"chrome socks beaming
through my peripheral I see you scheming
stop dreaming, I leave your body steaming
niggas is fending, what's the meaning
i'm leaning on any nigga intervening
with the sound of my money machining".

roman was at the extreme exposé club on this friday night collecting his weekly revenue from paul. he was sitting in paul's office awaiting his numbers to come back in, sitting in silence. roman and paul's relationship has been a bit strained ever since the jey incident. while roman didn't fully blame paul because he knew that it was jey pushing everything, he also didn't like that he gave jey the "key to the kingdom", so he was a bit cautious about him.

regardless, business was business and he still had a cartel to run, so bullshit was left aside when it came to what needed to be done.

"good numbers per usual roman. hundreds weekly, thousands by the end" paul told him. "your cartel continues to push good".

"that's all I wanted to hear" roman chuckled.

"how've you been lately?" paul asked him. looks like they might have a legit conversation, something they haven't had in a while.

"good. y'know i've been fine" roman told him. "wife is pregnant so it's exciting times in the household".

"oh wow congratulations!" paul exclaimed. "I know when I tell linda she'll be so happy. do you know the gender yet? we'll send you guys something".

"nah we don't find out for another few weeks" roman said.

"oh okay, when you do let us know so we can send you guys something" paul told him.

"thank you" roman said with a weary smile.

silence hit the room and it was just paul and roman staring at each other. they were both waiting for each other to say something but paul didn't know what to say anymore and roman didn't really care to further the conversation. I guess that's what happens when the relationship has been strained.

"roman.... I wanna apologize to you" paul finally said after sitting in silence for a few minutes. "for the jey situation... it turned out so bad".

"why are you apologizing?" he wondered.

"I should've told you what was going on. jey wanted it to be a secret so I kept it that way" paul sighed. "I should've been honest I mean I was doing business with you first and going behind your back to work with someone that wasn't even supposed to be in that position was shady".

"paul, respectfully.... don't try to kiss my ass now" roman told him. "it's too late for that. i'm sure you were perfectly fine working with jey since you're still working with him now, helped him get that penthouse, and got his kids into private school lori loughlin style".

".... how did you know all of that?" he wondered in shock at roman knowing about everything that he did for him.

"cause i'm not stupid" roman scoffed. "just like how I just called you out for trying to kiss ass because you got caught up".

"but I do want you to know that I don't fully blame you for that. yes you were a dog for not coming to me about jey's shit but that was jey that was pulling strings and acting like he was some god. he was already pressuring me about the stake deal and I know he was talking shit about me to get it. there's a reason why i'm still here instead of me leaving or doing something worse".

"oh...." paul said. "well yeah, jey was talking you down when he came to me with the proposal. he was itching for it, tried to make you seem irresponsible and like you didn't want anything".

"i'm sure he was" roman scoffed, rolling his eyes in the process.

"so everything's good now right?" paul asked him.

"don't be a sneak anymore" roman simply said.

"I won't, everything will be upfront and honest" paul agreed.

"okay, then we're good" roman told him.

paul lended his hand out for a handshake from roman and roman obliged, the two shook their hands as an agreement for no more lies and dishonesty.

oh if roman only knew....

paul just got a text on his phone from victor, reminding him of a task that paul has to do with him. he suddenly remembered it and now he had to make a getaway to meet up with him, obviously without telling roman that he was working with his enemy.

"roman I just got a text from linda, it seems to be an emergency so I gotta head out" paul lied.

"okay, i'll be here to guard my dealers and make sure they get shit done" roman said.

"yeah robert will be here as my stand in so if you need anything, ask him" paul told him.

"hope all is good" roman said, walking out of the office and going out to the main area of the club.

paul grabbed his things and walked out of his office to leave the club.

"paul wait up! I need to talk to you" one of the strippers called out to him, her name was yelena.

"can it wait? I have to go" paul told her.

"no it's very important, I need to speak to you now" yelena said to him. she was supposed to be working tonight but instead she was in a hoodie and some leggings.

