Cousins & Lovers

"Wali , what are you doing here again?" said my cousin Bernadette , who owned and was the chief hair stylist at Urban Beauty...Bernie as I have always called her is like a sister to me...Her mom is my Dad's younger sister...We were born just three months apart..She's three month's older than me... We were practically raised together...We lived just blocks from each other..Went to the same schools all of our lives and knew pretty much the same people..Her Husband, Harry Charles was one of my running buddies back in the day.

''Hey Cous...Where dat girl at?" I asked in a hush whisper..

''What girl?...Who?" she asked.

"You know who...Stop playing dumb." I said.

"Ronnie? , Veronica...She aint studyin you...Are you the one that's been sending all those flowers for her every other day and not signin your name?" she asked.

"I stand guilty as charged." I said.

"That was sweet, but you shoulda signed em...She don't know what to think." said Bernadette..

'Well that's why I come here...to make myself known." I said.

"Boyy, she here to work..not to make time..." said my cousin...

"Aww come on cuzo...I promise not to take too long...I just need a little bit...Just a little bit of her time." I said.

''Oh your rap is that good huh." she laughed.

''Well you be the judge of that..." I said.

My cousin looked exasperated, but managed a weak smile...She pointed across the huge room where several local women were having their hair done, their nails done..Their feet massaged in water pools and an assortment of other things...and there she was ...The object of my affection...Veronica Poole...She was the receptionist that made appointments and directed the ladies to a chair or booth when they came in...I winked at my cousin and walked over to where she was working...I had a box of fresh flowers in my hand..

I walked over to where she was standing and gave her my biggest smile...She looked at me like I was crazy and continued to work...I continued to stand there and she looked up at me again...

"The Barber shop is down the street brother." she said... Ohhhh, a sassy one.

"I'm quite aware of that my sister...Here...these are for you." I said as I passed her the flowers... Her eyes got as wide as saucers and she almost smiled , but she caught herself..

''Are YOU the one who has been sending me all these flowers for about a week with no name or return address on them?" she asked.

I was still smiling...

"Yeah, that would be me." I said, just beaming...

''Well the flowers were beautiful and sweet...but that was a suckuh move." she said tersely...

"A sucker move?" I said.

"Yeah..a real player would've signed his name and of brought them in person..." she said.

"Oh really?" I said..

"Yeah...then I could've told you that I'm not interested a lot sooner." she said.

Just then  I heard a couple of giggles and a few -"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuu." and "Ohhh my god..she blasted him down" from the newsy few that heard what she said..

''Dayummmmmmmmmm...face." said another woman.....

I couldn't smile after that...and the fact that so many people had witnessed it was even more embarrassing..

I looked at her....

''Where did you get your manners , from Kmart?" I said...

'That the best you got?" she said with her hands on her hips....

"It's good enough for you." I said and I turned to walk away...

As I walked out, My cousin shrugged her shoulders....I didn't even look her way...

II-

I was in Josies that night, choppin it up with Paris, Blake, Anita Jenkins, Cherish, Chance Howard, Nicole Butler and some of my other friends...We were drinking Vodka with Orange Juice and Champaigne off and on and listening to Downtown Rob Brown and his band jamming...

I wander to the Men's Room and then over to the bar when I felt a hand tap me on my shoulder... It was Veronica...

I was a bit startled...

"Hey" she said.

"Hey yourself." I said.

"I didn't know you was Bernadette's cousin." she said.

''And you still don't know." I said...Though I don't know why I said that...After thinking a minute..It made very little sense.

''Aww come on..Everybody told me..and I asked her and she told me." she said.

"Yeah and..." I said.

"Well I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you, that's all." she said.

"Did my cousin say something to you?, Cause I had nothing to do with it..." I said.

"No she didn't...She told me that she told you that I wouldn't be interested...and she apologized to me because of you." she said.

''Sounds like her." I said.

"Can I buy you a drink?" she asked.

"That's okay...I'm good." I said.

"No...I want to...We got off on the wrong foot...I was wrong....Those flowers were sweet....I was blushing all week and the girls were teasing me about I had a secret admirer and what not." she said.

"Yeah? Well just as I was leavin , One of the girls apologized to me for you...She told me that you're as mean as a rattle snake and that you've shot down so many guys..that nobody will come near you." I said.

"That was nosy ass Della ...she ought to worry about if somebody is tryin to get with her nosy behind." said Veronica.

"Struck a nerve?" I sneered. Veronica grimaced, then frowned and looked toward the ground-

"I guess that's true....I've been hurt before." she said.

"Oh poor poor you." I said.

'Wow ,I really hurt your feelins didn't I?" she said.

