Larger Than Lyfe (11 page)

“Is that what this is about?! You had my car vandalized because of him? I’m NOT involved with him, Rick. We JUST had dinner!”

“Yeah, you’re involved. You just don’t know it yet. It’s written all over your face. But don’t be stupid. What happened to your car had absolutely nothing to do with him. For the very last time, you’d better wake up and snap yourself back into the nature of this business. You keep trying to play Little Miss Roberta Regular Life and it’s going to get you and other completely unassuming people in a very bad way.”

“Rick, I want out of this,” Keshari reiterated in exhausted exasperation. “Right now, there is NOTHING that I want more in my life.”

Ricky gave her a look so scathing that it was clear that he would have hit her had the venue been different.

“Do you really think that you would be having this conversation a second time if it were anybody other than me?” Ricky asked.
“What I strongly advise is that you set aside whatever it is that has been troubling you ONCE AND FOR ALL, contact your insurance company and take care of the damages to your Range Rover, or take yourself over to the dealership along with your checkbook and purchase yourself a new one. Then put your mind back on the fact that I’m in here preparing to go to trial on murder one charges and you need to be out there with your A game in place to handle my fuckin’ business affairs. If I hear one more word about your desire to leave this organization, I’m gonna sink your beautiful ass in a hole
in the ground. Do we have a full understanding?”

“Of course,” Keshari replied succinctly. “I got a call from Javier,” she said, changing the subject. “They want a meeting.”

“When?” Ricky asked.

“Immediately… I told him tonight.”

“I hope it has nothing to do with the upcoming shipment.”

“Come on, Rick. It has everything to do with this trial. Javier already expressed that his bosses are extremely concerned.”

“I want you to follow up with me as soon as that meeting wraps. Get a message to me through my attorney. Today is your last visit. The media scrutiny is steadily increasing and we need to take all safeguards now. I need to know, Keshari…particularly with what I’m currently facing and all that I stand to lose…are you with me?”

Keshari looked him directly in the eye and answered without hesitation, “I’m with you, Rick.”

“Are you sure?” Ricky asked.

“Yes,” Keshari responded. “I’m with you.”

Just after Keshari walked out of Men’s Central Jail and sped off up Vignes Street, a young man who didn’t appear to be much older than twenty-five approached the sheriff’s officer at the counter.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Wasn’t that Keshari Mitchell just leaving?”

“Who?” the sheriff’s officer responded.

“Keshari Mitchell…the record mogul. What was the nature of her business here? Was she visiting Richard Tresvant?”

“Sir, that is not public information. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

The sheriff’s officer moved down the counter to assist the next person.

Javier had driven up to Keshari’s home in Palos Verdes by himself to meet with her. He sipped his espresso thoughtfully after delivering his mind-blowing message—Machaca would not be transacting any more business with The Consortium until Ricky’s trial had ended and he was no longer the focus of media attention.

“This decision will be absolutely detrimental to our business, Javier,” Keshari said. “There must be some means of compromise. Perhaps, until the trial concludes, we can renegotiate our terms… say, a twenty percent increase on the product price in your favor.”

Javier shook his head. “The bosses are firm. There will be no compromise.”

“Javier, if Machaca cuts The Consortium off like this now, you must know that it shall adversely affect ALL of our future business together.”

“Believe me, Keshari, the bosses have turned all of that around and around to review it from every angle and, just as you want us to understand your position, surely you must understand our position as well. The risk is too great for us to jeopardize our interests. If federal law enforcement launches an investigation, a lot of people will get hurt.”

“The Consortium is connected at the federal level, Javier. I gave you my assurances before and I assure you now that we are covered.”

“Machaca is connected federally, Keshari. Yet, we take nothing for granted. Nothing is a hundred percent. Ultimately, and I do extend my apologies, this is not a negotiation. I was advised by my superiors to deliver the news. We will complete the upcoming delivery and then our business relationship, for the time being, must be terminated.”

“Do you know what you are starting here, Javier? This could result in a turf war.”

Javier shrugged.

“That is not our concern, Keshari. Your turf wars would in no way involve our organization.”

I
t had been a week since the night they’d had dinner. Mars hadn’t called Keshari Mitchell and she had not called him. Mars cancelled all of his morning meetings and decided to stop by Keshari’s office in Century City. He had no idea what had come over him. He had no idea what Keshari’s schedule was like that morning, whether she was in meetings, whether she was even in town. He needed to see her and he had decided that he intended to remain at her office until he did.

Mars arrived at Keshari’s office at 9:30 a.m., like he was going to work for Larger Than Lyfe Entertainment. Terrence, Keshari’s assistant, seated him in the huge, ultra-modern reception area and had the label’s in-house catering service bring him coffee and a scone. Ten o’clock came and went without Keshari’s arrival.

“You know, I can take a message from you and relay it to Keshari once she arrives,” Keshari’s assistant told Mars. “I’ve tried reaching her a couple of times on her cell phone and she’s not answering. I honestly don’t know when she’s coming.”

“Nah.” Mars smiled. “I’ll wait.”

“O-kayyyy,” Terrence said, heading back to his workspace.

