Hugh is about to "school" them in more ways than one. And there's big news for Wyatt. This chapter may also explain a few legal and other "technical" things about Colton's wealth and power. Enjoy!

Needless to say, the trip back to the big house caused quite a stir. The women, old and young, had just never seen anything like Hugh. So they started tripping over each other trying to get a glimpse as we drove by.

And then the women in the big house started bumping into each other trying to see him as we headed upstairs to the office. He looked back at the top of the stairs with little a wave and smile that damned near made them keel over.

So they were so twitter pated after that, I was afraid to eat anything that day. I mean, who knew what they might’ve put in or left out? They didn’t know if they were coming or going.

But the food kept coming for sure. A cake, then a pie, then some empanadas, then a six layer trés leches cake followed by a tray full of taquitos with three salsas. All just excuses to come in and check him out again. He praised every dish they brought in, and acted like he didn’t even see all the blushing and giggling.

We hunkered down around the food in a little circle of sofas and easy chairs over in one corner of the room where we usually lounge around we’re done with whatever business we’ve attended to. And Hugh turned into the lawyer JJ had trusted more than anyone else in the world.

In fact, when JJ knew his time on earth was finally ending, he gave Hugh absolute power over everything. Even me. Or especially me. So I’d be safe.

He didn’t lord it over me, though—pun intended. Whenever something big was happening, he broke it down in sixth grade language for me. And today, he’d come a real long way to break it down, so I knew we were in a heap o’ trouble.

But he did his best to ease our minds. First, he mixed us up some new cocktail he’d discovered on his travels to “take the edge off.”

I didn’t drink hard liquor in the daytime as a rule, but I loved it when he put on a show with that shaker thing. Not all crazy like those bartenders who throw the thing over their backs and whatnot. But Joie loves going, “Shake that thang, Daddy,” when he gets down to bidness.

Once he’d served us all, he sat down in this wing backed chair that looked like a throne with him in it. And he looked at the kids sitting on Wyatt’s lap like they’d known her forever, and then looked at me and said, “Well done, you.”

At which time Tyler climbed down and walked over to hang onto the coffee table in the middle of the grouping and give Hugh a big four-toothed grin.

Hugh raised an eyebrow and said, “That’s new. She walking as well?”

“We’ll catch up on the kid stuff later,” I said. “Let’s do the rough stuff first.”

And he said, “Right! Cut to the chase,” and sat back for a quick sip before jumping right in.

“It’s something you’ve probably expected, actually. Your judge and his cohorts have shared some rather unsavory information with the Clark County authorities and the Nevada Gaming Commission. You can imagine what that information might be, correct?”

Aisha put both hands on her face and cried, “Oh, Lord, they gon’ shut us down?”

But Hugh raised a palm to stop that from spreading, and said, “It won’t come to that, my lovely, I assure you.”

Mike and Cat had sort of frozen up on their love seat, though. And Joie and Big Man were both watching me, trying to figure out what their roles in this drama should be if the news was really bad.

Cat unwound herself from around Mike and got into business mode—like I told you, she’s the oldest, smartest and most serious of the three. And she’d been the toughest during all the negotiations.

So her first question was, “If it’s no big deal, why did you come all the way out here today instead of waiting for Vegas?”

Wyatt took hold of my hand suddenly, as if she knew the wheels were about to fly off.

Hugh managed to keep cool, though. He took another sip and said, “I didn’t want to spoil the New Year’s festivities. And he’ll be ridiculously busy becoming a movie tycoon.”

“So that’s all on, still?” I asked.

“Oh, everything’s still on,” he said, looking me very directly in the eye.

“But...” Cat said, raising her chin a little.

Hugh chuckled and said, “No ‘buts.’ And I shall restrain myself from sharing all the little juvenile jokes that came to mind the moment I said that.”

I sort of relaxed when he started kidding around. Wyatt relaxed, rubbed my hand with both of hers and then leaned to grab Tyler by the waistband just as he was about to climb up on the coffee table after a taquito, I think.

He didn’t even bat an eye or whine or anything when she grabbed him, thank God. He thought it was a game. So he gave a little squeal and walked right back over to the table again, looking back to see what Wyatt would do.

But I got hold of him and set him down on my lap because I’m real strict with my kids. Maybe too strict, by today’s standards. And I know toddlers do that stuff because I raised a couple. They have to figure out where they stand, so they test everybody. I get that.

But I’ve also seen kids fall out screaming and kicking in WalMart and their parents look all stupid standing there trying to “bargain” with them and whatnot. I don’t play that.

I’ve seen what happens to kids whose parents either didn’t know how to or didn’t care about giving their kids any real guidance. They were out there with me on the streets, walking around all mad and messed up.

