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

I told Stevie she wasn’t going to leave me, and I meant that shit. She was mad because I reached out to Angelica. We spoke occasionally and being that her shitty ass husband ain’t have no fucking motion like I did, I helped her when she needed it. Jeffie would be pissed if she knew.

The shit caught me off guard when she held my phone in her hand asking me why I was still talking to her. I was used to doing whatever the fuck I wanted without any explanation because I ain’t never had to explain myself to nobody.

I was the nigga that people explained shit to, not the other way around. If me and Duke wasn’t so locked in, I would have emptied my damn gun in his chest for helping her leave while I was sleep. I should have known when she climbed on top and fucked the shit out of me that she was up to something.

Her sneaky sleepy pussy put my ass out, so when I woke up this morning and she had her dear John letter on my damn nightstand, I tore this damn room up before calling Duke, who happened to be sleep in the truck outside of her apartment she shared with Skyler. When Blush and Jeffie came into the room, they looked at me in shock with the way I fucked this room up.

“When the fuck did you start smoking cigarettes?” Core asked, as he took a seat beside me while I sat in the backyard puffing on these Newport 100’s.

I had my leg crossed, cigarette tucked between my fingers, and leaned over like a single mom trying to do her best, but life kept bringing her back down. “She got me fucked up, Bruster… she gonna sneak her ass out the house last night.”

“How the fuck she sneak out without you knowing?”

I turned to look at him, mad that I allowed pussy to put me out like that. “Ask Duke’s fat ass… you think I should kill him?” Corleon had the nerve to laugh at my pain. “Ain’t you adopted?”

He continued to laugh. “And your wife fucking escaped you…how she got your security wrapped around her finger?”

I took a long pull of the cigarette and flicked the ashes away before stabbing the shit in my leg. “Mens, what the fuck?”

“She don’t like that me and Angelica still talk every now and then.”

“I mean, she’s your wife so why the fuck would she like that? I don’t know why you keep in touch when Jeffie doesn’t deal with her own mother.”

“I should kill Angelica, right?”

Corleon put his head in his hand. “What the fuck?”

“My boo don’t like her calling me so, ending her would stop the calls and texts… make my baby happy, and get her back under our roof.”

“Menace you have gone too damn far this time!” Jeffie stomped out with Gray behind her.

I lit another cigarette and waited for her to speak. “It’s always Menace you have gone too far, never you are the best and we love you.”

“You got her arrested and reported her ring stolen you fucking nut!” Jeffie mushed me, and I continued to puff on my cigarette while Corleon was holding his stomach while laughing. “Why the fuck are you laughing, she called me crying because she thought she was going to prison…. I had to send over your marriage certificate and have Zoya go get her out and let them know it was a misunderstanding.”

“She ran off in the middle of the night with my ring and pussy, Jeffie. You lucky I wasn’t able to report my pussy missing because I would have.” I went to take a pull of my cigarette, and Jeffie snatched it and dramatically stomped it into the ground.

“You don’t even smoke cigarettes… where did you get them from?”

“Maroon got them for me.”

She looked over nervously. “He told me to go and get him a pack or he was going to fire me. I like my benefits and pay.”

“With the way she spitefully squeezed the toothpaste in the bathroom before she left, she deserves prison.”

I went to pull another cigarette, and she snatched the box from me. “I’m going to see her… this is not how you treat your wife, Menace!”

Corleon hadn’t said a word because he was too busy laughing, which pissed Jeffie off. “Bring her ass home.”

“Corleon, I’m so happy that this is funny to you because when you try to come over later, I won’t be answering the phone, and I am calling Skyler soon as I leave so she won’t be answering, either. Matter fact, you can lay with your best friend since you both think this is funny.”

“I don’t think shit is funny… I know what I did, and I stand on that shit.” Jeffie stomped in place, something women seemed to have in common, and took off back into the house.

Corleon shoved me. “Baby, I don’t think shit he doing is funny,” he called behind Jeffie, and she spun on her heels, sticking her middle finger at him. “Got me in fucking trouble with both of them. Why the fuck would you report her ring stolen?”

“Shit, I thought I lost it. It’s two million dollars, so I needed to make sure that it wasn’t missing.”

Corleon busted out laughing as I picked up the marker beside me and started to smoke it since Jeffie wanted to snatch my carton of cigarettes. “Mens you really need to apologize to her. You do know that you made it ten times worse?”

“We’ll fix that shit when she bring her ass home.”

Corleon looked at me. “She not going to come home after you got her locked up, Nutty. How you gonna be mad because she left you where you had her fucked up at?”

I took a pull of my marker, blowing imaginary smoke. “She went through my phone and got mad because I told her the truth.”

“The truth that you don’t want to let Angelica go because you feel like you’ll be closing that chapter for real?”

“Bruster, why you in my house?”

He sighed. “Is Angelica worth you losing Stevie? She fucking left in the middle of the night… You used to have to kick Kim out, and she willingly left, and this is her home.”