"No..Not at all..Win some, Lose some...That's how I look at it..." I said.

"Yeah ,I guess that's right..." she said.

"Yeah." I said and was about to walk away when she stopped me.

'I gotta start treatin people better...I-I uh thought about that today...I mean like, you did something nice..Something romantic that actually made me feel good a couple of days last week and I had no cause to talk to you like that..I'm sorry..but I understand if you want to tell me to go to hell." she said..

I pulled her towards me, looked her deep in the eyes...and smiled ruefully .....I was a little tipsy...and beyond caring at this point.......

''Girl...If you only knew what I want to do to you." I said... Then I caught myself and let her go.....

"Wow...you smell nice....and you've got the whitest teeth...I love a man with a nice smile." she said.

"You can buy me that drink now." I said.

"Well Okay...but I want to hear about what you want to do to me...." she said with a sly wink..

'Huh?" I asked.

"'In private." she said.

"Really? Just like that?" I asked.

''I was kind of turned on just now the way you grabbed me like that...but don't make a habit of it...Look...don't let an opportunity pass you by...I'm not gonna make this offer again...I'm slightly tipsy and it's against my better judgement." she said... Now she sounded like her old mean self.

III-

Her apartment door swung open and we were kissing as though we had known each other for years...just tonguing each other down.....I had my hands up her dress and she already had my pants down and was massaging my massive erection....

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....mmmmmmmph.... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." she moaned...

'Lawwdd jesus girl, you feel so good..." I moaned as we continued kissing...

"Ohhh, Ohhhhh, Wali close the door...We can't be doing this with the door wide open..She said as she broke free and closed and locked the door...She turned around and got a good look at me and just smiled..

"Ohhh myyyyy." she said as we continued kissing and making out.... I kissed her neck and her earlobes and she giggled like a schoolgirl...Which I thought was kind of cute...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.." she yelled....

I stepped out of my pants and I unzipped her dress and  pushed her up against the wall , where I continued to kiss her from her neck to her breasts....She squeezed my penis hard...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHH..ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."I moaned from both pain and pleasure,,,,,

I pulled a condom out of my wallet and quickly put it on...I led Veronica over to her sofa...I bent her over it and entered her from behind....

''Uhhh...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWDDDDDDDDDDDDD..."she screamed as I entered her and began to pump her as hard as I could...Her mouth opened...but now no sound was coming from it...

''OHHHHH GOOOD LORDDD...OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.." she screamed as I continued to pump as if my life depended on it...

It doesn't take her body long to start convulsing and for her to start singing out with pleasure,,,,,,,

"OHHHH YEAHHHHHH...YESSSSSSSSSSSSS...OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.."

I lift her up....

''Where is your bedroom?" I asked

She weakly points to it....

"I need to do this right.." I say as we head to the bedroom...

I lay her across the bed and I spread her legs....I enter her very slowly this time....She is good and wet and warm like an oven....I'm staring into her beautiful brown eyes and looking at that gorgeous dark skin...We are face to face...She leans up and kisses me...and I begin thrusting inside her again...Slowly at first and then just a little faster..I want this to last....

And last it did....Well into the wee hours of the morning..we made love until we both climaxed hard!...We then took a nice long shower together...Kissing and fondling each other until I came again...I don't know about her....

We of course wound up sleeping together and waking up the next morning in bed together...nude...and cold...

"Wow...I never imagined anything like this." she said.

"Damn...Me neither.." I said.

''I've never done anything like this before...I mean something so spontaneous....I don't even know you." she said.

"Yeah...I know you won't believe this...but me neither." I said.

''Was this the alcohol?" she asked.

"Coulda been...I was a little tipsy." I said.

"Me too..but I liked it...I aint gone front..You got skills boy..mad skills." she said.  I was surprised.

''You aint no slouch yourself." I said.

"I guess you want to keep this a secret huh?   It's cool...I won't say a word...I promise." I said.

"Thank you..I do have a reputation to uphold." she said.

I smiled ruefully!

EPILOUGE:

I was in the Mermaid Club, Choppin it up with a friend of mine named Mike when my cousin Bernadette walked in...

I looked up in surprise...This wasn't her kind of joint...

"Heyyy Cuzzo...What are you doin in here?" I asked.

"I was lookin for you....I heard you come here sometimes." she said.

"So what's up?" I asked.

"I'm gonna buy you a drink...I can't believe you got them drawers." she said.

''What?, What are you talkin about?" I said.

"Don't B.S. Me cuz... Veronica...You know..She's shot down flyer guys than you..Guys with real potential..And when you started sending flowers and came in there talkin bout you wanted to meet her ,I figured she was gonna blow your corny ass away quick....But you surprised me...You got mad game after all." said Bernadette...

