“Did I fucking ask you? Have I ever asked you? Not once have I ever overstepped my boundaries since I’ve been here,” I went to speak, but he stopped me. “Until Lo got here. I will admit and plead temporary insanity where she’s concerned, but whatever happened is over. So, I would appreciate it if you would fuck off and let me make some damn decisions around here.”

“Did you approve Goldie’s dress for tonight?” I asked, not acknowledging anything he just said.

A slight smirk crossed Kace’s face because he knew I didn’t appreciate her dirty-ass porn star outfit.

“No, Tootse pulled a switch. There was a different dress she showed me earlier. If I had known that was what Lo was going to wear, I never would have let her.” Kace looked around real quick before he leaned in and said, “You have to be fucking careful; the girls are starting to pick up on the fact that you are training Lo differently.”

“How so?” I asked, knowing full well what I was doing differently, but denying it forcefully.

“Flowers, notes, the way you act around her, no lap dances, sending her away tonight…You know if it was any other girl you wouldn’t have cared…”

“Did you see the way the men were looking at her?” I seethed.

“They look at all the girls like that, you just have an infatuation with her that makes you turn into some kind of animalistic ape. You look like a real jackass.”

“Are you done?” I asked, as my patience with him was wearing thin.

“Shit, you’re the one who called me over. I was having a perfectly good conversation before you walked over.”

I was about to answer him when I heard someone clear their throat from behind me. I turned to find my dad and Rex Titan standing next to each other with shit-eating grins on their faces. I was not at all surprised to see my dad, since I invited him, but seeing Rex Titan threw me for a loop. What the hell was he doing at an event I started for my members, but then geared toward city officials to gain more clout for the park project?

“Gentlemen, how nice of you to attend tonight,” I said with my best southern charm.

Rex held out his hand and stared directly into my eyes. We were a dead on even match for each other, same build same height, the only determinate of who would win a fight between us would be who had the most pent-up rage. I would vote for myself, but Rex might think differently.

Adversaries since the age of five, I looked the man up and down and tried to hold back a sneer from forming on my face. I hated the man, despised him, barely could look at the fuckhead for many reasons, but there was one deep-seated reason that turned me into the bitter man I was today.

“Natasha tucked away at home?” I asked, sarcasm lacing my voice.

Rex smiled lightly and said, “Wouldn’t know, we’re getting a divorce.”

Warning bells went off in my head at his news. Natasha and Rex were getting a divorce? Natasha was on the loose? She was available? Fuck.

“So maybe she really did choose the wrong guy after all?”

“Making you the right one?” Rex asked, as he looked me up and down and shook his head. “No, she chose the right man; I just chose the wrong girl, but I am making amends to that,” he said, as he smirked with his hands in his pockets. There was something about the look on his face that I didn’t like.

I thought back to the day that I caught Natasha talking to Rex on the phone about leaving me before the wedding. I could still feel the stab of pain that shot straight through my heart when she said she wanted nothing to do with me, when she stated I wasn’t good enough.

Like a pathetic man, I watched her pack her bags and walk straight out of my life and into another man’s arms, my one true enemy. A couple days later, my mom died from AIDS, never being able to see me get married, her one wish she carried with her. Even if Natasha was the wrong woman, I still would have wanted to give my mom that one wish, for her to see me happy and moving on with a woman, but I never got the chance. It was the biggest regret of my life, not being able to give my mom the pleasure of seeing me finally finding someone to take care of me. It killed my soul knowing I failed her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, getting to the point and not wanting to go down memory lane.

“Claiming what is mine,” Rex replied. What the hell did that mean? I was about to ask him when I saw my dad put his hand on Rex’s shoulder, stopping him from speaking further. Confusion washed over my body as I watched my sperm donor and worst adversary communicate silently to each other, as if they were actually in cahoots.

“There are plenty of city officials here tonight, son. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you are trying to bribe them. Now, what happened to good morals and ethics? You wouldn’t want your little party to get into the papers, letting the city know that you are using practically naked women to help win over some property for yourself, now would you?” A complacent smiled spread across his face, practically saying, “Caught you red-handed.”

Irritation bubbled over as I watched my own flesh and blood blackmail me. How I came from the despicable and disgusting man that was standing before me was beyond my comprehension. By no means was I bribing anyone tonight; I just brought the city officials to my club so I could mingle with them easier, get to know them, and better expose the worthless piece of crap my father was.

“Just like you wouldn’t want the news of your late night penthouse party bribes to get out either, am I right?” I countered.

Shock crossed my dad’s features for a brief second, as he realized I knew about his non-disclosed late nights full of actual hookers, drugs, and alcohol. Instead of letting him cut in, I continued. “This may be a party for my club members, but it was also a fundraiser for the local Boys and Girls Clubs…to spread awareness about their needs. I have a few ambassadors from the club, albeit adult ones, circling the room, introducing themselves and talking about the needs of the clubs and how perfect Lot 17 would be for our new project. So far, I would say the evening is going rather swimmingly. Wouldn’t you agree, Kace?” I looked over at my friend, who was now grinning.

“I would say so,” he concurred. “I would say there’s a fat chance in hell Lot 17 will be used for anything other than the Boys and Girls Clubs after tonight.”

I watched as my dad ground his teeth together and the muscles in his jaws ticked like firecrackers going off at the Fourth of July. It was rather amusing, seeing my dad get so worked up that his face practically turned an ugly shade of purple. It was good to once again have the upper hand on the old man.

My dad pointed a finger at Kace. “Don’t think I don’t know about you killing that man at the bar. I can ruin you with the right investigator, so keep your trailer park trash of a mouth out of my business.” I watched as Kace stood his ground, not letting my dad’s poor etiquette of bringing up Kace’s past affect him. “As for you,” he pointed at me, “If I don’t get that property, you are not going to like what happens.”

“Unfortunately for you, I could care less about your empty threats. You have nothing on me and won’t ever have anything on me. I run an honest business in many ways, something you will never be able to do, so if I were you, I would start looking for a new property.”

“You will regret those words one day…son.” The way he said the word son, with such malice in his voice almost made me step back, but I stood my ground.

As both men walked away, I replayed the conversation in my head and tried to figure out what Rex meant by claiming what was his.

“Why do you think Rex was here?” I asked, as both Kace and I circled the room one last time.

“Are you that dense, man?”

“What?” I asked with irritation, wondering why it was so hard for Kace to just get to the fucking point.