Page 14 of Rich and Rotten

“Stop stressing, Yummy. I ain’t got no bitches hitting this line. I’m respectful.”

She snorted, crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes. “My name isn’t Yummy. Where’d you even get that from?”

I smirked. “Let me test my theory first, then I’ll tell you.”

She shifted in her chair, clearly reacting to my words.

“Call me Yaya or Yalina. Pick one.”

“Heard you, Yum,” I replied while still smirking.

Tatiana looked at both before turning her gaze back to me. “I’m starting to feel like I’m interrupting something between you two.”

“You’re interrupting absolutely nothing, Tatiana. Jonah loves to get under my skin,” she said, uncrossing her arms and looking away from me.

What I wanna do is get in your skin, I thought while checking my phone.

Tatiana rested her head on the table and sighed again. “What about Bloom?”

“She can stay with you. She already lives with you part-time,” I replied, quickly sending another message before slipping my phone back into my pocket.

I gently rubbed Tatiana’s back to comfort her. Just when it seemed like she was trying to move on after Karim’s death, she was knocked back a few steps. Life was unfair to her, and I did everything I could to ease her stress.

When it came to the spa, I didn’t hesitate to invest money and sit back. Even though Tatiana didn’t finish college, the girl had brains, and I knew she could double my investment. Malcolm might have been a sleazebag, but I couldn’t deny the man knew his shit. As his daughter, Tatiana watched and learned to be about her business, but Karim handled all the meetings because Tatiana hated that part. She preferred to play the back and see her vision come to life. I never had much to say about any decisions they made. As long as I was making back the money I invested, I didn’t feel the need. But when my boy passed, I quickly stepped in to make sure Tatiana wouldn’t have to take on his responsibilities. As much as suits made me uncomfortable and being around those stiff fucktards annoyed me, I sucked it up because my sister needed me.

“Why does Bloom get to stay with Tatiana, but you’re forcing me to stay with you?”

I looked over at her. “I’m not forcing you to do shit, Yum. Just thought you would want your own space. You stayed in my guesthouse last year when your crib was being painted, and Nazira and Tatiana were sick.”

“True,” Tatiana chimed in.

“Girl, hush. You ditched us and only waved from outside the front door with soup because you didn’t want to catch our germs. Just rude.”

“I don’t enjoy being sick. Nazira is forever bringing home some damn cold.”

Yaya chuckled and crossed her legs. “Listen to us. Someone’s trying to kill your father, and we’re talking about catching colds. What’s wrong with us?”

“Look, it’s nothing you two need to worry about right now,” I told them. “I just want to make sure you both are safe until I find out what’s going on.”

Yaya looked over at me. “Do you have your people looking into it already?”

I smirked. “You already know it, Yummy.”

She rolled her eyes, shook off her trench coat, and pulled out her laptop from her bag.

“I’ll reschedule everything and tell them it’s a family emergency. Tati, do you want to go visit your father?”

Tatiana laughed. “After the last conversation we had? No, I’m fine knowing he’s alive. No need to see him.”

I left them in the kitchen and stepped out onto the terrace to make a call. If Malcolm thought I trusted his people to keep my girls safe, he thought wrong. I didn’t trust his ass, and I sure as hell didn’t trust the people he kept around him.

Sitting on the outdoor furniture, I held the phone to my ear. “Put the word out that I need his services.”

“Bet,” replied the person on the other end.

Chapter Six

Tatiana