Ten thirty rolled around and Mars started to get a little antsy. It began to dawn on him how presumptuous it had been for him to show up at this very busy woman’s office without an appointment, or an advance phone call or anything, and expect to see her without a problem. He checked his watch and considered leaving. He decided to wait a few more minutes.

At 11 o’clock, Keshari strode through the reception area. She was as beautiful as always in a single-breasted, black, Armani pantsuit, black flip-flops exposing a diamond toe ring, and dark, Cartier sunglasses. She had a Starbucks latte in one hand and she was pulling a large, rolling briefcase behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Mars seated casually on one of the sofas thumbing through a
Billboard
magazine. He looked up and felt his mouth spread involuntarily into a huge smile.

“What are you doing here?” Keshari asked abruptly.

“I thought I’d stop by and check on you. I didn’t like the way things ended the other night. I wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

Keshari looked around her, self-consciously. Terrence poked his head around his computer monitor and grinned at her. She rolled her eyes. She refused to allow herself to become the hot topic of water cooler gossip. The receptionist at the front desk sat, ogling Mars from a distance. The brotha was FINE, she thought. He looked just like the attorney’s sexy boyfriend on SHOWTIME’s
Soul Food.

“Come on into my office,” Keshari said and closed the doors behind them.

Mars sat down on the office’s leather and chrome sectional. Keshari set her briefcase down and glared at him with her hands on her hips.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Doing what?” Mars asked innocently.

“Pursuing me…relentlessly.”

“If I was absolutely certain that I had no reason to be here, I wouldn’t be here,” Mars responded.

Keshari thought of what Ricky had told her when she had gone to confront him at the jail: “Yeah, you’re involved. You just don’t
know it yet. It’s written all over your face.” She quickly dismissed the thought.

“I’m probably the last person in the world who needs to be getting romantically involved with anyone right now. I don’t have time for this.”

“You need to make the time,” Mars said seriously.

“I wish it was that simple.”

“It is,” Mars said.

Keshari shook her head at the ridiculousness of the man’s persistence. The entire situation that appeared to be transpiring between the two of them was ridiculous, especially considering the steadily mushrooming set of circumstances in her life that remained barely within the fringes of her control.

“There is no way that you can deny that there was a connection made between the two of us the other night,” Mars said. “No… not just the other night, but from the moment we met. I can honestly tell you that I don’t ever remember a time when I’ve felt such…compulsion…to get to know a woman, spend time with her, be a part of her world, and have her be a part of mine. I mean, let’s be very clear here. I don’t make a habit of showing up at powerful women’s offices unannounced and throwing myself at them.”

Keshari allowed herself to smile at Mars’s last remark.

“Look,” Mars said, getting up and going to Keshari, “just tell me that you don’t want to see me again and I assure you that I will make myself cease to exist for you. Look me in the eye and tell me that I made a mistake coming here today, that you have absolutely no interest in me, and you will never be bothered by my presence again.”

Keshari didn’t say anything.

“Tell me,” Mars insisted.

He got no response.

“Tell me,” he said again, backing Keshari up against her office door.

Still, she said nothing.

“Yeah. Like I thought,” Mars said.

He kissed Keshari as he had the night they’d had dinner, spontaneously, passionately, and Keshari found herself kissing him back. Ricky had been right. She couldn’t explain it and it would be so corny and ridiculously cliché to call it “kismet,” but there was a strong connection between the two of them that had started on the night that they’d met entirely by accident. She was so fucking attracted to him and she was so tired and frustrated with living a life that was so damned restrictive that she constantly had to shut off her emotions and the possibility of forming an emotional connectio
n with someone else.

For a moment, she lost herself in the amazing feeling of him kissing her. Then, just as quickly, she pulled away, completely conflicted, her heart screaming one thing and her mind calmly and rationally telling her the safest, wisest thing to do.

“Okay, now what?” Mars asked in exasperation.

Thoughts flashed through Keshari’s mind about what had happened to her Range Rover, what Ricky had said to her, and she didn’t even have to think about what would happen if she continued to try him. Even though her entering into a relationship with Mars Buchanan would have nothing at all to do with the affairs of The Consortium, Ricky would make it an issue. It was all about control with him and what he called “loyalty.”

“Serious romantic relationships cause crime bosses to slip,” Ricky would say. Quite a contradiction since Keshari and Ricky had once been very seriously involved and had emotional ties that continued to exist from their relationship to that day.

“I can’t do this,” she said, as much as a huge part of her wanted to. “I’m serious. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, trying to get involved with me…and I’m at a place in my life right now where getting involved with you is simply not feasible.”

“Tell you what,” Mars said, equally seriously. “I’m not going to continue to engage in this very circular discussion with you. I have to fly to our New York offices for two weeks and I have a speaking engagement at Howard University in D.C. You’ve got fourteen whole days to get the most pressing matters on your schedule squared away. When I get back, I’ll call you and we’ll get together and do something…and I won’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.”

“You know, you make a lot of aggressive demands for a man whose position in my personal sphere is new, extremely precarious and very expendable,” Keshari said semi-jokingly.

“Oh, it’s like that?” Mars asked teasingly.