Page 22 of Into the Blue
Before I came, I thought I looked too frumpy in a light tee and jeans to ask my father’s approval in taking what should be mine. With my hair brushed back into a ponytail and light make-up, I’m presentable andpolished. Something just seemed wrong with showing up in a suit—he likely wouldn’t have opened the door. This was my next best option.
Here Junior stands looking like he rolled off his bedroom floor five minutes ago. Not only are his pants too big and his shirt wrinkled to-be-damned, he reeks like a stale bar and it’s likely because he wore this exact outfit out last night.
The three men behind him, we’ll call them scary thing 1 through 3, look marginally more put together, but the menace on their faces as they look at me is enough for me to realize how unprotected I am right now. It might take too long to get to the gun in my purse if any of them try something.
Senior returns from the kitchen with something in his hand that he gives to Junior. The younger man flops onto the couch in the sitting room across from the nook we were just in. I wince at the thought of his smell setting into the tan fabric of the couch. He begins tearing into what I can see is a breakfast sandwich.
Senior didn’t even offer me water, but he made a whole breakfast sandwich for the man who is single handedly destroying everything he worked for.Fine. The other men grumble about how they didn’t get a sandwich, but I decide it's time for me to leave.
“Thank you for your time,” I say to my father. It sounds cold and formal because it is. This man is no more family to me than a stranger on the street. Even with the knowledge that we’re blood, he wouldn’t consider trying to save himself and I won’t either. I grab my purse from the table and Senior follows me to the door after a brief nod.
I don’t bother looking back at the men in that house. Like the rest of them, they’ll learn that I’m not to be underestimated.
“And he didn’t listen to a word you had to say?” Liezel’s voice is tinny even on speakerphone as I scroll through my tablet looking at the numbers in front of me. I lie on my bed in the minimally decorated apartment andhuff. All the strategies I planned to lay out for Senior, now for my benefit only.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt a little bit that he wasn’t at least interested in talking to me more. If I found out that I had a daughter, I would at least want to know her last name.
Could I imagine what it was like for him and the women he had dealt with before and after my mom? No. But at the very least, there should be some flicker of intrigue there. I'm a badass, have my life together. Fuck, I came to him with solutions but he didn’t ask as single question.
Maybe I was wrong. It’s not just Junior who has no respect for his legacy. Senior is just as stubborn and unconcerned with the future.
As a woman who has been on the periphery of this entire business for the last five years, I know that it is not a friendly one for my gender. America is not the land of the free. It’s the land of men thinking they know everything while the women have to clean up their messes.
Here I am, doing just that, but I’m not giving it back after.
On the whole, the Lafayette’s were responsible for supply chain management, inventory control, and organizing shipments. This is at its core simple business logistics of any product. It gets complicated because everything they’re running is illegal.
Weapons and weed.
I’m impressed by how successful my biological father had been with no degree and only experience to guide his decisions. What I’ve learned about our legacy is inspiring and I know that I could build upon that in a way that would be positive. We could have more. His accomplishments are something of note not meant for trash like Junior.
At one point he and Blue’s father, Nate, were allied and it was an unstoppable partnership. From what I could tell, the Duponts only had the weed on their mind but the Lafayettes made their name originally in smuggling weapons into the country. They were mutually beneficial as the sale of one was conducive to the sale of the other. That was until Senior decided to step down and give Junior control.
It was all a rapid decline from there, including pissing Blue off and losing that partnership. I’m not sure what sparked that feud. I don’t think anyone knows besides those two.
“He listened to what I had to say. Then he patted my hand in the most condescending way possible.”
“Ouch.” There’s a pause and then she says, “And what did Blue say?”
“Nothing. I’m not telling him. It’s pointless and without the true support from the Lafayette’s, I’m expendable and unimportant. He can’t know any different until I get where I need to. Pussy is not that good,” I huff again. “Besides, he hasn’t even fucked me to use the all powerful P in its truest form.”
Liesel laughs. “Girl, stop. You have that man in a tizzy. Booking out your private room, cock-blocking you. He replaced the staff just because he wanted to protect you.” I had been keeping my bestie up to date on all my progress with Blue. She never forgets any details. That’s why she’s my bestie.
I shake my head though she can’t see. “That’s not enough. He’s clearly just possessive and doesn’t play well with others. That isn’t going to get me where I need to go.”
“You just need time. I know you’re the most qualified for the job and you know it, too.”
“I’m no miracle worker, Lee. If Junior breaks this family beyond repair, even all my practical knowledge couldn’t put the pieces back together. He’s ruining it and it’s so bad it almost feels intentional.”
“Could it be intentional?”
“No. Who knows how much Senior did or could have taught him. He’s just a trainwreck of a person. He smelled like they actually scraped him off of a club floor when I met him in person.”
Liesel gasps loudly into the phone. “He was there? Holy shit. Go back to that part!”
“Not really. He walked into the house after I came over. He was sipping dirty sprite and Senior cussed him out. I left soon after that. I don’t trust him not to try anything if he knew who I was.”
“You don’t think Senior would tell him that you’re his sister.”
