10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace (Caselli Family Book 1)

I thought getting on the jet for the very first time to head to Italy – for the very first time as well, was enough.

Getting my pussy and ass ate while being all the way in the sky was something that I never had imagined. Maverick was downright addicted to me and couldn’t resist himself. If he needed to smell me to avoid going to choke the pilot, I would sit on his face to avoid that.

The minute he slammed that phone on the arm rest and tossed that three-thousand-dollar computer to the other side of the jet, then blinked his eyes open and closed, I knew he was gone. While I should have been running to the other side where Duke and Kai were, I remained near him. He wasn’t going to hurt me, and as crazy as it sounded, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.

I don’t know why he turned me on when he referred to my vagina as his. It was giving possessive, and I couldn’t lie and say that I didn’t like it, because I did. This was a man that had big fucking energy, and it took me to calm him down.

I almost wanted to pat my pussy through my leggings because wouldn’t that make me a big dawg, too?

Either way, I knew the conversation wasn’t good and that didn’t look good for Raye. Instead of him trying to fix the mess he was in, he went and messed it all up. The one thing I kept thinking about was how he put my life in jeopardy. He didn’t know what Maverick would have done to me. I could have very well been killed, too, and he didn’t care to try and rescue me, either.

Didn’t I deserve to be rescued after saving him and Priscilla’s life? Not that I needed to be, but the option would have been nice. Just like as a child, he had let me down for the last time. I couldn’t save him. It wasn’t my job to make a grown man do right, and Raye never wanted to do right. Even when he was given the chance to make right on his decisions, he would always choose the wrong option.

“We had to make a stop in France, Mr. Caselli. The jet has some issues, and we don’t want to continue on until we figure them out. We decided to land in Paris, so you can enjoy a few days, and then hopefully this will be fixed.”

Maverick looked at the pilot and nodded his head. I held my breath scared this man was going to fly off the handle again. “Heard you.”

He nodded and then went back to the front while I looked out the window at a black SUV pulling up on the side of the jet, and then another car with a light on top following behind. “Are we in trouble or something?”

“Nah. Customs, they coming to look at our passports and shit before allowing us off the jet,” he nonchalantly replied.

I guess you would be nonchalant when this was your life. He was used to this, and all of this was new to me. “Oh. We don’t go into the airport?”

“Not when you’re a Caselli.”

I continued to look out the window. “Lots of perks when it comes to the Caselli name.”

“You don’t even know the half.”

We went through customs and were granted access off the jet. I was excited to go to Italy, but the detour didn’t bother me in the least. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person had me so excited. One of my favorite movies was Ratatouille, so being in the country the movie took place in was a dream to me.

Menace held my hand as he helped me in the back of the SUV, quieter than usual. I was sure he had a lot on his mind, and I didn’t want to disturb him, so when he got into the car, I took his hand and just enjoyed the scenery as we drove further away from the airport.

I felt his lips on the back of my hand, and I smiled at him. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re not okay, you can tell me that, too.” He gave my hand another kiss, and then looked forward as we headed to what I assumed was our hotel.

It was still hard getting used to that this was my life right now. There was this feeling of royalty whenever you were with Menace. He had this walk and aura that told you that he was money, and he wasn’t someone you fucked with.

When people met him, they immediately called him sir and rushed to do whatever he wanted, even if he didn’t want anything. Climbing onto a jet with custom embroidered seats with the Caselli crest was something you only ever experienced in movies.

The family had a damn crest.

You didn’t have to ask twice for anything when you were Menace Caselli. Hell, you didn’t have to ask once because these people acted like they could read his mind. He kept this unbothered blank expression on his face, as if he didn’t give a fuck what anybody was saying to him.

I mean, he really didn’t give a fuck about what they were saying. Half the time, he would sigh right in their face like it wasn’t rude. Rules and manners didn’t apply to him because when you had as much money as he did, people fell all over your feet to please you.

He wore a dark pair of Louis Vuitton glasses so they couldn’t see his eyes, which added to the mystery that he already was. The fact that he was dressed down in sneakers and sweats but had the bank account that he had, puzzled these folks.

“You know they say Paris is the city of love.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Uh huh. Loveeeeeeeeeeee,” I belted out the words to Keyshia Cole’s song, and both Duke and the driver jumped, turning around to look.

“Keep yo’ fucking eyes on the damn street,” Duke barked at the driver, who quickly turned around.