Cause the world will discipline you even if your parents don’t. The world will discipline you even if they do. So a parent should teach you that when life puts on the brakes, there’s a lesson in there somewhere that could save you a lot of grief later, if you just calm down and pay attention.

It was disciplining us now, life, actually. Slapping us upside the head to slow us down or wake us up. Or both.

So Mike folded her arms firmly across those tatas and said, “Worst case scenario. Go.”

Hugh loved playing hardball with us. So he nodded and said, “Easy one. You might have to postpone the actual opening.”

Which blew me back against my seat so hard that it startled Wyatt and both kids, too.

I went, “Whoa, wait—no can do! I mean, there’s thousands of people who’ve moved heaven and earth to make sure they’re free that night, even if they’re not sure they’re on the guest list yet. I mean, we’re talkin’ music people, movie people, TV people--”

Hugh smiled at Wyatt and said, “Lots of alliteration—or is that parallel construction?”

“C’mon, quit goofin’ around,” I said. “This is serious.”

“Not nearly as serious as it sounds,” he said. “But I do understand how serious it sounds. And we will handle the logistics if it comes to that. But it won’t.”

“You’re sure?” I said.

He gave me intense baby blues, and said, “I would give you my word, but I’m far too cynical for absolute certainty, as you well know.”

“Speaking of alliteration,” I said.

“You’ve done well,” he said to Wyatt.

And then to me, he said, “You may rest assured that I am as close to absolute certainty in this case as I could possibly be. I am here precisely because I knew you would react this way. And would need time to get talk it through and, hopefully, get past it.  We have built a solid foundation based on absolute transparency and painstaking attention to detail. So our alliances are as strong as ever and we are marching forward with complete confidence—a little more alliteration for you, there.”

After a few chuckles, there was this long, nervous silence. We exchanged glances a few times. Squirmed in our seats. Took a bunch of sips off those cocktails. I was wishing he’d put at least a little sum sum in mine, but then it was good to have a clear mind at times like this.

And Wyatt was a ‘way more powerful chill pill, anyway. She had the kids and me under control. I put my arm around her and gave her a little “Thank you” squeeze. And then she sort of cocked her head sideways, like something had just popped into her head.

And she said, “May I just...”

But then she waved a hand and said, “No, sorry. It’s...It can wait—please, continue.”

“Gon’ speak up, Mami,” Aisha said. “You in this wit us now.”

But then Taylor climbed up Wyatt’s chest and started trying to eat her hair as usual. So she kissed Taylor and said, “Now is not the time.”

But I said, “No, go on. You may be seeing something we’re too close to it to notice.”

So she paused to think for a second. And then she said, “I just wondered...well, first of all, just to bring me up to speed...how is he old enough to own a casino if he’s not old enough to drink?”

“I don’t own it,” I said. “The girls own it. I mean, I sort of—well, okay, take it, Hugh.”

Hugh smiled, sat back on his throne and said, “His profits will be held in trust until he’s 21. As are all of the profits from similar ventures.”

“So when he goes to visit them, he won’t be able to see the show or...I mean, what will he be able to do, legally?”

“Oh, trust me, he gets his party on,” Cat said.

And Joie looked up from her drink long enough to say, “Ooooo, word.”

Hugh looked over at her and said, “Shall I make more?”

“Honey, I’m gon’ steal this for my place. Call it Joie’s Joy Juice!”

“Nobody’ll be able to say that once they’re sloshed out of their minds,” I said.

And Mike went, “JJJ! Boom,” and we all cracked up.

After which, Hugh said, “But we digress,” sort of chiding us for stepping all over Wyatt’s questions.

So I took Wyatt’s hand and said, “I’m sorry. Did we answer your question?”

“I just wondered how it would work. Your being too young to do anything.”

Hugh heard the real concern in it, and said, “We have private residences on the properties, in which he can entertain as he would in his own home.”

“Yeah, boy!” Aisha said, throwing up Metal like a high school kid. “He throw the bes’ parties in town, too! E’rebody be tryin’ to get on the gues’ list. You’ll see. Alla stars be hidin’ at his house where they can get loose wit’out nobody chasin’ after ‘em tryin’a take pictures and whatnot.”

“And that’s allowed?”

“Well, they’re rather like hotel rooms,” Hugh said. “So you can have children, guests--think about the hotels you’ve visited. Mommy and Daddy can order a drink at dinner, or by the pool or from room service.”

“Yeah, but his hotels aren’t like any hotels she’s visited,” Joie said. “That one down in Mexico? That big Taj Mahal thing right by the water? Lord have mercy--put that one in your prenup, Little Mama. If you can slip it past 007.”

