves: made in Italy, without having to investigate the inside of his tag. Yes, Quentin Jacobs's style and grooming was immaculate to say the least, even when visiting a prison.

  "Daddy, it's so good to see you," Maya smiled giving her father a hug. He squeezed her tightly, before both sat down.

  "You know I always look forward to my visits with you." And Quentin did, as he never missed one. He had been coming to visit Maya on a regular basis ever since she was found guilty and locked up. As he stared in her eyes, he couldn't imagine that a young lady with such an angelic face could be the monster many painted her to be.

  "And I always look forward to you coming. Honestly, I'm constantly afraid that one day I'll get a letter, or one of the guards will tell me that you're never coming back to visit."

  Quentin reached for Maya's hand, and rubbed it gently. "I will never disappear from your life again, I promise you."

  "Do you mean that?"

  "Of course I do! As we sit here I have the best lawyers possible working on an appeal for your case."

  "Do you think they'll be able to get the verdict overturned?"

  "That's my hope."

  "Mine too," Maya said, wiping away a single tear before putting her head down.

  "Don't cry. I know it must be torture being locked up like this but you have to be strong."

  "I know but it's so hard. My mother only comes once in awhile and although Precious knows that we're sisters she doesn't want anything to do with me. Have you spoken to her for me?"

  "No, she doesn't want anything to do with me either. But hopefully when I see her tomorrow I can change her mind."

  "Tomorrow, what's happening tomorrow?"

  "Aaliyah's birthday party."

  "How did you get invited?"

  "Nico. He has been very supportive about me having a relationship with my granddaughter."

  "I'm sure Precious is not pleased with that. And poor Supreme, he must be devastated that Aaliyah's Nico's daughter. Are they still even married?"

  "From what I understand, they're doing everything they can to make it work. But don't you stress yourself about Supreme. He's probably the biggest reason you're locked away in here now. All the lies he fed you, leading you on the way he did. You were young and naive, he took advantage of that."

  "Daddy, don't blame Supreme. He didn't mean to lead me on. He really is a good man."

  "There you go protecting him again. You still can't see how he manipulated you and the situation to benefit himself. He's even manipulating your sister. I just hope she sees the light before it's too late."

  Maya sat quietly with a childlike expression on her face. With her make-up free face and hair loosely pulled back in a high school cheerleader ponytail, it was easy to understand how her father could be swindled by her lies. Convincing was an understatement for Maya's deception. From day one she played the victim with Quentin and it had worked brilliantly. He truly believed that Maya had simply been a puppet for Mike, Devon and Supreme, when in all actuality she was the puppet master.

  "It means so much to me that you're in my corner. I promise you, that if I do get out of this hell hole, I will do everything possible to be the daughter you deserve and make you proud of me."

  "You will get out and when you do, we will put this nightmare behind you once and for all."

  Nichelle was lost in her own world and hadn't noticed the cab had come to a stop. It wasn't until simultaneously her cell started ringing and the cab driver was asking for his money that she realized they had arrived at the boutique in Soho.

  "Just a minute," she said to the cab driver before answering her phone. "Hello."

  "I need to see you." Nichelle's heart dropped when she heard the familiar voice.

  "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for your call?"

  "Miss, I need my money!" the driver spewed, speaking in broken English.

  "I'm sorry." Nichelle rummaged through her purse, trying to locate her wallet while firmly holding on to her phone. She didn't want to take any chances of accidentally disconnecting from her call. She quickly paid the cab driver and got out.

  "Where are you?"

  "In Soho, where are you?" There was a long awkward silence. "Renny, after all this time you decide to call me but you can't tell me where you're at?"

  "I'm in New York. Can I see you?"

  "How long have you been here?"

  "I can answer all your questions when I see you. So can I see you?"

  "When?"

  "How about now, I'm not too far from Soho."

  "I have a fitting I have to do right now. It'll probably take a couple of hours."

  "A fitting... that's right, how can I forget you're a mod el now" From the monotone of Renny's voice, Nichelle couldn't tell if he was mocking or acknowledging what her new career was.

  "Can you wait until I'm done, or..."

  "I can wait," Renny said, quickly cutting her off. "I'll call you back in a couple of hours and we can decide where to meet."

  "Okay, I'll talk to you then." Nichelle kept the phone to her mouth for a few seconds longer not wanting the call to end. It seemed like an eternity since she had contact with Renny and hanging up the phone made her afraid that it would be another eternity before she would hear his voice again.

  "Genesis, come in," Mrs. Washington said, as he stepped inside their home. Each time he did so, he would have flashbacks to the first time Talisa brought him over to meet her parents. It seemed like life couldn't get any more perfect than it was at that time.