"Bernie What are you talkin about?" I asked.

''Wali, She comes to work singing and humming and she's got your flowers all over the place..she waters em and smiles and don't snap at the customers...She actually smiles....And when I just happened to mention you she beamed...She glowed..Smiled like a high school girl..Asked me for your number.." said Bernadette.

''What....??" I said and smiled.

"You must have knocked the bottom out of that the way she's carrying on." laughed Bernadette.

I said nothing...

"I gave her your number..I figured you wouldn't mind." she laughed...

"She already has it." I laughed.

"I knew she did...but she had to put on a little act for me of course." laughed my cousin.

"Can't fool you huh Bernie?" I laughed and ordered her a drink..."Hey Joe, get my cousin a Tequilla..."

"We know each other too well cuzo." She said.

53

Philadelphia- August 2011

Attorney Robert Foxworth, his young protoge' , Chance Howard and I sat in a coffee shop in Philadelphia enjoying tumblers of steaming hot coffee and pastries... That was the only thing enjoyable about this day for me....I was under indictment for Insider Trading and facing the very real possibility of going to prison...A place I had never been before and had never planned on going.

I had done everything right...Had gotten good grades in school....Had managed to stay out of trouble in a West Philly neighborhood that birthed some of the city's most "successful " drug kingpins.. and had gotten a scholarship to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and despite much partying and late night sex...had managed to graduate with honors....

Had a nice condo in the Manyunk section of Philadelphia and commuted to New York City every day to a cushy job in finance..How did my life come to this?

''Listen kid..It was smart of you to get us to represent you...all 21 of the people at your firm who have been indicted have gotten themselves seperate counsel and have cut deals that will keep them out of jail..for the time being...Including your boss!" said Robert Foxworth


"Well why do you say it like that?" I asked.

"Brother, how much do you really know about her?" asked Robert Foxworth..

"Well uh..er...I've been working for her for two years...Uh we don't really socialize outside the job much...but er ahhh.." I said.

"You're sleeping with her aren't you?" asked Robert Foxworth.

"Huh?" I asked...How could he know??

"It's okay, you don't have to answer..it's all over your face...I've slept with enough women in my day to know all of the signs...She's got your nose so wide open that you didn't even know that she had you signing off on documents...documents that incriminate you my brother."he said.

"It's true Derrick...I did some diggin...She's covering up....and the others are covering up too...She's tellin the Feds that you were managing that fund...not her." said Chance Howard.

"What? No...Nancy wouldn't do that." I said.

"You don't have to believe us...but if I were you..I would keep my distance from her until this is over and for God's sake...Don't tell her anything about my legal strategy...you hear me?" asked Robert Foxworth..

"Yeah..Sure..Sure.." I said.

Just then...Several men with  Blue windbreakers that had yellow letters on them walked in..Wanna take a guess what those letters read?- FBI....

"Mr. Brown...Derrick S. Brown? We are with the FBI...We'd like to take you downtown for questioning." the agent in charge said.

"I'm his attorney."said Robert Foxworth.....

"You're welcome to come with us." he said.

II-

Three hours later..Robert, Chance and I were leaving the John Byrne Federal Building in center city, Philadelphia...Robert smiled....

"They've got nothin..At least nothing on you....Just keep your nose clean and keep away from that broad...There's something shysty about her..and I know a slick shysty broad when I see one."said Robert Foxworth....

In the background...I saw his assistant attorney, Chance Howard and a female administrative assistant looking at each other and sharing a private laugh...I smiled.

 

I should have listened to Attorney Foxworth, but I didn't...I got a call from Nancy a few hours later and before the phone went cold...I was in the condo she was leasing, talking and drinking a Martini..

"So how's everything?" she asked..

"It's good...I got a good attorney..."I said.

"Yeah..I do too...This is all a big mistake and misunderstanding.....Everybody is going crazy...." she said.

"It's the climate for it...A volatile economy I suppose." I said.

"Yeah, well I'm not worried..You?" she asked as she took a sip of her drink..

"Me? Nah..." I lied...

"Well ,I didn't call you over here to talk about the job or our impending court case.." she said.

"No? What did you call me over here for...?" I asked..

"Well if I have to tell you, then maybe you are worried." she said with a sly grin...

"Ohhhhhhhhhh.." I said..

"Yeah...ohhhhhhhhhh...put that drink down and get over here.." she said as she took my hand and led me into the bedroom....

" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." I moaned as I began kissing her and runing my hands up her dress...