That made Wyatt blush. So cute, how she gets all fidgety and embarrassed when people say things like that. But she had one more really good question for Hugh. She was doing that thing she did in the classroom, asking us questions the clarify things or lead us to answers we hadn’t even thought of. And I think Hugh knew that. And sort of admired it, too.

So he said, “I can see you’re not quite convinced.”

“Oh, no! No, I understand it much better now,” she said. “Except...if he isn’t the owner why would anyone care about these rumors the judge started? There are all kinds of shady characters in Vegas. Shady characters who do own casinos, for that matter.”

Hugh’s eyes sort of lit up. And he said, “Ah, yes, well, this shady character is the Cinderfella story of the century: a teen tycoon whose ingenious ideas pulled the rug right out from under his rivals. And he yanks that rug again every year. Fun House Inc. is like the Apple of the adult entertainment industry. And he’s Steve Jobs. And a media darling. But the media loves to kill its darlings. If there’s even a drop of blood in the water, the feeding frenzy begins. And as panic sets in, hasty decisions are made. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen—or I do. He just has to trust me to do that.”

“We came clean about all that from jump, though,” I said. “I mean, I must’ve talked to every reporter in Nevada that first year—CNN, too.”

“Oh, CNN, NBC, the BBC, every network one can name,” Hugh said. “But the politicians have worked very hard to soften that Sin City image, you see. To make it more tease than sleaze, so to speak.”

“That’s a t-shirt we should sell,” Big Man said. “More tease than sleaze...”

We got a laugh out of that. And we started feeling a little better, too. Faces relaxed. Mike and Cat laid back down next to each other again. I even let go of Tyler. And he didn’t even try it.

Mike said, “So what’s the deal, then? I mean, if they knew everything already, then...”

“Well, Madison died,” Hugh said. “And the circumstances surrounding her death could—“

I sat up and yelled, “That bastard!  Friendly dropped it, right?”

And Hugh put up both palms and said, “Just...breathe with me. Sloooooowly. In...out...”

Everyone laughed. But me. But I did calm down. I even gave him a smirky smile.

And he said, “Actually, Friendly’s gone rogue—and to ground, apparently. No one’s seen or heard from him since the last time he reached out to you. Nick is orchestrating a campaign to prove that your judge may have picked the wrong enforcer and endangered the entire operation. Your man Chase floated that idea, by the way. I hope he got a very nice Christmas bonus.”

“The judge isn’t gonna just lay down and die, though,” I said.

“And therein lies the rub. He’s cozying up to the gaming and law enforcement in Nevada to prove his loyalty, you see. His political partners are looking toward Vegas, now, too. And once again, our fair haired boy is right there, ten steps ahead of them.”

“So he’s trying to move Colt out of the way again,” Cat said.

Hugh smiled like the devil he is, and said, “Correct. But I have a feeling it may blow up his face.”

“Because you and Nick have put some land mines out there, right?” I said.

He just smiled. But he quit smiling when I said, “What if I just backed out of it altogether? No shares, no trust, no--”

And Aisha yelled, “Oh, hell naw,” so fierce that she sort of bounced up out of her seat a few inches.

So I said, “Chillax, okay? It’s not like I have that big a share now. That was the deal. It’s your thing.”

But I’d rattled her cage, boy. She started huffing and puffing and tearing up.

“Wouldn’ be no thing if it wun for you,” she said. “I ain’t tryin’a hear this mess—you bettah talk to yo’ boy, 007! Cause he goes, I go.”

“We all go,” Mike said.

“After all the blood, sweat and tears you put into this?” I said. “Don’t be ridi—“

“You’re the one being ridiculous!” Mike said. “You gave us all this! There’s no way--”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing—two billion dollars down the drain!”

I tried my best “I’m not backing down” glare, but they gave me theirs, too. A united front, on this one, they were. I wasn’t sure they’d really let it all go, but they sure wanted me to believe they would.

And to up the ante, Cat said, “We could get twice that if we sold it now that it’s almost finished. It’s got the rep already. The most expensive casino ever built, all that. There’s gotta be someone who’d—“

Hugh stood up to say, “Dear ones, it will not come to that,” in this pleading voice.

And we all watched him for a few seconds, looking for “tells.” But there weren’t any. He never says anything he doesn’t mean. Not to us, anyway.

 “We have acted in good faith,” he continued, just to humor us. “We have been brutally honest and examined and complied with every regulation on the books. They may put on a theatrical investigation to placate the media and political opportunists lying in wait. But it will be brief and the final decision will be in our favor.”

