Page 13 of Obsessive Love

“Nigga, don’t play with me,” he said, mugging me hard. “I'll knock all this shit over.”

“Shaking my shit won’t prove anything besides I’m right,” I said and shrugged. “If you're scared, then say that.”

“What color am I wearing to your funeral, and who will do the music selection?” Citrine stood and took off his jacket. I never was one to be a bitch so I followed his actions. “I’ll tell Amethyst to stitch you up better than he did last time.”

“Same,” I said as I rounded my desk. Growing up, we boxed nonstop; Citrine may have been the one who the streets feared, but I held my own when it came to this shit.

“Yo shit is still swollen from that pepper spray, and now you want me to add to your fucked up looks.” Citrine stood and rolled up his sleeves. My brother was a big ass nigga, and I don’t mean fat. He stayed in the gym; he said it was work out or kill a nigga for pissing him off, so he chose the former. I shrugged my jacket off and then dropped it on my desk.

My office door opened, and Yeti's big ass walked in. He looked between the two of us, then shook his head. “I’ono what I interrupted, but Hood is looking for you,” he said.

“You know what it's about?” I asked, and his face twisted as if he wasn’t the one who wanted to tell me whatever the issue was. “You know what, it doesn’t matter; tell him I’m on the way.”

“Bet.” Yeti knocked on the door twice, nodded, and left as quickly as he came.

I turned back to my brother and mugged him. “Hold on to that ass whooping I was about to give you,” I chuckled. Citrine grunted, and I knew that I’d pissed him off more. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight.”

“Nah,” he denied as he picked up his jacket. “I got something to do.”

“You tell Diamond Stone that you ain’t showin’ up,” I replied, shaking my head. “That frustration you are feeling ain't gon’ have shit on her wrath.”

“I ain’t scared of her,” Citrine chuckled, even though we both knew Mama wasn’t about to play with his ass. “I’ll be there when I feel like it.”

We walked to the door, and I shook my head. “So, tell her that you’ll be a little late?” I questioned him, and he nodded in response. “I got you.”

“Appreciate it,” he said as we stepped into the hallway. “I got a meeting that might run me a little late.”

“Say less.” We dapped each other and went our separate ways.

The walk to Hood’s office was just what I needed to clear my head. Building Stone Enterprise had been my greatest accomplishment, but I couldn’t deny that something was missing. My brothers and I were living our dreams. Citrine owned the largest black-owned hotel chain in the world, and Amethyst's surgical skills were bar none — his name was spoken in rooms he’d never stepped into, and people wanted to shake his hand. Our struggle-laced upbringing was just a blip on the radar, and we had no choice but to make bigger moves every time we stepped into a room.

“What’s the word?” I asked as I knocked on Hood’s office door. He looked up from his computer and waved me in. “Yeti said you were looking for me?”

“I want to run some shit by you,” he answered with a nod without taking his eyes off his computer. “Physicals are done, but I’m not liking a few numbers.”

“This is your shit, Hood,” I sighed as I approached his desk. “I don’t know anything about physicals, blood work, or any of that.” I adjusted my shirt and then sat across from his desk. “The most I can do is call Amethyst and see what he says.”

“This is your shit,” he laughed. “I’m the doctor, but at the end of the day, you sign everybody in this muthafucka’s paycheck.” He slid papers across his desk, and I stared at them. “Pick them up, check out what I’m telling you, and see if it's something you want to deal with.”

“Does the shit rub you the wrong way?” I asked, and he nodded. “Then make the moves to get rid of them. I trust your word.”

“It’s three players I want to work over again,” he announced as I stood. “I’ll get the results to you as soon as I can.”

“That’s fine,” I nodded. “How is your mama?”

“She’s cool,” he answered as he sat back in his seat. “It ain’t shit I can do to change her mind, which I’m trying to come to grips with.”

“The Lord has a plan for her,” I said, and Hood wiped his hands over his mouth. I felt heavy for my boy; his Mama was his world. Hood was far from a mama's boy, and his relationship with her was strong because he’d grown up with her fighting cancer. This time, she said she was tired of fighting and had decided to let it take its course. The day he told me of her decision, I went home and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. I shed tears for my boy, his Mama, and the way his world was about to change. “All you gotta do is say the word, and I’ll move heaven and hell to get her all the help I can.”

“I appreciate it, my boy,” he said, nodding. “But this is her decision. No matter how much I want her to, I can't change her mind.” He wiped his hands over his face to try to stop the tears I saw forming in his eyes. “I don’t gotta like it, but I can respect it.”

“Understood,” I said, then reached across his desk to dap him up. “If anything changes, let me know.”

“I will,” he agreed. His attention went to his computer, and his eyes lit up. I knew that look; his attention was now on Legacy Glover. “Just so you know, that shit with the Point Guard is being handled by me.”

“No doubt,” I said, nodding. “I’m heading home for the day. Reach out if you need something.”

“You know it,” he said, then returned to his computer.

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