Page 54 of Are You Going to Love Me

Eden: Leave me alone, Max

Maximus: You text me first

Eden: Only to say congratulations. Have you seen the other videos? You're number one on JoyMusic

Maximus: Nah

Eden: Are you a stalker? Tell me now so I can block you

Maximus: You wouldn’t, and you like it

Eden: bye, Maximus

Maximus: got a JoyRide scooping you tomorrow at eight

Eden: I can get my own JoyRide. I'm not no Trae Way shorty

Maximus: Nah, you Poppi’s girl. That shit hit different

He smirked to himself, imagining the bite of her lip and the muffle of her giggle.

“MB!” Keon called, his voice held with laughter. “Nigga, just crawl in her skin.”

The entire time he’d been hunched over in his phone watching her text bubbles dance, he hadn’t heard a word Keon spoke to him, he hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. Oncehe’d forced his mind off Eden and the switch of her hips as she strutted on the treadmill, his surroundings returned.

The water from the pool, nature singing, the blowing wind sending the leaves and branches dancing in praise to their Maker. And then there was Keon, laughing.

“You didn’t hear shit I said?”

Maximus sat back in the patio chair and re-sparked his blunt. “Nah.”

He propped his slide-covered feet up on the table. “What’s up?”

Keon ran his hand over the hairs in his beard to settle his amusement. “I ain’t never seen you like this. Not even with Priya.”

Maximus scoffed and curled his lip slightly. “Fuck her. This shit is different. She’s different. Ain’t thirsty for nothing. But off that, what was you saying?”

“First day numbers are trending well, that and the announcement of you in the last three episodes of Get Richer, you’ve got motion right now.”

Maximus nodded, blew the smoke into the noon air, and asked, “How do we turn motion into capital? That’s the question. More than the music. Like this.”

Maximus held his hand up, holding the black paper-wrapped weed. “We need to invest in some farms, get one storefront. I’m looking into the future. Rap is the foundation. We’re building everything on top of that. One piece of Trae Way at a time.”

“So, you on some buy the block back type shit?”

“Somebody gotta do it,” Maximus stated. “If I don’t, I’m another nigga who got out, capitalized off of bangin’, and never reached back out to pull someone out.”

“Aight, what we doing? Weed spot, I heard about the tees, what else?”

“Give backs, school supplies, youth centers, turning Trayton Way Memorial Park into an actual park, but first, I need a security company.”

“You want to hire one?” Keon asked, making notes in the shared JoyNote app, Staysha had been syncing everything Trae Way MB to.

“Nah, I want my own shit.” Maximus shook his head. “I got a homeboy coming out of prison in a week. Big nigga. He'll head it up, hire people if we need it, but right now, I need something licensed and bonded.”

“Considering you ain’t the type to have friends, I'm assuming he’s good people.”

“My celly for four years. Ain’t never snaked me or no one else out. Was never on no real bullshit outside of his girl issues. He's solid.”

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