“What if they decide to hit me with some kinda charges, though?In AZ, I mean,” I asked. “They have that tape of me telling Friendly to take the watch.”

Everybody shut up again then. And started staring at Hugh, to see what his face would do.

He just sighed and said, “Colton, you didn’t purchase the drugs. In fact, the judge may have been part of that deal, via Friendly. And with Friendly out there running amok, the judge isn’t likely to take that route. However, even if they did try to prove that you gave her the money to pay her drug debts, we could say you acted to save the mother of your children from an imminent threat.”

“That ‘imminent threat’ thing didn’t stop them from busting me for the gun I gave her.”

 “Yeah, but there were a few guns, not just that one,” Cat said. “And owning unmarked guns and such, that’s too Old School. Or Old Mob.”

“It’s rapper shit, too,” Aisha said. “And you know they ain’t havin’ that after Tupac and all.”

Wyatt suddenly came with, “I don’t understand this. I mean, people go to Vegas to do things they shouldn’t do. He should be their poster boy! A hunky teenage felon with billions to burn! What’s more Vegas than that?”

“Preach, sistah,” Joie said, raising a hand to the heavens while we all had a good laugh.

And Hugh raised his glass to Wyatt and said, “I like this woman!”

And I said, “Yeah, well, I like her, too. So just turn that grin down a few watts, pal.”

Hugh looked at Wyatt in this conspiratorial way. To let her know he’d seen the look she gave me a little while back. The one she’d meant him to see. And that was meant to reassure me, too.

And he said, “I have some news for you, too, actually.”

It startled her. But she reached for my hand and said, “Well, remember you like me,” in this teasing way. And don’t think that eased my mind or anything. Teasing is how everything starts.

But Hugh seemed to take it at face value. He got all serious and said, “Do you think you could lay hands on your contract for me sometime soon? Online, perhaps?”

“There’s an employee portal,” she said. “I’m not sure the entire contract would be there, but I could try.”

“They gave several of you extended contracts for agreeing to teach in high risk areas of the district, correct?”

That shook her up a little bit. He was doing that thing she did in the classroom. And he was doing it just as good as she did.

So she said, “Yes. But we were told that budget issues would allow them to override that.”

And he smiled and said, “You signed a three year contract, to teach in a program funded by a federal grant. And in order to qualify for that funding, the district had to agree to keep you and your peers for another three years, and to pay you from the district’s budget after the grant funding stopped. It’s a common requirement, designed to ensure that districts are sincere about these programs and will keep them in place long enough for them to do some actual good. So if the feds begin to suspect that they applied just to shore up their budget, they can demand to be repaid every penny plus a few other penalties. It’s fraud. And it’s the federal government they’re dealing with.”

Wyatt blinked. But the rest of us just sat there looking really dumb.

So Hugh said, “Have you received any type of written termination notice? A letter or...email?”

“No, I haven’t. Just a heads up from one of my administrators.”

Hugh pressed his fingertips together, smiled and said, “Well, we can go after them now, but perhaps you’d like to sit tight and wait for that pink slip. If we jump the gun, they could say we were acting on speculation and hearsay.”

Wyatt looked at me, and then at Hugh again. She didn’t know what was going on.

But she finally settled on, “So, I could still be placed somewhere next fall, then?”

“I was thinking of a more...lucrative solution.”

“I just wondered if I could go to one of the schools that will be taking our students. I have the one year left. On that contract.”

“You have four,” I said. “Technically.”

“I’d take the one,” she said. “To help them make the transition, at least. I mean, the district may not be able to keep me another three. But they’d have graduated by then. My guys. I hope.”

Cat threw her hands skyward and said, “Wyatt, he’s trying to get you a little nest egg to fall back on, no matter what the district does!”

Aisha raised her chin proudly and said, “She jus’ love those kids. Cause she a real teacher.”

“And they don’t deserve her if you ask me,” Hugh said. “But she deserves compensation. And they owe it to her. It’s in the contract.”

“Like, how much?” I asked.

“Well, they could offer her the salary she would’ve been paid over the next four years as a lump sum. But I would add punitive damages which I am fairly sure she would win either in court or a settlement designed to keep the district out of court, where the whole world see how badly they bungled the entire program. Either way, it would be a tidy sum.”

“How tidy?” I asked. Again.

“Well, at, say...$30,000 or so per year, it would be $120,000 and change for the salary alone.”

Wyatt looked at me and said, “I like this man.”

We all busted a gut laughing. And the smug smile on Hugh’s face was absolutely priceless—and a little scary for me. I was still a little nervous about him. And his effect on her.

But then he smiled at me next, and said, “But wait! There’s more...”

And man, he wasn’t kidding.