Maverick smirked. “You crazy, Wonder.”

“How about we warn a nigga before doing some shit like that.” Duke chuckled as he shook his head.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted upon arrival. Willshire Paris was beautiful, and I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that I was actually in Paris. When I called Skyler earlier to tell her Maverick was taking me away, she was so excited for me.

Me and Skyler were always happy for one another, no matter what was going on in our personal lives. When she was jet setting around the world, I was happy for her. Even with me going through my own shit, I was excited that she was living her life. The girl was always on go, so seeing her send pictures enjoying herself made me happy.

I prayed that she got back to that again, and she could let down her guard and welcome love in again. I held onto Maverick as the manager greeted us at the hotel and then took us right up to our room through the back.

Checking in at the main desk didn’t exist when it came to Maverick. The main desk came up to our suite to check us in while I watched him look around the room and inspect the room. I didn’t know if I should scream or cry. The Eiffel Tower was right there in front of us. We had a view of it from all rooms in this suite.

“Mr. Caselli, we have you with us for two nights… that will be thirty-six fifty.”

“Thirty-six hundred dollars for this suite… that’s amazing.”

The woman stared at me as if she wanted to ask me ho, is you cool?

“Thirty-six thousand dollars, Wonder,” Maverick replied, and handed her over the credit card. She easily slid the card on her device. “I need a cleaning staff up here now.”

“Is it not to your liking, Mr. Caselli?”

“Obviously not… I need to see them clean it in front of me.”

She finished checking us in and smiled. “Very well, Mr. Caselli.”

I went out onto the terrace and took everything in. Quickly pulling my phone out, I facetimed Skyler. She answered and was chewing in the phone, and the background didn’t look like our apartment.

“Um, where are you?”

“In my business, why you in ours?” I heard Corleon’s voice in the background.

She put her head down to hide from me giving her that look. “Makes a lot of sense why you didn’t want to facetime with me earlier, come to think about it, you were whispering earlier, too.”

Skyler was laughing so hard as she covered her face. “It is nine in the morning, Stevie. What do you want?” she continued to laugh.

“Are you in a bed?”

“I am in my business.”

“Stevie!” I heard Estella in the background, and then her face came to view. “I miss you!”

“I miss you, too, my favorite girl. How about when I come back, we spend the whole day together, okay?”

“Okay.” She jumped off the bed, and then her mother got back into the camera. I watched as she climbed out the bed and saw a peek of Corleon in the bed beside her on his laptop. Estella was shoving a fake cup of tea to his mouth.

“Dang, Estella, this cup taste better than the other one,” he lied, because nothing was in her teacups, but she loved for us to tell her she made the best tea.

The door closed behind her, and she was in the bathroom. “I called to tell you about Maverick, and you are apparently busy… what happened?”

“I had a panic attack at work, Stevie. Everything that has been going on caused the attack and I couldn’t breathe… I still had to pick up Estella, and I didn’t know what to do.”

“Um, picking up the phone and calling me would have been an option.”

She sighed. “He was the first person that came to mind when my coworker asked me who to call. He dropped everything and came to me… went to pick Estella up and then brought me to his condo in the city.”

I listened to her whisper on the phone. “What does this mean?”

“Nothing.”

“All I ever hear is you telling me, ‘Read the room, Stevie.’ I’m now telling you the same thing. If this man is the only person, not your cousin who would have dropped everything, that you could think to call, that means something.”

“Everything means something, though.”

I looked at her. “Girl, you starting to sound like me… you want to be with that man, and you are fighting it because you’re scared. If Keyshawn wants to play games, then let him play them. You have people that will pull up… the legal way of course, and handle it.”

She nodded her head. “Where are you?”

“Paris!” I spun the phone around, giving her the view that I was witnessing in person. “We had to make a pit stop because of something with the jet.”

“Ohhhh, look at you… so, um, I have a list of things that I need. You know things are cheaper over there?”

“Wait, they are?” I asked, as I watched her walk back into the room and get on the bed.

“Girl, yes… girl math… I will text you the list of things I want and then let me know how much.”

“Money in your account already,” Corleon said.

She playfully rolled her eyes. “You know I have my own money, right?”

“My money is you and Jeffie’s money… wish you stop playing and take the credit card I got you.”

“How can anyone argue with that?” I chuckled.

“How is he, Stevie?” Corleon asked.

I sighed. “Quiet… he got some news on the jet, and he’s been quiet since getting it.”