“I don’t even talk to her like that.”

“Problem is that you are talking to her, and she knows the significance of the relationship that you had. You walk around threatening everybody that even look Stevie’s way but can’t check your own shit.”

“The fuck you want me to do? Just end the conversations with her and act like we strangers.”

Core stood up. “Yes, nigga. You don’t need closure to a situation that has run its course. You are grown now and have lived without her longer than you were so called with her. There doesn’t need to be a conversation to end shit either… delete her number and move the fuck on.”

“So, you don’t be fucking Killian anymore?”

He shook his head. “Nah. The minute I made my intentions clear with Skyler and Jeffie I ended it with her. I deleted her number and haven’t reached out because I want those two. I want a family with them. It’s easy when you know what you have and the future you could have. Straighten up and fucking end communication with her, or you gonna not only lose your wife, but your fucking best friend, too. If she could cut her mother off and choose you, you can do the same.”

He walked back toward the house leaving me and my marker. “I see why they gave yo’ ass up for adoption, bitch.”

“That’s why yo’ weird ass didn’t have friends back in school.”

“I ain’t want them bitches.”

“Might be true… you still fucking weird, Mens.” He chuckled and then stopped and looked down at his phone. “The Amante’s got him, Mens.”

“How the fuck…”

“C’mon now, he’s a fucking gambler… can’t stay away too long. Finish smoking your marker, shake this shit off and we meeting them.”

“I ain’t shaking my wife robbing me blind and then leaving me.”

“Now how the fuck she robbed you blind?”

I smirked. Wonder robbed me when she took my pussy away from me and didn’t tell me. I had business to handle, and then I was going to pull up on wifey.

My driver pulled up at a warehouse in College Point near the water. I looked over at Core, and then security pulling up behind us. Since the head of security wanted to let a little 5’5 strawberry blonde curly four eye angel finesse him into sneaking her out the house, I had to handle business without him.

“Before we go in there, you good with letting them handle business or do you want him for you?”

“I don’t give a fuck who does it, as long as somebody does the shit.” I looked at my watch, and then back at my best friend.

He held his hand out and dapped me, as we both climbed out the truck and headed inside. Deuce Amante put me in the mindset of a younger DMX. Every time I saw the nigga; I wanted to scream “Where them dogs at?”

With the way Zoya and Kora were spinning the trial for his brother, the families were cool. Not cool enough for them to step in as the third family of Staten Island. I didn’t give a damn if they were from Staten Island either.

There was never any competition at the top, just collaborations. We all were familiar with each other and respected each other. When needed, any one of us could call in a favor, and we would all be there or extend our resources.

My resources happened to be that I had a federal judge and a top criminal defense lawyer as sisters. Dane, Deuce’s brother, got himself in a pickle, and he needed to spin some shit in his way, or else he was looking at them throwing his life at the wall.

Dane was the head of the Amante Cartel, after his father stepped down. Deuce was the enforcer, and made sure shit was handled, which was why he had Raye’s ass in his warehouse. Dice was the youngest of the brothers, he was the lieutenant overseeing everything that the Amante’s had their hands in.

“What up, Menace?” He nodded because everyone knew I didn’t do all that touchy bullshit. He then looked over at Core, extended his hand and dapped him up. “What up, Core? I fired your shorty. She didn’t need to be working there anyway.”

Core extended his hand again. “Appreciate you. She hardheaded, and I knew she wasn’t going to do that shit on her own.”

“All love. I ain’t like how they were looking at her any way. Congratulations is in order for you finding your forever.”

“Why everybody know my business?”

He laughed. “My pops close with Rahmeek… mad I didn’t get invited.”

“You can attend her funeral.”

“What the fuck?” Deuce looked at me and then looked to Corleon for clarification that I wasn’t going to give.

If Stevie didn’t bring her ass home, then we both were going to see my parents in real time. “Don’t ask… I heard you picked up a stray.”

He nodded for us to follow him further into the warehouse. It was filled with cars and car parts. When we entered the bigger area, I smiled when I saw Raye hung up by his arms by the car lift. His head was hung, and if he wasn’t so damn fucking rotten you would have compared him to Jesus on the cross.

“Raye? That’s you, Raye-Raye?”

He weakly lifted his head and that’s when I saw how bad they had this man fucked up in here. When his brain registered that it was me, he tried to run, which was dumb because he was up in the air and his feet were hanging.

“Men…Mens, come on, man. I had nothing to do with this.”

I chuckled. “Why the first thing out your mouth had to be a lie?” Leaning on the post next to him, I smiled up at him. “Hey father-in-law… you good?”

Deuce looked at Corleon. “This is his father-in-law?”

“Yeah… complicated shit.” Corleon shook his head, as he watched me talking to good ol’ Raye.

