Chapter 7
"The lifestyle seems intriguing and I bet the money will be nice. But at what cost do you have to give, to get all of this?" —Angel
The address given to me by the man on the phone was three hours outside of Miami. When we finally pull up, we pull up in front of a mansion. From outside it seemed like a castle. Money and I looked at each other and sat there in silence for a moment, both trying to figure out if this was real.
The large black gates stood ten feet tall, blocking outsiders from coming in. There were cars parked everywhere in the large gravel style driveway. From luxury to supercars. In fact I don't think there was anything less expensive than a Range Rover there. It must've gotten to Money because he didn't even bother pulling the Dodge through the gates. Probably didn't want anybody to know we were posers.
We did look the part of important money, especially Money. In his Tom Ford suit, looking sharp, standing tall and commanding, he looked like a tycoon. I place my arm in his and we walk toward the enormous house. The gates open automatically and we walk through and go up to the front door. A security guard with an ear piece speaks to us.
"Names please."
"Don't worry they're with me." A voice said, appearing by the door. He either knew who we were already or just wanted to be nice. Then when I think about it, I figure he must've been the guy I was on the phone with and Capri probably gave him a description of us or something.
The security guard steps to the side and we walk in behind the man who tells us to follow him. I'm in awe, my head turning left and right as I take in everything. The place was beautiful. Almost like a ballroom. The floors were a porcelain white, the walls bleach white and chandeliers so large it looked like if air blew too hard it would bring down the whole ceiling with it.
People were everywhere, all ages, ethnicities and shades. Everyone in here screamed important and I had no doubt that they all were. All I could wonder was who's house it was. There was well over a hundred something people in here easily, and that was counting who was downstairs. There was a double grand staircase that led upstairs.
The man leads us through the crowd and over to Capri. A part of me feels a little relief. I don't know why because I don't know anything about this man, but he's the most familiar face here. He smiles, seeming less menacing from our first encounter. Looking between Money and I, he nods his head at me as extends his hand toward Money.
"Welcome."
Money takes his hand.
Capri makes a head motion for us to follow. He walks on the left side of Money as they're conversing about something. I'm too busy looking around and other people's conversations are too close for me to hear what they're speaking about.
He leads us to this table where a group of women are sitting. Capri lightly taps his fists on the table and all the women look up. He then looks between Money and I. "I have a lot to talk to you about, Angel will be in good hands here."
I look at Money and there must be panic in my eyes because he bends down near my ear, not missing a beat. "It's okay ma, go 'head. It's okay. I gotta do this."
He pulls away and it's all on my face, but I can't say it out loud. I don't want to stay, I was nervous. I never had a conversation with females before. What if I said something stupid?
He kisses my forehead and not missing a beat, basically pushes me toward them. I kind of feel betrayed, but I know I'm the dramatic one here. We were grown and if he was potentially about to start working with a powerful man like Capri, we couldn't be acting like scared little kids.
Money and Capri walk off so I face the table and force a smile. I wonder if they can tell it's fake one. There's three women at the table and the chair there sitting on is sort of like a mixture of a couch and a booth seat at restaurants. I sit at the very edge when they make room for me.
"Angel right?" The one closest to me asks. She gives me classy hood chick vibes. Her hair is long and has streaks of electric blue in it.
"Yes." I tell her.
She smiles, showing perfect teeth. "Capri's wife."
I'm actually shocked. He doesn't strike me as the domesticated type.
I learn that these are the wives of the people that have a big part in this business. At least at this table. There was Nicole who seemed to be in her early thirties. She was beige, short and bigger than all the women at the table. Not overweight, just chubby. But she was one of those women where the extra weight fit her. She looked good with it. She more looks like a housewife. It doesn't surprise me when I learn that she's married with one child.
Tammy was twenty seven and not far behind in looks with Nicole. She was very pretty, she had the body of someone who was a dedicated member of the gym. She wasn't overly muscular but she cared about her appearance. She was very uppity and seemed a bit patronizing in a way. She wasn't saying much and I can tell she probably balanced money the least. The type that had so much, you couldn't ask her to define the word budget if you placed a dictionary in her hand and showed it to her. Everything she had was expensive from her weave, makeup, clothes, perfume to the wine she was sipping on.
Then there was Kiki, short for Kianna. Capri's wife. She was the youngest out of her friends, but I don't know if she was younger than me. I knew we were real close in age. She was a walnut brown and what most men would describe as slim thick. An hour glass frame with an ass and breasts that caused wet dreams at night. With the electric blue highlights sitting in the spiraling jet black weave she wore, this was someone who came out of the projects but got with a man of power.
I didn't say anything unless one of them spoke to me. Now that I had actually had the opportunity to make friends, I wasn't liking it very much. It was very uncomfortable. It was not as bad as I thought it would be, but it was really awkward. Out of all the women I think I related to Kianni the most.
Kianni puts her hand on my shoulder and smiles at me, "Don't worry, Money will be back in a minute. Capri just wants to have a word with him." She said like she could read my mind. I guess it was that obvious I was looking around for him.
To try and play off my eagerness, I clear my throat and place my attention on her. "Is this a special event or something?"
Nicole answers, "You could say that...when big deals go through and someone wants to celebrate, you call up everybody. Doctors, lawyers, politicians, drug lords, everybody is in this room. We celebrate big."
I wonder if they were only celebrating something, what was the point of inviting Money and I. I thought he was here for business, but then I get it. They were trying to entice us into saying yes by showing us how they lived and how they celebrated, as Nicole just said. The cars, the mansion, the connections you could acquire in the room. Give us a sneak peek of the good side of this lifestyle to reel us in.
I start sweeping the crowd with my eyes again, pretending like I'm interested in what's going on around me, while I'm just looking out to see if I see Money. I hear giggles and look next to me to see all the girls looking at me in amusement. I bite my bottom lip feeling a little embarrassed. I must be so weird to them, I thought. They probably thought I was obsessed with Money, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't be away from him too long, it felt weird.
