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“I don’t know.” With a quiet laugh, I twiddled my thumbs in my lap. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, but it’s only been like three days. I think I missed my husband.”
His grip on the menu loosened as he stared at me. “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“Hmm…”
“If that’s what I get from being less present, maybe I need to work more.”
That made me laugh. “Well, I’ll never stop a man from working, but I really did miss you, Beethoven.”
“I missed you too. Tryna balance Pops business on top of what me and Omari are trying to do in Rose Valley Hills is a lot.”
“I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You can convince your brother to stand down and be the head of production only.”
Our waiter arrived, taking our drink and appetizer order. When he left, I asked, “Is there a particular reason why Carlos needs a different position?”
“Yeah. He’s not built to be the boss. Not right now at least.” He paused and inhaled a long breath. “On top of that… it’s safer for him if he does something else.”
“What do you mean? He’s aware of the risks of being the boss, Beethoven.”
“Nah.” His head shook as he picked his menu back up. “I’m not talking about enemies and law enforcement. There’s a very present threat looming that he has no idea about. The only way to get rid of it is for him to stand down.”
I didn’t respond as I thought over what he said. I wasn’t the smartest when it came down to their affairs, but I also wasn’t dumb. If someone was going to come after my brother because of his position, it had to be Tim.
“Is it your father? Is he not pleased with what my brother is doing?”
Beethoven sighed as he put his menu back down. “Yeah, and it’s not that he’s not pleased, though he isn’t. Business is business, and with the amount of product and money that flows from us to y’all, Pops can’t take any risks with a weak boss. Your brother can’t handle his emotions, he makes illogical decisions, and he doesn’t have enough experience to head an organization of this size. Now, I’m not saying he’s not going to be a good boss one day, but he’s simply not ready right now.”
“So Tim wants my father’s business? Has that been his plan all along? He never wanted to work with us. He’s always wanted to take over. Hasn’t he?”
“I’d prefer not to discuss this with you. I just need you to talk to your brother and convince him to stand down.”
“What was your part in this?” I asked, ignoring what he’d just said. “To get close to me so I could convince him to give y’all the business?”
Beethoven massaged the space between his eyes and stared at me. “Are we about to have our first disagreement?”
“It doesn’t have to be. Just tell me the truth.”
“No, it was not my job to get close to you so you could influence him. I was supposed to marry you to bring the both of you into the family. That’s it.”
“If he doesn’t agree, then what?” He didn’t respond right away, and the longer he remained silent, the more my heart palpitated. “Bay…”
“If he doesn’t agree, he dies.”
“And let me guess… you’re the one that’s supposed to kill him?” Chuckling, I stood. “I’m going home.”
Beethoven stood. “Whiskee…”
“I’m going to Uber. I don’t want to be around you.”
Before I could walk away, he gripped my waist. “We need to talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. You’ve known all along your father wanted you to kill my brother and you’ve allowed me to get close to you.” Shoving his hand from my waist, I gritted, “That’s sick.”
