Charmed By A Steel City Hustler

Nise:

I sat at the bar sipping a Cîroc and pineapple. This day had to be one of the wildest I had in a minute. The drama wasn't even mine and that had me pissed. Being back home had me turning soft.

Lois was my girl all day, but she had too much going on. Sleeping with Bash was some sneaky shit. The problem was she didn't bother to worry about his motives. I could have saved her years of heartache and pain, had I made it to her wedding.

"Give me a double shot of Henny straight up, and another round for the dangerous lady. Keep the change man."

I looked up from my glass into Kalvon's wandering gaze. He had made it clear during our last encounter that he wasn't up for games. I took another sip of my drink and turned to face him with my legs crossed.

The bartender placed the Henny and my second drink down. Kalvon picked the shot glass up and threw back the fire liquid in one gulp. I followed suit throwing back my fresh drink as well. "This stare down is fun and all, but what do you want Kalvon?"

"Some conversation would be nice and then maybe a little business Danger."

I chuckled at his pet name for me. Business with Kalvon meant an extended headache from Caesar. I did not need. We ordered a few more drinks and had some laughs. Kalvon had given me a little bit of his background and it was impressive. Kalvon did impressive work with Lethal up north. His personal life seemed to be his only problem. That ex-girlfriend would have caught a bullet to her head with that two-possible fathers' drama. I never understood how a woman could sex multiple men unprotected in such a short time frame. Hoeing was the world's oldest profession.

I was not being judgmental about how the next person made their coins. Protect your future by using birth control and condoms, damn. His little jump-off here in the Burgh seemed like a little girl playing in a man's world, but who was I to comment?

"I believe you are twisted Danger; your eyes are low as shit."

I chuckled at his assessment of me. Learning how to handle my liquor was a part of the profession. A lot of enemies caught a person slipping by getting them drunk.

I was far from tipsy and just wanted to see if he was the type to take advantage of a situation. Any man that got off on business or pleasure by taking advantage of a woman was in for a surprise with me.

"No, I am quite capable to finish our conversation. Now if you would like to talk business we are going to have to go back to my place."

Kalvon's eyes popped just a bit, and I chuckled finishing off the drink in my hand. I never discussed any form of business details in a public place. There were always eyes and ears every damn were.

Kalvon nodded his head throwing back his last shot. He pulled out a hundred-dollar bill for the tab and helped me off the bar stool. I stumbled just a bit into his awaiting arms, and he smirked behind me.

There was a hard-on awaiting my ample behind as my body eased into him. Kalvon had more than business on both his heads. I led the way out the bar with his hand at the small of my back. The valet brought my SUV around. Kalvon took the keys from him, opening the passenger door for me.

I slid in without saying anything and eased the chair back. Nights like this were nice when I didn't have to drive myself around. Juggy and the crew were always up my ass and treating me like royalty. I loved the treatment as the only woman in my family business. It was nice to be a woman in a vehicle with a man and the world as your playground.

I yelled the directions out to him as I scrolled through the text messages in my phone. Juggy had let me know that the meet was set with Darryl's uncle for tomorrow at 11 a.m. sharp. This was merely a courtesy and formality on my part. I respected the hell out of Duval, and we had done a lot of business together.

Darryl was out of control with the attempt on my life. That called for death without question. Duval had better come correct, or he was in for a battle.

Kalvon pulled up to my building and the Doorman hurried to open my door. Tim the garage guy walked over to the driver side to grab my keys. This type of treatment was amazing, and I loved every minute of it. We got on the elevator and head up to my penthouse condo.

The silence was thick as hell and that suited me just fine. The bell dinged, and we stepped off with Kalvon close behind me. I felt his gaze upon my back side and put an extra swing in my steps.

"I see you like playing with fire Danger."

"Not at all baby boy, come on in and make yourself comfortable," I said while opening the door and flipping the light switch on. The living area was spot less thanks to my maid service and the bar was fully stocked. I didn't want any more to drink, but I was hungry as hell. I pulled my heels off and went to the refrigerator for the take-out BBQ I didn't get to eat earlier.