"and it can wait, I have somewhere to be we can talk tomorrow yelena" paul told her as he walked out of the club quickly. she was left with a frown on her face.

paul got in his ashton martin zagato and drove to teterboro airport to get in his private jet and fly an hour to buffalo. he was meeting with victor at his house to discuss some upcoming plans, plans that could change not only both of their businesses but also roman's...

paul arrived in buffalo and victor arranged for a chauffeur to drive him to his house on lincoln parkway. fifteen minutes later, he arrived at victor's illustrious mansion. he's actually never been to victor's home before so coming here now was a delight.

he walked up to the door and rung the doorbell. a couple seconds later, victor arrived at the door. he was standing there with a cigar in one hand and glass of whiskey in the other. he screamed rich and arrogant, a pattern for the guys that paul worked with.

"heyman.... welcome" victor smirked.

"ready to get to business?".

"ready" paul said back, and he walked into his house ready to discuss some big money moves.

big money moves alright....

victor and paul were chopping it up in victor's conversation pit about their current lives while drinking whiskey and smoking cigars. victor was bragging to paul about his cartel's success and paul was also bragging about how his strip clubs's success. combine the two together and you got a master plan from the both of them.

"okay so let's get into the real reason why you flew out here..." victor said.

"oh of course" paul grinned.

victor got up and grabbed a folder that was titled "SXXX BUFFALO". he then took out a blueprint and laid it on the table in the pit.

victor and paul had plans to open a new strip club in buffalo under paul's "exposé enterprises" strip club brand. this was so that victor could have his own club in his own territory to sell product. going into roman's territory was fun for the sake of messing with roman but he also wanted a staple place where he can sell. him and paul's working relationship and friendship was expanding and they were both all in on this idea.

remember when paul told roman only a few hours ago that he would stop the lies and would start being honest? well, the lies would have to continue.

"so I talked to my realtor guy and we got the building for the club" victor told paul.

"oh that's great" paul said very pleased.

"the club is going to be on william street, I got people to start construction next week because I really wanna get this started" victor explained. "I wanna make strip club money in MY territory".

"so.... does that mean you're gonna stop selling in the boroughs?" paul asked him.

"why would I have to stop? is anoa'i asking about me?" victor chuckled.

".... anoa'i doesn't know about us" paul said. "trust me if he did I would be dead right now".

"really? he's that much of a baby?" victor laughed.

"he just doesn't like when people lie to him" paul told him.

"so he's a baby" victor chuckled. "should've known, that's what happens when you give a youngin a cartel... can't handle it. he's a reckless asshole and he's a baby...".

"let's just get back to discussing the club alright?" paul said to victor, interrupting him from talking shit about roman.

".... hope you not having regret about this heyman" victor said in a low tone.

"why would I? I wanna make money, you wanna make money. let's just focus on the money instead on someone that won't be doing shit for either one of us" he told him.

"y'know what, I like that mentality" victor laughed. he just liked the fact that paul just subtly shaded roman as someone that "isn't doing shit for him", even though he most definitely was. "let me show you the interior blueprints".

they went back to developing the buffalo strip club and discussing more business expansions. while paul didn't regret working with victor, he also didn't want roman finding out about it. roman finding out could derail everything and it could be a threat against his business and his life. that's the last thing that he needed. even though he just told roman that he would be honest with him, he would just have to lie a little bit more.

let's just see how long this lie lasts...

the next day iman had a doctors' appointment with the obstetrician for the baby and she was anxious yet excited. the last time she was here was after she found out she was pregnant and everything was good. today she was going to be able to hear their heartbeat and she couldn't wait. the only downside is that roman won't be there, and instead she got janelle to come with her in his place of support.

"I know you don't wanna hear this but honestly.... he should've been here" janelle told iman as they pulled into the obstetrician's office parking lot. she was referring to roman's absence.

"janelle...." iman groaned.

"he couldn't "take off" from his own "job" to come to an appointment for his own baby?" she wondered.

"he had a business meeting, that's the only reason why he's not here" iman told her.

"so is that what we're calling drug deals now? business meetings?" janelle scoffed.

"look if you didn't wanna come you should've just said no when I asked you and I could've asked someone else"iman said. "you sound like you're complaining".

"i'm honored that you asked me to come with you but that doesn't delfect from the fact that your husband should also be here for all doctors' visits" she told her.

"well since you want him to be here so bad he will be here for the next one, and the next one is when I find out the gender so I hope you're happy" iman sighed.

"I will be very happy, especially when they tell you you're having another girl" janelle smiled.

