THE ALGORITHM

12.

"Yeah." Bilal nodded slowly, feeling good about taunting Penny. He knew how to get her to straighten up and behave. "You don't like that, huh? I could destroy all of your memories, and they'll be gone." He snapped his fingers before adding, "Just like that."

Penny didn't respond. She just folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"From here on out, I want you to be on your best behavior." He began, speaking sternly. "That means, I don't want to see you giving anyone a hard time around here, not Cecil, Decon, or even Mei. You keep that sarcastic shit to yourself. Do you understand me?"

Hesitantly, Penny did nod while looking elsewhere.

"Good." Bilal nodded. "My people are visiting today. I want you to be respectful and know your place. Do you understand?"

Penny nodded again without looking at him. Bilal, however, wasn't satisfied with her response. His father and grandfather weren't as patient as he was with sarcastic people. They would more than likely have her killed and not think twice about it.

"Look, I need a verbal response from you. You have to understand that they are not to be played with." Bilal stressed out. "Be respectful and keep your mouth shut unless you're asked a question."

"I understand," Penny replied with a hint of reluctance in her tone. Bilal knew she didn't want to give him a verbal response. He knew she couldn't fathom the importance of respect.

He nodded and grabbed the bowl of peas. Bilal pushed them toward her and commanded, "You lost a few of them already. I don't want to see you playing with food ever again. Go ahead and get to cooking."

Penny glanced at the bowl of peas without bothering to acknowledge Bilal's leaving out. Her eyes stayed glued to the glass bowl as she thought of the many ways she could smash it across the floor. She wanted to throw a fit so bad that she tightened her grip around the glass.

###

There were several announcements made at the meeting. Most of the family was there for the important news. Greg, who was Bilal's father, didn't hold them long. He announced the new business deal he recently secured in Nigeria. Everyone was aware of how successful Greg's distillery company was, and now he was finally launching internationally. David mentioned that they had viewed a few buildings to finally begin their casino business investments, which they had been pursuing.

"A casino?" Regine questioned her grandfather. She sat there with her hand underneath her chin as her brows lowered in puzzlement. "We have enough on our plates."

Bilal glanced at his older sister and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"We run a huge real estate business." Regine began, holding her hands up to demonstrate how big their company was. "Daddy already has a distillery that he's now expanding to Africa, and we have hundreds of tenants already that we deal with. It's a hassle trying to keep up with everything...and now you want to add a casino, Papa."

The room was quiet for a while. Everyone in the room held skeptical expressions as she tried to buy some time to gather her thoughts. Bilal ran his hand across his beard several times. Greg rubbed his temples. David sat there with a stern expression on his face. Cecil looked around in curiosity, and Decon sat beside his father, taking everything in, similar to his mom.

"Hello?" Regine looked around the room with a questionable expression. She even glanced at her husband, Timothy, who remained silent. He was the family lawyer who offered advice when needed. The man had been in the family for years. "Is anyone going to say something? We really need to figure something out here because I disagree with the casino. It's too dangerous, and we–– for once, need to keep our noses clean."