"Ouuuuuuuuu Mistah Brownnnnn you are soooooo nastyyyy." she cooed as she opened my zipper and began to tug at my massive erect penis...

"Mister Brown!!! You are packing....and hard!!!!..." she laughed.

We french kissed...My hands began to slip her black fishnet panties down her legs...

"You do that like you're a professional." she teased...

I layed her on the bed....but she stopped me...

"Wait..Let me get out of my clothes...You take yours off...no need in doing it like this." she said as we hurried and undressed...

She kept stroking and rubbing my penis.....

"My goodness Mr. Brown....It's not like you haven't had any before...You're as hard as a brick..." she teased again..

"Ummmmm" she said as she took all of me in her mouth and began to move her head back and forth with the slowest rhythm of any who had ever done this.. Damn what Robert Foxworth said...I thought.....He wasn't getting it like this!

She felt that I was near the point of no return and she stopped...She leaned up and began kissing me in the lips....Long and hard....I spread her across the bed and entered her sweet vagina...and tried to just lie there still in it..but I couldn't...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MISTAHHH BROWNN!!!" she screamed as I began to thrust harder and faster...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuweeeeeeeeeeeeee....." she screamed...

I must admit..it was very pleasurable.....We lie there on that bed for close to two hours just making love...as a very much needed mid summer rainfall came down outside and raindrops appeared on her window.....


I turned her over, she hoisted that beautiful apple bottomed shaped butt of hers up in the air and I entered her doggie style...

"OHHH MY GODD..OHHHH MY GODDDDD...OHHHHHHHH, IT'S SOOOOO GOOOOOD..OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.." she screamed as I continued to stroke her and move a little faster...

Finally, she straddled me and mounted herself on top of me....She moved up and down  slowly and slowly kissed me..It was all I could take...after a few minutes of this....I exploded like a raging inferno inside of her....

She came slowly and powerfully....

"OUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..." she moaned...and begun to shake violently....

We finally collapsed on the bed...She kissed me again..really long and I slowly drifted off to sleep.

    

When I woke up...I was nude...Nancy was gone! I mean really gone..No clothes, No pocketbook, no personal belongings..She had left! My clothes were still on the floor, but there was no trace of Nancy!!!

I took a hot shower and got dressed...Still no sign of her!!! I took the elevator downstairs and looked outside...
Her car was gone!! I called her cell number and I was told that it had been disconnected...Perhaps Attorney Foxworth had been right about her after all!

III-

Federal Courthouse-Philadelphia Pa. One Month Later!

All I can remember the judge saying was "53" and I fainted....I got 53 years in the federal pen??? Oh My God...I couldn't do that kind of time...That was a life sentence for me!

A glass of water was thrown into my face..  I looked up...It was Chance Howard , the assisting attorney....Robert Foxworth was looking at me and frowning...

''What the hell is wrong with you? Get up off of that ground?" he snapped...

"The judge just threw the book at me mane!" I said...

"What? The book?" asked Robert Foxworth...

"He just sentenced me to 53 years ." I said.

Chance and Robert looked at each other and cracked up laughing....

"You jackass..He sentenced you to 53 DAYS...53 days in minimum security....." he said,  ''That's the best I could do...at least you won't lose your license or any of your property. You just gonna be out of a job, is all, but it coulda been worse." He said...

"That's it..53 Days??" I said.

"Yeah..." said Robert Foxworth...

"Oh My God...Thank you ...Thank you so much..." I said as I hugged my two attorneys.

EPILOUGE:

Friday, October 21, 2011

The door of the prison opened...There was the sound of a loud buzzer and I walked out of the gates with a bag that had all of my belongings in it...I had on Jeans, White skippers and a Jean Shirt.....I couldn't believe how fast 53 days went.... My Attorney,Robert Foxworth and Chance Howard were standing outside the gates waiting for me in their caar...

''Wow..you look pretty good for a lifer." joked Chance Howard..

"How do you feel after doin all that time?" joked Robert Foxworth...

"Mannn..I aint never goin back to jail again...Not for jaywalking, not for a speeding ticket." I said with solemn seriousness..

"Well, you made out better than most of your former employees...About five of em got up to three years and the other 17 got at least a year in the slams..." said Robert Foxworth..

''Any sign of Nancy?" I asked.

"Nope....She's wanted by the FBI and the U.S. Marshalls...She's dropped completely out of sight..but they'll get her." he said.

"How much time you think she'll get?" I asked.

"Wellll, if I had to estimate..With what they had on her..probably no more time than you got....but since she jumped bail and took flight..maybe up to a year or more now...I don't know...I wouldn't worry about her." he said.

