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Story Notes:

I think this is gonna be a short one. I've been inspired lately :)




Author's Chapter Notes:

hey guys!! i've got time to write lately. hopefully i can update all of my others too. i'm so excited to get back into writing. 




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Jason

“Alright” I sighed and clasped my hands together; smiling at the sight of the new young men I had brought aboard for my new project. “Before I start assigning you all official jobs, I’d like to formally introduce myself”

Nearly seventeen years after Keyshia and I got married, a huge change in my life had happened. Now, of course, things certainly happened in between. Drastic things, actually. But around the time our daughter was getting ready to graduate high school, my story became something that I felt needed to be told again. 

In front of me stood twenty young men of varying races, all within the ages of sixteen to twenty. All of them were in my hotel to serve the same simple purpose: to take care of their households. About a year ago, something came to me in my sleep telling me to start this program. It was a random idea. Just basically guiding me to form something along the lines of hiring young men in high-risk communities (more specifically, men of color). Not only that, but to also give them a bona fide career boost. The morning after the idea came to me, I hopped out of bed and excitedly began my research. 

First, I compiled a list of who exactly I wanted to help and what sort of incentives I needed to put out there to conjure up my perfect pool of applicants. Secondly, I gathered a team of youth counselors from these communities, marketing professionals, a few pastors, and even local educators that could help give me pointers on how I could execute this in a way that would make history. In this day and age, many celebrities are out there looking for philanthropic opportunities and ways to give back…but I really wanted to make an impact. I had more money than ever. The hotel business was booming. I had hundreds of properties spread across six continents and I had reached the goal of having one in each borough along with having several in South America as well. Needless to say, I grew very proud myself. 

My father and I learned to compromise at some point—just as a quick recap on what went down after the whole “disowning me” ordeal. After getting back in my mother’s good graces, he became a new man. Shit was unreal. Jack Jameson was the happiest I’d ever seen him! Alessandra certainly put him through the wringer in order for them to even consider a potential relationship and I was proud of her for doing that. At the time, he barely deserved to be in the same room as her. But that’s a story for another day. 

Point of the matter is…he and I learned how to become business partners again. And once my old man turned fifty-five, he completely retired…leaving me as the CEO and sole-proprietor owner of Jameson Suites. Over the years, I learned to take the stress off of me by hiring an entourage as well as other managerial positions. Only thing I was left with was pulling all the strings behind-the-scenes. I handled very controlled public appearances, certain financial decisions, and most importantly…international business. 

All in all, Jameson Suites had hit its peak. Billions a year came in as revenue and my company’s net worth was more than I could possibly ask for. Ever since I graduated Harvard Business School and started truly following in my elders’ shadows, I knew it was important to give back. My father, grandfather, great-grand, and so on could careless about where they were giving back and who the money was going to; as long as it was documented and publicized. i, on the other hand, put money into hundreds of charities. Even ones that were barely heard of. As an anonymous donor, of course. 

How could the world possibly become a better place if the unhealthy cycle of wealth distribution was never broken?

“I am Jason Jameson, as I’m sure all of you already know…and I am your new employer. Forget whatever you’ve seen on TV about me, please. As your boss, I am all about business and doing what it takes to succeed. Any questions before I explain how we’re going to do this?”  

A pause ensued. These boys were as nervous as can be. Standing in front of me was a great honor to them it seemed. One word, they probably thought, would screw this opportunity up for them. 

 

“Uh..” One of them, a tall hispanic guy, began to speak. “Mr. Jameson, I know I applied for this job but it never said anything about what we’re supposed to be doing. I just was desperate to take care of my family, man.” 

 

Scratching my freshly shaven face, I smiled a little. “Yes. All of you applied for a vague job opening I posted a few months ago. I kept it vague so that I knew I had all of your best interests at heart. Each and every one of you that applied did not care about what the work entailed, just that it paid and was guaranteed financially stability. To me, that is admirable and it tells me a lot. It shows me that I did good in selecting hard-working individuals.”

 

The next thirty minutes or so was spent telling them about the different jobs they’ll be doing. I made sure to select young men that had good heads on their shoulders. Men that knew the value of hard work whether it was academic or job-related. I picked them based off of their resilience, tenacity, and selflessness. Once my team started to sift through the thousands of applicants, I had to become super fucking picky to narrow it down to who I truly needed to work for me. I wanted nothing more than for this program to succeed. It would open so many eyes around the country. I hoped that it would inspire other businesses to give kids in high-risk communities a try. 

