“You’re the one messing around with my business?” Granny pointed an accusatory finger at the new guy who was already shaking in his boots.
“Yes Granny Boss, I mean no,” he began stammering but she cut him off.
“I’m giving you two conditions, it’s either you fix this immediately or go to the back and dig your grave,” she seethed. He bobbed his head up and down repeatedly, backing away when she waved him off, scurrying out of the room.
“I’ll be outside,” Roman announced and walked out.
I turned to her, making sure she saw the despair in my eyes. “Why are you blowing such a big issue out of proportion?” I couldn’t get my mind out of the fact that someone attempted to get rid of her.
“I’m not, Matthew. This is no big deal, you should see the number of times they have tried but look at me, I’m still here.”
“What do you mean by the number of times they’ve tried? This is crazy!” I began pacing, the images of everything that took place when my father died plaguing my mind.
“Relax, I’ve got this under control. You shouldn’t be worrying about me, it’s supposed to be the other way around. If I died today, people would not cry as much as if you did.” She patted the empty seat next to her and I found myself occupying it without hesitation. “I want you to learn as much as you can from me because I won’t be here forever and I want to retire. I’m tired and all I need is to enjoy the few years I have left.”
“But we’re all at risk and you may not even make it to the few years you’re talking about,” I argued. She stared deeply at the wall and I braced myself for what she was about to tell me.
“When your grandfather was still alive, I used to attend every annual meeting the gangs held; I was the downfall of his existence. Through me, their plan to execute him succeeded. It was our anniversary and I was getting him a gift when I met a certain woman who advised me to get him his favorite drink.” A sob escaped her lips as she reached for the box of tissues on my desk. Seeing her cry broke me because it was the first time I was witnessing it.
After wiping her tears dry, she continued, “I thought it was a great idea and she asked what he liked but she already knew because she went ahead to hand me a bottle of Captain Morgan before I could give her an answer. I don’t understand how she got in my head and only realized what she had done when your grandpa died of a heart attack three minutes after consuming the drink.”
“I’m so sorry, Granny.” I pulled her in for a hug, rubbing her back as she sobbed years of the pain away.
“That’s why I want you to be careful and once we eliminate The wolf, we’re going to be done and dusted with this business. We have more than enough money to do other legal stuff.”
“Was he the one who planned Grandpa’s death?” I queried. No one was as upscale, dominant, and dangerous as the Wolf. He had eyes and ears everywhere.
“I don’t know for sure but I’m positive he’s involved and through him, we’ll get the culprits.”
I couldn’t help but wonder why my father never breathed a word of it to me. He was a secretive man and I knew so little about him and the kind of job he did. He had way too much money and I had to prowl to find out where it came from. After I uncovered his puzzle, he was left with no other choice but to involve me in what he did with a promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone.
As if reading my mind, she said, “He loved you and never wanted to burden you with worry since his dream was to see you succeed in doing other things and not this.” She waved her hands around us. “If he was here, he would die first before letting you get ensnared in his mess.”
“But we’re doing so well, I’d like it if we-”
“Don’t even think about such! This is not what you’re supposed to be doing, you should be relishing life with your mates and planning for your future,” she warned, pointing her thin fingers at me. “Speaking of which, what were you telling me about a girl?”
A smile carved on my face as I sat back and stared at the dull ceiling. I was in love, madly in love. “She’s so gorgeous, ethical, and naive. I love her, I want to marry her but she’s so tough when it comes to such matters. I had to beg so she could be my girlfriend.”
Granny grinned and patted my back. “This is exactly what I meant when I said you should be living a proper life.”
I turned to her with a wide smile. “You should meet her, you will definitely like her.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea for now. How about you get to know her better and when you’re sure she’s the one, then we can discuss this,” she suggested and I nodded in agreement. “What’s her name?”
“Shannon Woods.”
“That name sounds so familiar.” Her brows creased and she began tapping her foot on the ground. “Ah! Remember when Peter got caught at the border? I had to deal with a meddlesome detective by the name Toby Woods.”
“What? But that’s her father.”
“You knew but still went ahead to fall for the girl? I’m afraid we’re going to have to result to drastic measures if they so much as poke their noses in our business,” she cautioned.
I massaged the sides of my head where a headache had just commenced. I was torn in between, was it going to be love over business or vice versa?