Street Fame (7 page)

Nia pressed as she presented the shirt to Tommy.
“I don’t know shit. I was drunk last night. I don’t know how I got
home.”
She walked over to the bed and looked at Tommy with suspicion
but didn’t say a word.
“Listen, Nia, why don’t you just get the fuck out of my face before
I hurt you.”
Nia threw the shirt at Tommy. “You ain’t gonna do a goddamn
thing. If you hit me, my brother will be over here so fast to whip your
fat ass you won’t know what hit you.”
“And I promise you that nigga will get a free ride to the morgue.
So if you want to spare your mama a funeral, you won’t call that
coward-ass nigga.”
Nia picked up a pillow and hit Tommy with it. “You fat bastard. I
know you’re cheating on me.”
“I told you, I was drunk. I can’t remember what happened last
night. How did I get home, anyway?”
“Nigga, you drove home,” Nia said furiously.
Tommy’s cell phone rang. He grabbed his pants that were on the
floor and pulled the phone from a pocket. “Hello.”
“Tommy, this is Hector, Manny’s brother.”
“What’s up, Hector?”
“The police got Manny.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you about it when you come down. Maybe we’ll
have drinks, okay?”
So many questions ran through Tommy’s head. He wondered
how Manny had gotten busted. He wanted to know what he’d gotten
busted with. And there was the ultimate question: Was he cooperating
with the police? Tommy got up and put his pants on. He started to
pace.
“Where are you going?”
Tommy held his hand up to Nia’s face. “Not now, Nia. I have other
shit to worry about.”
Nia saw that he was serious. “What happened, Tommy?” “Manny, my supplier, has been busted.”
“So what do you have to do with that?”
“Nothing. I’m concerned, that’s all.”
Their eyes met and held. Nobody said anything. He thought about
Alicia and her father. He knew he had to make the trip to California.
He had to find a better way.

After Tommy left, Nia walked into the kitchen, picked up the cordless telephone, and called JoJo.
“I need to see you,” she said.
“Why?”
She giggled a little. “I need to see my friend.”
“Oh, you want to see Monster, huh?”
“Nigga, you ain’t holding like that,” she laughed. “But, yeah, I do need some dick.”
“Where is Fatboy?”
“He left. He got some bad news today. Somebody name Manny got busted.”
“Manny is our connect. Well, Tommy is the only one he deals with.”
“I don’t know where he went, but I’m glad, though. Now me and you can get away.”
“You are a scandalous bitch.”
“You like it, though.”
JoJo was silent. He thought about what that would mean for him. The connect was in custody, and he didn’t have any other way of making money. He didn’t have the stash of money that Tommy had. He needed to talk to Tommy to find out the details.
“So, nigga, you going to fuck me or what?”
“I can meet you in a couple of hours. I need to talk to Tommy to find out what the hell is going on.”
“Okay, I’m going to wear those lace panties that you like. You know, the ones that make my ass look extra fat.”
“Hell yeah,” JoJo said, though the only ass he was concerned with at that point was his own. He knew that if Manny started ratting, everybody would go to jail. Although Tommy was his childhood buddy, he didn’t know how that shit would play out if Manny started a drug conspiracy. He hung up the phone and called Tommy, who answered the phone right away.
“Hey, I was just about to call you.”
“Why? What’s going on?” JoJo tried to act surprised. He couldn’t let him know that he’d spoken to Nia.
“Bad news. Manny is in custody in Miami. His brother, Hector, called.”
“Damn. So what does this mean? Are we finished or do we need to pack up our shit and get out of town or what?”
“No. Don’t worry about that. Manny only knows me. He met Twin once, but I don’t think nobody has anything to worry about. Manny ain’t that type of guy.”
“Tommy, you know what? Real estate don’t sound like a bad idea after all.”
“Now you see what I mean, huh?”
“I do.”
“JoJo, rest assured, if Manny were to implicate me in anything, I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you like a brother.”
JoJo was speechless. He hadn’t expected Tommy to say that. Suddenly, he felt bad about sleeping with Nia. His friend was a good guy overall, and he was loyal, which was a rare trait nowadays. “Tommy, I love you, too.”

Nia stood in front of the bed, her hands down flat on the mattress. JoJo grabbed her small waist then pushed himself inside of her as deep as he could go.

“Damn, Daddy, not so rough!” she screamed.
“You said you wanted it, now shut up and take this dick.” “I like when you talk rough to me.”
JoJo slapped her ass hard and pulled her hair.
“Pull my hair harder.”
JoJo thought about Fatboy, and then he looked down at Nia the

slut. The site of this good-for-nothing woman made him harder. He pulled her hair as hard as he could without yanking it out, and the slut was enjoying every minute of it.

They changed positions. She looked down at him, pressing his chest with her hands. The juices from her vagina drenched the condom, and the smell of sex lingered in the air. He still couldn’t help but think about Tommy and how he’d said he loved him earlier. Still he was doing some foul shit.