The portion size was huge, and I offered Kalvon some, he declined. I grabbed a plastic plate and scraped the food from the containers onto it. Kalvon parked his behind on the breakfast bar stools and watched me maneuver around the kitchen.

"Okay, you got me alone in my place late at night without prying eyes and ears. What business can you possibly have for me?"

"Well as you know, I am looking to branch out on my own. To do that I need a fresh city. New York is home no doubt, but I refuse to compete with Lethal. Bash is on a retirement clock, and I intend to assume his throne."

The microwave dinged just as Kalvon finished his sentence. I was stuck for a few seconds on what he just said. Bash completely retiring was not new. The heir to his throne was. Caesar was always the unspoken next in line. Caesar had been an ass lately.

Did this revelation have anything to do with it? The confusion was written across my face because Kalvon chuckled as he grabbed a fork and picked at my green beans.

Now I offered his monkey ass, and he declined only to still pick at my food. I shook my head and chuckled a bit. That type of behavior would get anyone else killed on the spot. I was either getting soft or possibly tipsy right now. "Danger, look, I am not about to get into no specifics about your little boyfriend. I have heard of your reputation and am impressed with how you get down. I'm actually looking for a new partner, a joint venture so to speak."

I continued eating my food as Kalvon spoke about his proposition. I never made any type of partnerships outside of my brothers. Bash and Caesar were the exception to the rule as we had personal history and mutual respect between each other. Kalvon was suggesting that my arms dealing business link up with his drug empire that he wanted to install in the city.

There were several things wrong with that. Bash's clientele was strictly into guns. They did drug business with the Reynolds brothers or Hale's old crew. My brothers and father needed to also vote on any new partnerships that would interfere or collaborate with their individual ventures.

"Bash does not associate with distribution of product. You do know that, right? Your pitch is good. Had you of done your research on me. You would know that I am a part of a larger family organization. We don't really deal with outsiders." Kalvon stroked his beard and smiled at me. I got to admit, he was smooth as hell. Baby boy had a future in the street game, if he did not step on too many toes in the process. I picked up a rib to bite into and he grabbed my hand. He sucked the sauce from my index finger and my breath caught for just a minute.

"That shit fire, what joint you pick this food up from?"

Kalvon said removing my finger from his mouth. He took another fork full of vegetables into his mouth. I gave the name of the spot and slapped at his hand.

"Yo ass should have taken the offer when it was extended. You can't be licking on me like that and expect to be future partners."

"Basically, I would have to choose between personal, and professional relationships with you Ms. Nise?"

"Yes Sir. You have witnessed first-hand the bullshit with Cease. We are not even a couple. It's just not a good business practice. Moving forward, no line crossing. Before you even say it, that is not a yes to either of your propositions either. I will talk it over with my people and Bash of course."

"Fair enough. It's late as hell and my whip is still at the bar. Can a brother crash on your couch?"

I tilted my head to the left and twisted my lips up at him. He knew damn well we when left the bar it was close to last call. I had him follow me down the hall to my guest bedroom. No one could sleep on my Italian leather sofa set.

I have killed people for less in the street. I gave a quick tour of the room. Then gave him a towel and rag. I then walked across the hall to my own room.

I fell face first into my plush king size bed with silk sheets and just sank in. This day was one for the books and I had not even checked in with Lois yet. I know my girl was dealing with so much drama. She had the wrath of two families coming down on her. Lois had better put her foot down with all those suckers and get her shit in order.

The sounding of my text message alert went off and I picked up my phone. Cease had sent quite a few messages while I was in the bar. I did not have the brain cells to deal with his jealousy right now. We had more important things to discuss once the dust had settled on the current drama.

I removed all my clothing down to my matching lace thong and bra. A shower was desperately needed, and my body just wanted to sleep. I pulled the covers back and let sleep take me away.