It began to rain a little bit...

"It's raining." I said...

"Yup..Look at him Chance...Does all that time and he's a weatherman." laughed Robert Foxworth..

Chance got in the car and started it up and we all got in....

"Let's get you some good food and some beer." laughed Robert as we pulled off...


For Pace!

Goin Away

NEW YORK CITY, JUNE 2011-

We lie in bed...we had just had about two and a half hours of mind blowing sex....I was exhausted.....She wanted to talk.....She was Nancy Gershon....I am Derrick Brown...We are an unusual African -American couple...For one reason...We are Hedge fund managers...Not many of us involved in that...

Nancy is kind of like my supervisor...I've been working with or rather for her for close to two years....I was attracted to her exotic looks...See ,her father is French, Her mother, African-American.....Me, I'm 100 percent Black....Didn't think she'd even be attracted to me....

When we first met..It was purely a working arrangement...We didn't socialize, didn't even have conversation outside of work...Then one night we wound up at one of those office parties where we were maybe two of about six Blacks amongst about sixty whites and maybe ten or fifteen  Asians....We had drank well into the night and wound up ,upstairs in the coat room....


It's not like we planned it..We were drunk..slightly tipsy...We were young black attractive...I admit I'd been checkin her out for some time...but had never thought of doing anything with her..I was working for her after all..She was about three years older than me..but here we were..

I looked at her, smiled..She smiled...I raised my index finger to my mouth to signal her to be quiet...I stood up, walked over to the bedroom or coat room, whatever you want to call it door. And after making sure that no one was outside, I closed the door behind us, and locked it.


I walked back over to the bed, where this sexy woman was now lying down. As I knelt above her, she looked up at me, and I saw the first hint of vulnerability in her eyes. Her confident, almost cocky demeanor which she carried at work in the office had melted away, and all that remained was this beautiful, submissive creature waiting for me to do whatever I pleased with her and boy was I willing and able.


I reached down and slowly parted her knees. Her legs felt like satin, as I ran my hands up and down her thighs, pushing her tight black strapless dress up to just below her waist. As she raised her hips, inching her dress up further, I could see the tiniest hint of pubic hair through her black lace panties.

“This is going to feel really really good…but we gotta be quiet ,don’t make a sound” I said, forcefully. She nodded, and smiled. "This is making me more excited..just knowing we might get caught." she said. I kissed the insides of her thighs, slowly making my way to her beautiful moist vagina.


I pulled her panties to the side, and with my tongue, took one long stroke, parting her lips. Then another. From side to side, I licked, and teased her, until I could feel her silently begging me to put my tongue inside her....

"Ouuuuu stop playing with me...ouuuuuu just do me..do me...ouuuuuuu.." she moaned..

I parted her lips with my fingers, and gently darted my tongue in and out of her. At this point, she reached up and grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it.

"I'm losing my freaking mind ..." she said...

I felt her moans reverberate throughout her body, as I pressed my mouth firmly against her. As her torso began to stiffen, and her thighs tightened around my head, I could tell she was about to come. I pushed her legs back, and tongued her clitoris, coaxing her into a writhing orgasm.

As she lay breathless on the bed, I unzipped my pants. My penis had been hard from the second I sat on the bed with her.Hell , from the second I laid eyes on her downstairs in that black strapless dress that hugged her every curve. I quickly fumbled for my wallet, grabbed a condom that luckily I had stashed in there from just a few days before.

She rolled over on her stomach, and arched her butt up in the air. It was as beautiful as I’d imagined, soft and smooth, ready and waiting. I pressed the head of my pulsing penis into her dripping wet moistness, then pulled out again.


I entered her several more times like this, until I could feel her pushing harder and harder against me. I grabbed her hips, and pushed all the way into her. She gasped, as she jerked forward for a moment, then braced herself before thrusting her bottom back against my bulging penis.

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...OHHHHHHHHHHHHH MISTER BROWNNN...OHHHHHHHHH MISTER BROWNNNN, OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MYYYYY GOODNESS...MISTAH BROWNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!" she cooed as I went about my business inside of her..

She obviously felt the same, as her moans gradually became louder and louder. I grabbed her hair from behind, and pushed her head into the pillow. Her arms reached for the headboard and gripped it tightly as her body contracted in orgasmic release.

Feeling myself about to explode at any minute, I thrust harder and harder into her welcoming flesh. I felt the condom expanding as I exploded into it. The orgasm felt like it lasted several minutes, even though it was just seconds. I collapsed on top of her, kissing the nape of her neck, both of us breathing heavily...and laughing.

