Chapter Nine
The Lucky Chance Casino had been the Chance brothers' pride and joy for almost seven years. It was the only one of its kind in the area, and business was booming. Because of this, everyone wanted a piece of the action. The Chances vowed to keep their business only in the family without allowing outsiders to penetrate their sanctuary. Because of their success, gangs and other undesirables were trying hard to muscle their way into the business. Opening the new casino was going to be even more profitable because it would not only be named after Keilah, but it would be for her and her heirs. The brothers had decided to call it the Special K Casino, and they hoped to keep it a surprise until the grand opening. The decor would have a more feminine touch to it, and some of the amenities were a spa, beauty salon, and nail shop off from the main floor and a designer shoe store and boutique on the second floor. They wanted to cater to female patrons by providing them with things near and dear to their heart. The Chance brothers made sure all the businesses would be available to their customers twenty-four hours a day.
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It didn't take long for the twelfth to roll around, and Keilah was due to arrive within a few hours. Malachi and Roman were overseeing the finishing touches on the interior decor of the casino while Luke and Genesis conducted final interviews on the last group of prospective employees. They had to be careful and run background checks, because they didn't want anyone working for them who could possibly allow the underworld to infiltrate their establishment. Keilah would be arriving later, and they wanted everything to go as planned.
Malachi pulled his direct-talk telephone from his pocket and said, “Roman, what time will the delivery trucks be here with the spa equipment?”
Roman looked at his watch. “They should be here by two and the liquor warehouse will be here around three. I have to go check on Keilah's gift, but I'll back in about an hour.”
“Cool, make sure everything's set. I would hate to have to pull my nine on them,” Malachi responded.
Roman shook his head and tucked his phone inside his pocket.
Keilah's gift was going to be extra special, and the brothers hoped it would be just enough to convince her to stay in town permanently. They hated that she lived so far away. She was their baby sister, and even though she was an adult, they felt like they still needed to keep a closer eye on her.
Luke made notes on the clipboard as he spoke with a female employee. “Ronda, this job is going to be hectic at times, but rewarding in salary. Are you up for it?”
She smiled nervously. “I sure am. I have a lot of patience and actually enjoy working with an enthusiastic crowd, Mr. Chance.”
He looked up at her and took note of her confidence.
“Please, call me Luke. We want to keep things on a firstname basis; however, this is a business, and we expect our employees to conduct themselves as such.”
The young lady crossed her legs slowly. “I wouldn't expect it to be any other way, Mr. Chance.”
He smiled. “It's Luke, remember?”
“I'm sorry. It's going to take me a while to get used to calling my bosses by their first names,” she replied with a smile.
“We want to make sure your career here with us will be a pleasant one. Are you sure this isn't going to interfere with your classes at the university?”
“Not at all, sir.”
“Well, if you don't have any other questions, all that's left is for me to welcome you aboard,” Luke said as he stood up and extended his hand.
Ronda stood and happily shook his hand. “I'll see you on Monday, Luke,” she replied.
“Have a good day.”
Luke turned and watched a nice pair of legs walk out of his office. He was going to have to remember how young she was and the fact that he was a happily married man. Ronda Gilbert was the last name on his list. He knew Genesis was still interviewing in his office so he walked over and tapped on the door.
“Come in,” the deep voice replied from the other side.
Luke opened the door and greeted the man Genesis was interviewing. Luke shook the gentleman's hand and said, “Excuse me for interrupting.”
“It's okay, sir,” the young man answered.
Luke looked over at Genesis and held his hand up to his ear. “Hit me up on the phone and let me know when you're done. I'll be out on the floor for a while, and then I have to pick Keilah up at the airport in a couple of hours.”
Genesis leaned back in his chair. “I will.”
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Keilah held onto Michael's hand as they sat side by side on the airplane. Since their morning had started so early, Michael was taking the opportunity to catch up on sleep. Keilah was too excited to sleep. She hadn't seen her brothers in a long time and was anxious to see them again. Tears formed in her eyes just at the thought of them. She wiped her eyes and turned and looked out the window at the clouds floating in the blue skies. It was then she remembered how protective they were, and because of that, she wasn't allowed to have many friends. When they were younger, their fear was that someone would try to hurt her to get back at them.
The reason the Chance brothers weren't always on the up and up was that they indulged in the sale of street pharmaceuticals to help their mother after their father ran out on them. It took their mother a while to find out what they were involved in and by the time she did, they were deep into it. She thought they were working reputable jobs, but gossip from neighbors told her otherwise. It wasn't until she saw it for herself that the reality sunk in, and it broke her heart. She'd raised her sons in the church, so they knew right from wrong. In a way, she felt guilty that her sons felt they needed to resort to illegal activities to help her, but the real blame fell on her husband, who had abandoned them.
Keilah shook those awful thoughts from her head just as the captain of the airplane spoke over the intercom.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. If you would look to the right, you can see the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River.”
The captain's voice woke Michael up from his nap. When he looked at Keilah he could see the sad look on her face. He sat up and gave her hand a squeeze.
“What's wrong, Keilah?”
