CHAPTER 16
Honore loved working at the New York Diamond and Jewelry Exchange. She was born for that shit, and she had only been working there for a minute when Joel Samuelson texted her and told her to meet him outside the job at twelve noon sharp.
Honore was puzzled when Joel pulled up in front of the jewelry store in an all-white stretch limo. Looking business-sexy in her pale yellow skirt suit and contrasting camisole, she opened the door and got into the luxury vehicle slowly so she wouldn’t break one of her brand-new Balenciaga heels.
“What’s going on, Joel,” Honore said as the limo pulled off. “I wasn’t expecting to go anywhere today. I have a lot of paperwork that needs to be handled in the office.”
“Forget that paperwork,” Joel said as he lit up an expensive Italian cigar. “This is about some big bucks. It’s time that you see where the real cash is made. The fact of the matter is my job puts me in position to get money all kinds of ways. On and off the books. I’m a capitalist, and I’m going to get it either way. Me and Sal were working deals and sharing some good paydays until he tried to cross me.”
“I can dig it,” Honore said as she crossed her legs. She knew what was coming and she had been waiting for this day ever since she started at the New York Diamond and Jewelry Exchange. She was a hard worker and a quick learner, and everything Joel told her to do she did it to perfection. Already he had introduced her to all of the big movers and shakers in the city that were involved in the business. Honore charmed them all and made a lasting impression. “What about my cousin though? I thought she was rocking with you when it came to the backdoor shit.”
“Rayven is loyal,” Joel said as he poured himself a glass of Merlot wine from the whip’s minibar. “But she lacks the class and the instincts that I need to see in my new partner. Rayven will be obedient and do whatever I tell her to do, but you’re a little more free-thinking and decisive. You have your own mind and you’re not afraid to tell me what you’re thinking, even if I don’t agree with it.”
“Can’t say I don’t agree with that,” Honore said as she shook her head and declined his offer of alcohol. There would be no drank-drank for her today. She needed to be fully on point because this was the big break she had been waiting for. “So where are we headed?”
“To a drop and pickup,” Joel responded. “My partner Avi has some money for me and I have some goods for him. He’s my underground connection to foreign buyers and individuals with deep pockets.”
“I get it,” Honore said as she reached inside her purse and discreetly turned on her phone’s GPS tracker just in case Joel was trying to line her up. “So how do you know you can trust him?”
“Oh, I don’t trust him,” Joel said bluntly. “I don’t trust you either, but we all have our secrets, now don’t we? In fact, money and secrets is what binds us all together. Avi and I do good business together and we enjoy the fruits that we reap from it. Nothing more and nothing less.”
A few minutes later the limo pulled into some nondescript abandoned parking lot where another vehicle was already waiting. A clean-cut white man in a dapper black Italian suit slipped into the limo with Honore and Joel.
“Nice seeing you again, Avi,” Joel said with a smile. “I know you don’t like meeting on short notice but I have the package that you asked for, and I need to get the ball rolling immediately.”
“Who is she?” Avi blurted suspiciously. “You know I don’t like meeting new people, Joel. I respect you and consider you an ally, but you know how I like to handle my business and this isn’t it.”
“Avi, this is Honore,” Joel said dryly. “Trust me, I wouldn’t bring anybody around who wasn’t playing a role in what’s going on. So just relax. Everything I do is calculated. Now do you have the funds from the last transaction?”
“Of course I do,” Avi said, still staring at Honore with suspicious eyes as he passed Joel a briefcase. “But we have a situation with the upcoming deal. The buyers from England want the product to be shipped on their own boat with their own personnel. I don’t trust them to pay up front, and I have a pressing matter I have to attend to so I can’t oversee it.”
“I’ll go,” Honore blurted out with confidence. “I mean I’ll go make sure things run smoothly. A female face might ease some of the nerves for all parties involved. Plus, we can put a tracker on the shipment that’s rigged with some type of explosives, so if they try some funny shit we can blow their asses away. I know it isn’t the ideal way to handle things, but if you get robbed and they get away with no repercussions, then word will get around that you’re soft and you’ll get stuck up every day. I mean, there’s no guarantees in this shit so the only thing you can do is cover your ass the best way possible. The only thing mothafuckas respect is money and violence. You need to be known for delivering both.”
“You see why I brought her here?” Joel said laughing hysterically as he slapped his hand on his thigh. “What she just said makes a lot of sense to me, my friend. In fact, I think it’s a damn good idea. What do you think, Avi? What’s your paranoid mind telling you?”
“Being paranoid is what keeps me alive and well paid,” Avi said as he loosened his tie. “But I honestly think it’s a good idea. We don’t want to get violent if we don’t have to, but it’s always good to have an insurance policy just in case. As long as your friend here can execute our plans, then I have no objections with it.”
“Well then it’s settled,” Joel said as he sipped his second glass of wine, clearly geeked up. “Send me all the information so I can get Honore prepped. We’ll take it from there. As always it’s been a pleasure seeing you my guy.”
Avi just nodded and looked at Honore and Joel with cold eyes before stepping out of the limo and slamming the door.
“Is he always such a tight ass?” Honore turned and asked Joel. “What the hell is his problem?”
“Avi is a very smart guy,” Joel assured her. “He is a true professional and I can’t blame him for being cautious. He’s a great asset to have on our team because he sees and hears everything, and he’s never been wrong. By the way, that was a very bold move that you just made, not that I’m surprised. I know firsthand what you’re capable of. Now you have to deliver on your word and earn Avi’s respect. If you don’t fuck this up I’ll make sure you get a nice cut out of this deal. I mean that. Just don’t fuck it up because this is your moment to prove your worth.”
Prove her worth? Honore smiled and nodded. Joel just didn’t know. She wasn’t really tryna be Joel and Avi’s little errand girl, no damn way. Sheeeit, she was trying to build a strong coalition and go into business for her damn self!