Page 137 of The Need to Know

“What’s up, Eazy?” Pops finally spoke up.

I was ashamed and nervous, but still I looked my father in his eye and came out with it. “I messed up.”

He looked at me over his paper and sighed before setting it to the side. “Go on.”

I explained to him about running into Tee Money a few months ago. About giving Tee my number. About betraying Pops.

“I was mad about not getting the papers for BLVCK, but I never reached out to Tee. I been duckin’ his calls for the longest because I figured if I work hard and leave the women alone, you’d see that I was worthy of the title,” I confessed. “But last night I ran into Tee again and now he’s offering me more.”

“More?” Pops pressed curiously. He leaned over in his seat and rested his jaw on his hand, examining me thoroughly and quietly. I couldn’t tell if he was mad and that made this scarier. Sweat beaded my temples and my hands were shaking before me.

“Tee offered me seventy/thirty my way in a new club,” I said. “All I gotta do is give him some tips on Chamber.”

Pops sat back and blinked. And then he whistled as he gazed off at his lush green lawn. “Seventy percent ownership?”

I hung my head. “Yes, sir.”

Pops grabbed his glass of tea and took a swig, smacking his lips and appearing thoughtful. Still not upset. “You’re not even one percent in owning BLVCKJVCK.”

“I know.”

“Tough choice you got there, Eaze.”

This was my dream right in front of me, but Nastasia’s words and common sense rang true in my head and heart. “It is, but you’re my father and I can’t go out like that. I’ma call up Tee as soon as we get through and let him know. I just wanted to clue you in so you’re not caught off guard by anything.”

Pops set his glass down and eyed me, angling his head as if to read me for a lie. “I was caught off guard five months ago.”

“Huh?” I didn’t get it.

“Five months ago I ran into Tee at the golf course. He told me about how loyal and good my boy was for not jumping at the chance to do business with him. Imagine my surprise with this new information,” Pops clarified. “So I waited, and I waited for you to speak up, to tell me about this offer. And when you didn’t? I called up Tee and told him to go higher.”

His words were tripping me up and I couldn’t grasp anything he was saying. “Higher?”

Pops nodded. “Tee and I, we go back a ways, but it was never really personal. I was heated he tried to rope you in, but I was a little more heated you didn’t tell me.”

“So you knew,” I realized.

“I knew,” Pops repeated.

“So this was a setup?”

“A loyalty test, if you will,” Pops went on. “And I gotta say, I was a little nervous with a seventy/thirty offer hanging in your face.” He held his stomach as he let out a hearty chuckle. “You had me on the edge of my seat there.”

I was relieved, confused, and a little annoyed. A fucking loyalty test? I supposed I deserved it for not coming to Pops right away, but still. “Wow.”

“Wow indeed.”

I shook my head and looked down at my lap, feeling a mountain-sized weight rise from my shoulders. “Seventy/thirty is not enough to cross you.”

“Nah? What about eighty/twenty?” His words caused my head to lift up to meet his gaze. “What do you say? Eighty/twenty your way for a new club?”

“What are you talking about?” I was tired of the riddles and games.

Pops became serious. “LA, Miami, Atlanta—I think it’s time we hit NY. It’s been on my mind for a while now and I think after this you’ve proven to me you’re ready for some real responsibility. So, how about it? A joint venture, where you’ll own eighty percent of the newest Marcuson club in New York?”

My mouth gaped open and my heart stopped. A migraine pulsated in my right temple and I couldn’t breathe.

What the fuck?