Page 20 of Touch of Smoke
Two days later, MJ pulled up to Ro’s grandfather’s house where Ro had been sitting on the porch nursing his wounds. MJ offered an apology to Ro, saying they should never let a woman break their bond. Plus, Tonya was already pregnant by some other dude and was looking for any guy to take the fall for fatherhood—she left with MJ because she thought he was the bigger fish—college graduate, had been away from Jackson and didn’t plan to live here. Ro had accepted that apology and thanked the Lord MJ had won that fight and the girl. The last thing Ro had needed was to go back home and tell his mother he’d gotten someone pregnant.
From that moment on he’d been like a long distance protégé to MJ as they kept in touch. After Ro graduated from Clark University, he’d headed out to Vegas where MJ had planned a grand celebration for him. Ro had taken a few other trips out to Vegas to see his good friend over the years, had spent time scooping up a few wins at dice games for old times’ sake at MJ’s Blunt Minded Joint, a cannabis club with a secret location in Vegas.
“Settling in, huh? You plan to stay there for good?” MJ asked. “Last we talked when we met up, you weren’t sure you’d ever settle in one place.”
“Nah,” Ro said. “I think I always knew I’d end up back home.” The part he left out was that he’d always known he would end up with Sariya.
Even though in the weeks that passed since he’d had that little run-in with her uncle, things had been somewhat strained between them. They’d still been doing their business stuff, but she’d seemed a bit reserved. Like there was something she wasn’t saying to him, that she probably should get off her chest. For his part in that, he didn’t really want to know what she was holding back. Especially not if it was about her uncle and her mother.
“But it was the job that brought you back there, right? How’s that going?” MJ asked.
MJ was like the big brother Ro never had and Ro loved him for that. Whenever he had real shit on his mind, he knew he could pick up the phone and call MJ. The guy seemed to know a little about everything, and even if he didn’t know about something particular, he managed to give good advice regardless. Plus, he’d been there at a time when Ro had been lost and could’ve easily gone another way in life. But having MJ as a mentor had inspired him to get on a clear path to making the money he wanted to make and becoming the man he wanted to be.
“It’s good,” Ro replied. “Learning a lot of knew stuff, meeting a ton of new people. I mean, power people. Like the ones running in those political circles in D.C.”
“Okay, I see you, Benny Blue,” MJ replied. “Lining up those favors like I taught you.”
Ro nodded even though he knew MJ couldn’t see him. “Absolutely. Which brings me to this call today.”
“You need something? You know all you have to do is ask,” MJ said.
“Right. Right. Well, I was a little hesitant because the person I’m trying to help is very independent. She wanted to make some calls on her own, see if she could pull in the cash she needed to do all the things she wants for this project. But I knew you’d have a specialized interest in this.” Ro hadn’t told Sariya he was making this call. So, he prayed it would end on a good note so he’d have good news to assuage the fact that he’d left her out of this part of the business they were working to build.
“Tell me more,” MJ said.
Ro ran down the pitch he and Sariya had perfected in the past weeks as they talked to his associates at the bank, the real estate agent she’d finally decided to work with and the owner of the building she’d decided she wanted last week.
“Okay, that sounds good. You know I’m all about helping with the community however I can. In my line of business, it can’t always be on the ground and face-to-face, but I’m always looking for a good investment. You’ve advised me on a few over the years,” MJ said.
“And I’m trying to put you on to one now,” Ro said. “She’s got the location picked out and we’ve gotten her qualified for a build-out loan, but she’s going to need some working capital to drop into her operating accounts. She has to hire staff, get licensing. I’ve already made a few calls to my people with the state to get her cannabis license expedited since she’s trying to open next month. But there are some more accreditations she’s going to need.”
“Right, you’re good with all that paperwork crap.” MJ laughed. “Mr. Banker Man in your GQ suits and silly ass ties you like to wear.”
“Man, I know you ain’t talkin’ the way you always rockin’ those bowties with your suits.”
“Only when I’m handlin’ business, youngun,” MJ replied.
Ro laughed because he could picture MJ in his expensive suits and bow ties that made him look much older than the forty-five years he was.
“But seriously though,” Ro continued. “She’s a good person. Smart, has a master’s in nursing and wants to use that to help her community. I believe she’s going to make something special out of this place.”
“And you’re feelin’ her,” MJ said. “Not just in a business sense.”
Ro ran a hand down the back of his head. He’d intended for this call to be strictly business where the connection between him and Sariya came in. But MJ wasn’t a stupid man, not by a longshot. Add that he knew Ro very well, and there was no sense in Ro lying to him.
“Yeah, I am.”
“You really feelin’ her, like that forever kinda shit?”
MJ was single, had been for as long as Ro had known him. He had a couple of kids though, a son who lived in Jackson and a daughter who was out there in Nevada near him. But he’d never spoken of a woman that he was really feelin’, as he’d just put it to Ro.
“Yeah,” Ro replied. “Like that forever kinda shit.”
MJ let out a long low whistle. “I see.”
“But that has nothing to do with the business, man. You know I don’t get down like that. Especially not with her. I thought about becoming an investor myself, but I don’t want to muddy the waters with what we have going on personally. Make no mistake, I’m ready to give her the world,” he told MJ. “But part of that is making sure her business is secure. I don’t want anything on the books that might give the appearance of something inappropriate, not with my job at the bank and certainly not with the state and federal licensing departments.
Ro’s name wasn’t anywhere on Sariya’s applications and he wanted to keep it that way. Once they were married, because he definitely planned to marry her and soon—they’d waited long enough to be together—they could combine their finances but he knew it was important for her to have this business to herself. For her name to be on the bottom line alone.