“Me and Stevie went and got married. She real happy, Raye… my baby a billionaire, you know that? Nah, don’t answer that because if you answered wrong, I might snap your neck.”

He groaned as he tried to focus and make eye contact with me. “Is she safe?”

“You give a fuck about her now, but never even cared when you killed two of my people… one of which was lucky I didn’t kill her myself.”

“I needed to save her man.”

I looked at the wrench next to him and picked it up. Picking it up, I smashed him in the face with it a few times. “You ain’t never gave a fuck about her. If you cared about her, you would have went to that farm and did what you had to do and probably would have been able to return to life because I knew how much she wanted to keep you alive. See, you owe me money, and then you owe the Amantes money, and in case you didn’t see why the fuck Dane is on trial, you was better off staying on my farm.”

“I can pay it back…. I can pay both of you back.” He made dumb ass promises that he would never keep, kind of like he did with his own daughter.

Always made her promises and never came through on them. His ass was just as vocal as Priscilla when I told Stevie that she was gonna marry me. He was shoving his daughter with a stranger to fix his bullshit.

“What you wanna do, Menace? I can respectfully step back and let you handle him,” Deuce called from across the room while he smoked a black and mild.

“How much he owe you?”

“A mill and a half.”

Corleon choked. “Clearly you ain’t good at the shit, nigga… the fuck you run up a tab you know you couldn’t pay?”

I messed with my beard. “Which means that is why you were stealing from me… robbing the Caselli’s to pay the Amante’s… damn my guy.”

“We can fix this. I can work for both of you.”

“Nigga, why the fuck would I want a thief with a gambling addiction to work for my family? Mens, watch out.” I moved back and he threw the football full force at this nigga’s face, which explained why he was so fucked up.

Everybody knew Deuce Amante was on his way into the NFL, the New Jersey Black Jackets wanted him straight out of college, but an injury caused him to give up his football dreams.

“Glad you still working that arm out,” I snickered.

He chuckled. “Your call… let me know.”

I looked at Raye, who looked like he would have rather me take him than to stay here. “He’s family, Deuce.” Raye took a huge sigh of relief. “I’ll let you handle him, so I don’t have my wife’s father on my hands… you know? We’re newlyweds, we don’t need that on us.”

Corleon laughed while shaking his head. “I’m gonna take care of it… consider it my wedding gift.”

“Appreciate that… let us know when it’s done.” I looked down at my phone, not recognizing the number. “Yo.” I nodded toward Deuce and headed back out.

When an automated woman’s voice came through the line, I looked at my phone. I thought Jeffie said she was sending Zoya to get my baby.

“Goon,” I heard the name when the voice said who was calling. Now I was intrigued because other than Monaco, I didn’t speak to that nigga.

Can’t front like he didn’t make me laugh and I slightly enjoyed his company the time he was around me. We bonded on our dislike of Morgan, and he had to pretend to be his security.

“Yo Mens.”

“Goon, the fuck I owe this prison ass call. Thought you were my fucking wife for a minute.” I got back into my truck and waited for talkative ass Corleon to finish his conversation.

I guess that was why our situation worked. He talked too much, and I didn’t speak enough. “When the fuck you got a wife?”

“Guess you ain’t been speaking to Ms. Lawyer, huh?”

He chuckled. “I’m gonna keep my ting brief with you.”

It was his Jamaican accent that shocked me. “You went to prison and now you busting out fake accents?”

Goon laughed. “I’m Jamaican, nigga… moms was born and raised there.”

“This about Zoya?”

“You already know. I heard you have plans on eating that nigga’s food… I have a big appetite, so let me have that meal.”

“Why you worried about another man’s meal, G?”

It was the laugh that told me that he wanted Sigel more than I did. “Me and Ms. Lawyer got some history. She saved my life, and the reason I’m not sitting up in here for a long ass time.”

“I’ve heard.”

“And I ain’t asking your permission for shit now ‘cause I’m still sitting up, and I ain’t never gonna ask her to hold me down. When my time is up, I’m coming for Ms. Lawyer.”

“Oh yeah?”

“On your chocolate nieces and nephews, Mens. You already know how I’m coming and how I’m built when it comes to loyalty. Your baby sister’s heart is safe in my hands. I’m telling you now that there will be time in the future for us to sit down and count some grapes and talk about it.”

How in the fuck did he know I counted my grapes before I ate them?

“And about the food?”

“Oh yeah, let the food cool off some and then I’ll devour that shit when I’m home,” he replied, as I leaned back and Corleon got back into the truck.

“I’ll let it cool and wait for you to come home. We gonna have that talk though… you want Zoya, come correct. That nigga and all the others in the past never came correct.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Keep yo’ head up, G.”

“Fuck you meaannnn, I’m always gonna keep this shit up. Got my god baby to get home to. We’ll talk, Menace… over some grapes and Hennessy.”

“Scotch.”

“Even better… one.”

I ended the call and looked over at Corleon. “Good?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.