Page 84 of Beautiful Noise
I grinned, shaking my head, and she frowned. “What?”
“Combative?”
“What’s wrong with combative?”
“Not a damn thing but who the fuck uses combative in casual conversation? Difficult, complicated, hell… pain in the ass works.”
“Your girlfriend is brilliant. Get used to it.”
“Mygirlfriend? I think I’ll focus on getting used to that.”
I checked in with the receptionist who directed us back to the conference room where we were meeting Chantel. JJ greeted us and motioned to the two seats next to him. We sat across from Chantel and her attorney who looked very disinterested in being here. JJ had already done his research. The guy was an ambulance chaser who only took the job because he was too stupid to do his own research on JJ. Chantel probably used my name and the guy was hopeful to get a quick payout by me settling something I wasn’t connected to.
JJ didn’t lose. I was one of many high-profile clients he represented and his specialty was destroying the lives of people like Chantel Dior. I was fucking annoyed that we were here but I decided to focus on the good and not the bad. Leaking Kori’s information to the press temporarily disrupted her life but it also brought us closer and would be providing Kori with the security net she believed she needed to have control over her life.
And I saidbelievedbecause trust and fucking believe the only thing she needed wasme. My lady spent so much time finding her voice that she was convinced she had to assert her independence to be seen and respected. To others possibly, but not with me.
“Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s get started.” JJ began separating stacks of papers which he placed in a single row in the center of the table. He pushed each one toward Chantel and her flunky, one by one. She glared at the stacks and back to JJ who placed a pen on the one centered in front of her.
“What are these?”
“The first one is for you to sign over ownership of Elite Cleaners to me. The second is a formal acknowledgment that in signing over your rights to Elite you are admitting to a federal crime, identity theft, by selling Ms. Griffin’s personal information to multiple online outlets. The third is a statement that you are agreeing to sell Elite Cleaners of your own free accord, without being coerced, and the last is a formal apology to Ms. Griffin for the pain and suffering you caused which will be posted on every media outlet that has at least one follower.”
Chantel’s vanilla hued skin turned red as fuck and her eyes narrowed on JJ’s face which was stoically calm.
“This is a joke, right? I’m not here to sign a damn thing. I’m surely not giving my company to you. I’mhereto negotiate?—”
“Ms. Dior, let’s be clear…” he cut in calmly, leaning back in his chair before he continued, “You have no negotiating power. If you refuse to sign, your violation of Ms. Griffin’s rights will be handed over to a federal agent, one I’m personally tied to, and they will throw your ass in a federal prison for the next seven to fifteen years. I don’t care one way or another which option you choose, but I promise you should.”
“Can he do this?” Her eyes went wide with surprise before they landed on her lawyer.
I barked a laugh. “Why the fuck are you asking him? He’s not a gotdamn attorney. He’s alawyerwho isn’t licensed. Barely passed the bar. Did he bother telling you that if this were to go to court he can’t represent you?” I asked, amused by the confidence she had in the fucker sitting next to her.
Chantel swung her eyes to the poor guy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here then back to me. “Lawyer, attorney, it’s all the same thing. They know the law.”
“It’s not, love. Do your research, but on your time not mine. Right now your focus needs to be on signing those.” JJ pointed to the documents and she glared at me then Kori.
“You’re such a bitch; I regret the day I hired you,” she sneered before turning to JJ. “I’m not signing a damn thing. She broke company policy and I’m suing her for misrepresentation of the Elite brand. She broke into a client's house…”
She was referencing our situation but there was one problem. She had to prove there had been a violation and I damn sure wasn’t on her side.
“Word, whose house?”
“Yours.” She glared at me.
“Nah, you’re mistaken. My mother hired Kori to clean throughyourcompany while I was out of the country. She had full access to my crib.”
“That’s a lie. She…”
I leaned across the table, leveling my eyes on Chantel. “She is not your fucking concern. You don’t address her. You don’t look at her. You don’t even think about her because if you do, federal prison is the least of your worries. I will be your biggest gotdamn nightmare and I don’t sleep so that means twenty-four seven I will be thinking of ways to make you regret fucking with Kori. I have money, connections, all the fucking time in the world, and a passion for destroying anyone that threatens that beautiful smile I love to see on Kori’s face. Can you compete with any of these things?”
I recognized the moment she accepted there was no winning, so she resorted to begging. “My business is all I have…”
I smirked. “That’s not my problem but what I can offer is that you’ll have your freedom. As fucked up of an individual as you are, I will credit you for being an astute businesswoman. You did it once, you can do it again. You’re losing your cleaning company. Start a new one.”
“Can we at least negotiate the terms…”
“The terms have been negotiated. Sign the papers or go to prison.”