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His large hand wrapped around my neck. His fingers stroked my jaw. The action silenced me immediately.
“As long as you’re my wife, whether the marriage is arranged or not, I’m going to take care of you.”
“Thank you,” I replied just above a whisper, lowering my eyes to my thigh as his fingers drew small circles across it. “Speaking of which, how long is this going to last?”
He got a bit more comfortable on the bench in front of the bed and ran his hand over the waves in his head.
“I think three months minimum. Six months to a year max. On the off chance anyone wants to challenge the marriage, we need time to prove it’s real. I might have a way to get us out of this though.”
That caused me to sit up a little straighter. I’d started to like the idea of being attached to Beethoven.
“What do you mean?”
“I agreed to this because I wanted to help my father and take over when he retired. I’m not fully invested in that anymore. The closer I get to being the boss and the more I learn how he will expect me to run things, the less I want to have anything to do with his organization.”
“If we don’t do this, what will it mean for my father’s organization? Carlos is being insufferable right now, but I still want to make sure we’re straight. Not just me and him, but the men that have devoted their lives to my father’s business too. I don’t want to just… leave them with nothing.”
Beethoven gave me a soft smile. “That’s… very honorable of you. I expected you to be ready to do whatever to end this before it could begin.”
“If we would have had this conversation the night of the dinner or even the day after that would have been the case.” I paused. “But… I’ve been taken care of my whole life. I think it’s time I look out for others. Plus, as furious as I am with my brother, I can’t leave him to do this alone. He’s not handling his new position well. And I know you might not like him but—”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Beethoven interrupted me to say. “Personally, I don’t like the way he mishandles, disrespects, and doesn’t consider you. Professionally, he’s moving like a bitch. He’s trying to gain power and respect that he hasn’t taken the time to earn. The only reason he’s still alive after that stunt he pulled with you is because I don’t want to take another family member away from you.”
I couldn’t respond right away. Carlos’s actions made me want to fight him myself, but it was different hearing someone else express their disdain for my brother. Especially when I knew that person could very well end my brother’s life and not think twice about it.
“Carlos needs help. If staying in this arrangement will help him and honor the men who chose to stay after my father died, I’m okay with continuing with the marriage. But I do have a request.”
He released a low huff and tilted his head. “I feel like I’m not going to like this request but go ahead.”
“Look after my brother.” Beethoven’s head shook as he looked toward the ceiling. “He’s never had this much power and responsibility, Beethoven. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. Daddy didn’t train him to take over like your father has been training you. All Carlos has ever done was oversee dealers and handle enemies. He doesn’t know how to lead these men and be the boss. Please… help him. For me.”
“I’ll do what I can, but you need to know I’m planning to leave soon. Once I get things secure in Rose Valley Hills with this new connect, I’m out.”
“What will that mean for me and Carlos?”
“The partnership created will still stand. He’ll be straight and so will you. I’ll make sure you’re more than taken care of before I leave.”
“Okay,” I agreed softly. “Thank you for giving me a heads up. I don’t think I could take another person abruptly leaving my life.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. I’ll give you more than enough time to prepare. It won’t be any time soon. I’m going to make sure y’all are straight with Pops before I make that move.”
While I appreciated his words, his future plans still left me a little sad. Beethoven had come into my life, and in just over a week, made me feel levels of safety and comfort no other man had before. I felt seen, heard, and taken care of with him, and I didn’t want that to end. Still, I’d play my role and let things play out organically. As long as me and my brother would be straight and my father’s men would be taken care of, that was what mattered to me most.
17
Beethoven
Whiskee was growing on me.
The selfless choice she made to continue with the marriage showed a side of her I didn’t think existed. That was a sign of true leadership, unlike what the hell her brother had been doing. Like I promised I would, I pulled up this morning with enough cash to take care of their rent for the rest of the year. I made it clear to Pops that if he wanted things with the wedding and marriage to progress that I’d need some time off to prioritize it. He assured me he’d have all business matters forwarded to the other two stand-ins or to Omari for the next several days, which I appreciated.
Now, Whiskee and I were at the pool in their apartment building drinking and getting to know each other better. Her ass in that damn two-piece swimming suit had my dick hard with no sign of relief in sight. Even though we kissed yesterday, I wasn’t sure I’d try to take things further. I would never deny that I was attracted to her, but this marriage wouldn’t be permanent, so I didn’t want to develop feelings that would be.
“What made your mama name you Beethoven?” she asked before taking a sip of her mimosa.
My drink was mostly champagne, but this was what she wanted to drink, so I obliged her.
“She loves classical music and jazz, so she named me after her favorite composer.”