"i'm waiting for the day when someone tells me that they just want me to have a healthy baby, no pressuring for a gender" iman groaned.

"oh don't get me wrong, i'll be happy for you regardless of the gender because that's still gonna be my niece or nephew at the end of the day" janelle told her. "i'd just prefer if it was another niece!".

"girl let's go in" iman chuckled, and the two got out of the maserati and walked into the building to await the appointment.

they waited in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes before they were called in. the two sat in the room until iman's obstetrician dr. suzanne walker came in.

"hi iman, how are you?" dr. walker said to her.

"i'm fine thank you" iman said back.

"I see you brought some support" she said as she noticed janelle.

"yes, this is my best friend. my husband couldn't make it" iman told her.

"here to HEAR my niece or nephew!" janelle added.

"aww okay, well iman let's start off with taking your blood pressure and then we will continue with the rest of the check up" she told her.

iman pulled her shirt sleeve up so the doctor could wrap the blood pressure machine around her arm and take it. the check up continued with iman getting a weigh in, taking a urine sample, and other tests to make sure that she was fine.

"okay, are you ready to hear your baby?" dr. walker asked iman. she took out the doppler monitor, meaning that it was time to hear the baby's heartbeat.

"yes" iman smiled.

she pulled up her shirt and dr. walker put the monitor on her stomach. sound waves were bouncing off and iman began to hear her baby's heartbeat. she instantly smiled as her little angel's heartbeat was playing in her ears. she was happy with the fact that she got what she wanted the most, a healthy baby.

"janelle are you crying?" iman asked her friend, who was in the corner with tears in her eyes.

"this is so beautiful man" janelle said. "i've never actually seen this in person, the whole heartbeat and stuff like that so it's just.... wow".

"not even for bianca?" iman asked her referring to janelle's niece, her younger brother's daughter.

"no all I did was get the gender information for the gender reveal" she told her. "never an actual appointment like this".

"the next appointment you'll be able to do the ultrasound, you'll get to see the baby" dr. walker said.

"and I can't wait" iman smiled.

after the appointment iman and janelle got in the car and iman took out her phone to facetime roman and tell him about the appointment. luckily, he answered.

"hey iman" he said on the phone.

"hey babe, just finished the appointment and everything is good. I even got to hear the baby's heartbeat and it was amazing. our baby boy or girl is healthy and that's all I ever cared about" she told him.

"that's great, so when do you find out the gender?" roman wondered.

"the next appointment most likely, that's also when we get the ultrasound so that's probably when they'll find out" she said.

"i'll be at that one for sure. i'm trying to be at all of the doctors' visits, unless this stuff gets in the away. but i'll be at that one for sure" roman promised.

"okay... how did the meeting go?" iman asked him.

"good as it always does, i'll tell you when I get home" he said.

"aw look at you being transparent with me" iman jokingly said.

"for once in his life" janelle mumbled.

"who was that?!" roman wondered, he could recognize that snarky voice from anywhere. iman then turned the phone over to janelle who had a huge smirk on her face, and roman groaned very loudly.

"oh my god iman you really couldn't bring anyone else?! why did you have to bring her?! where the hell is julianne?!" roman exclaimed.

"she's been telling us for the past week that she wouldn't be available this morning because she was taking her mother out for breakfast for her birthday" iman reminded him.

"okay but still you couldn't bring anyone else?! your mom? dad? one of those other friends? a cousin? a damn dog would've been better than her!" roman ranted.

"you sound like a baby" janelle scoffed. "imagine being thirty five and sounding like, you're five".

"imagine being thirty two and being a noisy bitc-" roman began to say.

"y'all not about to start this shit right now" iman said sternly. "roman i'll talk to you later, bye".

they both hung up the phone and janelle was just looking at iman with a face and iman was giving her one as well.

"I pray for the day that you two stop hating each other" iman said to her.

"I pray for the day he stops being a cunt and you leave him" janelle said back.

"guess you're gonna have to keep on praying" iman shrugged.

"so do you cause like i've told you before.... it's open season on that man forever" janelle shrugged.

iman started the car and began to drive out of the parking lot and onto the streets to head back home.

"well... are you hungry?" iman asked janelle.

