LEON'S POV
I'm in my office, finishing work when a call cuts through. It's the office line.
"Mr. Wolf speaking, hello," I say.
"Good afternoon, sir, the journalist that called yesterday is calling again. I told her you aren't interested, but she insists," the receptionist reports.
"Direct her to Joe," I order. I hang up before she can reply.
Joe knows I hate these things. He knows how to crush stubborn journalists. It's not the first time. I'm already well known as the successful businessman. I just hate speaking about myself, especially to strangers holding a camera. I don't like people feeling like they suddenly have the right to talk to me.
My personal phone buzzes with a call from Joe.
"Let me guess, you spoke to the journalist and told her where to get off?" I ask.
"I did, but there's something else," Joe replies.
"What?"
"This is another case of Caroline," says Joe.
I pause. "What?"
"Yep. She specifically told me to tell you that you will meet her no matter what," Joe says.
"Is she that desperate?"
"I guess so. But that's half your problem," Joe replies.
"My problem?"
"Remember what you said in your last interview? 'I like a woman who can challenge me. It's a pity I haven't met one yet'," Joe recites.
"That's not the type of challenge I was talking about," I explain, already annoyed.
"I know, but that's not how these women take it. They think annoying you is challenging you," Joe says.
I sigh. "Was I speaking gibberish, or did they hear gibberish?"
"Unknown, but prepare. We might be dealing with a crazy fan," Joe warns.
"I'm not even an idol. How can I have fans?" I demand.
"In this world, if you're famous for any reason and handsome, then you are an idol," Joe points out.
"Rubbish. Listen, look into this journalist. Try to get anything dirty I can use against her," I order.
"Everyone has skeletons. I'm sure we'll find something," Joe says.
"Get on it," I tell him.
"So what are you going to do in the meantime?" Joe asks.
"Avoid and ignore her," I reply.
"Right. You ignore everyone, but you rarely avoid. You're changing your routine," Joe corrects.
"Was that supposed to be funny?"
"Not at all, Mr. Wolf. I'll do what is expected of me," Joe assures me.
"Mhm." I hang up, sit back, and release a breath. The bad air leaves my system. I need to go out for a drive.
I stand, leave the office, and head down to my car. I decide to take a long turn around. Petrol is no issue.
BEAUTY'S POV (BOI)
The stench of stale beer and desperation hits me as I walk into the yard. I need to reload. I find Bricks with one of his girlfriends, busy kissing. They stop when they see me.
"BOI!" Bricks shouts, using my nickname.
"Ohhh, sorry, I should have knocked," I apologize.
"Already finished?" Bricks asks.
"Yes, customers were many today," I reply, handing him the initial cash.
"Well, your shift hasn't finished. Get some more packs and go sell it out," Bricks orders. "I want to spend time with my girl. Get out."
"Got it," I reply. I quickly grab fresh packs and turn to leave.
"Again, sorry for disturbing. My brother here really loves you. Keep hold of him," I tell the girl with a practiced smile. It's the same line I use for all his temporary 'wives.' Bricks doesn't see me as a woman, but as one of his boys hence the nickname Boi. It's safer that way.
I head to my corner. There are already customers waiting. We execute the secret handshake. The buyer places the money in my hand. I shake his right hand, shoulder-hug him, and slip the pack into his waistband. We pretend to have a casual conversation until he leaves. It's routine.
Time passes, but the routine is violently broken when I look right and see a police van. I'm not scared, just intensely focused. I've gotten used to this.
The van stops. Two police officers approach me. I try to act normal.
"Good day, how are you?" asks Police 1.
"I'm good. How are you?" I reply.
"We received news that there are dealers in this area. Seeing that you are a lovely lady, we decided to stop here and ask you. Maybe you have valuable information for us," says Police 1.
My heart starts skipping. I've never been interrogated for this before.
"Unfortunately, Officer, you got a person who knows nothing about that," I say.
"Really?" asks Police 1. I nod.
"Why do I feel like you're lying to the officers of the law?"
"I would never do that," I reply.
"Then can we search you?" Police 1 asks.
My eyes snap open. Now I'm in big trouble. I have stacks of cash and several bankies on me.
"Search me? Why would you want to search me? Did I do something wrong?" I challenge him.
"We just want to make sure that we aren't fooled by the dealer herself," says Police 1.
"Me? A dealer? That's funny," I say.
"Can we? Or would you prefer to enter the van and spend some days in prison for not cooperating?" Police 1 threatens.
I swallow and slowly raise my hands.
Just then, Scar passes by. He sees the situation. Scar and the other guys know the drill.
Scar pretends to secretly pass something to a bystander. I use the distraction, looking right at Scar as if I'm analyzing him, forcing the police's attention away from me.
The talkative police officer starts moving to search me, but the quiet one taps him and points toward Scar.
"Hey, stop right there," says Police 2.
As they head toward Scar, Trevor walks behind me. I quickly slip the remaining bankies and the cash into his hands. He walks to the other street.
The police officers bring Scar and the guy he was with over to me.
"Ohhh, I feel lucky today. Two dealers and a buyer. That's amazing. Raise your hands up," orders Police 1.
We all raise our hands. They search us and find nothing. Their disappointment is clear. We keep straight faces.
"Was this a trick? Huh? Did you purposely pretend to pass something to fool us so she could get rid of the stuff?" yells Police 1.
"Officer, I didn't say anything. Your quiet officer over here is the one who assumed things and made you go after these two fellas. I didn't say anything," I state.
He glares at us, frustrated.
"You may be lucky today, but I'll make sure next time I get you," warns Police 1.
I smile as he enters his car. I make an OK sign with my hand. The quiet officer sees it. He looks at me, and I wink. The anger on his face is immediate.
They drive away.
I thank my guys for helping. We walk together to find Trevor. He's further up the street, and he even sold a few more packs for me. My guys' loyalty is solid.
"Did it go well?" Trevor asks when we reach him.
"Yeah. Thanks again for helping, guys. I really appreciate it," I say.
"No worries, Beauty. We got your back," Trevor replies.
"I know. I got yours too," I say. We all smile.
"Hey, how about we smoke this one banky for our lucky day?" I suggest.
"Won't Bricks get angry?" Scar asks.
"I'll take the hit. Don't worry," I promise.
"Awesome," Scar says.
I hide the cash securely. Then I take the leftover banky, and we start cutting it and rolling it as we make our way to Mfana's house. We get there and start smoking as we listen to music.