That was the first time we had made love...if you want to call it that...We were both embarrassed , two days later at work....We talked about it..agreed that we were both drunk and that nothing like this would ever happen again!

But it did...That very day, right in her office....And again, a few days later in my car...A few nights later in the  bathroom of a classy club....and finally a week later in the bedroom of her house...

II-

So here we were in a hotel room here in New York City lying in bed after making love for the sixth time......We had just been at a conference .......No one knows that we are together..We have seperate rooms on seperate floors.....

"You okay?" she asked...

"Yeah baby..I'm straight..."

"You got to get dressed and get out of here now.." she whispered...

"What? Now?" I asked.

"You can't stay the night..somebody might see you coming out of my room." she said.

''So what ?We both are single."I said.

"Yeah..but I don't want there to be any talk..We are under enough scrutiny." she said.

"Yeah...Those SEC guys came around yesterday ,before we left for this conference....and I got a call from the FBI this morning." I said.

"What?  What did they want?" she asked..

''Ahh nothin...Nothin...The same ole ,same ole things they been askin...and I told em that I didn't know nothin." I said.

 

"Wow.....When were you going to tell me this?  You wanted to sleep with me first, didn't you?" she asked..

"Well yes.." I laughed...

"Horny Dog..." she laughed....

"Baby..I didn't want to get you all upset...I wanted to make love first." I laughed.

"Yeah..then get me upset." she said.

I smiled wryly.

We were being investigated for insider trading...Several people from our hedge fund... Perhaps I should explain just what it is we are and do..

A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university endowments and foundations, or high net worth individuals. Worldwide, 61% of investment in hedge funds is from institutional sources as of February 2011 The funds generally invest in a diverse range of assets and employ a variety of investment strategies.

Hedge funds are distinct from mutual funds, individual retirement and investment accounts, and other types of traditional investment portfolios because they can undertake a wider range of investment and trading activities, and invest in a broader range of assets, including equities, bonds and commodities.

Most hedge fund investment strategies aim to achieve a positive return on investment whether markets are rising or falling. Hedge fund managers typically invest their own money in the fund they manage, which serves to align their interests with investors in the fund. Investors in hedge funds typically pay a management fee that goes toward the operational costs of the fund, and a performance fee when the fund’s net asset value is higher than that of the previous year. The net asset value of a hedge fund can be billions of dollars, due to investments from large institutional investors. As of 2009, hedge funds represent 1.1% of the total funds and assets held by financial institutions. The estimated size of the global hedge fund industry is US$1.9 trillion.

Because hedge funds are not sold to the public or retail investors, their advisers, like us have historically not been subject to the same restrictions that govern other investment fund advisers, with regard to how the fund may be structured and how strategies are employed.

Hedge funds must now comply with many of the same statutory and regulatory restrictions as other institutional market participants. Regulations passed in the United States and Europe after the 2008 credit crisis are intended to increase government oversight of hedge funds and eliminate any regulatory gaps.

Hope that didn't bore you too much... But we co-manage several of these Hedge funds.. We manage a very large account...We were being investigated by the Securities and Exchange commission for some time...There was a lot going on that I didn't know about.

"Something you ought to be telling me?" I asked.

"No...The less you know , the better for you."  she said.

"Hmm, I don't like the sound of that." I said.

"Just get dressed and get out of here." she said.

" I know a good lawyer...In Philadelphia...His name is Robert Foxworth.." I said.

"Get him for yourself..just in case..." She said.

"In case what?" I asked..

There came a knock on the door..

We both looked at each other....

"Who is that ?" asked Nancy...

"How in the hell should I know?" I asked..

"FBI!  We have a warrant for your arrest Ms. Gershon." came the voice!!!

(Conclusion Next....)

Chasing Rainbows

 I feel like I've been chasing you all my life..
Come here baby, turn the lights down low
and listen to what I'm all about...
I've been feelin you and I suspect that if you
only knew..
You'd be feeling me too...
Come here girl...
turn the lights down low...
Come here check this out.../

I've been chasing rainbows..
looking for the fabled pot of gold
anxious to have and to hold..
Still chasing rainbows...
looking beyond just a good time...
waiting for the chance to make you mine....
So tired of chasing you...
what would you have me do?/

Fantasizing about girls like you...
used to fill most of my days..
but that was when I was young
and still trying to learn all of the plays...
Maybe I was young to you...
and still trying to get into the game...
but baby..I'm a grown man now...
who is hoping you'd see things my way....

I've been chasing rainbows..
looking for the fabled pot of gold
anxious to have and to hold..
Still chasing rainbows...
looking beyond just a good time...
waiting for the chance to make you mine....
So tired of chasing you...
what would you have me do?