  "How have you been?"

  "As well as can be expected but having Amir here always makes it better."

  "Where is the little fella?"

  "He's not so little anymore. But he's outside in the back with Jeffrey. That little boy sure brings out the kid in him. It gives him an excuse to act completely childish," she laughed.

  "I know what you mean. I catch myself acting the same way with Amir."

  "Yeah, I can't wait to tell Talisa how when we were at the park the other day, Amir grabbed this boy's..." Mrs. Washington's voice trailed off after catching herself.
"I apologize. Sometimes I find myself speaking of Talisa as if she's still alive."

  "There's no need to apologize."

  "Do you know when the doorbell rings I often believe I'll open the door and she'll be standing there, greeting me with her jubilant, wide smile. Nobody had a smile like Talisa's. She could make the gloomiest day bright with her smile."

  "I know, you're right."

  "Amir has her smile. He has her warmth and loving spirit too." Genesis could see the tears swelling up in Mrs. Washington's eyes and this was the very reason he hated having to see them. Talisa's presence was on full wattage the moment you stepped inside their home. All the work it took for Genesis to suppress his pain from losing Talisa was brought right back to the surface when having to face her mother and father.

  "Daddy," Genesis heard Amir scream out, bringing some closure to an uncomfortable moment. Amir ran towards his father and Genesis lifted him up, desperately needing the positive energy that consumed him every time he held his son.

  "How are you, Mr. Washington?"

  "Well," he said, with a slight nod.

  "Amir, don't you want that ice cream sundae I promised you.

  "Yes grandpa!"

  "Your grandmother is going to take you to the kitchen to get it."

  "That's right, now follow me. First one to the kitchen gets a cherry on top." Genesis put Amir down and watched as he tried to beat his grandmother to the kitchen. He was so full of life and unaware of what he'd lost. Genesis couldn't help but think that maybe it was better that way. He would never want his son to feel the heartache that each of them harbored every day.

  "Have you come any closer to finding out who murdered my daughter?" Mr. Washington asked, once his wife and grandson were completely out of view.

  "No, I'm still working on it."

  "I don't believe you're working hard enough."

  "Excuse me?"

  "It's been how long now, and still nothing! Or do you have so many enemies that you can't decide which one gunned down your wife in cold blood."

  "I understand your anger but never question if I'm doing everything necessary to make sure the person responsible for Talisa's death is punished."

  "I just know as time passes we can forget about lost loved ones, especially when we replace them with new ones.

  "No one will ever replace Talisa. And I promise whoever murdered her will pay the ultimate price."

  "I'm counting on that. My daughter deserves justice and you better make sure she gets it. If not, you'll have to answer to me."

  Nichelle didn't have time to relish in the fabulous outfits she was being fitted for because the only thing on her mind, better yet person on her mind was Renny. There were a ton of questions she wanted to ask him and the sooner they hooked up the quicker it would happen.

  "How much longer do you think we'll be?" She looked at the time and the two hour mark had passed. Although Renny hadn't called yet she believed he would and wanted to make sure she was available when he did.

  "You have one more outfit to try on and then we're done."

  "Cool."

  "Were there any outfits that you wanted to keep for yourself?" the perky, extra petite red head inquired.

  "No, I'm good but thanks."

  "Really? Most of the models that come through here, we have to check their bags before they leave. Never have we had someone turn down free clothes."

  "The clothes are cute but this stuff isn't really my style," Nichelle explained, sizing up what appeared to be alien nation inspired threads that were strictly meant to appear on runways and magazine ads, not the streets.

  "I totally get it but let me know if you change your mind." Just then Nichelle heard her cell ringing.

  "Hold on a minute. I need to get that call!"

  "Sure." Nichelle couldn't free herself fast enough.

  "Hello."

  "Are you finished?" Nichelle let out a deep sigh realizing it wasn't Renny on the other end of the phone. It was Akil. "Are you okay?"

  "Oh yeah, ignore the heavy breathing. I'm trying to fight off this headache I feel coming on."

  "Maybe it's a hunger headache. How `bout I pick you up and take you to dinner..." there was complete stillness on the phone. "Nichelle, are you there?"

  "Hold on one second, someone's beeping in..., hello."

  "Did I catch you at a bad time?" Nichelle couldn't help as a smile spread across her face from hearing Renny's voice.

  "No."

  "Good, so are you done handling your business?"

  "I will be done in about fifteen more minutes."

  "Can you meet me at Blue Ribbon in say, thirty minutes?"

  "Where's Blue Ribbon?"

  "In Soho. I think the address is 97 Sullivan Street."