“I got the same news… shit is fucked up.” I could hear the hurt in his voice as he spoke about the news he had also received.

“Well, I wanted to show you th⁠—”

That familiar cologne lingered, and those muscles were what I gripped as he tossed me over his shoulder. “Hi Menace,” Skyler laughed.

“What up, Mens?”

He ignored them. “Wonder, you done on the phone?”

“Not you ignoring us… you know what, goodbye.” Skyler laughed in the camera. “I love you, Stevie Raye.”

“Caselli,” Menace corrected her.

“Oop, I love you, Stevie Caselli,” she corrected herself and smiled in the camera. “Don’t forget that we have those tickets for Zay’s birthday party at that new club,” she reminded me.

We had bought those tickets months ago because snagging concert tickets was nearly impossible, and this was the next best thing. “Oh, I forgot about those.”

“Same. They sent a little reminder email letting everyone know it was still happening… I’ll let you go. Love ya,” she said, and ended the call, while Menace continued to carry me back inside.

As he carried me through the suite, I saw why it cost as much as it did. It had four bedrooms, a terrace that spanned the entire suite, and this view alone was worth the price. We made it to the main bedroom, and he lowered me onto the ottoman in front of the bed. To know Maverick was to know that absolutely no outside clothes were allowed on the bed.

“Two days in Paris, what are we going to get into?”

“This all on you… I been a bunch of times, so I wanna do what you want.”

I gasped. “Can we go to the Louvre… please.”

“We can.”

I smiled, excited that I would be able to see the Mona Lisa in person. For years I had been able to see pictures, never the real thing. Being in the same room would go in my mental bucket list that I kept.

“Do you wanna talk about the phone call that you got?”

“Rather discuss me eating yo’ pussy again.” He sat down beside me, and kissed me on the cheek, trying to change the conversation.

“Mavie.”

“Wanda.”

I sucked my teeth, allowing the name to slide because I didn’t want to switch the subject. “Seriously.”

“I want to keep you and what I do separate, baby. This life ain’t for everybody and I don’t want that shit crossing into what we building. I would never keep you in the dark but let me handle this.”

I looked out at the view. “I’ve been trying to come to terms of losing my father.”

“Not an easy thing to come to terms with. Still coming to terms with losing my own and it’s been years.”

I reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I’m not going to leave you, Maverick.”

He needed that reminder because I knew he worried. It didn’t matter how cool he played it; he worried about if I would leave after he killed Raye.

I was the child.

It was never my responsibility to keep saving this man. All my life I had wanted that fatherly love from him, something that told me that he loved his daughter, and I never got it. Everything took priority but fatherhood.

My mom fought for me when I was younger, wanting me to have that fatherly bond. I learned a long time ago that it wasn’t her fight, and it wasn’t mine, either. You had to want to be a parent. Nobody could make you be that, and when it came to wanting to be a parent – Raye didn’t want that.

“You’re not going to choose me over your pops, Wonder.”

“I already did.”

“Why?”

“Because I am in love with you, Maverick. I can’t even think of leaving you, even though that was all I wanted to do when I first met you. The thought of you sitting in that house alone before you met me brings tears to my eyes. You are complicated, and some days I wanna choke you because why can’t you just fucking flush the toilet once… but those are the things that I love. You aren’t weird, baby, you are unique. Different isn’t a flaw, it’s a feature.”

He kissed the back of my hand. “I love you, too, Stevie.”

I allowed him to pull me onto his lap and hugged him. “I’m not that bad for a mail ordered bride, huh?”

I watched as he shook his head. “Why the fuck you always gotta say some wild shit?”

I rubbed his beard before kissing his cheek. “Now, what are we going to get into today?”

“A bath… I wanna take one with you.”

I smiled. “Can we order room service and eat in the tub?”

From the look on his face, he would have rather eat hot coal and washed it down with bleach. “Yeah.”

Recommendation: Listen to “All Night” by Beyonce (Listen in at 3:09 in the bathtub scene.)

I unpacked my clothes as Maverick went to handle a call on the terrace. While he was out there, the housekeeper ran our bath. Our room was like a glass box. The tub was in the corner with the most perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, then when you walked into the bedroom, the same view followed you.

Housekeeping left and I ordered our room service while Maverick finished up his conversation. I was already in my robe, and he kissed me on his way into the bathroom. I cracked the terrace door in the bedroom to get that fresh breeze when we finished with our bath.