No More treadmills..
I'm ready to get next to you...
ready to kiss and caress you too...
and anything else you'd let me do...
Girl, what are you so afraid of...
Let me put your mind a ease...
I've been known to love...
To love women oh so tenderly...
You've got to trust me...
If only you would trust me.../

I've been chasing rainbows..
searching for the fabled pot of gold
anxious to have and hold...
I'm so tired of chasing rainbows..
"Of Being a fool for love"
Maybe I'm looking beyond just a good time....
I'm waiting for the chance to get down for mine...
Tired of chasing you...
Could you give me just a minute of your time?

Sexilicious

First time that I saw you...
babe first time that I laid eyes on you...
First time that I saw you...
,You kinda stood out from the crowd..
You were lookin so good..
and walking so proud...
I was just so taken with you...
I wanted to just shout out loud.../

How do I get my hands on those hips?
How do I get my lips on those lips?/

Honey you're
Way past sexy...
baby you're ...
kind of delicious...
Girl you're like
a combonation of both...
Let me make a toast...
To you...
So I'll say that you're
sexilicious...
Yeah girl you're just
Sexilicious.../

Nobody walks the way you walk...
Nobody talks the way you talk..
Aint found nobody..
who smells as good as you do baby...
Nobody's skin is quite as soft..
All those other girls seem to turn me off..
Can't think of one other woman
who affects me like you do lady.../

And you're so nice...I think I gotta tell you twice..

Honey you're
Way past sexy...
baby you're ...
kind of delicious...
Girl you're like
a combonation of both...
so I'll say that you're
sexilicious...
Let me make a toast...
Yeah girl, to you..
you're just so...
Sexilicious.../

The Back Up Hard Drive

"One of your dead guys was of course Chessly Waters...He's kind of a middle man, and in this case, he also helped with the hit, it appears." said Lt.Sissy Van Buren of Homicide as we walked down the street drinking tumblers of hot steaming coffee one morning some weeks later...

"Yeah and the other guy?" I asked.

"Your other guy is real interesting....His name is Ivanek Zelkov...He's a Russian....Former KGB, recently, a contract killer...Known for doing good work...Good as in no clues, no body, no loose ends...He basically operates in the New York area....So somebody reached out big time with some big bucks to find him." she said.

''Westly East??? He doesn't strike me as the type to run with that crowd or know that type of crowd..." I said.

"No, not him...but his lawyer, Woodley Verizon....That's a whole nother story..He was a Public defender years ago and after that..he was a criminal defense lawyer for awhile...Then he went back to law school  for a spell and emerged as a corporate lawyer....Somehow or other he wound up being the CFO of the same foundation where Westly East is also a respected member." she said.

"Was a respected member?" I said and laughed..

Sissy Van Buren stopped walking and nearly spit her coffee out of her mouth...

''That's right..I read that piece you wrote on him in your magazine....and on the internet...that was really damaging....And your wife and a couple of other women are now suing him..is that right?" she asked.

"Yes...We got the five women who originally were interviewed by Bruce Harvey to come forward and my wife, a woman I work with and the wives of two attorneys that were at that function also came forth...." I said.

"Oh My God....And with the story running in all of the news media ,he must be feeling the heat..." she said.

''Yeah..I hear that the foundation has asked him to resign." I said.

"Guess your killer didn't kill or intimidate enough people fast enough." she said.

''Guess not." I said.

"We found blood and DNA in that van and on those instruments that match Bruce Harvey..We got DNA samples from his family members...He must have met a gruesome death." she said.

"Shame I can't locate his body or what may be left of it..." I said.

''Would you even want to?" She asked.

I shook my head.....Something she said bothered me though......

"Guess your killer didn't kill or intimidate enough people fast enough."

They certainly had the time to do it...We didn't know who they were....No, this was something more...I didn't see why I hadn't seen it before...The story about Westly East and his sexual harrassment was already out..The damage was already done...And the women had already been contacted and bribed and intimidated...The story was also dead on arrival when Bruce Harvey approached me about continuing the investigation!!
So why Kill him?  He had no story!!! Unless he did!!!!

II-

I went back to Bruce's house....I went through his computer files...It was as I had suspected..Someone had been here before me and had stripped the hard-drive...But if he was like most writers I knew...He kept a back up somewhere.

I went back to his newspaper...I asked several people about Bruce...His friends, his close confidents and finally,I was given a key to his office....Someone had been in here too and tossed it....

Once again...A dead end....Just as I was about to bag it and call it a day...

"I think you were looking for this!" came a female voice...It was Valerie Bonnet!!!

