Playing Dirty by Kiki Swinson Read Free Book Online Page B

said, grabbing my hand and leading me away from the bar.
    “Wait, I wanted to get something to drink,” I told him, still allowing him to hold on to me.
    “Don’t insult me. You don’t drink from the bar,” he replied. We walked hand in hand toward the back of the room. As we approached, I could see a table with bottles of high-priced liquors on it—Perrier-Jouet, Johnnie Walker Blue King George V, and Moët Gold Label were just a few. I also noticed the women. The red suede couches were filled with exceptionally beautiful women. They sat and posed like statues. Mr. Santana still held on to my hand. We approached a woman dressed in a red sequined dress—one I could swear I saw Halle Berry wear on the red carpet.
    “Adrianna, this is Yoshi…the woman I owe my life to, and, Yoshi, this is my wife, Adrianna,” Mr. Santana said, rolling his R ’s as he introduced me to the beautiful woman.
    “Nice to meet you,” she replied dryly, eyeing me up and down.
    “Same here,” I said, just as dryly. I wasn’t going to show any signs of intimidation, but I did take my hand out of his. It was just rude to hold another woman’s hand and introduce her to your wife.
    “Sit down and make yourself comfortable. This is all for you…. You made it possible, so indulge yourself,” Mr. Santana said, opening his arms wide to show me that all of the food, drinks, flowers, cakes, and candles were a result of my hard work. I took a seat on one of the couches and he sat right next to me. His wife got up and walked away. Maybe she was used to him being rude as hell and inappropriate with other women. As I looked around, that is when I noticed it. A silver platter sat on the table in front of me, piled high with cocaine. I hadn’t ever seen that much coke in my entire life. My hands immediately got sweaty and my head started to spin. I had not gotten high since my whole addiction ordeal in college. Maria would’ve killed me if she saw me sitting like a queen in front of a silver platter filled with my chemical archenemy. My stomach began to churn and I felt like I would throw up right there on the spot. There was one difference between me and Maria—she was disciplined and could say no to things. I wasn’t that strong…never have been. I could excuse myself and run the fuck away, but then I reasoned that I would lose other rich client referrals from Mr. Santana. So against my better judgment, I sat there, stiff, like a beautiful porcelain statue about to be cracked. For some reason everything in the room seemed like it had been stopped, and my heart thumped loudly in my ears, drowning out the salsa music. I wanted to scream. There weren’t many things that I couldn’t handle, but my addiction to cocaine was something that could get the best of me. As strong-willed as I was, that shit always made me weak, no matter what the circumstances.
    “So, how is business?” he asked.
    “Business is good,” I replied as I became mesmerized with the mountain of coke in front of me.
    “Got any other crooks like me off lately?”
    I gave him a shylike smile and said, “Come on, now, you’re not a crook. You’re just an honest businessman who works extremely hard to get what he wants.”
    He burst into laughter. “Good answer! Good answer!” He then took a sip from his glass.
    I took a sip from my glass, too, and then I put my focus right back on the pile of coke. But Mr. Santana quickly redirected my attention back to him. “So, what big clients are you representing now?” he continued.
    I thought for a second and then I said, “Well, I haven’t had any clients as big as you. But I have taken on this fellow by the name of Enrique Hernandez and this Black guy named Eugene Wallace. One of them was charged with drug trafficking, and the other one was charged with gun possession. They are not as rich and powerful as you, but they can hold their own.”
    “I’m sure, but I want you to be very selective about what clients you take on.