“Nothing’s wrong. I am just tired, that’s all.” He slid from underneath her.
“You’re not into it.”
JoJo got up and walked into the bathroom. He turned the water on, grabbed a towel, and began to wash his face.
Nia had followed him. “JoJo, what is going on with you, man?”
He turned and faced her. “I don’t feel right fuckin you behind Tommy’s back.”
“Oh my God, this nigga gets a conscience now.”
JoJo narrowed his eyes. “You know what Tommy told me today?”
“No, and I really don’t care right now.” She grabbed JoJo’s arm and tried to pull him back to the bed, but he wouldn’t move.
JoJo yanked his arm back. “I’m going to tell you anyway.”
She stood silently.
“Tommy said he loved me like a brother. I believe that shit, too, man. Your man has a good heart, and this is the fuckin thanks he gets, a slut like you.”
“Nigga, don’t you go blaming me for this shit. First of all, Tommy has a problem that he won’t correct. His dick won’t get hard. Second, I never forced you to get with me. I didn’t rape you. And third, that nigga, Mr. Innocent, came home last night with lipstick on his collar, so don’t give me the bullshit.”
JoJo stared at her for a brief moment then walked over and hugged her.
She gazed at him through teary eyes. “JoJo, I love Tommy, too. And I know he’s a good person, but I have needs. Everybody has needs. Don’t think that I enjoy fuckin around on him.”
“I know you have needs, but this creeping around is really starting to get to me.”
She shoved him away then got dressed, slipping her thongs inside her purse. She left without saying goodbye.

Alicia.
“Tommy, what’s wrong?”
“I would rather tell you in person.”
“Is there something you can’t say over the phone?”
Tommy hated when people asked that. He thought it was a nobrainer.

“Let’s just meet somewhere.”
“Like where?”
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No,” she said.
“Let’s meet at the
Cheesecake Factory
.”

The wait at the
Cheesecake Factory
was about an hour. Tommy didn’t really care for the food there. He thought it was highly overrated. He thought it was just one of those places where the superficial went to be seen, just to say they were at the
Cheesecake Factory.
Since becoming a big drug dealer and making a lot of money, his life had become mostly artificial.

The hostess finally came and seated them in a booth in the front of the restaurant.
“So what’s up, Tommy?” Alicia asked.
“The worst thing that could possibly happen.”
She narrowed her eyes.
Tommy drank from his glass of water, still not saying anything.
She looked around. Nobody was paying any attention to their table. “Okay, Tommy, what the hell happened?”
“Well, Manny got busted.”
“Who is that?”
“That’s my connect; you know, the guy that I get my product from.” “Yeah, I know what a connect is. I’m not green, you know.” “I know. I keep forgetting.”
She smiled but didn’t say anything. Instead she reached for his hand and held it briefly.
“Alicia, I need a new life.”
“So what are you saying, Tommy?”
“I’m saying you were right. I can’t go on like this. I need to see your dad and get some advice on how to clean up my act.”
“So you think Manny might snitch on you?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all. In fact, I don’t think Manny will tell on me.”
She sipped her water then smiled. “Tommy, I want to help you, whatever you need me to do to make sure every thing is okay with you. I don’t want to see another black man sent away to prison.”
He smiled and she grabbed his hand again.
“Tommy, I don’t want to see you in trouble.”
“Alicia, when can we go meet your pops?”
“We can leave Friday, if you want.”

