Checkmate

Chapter One- Jessie

            As my sun kissed legs stretched so my new black Gucci heels could reach the ground I ducked out of my all black Audi, and under the umbrella my assistant held. A small smirk tugged against my lips as the thunder yelled out in the sky. It felt good to be back in Tennessee, but I was on a tight schedule. Quickly I proceeded inside the large building, and onto the elevator. My assistant Jessie started to rattle off the annoyingly long list of things I had to do for what felt like the hundredth time as I scrolled through my phone. Immediately once we stepped off Jessie's assistant handed us our coffee, and I walked into my office ready to get the day started.

            Running both legal and illegal businesses usually meant that I was up, and working when the night owls were just going to bed. Even though I didn't have to be I just couldn't stay away. There was something about the power that I loved. Call me a control freak but I couldn't just sit on my hands. I had been used, abused, and thrown away more times then I would like to admit in this world. So I made it a point to make sure nobody ever got over on me again. I had built a well oiled ship on both ends so when I needed to take an unexpected absence for one business the other didn't suffer

            Siting behind the large black desk I began to power up my laptop. My paranoia never let me use a desktop, and I had to have my own separate Internet network. On the legal side of things my company specialized in buying other companies big and small. We flipped them like renovators flipped houses selling some for a lager profit, and giving the more promising ones back to people of the community or at least that was the front. The businesses that we were giving back to the community were used to move my dope. All the facilities has separate entrances and a basement for my product. We moved from location to location never staying in one place to long. If a owner stayed down, and was loyal when the time was right I'd let the keep the place for themselves, and replace it with another. A win win for everybody if you ask me.

            Before I could dive into this weeks numbers Jessie walked into the office. I saw a lot of myself when I looked at Jessie which is why I had brought her from the gutters, and showed her the ropes. I found Jessie wondering the streets in some small town in the middle of nowhere. She and her brother had been taken from her mother by then. Jessie's mom wasn't a crackhead or any of the typical shit she just simply couldn't afford them. When she met some no good as nigga with a wife she didn't know about things took a turn. Even though her mom quit messing with the dude the woman was convinced every time he cheated it had to be with Jessie's mom. The bitter bitch started calling child services on her, and they removed the kids from the home when Jessie was fourteen. Shit was crazy, because they took her out of a loving home where she was struggling to eat to put her in a home were they wouldn't feed her, and the son use to rape her. Now when her brother found out what was going on naturally you would assume he'd protect her right? Well you would be wrong, because instead his sick ass started abusing her right alone with the foster brother. One night when Jessie was sixteen instead of taking turns they decided to rape her together, and for the first time she fought back. That night they beat her, and when she was finally able to walk again she ran away with only the clothes on her back. Still kind of fresh to the game at the age of twenty I was meeting a dealer in her area. On the way to the airport I saw the skinny little white girl looking like she had been hit by a truck limping up the road. I made my driver pull up beside her. Rolling the window down I spoke loud enough to make sure she heard me.

" You look like hell."

              She stop looked at me rolled her eyes, and limped off. Immediately I was intrigued. You see I had known abuse more than any one person should, and I was stronger for it. I hated people that used abuse as an excuse or a crutch. Most of all though I despised the one's who let it break them. Call me a bitch of whatever, but in my eyes nothing was stronger than a woman. She could be broken in so many different ways, but with enough willpower she could always put her self back together again. I saw that same willpower in Jessie. Here she was beaten, walking in the rain, with nothing to speak of and she still had an attitude. I got out of the car not bothering to grab an umbrella which caused her to stop.