“Oh, nothing much. I just have a few things on my mind.” Michael kissed her gently on the lips. “Is it anything you want to talk about?”
She smiled as she wiped her eyes. “No, I'll be fine. Thanks for asking though.”
Keilah and Michael had gotten very close over the past month ... very close. They finally took their relationship to the next level and made love. Actually, they made love almost every night that first week, and it had been great.
Michael kissed Keilah again. “Do you want me to get you something to drink?”
“No, I'm going to try and grab a nap before we land because I know my brothers are going to have us on the go as soon as our feet hit the ground.”
“I'm ready if you are,” he joked. “I hope they like me.”
Keilah linked her arm with his, laid her head against his shoulder, and sighed. “I'm sure they will, Michael.”
“I love you, Keilah.”
She sat up and looked at him. “You do?”
“Of course I do. You make it easy. Besides, I told you not long after we met that you were the one, remember?” he explained.
Keilah didn't know how to take Michael's comment. How could he be in love with her in the short time they'd known each other, and why did he keep calling her “the one?”
Michael leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. Keilah didn't know how to respond to Michael. Yes, they'd had a passionate four weeks, but sex was her favorite pastime. Surely he hadn't fallen in love already. Or had he?
It wasn't long before the airplane touched down in sunny California. As they taxied toward the terminal, Keilah touched up her makeup and smoothed down her hair.
Michael looked over at her and announced, “You can't improve perfection, Keilah.”
“You're biased, Michael, but thank you. So are you ready?”
He patted her thigh and said, “Stop worrying, Keilah. If I can handle Iraq, I'm sure I can handle your brothers.”
Keilah put her compact back in her purse and shook her head. “You don't know them, Michael. They can be very unreasonable.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “We'll be fine. You'll see.”
“I hope you're right,” she replied as she put on her denim jacket. Keilah was sporting a pair of designer jeans, a jacket, and a cranberry colored tank top. Michael also wore jeans with a tailored pink button-down shirt.
The plane finally stopped at the terminal, and passengers quickly filled the aisle. After several people filed by, Michael saw a chance for them to exit the plane. He took Keilah by the hand and escorted her out of the plane and down the tunnel. As they walked arm in arm, Keilah stopped and turned to him.
“Michael, before we go any further, I want to thank you for coming home with me so my family could meet you.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the lips. “I'm glad you invited me, because I wanted to meet the men who raised my number-one woman.”
Keilah smiled. “Number one, huh? That's sweet, Michael.”
He kissed her again, this time a little longer on the lips. “No, that was sweet, and if you keep that up, we're going to be spending the entire weekend in bed.”
“I doubt my family will let that happen, Major,” she replied as she pulled out her cell phone. “I need to call Ramsey to check in and let him know we got in OK.”
“Go right ahead,” Michael replied. “I need to use the rest room anyway.”
Keilah sat down at a nearby table. She dialed Ramsey's number, and he immediately picked up.
“I was wondering when you was going to call. I guess you're on the ground, huh?”
Smiling, she said, “Yeah, we just got here.”
“So how are things going so far?” he asked.
Keilah toyed with a small menu on the table. “We haven't made it to the front of the terminal yet, so we haven't seen anyone. Michael's in the rest room right now, so I wanted to call and check on things.”
“It's a normal day around here, no big deal. I miss you already, though,” he admitted.
“Well, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Stone. I miss you too.”
Ramsey held the telephone in silence for a moment. Actually, he was gripping it tighter than he realized he was. “What's really going on, Keilah? Why are you with this guy?”
“Excuse me?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” he replied with an irritated tone. “Are you trying to prove something to yourself?”
“No, I don't know what you mean,” Keilah answered with a slightly elevated voice. “Why don't you tell me?”
Ramsey could have kicked himself for blurting out a hint of his true feelings, but the jig was up now. “It's so obvious, Keilah. Stop acting like you don't know.”
“Know what, Ramsey?” she prodded.
Just as Ramsey was about to tell her everything, Michael exited the rest room. Keilah let out a breath and stood up. She'd almost gotten Ramsey to confirm the words she wanted to hear him say so badly, but since Michael had reappeared, now was not a good time. “Look, Ramsey, Michael's back, so when I get a chance I'll call you later so we can finish this discussion. OK?”
Without responding to her, he said, “Have a nice visit with your family, Keilah, and tell everyone I said hello.”
“I will,” she said before hanging up the telephone.
“Is something wrong at the office?” Michael asked.
She pulled her purse on her shoulder and smiled. “No, everything's fine.”
“Good. Are you ready to go?”
“Lead the way,” Keilah suggested as they made their way through the terminal and into the lobby of the airport. It was there, Luke spotted his very grown-up-looking baby sister and her new friend.
He mumbled, “What the hell? He looks older than I am.”
Keilah spotted Luke and ran over to greet him. She jumped into his arms and hugged him.
“Luke, oh my God ... I've missed you guys so much,” she yelled.
He held her tightly in his arms. “The same goes for you.” Luke set her on the ground and extended his hand to Michael. “I take it you're Michael Monroe?”
Michael shook Luke's hand. “I am. It's nice to finally meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Luke replied.