 

The scholarship program I had simply wasn’t enough. I wanted to be more proactive. 

 

All of these ideas of giving back to the community not only came from something within but also from my beautiful ex-wife. Yes, you heard that right. Keyshia and I are divorced. Temporarily, I hope…but that is my current status with her. Once again, a long story. 

After explaining to my new group of protégées what they’ll be doing (security detail, working in some of the front lobbies at different properties, and even handling corporate affairs), I got my personal tailor to fit them for suits. Following that, I held them for another few minutes to lecture them. What I had to say next was the most important thing they needed to hear that day. 

 

“This opportunity I am giving you is once in a lifetime, young men. My team and I, for the past year, have worked long hours putting things in place to get you here. Please take that into consideration if you somehow find yourselves in a position that would bring trouble into your lives.”

 I took a breath of air to take the time to gauge their reactions. They patiently stood there, quiet, taking all of this in. I’m sure they’ll open up eventually. 

“With that being said, I also want to remind you that you all signed confidentiality agreements before you walked into my office. So me saying what I have to say next will never leave this room. Understood?” 

A collective “yes and yes sir” filled the room. 

“Okay. Perfect…” My next move was to take my phone out of my pant pocket and text Sydney, my teenage daughter. I quickly sent a message to her telling her to meet me in my office. 

A minute of silence passed before she casually strolled in. Took her a second before she realized that she walked in on something important. 

“Uh…hey dad” 

 

Jarrell 

 

All the shit Jameson was throwing at us was definitely overwhelming but in the same breath…perfectly doable. With the right training. Homie was literally, hands-down, providing us with everything. For him pulling me out of the situation I was in and giving me an opportunity for redemption, I truly felt like I owed him my life. Getting recruited for this job was like hitting the fucking jackpot! I hit gold with this one! All I had to do was follow his rules and work as hard as I possibly could. 

My grandmother told me at least a hundred times not to screw this up before I showed up to the first interview. You can only imagine how many times she’s said it now that I actually have the job. Being that I was the sole breadwinner for the house, I was always put under so much stress. At wits end, I even considered dropping out of high school. That’s when I saw the ad for this opening. 

Long story short, I put all of my focus and energy into being a good candidate. So much that I was able to land it and hopefully stop my grandma’s house in the Bronx from being foreclosed on. 

This job was gonna be a piece of cake, I thought, until his daughter walked in. I went from not knowing she even existed to being on some love at first sight type of shit. That girl had to be, without a doubt, the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid my eyes on. And judging by how I saw the rest of the guys looking at her, I wasn’t the only one who felt like that. 

At some point, I had to physically force myself to focus my attention back on Mr. Jameson. 

“Everyone” he began speaking again. “I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Sydney Jameson. I’ve managed to keep her out of the public eye as my daughter since she was born so if any of this gets out…not only will you be fired, but legal action will be aggressively taken against you.” 

I could practically hear the big ass gulps everyone took. My guy wasn’t fucking around with his kid…but it still, for some reason, didn’t stop me from checking her out. I found it impossible to ignore baby girl’s beauty. 

Sydney stood pretty tall for a chick, closer to her dad’s height I’d say….so maybe 5’10 or 5’11. Her flawless skin was a darker olive tone with honey undertones. Long black hair full of loose curls sprouted from her scalp in no particular direction, stretching all the way past her shoulders. Her face was kind and soft, very welcoming. She had an average build, maybe a little athletic. Shorty had legs for days.

Nervously, she quickly smiled and waved at everyone. I could tell she didn’t expect to walk in on her dad holding a meeting of some sort. 

 

“My daughter is one hundred percent off limits. I don’t want any of you making passes at her, looking at her with lustful glances, bothering her, trying to be her friend…any of that. The only one of you that will be approved to have basic interaction with her is whoever I assign for her security detail.”

Holy shit. He really wasn’t fucking around.

“I personally have nothing against any of you but I am saying this to avoid fraternization accusations. Once again, and I hope I am making myself clear because this will be the last time I say this…interacting with my daughter is prohibited. No if, ands, or buts about it. Is this understood?” He sternly asked. 

A few of us nodded our heads…the rest shakily said “yes” out loud. 






Chapter End Notes:

reviews please?? all are welcome. i'm big on constructive criticism :)







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.