Page 21 of Obsessive Love
The dining room was as beautiful as the kitchen, with an oversized black walnut epoxy table and plush black chairs that matched perfectly. On the wall opposite the door were live ivy and Monstera. The floors were light bamboo, and the walls were stark white. A large clock hung across from the large baywindows, and under the table was a plush rug. The room was airy but also felt welcoming at the same time.
“Are you hungry?” Pyrite asked as he pushed my chair under me.
“Yes,” I answered with a nod. I didn’t want this shit to feel like whatever we were doing was anything friendly.
“Good, I had Shaka drop off a few things on her way back home,” he said as he sat across from me. Even though the table was huge, we sat across from each other at the end. I hated to think about it, but this felt natural between us.
“Who is Shaka?” I couldn’t hide the irritation in my voice and didn’t try to. The last thing I was about to do was eat a meal that one of his bitches made. With my luck, they probably knew about this, were jealous, and poisoned it to try and get me out of the way.
“She’s Xoey plus twelve’s friend and a chef,” he answered with a laugh.
“A real chef, or does she hear voices like Xoey?” I asked.
“Nah, she’s legit a chef, a damn good one too.” He reached across the table and removed the lid from the plate before me. “I didn’t notice any allergies in your health report, so I let her have free range over whatever she wanted to create.”
“My health report?” I sat back and lifted my right brow. “How the fuck do you have a health report on me?”
“I’m a millionaire, and I don’t know how many times over,” he answered with a shrug. “Any information I want to get, I can get it. The people I know, the shit they can do.” A slow smile spread across his handsome face, and a chill ran down my spine. “Anyway, it was for safety reasons that I have the report. I wanted to make sure that you didn’t have any serious allergies.”
“You could’ve asked me,” I suggested.
“Would you have told me?” he countered, and I shrugged. “Exactly what I thought.” He picked up his water and took adrink. “I won't play with your safety.” He set his water down and then shook his head. “I have a food allergy, so I’m cautious.”
“What’s your allergy?” I asked. As intimidating as Pyrite came across, the thought of something that could take him down made me pause.
“I’m allergic to honey,” he answered with no hesitation. “And citrus, too.”
“Noted,” I said, nodding.
We sat there in a stare-off, and then Pyrite took the lid off his plate and set it to the side. “Eat your food so we can talk,” he instructed as he picked up his silverware. Pyrite ate brown sugar-glazed salmon with sweet potatoes and sautéed spinach. I had spicy glazed lamb chops, creamed spinach, sour cream, and chive baked potato. I picked up my fork but hesitated, staring down at the food. “Eat, Fable.”
When my stomach growled, I sighed and said, “Fine.”
“What do you know about your father's business?” Pyrite asked as we ate.
“Not much,” I answered, and he lifted his brow in surprise. “Javien wasn’t a father to me as a child. He only ended up with me in his house when my mama finally got tired of half ass raising me and said she needed a break. All she had to do was hold on a few more years, and I would have been eighteen and out of the house. She couldn’t handle that, though. So when I moved in with Javien Sr, I stuck to myself. I went to work and school, and that’s about it. He didn’t bother me, and I didn’t bother him.” I picked up my napkin and wiped my mouth. “Why?”
“Javien Sr. has been in our debt for years. First, he owed my Pop, then me, and my brothers. He paid off what he could, how he could, but we always had eyes on him. This last debt was just the final straw. He was doing some embezzling shit and if I didn’t catch him the Feds would have,” Pyrite answered. Iwasn’t surprised that Javien was in debt. He never could keep his hands clean and always thought his next scheme would make him a millionaire. “I’on understand what that nigga was thinking nor do I care. My concern was my money and him paying it back.”
“But it didn’t,” I said, and he nodded. “Let me guess, he had a long weekend at the racetracks or the courts?”
“Exactly,” Pyrite answered, and I shook my head. “I gave him an extension because I was in a good mood one day, and that nigga tried to play me.”
I picked up my water, took a sip, and set it back down. Hearing Pyrite openly admit that he’d fucked up by giving Javien a chance was humbling, and it showed that he didn’t think he was without mistakes. “So, how did I get here?”
“A year ago, I attended a business meeting and informed Javien that his debt was due in full.”
“He didn’t have the money, did he?” I smirked and tried not to laugh at the annoyed look Pyrite gave me. “What did you do?”
“Killed your uncle,” he answered with a shrug. “Then Javien Sr. offered up Javien Jr. as payment.”
“That’s how Javien Jr. got on your team?” I always wondered how Javien managed to get on the Kings. They were an amazing team with a talented roster; even though Javien was good, he wasn’t as good as their weakest player.
“Yep,” he answered. “He played for me for free; actually, he played and paid me. All his endorsement deal earnings came to me.”
“How much is the debt?” Whatever amount Senior owed had to be ridiculous because I knew from simple common sense that Javien Jr. was bringing in a good amount off those deals.
“It started at six million,” Pyrite answered, and I damn near swallowed my tongue. I had a nice savings but not that fuckingmuch. Senior was walking around with his life on pure luck. Pyrite sat back and smirked. “But it’s close to triple that now.”