  "Okay, I'll see you there." Nichelle clicked back over to the other line and Akil was still waiting. "Sorry about that."

  "No problem, so are we on for dinner?"

  "I would but this headache is starting to really creep up on me. I'ma go home and take a couple Excedrin PM and sleep this off."

  "Yeah, you do that. I'll call you tomorrow. Feel better."

  "Thanks." Nichelle didn't like lying to Akil but there was a part of her life that she kept hidden from him, which included Renny. He knew that she was a young girl from the hood that he pulled out of oblivion. She had confided in him that her mother had died but he was unaware of the circumstances surrounding her death. Nor did he know about her trying to find out what happened to her best friend Tierra and her brother Genesis. Those were secrets Nichelle planned not to ever share with him.

  Delondo sat patiently reading the paper at his favorite restaurant, Lacroix at the Rittenhouse. While reading, he briefly thought back to how he almost put the place out of business when he had his men shoot up this very restaurant in his quest to take out Arnez for good. It still angered Delondo that with all the bloodshed, Arnez managed to walk away unscathed that faithful night. But that flaw hadn't deterred him from seeking revenge. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would bring his enemy down for not only trying to destroy his business but for retaliation for his cousin Tonya.

  "I was beginning to think you forgot how to tell time," Delondo commented when his worker sat down.

  "My fault but one of our spots had a minor problem that I had to iron out."

  "Has it been adjusted?"

  "No doubt. You know I always stay on top of my shit. Nothing for you to be concerned about, it's handled."

  "That's what I like to hear. So what about my other problem that has been causing a major toothache for way too long?"

  "I've been on it, but that nigga Arnez must be under a rock. Nobody on the street has seen that cat."

  "Trust, somebody has seen him, you just asking the wrong people."

  "I've asked everybody in my circle that I trust to keep shit confidential."

  "Then you need to expand your circle. Unless that nigga show up dead, he's on the move able to be found."

  "I feel you."

  Delondo leaned slightly over the table, making intense eye contact with his worker.

  "Roscoe, I don't need you to feel me. I want you to bring that motherfucker to me. He's enjoyed freedom way too long and it's time for him to meet his maker."

  Even though it was brick outside, Nichelle decided to walk to the Blue Ribbon. Amanda, the lady who had done her fitting told her Sullivan Street was only a few blocks away so she decided to weather the cold air. She also figured it would be quicker since a cab would get caught in traffic and what should take five minutes, could easily turn into a twenty minute ride.

  The sounds from the hustle and bustle of people walking the streets and the cab drivers blowing their horns filled the air with deafening noise. The always hectic action one encountered being in New York City could make it sometimes impossible to focus on what was going on around you. It was easy to get caught slipping and Nichelle got schooled to that the moment she turned the corner.

  It wasn't until the s
olid grip of what felt like a man's hand grab the back of her neck did she realize she was in danger. She tried in vain to jerk her body forward to break free but the grasp was so tight that instead of moving away it brought her closer to her assailant. Nichelle couldn't even let out a scream because the angle at which he had grabbed her was practically cutting off her circulation. With the night air and being on a less busy street, it seemed as if everyone was unaware of the peril Nichelle was in. Even as she dangled her feet, trying to get the attention of some pedestrian who might be concerned for her safety, she quickly felt hopeless when she eyed an awaiting dark colored van from the corner of her eye.

  Nichelle was no match for the strong goon who was holding her as if she was a one pound rag doll. Right when all optimism had faded and she was about to be tossed in the van, Nichelle heard a car zoom up and then come to a sudden halt. Then she could hear the vehicle speeding up again as it drove closer to them then slowing down, smashing in the back of her attacker's legs, causing him to lose his clutch on Nichelle's neck as the impact brought him to his knees.

  Nichelle struggled to get up. She had fallen on top of his body which had protected her from suffering more serious injuries. He screamed out in pain but that wasn't stopping him from trying to get Nichelle back in his grasp.

  "Nichelle, are you okay?" Nichelle heard the familiar voice scream out as he ran to her and lifted her off the attacker. He seemed to be somewhat pinned down by the car unable to completely move his body.

  "Just get me out of here," Nichelle cried out, locking eyes with her perpetrator before getting in the car. She had never seen him before but by no means would she ever forget his face.

  "We should call the police."

  "No! Drive and let's get out of here ...now!"

  Nichelle's hands were shaking uncontrollably as the tires screeched while backing up, freeing her attacker. She saw him still lying on the ground as their car drove off. She put her head down as she tried to fight back the tears. Before she even had time to process what had just taken place her cell phone began ringing. She reached in her coat pocket and answered the phone.