Before going into the bathroom, room service came so I let them in. Grabbing the bottle, the cigar, and my hamburger, I juggled all of that while going into the bathroom. Maverick was already in the tub when I entered the bathroom, and the lights were off, with candles illuminating the room.

“They sent my cigar?”

“Yep.”

I handed it to him along with the lighter, and he wasted no time lighting it up and pulling on it until it became lit. “Don’t pop your eye out, Wonder.”

“Trying not to.”

By the time I popped the champagne and ate a few fries, I slowly took my robe off. Maverick’s full attention was on me. “Your body is fucking beautiful, baby.”

“Really?” I smiled.

“Yeah, come in here.”

He held my hand while I climbed in and sank down below the bubbles. “Even though the jet had problems, this is nice, right?”

“Better with you, Stevie.”

“Do you mean that?”

He flicked bubbles at me. “You know I do… why you so far?”

I watched as he blew smoke, looking so damn handsome. He held his arms open, as he pulled me onto him, and I kissed his face. “Can I try?”

He held the cigar as I took a large pull, damn near choking up a lung. Maverick had to put the cigar out because I was choking so bad. “Damn, Wonder, I said try it… not choke the shit down,” he said in between pats on my back while I felt like I was about to lose my lung.

It was sad to be able to go to Paris and then lose your lung all at the same time. “I’m…I’m alright.”

I accepted the champagne and choked it down to help with the burning sensation in my chest. “I was trying to be sexy.”

“Yeah, and almost fucking died.” He started laughing as he looked at the view that was in front of us. “Don’t even care about that view.”

“No?”

“’Cause I got this one.”

My cheeks were about to burn off with how hard I was blushing. Rubbing his face, I stared into his eyes. My favorite thing about him was his lashes. Every time he looked down, his eyes looked as if they were closed.

He held my waist, with one hand on my ass, as I rubbed his beard. “You’re beautiful, Maverick.”

“Oh yeah?”

I kissed every part of his face. “Yes. I know there are some things that you have gone through that makes you feel less than that, but to me you are beautiful. Every flaw, quirk, and part of you is beautiful to me.”

He took me in, as he held me tighter. “Where did you come from, Stevie?”

I smiled. “It started with me being in the Bahamas.”

We both started laughing. “I’m trying to come to terms that I have you, and I deserve you. That’s not a you problem, it’s a me problem.”

“Want to know what I think?”

“Always want to know what you think.” He kissed my neck, as I messed with his chain, while the flashing lights from the tower reflected off the glass, and his face.

“Since my mother passed away, I always asked for a sign from her. I felt like I could never get a sign from her, anything telling me that I was on the right path and doing it right.”

He removed my hair from my face. “Doing what right?”

“Life. I want to say that I think you were the sign, Maverick. I mean, she could have been less dramatic, but I guess she had to make a grand gesture since she had been ignoring me.”

“I never asked my parents for a sign… never felt like I needed one. If your moms made our paths cross, then I wish I could thank her in person.”

I snorted. “This is going to sound dark as shit, please don’t judge me.”

“Tell me.”

“She made our paths cross, had me fall in love with you, and you are going to take Raye out… this is his karma. She wanted her baby girl to have protection, and I never got it from the one man that was supposed to protect me.”

He let out a deep hearty laugh with his head tossed back. “That’s some dark shit, Wonder.”

“I’m saying… doesn’t it seem like it, though?”

“Hell yeah, but she’s right about one thing.”

“And that is?”

“Her baby girl will always be protected being Menace Caselli’s wife… niggas won’t even think twice when it comes to you, Wonder.”

“His weird wife.”

“Fuck it… they already think I’m weird.” He smirked, showing me his perfect white teeth. His smile was so beautiful, and I wished he did it more.

“Do you really love me, Mavie?”

Maverick softly kissed my lips. “I do, Wanda.”

“Okay.”

“You love me?”

It was my turn to kiss his lips. “I do, Mitchell.”

“Okay.”

Looking away, I looked back into his eyes. “I want to give you my virginity.”

His brow raised. “Oh yeah?”

“I’m ready.”

“How you know I’m ready?”

I snorted. “You’ve done this before… plenty of times.”

“Not with you, Stevie.” He kissed my neck and wrapped his arms around me, as I held onto him.

This moment couldn’t have been more perfect, and although I was a woman already, I was ready to become his woman and give him my most precious gift.