"You work here?" I asked astonished as she stood in the doorway with a laptop.

"Yes....I'm a columnist...I was doing a story on Westly East and he damn near raped me as I told you....and surprisingly enough..When Bruce started doing his story on him...I was one of the last people to step forward and tell my story....But Bruce was on to another story..something even deeper..... He gave me this laptop and told me to hold on to it ,just in case something happened to him..." she said and handed me the Laptop!

I went through his files and here was a story about flat out corruption at the foundation...  He had documentation of money being embezzled..Lots of money!! Of money being laundered for known Drug Kingpins from New York City,Here in Philadelphia and Atlantic City..and several off shore accounts being opened in the Bahamas and the Caymen Islands...

Woodley Verizon could have cared less about Westly East and his sexcapades...He used that for a cover....What he really didn't want was Bruce Harvey blowing the whistle on THIS!!!!!

So he contacted Chestly , who put him in touch with a cold blooded hitter from New York and had Bruce Harvey wiped out....Apparently he was still trying to make sure there was no remnants of THIS story around...

"Thank You...This is the missing link in my case...This guy is going to pay." I said.

"What about Bruce?" she asked.

"I don't know about Bruce....but I'm pretty sure he's probably dead." I said and hung my head.

III-

Penns Landing in the fall is still beautiful...People still walk around and stare out at the ocean and shop and sight see... Rich movers and shakers like Woodley Verizon hung around these parts also.

He was there....In a very expensive ,I'm sure Grey Suit at one of the outdoor cafe's drinking a martini and laughing with several nice looking and well dressed young ladies when I showed up...

"Mr. V... Can I have a moment of your time." I asked with a smile..

Despite the fact that I had on an equally expensive tailored suit and tie...The women looked at ume and got the impression I was a thug...They got up and left within minutes...

Woodley didn't flinch...He cooly looked at me and smirked...

"Kevin Morris....so at last we meet eh?  Hey , did you find Bruce Harvey?" he asked and laughed.

"No...You talk to him lately?" I asked.

"No...I haven't..You know you could have been like him too...Missing..Had I of known you were snoopin around helpin him...but I guess you just lucked out, huh?" he laughed.

"You're pretty cocky Mr. V." I said.

"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Because your two hitmen are dead....I have phone records that tie them to you and phone records and testimony that you called and tried to intimidate those five women in the sexual harrassment suit.." I said.

"Really?   and what do you think I'd get for all that...if I got anything at all..Probation?" he laughed.

"Maybe more ." I mused.

"You got nothin..nothin ,so get out of here...I'm tired of lookin at you, ya rent a cop." he smirked.

"How about embezzlement...wire tap fraud, money laundering....and the best part, frozen off shore accounts that you can't use anymore...I found the back up hard drive...I turned it in to the FBI.....If you look to your right...That's them rushing over here now with those shotguns...." I laughed...

His eyes got as large as saucers........Agent Frank Cotton and close to twenty FBI agents grabbed Woodley Verizon and put him in handcuffs....He looked like he wanted to faint...

''Are you okay Verizon??" asked an FBI agent...

"Ohhh..Ohhhhh...Ohhh lawd...I can't...I can't breath...Ohhhhhhhhh.." he wailed as they dragged him to the FBI Van...

"Oh Lawddddd..Ohhhhh my God....Jesus help me....I can't breathe..ouuuuuu..ohh lawddddddd..I feel faint.... Help me Lord...ohhhhhhhhhh.." he continued to wail as he was practically dragged away!

I stood there laughing......I looked up at the sky...

"That one was for you Bruce."I said silently.

EPILOUGE:

Woodley Verizon was convicted of wire fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and an assortment of other crimes...He got close to 25 five years in a federal penitentary. There was no evidence to indict him for conspiracy in the probable death of Bruce Harvey.

Bruce Harvey was never seen or heard from again and his body has never been found..He was declared legally dead!

Westly East entered sexual rehab..From what I heard, he's doing pretty good!

Sepia and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Minay Jordan's loft...Ralph Scallion, her boyfriend and chef had prepared the meal....

"Minay , your place is beautiful.." said Sepia...

"Thank you Sepia....This is one of Chris and Chess's properties." she said..

"Wow...Bonita and I have got to get with them and get the name of some contractors..They did a wonderful job on this property." said my wife...

"Hey Kev...you like my main course?" asked Ralph Scallion...

"Mannn you put your foot in this food as usual." I said....

"Hey man, I heard you cracked another case...Did you ever find that reporter?" asked
Ralph.

I sighed....

"No...but his death was avenged...and where-ever he is..I'm sure he knows that." I said .