"you're taking me out to lunch as a "i'm sorry my husband is an asshole" treat?" she scoffed.

"I was gonna take you out to lunch whether he was an asshole or not" iman told her. "so what do you want? it's up to you because I eat whatever the baby wants me to eat".

"well... I hope the baby wants the manhattan diner cause that's where I wanna go" janelle said.

"okay then that's where we're going" iman said, and she put in directions to go to the restaurant.

"you think your husband's gonna be upset with the fact that you're using his money to treat me to lunch?" janelle chuckled.

"like I haven't been using his money to buy you things for the past four years" iman shrugged, and it made janelle laugh.

they drove to the manhattan diner to have lunch and to enjoy the rest of their day.

later that day, paul was at his staten island home in his office on the computer. linda walked into the room dressed in a green dolce and gabbana dress, she was about to head out to a birthday dinner for one of her sisters.

"paul honey, i'm heading out now" linda told him.

"okay, see you later" he said, eyes still on the computer. wasn't even paying attention to her.

"are you going to one of the clubs tonight?" she asked him.

"maybe when i'm done with this work" he said.

"oh... well, i'll see you in a few hours!" linda said as she walked out of the room and out of the house.

paul shrugged his shoulders and continued on with his work. he was contacting some businesses to help provide for the buffalo strip club, letting them know the schedule of the construction and when everything should be ready for them to put their products in the club. then, paul's phone rang and when he picked it up, it was victor.

"hello?" paul said on the phone.

"are you going to the brownsville club tonight?" victor asked in a rush.

"i'm working on getting some of the businesses to help with the club. the businesses are gonna help provide their products like the couches, tables, poles, food and drink catering, lights, all of that. i've used them for my other clubs they're good people" paul explained to him.

"oh that's great" victor said. "but answer my question, will you be at the brownsville club tonight?".

"probably not, I got a lot of work to do. robert's there as my fill in if you need anything though" paul told him.

"okay... my guys are gonna go down there and sell, they're already on their way" victor said as a surprise. it was a surprise because roman's guys were selling there tonight.

"wait... I got anoa'i's people down there already" paul told him.

victor went silent and groaned in annoyance at roman's cartel being there first. however, he just remembered the main reason why he even decided to do business with paul, to fuck with roman and his money.

to fuck with roman and his money....

boom.

"oh... okay, that's fine" victor lied.

"how is it fine when you two are rivals?" paul wondered in confusion.

"i'm not worried about that little boy, i'm a grown man with a cartel to run. I have too much money, power, and respect to fuck with him. my guys will be cool, they probably won't even know who they are" victor convinced. "everything will be under control".

"are you sure?" paul asked him. he really didn't want another incident happening at his clubs, especially at the most prominent one.

"of course! don't you trust me heyman? I would never be unprofessional and start chaos in your business, especially after what happened to my own guys a couple months ago. it will never happen again" victor said, a smile behind the phone.

".... okay, go ahead. hopefully I don't hear anything" paul sighed. "roman probably won't even be there, he's barely been staying there lately anyways".

"fine with me, see you soon paul!" victor exclaimed, and the two hung up the phone. paul let out a sigh, looked up to the sky, and went back to work.

meanwhile in buffalo, victor let out a hearty laugh at what he just did. for paul to be in the business for over two decades, he was such a dumbass! his dumbassness would cost him though, especially as victor was now dialing another number in his phone. he was dialing the number of his new head dealer now that emilio is gone, wanya.

"hey wanya, how bout you and the rest of the boys go have some fun in brownsville tonight. show anoa'i's boys who the new owner of the territory is" victor told him, with a chesire cat smile on his face.

"got it boss" wanya said back, and victor hung up the phone and laughed again.

it was fun fucking with the people that he hated wasn't it?!

at the anoa'i household, iman had just put jianni to bed as she had school in the morning, julianne was finished with her chores for the day so she was in her room watching tv, and roman just got out of the shower and was in the bedroom getting ready to head out to the extreme exposé. it was another regular night for everyone.... until it wasn't.

iman heard a knock on the door and she was wondering who it could've been, especially at night on a weekday. nevertheless, she went to open the door. she opened the door and the look on her face when she saw who it was could've been framed. she couldn't believe that this person was at the door, she couldn't believe that HE was at the door.

"jey?!".