Things were about to speed up. My travel will increase along with my paper. This is one of the reasons I was adamant about Rayna moving in. I needed her closer. I wasn’t trying to leave her available for another man. I was trying to brand her. Only if she'd trust me.
After that meeting I had another with Petey about a detective who apparently had been going around inquiring about my affairs in the streets. Word got back to Petey that the detective was looking for anyone with indictable information. I’d heard a few months that this same detective had been talking to local officers in my street territories where I conducted my businesses, but they assured me that they remained tight-lipped. I could have a little more faith in them because they had to lose their careers and places on my payroll for betraying me. But street niggas had less to lose. So we needed to strategize ways to contain this problem. In the meantime, I had my attorneys working on a way to fire warning shots in order to protect my brand.
The sooner I exited the game, the easier I could sleep at night. The quicker I got Rayna to consent to sharing my bed, the more my life would be complete.
Chapter 5
Rayna
It had been a long day. Hell, it had been a long two weeks at work. I'd been putting in twelve hours a day, minimally, ever since my return from Atlantic City with Azmir.
I’d arrived to Azmir's place at the marina with Azna.
“Good evening, Ms. Brimm,” the concierge nodded.
I didn't know why he'd been so insistent on me spending more nights at his place. The previous evenings hadn't been good because I'd been dog-tired. But I relented on tonight after forcing myself to start work two hours later in order to get more sleep the night before. I didn't want to show up at his doorstep yawning. Coincidentally, today was the first day of my birth control pill, something that I’d have to remember to take daily. Ugh! The thought of being a slave to a pill is exasperating. But I remembered. And here I was at Azmir’s, still tired but not fatigued, which I considered a huge improvement to just the day before.
“Penthouse suite, Ms. Brimm!” Roberto sang as the elevator doors were opening.
“Thanks, Roberto,” I returned.
I stepped out of the elevator with my pooch clutched in my arm and my briefcase clasped in my hand. I advanced toward the door while in search of the key. The golden key...the big golden, skeleton key to Azmir's apartment. He insisted that I use it since giving it to me.
As I approached the door, I heard the bass from a familiar tune streaming from the apartment. It was immediately joined by a horn. I turned the key and opened the door to find Azmir and all of his lengthy grandeur singing to me...without shoes. He was wearing a dress shirt that had the first few buttons undone and was pulled from his dress pants as he lip synched to the tune using a spatula as a his microphone.
I'm done.
I'd never experienced him so relaxed and larky. His long legs swayed to the rhythm and his arms emulated the words flowing from his mouth. It was a jazzy tune. Very romantic. Though I perceived this to be out of Azmir's element, he seemed so comfortable with his performance. You couldn't ignore the words flowing from the speakers with how Azmir gestured them. This man is damn fine even when he's taking grave risks with his masculinity. His flow was sexy as hell.
He continued his prance towards me and I let a squirming Azna down to the floor. He reached for me, pulled me into him and continued to whisper the lyrics into my ear. When the male’s verse was up he softly muttered, “Dance with me, Ms. Brimm,’ as he removed my purse, keys, and briefcase from my arms. He began foxtrotting with me.
Damn, he's...good!