Page 68 of Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin

“Thank you, Mama and Daddy.” I smiled as we made our way out of the state building. “It’s been stressful but worth it. I can’t wait to see all of those men, and Rebecca, spend the rest of their lives in prison.”

Rebecca tried her hardest to say she wasn’t involved and was being set up by me. At first, I was worried because her lawyer was relentless in making the judges believe her. Thanks to a late-night visit from Andre, her old attorney succumbed to a tragic overdose. Rebecca’s newly appointed attorney urged her to accept her fate and all the consequences that came along with it. She opted out of a trial for the murder of her husband and the various counts of trafficking. From what I hear, she’s facing at least four life sentences for what she’s done over the years. Sentencing will be in a couple of months, but she will never see the light of day again. I almost feel sorry for her kids because they now have to go into the system. Then again, they didn’t give a damn about mine so fuck them kids.

“So what’s next, Senior Special Agent Atkins?” My father smirked with his brow raised. “You want to go home and take a nap to celebrate?”

Crossing my arms, I mugged him as he and my mother snickered. They thought they were so damn funny because I wasn’t the going-out type. After what I’ve been through, I feel like a night on the town would actually do me good.

“You two got jokes, but guess what? I’m putting y’all on grandparent duty for a few days.” Their smiles dropped instantly. “Tonight, I want to party.”

* * *

“Okay then,bitch! It’s giving legs and hips and body, body, body!” I chuckled as Jerome sang the ridiculous song by Kandi as I entered the section he’d reserved for us at Club Honey. When I told him I wanted to go out and party tonight, he was more than happy to help me celebrate.

I decided to spice things up a bit tonight with my attire. Dressed in leather shorts and a bralette top draped in thin gold chains, I felt like the finest woman in the club. In my mind, no one could tell me differently. Normally, this would be my outfit when I wanted the attention of a mark, but tonight I was stunting for me. From now on, I was going to be apologetically me—mother, agent, daughter, and friend. Tomorrow, I would worry about being an ex-wife. Dre didn’t want me and it was evident. That’s something I have to live with, but I’m not Tina. I’m not keeping his last name because it didn’t serve a purpose in the new chapter I was about to embark on.

Swaying my hips to the sounds of Chris Brown, I walked over to our table that was decked in food and drinks and decided to start my night of fun. I wasn’t driving tonight, so I planned to really get loose.

“I’m proud of you, sister!” Rome cheesed, showing all thirty-two as we clinked our shot glasses together. He looked nice in his denim romper and go-go heels. One thing about my cousin that I admired was that he was going to be himself at all times. “Here’s to living life and accepting everything that is meant for us. Love, life, and family!”

“Cheers to me being the boss that I am!” I added. “Let’s goooo!”

Throwing the patron back, I bit into my lime and kissed his cheek. I loved Rome so much, and I was appreciative of him always being in my corner. As we ate, drank, and danced to the music, we laughed at how tipsy we were getting. Skip walked into our section with a mug on his face that I was accustomed to always seeing.

“Good evening, ladies…” He side-eyed Jerome. “Are you a lady or man? I don’t want to offend you.”

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, baby.” Rome smirked as he stepped toward him. “How about after this?—”

“Jerome, I will kill you,” Skip said through gritted teeth with his Glock now by his side. “Find you somebody else to play with.”

“On second thought, let me go find your fine-ass brother.”

We watched Jerome try his best to run out of the section. I couldn’t hold my laughter if I tried. He loved messing with Skip, and I didn’t know why. Once he reached the dance floor, we watched him approach Wild. I was nervous for a minute because of Wild’s defensive stance. Everyone around them had gone still until Wild began to laugh, putting Jerome in a headlock and pulling him from the floor. Shaking my head at them, I watched as Wild led him back to our section.

“You know we fuck with Jerome, but any other nigga would have been somewhere in a river.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I waved him off as I sipped my drink. “Is there something you need?” Skip intimidated me sometimes with his quiet demeanor, so I kept conversations short. Hell, they’re bound to be short regardless.

“Nah, I was just checking on you. Don’t get these niggas fucked up tonight. At the end of the day, you’re a married woman.”

Frowning, I approached him so he could hear me loud and clear. “Fuck my so-called husband, and you can tell him I said it.”

Saying nothing, a slow smile spread across his face. He stuck his hands in his slacks and retreated from the area, taking his brother with him.

“Girl! I didn’t know Adrian’s ass was that strong.” Jerome huffed as Wild pushed him off. “I need to stop fuckin’ with these niggas before they kill me.”

“Please!” I chuckled loudly as I finished off my drink. “Come on! Let’s dance.”

Letting the sounds of Trina take over my body as it flowed through the speakers, I placed my hands in the air and danced as if I were home alone in the mirror. Throwing nothing but ass, my tongue hung from my mouth as I peered over the balcony at the crowd below. The club was going crazy tonight, and I was having a damn ball.

“Get that shit, Senior Special Agent Boudreaux!” I mugged Jerome as I continued to sway to the beat. “Fuck it up, sis!”

Feeling myself, I turned my back to the crowd, placed one leg on the banister, bent over, and twerked my ass like never before. I don’t know if it was just me letting loose or the shots of liquor, but I felt liberated.

“All right! That’s enough.” Jerome chuckled as he grabbed me and pulled me away. “You’re doing too damn much. Gone show these folks your goodies!”

“I just want to have fun!” I sniggered as my words slurred. It had only been an hour, and I was already close to being drunk. I was such a damn lightweight. Sweating, Jerome led me to the sofa and handed me a bottle of water. “Thank you.”

Taking sips of water, I could feel the swimming in my head slow down. Once I caught my bearing, I placed my head in my hand and burst into tears.

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