Alicia and Tommy stepped off the plane in San Francisco. They walked hurriedly to baggage claims, where Alicia’s father was waiting.
She ran and embraced him. “Daddy, I’ve missed you so much.”
Tommy looked on in both admiration and envy. He had never had a relationship with his father, and his mother was long gone. Damn, he missed her.
Alicia’s father shook Tommy’s hand.
“Glad to meet you, Sir,” Tommy said, trying to be respectful.
“I want you to kill that
Sir
shit right now. My name is Don, so call me Don. We’re going to be on a first-name basis.”
Damn, this man is cool,
Tommy thought.
Outside, a blue and gray Maybach Benz with a driver awaited them. The driver put the luggage away.
Tommy and Alicia got in the backseat.
Don got in the front. His cell phone rang and he answered on the second ring.
“Why don’t you act all stuck-up and shit?” Tommy asked Alicia.
She looked confused. “What kind of question is that? Why would you want me to act stuck-up?”
“I don’t want you to act stuck-up. It’s just that your daddy is obviously rolling, and you ain’t wanting for anything. Most people with money act a certain way.”
“I don’t have money; this is his money. I’m just going to school trying to get mine, if you know what I mean.”
Don turned to face Tommy.
“I love this car,” Tommy said.
Don chuckled. “You don’t own one?”
“Yeah, I wish,” Tommy said.
“You ain’t living until you own a Maybach.”
“I went to the dealership once inquiring about one, but the salesman said they cost $384,000.
“That’s about right,” Don said.
“Now that’s what I call rolling.”
“That’s what I call paying your dues.”
Alicia reached over Tommy and adjusted his seat. She put it in recline mode.
Tommy lay back like he was in a bed.
Damn
.
This is the life
.
What was there not to like? And the fact that they weren’t stuckup snobs made it better.
“I got to make one stop then we can go get something to eat,” Don said.
When they drove over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, Don turned to Tommy and pointed at what appeared to be a prison. “Do you know what that place is?”
Tommy looked confused. “Looks like a prison of some sort.”
“Yeah. That’s Alcatraz.”
“That’s the reason I gave up your occupation.”
“That place is closed now, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that place is, but there are more prisons that are open.”
Tommy chuckled a little, not really knowing what to make of Don’s comment.
“Let’s go over to Pier 39,” Don said.
Alicia turned to Tommy. “You can visit Alcatraz if you want to.”
“No, thank you. I’ve visited enough prisons in my life.” Tommy smiled.
“So you’ve been on the inside, huh?” Don asked.
“Not quite, but my dad is on the inside, and I go visit him quite often.”
There was an awkward silence. Nobody wanted to say anything. Tommy figured the silence was because nobody wanted to offend him.
Finally, Don broke the silence and said, “Let’s go get something to eat.”
“Cool,” Tommy said.
Five minutes later, they sat at
Dante’s Seafood Grill
. A tall Asian woman walked up to the table.
Don rose to his feet and pulled a chair out for her.
“Tommy … Alicia … this is Jill, my new girlfriend.”
Alicia shook Jill’s hand then whispered in Tommy’s ear. “Dad is a big womanizer, which is part of the reason he and Mom ain’t together anymore.”
“I thought they were together,” Tommy said.
“No, they divorced last year.”
Jill looked to be about twenty four. She was slim and attractive with big breasts.
Alicia and Jill made small talk about everything from makeup to handbags, while Tommy and Don talked about investing and making money.
“What kind of investing would you like to do?”
“Actually, I don’t know. That’s what I want you to school me on.”
“I buy properties in neighborhoods where I anticipate the value will rise and then I sell them for profit. I started with residential, but made a transition into the commercial stuff.”
“You seem to be doing well at it.”
“I am. I have no complaints.” He smiled then Jill gave him a kiss on his cheek.
“I want to live like you.”
“Tommy, you haven’t even seen the half yet. All you saw is the Benz. I got a Bentley. I have a home in the same neighborhood as Barry Bonds.”
“Real estate helped you get all of that?”
Jill flashed a veneered smile. “Look at the bracelet Bunchy bought me,” she said, showing a diamond-encrusted bracelet.
“Bunchy?” Alicia said then giggled.
Don smiled. “Yeah, we have pet names for each other.” “He calls me
Chinky
because of my eyes.”
Tommy was still looking at the bracelet. It was flooded with diamonds. “That bracelet must have cost a grip?”
“Forty-five thousand dollars.”
Damn
, Tommy thought. He wanted to be able to drop forty-five thousand dollars on some jewelry and drive a Maybach Benz without worrying about the feds. “So what do I need to start making money?”
We’ll, there’s a high-rise building downtown; it’s an office building I want to purchase. I’m looking for investors. Would you be interested?”
“Hell yeah. When do we start?”
“Okay, the building is going to cost us ten million dollars. I estimate in another year it will be worth twice that, or we can simply rent the office suites out and make half a million dollars a year. We’ll probably be paying $250,000 in mortgages for the building, which means we’ll clear $250,000 in profit.”
Tommy’s eyes lit up. “I’m ready.”
“Slow down, man. You haven’t even seen the plans yet.”
The waitress appeared. She was a tall slim blonde woman.
“Give me the finest bottle of wine you got,” Don ordered.
“Daddy, I want a martini. It’s too early for wine. Maybe later me and Tommy might have a night cap,” Alicia said. Then she put her legs over Tommy’s. The return of the erection. Tommy smiled.
“Sir, would you like to run a tab?” the blonde asked.
Don pulled out a black American Express card.
“Now, see? That’s why I don’t need to see a business plan.” Tommy pointed at the card. “I have no reason to doubt you, and I want to be a part of this.”
Everybody at the tabled laughed.
“So, Don, how much is it going to cost to invest in the building?”
“Tommy, I’m going to need at least 1.5 million in cash.”
Tommy took a deep breath. He tried to maintain his composure. At last count he had about four hundred thousand dollars. He’d hoped that he could do something with that. He thought about the fact that Manny was now in custody. He didn’t know if he could even come up with that much money. He would be stuck in the drug game forever, the game that he so desperately wanted out of.
The waitress returned with wine and a martini.
Tommy finally said “Don, I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Daddy, that ain’t fair. Can’t you let him invest on a smaller scale?” Alicia suggested.
“Actually, I can. But he won’t make as much money,” Don said then smiled at Tommy. “See, guys like me and Tommy, we like the big bucks; a little won’t do. Right, Tommy?”
Tommy put his hands around Alicia. “Your Dad is right. I want it all or nothing.”
“So, how much can you invest?”
Tommy said, “I can have a million dollars in two months.” He couldn’t believe he’d actually said he could have that much money. He’d never made that much money before. He never believed he could make that kind of money, but he wanted the lifestyle Don was enjoying. But more than anything, he wanted to be able to say that he was legit.
Don shook Tommy’s hand, and the deal was finalized.