Page 7 of Caden the CEO
“I’m glad you could join me,” Galloway said, cutting a cigar.
“It’s not like I had a choice. The fuck is this about anyway?”
“Quenton is dead.” With one tilt of his head, Galloway ordered a man to put a picture of Quenton’s lifeless body in front of her face.
She stared at the picture for a few seconds before nodding and gently pushing the man’s hand away.
“Thank you,” she almost whispered, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.
“You can thank me by paying me the rest of my money,” Galloway said, and that statement immediately filled Dru with confusion.
“I don’t understand. I gave you ten thousand dollars.”
“As a down payment,” he clarified, lighting the cigar. “You owe me ninety thousand more.”
Her heart skipped a beat . . . and not in a good way.
“No, that’s . . . that’s not right.” Dru released a nervous chuckle as she sat up in her seat and gripped the arms of the chair. “I told you I only had ten, and you said that was fine as a favor to Vontae.” She looked around the room, as if Vontae would magically appear.
“I don’t recall.” Galloway grinned with one side of his mouth. “You owe me ninety th?—”
“I heard you the first time,” she interrupted him to say. “That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Then you need to get it. I’ll give you thirty days.”
“Thirty days?” She shrieked, heart racing. Body warming. Head shaking. “I-I—there’s literally no way I can come up with that kind of money in that amount of time.”
“Either you come up with the money, or I’m going to kill you.” His head tilted as he eyed her frame. “Or I could sell you and your sister. Dreya, right? She’s a sophomore at Rose Valley High, isn’t she? Homeroom teacher is Mrs. Williams?—”
“If you go anywhere near my sister, I’ll put a knife between your eyes.”
He grinned. “There’s that fire Vontae told me you had. I like it.”
“I don’t carewhatyou like,” she told him, pointing her finger in his direction. “Stay thefuckaway from my sister.”
“Then get me my money. You have thirty days.”
With another bob of his head, two men were lifting her out of the chair by her arms.
“Can you at least give me more time?” she pleaded as they all but dragged her toward the door. “Or let me pay in installments since you lied to me. You told me that was all I had to pay!”
The closer she got to the door, the more her fear was replaced with anger. She should have known Galloway was up to no good. Had Vontae been in on it too? There was no way he would have done her like that. Then again, what reason did he have to be loyal to her beyond them going to school together? Dru didn’t have time to think about that. She had to figure out how to come up with almost six figures—soon.
In the back of the car, she was blindfolded yet again. Dru gently beat her head against the seat and laughed maniacally. There was no way this was her life.
Like he did every quarter,Caden selected a grocery store to go to, to pay for everyone’s groceries. That time, he picked Marion’s, which was like Rose Valley Hills version of Kroger. After checking the time on his watch, Caden scanned the lanes to see what cashier he wanted to alert of his presence. His eyes landed on a beauty with locs pulled up into a high bun. Only seeing the side of her face, that was enough to make his heart slow down and dick harden. Clearing his throat, he slowly made his way in her direction.
She was even more beautiful up front. Her short, slim, shapely frame was covered in peanut butter brown skin. Glowing skin, free of imperfections, covered her beautiful face. A small patch of freckles covered the tops of her cheeks and pointynose. Caden didn’t know if her pouty lips or dark, slanted eyes deserved more of his attention. She casually squeezed the top of her bun, making him look over her black and honey gold locs.
“Damn,” he mumbled, convinced she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and he’d seen and had a lot of them.
“Hi. Can I help you?” she asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Yes. My name is Caden Spencer. Can you get your manager for me? I’d like to purchase everyone’s groceries for the rest of the day.”
“Oh, wait. I heard of you.” She pepped up, clapping her hands twice with a wide, genuine smile. “You’ve done this before, right? I think the last time I wasn’t working.”
“Yeah, I think this is the third time I’ve done it here.”
