“Hey, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you, Cora.”
She held her friend, wishing there was something she could do to help her. This wasn’t something she could fix. This was between Sharon and Thomas. “Have you told Thomas what Misty is doing?”
“No. I don’t want to bother him with it.”
“Tell him. I’m sure he’d be even more pissed being kept in the dark. He loves you, honey. Trust him with this.”
Sharon nodded. “I’ll do that. I better get back to work. A school doesn’t run itself.”
Cora left her alone, and walked back to her desk.
Misty worked at the beauty salon down the street.
Sending Stacey a text, Cora took her seat at her desk.
Cora: Do u want 2 get ur hair done?
Stacey: y?
Cora: Tell u l8r.
Stacey: Hate text talk. Sure.
Smiling, Cora had a brilliant idea to help Sharon out. After she’d seen Misty she was going to have a talk with Thomas. Sharon didn’t know how to ask for help. Lucky for her, Cora didn’t mind doing things without being asked for help.
****
James knocked on the state’s main office door in the town. His secretary was sitting at her desk, sending them startled looks. He had Pixie, Caleb, Jerry, and Drake at his back.
“I don’t think he’s expecting you,” the secretary said.
“You don’t have to worry about anything, doll. He knows who we are,” James said, entering the main room. He’d knocked just to give the guy a warning.
David was on the phone, and when he saw who was there, he ended the call.
“James, I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“I’m not here on business, David. I’m here to talk about your kid trying to beat the shit out of Ryan.”
“We’re talking to him. He’s at home right now with his mother. I promise you, James, it won’t happen again.”
James took a seat, staring around the office with a few family photos, the certificates, and a few pieces of artwork.
His boys stood behind him.
“Ryan’s going through a lot right now. He’s growing up. His dad walked out, and so far shows no signs of coming back.” James leaned forward grabbing a paperweight off the desk. It had a dolphin in the center and looked a little too girly. He frowned, holding it up.
“My daughter, Kirsty gave it to me. I’m not going to hurt my girl’s feelings by refusing to take it,” David said.
“I can see that.” James threw it from one hand to the other. “You will talk to your boy about the shit he pulled today. I don’t give a fuck what his reasons are. He keeps it up, when he’s old enough, he’ll take on the whole MC. Ryan belongs to us. He’s part of us, you get me?”
“I get you, James. I’ve told you I’m not looking for trouble. I’m a businessman, and I’m good at it.”
James happened to like David. The man was a nice guy, and he didn’t try to fuck anyone out of their money. He didn’t have a mistress waiting around in the wings. He was a family man to the core. James respected that, and it was one of the reasons why he did business with David.
“Good. I’ll see you at the barbeque at the clubhouse,” James said, getting up.